Control is an Illusion...

The following are excerpts from a sermon given May 23, 2010 at the First Church of Christ in Madison, Indiana by Rev. Gregory A. Russell.  It is based on Acts1:15-2:4.  This coincided with a number of high school graduations that were taking place at the time, but it has significance beyond that audience.  I share it here for reasons that I will explore later. (Emphasis mine)

Graduate Recognition Sunday
And now a final few words: Instead of a commencement address that evaporates quickly in the spring sunshine, here's a seasonal scrap of guidance to be tucked away for tomorrow:  Don't get trapped in the delusion of control.
I say this to our graduate today, to her parents and friends, to those who will move to new homes or start new jobs this year, to church leaders on their way to assemblies, to people facing changes in life - and to you and to myself.
We have to break our addiction to control.
I am concerned about "helicopter parents" who hover over their children and try to guarantee their success in life.  I don't question their love, but their desire to control tomorrow is futile, and their efforts to protect their children from failure and uncertainty are instilling weakness.
I am concerned about Christian fundamentalists - not because their moral agenda and political expressions are different from mine, but because their controlled-thought world of Bible verses simply isn't adequate for understanding reality and living faithfully in the 21st Century.  Not everything fits neatly into the Bible, not everything in the Bible pertains to life today and God didn't stop thinking, acting, speaking and creating in 150 A.D.
I am equally concerned about Christian progressives, because we, too, are chasing control, believing that the right mix of cause, diversity and change will make our world safe.  Even a correct and post-modern agenda isn't going to guarantee tomorrow.
I am concerned about a culture that cannot tolerate mistakes and discomfort, that views neediness as failure and the needy as expendable, that overrates the controllable - those things that provide entertainment, comfort, wealth, pleasure - because the chaotic and uncertain seem too dangerous, as if the vicissitudes of life were a failure to manage and not simply the way life is.
As we read this morning's text, discerning God's will is never easy.  Casting lots is one way to go about it, as are scouring the Bible and consulting the intellect.  That's the point of the story in the first chapter of Acts, where the remaining disciples chose Matthias as a fill-in for Judas; they did not try to control the outcome.  They trusted God to be in the process.  They weren't telling God what to do; they weren't politicking, or maneuvering, or campaigning, or orating, or providing in order to gain control for themselves.  They were letting go.
And that is the piece of advice I'd like for you to tuck away for some tomorrow when you need it: Let go.
We cannot avoid being fools and making mistakes.  Perfection is beyond our grasp.  Certainty is a snare, and control a delusion.  We make promises we cannot keep, and we do amazing things that we never thought we had in us.
Rather than controlling people, we need to accept them.
Rather than punishing failure, we need to practice forgiveness.
Rather than "proving" our righteousness and the other's unrighteousness, we need to live as best we can and trust God to be God.
Give it up.  Let it go. Amen.