The Stranger - August 1, 2021
Sermon. “See the Stranger”, Carolyn Smith Aug 1, 2021
As I mentioned earlier “Music that matters” comes in all shapes and sizes, and you
likely won’t argue with me when I suggest that sometimes there is no accounting
for taste.... Apparently I am totally out to lunch because I really can’t abide Billy
Joel. Because of that, this was a special request to me to tackle a Billy Joel song.
So I’ve spent time digging into “The Stranger,” the title track on Billy Joel’s huge
hit album of 1977.
The Stranger is about as cryptic as “Jesus loves me,” but it’s jaded. More than
that... it’s discouraged, even resigned. When it comes to the voices of judgement
in our own head, the personas we try on or show off, and the voice of doubt, It’s
entirely relatable to our human struggles to live authentically and build
relationships. Billy Joel isn’t trying to be cryptic or poetic, you can almost hear the
clink of the ice in a glass of whisky as he shrugs and resigns himself to the song.
It begins... Well we all have a face That we hide away forever
And we take them out And show ourselves When everyone has gone
Some are satin some are steel, Some are silk and some are leather
They're the faces of the stranger, But we love to try them on.
A quintessential 70’s rock & roll riff, and it is an old old story. A lot of theology
and reflection gets wrestled on bar stools, outside of churches, far away from pipe
organs and Sunday best. The different masks we try on, trade off, claim for
ourselves, or discard... am I classy or hard, am I gentle, or armoured? Am I fun-
loving, or wounded and wise? And at times, I am entirely worn out from never
feeling sure, or feeling my feet on solid ground, and never measuring up. When it
becomes so difficult to sort through, then comes the resignation, and we armour up
- that steel and leather, heavy, sinking us like a stone towards arrogance and pride.
Things we mistake for strength. Things that betray weakness.
I don’t know - before I see that in myself, sometimes I judge it in others.... But
maybe that’s a face inside I’d rather not share with you... And Billy Joel calls that
out too:
The stranger in yourself?
Don't be afraid to try again
Everyone goes south, Every now and then
Ooh,You've done it, and why can't someone else?
If we’re avoiding judging ourselves, we tend to judge others, instead of making use
of compassionate empathy for their similar struggles, and that’s often when things
go south. “Judge” - now, There’s a name for a stranger many of us know inside.
And judged to what standard? Billy Joel is a classically trained musician still
today never feels he measures up- his high standard is Beethoven... who can ever
measure up to that? And when that frustration is the end of our digging, when
resignation takes over, we can all write a sad and empty song like this one. Good
thing we have good news, good thing we loves stories of unlikely heroes, The bible
is filled with them. And around here, in a church family like this, when we can
quiet our own judges, we’re all fans of redemption and grace and second
chances....
Peter the disciple came to my mind... his story is sprinkled through our gospel
story, he is rarely the focus, more of a reflection for others to see more clearly...
but it’s hard on every person when no-one sees us deeper than that- they see our
different facets and masks that become the way they see or judge themselves. As I
read through the Peter stories, he is often a relief to us! Despite his central
presence, his leadership in that inner circle, he constantly fails. He misunderstands
teachings, is rebuked by Jesus and called Satan: at the lake, Peter tries to run across
the water in great faith until fear takes over and he sinks like a rock; on the
mountaintop, he strips his clothes off in a frenzy of enthusiasm! He cuts off the ear
of a soldier indignantly, but then lies about his allegiance to Jesus when it mattered
most. He struggles to find courage and set his feet on solid ground and get all his
impulses working together. But if Peter can be Jesus’ first mate, with all his
confusion, then surely you and I aren’t hopeless! If he doesn’t get the point of the
kingdom, and we do, then we must have something right. He is our LOW
standard, poor Peter at rock bottom.
And Laura tells us the foundational Peter Story.... Simon Peter, was originally just
Simon: one of the first fisherman disciples, he sees clearly the fullness of who
Jesus is, first. And in turn, Jesus sees Simon through all his struggle - and calls
him out, calls him up - gives him a new name “Peter,” a new title in a way:
“Peter” translates to Petra or petros, as in Rock, and on him, Jesus puts great faith.
Great expectation. Great challenge. Peter will be the rock on which the church
grows, so strong that Hades will not overcome it. But may I remind you this is the
same guy who strips naked in a moment of enthusiasm? And responds harshly to
curious seekers, and no doubt had Jesus groaning “For Pete’s Sake, Pete!” Jesus
who is for us 100% wholehearted, divinely compassionate and wise and leading
the WAY, Jesus never leaves Simon Peter behind, he sees through all of his
struggles, and his strange facets, and instead of weakness or fault, Jesus sees his
passion, his courage, his intuition and he calls him up, turning weakness upside-
down, uncovering it as strength.
Imagine seeing our weaknesses, and discovering a source of strength.... Billy Joel
wonders about that; late in the song, he says “
You may never understand How the stranger is inspired
But he isn't always evil And he is not always wrong
Though you drown in good intentions...
Those strangers in our heads don’t make it easy - despite our efforts, sometimes we
get discouraged, We don’t make it far enough to grasp what is strength or
inspiration. Humans are at times more likely to drown out the discouragement, or
buck up and toughen up and avoid pain or regret, and NOT look in, and NOT
really SEE...
What if I asked you to trust and lean in? Close your eyes for a moment, and allow
this challenge, to consider the faces you have claimed or tried on, the struggle to
know what is real and true, the good intentions. Like a prayer without words, let
these thoughts rise up and drift away. Trust and remember the Spirit around you
now, warm like a cloak on your shoulders, sun on your face, we know that God
SEES our divine selves, through all the layers. Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there, if I
make my bed in the depths, you are there.... The words of our psalm. Rest as long
as you need here.
Who is it in you, true and gifted, that God sees and uses? What longings and
lessons do the strangers inside have that reveal strength and pathway? What
stories have we told ourselves that can begin to drift away and in the empty space
there is calm, new insight, solid if rocky ground on which God builds new things.
Even the darkness will not be dark to you O God; the night will shine like the
day, for darkness is as light to you.
Deep breath....it is hard ongoing work to see through our masks and mistakes, and
make sense of our true divine self. We’ve armoured up and masked up, and drawn
lines sometimes to avoid what’s true. It takes trust, and reminders, it can take
intentional help to make it past discouragement, and this song is plainspoken
because Billy Joel is singing for people who have given up on poetry and false
positives. Like Peter, like everyone stuck between the rock and the hard place,
everyone who leaned in, and tried again, we are invited to trust and SEE who and
whose we are. We are never alone, thanks be to God.