SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT

02/28/2010 ~ Second Sunday in Lent ~ Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18; Psalm 27; Philippians 3:17-4:1; Luke 13:31-35 or Luke 9:28-36, (37-43).

Signs, Stories, Symbols, Covenant

Verse 5 of Genesis 15 says this: “Then God took Abram outside and said, ‘Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can! As many as that so shall your descendants be’” (Genesis 15:18). And verse 18 says this (quote): “On that day Yahweh made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,...” (Genesis 15:18).

I recently read an article which spoke about Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell during his days as mayor of Philadelphia. [1] He told a story of a time when the city had a cold snap, a month of freezing temperatures or below. Then, abruptly, the mercury rose to the 60s, as it can in Philly, even in mid-winter.

58 water mains broke. The pipes were old, some dating from the 19th century, and many were not buried too deep in the ground. They had no protection. The only surprise was that they lasted as long as they did.

The same article also said just two years ago a bridge inspector stopped for lunch in a Philadelphia neighborhood, glanced up at a viaduct that carries Interstate 95 and saw a 6-foot crack in a 15-foot column. The highway closed for three days of repairs.

Pennsylvania is not alone in these problems. The disaster in New Orleans happened, essentially, for want of an adequate system of levees and flood-walls. And across the nation some 75 % of all public schools have structural deficiencies— structural deficiencies.

In that same article, Rendell said when he became governor he tripled the Pennsylvania budget for bridge repair. The good news? A lot of bridges got fixed. The bad news? After six years the number of deficient bridges went from 5,600 to more than 6,000.

Why? A majority of bridges were and are more than 75 years old. The recommended life-span for a bridge is 40 years. (Slight pause.)

It has been argued ignoring infrastructure imperils public safety, diminishes economic competitiveness and is a penny-wise and pound-foolish stand. It can also result in missed opportunities to create jobs.

As you probably know, however, there is yet another side to this coin. Competitors seem to be leaving us behind when it comes to new infrastructure investment. China is building a network of 42 high-speed rail lines. The U.S. has yet to build its first. (Slight pause.)

This is clear: with any infrastructure— any building, road, bridge, rail system— there are two basic problems. First, it needs to be built. Initial costs are not small.

Once built, once that initial investment is made, everything has a natural, finite life span. So, second, once something is built, if it is to have any kind of longevity beyond projected limits, additional investments over a long period of time are necessary in order to maintain it. Seems evident, doesn’t it? (Slight pause.)

And verse 5 of Genesis 15 says this (quote): “Then God took Abram outside and said, ‘Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can! As many as that so shall your descendants be,’” while verse 18 says this: “On that day Yahweh made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,...” (Slight pause.)

Many, many fairy tales and folk stories start with these words: “Once upon a time...” All the famous Star Wars films start with these words: “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...” The Book of Genesis starts with these words: “At the beginning of God’s creating of the heaven and the earth...”

After we hear these introductions— introductions which all really say the same thing— they are an instruction to us to remember— we then hear a story. We hear about who is involved in the story, what happened in the story. But what we do not hear in any of these stories is a mere recitation of fact.

The reality is, the details of what happened once upon a time or the details of what happened a long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away or the details of what happened at the beginning of God’s creating of the heaven and the earth is not the reason for telling the story. These stories are not instruction manuals.

And this much is evident: the real reason, the only reason for telling a story is to let us in on deeper truths, a reality beyond what lies simply on the surface. This is not to say surface reality and deeper reality, seen and unseen reality can really be separated.

It is to say story carries a dimension, a plane which speaks to our emotions, our fears, our hopes, our dreams. Stories also speak to our memory, which is why these stories open with “Once upon a time...” or those other enjoinders. We are invited to make these memories a part of our inner most being.

It is also to say to take stories literally is to deny that both a level of understanding and a level of emotional possibilities exists within these stories. And our instruction is to remember the story so we can remember and understand the emotions.

Many people make the claim the Bible is about rules, about law. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Bible is about relationship. Specifically, the Bible is about the relationship of God and humanity.

But just like any relationship, there is no way to talk about what happens in a relationship or explain a relationship simply with factual data. The only way to even begin to talk about relationship is to tell a story.

And, as is true of any story, especially stories about relationship, the images used in the story are not meant to describe facts. The images are meant to describe relationship. So, what are these images in Genesis telling us? (Slight pause.)

I want to suggest the words “count the stars, if you can...” are about a vision for relationship, the imagination necessary for relationship to prosper. I also want to suggest the words “I give this land...” are about the ongoing hard work of relationship, the nuts and bolts kinds of things that make relationship work, daily.

Let me compare this description to the relationship called human marriage. “Count the stars, if you can...” is about the vision for the relationship. It’s where the partners say to each other: ‘I will love you forever.’

On the other hand, the words: “I give this land...” is about ‘how are we going to pay the bills now that the children are headed to college and we also have car payments and a mortgage?’ And I am sure you recognize this truth: it’s pretty hard to have one part of the relationship without the other part. You need to both build and initiate the relationship and you need to maintain the relationship. Both are necessary elements.

That brings me back to the esteemed Governor of Pennsylvania and infrastructure and all the attendant issues of infrastructure. This Meeting House— please note: this building is not a church; this building is a Meeting House— this Meeting House, like any structure, took time and effort and where-with-all to build. Not surprisingly, like any physical structure, it takes time and effort and where-with-all to maintain.

