The Sign of the Covenant Fulfilled
“Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the good news of God, saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the dominion of God has come near, the reign of God is at hand. Change your minds and believe this good news.’” — Mark 1:14-15.
I was recently copied in on an e-mail, at least in part because I am currently the Moderator of the Susquehanna Association. This missive was from one of our Susquehanna pastors and sent to our Conference Ministry team— the Rev. Dr. Rita Root, our Interim Conference Minister, and the two Associates, the Rev. Marian Shearer and the Rev. Freeman Palmer.
The request was that at some point during the Annual Meeting of the New York Conference, which is being held in Binghamton this year, an arrangement be made for a panel discussion on Church Governance. The reasoning (and this is a quote from the e-mail) is that several pastors in our Association have been seeking advice and guidance because their churches face challenges presented by out of date by-laws and out of date governance structures.
(As an aside, I was once told by a C.E.O. that any corporation worth its salt, rewrote its by-laws every two or three years. Good luck with that in the context of church!)
In any case, since the Annual Meeting of the Conference is in Binghamton, the geographical center of the Susquehanna Association, members of the laity in this area might attend that kind of panel discussion. Clearly the pastor who sent the e-mail is of that opinion.
Now, to be clear, I don’t know if I was copied in on that e-mail because I am the Moderator of the Susquehanna Association. Or it may be some folks know I have seen two re-writings of our by-laws here, in this church. Or perhaps it’s because some folks know that about ten years ago I was on the Committee which revised the New York Conference by-laws. Or perhaps it’s because some folks know that about two years ago I was on the Committee which revised the Susquehanna Association by-laws.
All right. I admit it. I am a by-laws junkie. (Slight pause.) And, if you believe that, there’s a little bridge property in Brooklyn I’d be happy to sell you. (Slight pause.)
What I do admit to is a knack for being able to envision how systems operate. Which is probably why I’ve had the opportunity (?)— that’s opportunity, question mark— to work on so many by-laws projects. But, if there’s one thing I know about by-laws, about constitutions, even about laws of any kind it’s this: we have the ability to make them work and we have the ability to render them ineffective.
Indeed, I once asked an Episcopal a priest about the by-laws at his Church. He said, “Joe, I’ve served five churches. I know every last one of them had by-laws. I’ve never seen any of them, not one copy. We simply ignore them, do what we’re supposed to do and we get along just fine.”
In fact, when things are running well, people often ignore by-laws. When things are not running well, there is a tendency to use by-laws as a cudgel, insist the letter of the law rather than the spirit of the law be observed. (Slight pause.)
And these words are from the work known as Mark: “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the good news of God, saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the dominion of God has come near, the reign of God is at hand. Change your minds and believe this good news.’” (Slight pause.)
In the introduction to her recent book, Christianity After Religion, Diana Butler Bass— who addressed the Annual Meeting of the New York Conference a couple of years ago— says this (quote): “Christianity After Religion is concerned with religion and change— specifically how Christianity, especially Christianity in the United States, is changing and how people are questioning conventional patterns of faith and belief.”
“...let me be perfectly clear,” she continues. “I do not think it is wise to adapt religions to contemporary tastes willy-nilly. As the gloomy nineteenth-century Anglican Dean, William Inge, once said, ‘Whoever marries the spirit of this age will find himself a widower in the next.’ I do, however,” Bass allows, “think it is exceedingly wise for faithful people to intentionally engage emerging religious questions in order to reform, renew and re-imagine ancient traditions in ways that make sense to contemporary people.”
She goes on to say ‘Most people accept that technology, politics, and social conditions change. But many also think religion will shield them from the consequences of change in these secular arenas. Others think a return to the [quote] “faith of our fathers” will slow or stop worrisome or unwanted social change.’
She says ‘Neither of these... is true. Faith can neither insulate from change nor prevent change.... Perhaps a call to return to older forms of faith may delay change— but only in the way Roman persecutions slowed the spread of Christianity or the inquisition turned back the advance of Protestantism. History teaches the “faith of our fathers” may have won some battles, but has lost many a war.’
Diana Butler Bass then asks this question: ‘Is there a better way to understand change and faith in these days when the ground seems so unsteady beneath us?’ [1] (Slight pause.) In the Genesis reading assigned for today, God says the bow is (quote): “...the sign of the covenant.”
And the writer of the Gospel called Mark labels that writing as (quote) “the good news of Jesus, the Christ.” Shortly thereafter it says Jesus proclaims the (quote) “Good News.” (Slight pause.) So why is this work called “the good news of Jesus, the Christ,” if what Jesus proclaims is the (quote) “Good News?” What is the difference? Is there any difference? (Slight pause.)
It seems to me these readings direct us back to the question posed by Diana Butler Bass (quote): ‘Is there a better way to understand change and faith in these days when the ground seems so unsteady beneath us?’ (Slight pause.)
You don’t have to take my word for this. You can see it. Structures come and go. Governments come and go. Empires come and go. The one constant we see and the one constant which can be seen is the covenant of God with humanity.
Further, in Jesus we can see the embodiment of the covenant. In Jesus we can see the compassion, the joy, the peace, the freedom, the hope, the love envisioned by God for humanity. Hence, Jesus preaches the Good News— the reality of the covenant— and Jesus embodies the Good News— compassion, joy, peace, freedom, hope, love— the reality of the covenant. (Slight pause.)
So, do we live in turbulent, tumultuous, even frightening times? Yes. We do. But no more turbulent, tumultuous or frightening than the time of Noah. And no more turbulent, tumultuous or frightening than the time of Jesus.
These times may not even be more turbulent, tumultuous or frightening than the time of our parents or grandparents or great grandparents, many of whom lived through a great depression and world wars. And yes, times change. Conditions change. Circumstances change. So, where can we and should we find solace? (Slight pause.)
We need to seek the covenant and to be in relationships of covenant, relationships to which God calls us and which God wants us to have. We need to understand that God calls our race to love God and neighbor.
So, rather than any structure, this is the place— covenant— where we must find foundation. Indeed, we need to understand that the message preached by Jesus is that the covenant of God is real and present and foundational. We need to understand that Jesus is a sign to us that the covenant of God is real and present and foundational and fulfilled. Amen.
02/26/2012
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: “You may have noticed that toward the end of the Gospel reading Jesus says (quote): ‘Change your minds and believe this good news.’ Change your minds... meaning that the covenant is not real is a common belief. Change your minds... believe that the covenant is real. Meaning do not rely in the temporal but on the eternal.”
BENEDICTION: We are children of God, beloved and blessed. Let us be renewed in this season which hold the promise of resurrection at its close. And yes, hear and believe the Good News: God reigns now. Let us depart in confidence and joy knowing that God is with us and let us carry Christ in our hearts. Amen.
[1] In this sequence, the first and second paragraph is a direct quote and what follows is edited. If I have not communicated what Bass intended, it is the fault of this writer, not the fault of Bass. In any case, all this is an excerpt from the book by Bass, Christianity After Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening, and can be found here:
http://www.newsandpews.com/2012/02/spiritual-awakening-by-diana-butler-bass-author-of-christianity-after-religion/#.T0gGi7_qghI.facebook
No comments:
Post a Comment