Call to Worship (Charity Children’s Home, Calcutta)
Take time to think;
It is the source of power.
Take time to play;
It is the secret of eternal youth.
Take time to laugh;
It is the music of the soul.
Take time to pray;
It is the greatest power on earth.

Unison Prayer
Gracious Lord, it is hard for us to trust each other and to trust you.  Loved ones let us down; friends fade from view; strangers make us nervous.  We yearn for human contact, but are afraid of getting hurt.  Help us to place our trust in you and to open ourselves to others.  Remind us that we are not alone.  Amen.

Words of Assurance: Psalm 56:3-4, Good News Bible
When I am afraid, O Lord Almighty, I put my trust in you. I trust in God and am not afraid; I praise him for what he has promised. What can a mere human being do to me?

The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.  Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil; for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever.  Amen.

Opening Song: Lauren Daigle, “Trust In You”

Scriptures: Isaiah 26:3-4, NIV and Proverbs 3:5-6, Good News Bible
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.  Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know. Remember the Lord in everything you do, and he will show you the right way.

Sunday Sermon

I wrote this sermon in the IRS office.

I received a letter saying that I needed to prove my identity. I wasn’t able to do it online or on the phone, so I had to come into the office. And of course I thought of Karim. And I asked myself if I really trusted the government. Did I trust them to make decisions on my behalf, to operate in my best interests, to be moral?

It was surreal to sit in an office while someone else tried to prove that I was real, that I was me. It was hard to trust that things were going to work out. I wondered, who am I if I’m not me? If I’m not me, or if no one can prove that I am anyone, do I still owe taxes?

Later that night, because for some reason I decided to put all my stress on the same day, I took the required annual 3-hour Sexual Ethics and Training course. Ethics training asks us if we can trust other human beings. The requirement is largely based on mistrust, fear, lawsuits and liability. It assumes that we will be on our worst behavior if untrained, and that if we are not reminded every year not to abuse others, we might forget.

This attitude can lead us down a slippery slope. You may have heard about the woman last year who said that she never returned a shopping cart because she was afraid while she did so her children might be kidnapped. My immediate response was “Maybe you should shop somewhere else!” How paranoid should we be? At what point does trust become naiveté? Are people more good or more evil and if they are more one than the other, by how much?

Trust begins with an unwritten social contract. First, children have to trust their parents; they have no alternative. But at a certain point, parents have to trust their children. In the meantime, children will learn to trust or distrust others, and at some point, they will have to talk to strangers; otherwise they will never make friends or be able to do well in school or in any public setting.

Riding over all this is the question of trusting in God. Do we trust that God has a plan, and not only a plan, but a good plan, even when we don’t see the details? Do we trust that things will eventually be alright? Do we trust, even when things are going bad, that God is still good? Do we trust that when doing the right thing hurts, that God understands?

The alternative is to lean on our own understanding. But this is dangerous, especially in light of the fact that half of all Americans say they are the smartest person they know. When we lean on our own understanding, things can go horribly wrong.

Christianity puts us on the side of trust, but with a twist. We will be taken advantage of. We will be hurt. This is part of the human condition, and part of the reason that Christ died: first, because others killed him, and second, because he died for those very same people.

We land on the side of trust because the alternative is worse. In a marriage, we have to trust our spouse; if we’re paranoid all the time, we’ll lose them. At work, we have to trust our co-workers; we can’t do everything ourselves. On a team, we have to trust our teammates. This doesn’t mean we won’t get burned. Sometimes people cheat. Co-workers can be lazy. In a playoff game last week, two outfielders ran full speed into each other and both were injured. Trust is saying “I understand the risks, but I also see what kind of person I’d be if I didn’t trust anyone, and I don’t want to be that person.”

Many people choose not to trust. They say things like, “I can handle this on my own. I’m fine. I don’t need GPS, advice, feedback, therapy, another person’s opinion or even God.” But why make life so difficult when easier, more peaceful options are available, when many good people want to help and do have our best interests in mind, when God is available 24/7 and always eager to listen and to encourage?

Trust can be a relief. Last week I was at a football party when all but two of us went into another room. My friend turned to me and said, “I know I can trust you. I’m not doing well. I’m under so much stress and I’m not handling it well.” He didn’t need an answer; he needed a friend, and later he thanked me. A few days later I was in the same situation with the roles reversed. A friend asked how I was doing and I gave an evasive answer and she kept looking at me and I admitted that I was having a hard week. And I didn’t need answers either; I just needed to emote. And it changed the course of my week.

Now back to the IRS, because I know you want to hear the rest of the story and I left you hanging. Apparently the IRS has a thing where they try to prove your identity for 30 minutes, and if they can’t do so, you have to come back. And since I was trying to prove my identity for two years, I needed two half hour sessions. They told me, “Mr. Allen, we were able to prove your identity for 2025, but not for 2024, so you’ll have to come back in six to nine weeks.”

At this point, I had a choice of how to react. It was helpful to hear other people screaming in other rooms, giving the IRS agents so much abuse that I thought the police were going to come. It was very tempting to join that chorus, but I decided I didn’t want to be that person, so I said, “thank you, I know you have a hard job,” and I left, and I think the IRS agent almost cried because he was so relieved and he looked like no one had said anyone nice to him in a year.

In a sitcom, everything is wrapped up in half an hour. But life isn’t like a sitcom. And trust isn’t easy. It takes time and practice and patience. Trusting friends, trusting spouses, trusting strangers, and trusting God are not actions, but approaches, but when we take that leap of faith – when we allow ourselves to be vulnerable – that’s where the real healing begins. Amen.

Closing Song: Hillsong Worship, “In God We Trust”