01/27/2013 ~ 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 ~ Church Annual Budget Meeting.
The Book
“So they, the Levities, read from the book, from the Torah of God, with interpretation.” — Nehemiah 8:8a.
Last Monday President Barack Obama was Inaugurated for a second term. A strictly literary analysis of the Inaugural Address, therefore one which has nothing to do with politics, would, I think, run something like this.
Obama referenced some of our founding documents, including the Declaration of Independence which says we hold some truths self-evident, including being created equal, and these truths are given by the Creator. The President also referenced the Constitution which starts with the words “We the people.”
Obama pointed out these documents guided those who went before us through many trials from Seneca Falls to Selma to Stonewall. All these places are about the struggle for civil rights. Seneca Falls was the first convention for women’s rights, held in 1848. [1] Selma was the march for voting rights for African Americans in 1965. Stonewall was a series of demonstrations in New York City for gay rights in 1969.
Therefore, in terms of literary analysis, Obama illustrated this: one can go from the founding documents which speak of freedom and make a transition over to the people about whom these documents of freedom speak, a transition over to the people for whom these documents of freedom have spoken and are speaking. (Slight pause.)
And these words are from the work known as Nehemiah: “So they, the Levities, read from the book, from the Torah of God, with interpretation.” (Slight pause.)
In the bulletin there is a write up which explains how the Torah was compiled [2] and a second one with a reading from Genesis. That Genesis reading might help you understand what the compiled Torah looks like. [3] Please do read them both when you have time.
Now, many scholars say the reading we just heard from Nehemiah illustrates the first public reading of the newly created Torah which, about 450 years before the birth of Jesus, came together in a form we might recognize today. In short, this is the first public reading for some of our founding documents.
There are those who claim we Christians are a “people of the book.” My claim is not that we are a people of the book. My claim is slightly different: we are a people about whom the book speaks. We claim God created us and we have rights granted by God. As such, these rights are unalienable, immutable, fixed, changeless, invariable.
Put another way (dare I say this on a day when we discussed the budget?) we, the church, are not a people of the budget. Budgets are important but do not help us understand or be community. The book helps us understand and be community.
Indeed, I want to suggest we can find ourselves in the book. How? We can find ourselves there because this is the claim made by the book: God is in covenant with us. God loves us. God seeks to work with us. That’s about us, not about the document, not about the book. (Slight pause.)
To complete the literary analysis of the Inaugural Address, the President said the founding documents point us not toward the founding documents but toward the journey in front of us. Obama said (quote): “Preserving individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action.” And our founding document, the Bible, points us toward action together, collective action.
So, the book, our book, Scripture, is not there to point toward the past. We are not a people trapped by the book. We need to refute the idea of Scripture as an idol.
Scripture is not an idol but a touchstone. If we treat Scripture as a touchstone, we are a people not bound by the book. We are a people freed by the book. You see, the book points us toward our journey with God, the journey, the action which lies before us.
In short, we must understand ourselves as a people who seek to be on a journey— a journey of love, a journey of faith, a journey of commitment, a journey of sharing— a people who seeks to be community of faith. And that is why we read the book: it points us toward the future. It points us toward community. Amen.
01/27/2013
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, New York.
Annual Budget Meeting
ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Congregational Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “All rituals of hazing are based on one thing: keeping the victim or victims of the hazing ignorant about what is really happening to them. This, of course, sets up a hierarchy: those in control and those not in control. Congregationalism is an anti-hazing way to organize. Congregationalism is based on each individual knowing full well what is going on, what is happening. That is true if we’re talking about the budget. That is true if we are talking about the Book— Scripture. However and therefore, the most tragic thing which can happen to an individual in a Congregational system is when an individual imposes ignorance on themselves. And, as much as we need to know about the budget, we need to know more about the Book— Scripture. We cannot be and we cannot remain ignorant about it if we are to be true to our heritage.”
BENEDICTION: Through God’s grace and by being attentive to God’s will, our deeds and our words will change our world for we will discover ways to proclaim release from the bondage or narrowness. Let us seek the God of Joy whose wisdom is our God. Let us go in peace to love and serve God. Amen.
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[1] Note: in the audio file you will hear the pastor mis-spoke and said 1814.
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[2] THE GRAF-WELLHAUSEN THEORY
The documentary hypothesis (sometimes called the Wellhausen hypothesis, after Julius Wellhausen, though he did not invent it, sometimes called the Graf-Wellhausen Theory since Karl Heinrich Graf came to a conclusion about the order in which the sources were written), holds that the Pentateuch (the Torah, or the Five Books of Moses) was derived from originally independent, parallel and complete narratives, which were subsequently combined into the current form by a series of redactors (editors). The number of these is usually set at four distinct schools, but this is not an essential part of the hypothesis.
In an attempt to reconcile inconsistencies in the biblical text and refusing to accept forced explanations to harmonize them, 18th and 19th century biblical scholars arrived at the theory that the Torah was composed of selections woven together from several, at times inconsistent, sources, each originally a complete and independent document. The hypothesis developed slowly over the course of the 19th century, by the end of which it was generally agreed that there were four main sources, combined into their final form by a series of redactors, R. These four sources came to be known as the Yahwist, or Jahwist, J (J being the German equivalent of the English letter Y); the Elohist, E; the Deuteronomist, D, (the name comes from the Book of Deuteronomy, D’s contribution to the Torah); and the Priestly Writer, P. Note: two names for God in Hebrew are Yahweh and Elohim. In the Y document God is referred to as Yahweh and in the E document God us referred to as Elohim.
