Sermon ~ 01/30/2011 ~ Do Justice, Love Kindness, Walk Humbly

01/30/2011 ~ Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, Known in Some Traditions as the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Proper 4) ~ Micah 6:1-8; Psalm 15; 1 Corinthians 1:18-31; Matthew 5:1-12 ~ Annual Budget Meeting of the Church.

Do Justice, Love Kindness, Walk Humbly

“Listen, O mortal: / God has made abundantly clear / what ‘good’ is; / what does Yahweh require from you / but to simply do justice, / to love covenant loyalty, / and to walk humbly with your God?” — Micah 6:8.


Traditionally, some of the words in verse 8 of Micah are translated this way (quote): “...to do justice and to love kindness,...” One of my commentaries says to translate the Hebrew word, hesed, as “kindness” is disastrously weak. So, I’ve used the translation that commentary recommends (quote): “...to love covenant loyalty...”

But what’s wrong with “kindness?” Isn’t it good to be kind? Well, yes. But covenant goes beyond kindness. And in this passage God constantly invites us to refocus life in terms of covenant categories, covenant possibilities.

To spell it out: to do justice is to be actively engaged in correcting systemic inequities which can place some people on the margins of society and, conversely, grant excessive power to others. In short, equity is blessed.

Covenant loyalty, hesed, means we are called to reorder the life of the community so that enduring relations of fidelity, faithfulness, are normal, not an exception. This is the type of kindness— covenant loyalty— being addressed.

To walk humbly with God is to abandon any premise of self-sufficiency and rely on God. Walking humbly says the presence of God is tangible in the covenant love offered to our neighbor and returned by our neighbor. Loving God and loving neighbor is blessed.

But how does this deep kindness, this covenant loyalty work in real life? (Slight pause.) One speaker I heard at Bangor Theological Seminary Convocation this week when I traveled to Bangor and back was Julio Medina. Mr. Medina holds an Master of Divinity from New York Theological Seminary and is a Doctoral candidate there.

Julio is, in one sense, an entrepreneur, the founder of Exodus Transitional Community, which has a budget of over a million dollars. That program works with people in transition from incarceration. It strives to create a safe community for them and to instill hope. It has cut the recidivism rate of those who enter it by 50%.

And why was Julio moved to create it? He knew first hand the issues of transition. He spent 12 years in Sing-Sing. And Julio’s work illustrates how one aspect of covenant loyalty works— serving others while striving to correct systemic inequities. (Slight pause.)

Julio took questions and responses after speaking. The Rev. Mr. Mark Doty, Pastor and Teacher at the Hammond Street Congregational Church in Bangor, stood to explain that the people of his church have been working with some folks in transition who live in half way houses.

With supervision, these prisoners are allowed two hours of free time in town on a Sunday. With that time they choose— choose— to come to the Hammond Street Church. Why?

They tell Mark and the parishioners a lot of church people visited them in prison. The folks from the Hammond Street Church are the only ones who did not judge them. And that, my friends, is how another aspect of covenant loyalty works. (Slight pause.)

In a couple of minutes you will be invited to examine and vote on the budget. Any trustee will tell you I take budgets seriously. But I also want to suggest covenant loyalty needs to go beyond what we do with the funds with which we’ve been entrusted. Covenant loyalty means God invites us to refocus life in terms of covenant categories, covenant possibilities.

Equity is blessed. Loving God and loving neighbor is blessed. Covenant loyalty is blessed. (Slight pause.) You will find that the covenant of this church is printed on a beige sheet in the bulletin along with some other parts of our By-laws. The covenant is on the top of that second page, page 2. If you pull that out, won’t you please join with me in reciting that covenant?

We commit to creating and maintaining a Christ centered community that nurtures and values each member and fosters our spiritual growth. We assume personal responsibility to use our personal and collective talents and resources to reach out to each other, the wider community and the world. Amen.

01/30/2011
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 Choral Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “These words are from Article II of our By-laws— purpose: ‘The purpose of the Church shall be to unite in covenant followers of Jesus, the Christ, to share in the worship of God, and to help the Divine Will have dominion in the lives of all persons, individually and collectively, especially as that Divine Will is revealed in the life, teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus, the Christ.’”

[1] This Annual Meeting of the Church was held within the context of worship.

[2] It needs to be noted that sections of the By-laws were an insert in the bulletin.

Sermon ~ 01/23/2011 ~ Fishing

01/23/2011 ~ Third Sunday after the Epiphany, Known in Some Traditions as the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (Proper 3) ~ Isaiah 9:1-4; Psalm 27:1, 4-9; 1 Corinthians 1:10-18; Matthew 4:12-23.

Fishing

“And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.’” — Matthew 4:19.


