The Art Of Opening To The Mystery:
"Stumped…or Rooted?"
Luke 21: 25-36; Jeremiah 33; 14-16; Isaiah 11: 1-10
December 3, 2006 First Sunday of Advent

The art of opening to the mystery.
Fancy yourself an artist….for this is surely what each of us is…a life artist. The root meaning of the word "art" comes from "ar" means to join, fit together, to sense and articulate. All we are is about trying to join together the aspects of our lives so they fit…make sense…we seek to make sense of what is and what can be…which gets articulated it in all we do….consciously or not. Life is an art.

Opening to God is a life art. Before you can open, you have to be willing to open…. Be opened, willing to make a space for something new in our lives which often means letting go of something old…something that doesn’t fit…that keeps life from coming together and keeps us from articulating that which we really desire…really can be.

In these next weeks we explore the art, the nuances of being a human being standing in a new light, the light of Christ….and stepping into the mystery of how much God loves us….God loves you! …and what God is up to in each of our lives….your life!

And in today’s scriptures….it seems odd to me for a stump to be mentioned...a stump…like this one? ....well, this is not exactly the stump of Jesse...it's a stump from my old backyard. I've always been fascinated by trees and stumps.....by the number of rings you can count within the circumference of a tree which tell its age....and its story.

This stump....well, it’s not anything like I'd expect the stump of Jesse to look....the stump Jesus came from. Of course, I know it's not a real tree Jesus came from.....but a family tree.....and yet I wonder what real trees can tell us about family trees......about life and death and renewed life....especially during Advent. I wonder what story a stump could tell, what it knows about life, about mystery, about the art of opening to the mystery of life in God. What do you think it could tell?

We may have been hoping for angels and trumpets and shepherds and wise guys….may have hoped to receive such a sign at least once before Christmas to be sure God is indeed with us! Instead, we get a stump! But then again, Jesus calls us to look to nature to see God is real and look within to see how we’re weighed down and worried…noticing worry within? It’s a sign you’re falling into a trap. Jeremiah and Isaiah’s sign for us is to remember from where it is we come, and let this propel us into a new future. And, to be mindful God does judge by what eyes see or decide by what ears hear, but judges and decides with justice and equity for the meek, and makes amazing new realities happen within in us…when we open…if we could only open to the mystery of God!

The art of opening to the mystery….maybe it does indeed have something to do with the notion of new shoots sprouting from old stumps....in fact, new shoots sprout best from a tree if the tree has been cut off. But this stump was cut off.....and uprooted....no new shoots are going to come from it! So.....new shoots only come from the stumps.....if they stay rooted.

Sounds like a metaphor to me! One of the arts of opening? Staying rooted?

There are sure a lot of times in my life when I've been stumped! What to do? How to respond? How to stay alive when I've been cut off at ground level and all my best branches and greenery thrown away. I've felt as dead inside as this poor stump looks on the outside. And sometimes....I haven't grown back.

In fact, if I think about it....the only times I've ever been able to grow back are when I have stayed aware of the fact I am rooted in something much bigger and more important and powerful than I am and the situation is! It's only when I've realized I can't do it on my own and resisted pulling back and isolating myself (uprooting myself)...it's only when I've stayed grounded in the belief God is still with me and I'm important to God....even in my pain and failure...even when I feel cut off from life...stumped by life...it's only then I've been able to sprout new branches of life.

.....like the time I went unemployed and couldn't figure out what was so wrong with me and cried out loud to God....and then God brought me, quite by chance, to Tippe! Or the time I could not figure out how to help Nick when he was so upset as a little boy.....and God invited me to figure out myself….and support Nick instead of fix Nick. Oh, yeah....and the time a couple of years ago I tried to figure out how to handle the budget deficit and began to panic because I couldn't.....and then God tapped me on the shoulder and said, "It's not you're problem Karen.....trust the people to do what they believe."

Yeah, you have to stay rooted.....especially when you've been cut off.....stumped.

People have cut God off and out for centuries….still do….God knows "stumped"....and God sprouted up again and again until finally God figured it out......"Oh, if I move from the voice of prophets to the babe in a manger and actually live with them, showing them the way, maybe then.....these shoots of new life will finally take root in them. Let this be a sign unto them…an invitation to open.

And so God came from the stump of Jesse....David's dad.....not from David the King but from his dad, Jesse the shepherd. And with God's coming came hope and new ways….a way to balance out the wolf and lamb within, a way to let the child within lead us to God's Holy Mountain....the new Eden. God will tame within us what is wild and show us a way to integrity and the fruits of faithfulness....when we stay rooted….open to the mystery.

Oh....I'm beginning to get this stumped stuff, now. Wow! And let's see....what is it that rises from old stumps......new shoots.....why, of course! The new shoot that came from Jesse's stump can never be cut off again.....because the new shoot is Jesus and Jesus is with us always...cannot be uprooted from within us, not even by us....Jesus is the vine of life....remember...."I am the vine, you are the branches....Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit.....because apart from me (uprooted!) you can do nothing.....you will feel thrown away like a branch and wither....but if you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." ...if you'll notice. One of those arts of opening? If you’ll remember…

• When I am stumped, remember where I am rooted.
• If I'm cut down, remember where my life is always renewed.
• When I am feeling threatened, remember to ask for what I need
• If I am left feeling alone, remember I am connected to the true vine of life....Jesus! And Jesus is made real in community…here. Come here.

Sometimes our hearts are so weighed down and watered down, so disillusioned, so filled with worries, we feel trapped. We may be so blinded by our own misery and struggles and self-talk, we fail to see the time is at hand for things to be different. The lamb and the lion within can lay down together…it is indeed time.

I wonder if remembering all this "stump stuff" is part of the art to opening, preparing for the birth of Jesus again this year. …a working art to staying alive, especially during this busy time of year. What will Jesus grow in me this year? Does it have something to do with the stumps of my life and what God most deeply wants for me despite my feeling cut off. How has life prepared me to say Yes to new life? I wonder what new shoots God longs to grow from the old stumps of my life....if only I will let God take root in me? ….if only I will open to the mystery.