The Wellhausen formulation looks like this:
* The Jahwist source ( J ): written c. 950 B.C.E. in the southern kingdom of Judah.
* The Elohist source ( E ): written c. 850 B.C.E. in the northern kingdom of Israel.
* The Deuteronomist ( D ): written c. 600 B.C.E. in Jerusalem during a period of religious reform.
* The Priestly source ( P ): written c. 500 B.C.E. by Aaronic priests in exile in Babylon.
* The Torah redactors: first JE, then JED, and finally JEDP, producing the final form of the Torah c. 450 B.C.E..
The hypothesis dominated biblical scholarship for much of the 20th century and, although increasingly challenged by other models in the last part of the 20th century, its terminology and insights continue to provide the framework for modern theories on the origins of the Torah.
A Note to those reading this in the blog: to see a Diagram of the Documentary Hypothesis you will need to look at the PDF text file in the footnote of the sermon on the web site of the United Church of Christ, First Congregational of Norwich, NY. That web site is: http://www.uccnorwichny.org/
That web site sub division is:
http://www.uccnorwichny.org/PastorsMessage/SermonArchive/tabid/38500/Default.aspx
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[3] A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF GENESIS 6:5-8:22
This is an example of how the Graf-Wellhausen Theory works out in a text from Scripture. You will note these verses make sense read sequentially. However, that is not how they were written. There is a way to differentiate what follows in the two documents in this passage. The “Regular” type/text is a part of the “J” Document, probably written sometime in or shortly after the reign of David, between 1000 and 900 Before the Common Era (B.C.E.). The “Italic” type/text is a part of the “P” Document, probably written in conjunction with the Babylonian Exile. Sometime between 605 B.C.E. and 538 B.C.E. The important point is different strands in the following text were written 400 years apart. These were then woven together after the Exile into a text which looks like what we have today. This melding was done by a Redactor likely to have lived in the early 400s B.C.E. Hence, in a real sense this represents 3 different documents, “J,” “P,” and “R.” Note: the translation used here is the Inclusive Language Version and the verses are laid out as individual lines.
Genesis 6:5-8:22
[5] Yahweh saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually.
[6] And Yahweh was sorry that he had made humankind on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.
[7] So Yahweh said, “I will blot out from the earth the human beings I have created— people together with animals and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.”
[8] But Noah found favor in the sight of Yahweh.
[9] These are the descendants of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God.
[10] And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
[11] Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence.
[12] And God saw that the earth was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon the earth.
[13] And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence because of them; now I am going to destroy them along with the earth.
[14] Make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch.
[15] This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.
[16] Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above; and put the door of the ark in its side; make it with lower, second, and third decks.
[17] For my part, I am going to bring a flood of waters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die.
[18] But I will establish my covenant with you; and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.
[19] And of every living thing, of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female.
[20] Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground according to its kind, two of every kind shall come in to you, to keep them alive.
[21] Also take with you every kind of food that is eaten, and store it up; and it shall serve as food for you and for them.”
[22] Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.
[7:1] Then Yahweh said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you alone are righteous before me in this generation.
[2] Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and its mate; and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and its mate;
[3] and seven pairs of the birds of the air also, male and female, to keep their kind alive on the face of all the earth.
[4] For in seven days I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights; and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground.”
[5] And Noah did all that Yahweh had commanded him.
[6] Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came on the earth.
[7] And Noah with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood.
[8] Of clean animals, and of animals that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground,
[9] two and two, male and female, went into the ark with Noah, as God had commanded Noah.
[10] And after seven days the waters of the flood came on the earth.
[11] In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened.
[12] The rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.
[13] On the very same day Noah with his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons entered the ark,
[14] they and every wild animal of every kind, and all domestic animals of every kind, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every bird of every kind— every bird, every winged creature.
[15] They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life.
[16] And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and Yahweh shut him in.
[17] The flood continued forty days on the earth; and the waters increased, and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth.
[18] The waters swelled and increased greatly on the earth; and the ark floated on the face of the waters.
[19] The waters swelled so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered;
[20] the waters swelled above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep.
[21] And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, domestic animals, wild animals, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all human beings;
[22] everything on dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died.
[23] He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, human beings and animals and creeping things and birds of the air; they were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those that were with him in the ark.
[24] And the waters swelled on the earth for one hundred fifty days.
[8:1] But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and all the domestic animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided;
[2] the fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained,
[3] and the waters gradually receded from the earth. At the end of one hundred fifty days the waters had abated;
[4] and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.
[5] The waters continued to abate until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains appeared.
[6] At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made
[7] and sent out the raven; and it went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth.[8] Then he sent out the dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground;
[9] but the dove found no place to set its foot, and it returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took it and brought it into the ark with him.
[10] He waited another seven days, and again he sent out the dove from the ark;
[11] and the dove came back to him in the evening, and there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf; so Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth.
[12] Then he waited another seven days, and sent out the dove; and it did not return to him any more.
[13] In the six hundred first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and saw that the face of the ground was drying.
[14] In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry.
[15] Then God said to Noah,
[16] “Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you.
[17] Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh— birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth— so that they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.”
[18] So Noah went out with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives.
[19] And every animal, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out of the ark by families.[20] Then Noah built an altar to Yahweh, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
[21] And when Yahweh smelled the pleasing odor, Yahweh said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, for the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done.
[22] As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest, cold and heat,
summer and winter, day and night,
shall not cease.”
