03/30/2014 ~ Fourth Sunday in Lent ~ 1 Samuel 16:1-13; Psalm 23; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41.
Cause and Effect? [1] [2]
“The disciples asked, ‘Rabbi, is the sin of this individual what caused the blindness or the sin of this individual’s parents?’” — John 9:2.
Here is a question to which we all want an answer: “Why?” Why do bad things happen to good people? Why do the rich get richer and the poor get poorer? Why did Mom always like you best? Why did this happen to me? Why was the one Jesus cured born blind? (Slight pause.)
O.K., as I do too often for some and not often enough for others I will yet again, relate this to baseball. Back when I was very young, when the New York Mets first came on the scene, they were the worst team who ever played the game at the major league level.
That season they set a new modern era record— a record yet to be broken— and lost a total of 120 games out of the 160 games they played. They finished 60 ½ games out of first place.
My late mother, also a baseball fan, noticed bad luck seemed to haunt the team. Nearly every game they lost was determined by a bad hop on a easy ground ball, a blown call by an umpire, a ball lost in the sun. Because of any and all of these mishaps opponents seemed to score the winning run. She fully believed there must be some cause for this waywardness of chance, this lack of luck. She constantly asked: why?
Perhaps it was some star in the sky out of place, some ill wind blowing over Coogan’s Bluff in the Bronx at the Polo Grounds. Mom, at one point and somewhat whimsically, wondered out loud if the manager, Casey Stengel, had done something in his early life or was currently doing something nefarious to warrant this fate, this streak of misfortune, a kind of no bad deed goes unpunished concept.
And after all, if the results on the field could at least be attributed to something, anything, what she saw might in some way be explained. Then, when a mere 8 years later the Mets shocked the Baseball universe by winning the World Series over a heavily favored Baltimore Orioles team, she was equally convinced the bad luck of the previous seven years was being paid back all at once.
She may have had a point. These were among the things that happened in that championship year: the Mets won each game of a double header, both by a score of 1-0, and in both games the weakest batter in the line-up, their pitcher, drove in the only and winning run.
The Mets had a no-hitter pitched against them in mid-September as they drove relentlessly toward the National League Pennant. And then, of course, there was the famous shoe polish incident in the last game of the World Series against Baltimore.
Pitcher Dave McNally bounced a pitch that appeared to have hit Mets left fielder Cleon Jones on the foot and skittered into the Mets’ dugout. Baltimore claimed the ball hit the dirt, not Jones. The umpire agreed.
Mets manager Gil Hodges then slowly walked from the dugout, showed the ball to the umpire who found a spot of shoe polish on the ball and awarded Jones first base. The next batter hit a home run. At first unlucky, now they were... lucky— cause and effect— and things do equal out— right?
Well, maybe; maybe not. But that, I think, is how we humans see things— we often see in terms of cause and effect. And, as this passage which written some 2,000 years ago might indicate, it’s not just we moderns who see things in scientific terms, who see cause and effect as if it were a mathematical idea. Aristotle, who lived 400 years before this passage from John was written saw things in terms of causality too— one of the bases of Aristotelian Philosophy— cause.
But I think there is a more important question contained in this passage than how do we see. The more important question is: how does God see? (Slight pause.)
We find these words in the Gospel According to the School of John: “The disciples asked, ‘Rabbi, is the sin of this individual what caused the blindness or the sin of this individual’s parents?’” (Slight pause.)
One of the facets of Facebook is when you come on something, be it a picture or a cartoon or a saying you want to share with a friend, it’s easy to share it. The process is called tagging. Whatever it is you want to share you tag it with the name of your friend. And then they get an e-mail saying they have been tagged.
That happened to me this week. Someone tagged a cartoon with my name, knowing I would see it. The caption said: ‘which came first?’ The initial panel depicted a God figure who stretched out hands and there was a poof and a cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared both a chicken and an egg appeared.
The next panel said “simultaneous creation.” The last panel had God saying, “Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh— simultaneous creation— they will never figure this one out.”
And, of course, a continual question we tend to ask is: ‘which came first— the chicken or the egg?’— cause and effect. But I wonder, is that the way God sees it? Or, better yet, is cause and effect a question God would even have? (Slight pause.)
Well, what is the implication of cause and effect? It implies there is some kind of economy at work. That economy could be labeled a debit and credit system. I think we buy into that. We believe everything in life is based on debits and credits.
We believe in an economy of merit. We believe we earn what we get. We believe we reap what we sow. We believe poor people cause poverty.
That is a very human reading of the world. Therefore, if a person is blind, even blind from birth, there must have been some debt, some liability incurred and that creates an obligation which must be either paid back or forgiven in some way.
But is that how God sees the world? (Slight pause.) I believe the economy with which God sees things might be called an economy of grace. And that is very, very hard for we humans to grasp.
Theologian Richard Rhor says we base almost everything in human culture on achievement, performance, accomplishment, payment, exchange value, appearance, worthiness of some sort. This might be called “meritocracy”— a rule of merit. Hence, unless we personally experience a dramatic breaking of the agreed-upon rules of merit, it is almost impossible to disbelieve or operate outside of this rigid logic. (Slight pause.)
So, does that state of being— merit— actually exist? It is a reality? Is everything based on debits and credits? Is merit always rewarded? Do we always earn what we get, always reap what we sow.
Or even in our own personal lives do we see sometimes thing we might call shortages or overages? Do we something get things we know we don’t really deserve? Do we sometimes pay a price we know we don’t really owe? Put another way: is the world fair?
Do poor people really cause poverty or is that a systemic problem? Is it possible that sometimes people work very hard for something and are never rewarded? (Slight pause.) And how does God see the world? (Slight pause.)