But this Meeting House is not the church. The people are the church. On the other hand, we, who are the church, are not that different than a building or a road or a rail system in one specific sense. We, the church, we the people were initiated and need to be maintained.

Except we, the church, are not about initiating and maintaining physical structures. We, the church, are about initiating and maintaining relationships.

Interestingly, in order to construct the relationships which make us church, it did take capital but not capital as in money. It took a different kind of capital— social capital. Within this church, within this group of people, together, it took the social capital of time and effort and vision, the where-with-all of social capital, to build the relationships, the infrastructure called church.

And just like physical infrastructure, in order to keep the church, these relationships, this group of people, maintained in a stable way, it has in the past and it does, right now, and it will in the future take the time and the effort and the vision and the where-with-all of social capital to maintain these relationships called church. (Slight pause.)

The signs, stories, symbols we find in Scripture are about one thing and one thing only. They are about relationships. The theological term for that is covenant. Our ancestors in the faith gave us the signs, stories, symbols. God gave us the covenant.

And, indeed, in the story of the Transfiguration which we heard today we see, yet again, a sign of the covenant with God. We see the covenant as completed in the Christ. This is why one of the things we Christians say about ourselves is that we are one in Christ.

Hence, our infrastructure is in place. Since we are one in Christ, the way forward for us in relationship is ready for us to simply use. And perhaps the question for every generation of Christians and for us, now, today is simple: are we willing to expend the social capital necessary to be church, to expend the social capital necessary to be one in Christ? Amen.

02/28/2010
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, NY

ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Benediction. This, then, is an précis of what the pastor said before the blessing: “The term commonly used by Christians over the centuries to describe those who pay attention to the interactive, personal infrastructure known as church is discipleship. We are called to be disciples in Christ. Why? What sign, what story, what symbol are we being given in the Transfiguration? It is a call to discipleship.”

[1] NY Times ~ 02/16/2010 ~ Op-Ed Columnist ~ What’s Wrong With Us? ~ by Bob Herbert

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/16/opinion/16herbert.html

Dear Friends in Christ,

A recent Alban Institute article suggests there is great relevance both in the overall story of a Congregation and in individual stories of people within a congregation. And, indeed, contrary to societal myth, the Biblical witness is not about law. The Biblical witness is about story. It is the story of God and humanity and the process of the covenant between God and humanity.

Jews celebrate the founding story of that covenant, the Exodus, in their homes each Sabbath. Their tradition is also laced with rabbinical midrash— story telling based on Biblical stories.

Early Christians put the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus into the story forms of preaching, liturgy and a unique genre called the Gospels. (Some scholars claim the Gospels are midrash!) Narrative forms and storytelling are second nature to local congregations. But this is also to say story is important. It is how people really communicate.

American popular culture has learned to exploit stories in powerful ways. Hollywood and Broadway have capitalized on stories of faith in classics like The Bells of St. Mary’s (1945) and Fiddler on the Roof (1964) and on television in the hit series Touched by an Angel (1994–2003). Public tragedies bring an outpouring of popular sentiment often in stories intertwined with religious themes— as in the death of Princess Diana in 1997 or the aftermath of 9/11.

While popular culture recognizes the power of faith stories to address modern life, many churches have yet to recognize the potential of their own local narrative. In fact, the ongoing story of local churches and the story of the people within the churches can revitalize and rejuvenate and redirect.

This is the obvious question: ‘How can stories help?’

The playwright Paul Auster writes this: “Stories happen to people who are able to tell them.” If people do not tell their stories, he insists, “stuff happens” to them. When people give voice to their own story, then they “happen” to “stuff.”

Indeed, people who learn to shape life experiences into narrative find meaning. Meaning empowers response.

Some might argue that forming narratives is hard. But I think what makes telling our stories seem hard is we see too much Hollywood/Broadway story telling. We all think we have to live up to some kind of entertainment standard. Some of us, but especially our young people, are proving that assumption wrong.

The explosion of virtual communities online in places like Facebook, blogs and Twitter is, in fact, a place where new communities are constantly being built. These are communities in which one’s own story is told and constructed day by day.

Further, these are nonspatial communities. Hence, they do not have the advantage we have in church. We meet regularly. We are able to look into each others eyes and tell our story.

All of which is to say we need to keep telling our stories to one another. Does one of us have a sister who fell and broke her arm (as I did)? We can talk about that. And we can pray about that.

Does one of us have a child whose behavior does not always fall into the category “appropriate behavior?” We can talk about that. We can pray about that.
Does one of us have an aging parent about whom we are worried? We can talk about that. We can pray about that.

Story, you see, is not just about the overarching narrative. Story is not just about what this church did in 1876 or in 1956 or in 1986. Story is about what we did yesterday and today and how that will lead us into tomorrow.

So, the stories we tell each and need to tell each other in church are not just about our past. The stories we tell each and need to tell each other in church have to be about who we are now and who we love now. This story, today’s story, needs to be about how we feel life is treating us now. This story needs to be about how we intend to respond now.

In the end, these narratives, these stories lead us back to one place. It is the one place we need to be as individuals and as the community of faith known as the United Church of Christ, First Congregational of Norwich. That place coincides with the central message we hear in the Gospel: love God; love neighbor. After all, that’s the place— covenant— to which all story should return, is it not?

Let me again stress that telling our story is not as hard as we might think. Besides, as far as I know, there are only two ways to fail. Failure happens only when two phrases are uttered: “I can’t” or “I won’t.”