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Friday, January 25, 2013
SERMON ~ 01/20/2013 ~ The Common Good
01/20/2013 ~ Second Sunday after the Epiphany ~ Known in Some Traditions as the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Isaiah 62:1-5; Psalm 36:5-10; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11; John 2:1-11 ~ The Weekend of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration on the Secular Calendar.
The Common Good
“To each person is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” — 1 Corinthians 12:7.
If you were at the service of worship here last Sunday, you know there was a guest preacher— the Rev. Mr. Kelly Shiflett. Thank you, Kelly. I was, obviously, not here. When Kelly got into the pulpit, I was on my way to Bangor, Maine— probably somewhere in East Central Massachusetts by that time.
And, yes— I go north to Bangor in January. However, I go north for a good reason— Convocation at Bangor Seminary— three days of lectures centered around a theme.
Having said Convocation centers around a theme, this year the theme was theology matters— theology matters. And, interestingly for me— writer of hymn and anthem lyrics that I am— several lectures focused on the topic of music and theology and how the theology we hear and assimilate with music, through music does matter.
One of these lectures was given by the Rev. Dr. Cheryl Townsend Gilkes, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Professor of African-American Studies and Sociology at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Dr. Gilkes holds degrees in sociology from Northeastern University and specializes in tracing the history of Gospel music.
In tracing that history, one of her lectures brought to light the fact that 10% of African slaves brought to these shores were Moslem. Having made this point, she played a modern recording of a Moslem call to prayer.
We all listened as the chant hit notes running up and down a minor scale. She then played a modern recording of a nineteenth century arrangement of a Gospel song sung by a choir. And, lo and behold, there was the same sequence of notes and even the same tempos.
She then played a recording, probably from the 1930s, of the great contralto Marion Anderson. We listened to the same Gospel melody we heard the choir sing.
To be sure, in Anderson’s version you could hear the influence of European structure. And, to be blunt, in this rendition everything was much more staid, much more formal. On the other hand, if you listened carefully, you could still hear the basics of the melodies and rhythms found in the Moslem call to prayer.
Something else Dr. Gilkes pointed out in the course of her lectures was that at the root of all Spirituals you could find one common thread. What is that common thread? All Spirituals are about justice.
This premise, which insists Spirituals address justice is valid, in part, because Spirituals originate from an oppressed people. And Dr. Gilkes made one point clear about justice: justice, is not simply a theological position— a theological position being something like, oh, this is what I think. Justice, real justice, God’s justice, is never about what someone thinks.
Justice always needs to be an action. If justice is not something sought and acted out and acted on, it is simply an accouterment, an ornament, an accessory, a decoration. Put another way, if justice is an accouterment, an ornament, an accessory, a decoration it stops being a necessity as you strive to maintain a relationship with God
I have quoted my Hebrew Scriptures professor, Ann Johnston, here many times. Ann said for the Hebrews theology was not simply an intellectual position one takes. The Hebrews, she said, did not have a theology. The Hebrews did theology. Theology is an action done by a community— an action done by a community. (Slight pause.)
And these words are found in the work known as the First Letter to the Church in Corinth: “To each person is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” (Slight pause.)
So, what is justice? If it is an action, how does justice play out? (Slight pause.) Two things need to be noted in defining the act of justice. First, justice cannot be thought of in the singular as in ‘my justice’ or even ‘your justice.’
Justice can only be defined in the plural and not just the plural but the collective plural. Hence, justice— God’s justice— cannot be defined as “our justice” if the word “our” refers to a specific group. With the justice sought by God “our” means everyone is included when using the word “our.” In short, the justice we might seek is not the justice sought by God, unless the justice being sought encompasses inclusion.
The next point about justice should be obvious. But as far as I can tell, it is not. You see, great emphasis is often placed on equality. And rightfully so. Equality is important.
However, equality and justice are not the same thing. Strangely enough, the game of golf provides a good example of what I mean. It is called the handicap system. If one golfer has a handicap of ten and another golfer has a handicap of five and they go out on the course together, over 18 holes the golfer with the handicap of five needs to beat the golfer with a handicap of 10 by six strokes to win.
Why? It has been established the golfer with the handicap of five normally plays 18 holes five strokes better than the golfer with a handicap of ten. So, to make the match fair, the golfer with the lower handicap has to give away five strokes. That’s fairness.
Now, I know the golf example may sound a little abstract to some of you, so I’ve got a visual to help out.
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PLEASE NOTE: FOR THOSE READING THIS ON THE BLOG, IF YOU GO TO THE TEXT VERSION ON THE WEBSITE OF THE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST, FIRST CONGREGATIONAL OF NORWICH, NY, YOU CAN SEE THE CARTOON REFERRED TO BELOW.
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(The pastor leaves the pulpit and hands out a piece of paper to each person present with cartoon which has two panels. In one three people, a short person, a taller person and a person still taller are trying to look over a fence. They are all standing on a box of the same height. Therefore, only the 2 tallest people can see over the fence. The same three people appear in the second panel, but the tallest person stands on no box, a shorter person stands on one box and the shortest person stand on two boxes. Each of them can still see over the fence. The first panel, where the boxes are of equal size, is labeled “equality.” The second panel, where the boxes enable each person to see over the fence because the boxes are of unequal size, is labeled “justice.”)
It is, I hope, clear equality is not the same as justice. Fairness is what justice is about. If the point of justice, if the point of a just result, is that everyone should be able see over the fence, then the boxes on which they stand cannot be the same height. They need to be of different heights.
Justice, you see, is not decided by equality. It is determined by fairness of result— fairness of result, not a fairness of competition. Justice is not about competition.