My good friend and colleague, the Rev. Dr. Susan Polizzi, formerly of the First Baptist Church here in Norwich, dodged a dilemma this week. You see, both the Green Bay Packers and the New England Patriots had made it to the football playoffs.

Susan, having spent over twenty years serving churches in Wisconsin, had become an avowed cheese-head, a fan of the Green Bay Packers. But she now serves a church in Lowell, Massachusetts, a mere 26 miles from where the New England Patriots play their games. And both teams made it to the playoffs. Had both teams made it into the Super Bowl, she would have had a hard time with loyalties.

As it happens and much to the surprise of the experts, the Patriots lost to the New York Jets and that possibility was and is gone. So, perhaps, the dilemma dodged Susan, rather than Susan dodged the dilemma— right?

Whichever teams are involved— something which will be determined later today— on February 6th, two weeks from now, the country will, literally, be watching the Super Bowl. Why? The phenomena of our ability to be entertained by sports is what sociologists and academics have started to label as “whooshing up.” Whooshing— that’s w-o-o-s-h-i-n-g— whooshing up.

Whooshing up is defined as the sensation we enjoy at a sporting event when the crowd rises to its feet as one to register a communal sense of awe and admiration. Whooshing up is communal. It is public. It is shared. (Slight pause.)

This is quote often attributed to G. K. Chesterton: ‘When a person stops believing in God it doesn’t then mean believing in nothing. It means that person believes in everything.’ [1] In a recent article, theologian Martin Marty used that saying to illustrate the modern world may have come full circle and is now just like the ancient world. Just like the ancients, we do not, any longer, believe in one God. We believe in many gods: polytheism.

God #1 for our race today probably remains Mars, a god of conflict, still much beloved in a lot of churches. God #2— Venus, a god of desire, one who clearly rules pop culture but does maintain a presence within houses of worship. And, of course, there is god #3, Mammon, the god of consumerism, a god found in the gospel of prosperity so often heard these days. Then there is god #4, Hermes, the God of athletic contests.

Do notice, all these are not just modern gods. These are ancient gods. There are more, but naming those four will suffice to establish the thesis: polytheism lives.

Marty says ‘there is probably not much point trying to deny the human hunger for a good whoosh. When memories of parting the Red Sea were fading and the Israelites worried about losing their direction, they sought a quick fix, an artificial whoosh. They pressed Aaron into fashioning a golden calf.’

In fact, says Martin Marty, ‘scripture records some of the greatest whooshes of history. Creation— the big whoosh instead of the big bang— flood, fire, brimstone, the plagues, the Red Sea, and bread from heaven.’

‘We get a boy who conquers a giant, angels conquer invaders, and a prophet who rises to the sky in a chariot of fire. Talk about whooshes!’

‘A really big whoosh came with the resurrection. And we still pursue ‘whooshes today.’ [2] But should we? (Slight pause.)

We find these words in the Gospel we commonly call Matthew: “And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.’” (Slight pause.)

I think this was true in ancient times. I think this is still true today. We like whooshes. We seek out whooshes. We create whooshes even when they are not there.

After all, why else would a stadium full of people start a wave at a football game when the score is forty-eight to nothing. Nothing interesting or whoosh worthy is happening on the field. Let’s create a whoosh.

Indeed, this passage just read from Matthew may seem like it is whoosh after whoosh after whoosh. But is it? Are whooshes the intent of the passage or do we read that sensibility into this series of events? Is the intent of Scripture an effort to create a series of whooshes or is there something else going on? (Slight pause.)

As stated earlier, there is an immediate rush, a shot of adrenaline, a sense excitement with a whoosh. But we need to remember it is also a very short term experience. (Slight pause.)

So, what life is about— the short term? Is that what life with God is about— the short term? (Slight pause.)

I want to suggest there are two key phrases in this passage. The first one is (quote): “...the dominion of heaven has come near.” This is, in fact, one of the central messages Jesus offers.

Indeed, the very advent of the Christ, the presence of the Messiah, the reason we celebrate the Season of Epiphany is the reality of Jesus, the immanence of Jesus, the existence of the Jesus is a sign to us that God is with us not just in the moment, but now and forever. In short, we believe the Spirit of God lives among us.

The second key phrase is (quote): “...I will make you fish for people.” So, what is fishing for people? Surely it’s not anything like a game. Surely it’s not something you do in order to get an adrenaline rush. (Slight pause.)

Fishing for people is simply this: getting to know someone well enough that you can share your innermost thoughts. Fishing for people is getting to know someone well enough that you feel safe when you tell them not what you think but what you feel, how you feel. Fishing for people means that among the things you might share is your love for God.

Why? A relationship with God, you see, is not about what or how you think. A relationship with God is about how you love— how you love God and how you love neighbor— about how you feel. (Slight pause.)