See you in church. Let us share our stories there.

In Faith,

Joe Connolly

THE FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT

02/21/2010 ~ First Sunday in Lent ~ Deuteronomy 26:1-11; Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16; Romans 10:8b-13; Luke 4:1-13.

Connections

“Faith in the heart leads to being put right with God; confession on the lips leads to deliverance, salvation.” — Romans 10:10.

We have entered the Season of Lent. Toward the end of these forty days and forty nights we observe Holy Week, with its Palm/Passion Sunday Service, Holy Thursday service and Good Friday service.

It is not in the tradition of this particular church, our local church, and being Congregational in polity our local church is what matters, it is not the tradition of this local church but some Congregational Churches and many churches across denominational lines have an Easter Vigil Service. I want to take a moment to describe that service and, since I am doing that, I need to say I am not advocating that we start an Easter Vigil Service here.

As the name implies, an Easter Vigil is held on the Saturday Evening before Easter Sunday. A full order of worship for that service is actually found in this (the pastor hold up a book). This is the Book of Worship of United of Church of Christ. And my bet is some of us probably doesn’t know this exists— the Book of Worship of United of Church of Christ.

The introduction to the Easter Vigil Service printed herein says (quote): “The Great Vigil of Easter seeks to proclaim the cosmic significance of God’s saving acts in history.... It appeals to the total person through various human senses.” This appeals to the total person through various human senses. How?

The worship is divided into four sections, four different services in one. It starts with a Service of Light. A new fire is struck (some churches actually use a flint to light the fire) and the Paschal Candle, a Christ Candle, is lit.

Next is the Service of the Word. That section of the service contains up to twelve Scripture readings— twelve readings. These passages seek to give an overview of the history of what God has done for the human family in preparation for the Messiah.

The worship continues with the Service of Water. Baptismal vows are renewed. Last is a Service of Eucharist in which the death and resurrection of Jesus is remembered. The full version of this service pushes over two hours. In recalling the history of God with humanity, the overall intent of the service is to help us make that history— the history of God with humanity— our own, understand it in our own way.

In fact, it matters not to which church we belong, nor which faith tradition we claim, we— we, meaning each one of us and all of us— we need to seek God and a relationship with God for our own selves and we need to make that relationship our own. This, in fact, is a premise of all Scripture. And it is a premise of all worship. Scripture and worship are meant to help us grow in our own relationship with God.

Indeed, when our own efforts of mind, heart, body, spirit are not brought to the reading of Scripture in an attempt to grow in a relationship with God, there is no point in reading Scripture. Scripture, you see, is not a magic wand— read a passage and somehow God will speak or make things better.

And when our own efforts of mind, heart, body, spirit are not brought to the process of worship in an attempt to grow in a relationship with God, there is no point in attending worship. Worship, you see, is not a magic trick— merely be there, show up, and somehow God will speak or make things better. If the efforts of mind, heart, body, spirit are not a part of the process, worship becomes relegated to being merely a social function, like attending a play, a movie, a club meeting.

Now, we do live in a society where immediate gratification is valued. But even the most contemplative, cloistered monk or nun— someone who has dedicated their life toward developing a relationship with God— a monk or a nun would find an immediate response to reading Scripture or participating in worship suspect. Why? Relationship, especially relationship with God, is a process.

So, how can we deepen our own relationship with God, we, whose lives are not like that of monks or nuns? How do we come to a place where reading Scripture and participating in worship can help deepen our own relationship with God? (Slight pause.)

And these words are from the work we commonly called Romans: “Faith in the heart leads to being put right with God; confession on the lips leads to deliverance, salvation.” (Slight pause.)

When I was in Seminary, a classmate complained to me about our Professor of Hebrew Scriptures, Ann Johnston, saying, “All she wants you to do is to be able to rewrite the Bible in your own words.”

“You’re right,” I responded. “That is what she wants. After all, saying it in you own words means you’ve made the message you own.” (Slight pause.) You’ve made the message you own.

The thought for meditation in today’s bulletin is from Joan Chittister. She is a nun, but not a cloistered nun. She is out in the world writing and teaching. Chittister says (quote): “Lent is not a ‘penitential season.’ Lent is a ‘growing season.’”

We are not set adrift and on our own in Lent, in this growing season, as we strive to develop and grow in a relationship with God. The church, historic, and the church modern gives guidance on how to grow, how to fully internalize and develop a relationship with God.

But that guidance is not easy to hear. Why? It does not offer the immediate self gratification on which our society seems so intent. There is no magic wand or slight of hand, no quick fix in developing any relationship, especially in developing a relationship with God.

And I think this passage from Romans gives us some large clues on how to develop that relationship, on how to grow. The relationship blooms when we make connections with mind, heart, body, spirit— when we fully engage. Further, based on the guidance Paul offers, the connections need to be integrated. We need to engage our whole being.

I would suggest, therefore, that for those who approach Scripture on an emotional level, its intellectual challenges are daunting. And for those who approach Scripture on an intellectual level, its emotional challenges are daunting.

Equally, for those who approach Scripture as if it was written yesterday, its historic context is daunting. For those who approach Scripture as only a historic document which cannot speak to us today, the fact that it can and does speak is daunting.

Worship is similar. If worship is not intellectually challenging, it allows us to wallow in self aggrandizing ego. Worship which is not emotionally challenging turns it into a game, like a crossword puzzle, driven by formula— amusing but somewhat detached. (Slight pause.)