Another way to say this is that justice is not even decided by asking ‘how do we give everyone an equal opportunity?’ Again, equality is good. But equality does not always mean fair. Justice is decided by asking a simple question: ‘how do we empower everyone?’
So, justice is about fairness, about the empowerment of everyone. Since everyone is different, the question becomes how do we empower each individual. And the answer for each individual is, by definition, different. We need to act accordingly.
And that— in a society— is the hard part: to treat each individual differently. That means a whole lot of work, a whole lot of effort and yes, maybe even a whole lot of money.
All that brings us back to the text from Corinthians. We are all different. There is no doubt about that. We are all given gifts, different gifts. There is no doubt about that.
But the gifts are not only for our individual betterment. The gifts are meant for the community. And who is the community? (Slight pause.) Well, who is our neighbor? (Slight pause.)
It seems to me we live in an age when self-interests have taken precedence over true justice, justice as God would see it. We seem to talk about rights as if they were something which can be distributed or as if they only belonged to certain groups. If that were the case, they would not be rights. They would be temporary privileges.
Part of the point Thomas Jefferson was making in saying that people (quote): “are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,...” is that rights are immutable, fixed, changeless, invariable. In addressing the fact that we all have gifts and those gifts are for the common good, I believe Paul is expressing an understanding about God.
That understanding makes the claim that God sees us as individuals and also sees is as one people. That is not an easy concept for we mere mortals to understand. (Slight pause.)
This weekend we celebrate the memory of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In the work Letter from a Birmingham Jail Dr. King said this (quote): “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” I want to suggest that not only was Dr. King right, but the struggle for justice, the struggle for fairness continues on many fronts.
I also want to suggest that, at the core of the Gospel, we find a singular message: unless we support one another in love, the justice of God will remain an illusive destination.
And so, our call is to love. Our call is to freedom. Our call is to justice for all. Our call is to try to understand and to work toward the just will of God. And the just will of God makes this claim (quote): “To each person is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” Amen.
ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Congregational Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said: ‘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.’ But Dr. King also said: ‘The moral arc of the universe bends at the elbow of justice.’ We need to understand the truth of both those statements.”
BENEDICTION: The love of God must be lived and shared. So, let us go forth with the praise of God on our lips for the steadfast love of God will light our paths as God keeps us open to new ways of doing and learning. And may the love of God guide us, the word of the Christ empower us and the gifts of the Spirit dwell in us, this day and forever more. Amen.
The Common Good
“To each person is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” — 1 Corinthians 12:7.
If you were at the service of worship here last Sunday, you know there was a guest preacher— the Rev. Mr. Kelly Shiflett. Thank you, Kelly. I was, obviously, not here. When Kelly got into the pulpit, I was on my way to Bangor, Maine— probably somewhere in East Central Massachusetts by that time.
And, yes— I go north to Bangor in January. However, I go north for a good reason— Convocation at Bangor Seminary— three days of lectures centered around a theme.
Having said Convocation centers around a theme, this year the theme was theology matters— theology matters. And, interestingly for me— writer of hymn and anthem lyrics that I am— several lectures focused on the topic of music and theology and how the theology we hear and assimilate with music, through music does matter.
One of these lectures was given by the Rev. Dr. Cheryl Townsend Gilkes, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Professor of African-American Studies and Sociology at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Dr. Gilkes holds degrees in sociology from Northeastern University and specializes in tracing the history of Gospel music.
In tracing that history, one of her lectures brought to light the fact that 10% of African slaves brought to these shores were Moslem. Having made this point, she played a modern recording of a Moslem call to prayer.
We all listened as the chant hit notes running up and down a minor scale. She then played a modern recording of a nineteenth century arrangement of a Gospel song sung by a choir. And, lo and behold, there was the same sequence of notes and even the same tempos.
She then played a recording, probably from the 1930s, of the great contralto Marion Anderson. We listened to the same Gospel melody we heard the choir sing.
To be sure, in Anderson’s version you could hear the influence of European structure. And, to be blunt, in this rendition everything was much more staid, much more formal. On the other hand, if you listened carefully, you could still hear the basics of the melodies and rhythms found in the Moslem call to prayer.
Something else Dr. Gilkes pointed out in the course of her lectures was that at the root of all Spirituals you could find one common thread. What is that common thread? All Spirituals are about justice.
This premise, which insists Spirituals address justice is valid, in part, because Spirituals originate from an oppressed people. And Dr. Gilkes made one point clear about justice: justice, is not simply a theological position— a theological position being something like, oh, this is what I think. Justice, real justice, God’s justice, is never about what someone thinks.
Justice always needs to be an action. If justice is not something sought and acted out and acted on, it is simply an accouterment, an ornament, an accessory, a decoration. Put another way, if justice is an accouterment, an ornament, an accessory, a decoration it stops being a necessity as you strive to maintain a relationship with God
I have quoted my Hebrew Scriptures professor, Ann Johnston, here many times. Ann said for the Hebrews theology was not simply an intellectual position one takes. The Hebrews, she said, did not have a theology. The Hebrews did theology. Theology is an action done by a community— an action done by a community. (Slight pause.)
And these words are found in the work known as the First Letter to the Church in Corinth: “To each person is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” (Slight pause.)
So, what is justice? If it is an action, how does justice play out? (Slight pause.) Two things need to be noted in defining the act of justice. First, justice cannot be thought of in the singular as in ‘my justice’ or even ‘your justice.’
Justice can only be defined in the plural and not just the plural but the collective plural. Hence, justice— God’s justice— cannot be defined as “our justice” if the word “our” refers to a specific group. With the justice sought by God “our” means everyone is included when using the word “our.” In short, the justice we might seek is not the justice sought by God, unless the justice being sought encompasses inclusion.