Author, pastor and theologian Andrea La Sonde Anastos has said this (quote): “I suspect most of us wake up with a self-referenced agenda, a list of tasks that may further our personal desires but that has almost nothing to do with spending our life on behalf of God. When I look at my own date book I am startled by how few hours are given to work on behalf of the dominion of God and how many are spent spinning my wheels. Do I live wildly and abundantly as if I am truly ‘enriched in Christ,’ or as if I am simply marking time until my death? How do I hold myself accountable to a deeper discipleship? How do I help the community …[of which I am a member] develop ways to reflect on ‘deep living’ and engage in accountability to God?” [3] (Slight pause.)

Fishing for people is not a game, though some treat it that way. Fishing for people means striving to live one’s life in the community of the people of God to its fullest potential. Fishing for people is not something that’s flash in the pan, here and gone.

Fishing for people means a life-long commitment to walk side by side with one’s brothers and sisters in Christ, recognizing that we are all flawed, recognizing that life is not a game, recognizing that life is a journey. Is that hard? Yes.

Will you get an adrenaline rush by embarking on this journey? (Slight pause.) Well, maybe once in a while— each time you hold the hand of a friend or neighbor when they are in need and a comforting word is a necessary, each time you encourage a child who needs help, each time you offer support and love simply with silent presence— just a little bit of adrenaline rush.

And that kind of work, my friends, takes not moments filled with enthusiasm. It takes a lifetime filled with caring. And that... that is what is meant by fishing for people. Amen.

01/23/2011
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 Choral Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “I hope I did not give you an inaccurate impression: there is nothing wrong with a whoosh. It is simply not central. Indeed, in the article I mentioned Martin Marty expresses concern that too many churches concentrate on offering whooshes in a service of worship rather than a place for our relationship with God to be expressed and deepened. Whooshes are most certainly a small part of that.”

[1] This is attributed to Chesterton, but it is unlikely to really be his. The source is unclear.

[2] The Christian Century; Thinking Critically. Living Faithfully; On the Shelf; Still whooshing; 01/20/2011; by Martin E. Marty;

http://www.christiancentury.org/blogs/archive/2011-01/still-whooshing

Marty was, in turn, picking up on this article: NY Times ~ 12/30/2010 ~ The Arena Culture ~ by David Brooks
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/31/opinion/31brooks.html?ref=davidbrooks

And this one:
The Wall Street Journal - Books & Ideas - The Gods Return; A solution to the 'lostness' of the modern world— and a guide to reading literature; By ERIC ORMSBY; 12/31/2010.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704278404576038040647824156.html?KEYWORDS=ERIC+ORMSBY

[3] Andrea La Sonde Anastos, Awaken: The Art of Imaginative Preaching, ACE 2010-2011, January 16, 2001 (Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota: Logos Productions, Inc.) 2010, p. 38.

SERMON ~ 01/16/2011 ~ Faithfulness, Gifts and Callings

01/16/2011 ~ Second Sunday after the Epiphany ~ Isaiah 49:1-7; Psalm 40:1-11; 1 Corinthians 1:1-9; John 1:29-42 ~ The Weekend of the Secular Holiday Celebrating the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Faithfulness, Gifts and Callings

“God, through whom you have been called into intimacy with Jesus, our Savior, is faithful.” — 1 Corinthians 1:9


In a blog post this week, the Episcopal theologian, Diana Butler Bass, a member of the laity, offered these thoughts about the Season known as Epiphany (quote): “The word epiphany means ‘manifestation,’ ‘revelation,’ ‘unveiling.’”

“Following Christmas, it is the time of the year in which Christians consider how God has appeared to us, where God is seen, how God is made manifest in the world. Epiphany, its primary symbol the star”— a symbol, I might add, found not in Luke with its pastoral manger scene but in Matthew with its scenes of power and intrigue and violence— “Epiphany, its primary symbol the star, is about seeing the light.”

‘The roots of Epiphany’ she goes on to say, “are found in the Hebrew Bible.... many prophets experienced ‘epiphanies,’ where God appeared to them. Indeed, the Jewish festival of Hanukkah is an epiphany celebration— the light of God seen on earth. Early Christians borrowed the word epiphaneia from the Greek version of the Jewish Scriptures. There it refers to the visible presence of God in the world.” (Slight pause.)

Emmanuel, God with us, the one we know as Jesus, the one we know as the Christ, the revelation of light, the visible presence of God in the world, is the One of whom we Christians speak in the Season of Epiphany. We celebrate God made manifest to the whole world, God revealed in Jesus, God no longer distant or only the God of the ancient Israelites. This God is, indeed, visible to all who open their eyes. (Slight pause.)