I firmly believe God sees the world in terms of grace. I believe that, for God, grace breaks our ironclad rule of cause and effect. Grace is God’s magnificent jailbreak from our self-made prisons. Grace is the undeserved key whereby God, the Divine Locksmith, for every life and for all of history, sets us free. (Slight pause.)
The key to entering into the new social order Jesus sees is never our own worthiness. It is always God’s graciousness.
In the realm of God we are all blessed by divine mercy and not by our own performance. Any attempt to measure or increase our worthiness in the eyes of God will always fall short, or will force us into a position of denial and pretense, and that often produces hypocrisy, even violence— to ourselves and to others. [3] (Slight pause.)
I need to be clear: an “economy of grace” as opposed to “economy of merit” is very hard for humans. As Rhor said, we base almost everything in human culture on achievement, performance, accomplishment, payment, exchange value, appearance— worthiness of some sort. However, all that is our own self made worthiness.
You see, it is God who determines our actual, our real worthiness. And God loves all people— no exceptions— even the person born blind— a very different way of looking at things.
All of which is to say, as the reading from Ephesians says (quote): “Live as children of light.” See the light; strive to see the light. Tall order, that— but it is the place to which God calls us. Amen.
03/30/2014
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, NY
ENDPIECE— It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Congregational Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “I did something like this at a Children’s Time a while ago. If you look in your bulletin you will see an insert with two pictures, both taken by Bonnie. They are both of our niece and nephew, Phoebe and Clay. One captures them at about ages 4 and 6. That’s the black and white photo. The photo on the opposite page captures them at about 19 and 21. Question: how does God see them? Does God see them as young? Does God see them as they are in the older picture. Does God see them as they are now, some twelve years later? What is the vision God sees? Does God always see with the vision called love?”
BENEDICTION: There is but one message in Scripture: God loves us. Let us endeavor to let God’s love shine forth in our lives. For with God’s love and goodness there is power to redeem, power to revive, power to renew, power to resurrect. So, may the love of God the creator which is real, the Peace of Christ which surpasses all understanding and companionship of the Holy Spirit which is ever present, keep our hearts and minds in the knowledge, love and care of God this day and forever more. Amen.
[1] For those who might be listening to this Meditation online, it needs to be noted that the pastor was in the process of recovering from a late Winter cold. Hence, those who are used to the “normal” tones of the pastor will notice a difference.
[2] For those reading this plain text online, at the very end the pastor used 2 pictures. You will find those pictures embedded in the PDF file online.
[3]
http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Richard-Rohr-s-Meditation--The-Economy-of-Grace.html?soid=1103098668616&aid=xFzJyw-IlQw
Monday, March 31, 2014
Sunday, March 23, 2014
SERMON ~ 03/23/2014 ~ “Inclusion”
03/23/2014 ~ Third Sunday in Lent ~ Exodus 17:1-7; Psalm 95; Romans 5:1-11; John 4:5-42.
Inclusion
“The Samaritan woman replied, ‘You are a Jew. How is it you ask a drink of me, a woman, a Samaritan?’ (That was because Jews had nothing to do with Samaritans.)” — John 4:9— Words from the Gospel According to the School of John.
There are some who accuse me of relating everything to baseball. Yes, the Dodgers did bear the Diamondbacks twice yesterday in Perth, Australia.) My wife would be among that group who accuse me of relating everything to baseball.
While that’s not really true— I do not relate everything to baseball— frankly, I do think some sound theology can be found in the game. Or rather there are some sound lessons for life and because of that some sound theological lessons to be found.
There is one lesson in particular in which I take great comfort. The best hitters in the game— the best hitters in the game— fail seven out of ten times. I think that statistic gives us a lesson about the nature of sin.
You see, we have an inaccurate idea when it comes to the definition, the nature of sin. We think sin, by its nature, means some kind of misdeed, doing something wrong. Therefore, we also believe that we, largely, do not sin. But sin is not about misdeeds nor about doing something wrong.
As I have often said here: the Biblical definition of sin is not some kind of misdeed or doing something wrong. The Biblical definition of sin is missing the mark.
But what is that mark? That mark is being in a right relationship, even a constructive relationship with God at all times and in all ways. Here’s another way to put that: being in right relationship, a constructive relationship with God at all times and in all ways means being perfect all the time.
If there is anything I know, I know I am not perfect. As I also like to say, if anyone here is perfect, please leave right now. Church is a place imperfect people gather. Needless to say, if we are not perfect according to the Biblical definition we do sin, both knowingly and unknowingly.
Which brings me back to baseball and why I find great comfort in the game. As I said, a batter is not perfect. A batter fails seven out of ten times. In fact, in baseball failing seven out of ten times is so good, that average might get you into the Hall of Fame. When it comes to perfection, I suspect we fail at least seven out of ten times, probably more.
Now, despite the fact that baseball is sometimes called America’s National Pastime, failure— especially failure seven out of ten times— does not jibe well with American theology. Please note: I said American theology as opposed to Christian theology.
Americans think of failure as unacceptable. It’s part of our national psyche and, hence, a part of our theology. After all, the motto of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during World War II was this (quote:) “With willing hearts and skillful hands, the difficult we do at once; the impossible takes a bit longer”— American theology— failure is unacceptable. How about that— very different than Christian theology. (Slight pause.)
We find these words in the Gospel According to the School of John: “The Samaritan woman replied, ‘You are a Jew. How is it you ask a drink of me, a woman, a Samaritan?’ (That was because Jews had nothing to do with Samaritans.)” (Slight pause.)
