Title:
What
Does
‘Fair’
Have
To
Do
With
Anything?
Date:
Texts:
Genesis
3.14-19
John
11.28-37
Series:
When
Faith
Is
Hard:
Dreams
Destroyed
Dr.
William
M.
Smutz
It
can
be
dangerous,
I
believe,
to
share
the
story
of
a
life
experience
without
having
pondered
the
experience
for
some
period
of
time;
without
letting
it
seep
through
the
filter
of
physical
and
emotional
distance;
without
the
perspective
and
wisdom
such
filtering
can
provide…..
But
as
I
thought
about
the
idea
of
destroyed
dreams,
the
story
that
immediately
sprang
to
mind
was
the
crumbling
of
the
relationship
between
me
and
the
church
I
served
in
I
simply
share
it,
because
I
believe
it
is
illustrative
of
the
broken
dreams
that
each
and
everyone
of
us
has
experienced
at
one
time
or
another
in
our
lives….That
perhaps
some
of
us
are
experiencing
right
now…..And
I
share
this
story
because
my
journey
though
this
broken
dream
has
taught
me
deep
lessons
about
the
faithfulness
of
God….And
the
life-saving
and
hope-giving
gift
that
God
is
for
us
–
especially
in
shattered
times.
The
new
call
to
my
previous
church
began
in
the
fall
of
2002,
full
of
the
promises
and
excitement
of
new
beginnings.
I
was
the
first
new
senior
pastor
in
twenty-two
years;
and
there
was
a
sense
that
the
church
needed
to
move
in
new
directions
in
order
to
remain
vibrant
and
relevant
and
faithful.
My
predecessor
had
been
very
controlling;
running
the
church
primarily
through
the
staff
and
with
a
handful
of
trusted
members.
Armed
with
the
belief
that
Session
runs
a
Presbyterian
church,
and
trusting
in
our
polity,
I
got
to
work
training
the
Elders
to
be
Spiritual
leaders,
and
building
a
committee
structure
through
which
they
could
carry
out
their
work.
New
opportunities
to
be
involved
brought
greater
participation
from
church
members,
as
well
as
new
energy
and
a
sense
of
deeper
ownership
in
a
number
of
ministry
areas.
New
things
were
born….like
The
staff
members,
many
of
whom
were
also
members
of
the
church,
who
at
first
welcomed
greater
participation
in
programming
and
leadership
by
the
congregation,
began
to
feel
threatened.
They
were
no
longer
in
charge
of
decision
making,
and
didn’t
always
like
the
directions
that
newly
empowered
committees
wanted
to
go.
In
ways
both
subtle
and
not,
the
staff
began
to
undermine
both
the
new
efforts,
and
me
as
the
leader
of
change.
To
be
sure,
mistakes
were
made.
I
followed
the
long-term
pastor
through
an
arrangement
called
a
co-pastor
hand-off;
a
model
for
pastoral
transition
that
bypasses
the
interim
process.
It
is
a
high-risk
transition;
that
requires
the
new
pastor
to
deal
with
interim-type
issues
while
also
trying
to
be
the
long-term
minister.
After
the
fact,
I
learned
that
nearly
eighty
percent
of
co-pastor
hand
offs
fail!.
There
also
should
have
been
greater
turn-over
in
the
staff….where
many
good
people
where
deeply
stuck
in
personal
comfort
zones,
and
old
approaches
to
ministry
that
no
longer
served
the
needs
of
the
congregation.
In
attempting
to
avoid
the
conflict
such
turnover
would
have
created,
I
unwittingly
laid
the
ground
work
for
even
greater
conflict.
Just
before
my
fourth
anniversary
at
the
church,
the
conflict
began.
The
small
group
of
Elders
and
staff
that
had
run
the
church
under
my
predecessor,
revolted.
They
tied
to
take
Session
over
and
failed.
Their
next
step
was
a
rumor
campaign
involving
unsigned
emails,
vicious
gossip,
and
secret
meetings.
Their
tactics
were
tearing
the
church
apart;
and
within
four
months
I
knew
my
ability
to
be
an
effective
pastor
for
that
congregation
was
gone,
and
I
presented
Session
with
an
exit
plan.
The
dreams
that
were
destroyed
for
me
were
both
personal
and
professional…..and
they
were
many.
My
family
felt
need
to
leave
that
congregation,
and
did
so,
nearly
seven
months
before
I
did.
My
oldest
two
sons
feel
betrayed
by
the
church
in
which
they
were
raised,
and
I
don’t
know
if
they’ll
ever
come
back.
The
desire
to
have
our
children
all
graduate
from
the
same
high
school;
the
community
we
possibly
saw
ourselves
retiring
in;
the
friendships
we
formed
–
all
gone.
