Sermon ~ Poor in Spirit? ~ 08/21/2011 ~ A Sermon on the Occasion of “Water from the Well Part II”

08/21/2011 ~ Proper 16 ~ 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ 10th Sunday after Pentecost ~ Exodus 1:8-2:10; Psalm 124; Isaiah 51:1-6; Psalm 138; Romans 12:1-8; Matthew 16:13-20 ~ Used These Passages from Scripture: Call to Worship Based on Psalm 100; Ecclesiastes 3, selected verses, adapted (in the Ceremony of Shalom; Matthew 5:1-10, 13-16; Responsive Reading Based on Psalm 55 from the translation used in the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer; Responsive Reading Based on Psalm 149 [ILV]; A Reading from the Talmud ~ The Sunday Featuring Water from the Well II and the Music of Joseph Martin ~ Ceremony of Shalom for Eli Craig ~ Water from the Well II; a Union Service with the United Church of Christ, First Congregational of Norwich and the Sherburne United Church of Christ.

Poor in Spirit?

“Blessed are those who are poor in spirit: the Dominion of heaven is theirs.” — Matthew 5:3.


Mikhail Baryshnikov is a Soviet-born Russian-American dancer, choreographer, actor and, certainly, one of the great ballet artists of the 20th century. Baryshnikov was involved in the 1981 American Film Institute’s Life Achievement Award, a televised tribute to Fred Astaire.

The very first to speak on the broadcast, he said this (quote): “I have been invited to say something concerning how we dancers feel about Fred Astaire. It’s no secret: we hate him. (Slight pause.) He gives us complexes because he’s too perfect.” [1] (Slight pause.)

That’s probably how a lot of us feel about the Beatitudes, isn’t it? We hate them. How can you live up to that kind of perfection? (Slight pause.)

Well, I’ve got good news. We don’t have to be perfect. It’s not our job. And perfection is not what the Beatitudes are about.

As indicated earlier, after the Beatitudes comes a series of “you are” statements. These amplify and illuminate the Beatitudes. So, this is not simply a list of unattainable goals since the “you are” statements insist we are already blessed by God. (Slight pause.)

Baryshnikov and Astaire are graceful people. And being poor in spirit has to do with grace, not poverty. Indeed, one translation renders “Blessed are the poor in spirit” as “Blessed are the debonaire.”

And that’s the point. A person who is debonaire is one who moves through life with a sense of God. A person who moves through life with a sense of God is grace-filled. A grace-filled person is confident in the reality of God, confident the presence of God.

Those who are grace-filled have no need to claim or exhibit a robust ego because their identity rests in God, their security rests in God. So, the poverty of spirit addressed here stems from the humility one discovers through striving to grow into deeply knowing God. (Slight pause.)

There is also an ethical dimension to the beatitudes. Knowledge of God, you see, leads to action. And it is not individual action but communal action because, in the context of the Gospel, it is not the individual being pronounced as blessed. The community hears itself as blessed, sees itself as blessed.

And, since these pronouncements are made by Jesus, the community cannot remain passive. The Beatitudes, thereby, become and are a call to action. [2] (Slight pause.)

Now, we have gathered here today and we have celebrated music. Why? What’s the connection. What does song have to do with action? (Slight pause.) Everything.

Music, singing, is filled with its own sense of God given grace since it allows us to, physically, make a proclamation about grace and, thereby, a proclamation of the presence grace. As such, in the very act of singing, our assertion is that we rely on the grace of God and on the mercy of God.

Why? Music, when offered to God, is a recognition of the reality of God and a recognition of the presence of God. So, indeed blessed are the debonaire. Blessed are those who know grace by walking in the paths of God and doing the work of God and the will of God. Blessed are those who sing praise to God. Amen.

United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, New York
08/21/2011

A READING FROM THE TALMUD AND A BENEDICTION

The Torah is the first five books of the Bible. This is a reading from the Jewish commentary on the Torah, known as the Talmud.

