Dr. David D Young
May 28, 2006 – Heritage Sunday
Romans 6: 1-4
Matthew 18: 1-6
“Moving Off the Bored-Walk”

Boring…

      Boring…

            Boring…

Whenever I see children – especially younger children sitting through an entire worship service – as has been the case during most of our services in May – I can’t help reflecting back on my childhood. As a youngster I can remember sitting through Sunday school and being bored. And then when I got a bit older and stayed in worship the entire time – I have to confess to playing a lot of tic-tac-toe with one of my siblings. And yes, church was boring! And now I find myself on the other side of all that – hoping church isn’t too boring - for all of you.

A few years ago I was at a meeting of all clergy – it was a conference of sorts. The first session began with a formal, lengthy presentation on long-range planning in the church. Such a process is essential in the life of any church that would seek to grow and have a vital future. However, in the case of the particular program I found myself sitting through – everything was very basic. And to tell you the honest truth, it was boring…

A number of years ago a theologian by the name of Reinhold Niebuhr made the following observation about ministers. He said, “Clergy are sort of like manure – spread them out across the land and they are very helpful and useful – but bring them all together and you’ve just got a big heap of …” Perhaps the same thing could be said about other professions – like attorneys, physicians, teachers and the sort – but far be it from me to ever suggest it.

Actually, in the case of my meeting it was good to be among peers and establish new friendships – where common concerns, challenges, and joys could be shared. And as it turned out, the meeting ended up being very fruitful. But as I said – it began by being boring…boring…boring.

Well, sensing that none of you ever get bored as I sometimes do – I still thought it might be helpful to explore how we can move off the bored-walk in our journey through life – just in case a few of us get bored from time to time.

The more I’ve thought about boredom - the more I’ve come to the realization that boredom is very often frozen anger. What I mean by that is when I find myself bored – like at the meeting I described earlier and begin to get in touch with what’s going on at a deeper level – I discover that what I’m really feeling is anger that my time is being wasted. And after all, who wants to waste time?

Now, another cause for boredom is simply having nothing to do. And I find this to be especially true for children and young people – who say things like “There’s nothing to do around here.”

I guess, in some sense it’s cool for kids to be bored. I mean they are so accustomed to being entertained and programmed. One only needs to look at the national average amount of television that kids watch to know how much they are used to being entertained. And then just ask moms and dads how much time they spend transporting their kids to and from lessons, athletics and activities. It’s a little wonder that when most kids aren’t in the midst of their busy schedules or being entertained that they find themselves bored.

This boredom – of feeling there’s nothing to do is like the frozen anger I mentioned a minute ago – in that with both there is a feeling of wasting time. Now, I know it’s probably not true in our church – but in some churches some people get bored in worship.

And so for a few moments, I would like us to consider how we can creatively move off the bored-walk by putting a slightly different twist on the way we experience and understand boredom. I am becoming increasingly convinced that one of the most wonderful gifts we can give to children is the love of boredom. For without it they have difficulty in growing to appreciate their own company.

Children who are seldom bored – seldom learn to find their own thoughts and feelings – seldom wonder about things that are beyond them – seldom stretch their imaginations and seldom develop their creative capacities. And yet it seems to be a sign of our times that many young parents literally rush to keep their children busy and entertained.

The need of course is for balance. For little happens in the inner life unless we are from time to time - bored. Some of my deepest and most heartfelt prayers come when I am bored. Artists know that many creations are born out of boredom. Having nothing to do is one of the best freedoms of all. For it is then that we must find something to do all on our own.

I would like to propose that we teach our children to value and appreciate boredom. We all need to make spaces in our lives for it – not run away from it. For kids, and perhaps us as well, we need to let them hear the magic “click” of the sound and picture devices being “turned off” – so that they might be helped to hear the corresponding “click” of creativity within their own minds.