Now... we, as a nation, have come through a difficult week. Hence, it is no wonder that, in this meditation on Epiphany, a meditation about light which is visible to those who open their eyes, that Diana Butler Bass, in a plea that we open our eyes, referenced those four words Barack Obama used about Representative Gabrielle Giffords: “Gabby opened her eyes.” These were, says Bass, four simple words, four very spiritual words— “Gabby opened her eyes.” [1] (Slight pause.)

The Chief Executive went to say we should (quote): “...expand our moral imaginations... and remind ourselves of all the ways our hopes and dreams are bound together.” Then the President spoke about the nine year old girl who died: Christina Taylor Green.

“...here was a young girl,” he said, “who was just becoming aware of our democracy— just beginning to understand the obligations of citizenship, just starting to glimpse the fact that someday she too might play a part in shaping her nation’s future.... She saw all this through the eyes of a child”— through the eyes of a child.

“I want us to live up to her expectations,” he said. “I want our democracy to be as good as she imagined it.... we should do everything we can to make sure this country lives up to our children’s expectations.” [2] (Slight pause.)

And these words are from the work known as First Corinthians: “God, through whom you have been called into intimacy with Jesus, our Savior, is faithful.” (Slight pause.)

All the true letters of Paul— note: the true letters are not the 13 attributed to the Apostle; scholars say only 7 are in the voice of Paul— all the true letters of Paul start with introductions very similar to the one heard today. Despite the fact that all the introductions of the letters sound alike, there is much substance to be found in each of them.

And one of the prime topics here is the gifts we all have, gifts granted by God. Thereby, this reading proclaims the initiative of God in calling forth the people of God with the gifts necessary to proclaim the communal, even public, character of faith.

This calling belongs not only to “church leaders.” Paul speaks of the Christians as “called to be saints.” For Paul, each and every Christian is called and empowered by God with gifts. Paul is, in the introduction of this letter, specifically grateful for the gift of ‘speech and knowledge of every kind.’

Further, in this letter Paul insists considerations about the community as a whole outweigh the prerogatives of individuals or groups. The reason lies not in the inherent good of the group but that all members of the community are empowered by God.

In short, we are called to the greater good because the call of God is to community and the good of all in the community. And who is the community? It is all of us. It is you and you and you and me, together. (Slight pause.)

This weekend we also celebrate a prophet who constantly called us to the greater good of community, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. What I’d like to do right now is just share several sayings of Dr. King. And, indeed, one of the things at which Dr. King excelled was inviting people to be faithful and to open their eyes. (Slight pause.)

I’ll start with this one: “I am convinced that the universe is under the control of a loving purpose and that the struggle for righteousness has cosmic companionship.” “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: ‘What are you doing for others?’”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”

“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. We have a moral obligation to be intelligent.” “Here and there an individual or group dares to love and rises to the majestic heights of moral maturity.”

“Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable. Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering and struggle, the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.” “The ultimate measure is not where one stands in moments of comfort and convenience but where one stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” “Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill-will.”

“It is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of high maturity, to rise to the level of self-criticism.” “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

“Philanthropy is commendable, but it must not cause the philanthropist to overlook the circumstances of economic injustice which make philanthropy necessary.” “I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states.... Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.”

“Let no one pull you low enough to hate.” “Cowardice asks the question, ‘Is it safe?’ Expediency asks the question, ‘Is it politic?’ Vanity asks the question, ‘Is it popular?’ But, conscience asks the question, ‘Is it right?’ And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because one’s conscience tells one that it is right.”

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.”

“I refuse to accept the idea that we are mere flotsam and jetsam in the river of life unable to influence the unfolding events which surround us. I refuse to accept the view that humankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality.” “I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant.”

“The time is always right to do what is right.” “Peace is not merely a distant goal we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.” “Our problem is not to be rid of fear but rather to harness and master it.”

And yes, Dr. King also said this: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” (Slight pause.)

The children... it all come down to the children. So, can we see faith, can we be faithful, can we have the moral imagination to see through the eyes of children? Indeed, do we, can we open our hearts like children? Can we open our souls like children? Can we open our eyes... like children? Amen.

01/16/2011
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 Choral Response and Benediction. It needs to be noted that at the “Children’s Time” the pastor had two signs, one of which said “Holiday” and the other of which said “Holyday” and asked if the children had a vacation day on Monday (1/17/2011). Then the pastor explained that it may be a “Holiday” but it was also, for those in the church a “Holyday” because of the work of the Rev. Dr. Marin Luther King, Jr. That have been explained, this is an précis of what was said as the pastor held up those signs again: “Holiday... Holyday... for God each and every day is a Holyday.”