The next point about justice should be obvious. But as far as I can tell, it is not. You see, great emphasis is often placed on equality. And rightfully so. Equality is important.
However, equality and justice are not the same thing. Strangely enough, the game of golf provides a good example of what I mean. It is called the handicap system. If one golfer has a handicap of ten and another golfer has a handicap of five and they go out on the course together, over 18 holes the golfer with the handicap of five needs to beat the golfer with a handicap of 10 by six strokes to win.
Why? It has been established the golfer with the handicap of five normally plays 18 holes five strokes better than the golfer with a handicap of ten. So, to make the match fair, the golfer with the lower handicap has to give away five strokes. That’s fairness.
Now, I know the golf example may sound a little abstract to some of you, so I’ve got a visual to help out.
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PLEASE NOTE: FOR THOSE READING THIS ON THE BLOG, IF YOU GO TO THE TEXT VERSION ON THE WEBSITE OF THE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST, FIRST CONGREGATIONAL OF NORWICH, NY, YOU CAN SEE THE CARTOON REFERRED TO BELOW.
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(The pastor leaves the pulpit and hands out a piece of paper to each person present with cartoon which has two panels. In one three people, a short person, a taller person and a person still taller are trying to look over a fence. They are all standing on a box of the same height. Therefore, only the 2 tallest people can see over the fence. The same three people appear in the second panel, but the tallest person stands on no box, a shorter person stands on one box and the shortest person stand on two boxes. Each of them can still see over the fence. The first panel, where the boxes are of equal size, is labeled “equality.” The second panel, where the boxes enable each person to see over the fence because the boxes are of unequal size, is labeled “justice.”)
It is, I hope, clear equality is not the same as justice. Fairness is what justice is about. If the point of justice, if the point of a just result, is that everyone should be able see over the fence, then the boxes on which they stand cannot be the same height. They need to be of different heights.
Justice, you see, is not decided by equality. It is determined by fairness of result— fairness of result, not a fairness of competition. Justice is not about competition.
Another way to say this is that justice is not even decided by asking ‘how do we give everyone an equal opportunity?’ Again, equality is good. But equality does not always mean fair. Justice is decided by asking a simple question: ‘how do we empower everyone?’
So, justice is about fairness, about the empowerment of everyone. Since everyone is different, the question becomes how do we empower each individual. And the answer for each individual is, by definition, different. We need to act accordingly.
And that— in a society— is the hard part: to treat each individual differently. That means a whole lot of work, a whole lot of effort and yes, maybe even a whole lot of money.
All that brings us back to the text from Corinthians. We are all different. There is no doubt about that. We are all given gifts, different gifts. There is no doubt about that.
But the gifts are not only for our individual betterment. The gifts are meant for the community. And who is the community? (Slight pause.) Well, who is our neighbor? (Slight pause.)
It seems to me we live in an age when self-interests have taken precedence over true justice, justice as God would see it. We seem to talk about rights as if they were something which can be distributed or as if they only belonged to certain groups. If that were the case, they would not be rights. They would be temporary privileges.
Part of the point Thomas Jefferson was making in saying that people (quote): “are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,...” is that rights are immutable, fixed, changeless, invariable. In addressing the fact that we all have gifts and those gifts are for the common good, I believe Paul is expressing an understanding about God.
That understanding makes the claim that God sees us as individuals and also sees is as one people. That is not an easy concept for we mere mortals to understand. (Slight pause.)
This weekend we celebrate the memory of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In the work Letter from a Birmingham Jail Dr. King said this (quote): “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” I want to suggest that not only was Dr. King right, but the struggle for justice, the struggle for fairness continues on many fronts.
I also want to suggest that, at the core of the Gospel, we find a singular message: unless we support one another in love, the justice of God will remain an illusive destination.
And so, our call is to love. Our call is to freedom. Our call is to justice for all. Our call is to try to understand and to work toward the just will of God. And the just will of God makes this claim (quote): “To each person is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” Amen.
ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Congregational Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said: ‘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.’ But Dr. King also said: ‘The moral arc of the universe bends at the elbow of justice.’ We need to understand the truth of both those statements.”
BENEDICTION: The love of God must be lived and shared. So, let us go forth with the praise of God on our lips for the steadfast love of God will light our paths as God keeps us open to new ways of doing and learning. And may the love of God guide us, the word of the Christ empower us and the gifts of the Spirit dwell in us, this day and forever more. Amen.
Monday, January 7, 2013
01/06/2013 (Sunday) ~ The Feast of the Epiphany of the Christ ~ Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12 ~ Communion Sunday.
Came the Magi
“After the birth of Jesus— whose birth happened in Bethlehem of Judea during the reign of Herod the Great— magi, astrologers, from the East arrived in Jerusalem, and asked, ‘Where is the newborn ruler of the Jewish people? We observed a star at its rising which says this one has been born and we have come to offer homage.’” — Matthew 2:1-2.
There is no question about this: the assumptions of the culture in which we live can alter reality, reality which is residing right in front of us. In short, assumptions made by the culture can alter reality to the point where we cannot see the truth of what is actually there.
I was reminded of this because of a Facebook post a pastor friend of mine made. I have seen the story she posted before, but it bears repeating.
This is the story: a while back, at the entrance of a gym, there was a picture of a beautiful but very thin woman. The caption on the poster said: “This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?”
The story then tells about a woman, apparently someone who frequented the gym and whose clothing size was unknown. This woman answered the sign by posting a letter next to it. “Dear people who own this facility, Did you know whales are always surrounded by friends— dolphins, seals, curious humans? They are active and raise their children with great tenderness.”