Clearly, there are ways of approaching Scripture and worship which can help us in developing a relationship with God. But they need our time, our effort, our commitment. They need our mind, body, heart, spirit.

Like any relationship, a relationship with God requires our emotional commitment and our intellectual commitment. And one way to develop an emotional and intellectual relationship is effort: the effort necessary to be present to that relationship, be present to Scripture, be present in worship, and, thereby, to be present with God. (Slight pause.)

Earlier, I mentioned that Easter Vigil Service is practiced by many churches. Again, I am not suggesting we do one here.

But this is what our own Book of Worship says about the commitment necessary to enter into this service of worship (quote): “It is a complex and lengthy service that requires careful advance planning and considerable participation by the congregation— considerable participation by the congregation.... (Slight pause.)

Earlier, we recited The Lord’s Prayer but we held hands and looked in each others’ eyes instead of saying it without contact. [1] We were invited to do just one thing differently. Just that one thing changed how it felt, did it not?

In a couple of moments we will be invited to participate in reciting the Nicene Creed. Christians have been reciting it for some 1,700 years. Some recited it by rote. Others dismiss what it says but have not made the effort to grapple with it, the kind of effort which involves mind, heart, body, spirit.

Let me assure you of this: those who wrote it did so by involving their mind, heart, body, spirit in the effort. Are we willing to do the same and, thereby, make it our own? (Slight pause.)

You have often heard me say from this pulpit that a deep relationship with God leads us to understand the hope, freedom, joy, trust, peace and love God offers. But I do not think we can experience the hope, freedom, joy, trust, peace and love of God unless we are willing to engage our mind, heart, body, spirit in the effort.

So, are we ready, as individuals and as a congregation, to be fully engaged in a relationship with God? Why do I ask that? Because I think that’s what Paul was talking about when this was recorded to be sent to the people of the Church in Rome (quote): “Faith in the heart leads to being put right with God; confession on the lips leads to deliverance, salvation.” Amen.

02/21/2010
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, New York

ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Benediction. This, then, is an précis of what the pastor said before the blessing: “In a recent conversation a pastor friend of mine used a term I had not heard in a while but is still relevant: Civil Religion. Civil Religion is religion practiced because it is the thing to do, that which is simply comfortable and acceptable in society. If it strives toward relationship with God, that’s purely by accident not by intention. Essentially Civil Religion is attending church or reading Scripture without engaging your mind, heart, body, spirit— without engaging your full self.”

[1] At the Children’s time the pastor had a voice changer, which changed the sound of the voice, no matter what was said (i.e.: robotic, etc.) and explained that it is said God speaks with many voices, through friends, through Scripture, etc. Then the pastor suggested that we might speak to God with many voices, in many ways and invited the children and the congregation to pair up into twos and then, looking into the eyes of our partner, recite The Lord’s Prayer. The pastor then asked if that had not felt different.

ASH WEDNESDAY

02/17/2009 ~ Ash Wednesday ~ Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 or Isaiah 58:1-12; Psalm 51:1-17; 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21.

Practice Makes Perfect?

{Jesus said:} “...when you do acts of charity, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing;...” — Matthew 6:3a.

My late Father, a teacher, was fond of the Latin phrase: “Repetitio est mater studiorum.” This is often translated as “practice makes perfect” but that’s not what it means. It means: “Repetition is the mother of learning,” which is the way my late Father understood it.

My experience is practice does make perfect but it is not my experience that repetition is the mother of learning, my Father’s understandings to the contrary. My experience is repetition, for its own sake, fosters more repetition. And repetition often begets those quite unwanted surrogates: drudgery and boredom.

Now, we are entering the season of Lent. A populist theme often associated with Lent is giving something up. (I suspect chocolate is the number one candidate to take a hit.)

My advice? Don’t do it. Give nothing up. Why? Giving something up for Lent makes as much sense as repetition for the sake of repetition. It begins to feel like drudgery in short order.

Besides, is Lent about self-depravation? Or is Lent about coming to a better sense of self realization because of what God has done in Christ, Jesus?

Joan Chittister, a Benedictine nun and author says this: “Lent is not a ‘penitential season.’ Lent is a ‘growing season.’”

I am hard pressed to think we can enter into a ‘growing season’ without finding ways to grow. Again, my experience is growth means doing something, adding something, not subtracting anything.

As Jesus implies, charity— real charity— consists of doing, nothing else— not self aggrandizement, not ego trips, not trying to look better than anyone else. Further, practicing charity can be simply and as much as a change in attitude as it is anything else. Here’s a list I found with some suggestions and ways to pursue growth. And, paradoxically, each phrase starts with the words “give up.”

Give up complaining— focus on gratitude. Give up pessimism, focusing on the shadows of the clouds— become an optimist and focus on the light which shows through the clouds.

Give up pettiness— strive toward maturity. Give up gloominess— enjoy the God given beauty all around us. Give up jealousy— pray for generosity. Give up gossip— confront facts. Give up practices which destroy self— turn to virtue. Give up giving up— hang in there, persevere.

Give up harshness— think kindness. Give up worrying— trust God. Give up discouragement— be full of hope.

Give up bitterness— turn to forgiveness. Give up negativism— be positive. Give up anger— practice patient.

In short, do charity. All of which is to say, Lent is a growing season, if and when we allow for that. Amen.


