The Rising Sun Armchair

In today's message, I mentioned the chair that George Washington was sitting on during the Constitutional Convention, otherwise known as the Rising Sun Armchair. This is a picture of it on the left.

The story that went along with it is about Ben Franklin's thoughts regarding the sun carving on the top of the chair. Franklin noted that as Washington would stand, it would reveal this image of the sun, half-way covered by the horizon. The question he asked himself was, is this a rising-sun or a setting sun?

Considering the task at hand, Franklin wondered if this group of remarkable men were really creating something that would last, or whether it would be a colossal failure. Is the sun rising on our hopes and dreams, the result of our revolution, or is the sun setting on us, ending the dream and dashing hopes.

It was a sobering thought as he pondered the newness of what they were considering. Nations had always been ruled by kings, or czars or emperors or Caesars - self rule had not been successful. Could a government really have absolute power with checks and balances and elected common people? Perhaps this would be the greatest meeting in history. Or, perhaps history would instead record that this group of men, who had what it took to rebel against the monarchy, didn't have enough sense to start another one.

At the end of the convention, James Madison recorded that Franklin rose and said:

"As I have been sitting here all these weeks, I have often wondered whether yonder sun is rising or setting. But now I know that it is a rising sun."

Franklin was right. It was a rising sun. We celebrate that this week on our nation's independence Day. It is a serious time of great change. We are in an era described as post-Christian, post-denominational, and postmodern in a world filled with new labels for people like neo-liberals and neo-cons, neo-pagans and neo-Calvinists. No one is sure where this is headed.

Is the sun rising or is the sun setting? Our hope is grounded upon the idea that the evils of this world will never prevail against the Church that Christ builds. That means that if we as Christ followers remain concerned about the things Christ is concerned about, being the Church He is building, then there is always hope of a great future for the Church, regardless of its institutional structure or the labels placed on people.

I believe the sun is rising on a new era for the Church. It is a time of refocus and concern for the things that Jesus is concerned about. This may be one of the most exciting times in world history as our uncertainty will produce the greatest faith.

Blessings,

SCF