Gettysburg Presbyterian Church

Sherpas of Faith
Gettysburg Presbyterian Church
Luke 2: 41-52
May 29, 2011 (Confirmation Commissioning)
Rev. Lou Nyiri

58 years ago today, May 29 1953, days before the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, two men, Sir Edmund Hillary and his climbing companion, Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reached the peak of Mount Everest. Chomolungma, to its people, Mount Everest is the highest place on earth, standing tall at 29,028 feet.
58 years ago today, long before any of our confirmands took their first breath, on May 29 1953, these two men became the first human beings to accomplish this feat.

In this achievement, Geography was not furthered, scientific progress was scarcely hastened, and nothing new was discovered. Yet their names went instantly into all languages as the names of heroes, partly because they really were men of heroic mold but chiefly because they represented so compellingly the spirit of their time.

Everything of the early 1950s was changing.
Old powers were falling, new ones were rising, and places like Asia and Africa were stirring into self-awareness.
At that time, the world was still staggering from World War II, which had ended less than a decade before. Something hopefully we are all reminded of this Memorial Day weekend as we remember the men & women throughout our nation who have paid the ultimate sacrifice to secure many freedoms we so often take for granted.

In the midst of this social milieu, two men - one a professional beekeeper, the other - a professional mountaineer from the Sherpa community of Everest’s foothills traveled to the Himalayas and climbed the tallest mountain.
They were, in all reality, an oddly assorted pair.
Hillary was tall, lanky, big-boned and long-faced, and he moved with the grace of a giraffe.
Tenzing was by comparison a Himalayan fashion model: small, neat, rather delicate, yet with the confident movements of a cat.
While Hillary grinned; Tenzing smiled. Hillary guffawed; Tenzing chuckled.
Neither seemed anxious by anything; on the other hand, neither went in for unnecessary bravado.

They ascended the mountain as two easy-going men…they descended back into society and became heroes.
They were not, though, heroes of the old epic kind, ones dedicated to colossal purposes - tight jawed, stiff upper lip.
Rather, they were cheerful, courageous people doing what they liked doing, and doing what they did best.

For their achievement, both were showered with worldly honors, which they graciously accepted.
Both became the most celebrated citizens of their respective countries and went around the world on their behalf.
Both devoted much of their lives to the happiness of an unprivileged segment of humanity, Tenzing’s people: the Sherpas, true natives of the Everest region.
Tenzing, who died in 1986, became their charismatic champion and a living model of their potential.
Before his death in January 2008, Hillary spent years in their country supervising the building of airfields, schools and hospitals and making the Sherpas' existence better known to the world. The two of them rose above celebrity status to stand up for people who generally cannot spare the time or energy, let alone the money, to mess around in mountains.

The New Zealand Prime Minister, Helen Clark, said of Hillary at his death, "Sir Ed described himself as an average New Zealander with modest abilities. In reality, he was a colossus. He was a heroic figure who not only 'knocked off' Everest but lived a life of determination, humility, and generosity."

Even Hillary in a 2003 interview said it was his charity work and not the Everest ascent which gave him the most pride. "I find it all rather sad," Hillary said. "I like to think of Everest as a great mountaineering challenge, and when you've got people just streaming up the mountain - well, many of them are just climbing it to get their name in the paper. ... It's all [for show] on Everest these days."

So, once again, I ask, why is this important?

Well, it has been said of mountain climbing, “the real point is it voluntarily tests the human spirit against the fiercest odds, not that it achieves anything more substantial--or even wins the contest, for that matter. For the most part, its heroism is of a subjective kind.”

Sounds like this statement could be said of life.
It’s like John Lennon said, “Life is what happens to you when you’re making other plans.”

Edmund Hillary and Norgay Tenzing were men who thought that just being the first to climb a hill was hardly qualification for immortality; perhaps though they instinctively realized destiny (or providence as I like to call it) had another place for them. They both became, in the course of time, representatives not just of their particular nations but of half of humanity. They came to stand for the small nations of the world, the young ones, the tucked-away and the up-and-coming.

It is into such a world that our confirmation class students have confirmed their faith.
It is into such a world that these students have been commissioned to live out their faith.

And so on this confirmation-commissioning Sunday, I have a few thoughts to share with our confirmation class students AND for all people of faith – because as we discussed in class this year – “Confirmation is not graduation FROM the community of faith…it is graduation INTO ownership of one’s participation within the community of faith.”

First, may the words spoken about Jesus, which closed our Gospel reading this morning be your guiding principle, with slight modification,
“Find ways to allow yourself to increase in wisdom and in divine and human favor.”

Now, notice I didn’t say, “Find ways to be Jesus.”
I said, “Find ways which allow you to increase in wisdom and in divine and human favor.”
You don’t have to be the Messiah – in fact, none of us can be the Messiah.
Yet, we all can seek to learn more about this one into whose teaching you placed your faith this morning – this one we call Lord & Savior – Jesus the Christ.

A couple, on honeymoon in New Zealand, sat in their car staring at the primitive bridge in front of them. They were unsure if they should attempt to drive their car over the bridge. They thought it was strong enough, they just weren’t sure. As they sat their pondering their circumstance, the guide who accompanied them got out of the car and inspected the bridge to see whether it was strong enough.
He determined the bridge to be strong enough so they safely crossed over.

Notice what the guide did – he did not inspect their faith in the bridge – he inspected the bridge.

