May 2008
Reflections - "Plan B"
Often in the world in which we live our plans do not play themselves out as desired. We live in a world where Plan A doesn’t always work out and we look to the sky wondering what are we going to do now?
What is Plan B? The central story of our faith is all about Plan B. The disciples thought that Jesus’ messianic mission would result in an overthrow of the Roman occupation and institute God’s reign on earth. But instead of God’s mission accomplished 2,000 years ago, Jesus is crucified, killed on the cross as a criminal. The disciples fled from the cross and hid in an upper room, fearful that they would be the next ones to die. So when there was a knock at their door, they cowered in the corner of the room. To their surprise the one who opened their door was not Roman soldiers but rather Jesus, alive, resurrected from the dead. Jesus, who still had the mark of nails on his hands and feet, spoke to them, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
Talk about a surprising Plan B. The disciples, now apostles, figured “Wow, now we can usher in the reign of God’s justice with Jesus leading the way, right?” Well not exactly.
Jesus would lead the way, yes. But not in the way they thought. Jesus was preparing them for his final departure in the Ascension, promising that he would be with them from then on in a spiritual way, with the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
So when Jesus ascended into heaven the apostles were once again looking up in the air saying, “What are we going to do now?” This is where God’s next Plan came into play. Jesus prays for God to protect his followers after the Ascension so that they might remain together as one even in the midst of uncounted challenges ahead. So the disciples went back to Jerusalem to pray and wait for God’s plan, which turned out to be Pentecost.
Our God is a God of infinite, new, creative plans for our lives in an unpredictable world. We realize that our God is not a God of Plan A, but a God who specializes in the impossible, the unthinkable, the unfathomable Plans B-Z, that give hope, new life and love to bewildered followers looking up in the sky saying “What are we going to do now?”
On Tuesday night, April 29th, our variance application before Bridgewater Township to expand our education wing was rejected. After the meeting several of our parishioners were asking each other and me, “What are we going to do now!” There was no immediate answer. My only response was “I guess we go to Plan B, but I am not sure any of us know what that might be.” In the meantime we have begun the appeal process in Somerset County which will take 6 to 8 months. But as for where God is calling us in this twist of reality, we will need to wait, to pray, to imagine our Plans B-Z, while listening for what God calls us to do. The Good News is that with our God there is always an Easter Plan B in the midst of death that leads to Resurrection, Ascension, and Pentecost for the church to embrace and live out.
A Baptist Minister friend of mine, Loreno tells a story from his childhood that has stayed with him his whole life. He was about 11 years old, coming home from school one day with his sister, when he saw a parade, a march, taking place in the streets of his home city of Toledo, Ohio. Loreno’s sister warned him ”You’re going to get in trouble with grandma if you join that march.”
But Loreno decided he wasn’t going to follow his normal plan that day. Instead he was going to follow the excitement, the action, the passion, the happening going on in the streets. So Loreno followed the march to downtown where he discovered that the march he joined was the Poor People’s March, made up of people from all over the country and going to Washington, D.C. to demonstrate for poor people and against the unjust and unfair treatment of people caught in the cycle of poverty.
When Loreno reached the destination of the rally in downtown Toledo, he saw busses all over the streets with people piling in for the long journey to our nation’s capitol. As Loreno stood in line and got closer to boarding the bus, he was approached by Ralph Abernathy, who was one of the leaders of the NAACP. Abernathy smiled at 11 year old Loreno and asked him, “Well, Son, are you getting on the bus?”
It has become the question of Loreno’s life. “Are you getting on the bus to change the world?” On that after-school day almost 40 years ago, Loreno did not get on the bus, because he knew he already was in big trouble with his grandma. He knew that in this situation if he got on it, his life would never be the same again. Loreno did receive a swift, harsh consequence that day from his grandma. But he also pondered the call of God’s Plan B for his life and ever since has tried to always listen and be responsive to God’s invitation to get on the bus.
In the Pentecost season we give thanks for how God protects us and provides for us always. Not just on Sundays, but also in the twists and turns of our lives. God points us away from the sky of “What are we going to do now?” and encourages us, as a community of Jesus’ followers, to pray, to wait, and discern God’s next plan, created with us to live out together. Our God is a God of Plan B where we are always invited to join the march, to stand in line, to get on God’s bus and change the world.
Happy Pentecost!