02/17/2010
Service on Ash Wednesday Evening 5:15 p.m.
Held at Christ Lutheran Church in Conjunction with
The United Church of Christ, First Congregational,
The Broad Street United Methodist Church and
The First Baptist Church, All of Norwich, NY Participating

SERMON 2/14

02/14/2010 ~ Transfiguration Sunday ~ The Last Sunday after the Epiphany ~ Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Exodus 34:29-35; Psalm 99; 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2; Luke 9:28-36 (37-43a).

Manifestations of Light

“Moses came down from Mount Sinai carrying the tablets of the covenant unaware that the skin on his face was radiant from speaking with God.” — Exodus 34:29

In the professional theater circles in which I once traveled, this phrase was often used to explain how to get things done in the real world and how things got done in the real world: “Everybody’s got to have a Rabbi.” The implication is that you’ve got to know someone with power or with access to those in power or someone who simply has the money to buy power to get something done, anything done.

I, myself, experienced two interesting examples of that “having a Rabbi” phenomena, one with a favorable outcome, one with a not so favorable outcome, while working in professional theater. Let me tell you first about the one which was, at least from my point of view, the not so favorable outcome.

Having written a play and having submitted it to a Broadway producer, I was invited to meet with that producer. As these things go, he was a small time producer. But he was a producer. So, needless to say, my hopes about getting that play produced were high.

In the course of the meeting, the first thing the producer did was stroke my ego, telling me how good the play was. Then he said if I was the son of a celebrity— and he named a fairly well known person— he said if I was the son of a celebrity, even if the play was not good, he would have no trouble getting the play produced because, based just on that celebrity’s name— and notice, this is the son we’re taking about, not the celebrity— based just on that celebrity’s name he could raise money. But, since I was not the offspring of a celebrity, he probably could not raise the money.

Here’s the translation of that: his reputation was not big enough to, on his own, raise the full amount of capital necessary. He needed to package the play with big name stars or get bigger name producers than him or money people to help out.

So, perhaps you’re wondering, if he was not going to try to produce this play, why even meet with me? Here’s what I think: since he thought the play was good, he was trying to see if I knew anyone with enough clout, a big name actor or financial person who could help. In other words, if I had known the Rabbi he needed, we’d both be in business.

Now, let me tell you about the other side of this “knowing the Rabbi” stuff. A couple of years later, at least as theater work goes, I had a nine-to-five kind of job. It was at the theatrical charity known as the Actors’ Fund of America. The Academy Award wining actress, Beatrice Straight, was on the Board of the Fund.

Now, this was nearly forty years ago and back then Beatrice Straight had a fairly high profile. Because of my job at the Actors’ Fund, I was invited to a dinner meeting at her house. She was the Board member in charge of a project on which the Fund was working and in which I was playing a key role.

It was, perhaps, a little forward of me, but in the course of pleasantries, I mentioned that I had tried to contact the Executive Director of a well known non-profit theater company, to just try to rent space for a reading of one of my plays in their facility. But I had heard nothing back— no letter of rejection, no phone call.

I told Beatrice about it and explained there would be no commitment on the part of the company other than opening the doors for the reading. She smiled, nodded and said, “Let me call.” (Slight pause.)

I will never forget this: the next morning, before 10:00 a.m. (and in professional theater 10:00 a.m. is about as early as anyone calls anyone to do business) the next morning, before 10:00 a.m. I got a call from that very same Executive Director, herself, not the assistant, but the Executive Director, asking what she could do for me. (Slight pause.) Everybody’s got to have a Rabbi. (Slight pause.)

And these words are from the work known as Exodus: “Moses came down from Mount Sinai carrying the tablets of the covenant unaware that the skin on his face was radiant from speaking with God.” (Slight pause.)

The association of God and light is not just an idea of Judaism and not just an idea of Christianity. The association of God and light dates from the beginnings of recorded history.

So, what does it mean to say God is light? Perhaps it means God is someone we cannot describe. After all, by definition God is more wonderful than we can imagine. So, if we could describe God, then God would not be God.

Hence, when we apply the word light to God or even when we apply any other word to God, any word from Rock to Father— God is my Rock, God the Father— these are not really descriptions of God. These words cannot describe God in any way. These are metaphors.

Indeed, I looked at a dictionary and this was the first definition of metaphor (quote): “a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable, as in ‘A mighty fortress is our God’” (unquote). I am not making that up. The first definition of metaphor used the example “A mighty fortress is our God.” (Slight pause.)

All of which might lead us to ask, what is really being addressed here both in the reading from Exodus and in the reading from Luke? Clearly both use the metaphor of light. Perhaps what all these words are attempting to grasp, to describe, is something of the reality of the presence of God. (Slight pause.)

One of the problems with reading only sections of Scripture on a Sunday morning is the congregation does not get the full context. In the chapter before the reading from Exodus, these words are written (quote): “Yahweh, God would speak to Moses face to face as friends would speak to one another”— as friends would speak to one another. (Slight pause.)

Here’s a thought: our belief is that in Jesus, God is revealed. Additionally, it is our belief that in Jesus we are given an assurance God understands our lives, through Jesus we are drawn into a personal relationship with God, because of Jesus we are given a way to deeply understand God.

Further, the continuing message of Jesus, throughout the Gospels is this: God is real. God is near. God is present. And, indeed, we believe Jesus is the embodiment of that presence. (Slight pause.) Well, what might all of this mean? (Slight pause.)