[1] Diana Bulter Bass, Gabby Opened Her Eyes: May We Also Open Ours; 01/14/2011; Beliefnet.com blog.
http://blog.beliefnet.com/christianityfortherestofus/2011/01/gabby-opened-her-eyes-may-we-also.html

[2] NY Times ~ 01/12/2011 ~ Obama’s Remarks in Tucson
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/13/us/politics/13obama-text.html?scp=1&sq=Obama’s Remarks in Tucson&st=cse

Sermon ~ 01/09/2011 ~ Witnesses

01/09/2011 ~ Isaiah 42:1-9; Psalm 29; Acts 10:34-43; Matthew 3:13-17 ~ First Sunday after the Epiphany Known in Some Traditions as the Baptism of the Lord and Know in Some Traditions as the First Sunday in Ordinary Time (Proper 1).

Witnesses

“We are witnesses to all Jesus did in the countryside, in Judea and in Jerusalem. Finally, Jesus was put to death, killed, hung on a tree only to be raised by God on the third day.” — Acts 10:39-41


Bonnie and I moved from Bangor, Maine, to Norwich nearly 15 years ago. We brought our two cats, Topsy and Turvy, with us. As these things go and for cats, the two lived to a ripe old age. Topsy died over a year ago, last December, and Turvy died in March, both at about 16 ½ years old.

So, we have been ‘cat-less’ for ten months. For me personally, except for my stint in the Army, that’s the longest I’d ever been without a cat in my household. The previous longest period without a cat was more like ten weeks, not ten months.

As you heard earlier, yesterday, two twelve week old kittens, sisters, a tortoise shell and a grey and orange tiger [the pastor places pictures of the cats, used at the Children’s Time on the pulpit], both subsets of calico, came to live with us. [1] For now, we’ve named them J.J. and B.B (for Jo Jo and Bon Bon). These may be the names they keep, but we also figured they are good place holders.

J.J.

B.B.

After all, once we see what each of them is like, other names might present themselves. And the good thing about changing names for cats is, unlike changing a name for a person, we don’t have to go to court to get it done. [A parishioner calls out: “And they don’t care. The pastor agrees] And they don’t care; that’s true too!

Now for all you dog lovers, Bonnie and I do not hate dogs. We’ve each owned dogs we fondly remember. Bonnie’s favorite was a beagle named, for an obvious reason, Snoopy. My favorite was a border collie named, for no obvious reason, Buckley.

And yes, just as there are good reasons to have a pet, there are good reasons to have no pet at all. It’s not a matter of liking or disliking pets. It’s much more a matter what you become accustomed to. It’s about habit, taste— culture. Those of us whose culture is to have pets, don’t like to be without them.

And they do seem to have a positive, calming effect or, at the very least, a distracting effect— not calming says Bonnie, just distracting. Pets have even become a part of assisted living and nursing home environments. Their ability to be companions is amazing.

For those of us who do have pets, I also suspect this is a truth: they work their way into your heart. Why? Pets don’t question us. They just accept us. Perhaps even with pets we could, therefore, use that often abused word ‘love.’ (Slight pause.)

And these words are found in the work known as Luke/Acts in the section called Acts: “We are witnesses to all Jesus did in the countryside, in Judea and in Jerusalem. Finally, Jesus was put to death, killed, hung on a tree only to be raised by God on the third day.” (Slight pause.)

The book American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us by Robert Putnam and David Campbell was published just last October. Only at the end of the work do the authors fully explain the title— American Grace. It’s our ability to live with religious pluralism.

They admit throughout our history religious divisions seem prominent. Among the historical incidents of disunion are anti-Catholic riots in 1834 and 1844 in Massachusetts and Philadelphia. Even today various acts of vandalism are at times perpetrated on places of worship. As was proven yesterday in Tucson, fringe elements are always with us.

On the other hand, we have not had religious wars, the kind which erupted all over Europe from the Reformation onward. Disruptions like these have continued right into the modern era in places like Northern Ireland and the Balkans.

So, what is it which allows for this culture of what Putnam and Campbell call American Grace, a high level of religiosity which lives with religious pluralism? They claim a prime enabler of this is that we create social webs which transcend religion. No matter what our own tradition, odds are we have friends or work with folks from many backgrounds: Catholic or Protestant or Mormon or Jewish or Muslim, etc., etc., etc.

In short, we have interlocking personal relationships with people of many faith traditions. Additionally, intermarriage among people of other faith traditions, is something which breaks down barriers most of the time, and such intermarriage is common in our society. [1]

In the work place or the neighborhood if someone is becoming a friend, the odds are you don’t ask: ‘Well, in what faith tradition were you raised?’ But among the questions you ask might are: ‘What are your hobbies?’ ‘Are you married?’ ‘Where did you grow up?’ ‘What school did you attend?’

Please notice: ‘Are you saved?’ is not listed among those questions. In short, building relationships is of first importance. And, dare I say it, the acceptance found in relationship leads to love.