Wednesday evening, when we met for Bible Study and looked at this passage, one of the things we noted was it seemed to be kind of all over the map. While there is an overriding story, it also feels like there are a number of brief anecdotes being told.
That is also the nature of the entire Gospel— the structure seems a little scattered. And scholars have puzzled over that peculiarity in this narrative for a long time. They have come up with explanations— some plausible, some questionable.
One explanation suggests John was recorded in the era a new form of preserving writings was taking hold. It was called the codex. A codex looks similar to what we would call a book. Sheets are stacked in the right order and then bound together.
This explanation says some scribe was walking with the first version of the complete manuscript [the pastor leaves the pulpit and pantomimes the action of a scribe carrying a codex and tripping], that scribe tripped, the codex hit the ground and the pages scattered about. The scribe then put them back in the wrong sequence. It’s a funny story, but not likely.
Another story says there was a room full of scribes copying different sections. A scribe came in started to collect the pages in the right order from each section, got distracted, skipped over sections, realized the mistake and came back for the missed sections. But some pieces did not get exactly where they belonged. It’s also a funny story, but not likely.
Given the internal evidence in the language and the flow of story detail, I think the most likely explanation is a good portion of the manuscript was complied by one person— perhaps even someone named John. Then that person died and the disciples of that person added some things, removed some things, moved some things around and that is the version which has been handed on to us— a little scattered but readable.
You probably noticed that when we introduce a reading from this Gospel these words are often said: “The Gospel According to the School of John.” And that’s why we say “the School of John.” It’s likely there are a number of hands involved in this work.
That having been said, I think one question needs to be asked of this reading, in particular. Is there an overall theme which holds it together, which makes it feel like it belongs together? (Short pause.) The short answer is ‘yes.’
Pastor Bruce Epperly says this about the passage (quote:) “We all need living waters. We need spiritual and relational resources that refresh and transform our lives. God is willing to give us what we need for spiritual transformation in challenging times; we need to be open to God’s care, trusting God will supply our greatest needs.”
“There are no absolute guarantees of success— let me repeat that again— there are no absolute guarantees of success— or a cure for every ailment, but there is refreshment for the pilgrimage of life. This deep relational refreshment enables us to respond with grace to what is beyond our power and summon the reserves for a second wind in facing difficult challenges.” [1] (Slight pause.)
You see, God’s loving care is constant and universal. God’s gentle providence supersedes imperfection. The love of God embraces everyone at all times.
The love of God is all inclusive. In fact, the love of God is perfect and, thereby, allows us to not only see what perfection looks like but to feel embraced by it. (Slight pause.)
In a couple of minutes we will dedicate the quilts made by the Chenango Piecmakers Guild on Super Sew Sunday. Ask any quilt maker about perfection in a quilt and they might point out where each quilt has an imperfection.
After all, a quilt maker knows about each and every stitch and each and every mistake in a quilt they make. But do you know what I have never heard a quilt maker say? I have never heard a quilt maker say ‘I made this quilt intending that it not be used, intending that it not be in some way useful.’ (Slight pause.)
What makes the love of God perfect is God intends that love to be used, intends us to be useful to one another, to love one another, to be useful to the world around us. The love of God is so perfect that God embraces us for who we are.
And that, my friends is not just perfection. That is the real, inclusive, amazing love offered by God. Amen.
03/23/2014
United Church of Christ, First Congregational
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: “St. Ignatius, founder of the Jesuits, proposed a daily exercise, an exercise in discernment. Rather than focusing on what went right or wrong, what you did right or wrong, how you failed or how you succeeded throughout the day, this exercise encourages a person to reflect on moments in the day when you were aware of God— when you were present to the Presence— and those times when you were forgetful or distracted. I want to suggest this is a useful daily practice.”
BENEDICTION: Let us rest assured that God is among us and travels with us daily. Let us know that God’s Spirit empowers us to do things in the name of God we did not think possible. Therefore, let us share our love for God with others, confident that God will provide if we are faithful. And may we love God so much, that we love nothing else too much. May we be in awe of no one else and nothing else because we are so in awe of God. Amen.
[1] Note: these words have been slightly edited for use in this sermon.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/livingaholyadventure/2014/03/the-adventurous-lectionary-the-third-sunday-in-lent-march-23-2014/
The Adventurous Lectionary: The Third Sunday in Lent, March 23, 2014 ~ By Bruce Epperly.
Inclusion
“The Samaritan woman replied, ‘You are a Jew. How is it you ask a drink of me, a woman, a Samaritan?’ (That was because Jews had nothing to do with Samaritans.)” — John 4:9— Words from the Gospel According to the School of John.
There are some who accuse me of relating everything to baseball. Yes, the Dodgers did bear the Diamondbacks twice yesterday in Perth, Australia.) My wife would be among that group who accuse me of relating everything to baseball.
While that’s not really true— I do not relate everything to baseball— frankly, I do think some sound theology can be found in the game. Or rather there are some sound lessons for life and because of that some sound theological lessons to be found.
There is one lesson in particular in which I take great comfort. The best hitters in the game— the best hitters in the game— fail seven out of ten times. I think that statistic gives us a lesson about the nature of sin.
You see, we have an inaccurate idea when it comes to the definition, the nature of sin. We think sin, by its nature, means some kind of misdeed, doing something wrong. Therefore, we also believe that we, largely, do not sin. But sin is not about misdeeds nor about doing something wrong.
As I have often said here: the Biblical definition of sin is not some kind of misdeed or doing something wrong. The Biblical definition of sin is missing the mark.
But what is that mark? That mark is being in a right relationship, even a constructive relationship with God at all times and in all ways. Here’s another way to put that: being in right relationship, a constructive relationship with God at all times and in all ways means being perfect all the time.
