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Written by The Presbyterian Outlook
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Sunday, 10 January 2010 16:49 |
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Friends, Presbyterians, people of God – I come to bury Frozen Chosen, not praise him.
Alas, poor Frozen! I knew him well. Born on the closing day of the Synod of Dort, he lived a long, long life and, it can be argued by some, accomplished much. In keeping with the tried and true three-point sermon style Frozen Chosen so greatly admired, let us now remember three of his accomplishments.
Frozen Chosen’s first accomplishment was to firmly establish a mindset in the church that it was created to be an immovable object, such as a stone or mountain. “If God is all powerful, can God create a stone that God cannot lift?” Well, Frozen Chosen used to ask, “Can God create a people that God cannot move?” At times, it seemed so. Change occurred at a snail’s pace and, it would seem that the church would do the same old thing the same old way for hundreds of years.
His second accomplishment was his audacious ability to use his own name for a catchphrase – a catchphrase that has dogged the Presbyterian Church lo these 390 years. An Internet query links “frozen chosen” with “Presbyterians” in one fateful search. Anyone in the world with a computer connected to the Internet can make a similar search. Now, the entire world can know that Presbyterians are called “The Frozen Chosen!” Is this to be our only claim to fame?
Frozen Chosen was very reserved, often described by his friends as quiet, unpretentious, not given to loud outbursts or sudden movements that might rock the boat. Thankfully, there has been no detectable movement – so careful was Mr. Chosen. The church moved judiciously along under its own steam (admittedly, with some help from the Holy Spirit) for many years.
(Friends, Presbyterians, people of God — in case your keen sense of irony could not tell thus far into this “funeral” sermon that my tongue has been planted firmly in cheek, allow me to remove said tongue and say this: God calls us to be a people open not to the possibility, but to the certainty, that Frozen Chosen is not what or who we are called to be. There is good news in this — thankfully, with God there always is.)
And now to my third point — Mr. Frozen Chosen’s third accomplishment was this — he died. In death, he accomplished that which he never could have accomplished in life. He freed us from himself and faded away like a bad dream or poor state of mind. Though some mourn his passing, the church is actually a little – no, a lot – better off.
Thankfully, we believe in the God who called Jesus Christ forth from the grave to grant us forgiven, abundant, joyful, and grace-filled lives. Thankfully, we do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit who thaws us out and fills us with this very life. The people of the church share the genuine warmth of that same Spirit. Members of our churches depart worship on Sundays with a lightness of countenance and a zest for life, as if unbound from an icy river after a long, cold winter — free to go out to serve God with purpose and passion. Oh, the church still has its struggles, but we not only believe in resurrection — we expect it — and we trust that our God is a God who moves mountains and moves a people to look forward, not backward.
Let us give thanks for the life of Frozen Chosen, for we are a forgiven people who can learn from our mistakes. But let us not dwell on Frozen Chosen for too long.
Listen: This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are” (Romans 8:12-16 – The Message).
And who are we? Thankfully, since he’s dead and gone – and was never real to begin with – we’re not “The Frozen Chosen” anymore. Perhaps we’re “The Warm Swarm” or “The Purposeful and Passionate Presbyterians,” or “The Gifted and Genially Grace-filled Gathering of God’s Groupies.” Whatever people call us, let us call ourselves sisters and brothers — children of the living God — who can get on with our new life in Christ Jesus. May we embrace this new life. May we turn to God in an unfrozen manner, with willing and hopeful hearts. May we look to God with joyful expectancy and say, “What’s next?”
JOHN SAWYER is associate pastor of Northminster Church, Macon, Ga.
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The Presbyterian Church is filled with introspective, contemplative, introverted people who are able to exercise their many gifts (quietly) in a tradition that values what they bring. I count myself among that faithful crowd, and I believe we deserved a bit better than we got in this essay.