Where are You in the Tapestry? a sermon based on Joel 2:23-32 preached at York Pines United Church October 27, 2019

Joel 2:23-32

Be glad, people of Zion, rejoice in God, who has given the autumn rains in faithful commitment. God sends abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before. The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil. God says “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten - the great locust and the young locust, the locust swarms, my great army that I sent among you. You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed. Then you will know that I am in the people Israel, that I am God, there is no other;  never again will my people be shamed.

 “And afterward, I will pour out Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
 your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. On my servants, both men and women, I will pour out Spirit in those days. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of God, and everyone who calls on the name of God will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as God has said, even among the survivors whom God calls.

2 Timothy 4:6-8. 16-18

I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near.  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which God, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed to see.  At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. God stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. God will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to the heavenly realm. To God be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

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The time is 1985, the place is somewhere on the University of Toronto campus. Five young medical and law students agree to be transported to another world, the ‘first world of all the Tapestry’. They are transported there by a mage named Loren Silvercloak, and his ‘strength’ source named Matt Soren.  The name of this world is Fionavar – created by the Weaver. Each of the five discovers their thread not only in this tapestry but in the wider tapestry of the struggle between good and evil, science and superstition, creation and destruction.

But the tapestry is not rigid, nor does the Weaver directly intervene. When the Weaver created the worlds, there was always the possibility of random entrances from other worlds. Free will is critical. And so the great evil which threatens to take over this world enters at random from outside the weaving, and those within the world must confront it. Because it comes from outside the weaving there is a belief that it cannot be destroyed. Every confrontation with this evil requires partnership with a creative source. And what happens in Fionavar, the first of all the worlds, has ripples and consequences into other worlds.

Five young people –

Kevin – initially seen as one who is always laughing yet one who willingly gives up his life to co-create with one of the spirits of Creation, and defeat darkness.

Dave – who struggles with memories of a stringent and strict, and sometimes even violent memories of his father – who learns to deal with those things and grow up. Who learns about love, and letting go. Who learns about risk in order to be free.

Paul – who offers himself to be bound to the Summer Tree in an effort to break the killing drought. He survives three days on the Summer Tree and returns as Pwyll Twiceborn – who can speak and command the Spirit of the Sea.

Jennifer – who discovers that on earth in another time she was Guinevere, that the cycle of death of Arthur and Lancelot has been played out over and over through time, and that the cycle can be broken and the spirits finally rest. Jennifer who gives birth to an unknown, random piece of the tapestry, because of rape.

Kim – who discovers that she is a Seer governed by a ring bearing a red gem called the Warstone – until she learns that she can defy the warlike impulses and will of the stone, and make choices which preserve life.

And there are mages, dwarves, elves, and many peoples in this world. Some, like the blind Seer old Gereint, who even in his old age finds he still has untapped powers to strengthen and help others around him. Young Finn, who is called into a different realm but who yet is able to affect this world for the better.

And the random wild card – Darien – the product of the most unholy and unspeakable rape of Jennifer by the random outside evil threatening the world. Darien who stands precisely on the point between good and evil, and has to choose on which side his incredible power will be cast.

It wasn’t till I read the Joel text this week that I realised the whole of the story ‘The Fionavar Tapestry’ could be that very text. Maybe it wasn’t entirely coincidence that I decided to re-read it this last couple of weeks. I first read it many years ago, just after moving to Toronto, soon after it was published. But at that time I hadn’t even thought of seminary, or church, or preaching.

'The Fionavar Tapestry' was written by lawyer and philosopher Guy Gavriel Kay. Most of his work is based in historical worlds, or incorporates figures from history whose thread weaves through many worlds. He lived in Oxford for a time, assisting Christopher Tolkien with editing one the books of JRR Tolkien, the Silmarillion – and there he was immersed in the world of fantasy fiction - so while his writing can be called fantasy fiction, like Tolkien it also draws heavily on our history, our realities, and our mythologies which have grown out of our histories.

Kay is above all else, a literary scholar, and my guess is fairly well versed in scripture. I have no idea if the passage from Joel figured in this story – it is my ‘making of connection’. It’s one of those sort of ‘liberties’ preachers get to take – leaps into unknown territory. But it’s also part of a process perfected by rabbis through the years, called ‘midrash’. In doing midrash, two things should happen. 

First, the text is read and examined for its application to the world then –  so Joel as a prophet, spoke to his own time, to his own people. Second, the passage is examined again to draw meaning for the world in which we live now.

So I’m going to take a little licence with Joel and reverse the paragraphs – for in the story of Kevin, Dave, Paul, Jennifer and Kim, the world Fionavar is dying for lack of rain, food supplies are running low; the forces of evil create an enormous snowstorm which threatens to kill all life; eventually, the sun indeed is turned to darkness, and the moon rises red and foreboding – before the final war which does defeat  the evil. The young women see visions, the young men’s insight becomes clear, the blind old people are able to see further than the younger and be of use in the battle. Then, the Spirit is poured out on the people, and there is food enough for everyone, shelter, clothing, water, education. And praise is offered to the Weaver who has created the world.

And interestingly, as I looked at the story and then the Timothy text – were the words of every one of the characters fighting to save this tapestry – I have done what I could, I have given what I could, I have fought the fight and run the race, my time has come – the Weaver has strengthened me for what I needed to do.

Let’s look at hymn 375 Spirit of Gentleness – just the words – “Our women see visions, our men clear their eyes, with bold new decision your people arise.” If this story could be boiled down into one sentence, this would be it.   

So what about today’s world – where evil and hatred seem to have invaded every corner. Where we are constantly battered by actions of hatred, bigotry, stupidity, short-sightedness – and yes, openly evil actions. Who are we in this tapestry? Can we make the difficult decisions which free will gives us, even as the Weaver threads us through the warp and weft on the loom?

Our imagery for God covers many things – including potter, architect, weaver, author. Each of these words describes one thing – creating. And we believe that we have a role to play in the co-creating of the world. The world we believe is the dream of the Weaver – one which is fair and inclusive, loving and compassionate, open and accepting.

So where is our thread in this tapestry? Who are we as individuals? Who are we as a collective group? Who are we as the church in the world?

These are not questions I can answer – they are yours to answer as individuals and as a collective. You hold your thread, and so does the Weaver. York Pines holds many individual threads and a collective thread, and so does the Weaver. My thread is woven with yours for a time, but then it will be tied off, and another thread introduced. But just as in the story, the Weaver has allowed for random acts, random people, so that nothing is completely set and controlled – free will..

And as we continue our partnership for as long as our threads are woven together, I offer you this question for contemplation.

If you had all the people you want, and all the money you think you need, what would your church be doing? Where are you in this tapestry?

Sources:

The Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay – written 1984-1986

-        -   The Summer Tree

-        - The Wandering Fire

-        - The Darkest Road