If there is anything I know, I know I am not perfect. As I also like to say, if anyone here is perfect, please leave right now. Church is a place imperfect people gather. Needless to say, if we are not perfect according to the Biblical definition we do sin, both knowingly and unknowingly.
Which brings me back to baseball and why I find great comfort in the game. As I said, a batter is not perfect. A batter fails seven out of ten times. In fact, in baseball failing seven out of ten times is so good, that average might get you into the Hall of Fame. When it comes to perfection, I suspect we fail at least seven out of ten times, probably more.
Now, despite the fact that baseball is sometimes called America’s National Pastime, failure— especially failure seven out of ten times— does not jibe well with American theology. Please note: I said American theology as opposed to Christian theology.
Americans think of failure as unacceptable. It’s part of our national psyche and, hence, a part of our theology. After all, the motto of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during World War II was this (quote:) “With willing hearts and skillful hands, the difficult we do at once; the impossible takes a bit longer”— American theology— failure is unacceptable. How about that— very different than Christian theology. (Slight pause.)
We find these words in the Gospel According to the School of John: “The Samaritan woman replied, ‘You are a Jew. How is it you ask a drink of me, a woman, a Samaritan?’ (That was because Jews had nothing to do with Samaritans.)” (Slight pause.)
Wednesday evening, when we met for Bible Study and looked at this passage, one of the things we noted was it seemed to be kind of all over the map. While there is an overriding story, it also feels like there are a number of brief anecdotes being told.
That is also the nature of the entire Gospel— the structure seems a little scattered. And scholars have puzzled over that peculiarity in this narrative for a long time. They have come up with explanations— some plausible, some questionable.
One explanation suggests John was recorded in the era a new form of preserving writings was taking hold. It was called the codex. A codex looks similar to what we would call a book. Sheets are stacked in the right order and then bound together.
This explanation says some scribe was walking with the first version of the complete manuscript [the pastor leaves the pulpit and pantomimes the action of a scribe carrying a codex and tripping], that scribe tripped, the codex hit the ground and the pages scattered about. The scribe then put them back in the wrong sequence. It’s a funny story, but not likely.
Another story says there was a room full of scribes copying different sections. A scribe came in started to collect the pages in the right order from each section, got distracted, skipped over sections, realized the mistake and came back for the missed sections. But some pieces did not get exactly where they belonged. It’s also a funny story, but not likely.
Given the internal evidence in the language and the flow of story detail, I think the most likely explanation is a good portion of the manuscript was complied by one person— perhaps even someone named John. Then that person died and the disciples of that person added some things, removed some things, moved some things around and that is the version which has been handed on to us— a little scattered but readable.
You probably noticed that when we introduce a reading from this Gospel these words are often said: “The Gospel According to the School of John.” And that’s why we say “the School of John.” It’s likely there are a number of hands involved in this work.
That having been said, I think one question needs to be asked of this reading, in particular. Is there an overall theme which holds it together, which makes it feel like it belongs together? (Short pause.) The short answer is ‘yes.’
Pastor Bruce Epperly says this about the passage (quote:) “We all need living waters. We need spiritual and relational resources that refresh and transform our lives. God is willing to give us what we need for spiritual transformation in challenging times; we need to be open to God’s care, trusting God will supply our greatest needs.”
“There are no absolute guarantees of success— let me repeat that again— there are no absolute guarantees of success— or a cure for every ailment, but there is refreshment for the pilgrimage of life. This deep relational refreshment enables us to respond with grace to what is beyond our power and summon the reserves for a second wind in facing difficult challenges.” [1] (Slight pause.)
You see, God’s loving care is constant and universal. God’s gentle providence supersedes imperfection. The love of God embraces everyone at all times.
The love of God is all inclusive. In fact, the love of God is perfect and, thereby, allows us to not only see what perfection looks like but to feel embraced by it. (Slight pause.)
In a couple of minutes we will dedicate the quilts made by the Chenango Piecmakers Guild on Super Sew Sunday. Ask any quilt maker about perfection in a quilt and they might point out where each quilt has an imperfection.
After all, a quilt maker knows about each and every stitch and each and every mistake in a quilt they make. But do you know what I have never heard a quilt maker say? I have never heard a quilt maker say ‘I made this quilt intending that it not be used, intending that it not be in some way useful.’ (Slight pause.)
What makes the love of God perfect is God intends that love to be used, intends us to be useful to one another, to love one another, to be useful to the world around us. The love of God is so perfect that God embraces us for who we are.
And that, my friends is not just perfection. That is the real, inclusive, amazing love offered by God. Amen.
03/23/2014
United Church of Christ, First Congregational
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: “St. Ignatius, founder of the Jesuits, proposed a daily exercise, an exercise in discernment. Rather than focusing on what went right or wrong, what you did right or wrong, how you failed or how you succeeded throughout the day, this exercise encourages a person to reflect on moments in the day when you were aware of God— when you were present to the Presence— and those times when you were forgetful or distracted. I want to suggest this is a useful daily practice.”
BENEDICTION: Let us rest assured that God is among us and travels with us daily. Let us know that God’s Spirit empowers us to do things in the name of God we did not think possible. Therefore, let us share our love for God with others, confident that God will provide if we are faithful. And may we love God so much, that we love nothing else too much. May we be in awe of no one else and nothing else because we are so in awe of God. Amen.
[1] Note: these words have been slightly edited for use in this sermon.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/livingaholyadventure/2014/03/the-adventurous-lectionary-the-third-sunday-in-lent-march-23-2014/
The Adventurous Lectionary: The Third Sunday in Lent, March 23, 2014 ~ By Bruce Epperly.