“They entertain like crazy— play with dolphins eat lots of prawns. They swim all day and travel to fantastic, wonderful places like Patagonia, the Barents Sea, the coral reefs of Polynesia.”
“They sing incredibly well, sometimes even get recorded on CDs. They are both impressive and dearly loved. Everyone defends and admires them.”
“Mermaids, on the other hand, do not exist. They are not real. They are a fantasy. But, if they did exist, they would need to line up to see a psychologist because of a split personality problem: woman or fish?”
“Yes, probably they would be lovely. But it’s also probable they would be lonely, maybe even sad. After all, who wants to hang out with someone who smells like fish? So, without a doubt, I would rather be a whale.”
“Any time,” the letter continued, “the media or anyone else tells us that only thin is beautiful, they are wrong. Personally, I prefer to eat ice cream with kids, have dinner with my spouse, eat and drink and have fun with friends.”
“I believe we women gain weight because we accumulate so much wisdom and knowledge there isn’t enough space in our heads. Therefore, it spreads all over our bodies.”
“Women of a certain size are not fat. We are greatly cultivated. In fact, every time I see my curves in the mirror, I say to myself: ‘How amazing am I?!’” (Slight pause.)
While weighing too much is not healthy, that is, I hope, an obvious illustration of how the cultural alters reality. The culture holds up not just impossible ideals. The culture often prevents reality from sinking in, prevents us from seeing what is right in front of us. (Slight pause.)
At our Bible Study last Wednesday— by the way anyone is welcome— Bible Study, most Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m. Choir rehearsal starts at 7:00, so you can join the Choir— they’re great— go from Bible Study to Choir. It’s a neat transition. At our Bible Study last Wednesday we took a close look at the Nativity Story from the Matthew reading and compared it with the Nativity Story from Luke heard on Christmas Eve.
(The pastor pulls out a sheet of newsprint and holds it up in front of the pulpit.) Comparisons— (the pastor points to the two columns on the paper) Luke-Matthew— and we wrote down bunches of things that A) aren’t really there and B) in one but not the other or the other but not the one. O.K.? There’s way more than this, this is what we came up with briefly.
Now, we have a cultural image about the Nativity. And that cultural image is displayed right here in the crèche. (The pastor walks to the table where the crèche rests and points to the items being addressed.) Typically, a Nativity Scene has figures representing the infant, Mary and Joseph.
Other characters— shepherds, Magi, angels, animals— they’re all displayed near a manger in a barn. Sometimes a star and/or an angel hovers near in these scenes. This cultural image, this crèche, is nearly 100% wrong.
In Luke, there is no star. There is no stable. A manger is mentioned but mangers— feeding troughs for animals— are everywhere in this society, not just in stables. Was the child actually placed in a manger located in a stable? Perhaps. But the text of Luke does not say that.
The stable is a figment of our imagination. Or rather, it was a figment of the imagination of St. Francis of Assisi, who dreamed up the iconic imagery of the crèche in the 13th Century1,300 years after the birth of Christ.
Now, not at the place of the birth but somewhere out in the fields around Bethlehem, one angel addressed some shepherds and then other angels also speak. But no angels ever sings. You can hunt all over Luke all over the Nativity passage, no angel ever squeaks out one note. Last, there are no Magi in Luke no matter what a crèche might suggest.
And that brings us to Matthew. Matthew is where we find Magi. The family clearly lives in a house in Bethlehem, so they have not traveled to Bethlehem and may have some means— they’re in a house. They might even be prosperous.
The three visitors probably come sometime after the birth. Many scholars think Jesus is a toddler by the time the Magi arrive.
Luke clearly stresses the fact that the birth of the Messiah should be seen as good news for the poor and the outcast. With Matthew there is palace intrigue and the family has some means and maybe even royal connections.
The Magi are searching for the one born to be ruler of the Jewish people. The gifts left by them are expensive, suitable for royalty. (Slight pause.) You see, when we read Scripture carefully, the cultural images we so fondly treasure become hard to sustain. When we take Scripture seriously— take Scripture seriously, the cultural images we so fondly treasure are hard to sustain.
(The pastor raises a hand.) Who here wants to take Scripture seriously? (Slight pause.) I’ve got two hands in the back— two more up here— O.K. (Slight pause.)
And these words are from Matthew: “After the birth of Jesus— whose birth happened in Bethlehem of Judea during the reign of Herod the Great— Magi, astrologers, from the East arrived in Jerusalem, and asked, ‘Where is the newborn ruler of the Jewish people? We observed a star at its rising which says this one has been born and have come to offer homage.’” (Slight pause.)
So, if our cultural images about the Nativity are fantasy, made up, what are we supposed to learn from these narratives, from what they really say? What are we to learn from the two stories? What are we to learn from the birth being announced to the poor and the outcast and from birth of the one born to be ruler of the Jewish people? (Slight pause.)
I believe, despite the differences in the stories, despite the reality of the stories, I believe the message is both unified and simple. Jesus needs to be seen as the climax of the Covenant God made with humanity— a Covenant of love, a Covenant of trust, a Covenant of forgiveness. Jesus is born as a reassurance that God is with us now and that God is with us always, for all eternity. Jesus is born to help us grapple with the reality of God. (Slight pause.)
In a recent discussion with a colleague I said a sound theology deals with reality. A less than sound theology insists on buying into cultural fantasy or insists on buying into an ideological fantasy or insists on buying into personal fantasy. The reason the Nativity Stories are there is not to create fantasies of any kind. The Nativity Stories are there to help us see the reality of God among us. (Slight pause.)
