Seek, Search, Find

(Matthew 7:7-8) "Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

Our sermons over the past number of weeks have all had to do with the closeness of God, with God reaching out to us, with God's love surrounding us, with God being with us, being "in this place," being "in our places," even when we, we did not know. Our primary artistic inspiration has been Michelangelo's "Creation" painting from the ceiling of the Sistine chapel, where God is reaching, straining, twisting, arm and hand stretching out to touch Adam, who only has to lift a finger, to touch the hand of God.

God is, in this painting, making all the effort. Adam, who represents all of us, looks only mildly interested, and seems just too, well, distracted, to make any more than the slightest effort to complete the union of God and Humanity. Well, today, we are going to see what we can do to help him - and us - along.

To do so, I am going to introduce another piece of art, again borrowing an idea from John Ortberg and his wonderful book, "God is closer than you think." The piece of art Ortberg thinks represents our spiritual journey, in addition to Michelangelo's "Creation," is by an artist of whom you likely haven't heard - Martin Handford - but whose work you've undoubtedly seen. It is a series of works, actually, works of astonishing detail and invention, whose appeal spans cultures and generations, with forty million books of his artwork sold in more than twenty-eight countries. Together, this collection is known as: "Where's Waldo."

Yes, "Where's Waldo." The answer, of course, is that Waldo is on every page, hidden, as it were, in plain view. He always looks the same - glasses, striped shirt, funny hat. You'd think he'd be easy to find. And in the early pages of any given Waldo book, he is; but as you go further, the distractions multiply, the pictures grow more complex, and next thing you know, you're laying in your six-year-old's bed, this lovely child by your side, this gift of God, this miracle of creation who has suckered you into "Where's Waldo" volume 23 as a bed-time book, and your eyes are watering and it's 10:30 at night and your little sweetheart is asking, "Find him yet, Dad?" and you're thinking that whether or not you have to pay for it now, you're going to get your eyes checked tomorrow, right after you hide all of your children's "Where's Waldo" books.

But then you glimpse him, you find him, you spot Waldo in the crowd, and suddenly you wonder how you missed seeing him at all, there he is, plain as day, there for all to see, and you feel so good about it, that when your little cherub asks if "we can do just one more, Dad," you actually agree to finding Waldo just one more time.

"God is like Waldo," says Ortberg, but I disagree. The glasses, the striped shirt, the hat, the cartoony grin - even for me, that's a bit sacrilegious, even though when you think about it, it is no more or less sacrilegious than depicting the "Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise, In Light Inaccessible, Hid From Our Eyes," as an old man in a bedsheet. Nonetheless, rather than say, "God is like Waldo," let me say, "Life is like a 'Where's Waldo' book," life is a world filled with meaningless distractions and trivia, all of which make glimpsing God, finding God, discerning the presence of God in our lives, far more difficult than it really should be, for God is right here, right here, God's presence is surrounding us at all times. But all these distractions!

It is because of the distractions, that we have to make an effort. The first thing we have to do when attempting a "Where's Waldo" book is make an effort. It's not called "Here's Waldo." It's not called "There's Waldo." It is called "Where's Waldo?" And if we don't make an effort, we're not going to find him. And life, just like a "Where's Waldo" book, requires us to make an effort as well. It is an effort which we call, "Seeking God."

Now, there are times in your life when you haven't had to seek for God; there are times in your life when God takes all the initiative, when God sort of sneaks up behind you and says "Boo," when God all of a sudden turns on all the lights and the darkness is just blown right away and we have the distinct and unmistakable feeling that we are standing in the Presence, the Capital P Presence, of something, of someone, much, much, bigger than we. Grand Canyon moments, as it were. Moments of transcendent awe. Moments when Waldo just leaps right up off the page.