Love, itself, is often described as unconditional acceptance. Based on the progression I just offered, relationship does lead to acceptance. But relationships actually flower— relationships flower— because of knowledge. When we know something about a person— where they went to school, where they grew up— then relationship starts to build. Knowledge helps lead to relationship.

Equally, once a relationship builds through acceptance love is empowered. Hence, love can be and sometimes is described as a fullness of knowledge— love— a fullness of knowledge. Note: love is not a full knowledge, a complete knowledge. Love is a fullness of knowledge.

Indeed, in the words exchanged by a couple in the wedding ceremony I use says each party will (quote): “...love what I know of you and trust what I do not yet know...”— ...love what I know of you and trust what I do not yet know.... Hence, here’s yet another definition of love— a knowledge never fully realized. That is, therefore, when trust must prevail. When knowledge is never fully realized trust must supercede love. (Slight pause.)

The Tenth Chapter of Acts is both one of the most complex in the new Testament and one of the most important, most pivotal. I invite you to read it when you go home. Pull that Bible down off the shelf and blow the dust off and open it up.

But, for our purposes today, this is what you need to know: Peter is in the home of a Roman Centurion. The Romans killed Jesus. But this Roman seeks God. Peter then realizes God loves all people, even Romans.

Think about what is happening. Despite spending all that time with Jesus, this is the first time Peter realizes God shows no partiality. God loves all people. And what does Peter do in response to this? Peter offers some facts about what God has done in Jesus.

Even before Peter finishes, the Spirit of God is present to all those gathered. Relationship happens. Acceptance happens. Love happens. (Slight pause.) “...love what I know of you... trust what I do not yet know...” (Slight pause.)

Nothing is fully cerebral. Nothing can be only in the head. On the other hand, nothing is fully in the heart. Nothing is simply or only emotional. Real relationships, deep relationships take both facts and time to build. Head and heart need to work together. Heart and head need to be integrated. (Slight pause.)

In a couple of minutes you will be invited to recite The Nicene Creed. We who live in the post-Enlightenment era often treat creeds as if they were a series of intellectual statements, facts about God simply meant to be affirmed.

Yes, creeds are descriptive. In that sense, they are facts. But that is neither why nor how they were written. Creeds were meant to be and are an emotional response to God, God who is alive in the life of people, God who is alive in the life of the church.

Creeds, you see, are not a set of facts any more than the description Peter offers. And Peter is not giving a set of facts. Peter is giving an emotional explanation about what God has done. (Slight pause.)

Creeds also are and need to be an emotional response for us, since they are about who God is and what God has done in Jesus and how the Spirit is with us now. Further, given these basic details we find in creeds, they then leave it to us— leave it to us to explore a relationship with God.

Once we explore that relationship it can lead to acceptance. Acceptance leads to love. Seems simple, does it not? Loving God is about building a relationship with God. (Slight pause.)

Who are J.J. and B.B.? I don’t know yet. They just arrived yesterday. But I will know because a relationship will be built through that knowing.

If we can build relationships with pets, it seems to me building a relationship with God might be just a tad more important. And so, we are invited, by God, to be in relationship.

And, because we are in relationship, we are invited to be witnesses, as was Peter and as was all those who lived in the house of the Roman Centurion— witnesses to who God is and what God has done. Needless to say, we cannot be witnesses to that relationship unless we know something of who God is, who Jesus is, who the Spirit is. Relationships— easy, right? Amen.

01/09/2011
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 Choral Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “I understand the irony of having addressed our culture’s ability to accommodate alongside the incident in Tucson yesterday. As I said earlier, there are and always have been both tensions in society and fringe elements. Further, it’s too early to connect yesterday’s violence with forces political or religious. Still, it does feel as if there is some connection. My proof? Not an hour after the shooting, pages on web sites of well know parties, politicians and media outlets which came close to crossing a line when it comes to civility had been taken down. If there was and is not a direct connection, clearly some felt there was enough of a connection. Bottom line? We are all brothers and sisters in Christ. When we forget that, we loose something of our humanity, we deny that relationships can ever be built.”


[1] The pastor used pictures of the cats in the Children’s Time, explaining that God invites us to look after pets and asking ‘who looks after us?’ Then the pastor invited the children to stand and look and the people in the congregation and explained that we look after one another.

[2] Pg. 548. American Grace: How Religion Divides and United Us. Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell. Simon and Schuster, New York. Copyright 2010.

01/02/2011 ~ Second Sunday after Christmas Day ~ The Christ, The Word, The Messiah

01/02/2011 ~ Second Sunday after Christmas Day ~ Jeremiah 31:7-14 or Sirach 24:1-12; Psalm 147:12-20 or Wisdom of Solomon 10:15-21 ~ Ephesians 1:3-14; John 1:(1-9), 10-1 ~ Communion Sunday; New Year’s Day Weekend on the Secular Calendar.