After all creation was formed, God called the angels together and asked them what they thought of it. One of them said, “Something is lacking: the sound of praise to the Creator.” So God created music. And music was heard in the whisper of the wind, in the chirp of the birds, in the tympani of the thunder. But that was not enough, so God gave humanity the gift of song. And down through the ages this gift has blessed, comforted and inspired many souls. This gift is a part of the covenant; we have the blessings and wonder which the gift from God bestows on and in us; and God is pleased when a joyful noise is heard.

Hear now this blessing: let us walk in the Spirit, remembering that we are one in Christ, for, in the Dominion of God, the grace of true freedom is the inheritance of those who walk in the love of God.

And may we love God so much, that we love nothing else too much. May we be so in awe of God, that we are in awe of no one else and nothing else. Amen.

[1] http://www.reelclassics.com/Actors/Astaire/astaire-article3.htm

[2] The Interpreter’s Bible: The Electronic Edition. This is found in the section on this passage.

Sermon ~ 08/07/2011 ~ The Sounds of Silence

08/07/2011 ~ Proper 14 ~ 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Eighth Sunday after Pentecost ~ Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28; Psalm 105: 1-6, 16-22, 45b; 1 Kings 19:9-18 {Note: used 9-15}; Psalm 85:8-13; Romans 10:5-15; Matthew 14:22-33 ~ Communion Sunday.

The Sounds of Silence

“Then there was a great and powerful wind, so strong that it tore the mountain apart and shattered the rocks in pieces by the power of Yahweh— but Yahweh was not in the whirlwind. And after the wind there was an earthquake. But Yahweh was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there came a fire but Yahweh was not in the fire. And after the fire there was a sound of sheer silence.” — 1 Kings 19:11b-12.


Sir Richard Attenborough is a good actor, probably best known for the part of the crazy Billionaire in the film Jurassic Park. But Attenborough is an even better film director than he is an actor.

Attenborough directed Gandhi, the film about one of the great civil rights leaders of the 20th Century, Mohandas Gandhi. The Mahatma’s methods— Mahatma means Great Spirit— the Mahatma’s methods of non-violent protest were adopted around the world and led to advances for the rights of many people in many nations.

The makers of that film biography are clear when it came to the limitations of their project. They say this in the introduction to the published screenplay (quote): “No one’s life can be encompassed in one telling.”

“There is no way to give each year its allotted weight, to include each event, each person who helped to shape a lifetime. What can be done is to be faithful in spirit to the record and to try to find one’s way to the heart of the person...”

Hence, in an effort to frame the film in such a way as to help audiences understand Gandhi’s life, to places these in context, the film both opens and closes with an image of violence: the assassination of Gandhi. The film, indeed, contains a lot of violence.

I once heard Attenborough asked in an interview why a film which is essentially about non-violence might contain so much violence. The director said for him one of the paradoxes of making the film was you can’t portray non-violence without addressing violence, without showing violent acts. The contrast is essential. (Slight pause.)

To a certain extent, I find myself in the same place as Attenborough. I want to talk about silence. So I need to talk about sound, even noise.

Of this I am convinced: as humans we are, both by nature and by the nurturing Spirit of God, called to communicate. Many of us do that in more than one way. But certainly one way many people communicate is through sound.

Since I am a song writer, people sometimes ask me what my favorite type of music is. The question always puzzles me. You see, as a song writer, I say music is simply organized sound.

So for me, the deeper question needs to be ‘how is the sound we’re talking about organized? Is it organized in a way which can communicate something to me or can communicate something to someone else?’

Asking the question that way leaves me open to being able to appreciate— perhaps not fully understand or even like but to appreciate— many types and styles of music. Asking the question that way opens the possibility that communication is central, rather than my own vision which might be relatively narrow.

Indeed, Julian Treasure a musician, an author and consultant who advises businesses around the world, especially retailers and hotels, on how to use sound— Musac is what my guess he advises about— Treasure says each of us comes to the table with filters. And these filters block communication.

Among the filters he lists are culture, language, values, beliefs, attitudes, expectations and intentions. And both those who are trying to communicate and those with whom are trying to communicate come to the table with a set of filters. Further, it’s likely each person coming to the table brings a very different set of judgments about those filters.