Sunday, March 16, 2014
SERMON ~ 03/16/2014 ~ “Everything Old Is New Again”
03/16/2014 ~ Second Sunday in Lent ~ Genesis 12:1-4a; Psalm 121; Romans 4:1-5, 13-17; John 3:1-17 or Matthew 17:1-9.
Everything Old Is New Again
“Nicodemus said to Jesus, ‘How can this be possible? How can these things be?’ / Jesus replied, ‘Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you still do not understand these matters?’” — John 3:9-10.
At times we seem to live in a world where being oblivious to wisdom, to truth, even to our own history is a path society is bent on following. (Slight pause.) Sister Helen Prejean is best known for her work with prisoners on Death Row and the book she wrote about her experiences, Dead Man Walking. Needless to say, that book which was turned into a movie.
And yes, some would see the good sister as a radical. What follows is what Helen said in a recent interview as she reflected on the world in which we live today.
(Quote:) “We live in a culture where the name of God and Jesus is invoked to uphold state killing, to uphold war, to uphold tax cuts where rich people get richer and poor people get poorer. ...the reason Jesus was a threat to both Rome and the religious hierarchy of the day was Jesus thought the inauguration of a community so radical it threatened everybody was a good idea.”
“The way Jesus saw things, it wasn’t just the people who could keep the holiness codes and do all the hand washing who counted. It was also the people who never washed their hands. People who lived what was called sinful lives counted also. Jesus ate meals with them.”
“Jesus even inaugurated a community that incorporated children. And this was a time in which children were not considered to be persons.”
“If Jesus had been just a dreamy preacher and told everybody to love one another, that wouldn’t be threatening to the Romans or to anybody. Jesus espoused a radically new kind of community where wealthy people shared with people who had nothing, a community where no one was in need and everyone was treated with dignity.”
“And that’s what’s so threatening about the kind of community Jesus had in mind— it’s an inclusive community. That is the kind of community we need to have today”— Sister Helen Prejean. [1] (Slight pause.)
So, how radical is that? Or is it merely... moral? Does it question the current morals of society? I could be wrong, but this is my suspicion. Even Sister Helen, radical though she might be, is by far less radical than Jesus. (Slight pause.)
We find these words in the Gospel according to the School of John: “Nicodemus said to Jesus, ‘How can this be possible? How can these things be?’ / Jesus replied, ‘Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you still do not understand these matters?’” (Slight pause.)
Question: was Jesus a radical? Or was Jesus merely reiterating what the Hebrew Scriptures had already laid down as a way of life? (Slight pause.)
This is clear from the story in the text: Jesus has little confidence in shallow belief. And Nicodemus embodies that perspective— shallow belief.
While impressed with what Jesus is doing and acknowledging miraculous deeds as proof of the presence of God, Nicodemus represents a curious but cautious person, a person well versed in finding paths of least resistence in the world, in polite society, a person who, none the less, asks questions. But Nicodemus, perhaps being self-protective, brings those questions (quote:) “by night.” (Slight pause.)
Faith, from the point of view of someone like Nicodemus, comes from weighing the evidence and drawing logical but middling conclusions. There is no hint of commitment.
Perhaps tragically— tragically in the classical sense of the word, meaning a failure of heroism— perhaps tragically there is no hint of risk taking in Nicodemus. Therefore, there is no hint that the society in which and of which Nicodemus is a part might be called into question by the kind of faith espoused by Nicodemus.
What is lacking in this kind of faith is a sense of openness to the Spirit. Let me be clear: in this passage the term “Spirit” denotes an entirely different world. This is a world vulnerable to the untamed Spirit of God. A world open to the incredibly new. [2]
This is the kind of world, the kind of faith envisioned by Jesus: incredibly new. In fact, it is also the kind of world envisioned by the Hebrew Scriptures. You see, in what Jesus is saying there is nothing new. It is all found in the Hebrew Scriptures.
The possibility of this kind of world, one driven by the Spirit of God, has simply been ignored by society. In the words of the old song, what Jesus is saying is simple: Everything Old Is New Again.
Please note: my implication is not that the institution known as church is some sort of mastermind, like an evil Darth Vader type character, running everything in the world. But the church does need to be about distinguishing the difference between power and service.
And I think one problem the church often runs into is confusing power and service— power; service. Further, I think one problem both the church and greater society run into. And, you see there is a second problem both the church and society run into. That problem is that the church and society seem to constantly repeat the missteps of the past.
Ans example: when, in her most recent book, historian Doris Kerns Goodwin, writes this, she is speaking about the past. She is addressing problems in the United States Senate in the decade of the 1890s, some 120 years ago. (Quote:) “The United States Senate presented the most powerful obstacle to any... reform.”
The majority of the Senators (quote) “...were in thrall to business interests that filled their coffers through campaign contributions...” [3] See what I mean? Everything old is new again. (Slight pause.)
Theologian Bruce Epperly says we need to recognize God wants us to be alive to the potential all around us. The Spirit of God wants to give us spiritual CPR.
The Spirit of God wants to give life to that which is currently dormant within us. The Spirit of God wants to enable hope, wants to enable us to act anew.
The Spirit of God cannot be pinned down through doctrine, worship style, spiritual practice, ecclesiology. The Spirit of God is untamed.
The love of God is equally untamed. God loves the world, even this world with all its messiness— the kind of messiness about which Doris Kerns Goodwin wrote.
