Creekside Church Sermon of February 17, 2008 "Works in Progress" 1 John 3:1-3	Rev. David Bibbee
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There is evidence that our primate cousins, the chimpanzees, also have self-awareness. Researchers observed the behavior of chimps looking at their reflections in a mirror. It was assumed that in their mind they were simply seeing a fellow chimp, and not a reflection of themselves.

One chimp was sedated and a red dot was placed on its forehead. The researchers wondered how the chimp would react to the different reflection. What happened amazed them. The chimp looked at its reflection and touched the red dot -- not the dot it saw in the mirror, but on its own forehead! The chimps could differentiate between themselves and fellow chimps.

In the scheme of creation God reserved a unique niche for us. We alone have the awareness and the knowledge that I am I and you are you and we are in life, together.

We do not just exist. We know we exist. But knowledge doesn't give us life. The philosopher Descartes said, "I think, therefore I am." But just because we are think and feel does not mean we will get around to answering one of life's most fundamental questions.

As life unfolds, there are identity questions asked of us along the way. It starts very early with, "Where's you nose? Where's your belly?" Then we're asked, "What's your name?" "How old are you?" Then its, What grade are you in? What do you want to be when you grow up? What's your major? What do you do for a living? But there is a bigger question awaiting our answer.

In Alice in Wonderland there is odd scene where Alice meets a caterpillar. Her self-contained, unexamined life gets all unsettled by this strange insect sitting on a toadstool, wearing a hat and smoking a pipe. In a condescending tone he asks Alice, "Who are you?" It was a question for which she was unprepared.

I suspect it's a question that most of us, when asked, feel unprepared to answer. Who are you? It cannot be answered on the fly, like responding to, "How have you been?" You know what you're supposed to say. "I've been fine-- just fine." Then you get on with the conversation -- whether you have been fine or not.

"Who are you?" is different. You can't just blurt something out. You must stop and think. Depending on the tone of the question, it may seem like they are looking for inconsistencies in your story. You may feel like a suspect at the police station being grilled by detectives in the interrogation room. It intimidates, confuses, and leaves us fumbling for words because the question requires an answer. Chimpanzees may be self-aware, but Tarzan never asked Cheetah, "Who are you?" We alone must answer this question.

Some of you may remember an exercise from a church retreat several years ago. We paired up in twos and took turns asking, "Who are you?" We didn't ask and answer just once, but over and over for one full minute. "Who are you?" "I'm David, the son of Ruth and Joe." "Who are you?" "I'm the father of Lisa and John." "Who are you?" "I'm a pastor." The question kept coming and after fifteen seconds the answers seemed exhausted. Try it and see how far you get before the responses grow thin.

You've heard the expression, "We are human beings, not human doings." Yet it is so easy to equate who we are with what we do. Remember the old nursery rhyme-

Rub-a-dub-dub
Three men in a tub,
And who do you think they be?

The butcher, the baker,
The candlestick maker,
They all jumped out of a rotten potato!
Turn 'em out knaves all three.

Years are spent learning skills for the work we spend so much of our lives doing. So much is invested in our work that we get lost in the process. Livelihood gets confused with personhood. Sabrina is a teacher. Jim is a fireman. Diane is a nurse. Tim is a doctor. Mike is a mechanic. There are other roles they fill -- they have families, enjoy hobbies and other pursuits, belong to the church, and mow the lawn. But they are too often seen for what they do.

A middle-aged woman had a heart attack, and was rushed to the hospital for emergency open-heart surgery. During the procedure she went into cardiac arrest and had near-death experience. Bathed in the searing light of God's glory she and asked, "Am I about to die?" "No," God said. "You will live another 40 years."

As she was about to be released, she decided to stay in the hospital for a face-lift, liposuction, augmentation, and a tummy tuck. A beautician come in and changed her hair color. The way she figured, since she had another 40 years she might as well make the most of it.

After the last operation she left the hospital. Tragically, while crossing the street she was struck by an EMS truck speeding up to the hospital and she died. Once again she was before God. She confronted the Creator -- "Would you please explain what's going on? For crying out loud--you said I had another 40 years!" God replied, "I'm terribly sorry about that… I didn't recognize you."