What we Christians believe is that each of us does not need a Rabbi. We Christians believe we are all equal members of the Priesthood of Believers. We Christians believe we do not need a priest, prelate, presbyter, pontiff or pastor as a go between with God.

Why do we believe that? The message of Jesus: God is present; God is near; God is real. (Slight pause.)

And, yes, God is light. And light is a wonderful metaphor. But here is where the rubber meets the road: if, as Jesus said over and over and over, God is near, God is present, God is real, then we need to be open to God and to that presence and to that reality.

We need to be open to the light God offers. We need to, ourselves, strive to reflect of the light of God.

How? We need to participate in the light, the joy, the hope, the peace, the wisdom, the truth, the freedom, the love offered by God. We need to live it.

How is that done? We need to strive to spread that light, joy, hope, peace, wisdom, truth, freedom, love which is offered by God. And again, we need to live it. (Slight pause.)

I said this moments ago: we Christians are a Priesthood of Believers. Some might think that is a great responsibility. I beg to differ. To spread the light, joy, hope, peace, wisdom, truth, freedom, love offered by God is a great, great privilege.

After all, what is our claim? Our claim is that we know God. We know God to be near, present, real. And so, no, we do not need a go between. We do not need a Rabbi. God is near, present, real. Amen.

02/14/2010
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, NY

ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Benediction. This, then, is an précis of what the pastor said before the blessing: “The light of God— does that excite you? Not you (the pastor motions indicating everyone). Does that excite you (pointing to an individual with each ‘you’) and you and you, because it cannot excite all of us as a group unless it excites each of us.”

02/07/2010 ~ Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany ~ Known in Some Traditions as the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Isaiah 6:1-8, (9-13); Psalm 138; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Luke 5:1-11 ~ Communion Sunday.

Here I Am

“Then I heard the voice of the Holy One saying, ‘Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I; send me!’” — Isaiah 6:8


Like it or not, we all have them. And last Thursday one of them happened to Bonnie. It was her birthday. I think that event led the two of us to do a little reminiscing.

What we were reminiscing about? Memories of the first time we meet. Some of you, perhaps most of you, know the story. But some I’m sure do not. So, for those who do not know that piece of our personal history, let me very briefly repeat it.

Bonnie and I met nearly twenty-three years ago. We will have known each other for the full twenty-three years come July. When we first met I was thirty-nine and she was thirty-eight. We got married a year later; it was the first marriage for the both of us.

And please— don’t do the math. Neither of us admits to being as old as we are.

We met on a foggy island off the coast of Maine. That is, perhaps, more romantic sounding than the reality of it— it’s very rustic— but it does make for a great story, since our claim could be and often is that because of the fog we really couldn’t see each other— or at least we couldn’t see each others faults.

One of us— Bonnie— was the country mouse. One of us— me— was the city mouse. On paper, it should not have worked out. Not only were we country mouse and city mouse, we lived nearly four hundred miles and nearly seven hours apart— New York City and Brunswick, Maine. In reality— not on paper but in reality— it did and it does work. Explaining why something works is not often productive, so I try to avoid explanations.

But this is the explanation we like the best: from her perspective, Bonnie has always said it’s possible one reason we got together is she had stopped looking for a soul-mate— she had given up. She knew it was not going to happen.

I think my sentiments were similar but, given my background in musical theater, I most often stated them with words Alan Lerner wrote for character of Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady, words, I might add, Learner lifted directly from Shaw’s play Pygmalion on which My Fair Lady is based. This is the way I put it: I had decided that I was a (quote): “confirmed, old, mellowed bachelor and likely to remain so.”

In any case, the point to be made is, while I doubt either of us would have settled for just anyone, we were also ready. We were ready for each other and ready to enter into covenant commitment with one another. Further, while we may have thought our time had passed, we had not forsaken the possibility. We were open to the possibility.

It simply took us longer to get there then it takes some folks. Or, as I sometimes put it, we got married so late, we were demographically unacceptable. (Slight pause.)

And these words are from the Scroll of the Prophet Isaiah: “Then I heard the voice of the Holy One saying, ‘Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I; send me!’” (Slight pause.)

I really don’t believe anyone would question this thesis: our society believes in quick fixes. Further, our society believes a solution to all our problems is likely to be a single solution dreamed up by a single individual.

This is a basic societal myth in America. It is the Indiana Jones, Rambo, Luke Skywalker— name the character— myth.

If I was unkind I’d say I think our society has a savior complex. But I will be a little more compassionate than that. I think our society has a rescuer complex. We seem to constantly look for a sole survivor, a super-hero who has all the answers— a politician, pastor, computer programer, program coordinator, prestidigitator or prognosticator who will solve all that ails us.

I think that is one reason we find this reading, this so called “Call of the Prophet Isaiah” appealing. We see the action offered by Isaiah as a quick fix offered by a single individual.

But that’s because we give this “Call of the Prophet” a shallow reading, not a close reading. On the surface we can see a perceived problem. On the surface we can see someone willing to come to the rescue. But how did those who first read this passage understand it? (Slight pause.)

One of my commentaries on this passage says today, in our era, for many readers, Isaiah is been lifted up as a heroic model of a servant of God— basically what I just said. But this heroism— if it is that— did not appear out of thin air. Rather, it is the sequence of events that leads up to this point and that sequence of events is at least of the same import, if not greater, than the event itself.