That, I think, brings me to the key point about sound: sound is not about noise. Sound is about listening and listening carefully, trying to cancel out inappropriate filters.

Those who study these things tell us we actually listen 60% of the time. On the other hand, we retain only 25% of what we hear. And we retain that 25% only when we concentrate really, really hard on just listening. (Slight pause.)

And these words are from the work known as First Kings: “...after the fire there was a sound of sheer... silence.” (Slight pause.)

Question: is God still speaking? (Slight pause.) That’s what our denomination claims— God is still speaking. (Slight pause.) How do we know, especially if we retain only 25% of what we hear even when we concentrate?

Indeed, in the words of Paul Simon does it not often seem that in our era we have (quote): “People talking without speaking” and we have (quote): “People hearing without listening”? [1] (Slight pause.)

And again, let’s ask questions: if God is still speaking, through whom does God speak? And are we listening? (Slight pause.)

A couple of weeks ago my friend Tom Rasely, who you just heard a little earlier, led the service and offered these words of wisdom from Mark Twain (quote): “The right word may be effective, but no word is ever as effective as a well-timed... pause.”

Tom then went on to say that, as a musician, he is very aware of pauses. In music you can have a series of notes, sounds, interrupted by what are referred to as ‘rests.’ Rests are silences that give a musician, as well as the listener, time to pause and
reflect on what has happened, time to consider, time to prepare for what will happen next.

Indeed, Tom tells students sometimes what you don’t play can make what you do play sound even better. But still, silence can be unsettling. When we hear nothing, especially for long periods of time, it can be unnerving. (Long pause— about 35 seconds.) See?

And then we have Peter— Peter in a boat on the lake. Peter who really, really listened when Christ said “Come.” What was Peter’s problem?

Why did Peter start to sink? Did Peter stop listening? Or was Peter simply distracted by noise of the wind? (Quote): “Peter noticed how strong the wind was, became frightened and, beginning to sink,...” (Slight pause.)

I want to suggest that Peter had a deeper problem than noise. You see, Peter was doing just fine until noise other than the voice of Jesus got in the way.

And when other noise got in the way, it was not that Peter stopped hearing. The voice of Jesus was still there.

Peter stopped trusting. Was Peter distracted? Probably. But I think trust is what helps us concentrate really, really hard on what’s really, really important.

Therefore, I do want to suggest God does speak in the silence. And God does speak with many voices. God speaks in the voices of the loving spirits those around us. God speaks in the voices of members of the community of faith.

God does speak, especially when we trust God. And that leaves us with an obvious question: where and when does God not speak? (Slight pause.)

God does not speak through the noise known as injustice. Is something fair and beneficial to all concerned? [2] If it is not fair and beneficial to all, the sound we hear is the sound of injustice. When we see and when we hear the sound of injustice, we know God is not speaking. (Slight pause.)

God does not speak through the noise known as violence. God does not speak in the violence known as oppression— economic oppression, physical oppression, cultural oppression, the kind of violence which sets people apart as being different or strange or simply unacceptable. When we hear and when we see the sound of violence, we know God is not speaking.

So, it seems to me our job, our goal is to listen for God because God does speak. And in order to hear God speak, we need to concentrate really, really hard.

In many ways that is what Gandhi did. He filtered out the noise of injustice and the noise of violence.

And I believe the best way to filter out the noise of injustice and violence is to trust God. (Slight pause.) Is God still speaking?

Yes. I believe God is still speaking. So, that leaves a final question: do we trust God to the point where we listen hard enough to filter out the noise of violence and the noise of injustice and really hear both that God is still speaking. And really hear what God is saying. Indeed, can we hear what God says even in the silence? Amen.

08/07/2011
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: “The last words of Paul Simon’s The Sounds of Silence are these (quote): ‘The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls— And tenement halls— And whispered in the sounds of silence.’ I know Paul is Jewish, but I don’t know if he is a Hebrew scholar also. I do know that, whereas in English we think of words as being solid and having a set meaning, in Hebrew, words change meanings as you hear them and have multiple meanings. What we translate as ‘sheer silence’ can also be translated as ‘whisper,’— whispered silence— and there’s Paul Simon: whispered in the sounds of silence. Indeed, Elijah hears that whispered silence and so stands at the mouth of the cave and listens for God. Listening for God is, I think, the key.”