The culture constantly creates fantasies— fantasies which do not exist, which are not real— fantasies about everything from body image to the Nativity Stories. (Slight pause.) Now, I need to be clear about one thing: I like fantasy.
Sometimes people accuse me of being a story teller. Guilty. But the point of telling stories— the point of telling stories— is to uncover deeper truth. The point of telling stories is to uncover and illuminate reality.
Think about this, talking about illuminating reality: in the case of the Nativity Story in Matthew, the Magi are representatives of all gentiles, all non-Jews. The claim of Matthew is all people are invited to worship the Messiah.
In that sense the Magi pave the way for the invitation made by the Risen Christ— the Risen Christ at the end of Matthew’s Gospel: go— make disciples of all nations. Better said, or said in a way we can understand— “include the gentiles. They’re my people too!” So, the writer of Matthew does nothing more than come full circle by starting with the Magi— come, all people are my people. Now that’s a story that uncovers a deeper truth.
All of which is to say, the truth revealed by this story is not about three visitors or gold, frankincense, and myrrh. There is a real theological point with which we need to grapple. What is that theological reality?
To reiterate: Jesus needs to be seen as the climax of the Covenant God made with humanity— a Covenant of love, a Covenant of trust, a Covenant of forgiveness. Jesus is born as a reassurance that God is with us now and always, for all eternity. Jesus is born to help us grapple with the reality of God. Amen.
01/06/2012 - The Feast of the Epiphany
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 Congregational Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “This is a poem by Howard Thurman. Its title is The Work of Christmas. ‘When the song of the angels is stilled, / When the star in the sky is gone, / When the kings and princes are home, / When the shepherds are back with their flock, / The work of Christmas begins: / To find the lost, / To heal the broken, / To feed the hungry, / To release the prisoner, / To rebuild the nations, / To bring peace among people, / To make music in the heart.’”
BENEDICTION: Because, O God, You have made Yourself manifest in Jesus, the Christ, begotten from the heart of Your love, Word of Truth, Light of Light, we give You thanks and praise. You are the light of the world. Let Your light so shine that all may see the good things You do. So, remember that God is with us now and always. Go in peace; go in love; go in Joy; go in hope. 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 nothing else and no one else. Amen.
Came the Magi
“After the birth of Jesus— whose birth happened in Bethlehem of Judea during the reign of Herod the Great— magi, astrologers, from the East arrived in Jerusalem, and asked, ‘Where is the newborn ruler of the Jewish people? We observed a star at its rising which says this one has been born and we have come to offer homage.’” — Matthew 2:1-2.
There is no question about this: the assumptions of the culture in which we live can alter reality, reality which is residing right in front of us. In short, assumptions made by the culture can alter reality to the point where we cannot see the truth of what is actually there.
I was reminded of this because of a Facebook post a pastor friend of mine made. I have seen the story she posted before, but it bears repeating.
This is the story: a while back, at the entrance of a gym, there was a picture of a beautiful but very thin woman. The caption on the poster said: “This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?”
The story then tells about a woman, apparently someone who frequented the gym and whose clothing size was unknown. This woman answered the sign by posting a letter next to it. “Dear people who own this facility, Did you know whales are always surrounded by friends— dolphins, seals, curious humans? They are active and raise their children with great tenderness.”
“They entertain like crazy— play with dolphins eat lots of prawns. They swim all day and travel to fantastic, wonderful places like Patagonia, the Barents Sea, the coral reefs of Polynesia.”
“They sing incredibly well, sometimes even get recorded on CDs. They are both impressive and dearly loved. Everyone defends and admires them.”
“Mermaids, on the other hand, do not exist. They are not real. They are a fantasy. But, if they did exist, they would need to line up to see a psychologist because of a split personality problem: woman or fish?”
“Yes, probably they would be lovely. But it’s also probable they would be lonely, maybe even sad. After all, who wants to hang out with someone who smells like fish? So, without a doubt, I would rather be a whale.”
“Any time,” the letter continued, “the media or anyone else tells us that only thin is beautiful, they are wrong. Personally, I prefer to eat ice cream with kids, have dinner with my spouse, eat and drink and have fun with friends.”
“I believe we women gain weight because we accumulate so much wisdom and knowledge there isn’t enough space in our heads. Therefore, it spreads all over our bodies.”
“Women of a certain size are not fat. We are greatly cultivated. In fact, every time I see my curves in the mirror, I say to myself: ‘How amazing am I?!’” (Slight pause.)
While weighing too much is not healthy, that is, I hope, an obvious illustration of how the cultural alters reality. The culture holds up not just impossible ideals. The culture often prevents reality from sinking in, prevents us from seeing what is right in front of us. (Slight pause.)
At our Bible Study last Wednesday— by the way anyone is welcome— Bible Study, most Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m. Choir rehearsal starts at 7:00, so you can join the Choir— they’re great— go from Bible Study to Choir. It’s a neat transition. At our Bible Study last Wednesday we took a close look at the Nativity Story from the Matthew reading and compared it with the Nativity Story from Luke heard on Christmas Eve.
(The pastor pulls out a sheet of newsprint and holds it up in front of the pulpit.) Comparisons— (the pastor points to the two columns on the paper) Luke-Matthew— and we wrote down bunches of things that A) aren’t really there and B) in one but not the other or the other but not the one. O.K.? There’s way more than this, this is what we came up with briefly.
