Active Hope
Dedication of the Peace Window
Isaiah 11: 1-10; Ephesians 3: 14-24
Second Presbyterian Church
July 29, 2018
Reverend Dr. David M. Neff
When the first panels of the Peace Window were unveiled, people came into the
sanctuary with ‘oohs’ and ‘ahs.’ There was a light of radiance on each
countenance. Mr. Venturella promised us that with the restoration,
everything would be cleaned up and cleared up to shine brightly.
We had no idea how his promise would prove true beyond our hopes.
To repair a century of wear and grime, the deferred maintenance of corrosion,
leaks and tears–then to scrape and clean 7500 panels and pieces of glass,
reinforcing and re-leading them so they are secure for another 100 years—all
the while restoring the original colors. The result is stunning, sublime,
transcendent.
I want to take time out in our worship service to recognize and commend the
leadership and board members of Friends of Historic Second Church for your
amazing work. All the calls, cards, visits, meetings, more meetings, strategies,
fingers crossed, hopes renewed, they all worked. Would all the current and
former board members, please stand and be recognized by our grateful
congregation?
You did it! We did it! There is an amazing can-do spirit among our Friends
board, an uncommon unity of vision.
I think the Friends board has modeled for us an important lesson.
I.
Have you noticed how gridlock dominates every corner of our nation’s
life? How people nullify and thwart each other? How individuals and
groups negate each other and cancel each other out? How we fixate on the
worst about each other– and no one will compromise, no one will cooperate,
and no one is able to craft a way forward.
Philosophers Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone have written an important
book, entitled Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re In Without Going
Crazy.” They tell us that we as Americans have entered into a period called the
Great Turning. Either we turn toward each other, or we turn against each other.
Either we turn toward facing our problems —and see them as opportunities—
or we turn away from our challenges, shrinking back from the possibilities, and
let the problems defeat us. (without even giving a serious try).
Active Hope is getting “in touch with our inner strengths, our sense of
adventure, and our power to choose.
Active Hope is waking up to the beauty of life on whose behalf we can act.
Active Hope is a readiness to discover the size and strength of our hearts,
our quickness of mind, our steadiness of purpose, our own authority, our
love of life, the liveliness of our curiosity, the unsuspected deep well of
patience and diligence, the keenness of our senses, and our capacity to lead.
None of these things can be discovered in an armchair or achieved without
risk”, the authors say.
II.
“What if?” are the two most important words in the human language
What if we all agreed on one big thing?
What if we all agree on an overarching goal or a big, broad vision? A shared
purpose for all humanity?
What if we act out our most hopeful beliefs?
What if we share the same positive message and connect with each other and
find an opening—we’d become people of abundance. We’d overflow and with a
real, working can do spirit. We’d get things done!
The early church believed that the resurrection was not just individual and
personal; it was corporate and communal.
From two or three individuals, to two or three families, to small groups to house
churches to clusters of churches, they experienced communal resurrection!
The first Christians incubated ministries to respond to human need. Those
ministries grew and grew and grew—into hospitals and universities, orders and
institutions to serve the common good.
III.
In Paul’s letter to the fledgling church in Ephesus, he affirms the theological
truth that God is not stingy, granting only one grace here, or one gift here.
Rather, God is the most generous giver, giving extravagantly and abundantly.
The Greek word for abundance is pleroma— the fullness of God which fills
everything. A supra-abundance! Paul links this overflowing plentitude to the
Greek word for power dunamis, where we get the word dynamite.
There is a hidden power at work in our midst.
There is a mighty presence within us and within the church.
This spiritual presence creates more energy, more gifts, more sharing and more
participation.
We tap that hidden power whenever we come together for the reasons that God
intends: To build a sense of community; to accomplish work for the common
good.
That invisible spirit at work within us is the power of God!
Three times in his letter to the church at Ephesus, Paul calls God the divine
Artist. He affirms that each and every one of us is God’s creative work of art.
God brings beauty into the world through our work.
IV.
We celebrate this morning that we can be and become a community of the
resurrection by the power of active hope at work within us.
In 1900, a fire decimated the interior of the church, leaving the external
structure of the church and the Bell Tower salvageable. The congregation met
at First Presbyterian Church two blocks away, and rented space at Fifth
Presbyterian Church at 46th and Hyde Park Avenue.
The sexton of the church believed the church was torched by an arsonist.
Nearby Trinity Methodist Church had been burned a week before in much the
same manner. The church even received a crackpot letter, saying the burning of
the church was the judgment and punishment of God.
In that defining moment, with their backs up against the wall, the congregation
came together like never before.
The leaders of the church, the elders and trustees rallied to create an artistic
and architectural vision, unsurpassed in this city– to connect the church to the
larger world of art, and connect the church to the people of Chicago, to become a
sacred house of worship and prayer for all people.
The plan of action was bold and visionary. The leadership mounted into action,
the gifts and resources came through. Howard Van Doren Shaw, a son of the
church, James Renwick and Frederick Clay Bartlett led the way. Memorial
windows in memory of Crerar and Fargo, Kellogg and Balcom were donated.
Long-time Chicago business leader Silas Cobb was part of the church since its
beginning in 1842. One month before he died, he saw his beloved church
burned down.
The Peace Window—commissioned by the family of Silas Cobb — became the
crowning symbol of the resurrection of this church from a fire which burned it
down. Out of the ashes came a new, active hope.
Set in 1903, the Peace Window is Silas Cobb’s prayer. The Peace Window
speaks Cobb’s highest dreams and greatest hopes for the church he loved, and
for the city of Chicago that he helped found.
V.
What if we all believed in peace? What if we all held out its hope as our highest
value? What if we all pitched in and worked for it?
The peaceable kingdom that Isaiah prophesied is a vision to strive for, and pray
for– the kingdom of heaven on earth that Jesus lived and died for . . .
Peace in our homes, peace in our communities, peace in the city of Chicago,
peace in the state of Illinois. Peace in our world as our highest aspiration.
Peace is the great work of God because our need for peace encompasses the
whole planet.
And it needs to be shared and embraced by all.
In the words of Lee Hoiby,
God’s loving kingdom come to us,
The gift of life and gift of freedom.
Now shall peace reign
Truth be revealed
And all wounds healed.
Resplendent hope for humankind
To follow with the dove,
The way of peace,
the way of love.
So shall it ever be
May today’s dedication become part of a great turning. As we commit ourselves
to active hope, we trust and believe that God is at work within us to accomplish
God’s dream of peace in our world.
Amen.