You seem there had been the encounter with the presence of God, a confession, a ritual of purification, the overhearing God as address the heavenly council and only then the acceptance of a commission. Additionally, the one who is enabled to hear the call and accept a commission to act as a representative of God has been purified, made whole by a divine messenger, by the very action of God. [1] (Slight pause.)

Do not misread my thrust here: the response of Isaiah to God is important. Our response to God is important. But what is, perhaps, most vital is asking how do we get to a place where response is possible? How do we become ready for a response? How can we be open to a response? How can we be prepared to respond?

Last, to what is it are we responding? Is it a specific call from God? Or is simply responding to our whole relationship with God? (Slight pause.)

In this month’s Newsletter, in February’s Newsletter, in my letter to the church I asked a couple of questions which I think are pertinent if we are to be in relationship with God.

That is because these questions might help us be open to a relationship with God. These were the questions: ‘Do I spend at least 20 minutes a day in prayer?’ ‘Do I read Scripture daily?’ ‘Do I offer a blessing at family meals?’ ‘Do I prepare for Sunday worship, that is: read over the lectionary before the worship, attend Bible Study before the worship?’ You see, our time on Sunday in worship is vital, but no more so than the rest of our time as we develop a relationship with God. (Slight pause.)

Back when Bonnie and I first met, when I went to church I sat with the congregation. I was a member of the laity. Bonnie did not marry a pastor. It was, hence, more of a shock to her than to me when I started seminary classes.

But when I was a member of the laity, when I sat in the pews, I was convinced of this and I am still convinced of it: we are all called to some community of God and those communities are commonly and often called church. That call may be this church. That call may be another church.

But we are all called. I am also convinced within a specific community, we are also called to something which helps the whole community.

So, when it comes to the question of call, the key ingredient may not be ‘how do I or how can I respond?’ The key may be ‘have I prepared my self to respond? Am I ready to respond?’

Now, there probably will be times in life— there certainly have been times in my life like this— when you will feel like you are stranded on an island in the fog. But that does not mean you cannot get ready and it does not mean you cannot be ready. After all, it is only when you are ready, it is only when you have developed a relationship with God that you can respond the way Isaiah did (quote) and say: “Here am I; send me!” Amen.

02/07/2010

United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, New York

ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Benediction. This, then, is an précis of what the pastor said before the blessing: “If there is one lesson I’ve learned in life it’s don’t walk around in a fog. Be open to who you are. Be open to those around you. Be open to the voice of God. Ro be clear: in order to be open, especially to the voice of God you need to be ready to hear that voice.”

[1] This analysis is from The New Interpreter’s Bible Dictionary and its comments on that passage. It is the Electronic Version of that work, but it has all the same information as the printed version.

01/24/2010

Well, here goes. I suspect this blog will, mostly, have my sermons. After all, I write about one each week and it's easy to transfer them. But, holy smoke! I am already behind. Below is the sermon from 1/24/2010.

***

Third Sunday after the Epiphany ~ Third Sunday after the Epiphany, Known in Some Traditions as the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10; Psalm 19; 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a; Luke 4:14-21.

It’s All Connected

“...all the people gathered together into the square, in the broad expanse before the Water Gate. They told the scribe Ezra to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, the Torah, which God had given to Israel.” — Nehemiah 8:1.

I mentioned this earlier: as soon as possible after the Service of Worship I shall be on the road to Bangor, Maine. I will attend the Annual Convocation at my alma marta, Bangor Theological Seminary, three days of speakers, Services of Worship and alumni events. One does become emotional about going home and, for me, this yearly event means going home, touching base with old friends.

One of those old friends is Professor Glenn Miller. Glenn is a large but gentle and friendly southerner. He has a walrus like mustache which frames a Cheshire Cat grin.

To describe him as large is no way meant to be pejorative. Yes, Glenn is physically large, an individual of large appetites, a large personality and a large sense of humor. But Glenn is also an individual with a big heart, a large capacity for love. And Glenn is, in fact, one of my Facebook friends, so we do keep tabs on each other.

And, after all, how could I fail to get along with a man who has set up a Facebook page for his cat, Hamlin? Hamlin, the cat, is given to posting wise sayings on Facebook. This feline probably gets a little help from Glenn when delving into the mysteries of the Internet, but the cat has been known to post things like (quote): “When we trust in God, we live in the light of true faith” and (quote): “God always heals us with the most amazing gentleness over time.” (Slight pause.)

Back to Glenn: though gentle, he is not one to suffer fools gladly. I was standing next to him once when a student approached and said: “Dr. Miller, I understand you’re teaching a survey course in Church History?” Glenn nodded in the affirmative.

Without seeming to understand the mindlessness of the question, the student then asked: “Well, what does a survey course in Church History encompass?” With amazing restraint this gentle giant held out a large hand as far as he could to one side and the other as far as he could in the opposite direction. (The pastor does this with his hands.)

Then moving his head back and forth between the hands, Glenn let his eyes draw a line between the two and said: “Jesus was resurrected over here. Jesus will come back somewhere over here. This course will cover everything in between.” (Slight pause.)

And these words are from the section of Scripture called the Writings in the work known as Nehemiah: “...all the people gathered together into the square, in the broad expanse before the Water Gate. They told the scribe Ezra to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, the Torah, which God had given to Israel.” (Slight pause.)