Boredom helps the body long to move – and to fill the spaces of silence in one’s life with what comes from inside rather than filling one’s insides with stimulations from the outside. Boredom can lead to destructive or creative experiences – the choice is ours. And, so where better to teach our children boredom than in church?
We should bring them every week – if for no other reason. When they say, “I’m bored,” we can smile and say, “Yes, isn’t it wonderful? I’m so happy for you. This is the most delightfully boring place – don’t you agree?”

Then we can teach them to get lost in our stained glass windows, the bass notes of the organ, the cadence of spoken voices, the conglomeration of voices singing hymns, the smell of flowers and candles, and perhaps even the cross and what Jesus’ love means for them. In the long run, they might just thank us for it.

For in the church – they may first get the notion of being an oceanographer or a poet, a musician or a researcher or social servant. Who knows, this church might even be the place where they first learned to appreciate God within their own person. Stranger things have happened, but it won’t happen at all unless they learn to appreciate boredom.

I suspect it is true for us as well – children of all ages. Unfortunately, for some adults – worship in recent years has slipped into becoming just another hour of entertainment. And so if it doesn’t hold their interest – they become bored and disinterested.

The British Philosopher Bertrand Russell made this potent observation in the book, The Conquest of Happiness:

“A life too full of excitement is an exhausting life, in which continually stronger stimuli are needed to give the thrill that has come to be thought an essential part of pleasure. A certain power of enduring boredom is therefore essential to a happy life. A generation that cannot endure boredom will be a generation of little people.”

I am suggesting that even in our worship we need to embrace times of boredom – as a way of forcing each of us on our own to hear what God would have to say to us personally. What I am saying is that you have permission to be bored and daydream in worship and that it’s not something to feel guilty about – but something to explore. I am convinced that God can use even our boredom along with all the structure of the service to speak to us – if we will but listen.

Let’s hear again our gospel lesson that Car Westbrook read for us,

“At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them, and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”

Becoming child-like, not childish – this is our challenge today by moving off the bored-walk. And it begins with embracing our boredom in order that we might gain the child-like qualities of creativity and care, imagination and identity, learning and love, growth and giving, helping and happiness – which is after all - our joy in life.

Receiving the little children as Jesus calls us to do – is valuing, caring for and nurturing our children. And conversely, the millstone is anything that stunts, stifles or holds back the growth of all that is childlike (even if you’re 85.) On this Heritage Sunday and everyday – we as a church family are prompted by our Lord to an increased valuing of children – of all ages – of the spontaneous, beautiful growing nature of life – all to the end that as the Apostle Paul wrote in our Romans passage – “we too might walk in newness of life!”

Walter Brueggemann, renowned United Church of Christ theologian and professor wrote in his book, The Bible Makes Sense,

“The central invitation of the Bible is to embrace newness. This newness comes from God and is possible because of who God is. It is newness that we cannot invent and most often we do not think it can happen. Most of us are heavily committed to what is old and exhausted and we have quit hoping that God can do his newness among us.”

When we embrace our boredom – without even knowing it we also are embracing the potential for newness. And thus when we are moving off the bored-walk – we begin to strangely walk in newness of life – moving from death to resurrection – from dullness to fullness and joy.

In closing I would like to share a piece called, “Children Learn What They Live” by Dorothy Nolte. (adapted) And friends, this is true for our children – and for each of us in this family of faith – for we are all God’s children.

If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn.
If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight.
If a child lives with fear, he learns to be apprehensive.
If a child lives with pity, he learns to feel sorry for himself.
If a child lives with shame, he learns to feel guilty.
If a child lives with encouragement, she learns to be confident.
If a child lives with tolerance, she learns to be patient.
If a child lives with praise, she learns to be appreciative.
If a child lives with acceptance, she learns to love.
If a child lives with approval, she learns to like herself.
If a child lives with sharing, she learns about generosity.
If a child lives with honesty and fairness, she learns what truth and justice are.
If you live with serenity, your child will live with peace.

Let us pray.

Lord, awaken the child in each of us – that we might more faithfully walk with you in newness of life – in Jesus Christ. Amen!