Rev. Dr. Bary R. Fleet - Pastor
June 22, 2008 - 6th Sunday after Pentecost
Genesis 21:8-21
Romans 6:1b-11
Matthew 10:24-39
Psalm 86:1-16

Upside Down

More than 20 years ago, the engineers at Honda set out to make a contribution to society beyond their existing product lineup of cars, motorcycles and power equipment products. It was a big dream -- some thought it was simply the stuff of science fiction -- to create a humanoid robot that could walk on two legs and whose main purpose would be to help people, such as the elderly and others who were confined to a bed or a wheelchair. Ultimately, our efforts led to the creation of ASIMO, a humanoid robot, which stands for "Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility."

ASIMO is the culmination of two decades of humanoid robotics research. ASIMO can run, walk on uneven slopes and surfaces, turn smoothly, climb stairs, and reach for and grasp objects. ASIMO can also comprehend and respond to simple voice commands. ASIMO has the ability to recognize the face of a select group of individuals. Using its camera eyes, ASIMO can map its environment and register stationary objects. ASIMO can also avoid moving obstacles as it moves through its environment. And can run at 4 mph.

What ASIMO can't do is to get up when it falls over! ASIMO needs a lifeline button ... the one that you push and it communicates "I've fallen and I can't get up."

To solve the problem, engineers are turning to the animal kingdom ... specifically turtles ... to learn how a tortoise rights itself after some predator has flipped it over on its back. What the engineers are working on now is finding a way for the robot to not get knocked over in the first place ... and they're doing that by placing ballast in the bottom ... making them "bottom-heavy" ... so they are like the old "Bobo dolls" that some of us had growing up.

All of this got me to thinking about us ... about us as "humanoids. What happens to us when we get knocked down, when we fall over?

How resilient are we? How quickly are we able to bounce back up ... or even get up?

I don't usually preach from the Psalms, but here we find some pointers about getting up when we are down: The beginning is to bring our lives to God. "Incline your ear to me, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy." (Ps. 86:1)

The first three steps of the 12-Step program for recovery are just as important for life as they are for alcoholics:

Step 1 - We admit that we are powerless -- that our lives have become unmanageable.
Step 2 - We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
Step 3 - We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understand God.

I would invite us each to think of the times -- or situations -- in our lives when we have found ourselves knocked over ... and bring them to God just the way the Psalmist did ... just the way the 12-Step program counsels. We turn to God and pray: "Turn to me and be gracious to me; give your strength to your servant." (Ps. 86:16)

The other solution to being down comes from ASIMO ... don't get knocked over in the first place. When we learn to maintain a low center-of-gravity ... when we learn how to have ballast in our bottom, we bounce right back up.
Phillip Yancey wrote a book, "Where is God When It Hurts?" In it he reminds us of another important question: "Where is the church when it hurts?"

Worship is one of the stabilizing forces in our lives. I end my newsletters with: "I'll be looking for you Sunday." There is something about being regular in worship that reminds us of what we believe. During the week, we face all kinds of challenges ... there are all sorts of forces that would knock us over ... but Sunday worship is a time to right ourselves ... a time to remember the truth of God's love and God's power and God's presence.

The other part of worship is community ... seeing friendly faces ... people who care about us ... people who will listen, who will comfort. Worship is not an event -- it is an experience. Worship is people of God coming together. Worship is a place for us to get picked up ... and for us to pick up each other.

This afternoon, go back and read Psalm 86 ... and allow the words to sink in, giving us ballast to right ourselves ... giving us a perspective when our lives get turned upside down.

NOTE: Much of today's sermon is credited to a sermon entitled "Ballast in the Bottom" found at www.esermons.com, retrieved 6/17/08.

SERMON IN A SACK: Insect repellant, sunscreen. Talk about what protects us form bad things ... like God's love.