Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

Sermon

There’s an old Far Side cartoon in which the devil is welcoming a new resident of hell. Before them are two doors. One is labeled, “Damned if you do” and the other, “Damned if you don’t.” The Prince of Evil is urging the new guy, saying, “C’mon, c’mon, it’s either one or the other.”

Some decisions feel that way, don’t they? Some decisions feel like there’s no good outcome. Some decisions are just hard to make. Every day, every one of us makes hundreds, if not thousands, if not tens of thousands, of decisions. Sigh.

In today’s story from the first chapter of Acts, the eleven disciples have a decision to make. Do they replace Judas, the betrayer, keeping their leadership group at the sacred number of 12? And if they do replace Judas, who will take his place? Not in the story are other questions that might have been swirling among them: would someone else drop out? Could they ensure the new guy wouldn’t betray them? And there were bigger questions, too: now that Jesus had ascended up into heaven and they were on their own, what would happen to them and all the other Jesus-followers, all these People of the Way?

From our point of view, it seems as though the eleven could have soldiered on without replacing Judas, but from Luke’s point of view (remember, Luke wrote not only the gospel but also the Book of Acts), it was necessary to have twelve apostles. In Luke’s gospel, Jesus says that the twelve will rule over the twelve tribes of Israel after he is gone. It’s part of God’s salvation plan, so to have only eleven undermines God’s good intention. Twelve it will be. But who?

The eleven come up with two criteria: that whoever takes Judas’ spot must have been with them and with Jesus during his earthly ministry and will be a witness to the resurrected Jesus. They identify two men who meet the criteria, Matthias and Barsabbas; they pray to God to make the divine will known; and then they cast lots. They roll the dice. They make their decision.

Remember, though, that this time of transition, from the earthly ministry of Jesus to a time that would become the ministry of the apostles, was fraught. These eleven were frightened, having seen what happened to Jesus and wondering if a similar fate awaited them. They were having to make decisions pretty quickly, without as much information as they might have wanted. But it was an exciting time, too, full of possibilities.

You and I have known a year of decision making, and I’m not sure any of our decisions have been easy. Do I wear a mask, or two masks, and what kind of mask? Do I go visit my beloved and risk air travel? Do I venture into the grocery store, the doctor’s office, the classroom? For those of us on the church staff and Session, it feels like a year of making both good and bad decisions. Going to livestreaming was a good decision. Not gathering for worship was the right decision but a hard one that has had some pretty depressing consequences.

Then on Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control suddenly said, “OK, for all you vaccinated people, it is safe to resume your usual activities.” Well, they didn’t say exactly that, but close to it. And now hundreds of more decisions await all of us. On Thursday night Gregg and I went for a walk and started making a list of things we – the Session and staff – would need to make decisions about. When to open for worship? How to do Communion? Coffee hour? Childcare? Sermon talk-back, summer chapel service, singing, choirs, retreats, passing the plate, passing the peace, hybrid committee meetings… and the list goes on.

Whatever decision the Session makes, not everyone will be happy. That’s just the reality of living in community where people enjoy free will and opinions and each other’s differences. Not everyone will agree with the decisions. We pastors are somewhat used to that. But decide we must.

What if we looked to this story of the choosing of the twelfth disciple as a guide? What if we used those criteria for how we make our decisions, be they about opening up the church for in-person activities or whatever major choices face us?

Let’s remember what they did.

First, they acknowledged that things had changed, that Judas had betrayed Jesus and them and God’s plan. They admitted the hurt and harm to their community.

Then they remembered their own story, the story of God’s good intention for them, the story of all that Jesus had taught them. In remembering their story, they realized that they needed to do something – choose a new twelfth disciple.

Then they set criteria for choosing. They couldn’t abandon their identity or their story, so they would choose from someone who knew Jesus, who had heard his teachings, who had traveled with the others and had seen the miracles and the healings and heard the prayers. And they would choose someone who would accept the resurrected Jesus.

And they prayed. They prayed to their God. They said, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen.” Then they participated in the traditional practice of casting lots – not to leave it to chance, but because they understood that God’s will would be made known in that action.

We never hear about Matthias’ ministry. We never learn what happened to Barsabbas, the also-ran. Really, the decision itself ends up being a bit perfunctory; it’s trusting in God and participating in God’s work that ends up being important.

Does that help us in our decision making?

I’m going to poke the bear a little here. I think one of the biggest questions facing the Session is whether or not we will require that people be vaccinated in order to participate in in-person church. Say that’s the first decision to be made.

First, we would need to acknowledge the harm and pain that this pandemic has caused throughout the world and in our own congregation. And we acknowledge that there may be some in our community who cannot get the vaccine and some who will choose not to get the vaccine. And we acknowledge that right now, anyone under the age of 12 cannot get the vaccine.

Then we remember our story, the story of a God who welcomes all and of a God who desires healing and wholeness for all. We remember that we are beloved, and our neighbor is beloved, and our enemy is beloved too. We remember that God has imbued each of us with gifts and some with the gift of science that helps us to make informed decisions.

Then we set criteria for choosing. What is important? That anyone who wants can come to church, or that those who are safer because they are vaccinated can come? Do we choose the “two out of three” rule – that to be safe, two of three of the following must happen: be outside, wear a mask, social distance. Would worshiping in the sanctuary while wearing a mask and socially distancing be our criteria?

Then we pray. We pray for God’s guidance, for God’s will to be done, for our decision to be made in love for our neighbor, our God, and ourselves. And then, because we’re good Presbyterians, rather than cast lots, we vote. And the decision is made.

I wonder sometimes how this time of the novel COVID-19 pandemic will be remembered, especially at Westminster. Will anyone be curious about how we did things? Will it be a blip, a year of inconvenience that didn’t affect us much, or will it be seen as a turning point of some kind or another?

I don’t know. I’ve said that a lot in the last fifteen months: I don’t know. I don’t know what the Session will decide. I don’t know when 100% of the congregation will be vaccinated (but if you haven’t yet, please, please do!). I don’t know how all of this will affect us in the next year or in the next fifty years.

What I do know, or at least what I choose to believe, is that God has been with us through all of this. There is comfort in that, for me and maybe for you. And it’s been a slight balm to sense God’s presence when we have not been able to be present with one another, not in any meaningful sense.

That’s about to change, thank you. But once we are with each other, physically present to each other, let us not forget God’s presence. We need both. Unlike that Far Side cartoon, we are blessed to be with God and blessed to be with each other. I’ll choose that any day.

To the glory of God.