BENEDICTION: We are called to care in a world which can be uncaring, commissioned as lovers among some who may offer back indifference. Know this: God is with us in all our days. So, let us go forth knowing that the grace of God is deeper than our imagination, the strength of Christ is stronger than our need and the communion of the Holy Spirit is richer than all our togetherness. May God guide and sustain us today and in all our tomorrows. Amen.

[1] The “Special Music” at this service was The Sounds of Silence sung by Tom Rasely.

[2] Two tests combined into one of the Four Way Test practiced by Rotarians.

Sermon ~ 07/31/2011 ~ Wrestling with God

07/31/2011 ~ Proper 13 ~ Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Seventh Sunday after Pentecost ~ Genesis 32:22-31; Psalm 17:1-7, 15; Isaiah 55:1-5; Psalm 145:8-9, 14-21; Romans 9:1-5; Matthew 14:13-21 ~ 5th Sunday Hymn Sing.

Wrestling with God

“...the other answered, ‘You shall no longer be called Jacob’ (which means heel grabber) ‘but you shall be called Israel, the one who wrestled with God, for you have striven with God and with mortals and you have prevailed.’” — Genesis 32:28.

This is a poem.

I thought life would be easy—
I wonder why.
Perhaps I got that notion
from my mother
for whom life did seem easy,
not from my father,
who was strong,
gentle and tried to teach me
about the wisdom of the sky
from whence life
often sears the soul and tries.

I know now that life is not easy
and as I lay prostrate
on the ground.
I can hear the other one— the sound
of heavy breathing,
and my own,
as I moan in pain and
we grapple neath the moonlit sky.
I thought life would be easy—
I wonder why.

Things change but the sky does not
and it is hard to see
where I needed to go
for no one gave me anything—
a map, a plan, a route to take.
So I had to make
and rake and break
and do whatever I had to do
to see me through.

And You! You!
You are here beside me
and I know not why.
Are You the sky?

What if I surrender, give up, stop?
Will that matter?
Will You offer a blessing?
Will that matter?
And what does it matter
that the sky goes on and on—
the stars glisten above our heads until dawn,
and then the stars are... gone?

(Pause.) The reading from Genesis is the famous story of Jacob wrestling. ‘Wrestling with Whom?’ is the key question. Does Jacob wrestle with angels? Does Jacob wrestle with a person? Does Jacob wrestle with self inflicted demons? Does Jacob wrestle with the human race— all humanity? Does Jacob wrestle with God? (Slight pause.)

It says in the reading (quote): “...you shall be called Israel, the one who wrestled with God, for you have striven with God and with mortals and you have prevailed.” To be clear: the very word Israel means one who has wrestled with God. And, to be clear, the deeper meaning of the word ‘wrestled’ is one who deals with and who struggles with the reality which is God and the reality who is God.

These words also indicated an even more expansive meaning than someone who has only wrestled with God. It plainly says Jacob wrestles with “God and mortals.”

The piece of the story not read today, the content of the narrative both before and after this scene concerns the relationship of Jacob and the brother of Jacob, Esau from whom Jacob has been estranged. And, indeed, Jacob has led both a successful and a contentious life.

So, Jacob gets by because of wrestling both with family and with everyone else. And while I don’t want to place emphasis on the combative aspect of the word ‘wrestling’ it is clear Jacob comes away from the struggle changed by the engagement, changed by life, itself. Jacob is injured, traumatized by life.

And who among us has not been traumatized by life in some way? At some point each of us has had to wrestle. Each of us has had a heavy heart because of something.

We all wonder what the future holds. We all have had failures and times which inflict feelings of being unworthy. It’s likely each of us has faced the death of a loved one— a parent, a spouse or even a child.

Some of us have experienced the anxiety of being socially marginalized. Some may be perplexed, even angry because obstacles are constantly put in our way. And we ask in each of these circumstances: “Does God care?” (Slight pause.)