Condemnation— condemnation— is not part of the vision of God— those folks over there are bad, wrong, stupid [the pastor has pointed toward the left side of the nave and laughter erupts on that side of the church followed by laughter on the other side as they realize the pastor had not singled them out). Condemnation— O.K.— over here [the pastor points to the opposite side of the nave and there is more laughter] condemnation is not a part of the vision of God; affirmation— affirmation is a part of the vision of God. And, more importantly, this affirmation makes a claim on us— that we act within the will of God, show the love of God to all people.
Therefore, the working out of our relationship with God is not determined by our response to God. But it is conditioned by our response to God. See the difference? Not determined by our response to God but conditioned by our response to God. Working within the will of God opens us to relationship with God in all its fullness. [4]
In short, we need to make not just choices but wise choices. And what places those choices in the realm of wisdom is not that they to society and its wishes but that they conform to the will of God. (Slight pause).
In a couple of moments we will celebrate a choice Lilit Danielyan has made in becoming a citizen of the United States. We do this not to celebrate any nation. No nation is perfect.
We do this to support our sister Lilit. But I also need to note I think I know her well enough to say she strives to listen to the Spirit and to the will of God. [5]
And that, my friends, is what living in the will of God is about: do we try to listen to God? And that is the very place Jesus challenges Nicodemus. So, do we, like Nicodemus, merely play it safe, conform, or are we listening to God?
Indeed, I think one of the things Jesus says to Nicodemus is that God has already said everything Jesus is teaching. God has said it in the Law, said it in the Prophets.
Therefore, I suppose we are lucky. You see, one of the things we claim for the church today is that God is still speaking.
And I not only suspect that is true. I suspect what God has to say God has already said in the Law and the Prophets.
I suspect what God has to say God has already said with the coming of Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah. Therefore, everything old is new again. Hence, the question for us is obvious: are we listening? (Long pause.) Amen.
03/16/2014
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: “The great African-American preacher of the early 20th Century James Weldon Johnson used this phrase in a sermon: ‘Your arm’s too short to box with God.’ I think one of the biggest problems of our race is our vision of the love of God, the love which God offers is way too small. Equally, I think what goes hand in hand with that is the vision God has been repeating and repeating and repeating over the course of millennia is love. More love than we can imagine. And we keep forgetting. But God is good. God does keep reminding us.”
BENEDICTION: God’s love will surround us even when we do not ask for it. God’s voice speaks to us. Let us be attentive to it. Let us share this with others, confident that God will be with us. 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] Sister Helen Prejean in Living the Questions: the Wisdom of Progressive Christianity. Note: the quote was slightly edited for size, flow and clarity. Despite that, in this use it does remains largely intact.
[2] Texts for Preaching in the electronic version of this publication in the commentary about this passage from John, the reading assigned for the day.
[3] Pg. 291. The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Simon & Schuster; 2013; ISBN-10:141654786X
[4] A lot of this language is adapted from The Adventurous Lectionary for the Second Sunday in Lent: 03/16/2014 ~ By Bruce Epperly.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/livingaholyadventure/2014/03/the-adventurous-lectionary-march-16-2014/
[5] . This was the ceremony for Lilit.
A TIME OF CELEBRATION
PASTOR: There are times events in the lives of individuals should be noted by the members of a church. Recently Lilit became a citizen of the United States of America. I think this is one of those times we need to take note. I invite Lilit to come forward.
PASTOR: Please join with me in the prayers found in the bulletin where appropriate.
INVITATION
ONE: God be with you.
MANY: And also with you.
ONE: Be free with your hearts.
MANY: We give them freely to God.
ONE: Let us give thanks to God.
MANY: It is right to give God thanks and praise.
PRAYER
ONE: Let us pray. O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us
through Jesus, the Christ. We ask that You look with compassion on the whole human family; take away any arrogance and hatred which can infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth that, in Your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony. Amen.
ONE: Let us give thanks to God for all the gifts so freely bestowed upon us.
MANY: We offer thanks, O God.
ONE: For the beauty and wonder of your creation, in earth and sky and sea,
MANY: We offer thanks, O God.
ONE: For our daily food and drink, our homes and families and our friends,
MANY: We offer thanks, O God.
ONE: For minds to think, and hearts to love, and hands to serve,
MANY: We offer thanks, O God.
ONE: For health and strength to work and leisure to rest and play,
MANY: We offer thanks, O God.
ONE: For the brave, the courageous, the faithful even when they face adversity,
MANY: We offer thanks, O God.
ONE: For all valiant seekers of truth, liberty and justice,
MANY: We offer thanks, O God.
ONE: For this nation and its people that we might be seekers of Your truth, Your liberty and Your justice.
MANY: We offer thanks, O God.
[At this point the pastor invited anyone who wished to come forward to lay hands on Lilit while the final prayer was intoned.]
PRAYER
ONE: Let us once again be in an attitude of prayer. Holy God, who has given us this good land for our heritage, we humbly beseech You that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of Your favor and glad to do Your will. Bless our land with honorable industry, sound learning and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord and confusion, from pride and arrogance and from every evil way. Defend our liberties and fashion into one united people the multitudes who come from many kindreds and tongues. Grant Your Spirit of Wisdom to those we entrust with the authority of government, that Your justice and peace may take hold at home and abroad. In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness and in the day of trouble, let not our trust in You fail. Last, we ask that You bless Lilit and grant to her Your blessing on this adventure and in this place. Amen.
Everything Old Is New Again
“Nicodemus said to Jesus, ‘How can this be possible? How can these things be?’ / Jesus replied, ‘Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you still do not understand these matters?’” — John 3:9-10.