Glenn Miller, professor of Church History, will be the first to tell you history is important. But he also says names and dates are not important. It is important, however, to understand the broad sweep of history.

The three lectionary readings we heard today are very much a survey of the history of the people of God. And, if we are to really understand the relationship between God and humanity, we do need to get some sense about the sweep of history these readings represent. Now, it’s my bet, I could be wrong, but it’s my bet the reading from Nehemiah is either unfamiliar or does not make sense to most of us. I’d like to try to help out just a little on that count.

Let me start with a basic: probably most of you have seen Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments— right?— a great movie. But please don’t believe anything in it, not a word in it, not a frame of it.

If The Ten Commandments is about anything, it’s about how a big budget picture got made in the studio system of Hollywood in the 1950s, that’s it, that’s all. It is not about the Bible. It really gets only one fact straight— just one. The Hebrews left Egypt. That’s it.

But that they got out of Egypt is an important point in the broad sweep of their history. Indeed, in a millennium of history, the Hebrews were always being captured or freed by some nation. It is actually because of this— being captured, being freed— they understood God loved them, God was in covenant with them, God was their ultimate and only savior.

Now, around the 6th Century Before the Common Era, the people of Israel once again found themselves in captivity, this time in Babylon. For anyone keeping score, that’s about 500 years after Egypt. O.K.?

The Babylonians, just like the Egyptians before them but with less remorse, set the people of Israel free in the 5th Century Before the Common Era. Free yet again, the Hebrews interpreted this just like they interpreted their freedom from Egypt, as an act of a loving God.

In the passage read today, they are back in the capital city built by David, Jerusalem, after the Babylonian captivity. The priest and scribe Ezra reads from the Torah. (Slight pause.)

Now, when this reading was introduced earlier, it was stated this is one of the pivotal sections found in Scripture. Why? This is the first time the Torah, in a form we would recognize today, is presented to the people of God.

The Torah is sometimes called the law. Cecil B. DeMille’s opinion to the contrary, for any good Jew, the law is not the ten commandments. Let me say that again: the law is not the ten commandments. For any good Jew, the law is what Jesus told us the law is: ‘love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind;’ ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’ Jesus didn’t dream that up. That’s in the Hebrew Scriptures.

And why did the Jews weep when they listened to the Torah? The Torah, again Cecil B. DeMille’s opinion to the contrary, is not about those Ten Commandments. The Torah tells the story of the covenant— the covenant which God makes with the people of God.

And that covenant, that relationship points to the only thing. God invites the people of God to do this: love God; love neighbor. And that is why they people cry. That all God asks is love is an overwhelming idea.

And that is also why Nehemiah says to the people of Israel (quote): “Let no one be sad, for the joy of Yahweh, God, is your strength.” The best response to the fact and to the reality of the covenant of love is joy. (Slight pause.)

Well, having talked about Nehemiah, I’ve set up a premise here: the premise is not only do these three readings represent a survey of the history of the people of God; they are all connected. How so?

The Corinthians reiterates an understanding of the covenant. We are all connected and interconnected with God and with one another. Again, as was indicated when that reading was introduced, having made the argument about the connective-ness of covenant, Paul, in the next chapter of Corinthians, will make the obvious claim. Love is both the driving force and the result of covenant.

Still, that leaves us with the passage from Luke. How does that fit into this scheme? Jesus says (quote): “The Spirit of God is upon me, / because the Most High has anointed me / to bring good news to those who are poor. / God has sent me to proclaim release, liberty to those held captive / and recovery of sight to those who are blind, / release to those in prison, / to proclaim the year of God’s favor....” Jesus said to them, “Today, in your hearing, this scripture is fulfilled.” (Slight pause.)

With these several sentences Luke’s words both proclaim the covenant yet again, and Jesus is realized as the embodiment of the covenant, the fulfillment the covenant. The realm of God is at hand. (Slight pause.)

When Mary Mayo and I meet to plan what music to use Service of Worship what we have both done is try to listen for how the assigned Scripture from the lectionary is speaking to us. In our discussion about this weeks readings we realized the lections did deal with this broad expanse of the history of the people of God. And we realized that this history reaches its climax in the Christ.

So, what did we choose for hymns? In Christ There Is No East or West and later we’ll sing Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation. And then we also asked ‘what is the point?’ And Mary chose the anthem The Heavens Are Telling. And we chose the hymn Go Tell It On the Mountain. Why?

The heavens proclaim the covenant which culminates in Jesus, the Christ, and our response of joy calls us to tell the story again and again and again. What story? The story of the broad sweep of history. The story of the covenant culminating in Jesus.

And as Nehemiah says (quote): “Let no one be sad, for the joy of Yahweh, God is your strength.” The response to the fact and the reality of the covenant, the response to this history, the response to our history, our response to Jesus, is one of joy. Amen.

01/24/2010
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, New York

ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Benediction. This, then, is an précis of what the pastor said before the blessing: “You need to know a little history in order to really know about Hamlin the cat. You see, the Hamlins were a prominent Maine family, producing two Civil War Generals and Lincoln’s First Vice-President. Cyrus Hamlin, a cousin of that Vice-President, graduated from Bangor Seminary in 1838 and was sent as a Congregational Missionary to Turkey, founded Robert College in Istanbul, still in operation today, taught at Bangor and was President of Middlebury College. But unless you know history, you don’t know why the cat is named Hamlin. Equally, unless you know the history of the people of God, it’s hard to be fully informed about faith.”