When my babies were born. When my babies were baptised. When I looked over the edge of the Grand Canyon. When I first saw Saturn through a telescope. Singing "A Mighty Fortress" at my father's funeral. Watching the sun come up over the Sea of Galilee. I have my list. You have your list. But most of life is spent on days that don't make such a list. On days that don't make the list, waiting for something to happen just won't do. On days that don't make the list, we need to seek. To search. To find. Listen to Jesus:

"Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened." (Matthew 7:7-8)

You want to find God? Ask; seek; knock. And here's the good news: everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. When you make the effort, the effort will pay off. God is there. God will be found.

Maybe you think it is cruel of God to hide himself so; but God isn't hiding. It is us who've put stuff in the way. It is us who have cluttered our life and our world to the degree that we can't see further than the nose on the end of our face. Small wonder, given what we've put before our eyes and into our soul and around us in our world, that we have trouble picking God out from among all the junk.

And it isn't a new problem. Old Isaiah - and I'm talking 2700 years old Isaiah - identified it as a problem as well, way back when. Here was the solution God spoke through him:

Seek the LORD while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the LORD, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:6-9)

You want to seek, to search, to find God? Stop. Think. Change direction. Rework your thought pattern. Recognise, admit, that you've been on the wrong track, the wrong path, the wrong set of priorities. That what you feed your mind, that what you put into your head on a daily basis, isn't going to bring you close to the mind, to the heart, to the presence of God. Turn to God for forgiveness. Ask God to give you a new heart, a new start, a new beginning. Right now, you and God are operating on different wavelengths. You've got to get in tune. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD. We're out of step, out of synch, out of tune with God. Our spiritual radio is only picking up static. We need to adjust our internal dial to station C-GOD.

Seek the LORD while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the LORD, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

There was a time - oh, about 2600 years ago - when a whole country realised how badly out of tune with God they were. National life was going down the toilet, fast, and the people knew only bloodshed and violence and war. Their newspapers were filled with it, and incredibly, when reality got just too grim, they hid in their houses and turned on their TVs and watched bloodshed and violence and war just to relax. That's how out of tune they were! But in the midst of this chaos:

The spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded. He went out to meet King Asa and said to him, "Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The LORD is with you, while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you... For a long time Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law; but when in their distress they turned to the LORD, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found by them. In those times it was not safe for anyone to go or come, for great disturbances afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands. They were broken in pieces, nation against nation and city against city… But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded." (2 Chronicles 15:1-7, selection)

And the king, without even taking a poll to gauge public opinion, cleaned up his own act - changed his way, changed his thoughts - and then challenged the nation to do so as a result, and the people bought right into the plan:

They entered into a covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and with all their soul… They took an oath to the LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with horns. All Judah rejoiced over the oath; for they had sworn with all their heart, and had sought him with their whole desire, and he was found by them, and the LORD gave them rest all around. (2 Chronicles 15:12-15 NRSV)

And there was peace, for thirty-five years. That's about the longest stretch of peace in all the Bible. That's longer than we've ever experienced. Think about that. Canada has never had thirty-five years of peace. We've gone well over 100 years without a war on our own soil, but we haven't gone anywhere near thirty-five without our country, and our soldiers, being involved in one. And dying because of it. And things, if I may be so bold, aren't looking much more promising for the future, and if you think we're at peace right now, ask the parents of Canadian forces personnel - boys and girls - who are in Afghanistan and Iraq and Africa right now. Ask them how they're sleeping. Ask them about peace.

They entered into a covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and with all their soul… they had sworn with all their heart, and had sought him with their whole desire, and he was found by them, and the LORD gave them rest all around. (2 Chronicles 15:12-15 NRSV)

That sounds pretty good to me. "The Lord gave them rest all around." They entered into a covenant to seek the LORD, with all their heart and with all their soul… they had sworn with all their heart, and had sought him with their whole desire, and he was found by them, and the LORD gave them rest all around. That sounds pretty good to me.

Seek the LORD while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the LORD, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

You know, when you find Waldo, all you find is Waldo. All you find is a guy in a funny hat. When you find God, you find rest. You find peace. You find mercy. You find life. And that sounds pretty good to me. Let's make the effort, and clear away the clutter, and seek the face of God. ~ Amen.