Peter Fitch, St. Croix Vineyard Sunday, July 16, 2017 Learning to Trust Peter Fitch, St. Croix Vineyard Sunday, July 16, 2017

It’s not easy . . . Life can be very hard Friends can let you down Prayers seem to hit a concrete heaven The things you asked for don’t come true You can become frustrated with the way you’ve been looking at life and feel as though you are floundering along without meaning or direction The people who do seem to trust can seem simplistic, naive

However . . . Trust is an important aspect of mental, emotional and spiritual health Cultivating healthy trust seems to make us stronger for life’s difficulties It enriches the journey, gives meaning Includes others in a sense of shared pilgrimage (we’re in this together)

First steps . . . Often includes deconstruction Beginning of John’s Gospel . . The cleansing of the temple The curious example of the fig tree (Matthew 21) Funny personal connection!

John 2:18-21 18 The Jews then said to Him, “What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?”21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body.

My own deconstruction Anchored with Wings (holding on to some of the treasure of Christianity but trying to explain it in a way that also makes room for people who don’t believe the same things) (can’t wait for the 3 days to be over!)

Trust is . . . A marriage between what we think and what we feel that creates a space for our hope to thrive “To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don’t grab hold of the water because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax, and float.” Allan Watts “Trust in dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.” Khalil Gibran “Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can’t see where it keeps its brain.” J. K. Rowling

Training Session: Lectio Divina (John 1:45-51) 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote— Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 

48 Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me 48 Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.” 50 Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And He said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Where do you “keep your brain”? (Rowling) In others? In hope of comfort? In hope of success? In being the best version of you? Scripture suggests that we can trust in a larger picture: that we can become like Christ, that everything that happens can grow this in us, that we can help in the healing of the world

Habakkuk 3:17-19 17 Though the fig tree should not blossom And there be no fruit on the vines, Though the yield of the olive should fail And the fields produce no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold And there be no cattle in the stalls,

Habakkuk 3:17-19 18 Yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. 19 The Lord God is my strength, And He has made my feet like hinds’ feet, And makes me walk on my high places.