Now, we have a cultural image about the Nativity. And that cultural image is displayed right here in the crèche. (The pastor walks to the table where the crèche rests and points to the items being addressed.) Typically, a Nativity Scene has figures representing the infant, Mary and Joseph.
Other characters— shepherds, Magi, angels, animals— they’re all displayed near a manger in a barn. Sometimes a star and/or an angel hovers near in these scenes. This cultural image, this crèche, is nearly 100% wrong.
In Luke, there is no star. There is no stable. A manger is mentioned but mangers— feeding troughs for animals— are everywhere in this society, not just in stables. Was the child actually placed in a manger located in a stable? Perhaps. But the text of Luke does not say that.
The stable is a figment of our imagination. Or rather, it was a figment of the imagination of St. Francis of Assisi, who dreamed up the iconic imagery of the crèche in the 13th Century1,300 years after the birth of Christ.
Now, not at the place of the birth but somewhere out in the fields around Bethlehem, one angel addressed some shepherds and then other angels also speak. But no angels ever sings. You can hunt all over Luke all over the Nativity passage, no angel ever squeaks out one note. Last, there are no Magi in Luke no matter what a crèche might suggest.
And that brings us to Matthew. Matthew is where we find Magi. The family clearly lives in a house in Bethlehem, so they have not traveled to Bethlehem and may have some means— they’re in a house. They might even be prosperous.
The three visitors probably come sometime after the birth. Many scholars think Jesus is a toddler by the time the Magi arrive.
Luke clearly stresses the fact that the birth of the Messiah should be seen as good news for the poor and the outcast. With Matthew there is palace intrigue and the family has some means and maybe even royal connections.
The Magi are searching for the one born to be ruler of the Jewish people. The gifts left by them are expensive, suitable for royalty. (Slight pause.) You see, when we read Scripture carefully, the cultural images we so fondly treasure become hard to sustain. When we take Scripture seriously— take Scripture seriously, the cultural images we so fondly treasure are hard to sustain.
(The pastor raises a hand.) Who here wants to take Scripture seriously? (Slight pause.) I’ve got two hands in the back— two more up here— O.K. (Slight pause.)
And these words are from Matthew: “After the birth of Jesus— whose birth happened in Bethlehem of Judea during the reign of Herod the Great— Magi, astrologers, from the East arrived in Jerusalem, and asked, ‘Where is the newborn ruler of the Jewish people? We observed a star at its rising which says this one has been born and have come to offer homage.’” (Slight pause.)
So, if our cultural images about the Nativity are fantasy, made up, what are we supposed to learn from these narratives, from what they really say? What are we to learn from the two stories? What are we to learn from the birth being announced to the poor and the outcast and from birth of the one born to be ruler of the Jewish people? (Slight pause.)
I believe, despite the differences in the stories, despite the reality of the stories, I believe the message is both unified and simple. Jesus needs to be seen as the climax of the Covenant God made with humanity— a Covenant of love, a Covenant of trust, a Covenant of forgiveness. Jesus is born as a reassurance that God is with us now and that God is with us always, for all eternity. Jesus is born to help us grapple with the reality of God. (Slight pause.)
In a recent discussion with a colleague I said a sound theology deals with reality. A less than sound theology insists on buying into cultural fantasy or insists on buying into an ideological fantasy or insists on buying into personal fantasy. The reason the Nativity Stories are there is not to create fantasies of any kind. The Nativity Stories are there to help us see the reality of God among us. (Slight pause.)
The culture constantly creates fantasies— fantasies which do not exist, which are not real— fantasies about everything from body image to the Nativity Stories. (Slight pause.) Now, I need to be clear about one thing: I like fantasy.
Sometimes people accuse me of being a story teller. Guilty. But the point of telling stories— the point of telling stories— is to uncover deeper truth. The point of telling stories is to uncover and illuminate reality.
Think about this, talking about illuminating reality: in the case of the Nativity Story in Matthew, the Magi are representatives of all gentiles, all non-Jews. The claim of Matthew is all people are invited to worship the Messiah.
In that sense the Magi pave the way for the invitation made by the Risen Christ— the Risen Christ at the end of Matthew’s Gospel: go— make disciples of all nations. Better said, or said in a way we can understand— “include the gentiles. They’re my people too!” So, the writer of Matthew does nothing more than come full circle by starting with the Magi— come, all people are my people. Now that’s a story that uncovers a deeper truth.
All of which is to say, the truth revealed by this story is not about three visitors or gold, frankincense, and myrrh. There is a real theological point with which we need to grapple. What is that theological reality?
To reiterate: Jesus needs to be seen as the climax of the Covenant God made with humanity— a Covenant of love, a Covenant of trust, a Covenant of forgiveness. Jesus is born as a reassurance that God is with us now and always, for all eternity. Jesus is born to help us grapple with the reality of God. Amen.
01/06/2012 - The Feast of the Epiphany
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 Congregational Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “This is a poem by Howard Thurman. Its title is The Work of Christmas. ‘When the song of the angels is stilled, / When the star in the sky is gone, / When the kings and princes are home, / When the shepherds are back with their flock, / The work of Christmas begins: / To find the lost, / To heal the broken, / To feed the hungry, / To release the prisoner, / To rebuild the nations, / To bring peace among people, / To make music in the heart.’”
BENEDICTION: Because, O God, You have made Yourself manifest in Jesus, the Christ, begotten from the heart of Your love, Word of Truth, Light of Light, we give You thanks and praise. You are the light of the world. Let Your light so shine that all may see the good things You do. So, remember that God is with us now and always. Go in peace; go in love; go in Joy; go in hope. 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 nothing else and no one else. Amen.
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