We need not fret about God not recognizing us, or far worse, forgetting us altogether. Each of us is an original, unrepeatable work, crafted by the Master Artist. In the King James Version of Psalm 103 it says: "He knows our frame." It means, "God knows how we are made"(Psalm 103: 14). Our concern is not whether God knows us -- but will we know ourselves as we are known and claim our God-given identity?

There was a popular band back in the 1970's with an unbecoming name-Supertramp. They recorded The Logical Song, which suggests how society forces an identity ON US and where it LEADS US.

When I was young, it seemed that life was so wonderful,
A miracle, oh it was beautiful, magical.
And all the birds in the trees, well they'd be singing so happily,
Joyfully, playfully watching me.
But then they send me away to teach me how to be sensible,
Logical, responsible, practical.
And they showed me a world where I could be so dependable,
Clinical, intellectual, cynical.

There are times when all the worlds asleep,
The questions run too deep
For such a simple man.
Won't you please, please tell me what we've learned
I know it sounds absurd
But please tell me who I am.

Now watch what you say or theyll be calling you a radical,
Liberal, fanatical, criminal.
Wont you sign up your name, we'd like to feel you're
Acceptable, respecable, presentable, a vegtable!

At night, when all the worlds asleep,
The questions run so deep
For such a simple man.
Wont you please, please tell me what weve learned
I know it sounds absurd
But please tell me who I am.
          "Logical Song" by Supertramp

Who are you? No matter how recognized and respected you are in your work, YOU ARE NOT WHAT YOU DO. Neither are you what others want you to be.

One day I came to a realization… or was it a revelation? I'm not sure which, but I didn't come without help. It took a skilled, caring counselor and an insightful spiritual director. Long as I could remember, I had difficulty answering a simple question. "David, what do you want?" But if it was such a simple question, why did I have such a hard time answering it? Instead of giving a simple yes or no I would say, "Oh, I don't know. What do you want to do?"

Rather than run the risk of saying what I thought or what I wanted, I took my cues from others. I had a fantasy that a super-confident person would come along and speak on my behalf. He would say yes or no for me. He would declare what I wanted. In the absence of a stand-in with a spine, I forfeited myself and did what I knew best. I went along with the wishes of others, though deep within I knew it was dishonest and not what I desired.

I wanted to be liked. I wanted the approval of others. I did whatever it took to please people and make things run smoothly. Churches like that in their pastor, you know. God does not.

I avoided in-depth sharing. I wanted to run for the door when the "Who are you?" question came up. I didn't give straight answers. I forfeited my identity. No one answered the knock at my door because no one was home. I could tell you who others were, but when it came to knowing David Bibbee I was at a loss. It left me disappointed, frustrated, and angry. It took me a long time to realize that my identity rests in God, and not in what others may think I should be or do.

It is not good to believe you are what you do. It is not good to believe you are defined by other's expectations. And it is not good to believe that you are the sum total of your life's experiences. We all have checkered pasts, especially those among us who think they don't. How tragic it is when I hear people answer "Who are you?" with apologies and regrets and excuses for the sins, failures, and faults of their past.

Our identity rests upon a relationship. Our friend Saint Iranaeus prayed: "If then you are the work of God, await the hand of the artist who does all things in due season." By virtue of our adoption by God we are, all of us, works in progress.

Yes, the families we've come from, the things we've learned, our work, the accumulated experiences of our past, the relationships have and have had -- all are part of us. But thank goodness we are more than all of this.

Our true and final identity rests with Someone else. Peter Gomes says, "You and I are not identified by where we have been, or where we are, but by where we are going." The answer to the question, "Who are you?" is this: We are followers of Jesus Christ.

We are on The Way. We are pilgrims on a journey that will fully and finally lead us to great and good things in the future that is prepared for us by Jesus who walks the road before us. Let the handprint on the bulletin cover reminds us that the imprint of God is upon us.

"Who are you?" The Epistle of 1 John tells it like it is: "See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God". This is what we are.

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