NOTE: 01/01/2011 ~ Holy Name of Jesus ~ (Mary, Mother of God); Numbers 6:22-27; Psalm 8; Galatians 4:4-7 or Philippians 2:5-11; Luke 2:15-21.
01/01/2011 ~ New Year’s Day ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1-13; Psalm 8; Revelation 21:1-6a; Matthew 25:31-46.

The Christ, The Word, The Messiah

We find these words in Ephesians: “Grace to you and peace from God our Creator and our Savior Jesus, the Christ” (Ephesians 1:2). these words in the Gospel known as John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).


I have, a number of times, mentioned my admiration for the composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim and I have mentioned the fact that I’ve met him. Which is not to say we were or are bosom buddies. It is to say I’ve had an opportunity to interacted with him.

One of those times was in a traditional classroom setting. Offered as a course on theater, New York University once had a series of lectures given by theater professionals. Enrollment limited to 40. I was lucky enough to be admitted. Sondheim was among those who offered insights that semester.

At one point in this small group setting, he expounded on how works of art become known. He used West Side Story, for which he had provided the lyrics, as an example.

The show opened in 1957. Critics called the show adventuresome, talked about how violent the story was and praised the great choreography which tried to interpret that story.

The music and lyrics were mentioned only as serving the production well. To be clear, that kind of criticism in a newspaper review is often quite disastrous because it damns with faint praise. The initial production ran for just two years. With that length of a run, the show was certainly not a flop, but neither was it a run-away hit.

Now, this was still the era when popular recordings were made of songs from Broadway shows, singles as they were called back then. But in the time between the Broadway opening and the release of the film version of West Side Story in 1961, just two songs from the show were recorded— Maria by Johnny Mathis. The other was Tonight by Dinah Shore.

But, Sondheim explained, when the movie was about to be released, United Artists, got behind the project with their multi-million dollar advertising budget. Much to his surprise, he suddenly found out that Leonard Bernstein, the composer, and he, the lyricist, had written a classic Broadway score. Or at least that’s what the advertising claimed.

In that aforementioned class, Sondheim said he disagreed with the critics. He thought the score he and Lenny wrote was really good. But he admitted it was only when the word spread that the score was good that this possibility was confirmed by others.

All of which begs two questions: how does word spread and, perhaps more importantly, what is the content of that word? After all, given that the initial opinion of the critics, it seems those who spread information about content are capable of poor judgment at best, misinterpretation at worst. (Slight pause.)

And this is found in the work known as Ephesians: “Grace to you and peace from God our Creator and our Savior Jesus, the Christ.” (Slight pause.)

Here are several questions: who is Jesus? Who is God? For that matter, who is the Holy Spirit? How do we know about or, indeed, what do we know about God, whom Christians describe as Triune? (Slight pause.)

Clearly, the words the writer of Ephesians uses make a distinction between Jesus and God. And yet, the poetry of John seems to blur that distinction. (Quote): “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (Slight pause.)

Indeed, a clear reason Christians have described God as Triune is the evidence recorded in the New Testament. It presents us with obvious paradoxes and ambiguities. Hence, One God, Three Persons— a paradox, an ambiguity— becomes the way the church explains God, a God in relationship to God’s own self and yet a God in relationship to us. (Slight pause.)

It is my guess many Christians, while having heard the term Trinity, probably do not realize it stems, in part, from these obvious ambiguities in Scripture. Indeed, it is my guess, not many Christians are comfortable with ambiguity and paradox, even though that is both our history and what the evidence in Scripture presents. Despite the history, despite the evidence, the tendency of many is to ignore or to deny the ambiguity, the paradox, the evidence, perhaps even ignore the Trinity.

To draw a parallel for you, every year some seek to stir up anger by uncovering plots about some kind of ‘war on Christmas’ because people say “Happy Holidays.” But, as social scientist Olivier Roy points out, this ‘war on Christmas’ stuff is nothing more than ignorance of the truly holy.

Why? Those defending the way Christmas is celebrated today are not being true to church traditions, church history and church teachings. The Christ they seem to want in Christmas is a product of Madison Avenue not Nazareth. They, thereby, only prop up the secular.

There is no clear indication in the Bible as to when the birth of Christ happened. That’s the reason our Puritans ancestors did not celebrate Christmas. They were trying to be faithful to Scripture.

Unquestionably Yuletide celebrations today owe more to Charles Dickens than to the church history. Hence, Roy calls the current celebration of a solstice holiday a “cultural construct.” In fact, that this is a cultural construct goes a long way toward explaining why in December Muslims buy halal turkeys and Hanukkah has been transformed into a gift-giving occasion— social constructs.

