I Believe in Unicorns

My sermon from July 27, 2008 called:
I BELIEVE IN UNICORNS

One day, years ago, my friend Mike, a devout agnostic, asked me, after our philosophy of theology class, “Why do you believe in Jesus?”
Stunned by this very unusual question, I answered, “Because that’s who I was taught to believe in.” And then the discussion went away. We were college students and pizza was more important. And I was sliding closer to agnoticism myself.

So, when this question came to me from our youth group earlier this year, the question required an answer. And the question was more quixotic than I had encountered before. Why? Because it was this question, “Why should I believe in Jesus? I can’t even see him in my daily life.” Talk about a sermon that writes itself. And so, I set out to ponder all the things I believe without actual visual proof.

I believe in gravity. I have never seen gravity personally, although I have seen gravity in action when my lumbering body finds one of the many invisible holes in the ground that plague our country. I believe in air. I have never seen air personally, except when I have visited Los Angeles. I know that air is there because I breathe. I believe in the Cubs winning the World Series. I have never seen it personally, but the rubber wristband I have from Wrigley Field has one word on it . . . “believe.” I believe there are Democrats in DuPage County. DEMOCRAT VISUAL AID. No one has ever truly seen one here, but they do exist. They leave droppings and clues everywhere.

I believe in this guy – SHOW SANTA VISUAL AID. I have never seen Santa Claus. I have never spoken to him face to face. I have never been able to find real, CSI evidence of his existence. But I believe. How could you not? Selflessly thinks of others. Is independently wealthy. Impeccable choice of covert outfits. Why this Santa fella is okay. He is almost at Batman levels of popularity.

But not even Santa comes close to this though. I need something as a better example. Something powerful. Something imaginative. Something with one horn coming from its forehead. Unicorns – that’s it. SHOW UNICORN VISUAL AID. Unicorns are sometimes associated with pink fluffy clouds and pretty scenery. However, unicorns are also noble, powerful, and fierce. But more importantly, unicorns fall into the realm of magic and wisdom. So, why talk about them here? Well, there’s a story about a little girl who finds her way into a crazy, magical world. Her name is Alice. She meets many people and creatures during her adventures. In one scene, she has just met Humpty Dumpty, and then a flurry of all the king’s horses and all the king’s men arrive. Finally, she settles down at a tea party, and a there he is ---- the unicorn. Now, everyone at the tea party is a bit nutty, except for Alice and this unicorn.
The unicorn has never seen a child before. Awestruck at this find, the unicorn remarks that he always thought children were wild, fantastic monsters. When Alice responds, she too is awestruck, saying that she always thought unicorns were fabulous creatures. It is then that the unicorn says it all, “well, now that we have seen each other, if you believe in me, I’ll believe in you. Is that a bargain?” They celebrate this moment of belief with a plum-cake.

Believe is a strange word. It means to accept something as true and factual. It means to have an opinion on something. It means to have a strong conviction in the goodness or ability of something or someone. It means to have religious faith. Whatever meaning you attach to the word, to believe is something monumental. And nowhere does believing require proof, fact, or evidence.

Let’s look at our Old Testament reading. The brief reading from 2nd Chronicles is part of a tumultuous time in the Kingdom of Judah. Jehoshaphat is a king in trouble. Ammonites and Moabites are attacking. Things do not look good. And so, Jehoshaphat and his people do what anyone might do when faced with terrible adversity. They pray to God. And God’s spirit comes down and reassures them and tells them that the battle is His, not theirs. And on the morning of the impending battle, like a good leader, Jehoshaphat says to his people: Believe in the Lord and you shall be saved. Believe in His prophets and you will succeed. Believe in the Lord and you shall be saved. That’s a powerful request when faced with the probability of annihilation by your enemies. But not only that, believe in His prophets and you will succeed. Imagine being at rock bottom and having someone tell you to believe in God and everything will be okay. That is not only cold comfort in hard times, it is also rather difficult to do when staring into an abyss.

If we look back to Alice and the Unicorn, it might make more sense. Alice to me represents the absolute innocence of humanity in a world that completely lacks any sense whatsoever. Things are topsy turvy and no one is helping Alice find her way back to comfort and safety. I am not going to imply that the unicorn is intended to represent God, but for this sermon, let’s just go with that. With a queen trying to kill everyone, a cat that toys with people for his own amusement, and a world filled with looneys, Alice is beyond lost, and when she sees this magical creature, a spark of hope begins. And this unicorn says it all, “If you believe in me, I’ll believe in you.”

Simple message – easily lost on people.

So we turn to our New Testament reading. Nicodemus, one of the Pharisees, comes to Jesus in the night to express his thoughts that God must be with Jesus because of all the miracles he has performed. After some dialogue, Nicodemus still does not understand the spiritual rebirth that Jesus tells him all must have. Jesus, with some dismay, says that with all the earthly things Nicodemus has seen, he still does not believe, and given that, how will Nicodemus believe when Jesus speaks of the heavenly things. And then we come to the point of the reading. Believe in me and you will have eternal life. The unicorn couldn’t have said it better.
Hearing is easy. Believing is hard. So why believe? Perhaps we might go back to childhood and this guy again – SANTA PIC. We see Santa as kids and think of joy, kindness, love, and peace. We say Santa is for kids, but I disagree. Santa is for adults. For that one day, Santa restores our faith in the world. Santa renews our hope that things will be brighter. In short, we believe in Santa because he believes in us. He doesn’t ask us for anything more.

When I wandered through college, I grew to be faithless and non-believing. It wasn’t because I had learned science and philosophy and so on to replace Jesus. It wasn’t because my days had been filled with more worldly passions which drew me away from God. It was because of the very question you heard me mention earlier – how can I believe in Jesus when I can’t even see him in my daily life? As a college kid, I had gone beyond the simple message and wanted more. I needed to see Jesus and see evidence that he was in my life. I did not know that I saw it all along.

The journey back to Jesus came at one of those abyss moments, like Jehoshaphat faced when the Ammonites and Moabites surrounded him. I won’t go into it, but I learned I didn’t need proof. I just needed to believe. God would take care of the rest. He would believe in me. He would make things better. So the best way to answer the question posed, is this: Believe and look around. Jesus is there in your daily life, believing in you when you eat breakfast, when you play in the yard, when you drive a car, when you spend time with family, and even when you sit alone in quiet times.

LOOK AT THIS PICTURE. (show Jesus picture)
NOW CLOSE YOUR EYES.
YOU ARE STANDING BEFORE JESUS.
YOU CONFESS YOUR BELIEF IN HIM.
AND HE SAYS
“I BELIEVE IN YOU.”
AMEN.