At times we seem to live in a world where being oblivious to wisdom, to truth, even to our own history is a path society is bent on following. (Slight pause.) Sister Helen Prejean is best known for her work with prisoners on Death Row and the book she wrote about her experiences, Dead Man Walking. Needless to say, that book which was turned into a movie.
And yes, some would see the good sister as a radical. What follows is what Helen said in a recent interview as she reflected on the world in which we live today.
(Quote:) “We live in a culture where the name of God and Jesus is invoked to uphold state killing, to uphold war, to uphold tax cuts where rich people get richer and poor people get poorer. ...the reason Jesus was a threat to both Rome and the religious hierarchy of the day was Jesus thought the inauguration of a community so radical it threatened everybody was a good idea.”
“The way Jesus saw things, it wasn’t just the people who could keep the holiness codes and do all the hand washing who counted. It was also the people who never washed their hands. People who lived what was called sinful lives counted also. Jesus ate meals with them.”
“Jesus even inaugurated a community that incorporated children. And this was a time in which children were not considered to be persons.”
“If Jesus had been just a dreamy preacher and told everybody to love one another, that wouldn’t be threatening to the Romans or to anybody. Jesus espoused a radically new kind of community where wealthy people shared with people who had nothing, a community where no one was in need and everyone was treated with dignity.”
“And that’s what’s so threatening about the kind of community Jesus had in mind— it’s an inclusive community. That is the kind of community we need to have today”— Sister Helen Prejean. [1] (Slight pause.)
So, how radical is that? Or is it merely... moral? Does it question the current morals of society? I could be wrong, but this is my suspicion. Even Sister Helen, radical though she might be, is by far less radical than Jesus. (Slight pause.)
We find these words in the Gospel according to the School of John: “Nicodemus said to Jesus, ‘How can this be possible? How can these things be?’ / Jesus replied, ‘Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you still do not understand these matters?’” (Slight pause.)
Question: was Jesus a radical? Or was Jesus merely reiterating what the Hebrew Scriptures had already laid down as a way of life? (Slight pause.)
This is clear from the story in the text: Jesus has little confidence in shallow belief. And Nicodemus embodies that perspective— shallow belief.
While impressed with what Jesus is doing and acknowledging miraculous deeds as proof of the presence of God, Nicodemus represents a curious but cautious person, a person well versed in finding paths of least resistence in the world, in polite society, a person who, none the less, asks questions. But Nicodemus, perhaps being self-protective, brings those questions (quote:) “by night.” (Slight pause.)
Faith, from the point of view of someone like Nicodemus, comes from weighing the evidence and drawing logical but middling conclusions. There is no hint of commitment.
Perhaps tragically— tragically in the classical sense of the word, meaning a failure of heroism— perhaps tragically there is no hint of risk taking in Nicodemus. Therefore, there is no hint that the society in which and of which Nicodemus is a part might be called into question by the kind of faith espoused by Nicodemus.
What is lacking in this kind of faith is a sense of openness to the Spirit. Let me be clear: in this passage the term “Spirit” denotes an entirely different world. This is a world vulnerable to the untamed Spirit of God. A world open to the incredibly new. [2]
This is the kind of world, the kind of faith envisioned by Jesus: incredibly new. In fact, it is also the kind of world envisioned by the Hebrew Scriptures. You see, in what Jesus is saying there is nothing new. It is all found in the Hebrew Scriptures.
The possibility of this kind of world, one driven by the Spirit of God, has simply been ignored by society. In the words of the old song, what Jesus is saying is simple: Everything Old Is New Again.
Please note: my implication is not that the institution known as church is some sort of mastermind, like an evil Darth Vader type character, running everything in the world. But the church does need to be about distinguishing the difference between power and service.
And I think one problem the church often runs into is confusing power and service— power; service. Further, I think one problem both the church and greater society run into. And, you see there is a second problem both the church and society run into. That problem is that the church and society seem to constantly repeat the missteps of the past.
Ans example: when, in her most recent book, historian Doris Kerns Goodwin, writes this, she is speaking about the past. She is addressing problems in the United States Senate in the decade of the 1890s, some 120 years ago. (Quote:) “The United States Senate presented the most powerful obstacle to any... reform.”
The majority of the Senators (quote) “...were in thrall to business interests that filled their coffers through campaign contributions...” [3] See what I mean? Everything old is new again. (Slight pause.)
Theologian Bruce Epperly says we need to recognize God wants us to be alive to the potential all around us. The Spirit of God wants to give us spiritual CPR.
The Spirit of God wants to give life to that which is currently dormant within us. The Spirit of God wants to enable hope, wants to enable us to act anew.
The Spirit of God cannot be pinned down through doctrine, worship style, spiritual practice, ecclesiology. The Spirit of God is untamed.
The love of God is equally untamed. God loves the world, even this world with all its messiness— the kind of messiness about which Doris Kerns Goodwin wrote.
Condemnation— condemnation— is not part of the vision of God— those folks over there are bad, wrong, stupid [the pastor has pointed toward the left side of the nave and laughter erupts on that side of the church followed by laughter on the other side as they realize the pastor had not singled them out). Condemnation— O.K.— over here [the pastor points to the opposite side of the nave and there is more laughter] condemnation is not a part of the vision of God; affirmation— affirmation is a part of the vision of God. And, more importantly, this affirmation makes a claim on us— that we act within the will of God, show the love of God to all people.
Therefore, the working out of our relationship with God is not determined by our response to God. But it is conditioned by our response to God. See the difference? Not determined by our response to God but conditioned by our response to God. Working within the will of God opens us to relationship with God in all its fullness. [4]
In short, we need to make not just choices but wise choices. And what places those choices in the realm of wisdom is not that they to society and its wishes but that they conform to the will of God. (Slight pause).