Over the past few years, a number of theories have been offered about the rise of fundamentalism. This same social scientist, Roy, proposes fundamentalism is simply a symptom of, rather than a reaction against, the increasing secularization of society.

How so? Fundamentalism does not seem to be about restoring a more authentic and deeply spiritual religious experience. Instead, it seems be cut adrift from its theological roots more honoring the modern era than the true history of the church or the history found in the Bible.

All this is not to say Christmas and the message of Christmas— that God lives among us— is unimportant. It is vitally important. The message of Christmas is vitally important.

It is to say church purposefully assigns readings not just about the Nativity event but also readings which reflect the Trinity in the Christmas Season. The church does this because of our history, because of our tradition which proclaims the Trinity. And it is also to say secularism has trivialized the message of God who is Trinity. (Slight pause.)

Did Bernstein and Sondheim write a good score? While one might relegate such judgment to the realm of opinion, certainly that is now the consensus. But very few knew it until the word spread.

Which brings us back to a basic Christmas message: that of the Triune God described in Scripture. If we see this message only in the context of its secular trappings, are we missing the point made by Scripture? And if the message is really about this complex, ambiguous Triune God, rather than the cultural trappings which now attend it, how might that message be spread? (Slight pause.)

I want to suggest the message of who God is needs to be spread not as much by word of mouth as by how we live our lives. Hence, it is not spread by what we say, especially what we might say in a given moment. It is spread by what we do over a lifetime.

And indeed, one of the clear messages in Scripture about God is that God is experienced over time and through time, not in single incidents. In short, we need to view our relationship with God as one which happens over the course of a lifetime.

You see, over the course of a lifetime, we experience a lot of paradox and ambiguity. Therefore, if we view God through the lens of a lifetime, the paradox and the ambiguity we might find in a Triune God is much easier to comprehend, easier to understand.

Now, what I just said may seem a little obscure to you. (What I just said seems a little obscure to me!) So perhaps the best way to explain it is with the poetry we find in Scripture. So, I’ll end these comments with a reading from Ecclesiastes and Tom Rasely will respond with more poetry, a familiar piece based in those words. Hear now this reading. [2]

[1] For everything there is a season,
a time for everything,
a season, a time for every matter,
every purpose under heaven:
[2] a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up,
to harvest what is planted;
[3] a time to hurt, and a time to heal;
a time to tear down, and a time to build up;
[4] a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
[5] a time to throw away stones,
to scatter stones,
and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, to hold close,
and a time to hold back,
to refrain from embracing;
[6] a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
[7] a time to tear, and a time to mend, to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
[8] a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
[9] What gain have the workers from their toil? [10] I have reflected on this while learning about all the kinds of work God has given to humanity. [11] God has made everything suitable for its time, in harmony with the divine; moreover God has put a sense of past and future into our minds, has imbued eternity into our souls, yet we are unable to grasp the totality of the Work of God from beginning to end.
[12] What I do know is there is nothing better for us than to be happy and enjoy life as long as we live; [13] moreover, it is the gift of God to us to eat and drink and find fulfillment in all our work. [14] I understand that whatever God does will endure for eternity; nothing can be added to it; nothing can be taken from it. God makes it this way to keep reverence for the sacred alive in us.
[15] That which is,
has always been;
that which is to be,
has already been;
God seeks out
and calls it back into existence.

Amen.


Turn, Turn, Turn
by Pete Seeger
Tom Rasely, Guitar

To Everything (Turn, Turn, Turn)
There is a season (Turn, Turn, Turn)
And a time to every purpose, under Heaven

A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep

(Chorus)

A time to build up, a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones together

(Chorus)

A time of love, a time of hate
A time of war, a time of peace
A time you may embrace, a time to refrain from embracing

(Chorus)

A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time for love, a time for hate
A time for peace, I swear it’s not too late

(Chorus)

01/02/2011
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 Choral Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “We use so many metaphors to describe God— Light, Rock, Love, Song. Why do we use metaphors? Go ahead— I dare you— describe God. Take a crack at it. Metaphors work.”

BLESSING: We are all children of God in Christ. Let us live in the light God offers. Let us testify to that light. And may the peace of Christ, which is beyond our understanding keep our hearts and minds in the knowledge of the Holy Spirit and enveloped by the love of God this day and forever more. Amen.

[1] NY Times ~ 12/24/2010 ~ Faith and Modernity ~ by Alan Wolfe

Holy Ignorance: When Religion and Culture Part Ways ~ By Olivier Roy ~ Translated by Ros Schwartz. 259 pp. Columbia University Press. $27.50

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/books/review/Wolfe-t.html?scp=1&sq=HOLY IGNORANCE&st=cse

[2] Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 (ILV)