Too often we look at our faith and we think it’s either strong or it’s weak.
Sometimes we get caught up in inspecting our faith and comparing it to the faith of those around us, we forget to inspect the Bridge.
Rather than look to ourselves – maybe we would do well to look to the One in whom we place our faith –for that is where our strength lies.

Our calling as Christians is NOT to be savior of the world.
Our calling as Christians is to be living witnesses who point to the ONE who brings salvation, healing and wholeness into corporate and individual lives.

Which brings me to my second thought – you can’t keep this faith to yourself.

People will be amazed at your stories of faith – (whether you’re in the confirmation class, seated in the pew right now, reading it home or listening to it online) – the only pre-requisite to making this statement a reality is you’ve got to share your story.
It’s like having a great song on your iPod playlist – it doesn’t do the people around you all that much good to know you’re listening to a great song if you never take the ear buds out.
If you want people to hear the music, you’ve got to share the song.

Because the good news is that we have something to share which can change lives.
We live in a time when far too often people forget to hope.
We live in a time when headline news features bad-news stories: Tsunamis & earthquakes, unemployment & homelessness, poverty & war…the list goes on.
We live in a time when the stark opening words to John Lennon’s Imagine sound like they’re coming true, “Imagine there’s no heaven…it’s easy if you try. Imagine all the people…living for today.”

Our job as Christians is to share a word of hope.
To show those around us that as faithful people that we don’t live in this world with blinders on. We know bad things can happen and sometimes those bad things happen to good people. Yet, as faithful people, we know that “While we do not know what tomorrow holds…We know the one and put our trust and faith in the one who holds our tomorrows in His hands.”
You’ve got to find ways to share it.
Engage with the world around you.

Think about the text this morning – when his parents found him – Jesus was sitting in the temple – engaged in a faith conversation.
He was asking questions.
He was answering questions.
He was sharing the story.
And people were amazed at his understanding and his answers.

Ask questions.
Answer openly and honestly the questions asked of you.
That’s where growth occurs – when we honestly wrestle with the questions in faithful response to who it is God calls us to be in this world.

Most of the youth have already heard this old joke (and maybe some of you have too). It’s about a Sunday school teacher who said to the class, “Today we’re going to play a game. I’m going to describe to you an animal and I want you to tell me what it is. I’m thinking of a small animal that is gray and furry. This animal has a bushy tail and stores nuts for the winter. Can anyone guess the animal?”
A hand raises and a voice says, “I think it’s a squirrel but I’m going to say, ‘Jesus.’”

Don’t settle for easy answers.
Rather, ask the right questions.
This faith which you confirm and to which you are commissioned is more than simply having neatly packaged church answers.

“Faith,” says theologian Edward Schillebeeckx, “is a relationship. Faith is a gift. [It] is a goad to our thinking. Faith doesn’t tell us what to think nor is [it] something already thought out for us.”

Engage your faith by engaging in the relationship.
Share your faith by sharing with others how God’s story has intersected your story.
Talk about it with friends and family – if that’s your style.
If starting a conversation about faith is not in your comfort zone, how about simply living it out and when someone asks you why you live the way you do, then talk about it.

Lastly, remember you are not alone in this endeavor.
You have a companion – you have a guide.
When Edmund Hillary ascended Everest he did not go it alone.
He had a guide in his Sherpa Tenzing Norgay.

Sherpas are highly regarded mountaineers.
They are experts in their local terrain.
They know which ropes will hold you.
They know which routes to take.
They know how far you need to go in an afternoon to keep the pace and stay on target.
They also know the dangers of things like altitude sickness and keep an eye out for the signs, reminding climbers, “Your western riches will do you no good up here, where a helicopter cannot land.”

There is one thing a mountain guide won’t do; they won’t leave you alone during the journey.
The guide is with you all the time during the expedition.
The guide is with you not only when the path is steep and full of dangers but also when it is easy and straight.
The guide takes you out and brings you back home again.

Jan Morris accompanied the 1953 British Everest Expedition, and wrote the following with regard to Sherpa Tenzing Norgay & Sir Edmund Hillary,
“I liked these men very much when I first met them on the mountain nearly a half-century ago, but I came to admire them far more in the years that followed. I thought their brand of heroism--the heroism of example, the heroism of debts repaid and causes sustained--far more inspiring than the gung-ho kind. Did it really mean much to the human race when Everest was conquered for the first time? Only because there became attached to the memory of the exploit, in the years that followed, a reputation for decency, kindness and stylish simplicity. Hillary and Tenzing [made that happen] when they [climbed Evererst].”

It was not in the act of climbing and returning from Everest that made the difference – though that was a major accomplishment.

It was in how Edmund Hillary & Tenzing Norgay lived their lives afterward that really made the difference – in their lives and the lives they encountered.

The same can be said for people of faith – no matter their age – no matter if today is your Confirmation-Commissioning or yours was many, many years ago.

If we will commit to living changed lives after taking big steps in our faith, then our commitment and our interaction in the world can and by God’s grace will go on to produce big results – life-changing results.

To the eight members of our confirmation-commissioning class I say, “Today is your day. Enjoy it. Live into it. Celebrate it. Both, today and into the future.

And to God and God alone be the Glory…now and forever…Amen & Amen.

Benediction
AS we descend the mountain of worship this morning and go back into the places we reside, may we go forth following the guide, living lives that matter to the world, not because we’ve climbed this mountain, rather because we have chosen to enter back into life changed people who use our God given gifts to share good news.

(Edward Schillebeeckx insists on this in his The Understanding of Faith (Seabury 1976).