I’m
not
one
who
likes
to
fail
in
the
things
I
do….and
the
frustration
at
not
being
able
to
fix
what
was
broken,
and
the
corresponding
sense
of
personal
failure,
have
been
bitter
pills
to
swallow.
I
think
the
shattering
is
mostly
over
now,
but
the
experience
is
still
too
close
to
view
with
complete
understanding.
Both
of
today’s
scripture
lessons
tell
the
story
of
dreams
broken,
and
unexpected
outcomes.
Adam
and
Eve
are
the
ones
who
at
first
glance
in
our
Genesis
story
suffer
the
loss
of
dreams.
They
are
banished
from
the
garden,
and
God’s
presence;
with
a
future
of
turmoil
and
conflict
and
hard
labors
to
look
forward
to.
The
serpent
doesn’t
really
get
off
lightly
either,
but
it
is
just
a
snake,
so
we
don’t
care
as
much!
What
strikes
me,
however,
in
this
story,
is
that
it
is
God
who’s
dreams
are
most
shattered.
God
has
spoken
an
amazing
creation
into
existence;
and
in
the
man
and
the
woman,
has
created
conversation
partners
after
God’s
own
likeness.
In
the
human
turning
away
from
God,
in
the
human
choosing
the
knowledge
of
good
and
evil
over
trust
in
God,
God’s
dreams
for
creation
are
shattered
and
forever
altered.
Mary
is
certainly
shattered
by
the
death
of
her
brother
in
our
John
lesson…..And
even
more
than
this
deep
personal
loss,
we
see
also
the
shattering
of
who
she
though
Jesus
was
–
if
you
had
been
here,
my
brother
would
not
have
died,
she
says!
We
see
also
Jesus’
loss.
He
weeps
for
his
good
friend
who
is
no
more.
He
weeps
for
the
hurt
and
disappointment
he
feels
he
has
caused
Mary.
He
may
even
weep
for
the
potential
cost
of
the
action
he
is
contemplating.
For
in
John’s
Gospel
it
is
Jesus’
raising
of
Lazarus
from
the
dead
that
sets
the
religious
authorities
on
the
quest
to
kill
him.
Each
of
our
stories
concludes
with
a
surprising
response
to
dreams
shattered.
Adam
and
Eve
have
crossed
the
line
for
which
God
has
promised
death
–
“but
of
the
tree
of
the
knowledge
of
good
and
evil
you
shall
not
eat,
for
in
the
day
that
you
eat
of
it,
you
shall
die.”
While
they
will
come
to
know
much
that
is
unpleasant
for
their
prideful
actions,
God
cannot
ultimately
punish
them
with
death….The
creatures
mean
so
much
to
God,
that
God
adjusts
the
rules
rather
than
end
the
relationship.
In
similar
fashion,
Jesus’
response
to
Mary’s
tears
and
hurt
is
the
raising
of
Lazarus
–
an
act
of
grace
that
will
cost
him
dearly.
The
divine
response
in
each
instance
is
not
abandonment
to
the
logical
outcomes
of
human
behavior
and
grief…..But
is
instead,
a
gift
of
presence.
The
divine
response
doesn’t
undo
what
is
done,
doesn’t
un-shatter
the
dreams
that
have
been
broken
apart….But
the
very
fact
that
God
doesn’t
abandon
Adam
and
Eve;
that
Jesus
comes
to
his
friends
in
their
deep
brokenness,
is
indicative,
I
believe,
of
how
God
cares
for
us
when
our
dreams
are
shattered.
God
stays
with
us
in
our
deepest
despair.
God
does
not
abandon
us
in
our
greatest
foolishness.
God
remains
by
our
side
when
all
else
is
lost.
God
invites
us
to
use
our
knowledge
of
how
much
shattered
dreams
hurt
to
stand
by
one
another.
As
I
said
earlier,
there
hasn’t
been
enough
time
to
fully
comprehend
or
process
the
extent
of
the
shattering
that
I
and
my
family
experienced
in
There
is
a
new
call;
old
friendships
continue
and
new
ones
are
created;
community
does
not
die;
knowledge
painfully
gained
has
the
possibility
of
becoming
wisdom.
Our
invitation
today
is
two-fold:
if
we
are
in
the
midst
of
great
shattering,
we
are
invited
to
trust
that
God
will
not
abandon
us
even
for
a
moment.
And
if
we
see
or
know
someone
whose
dreams
are
shattering
all
around
them,
we
are
invited
and
expected
to
be
a
very
tangible
representative
of
God’s
presence;
making
a
difference
through
our
care
and
with
our
love.
In
this
season
of
Easter,
when
we
celebrate
the
gift
of
new
life
that
arose
from
God’s
shattered
dreams,
let
us
give
thanks
that
God
is
never,
ever
done
with
us…..And
let
us
make
sure
that
we
never
let
go
of
each
other!
Amen!!!