I think if there is anything this story says, it says that God does care. It says that God engages with us in life.

Hence, rumor to the contrary, God is not Santa Claus. God is not some ‘Fix-it’ person. Rather, God stands in solidarity with us, is present to us.

And, perhaps that is the hard part about us wrestling with God. Perhaps we want Santa Claus, not God. But a God who is really God is not a fantasy.

And life which is really life is not a fantasy. Real life consists of ups and downs, joys and concerns, struggles and silliness. (Slight pause.)

Every day, our denomination sends out a daily reflection by e-mail. You can sign up for them, if you like.

Lillian Daniel writes some of them. She is the Senior Pastor of First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, a large suburban church in the Chicago area. This was yesterday’s reflection written by her. (Slight pause.)

“On Tuesday nights, a group gathers in our church lobby to knit prayer shawls, baby blankets and booties for the members of our congregation. The knitting ministry meets the same night as our church council.”

“So while we are in the conference room making what might [euphemistically] be called big picture decisions about the life of the church, just a few feet away on the couches in the lobby other people are knitting for the sick, the new babies or those in need of any kind of healing. I think it’s a nice combination of ministry on Tuesday nights, like a check and balance system for what leadership in the church is all about.”

“I still have the prayer shawl I received from my current church when I was sick, and I still have the prayer shawl I received from my former church when my mother passed away. I went on to inherit the prayer shawl her church made for her when she first fell ill. They all lie around my house as extra blankets in the family room, ordinary objects infused with prayer in the midst of our ordinary lives.”

“The prayer shawl didn’t cure my mother’s fatal illness. But there is no question in my mind that it was a conduit of healing. It remains a symbol to me of how all our churches are knit together by the Holy Spirit.”

“New babies receive a hand-made gift to keep them warm, blessed by prayer before it is given away. It’s a symbol of a beautiful Biblical metaphor that goes back many thousands of years.”

“It seems that people have been knitting for one another forever, perhaps ever since God, the original knitter, knit each one of us together in our mother’s womb. So indeed, we are wonderfully made.” — Lillian Daniel on knitting, on meetings and on life. (Slight pause.)

This is a poem.

I thought life would be easy—
I wonder why.
Perhaps I got that notion
from my mother
for whom life did seem easy,
not from my father,
who was strong,
gentle and tried to teach me
about the wisdom of the sky
from whence life
often sears the soul and tries.

I know now that life is not easy
and as I lay prostrate
on the ground.
I can hear the other one— the sound
of heavy breathing,
and my own,
as I moan in pain and
we grapple neath the moonlit sky.
I thought life would be easy—
I wonder why.

Things change but the sky does not
and it is hard to see
where I needed to go
for no one gave me anything—
a map, a plan, a route to take.
So I had to make
and rake and break
and do whatever I had to do
to see me through.

And You! You!
You are here beside me
and I know not why.
Are you the sky?

What if I surrender, give up, stop?
Will that matter?
Will You offer a blessing?
Will that matter?
And what does it matter
that the sky goes on and on—
the stars glisten above our heads until dawn,
and then the stars are... gone?

Amen.
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: “Theologian Walter Bruggemann has said this about the God found in Scripture: ‘The image of God painted is a God of intentional artistic illusiveness’— intentional artistic illusiveness. God is real, but like anyone else we know, any friend, God cannot be fully explained. God can be experienced.”

BENEDICTION: Let us never fear to seek the truth God reveals. Let us live as a resurrection people. Let us understand every day as a new adventure in faith as the Creator draws us into community. So, go now, go in safety— for you cannot go where God is not. Go now— go in love— for love alone endures. Go now— go with purpose and God will honor your dedication. And last, go in peace— for it is a gift from God to those whose hearts and minds are in Christ, Jesus. Amen.

[1] As indicated, this is from the Still Speaking Devotional series sent out daily. Full disclosure: I did add one word to Lillian’s piece. That word is euphemistically.

[2] This poem was composed for this sermon by the Pastor. Its title is Jacob’s Lament.