In a couple of moments we will celebrate a choice Lilit Danielyan has made in becoming a citizen of the United States. We do this not to celebrate any nation. No nation is perfect.
We do this to support our sister Lilit. But I also need to note I think I know her well enough to say she strives to listen to the Spirit and to the will of God. [5]
And that, my friends, is what living in the will of God is about: do we try to listen to God? And that is the very place Jesus challenges Nicodemus. So, do we, like Nicodemus, merely play it safe, conform, or are we listening to God?
Indeed, I think one of the things Jesus says to Nicodemus is that God has already said everything Jesus is teaching. God has said it in the Law, said it in the Prophets.
Therefore, I suppose we are lucky. You see, one of the things we claim for the church today is that God is still speaking.
And I not only suspect that is true. I suspect what God has to say God has already said in the Law and the Prophets.
I suspect what God has to say God has already said with the coming of Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah. Therefore, everything old is new again. Hence, the question for us is obvious: are we listening? (Long pause.) Amen.
03/16/2014
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: “The great African-American preacher of the early 20th Century James Weldon Johnson used this phrase in a sermon: ‘Your arm’s too short to box with God.’ I think one of the biggest problems of our race is our vision of the love of God, the love which God offers is way too small. Equally, I think what goes hand in hand with that is the vision God has been repeating and repeating and repeating over the course of millennia is love. More love than we can imagine. And we keep forgetting. But God is good. God does keep reminding us.”
BENEDICTION: God’s love will surround us even when we do not ask for it. God’s voice speaks to us. Let us be attentive to it. Let us share this with others, confident that God will be with us. 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] Sister Helen Prejean in Living the Questions: the Wisdom of Progressive Christianity. Note: the quote was slightly edited for size, flow and clarity. Despite that, in this use it does remains largely intact.
[2] Texts for Preaching in the electronic version of this publication in the commentary about this passage from John, the reading assigned for the day.
[3] Pg. 291. The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Simon & Schuster; 2013; ISBN-10:141654786X
[4] A lot of this language is adapted from The Adventurous Lectionary for the Second Sunday in Lent: 03/16/2014 ~ By Bruce Epperly.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/livingaholyadventure/2014/03/the-adventurous-lectionary-march-16-2014/
[5] . This was the ceremony for Lilit.
A TIME OF CELEBRATION
PASTOR: There are times events in the lives of individuals should be noted by the members of a church. Recently Lilit became a citizen of the United States of America. I think this is one of those times we need to take note. I invite Lilit to come forward.
PASTOR: Please join with me in the prayers found in the bulletin where appropriate.
INVITATION
ONE: God be with you.
MANY: And also with you.
ONE: Be free with your hearts.
MANY: We give them freely to God.
ONE: Let us give thanks to God.
MANY: It is right to give God thanks and praise.
PRAYER
ONE: Let us pray. O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us
through Jesus, the Christ. We ask that You look with compassion on the whole human family; take away any arrogance and hatred which can infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth that, in Your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony. Amen.
ONE: Let us give thanks to God for all the gifts so freely bestowed upon us.
MANY: We offer thanks, O God.
ONE: For the beauty and wonder of your creation, in earth and sky and sea,
MANY: We offer thanks, O God.
ONE: For our daily food and drink, our homes and families and our friends,
MANY: We offer thanks, O God.
ONE: For minds to think, and hearts to love, and hands to serve,
MANY: We offer thanks, O God.
ONE: For health and strength to work and leisure to rest and play,
MANY: We offer thanks, O God.
ONE: For the brave, the courageous, the faithful even when they face adversity,
MANY: We offer thanks, O God.
ONE: For all valiant seekers of truth, liberty and justice,
MANY: We offer thanks, O God.
ONE: For this nation and its people that we might be seekers of Your truth, Your liberty and Your justice.
MANY: We offer thanks, O God.
[At this point the pastor invited anyone who wished to come forward to lay hands on Lilit while the final prayer was intoned.]
PRAYER
ONE: Let us once again be in an attitude of prayer. Holy God, who has given us this good land for our heritage, we humbly beseech You that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of Your favor and glad to do Your will. Bless our land with honorable industry, sound learning and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord and confusion, from pride and arrogance and from every evil way. Defend our liberties and fashion into one united people the multitudes who come from many kindreds and tongues. Grant Your Spirit of Wisdom to those we entrust with the authority of government, that Your justice and peace may take hold at home and abroad. In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness and in the day of trouble, let not our trust in You fail. Last, we ask that You bless Lilit and grant to her Your blessing on this adventure and in this place. Amen.
Sunday, March 9, 2014
SERMON ~ 03/09/2014 ~ “Understanding”
03/09/2014 ~ First Sunday in Lent ~ Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7; Psalm 32; Romans 5:12-19; Matthew 4:1-11.
Understanding
“Do not be like a horse or a mule, / without understanding, / whose temper must be curbed / with bit and bridle, / else it will not stay near you.” — Psalm 32: 9.
Erik Parker is a Lutheran Pastor and also the writer of a blog I follow. The name of the blog is The Millennial Pastor. Eric is, you see, a part of the millennial generation.
According to the strict definition, a millennial is someone under 35. Eric both qualifies as a millennial and is a pastor in a Main Line denomination. Are millennial pastors rare?
While their numbers may be fewer than previous generations they are, perhaps, not as rare as you think. I, myself, was a mentor for a millennial pastor, Manda Adams, in our Susquehanna Association. She is now serving a church in the Buffalo area. Which is to emphasize you should not delude yourself: pastors who are also millennials are not like dragons or unicorns. They do exist.
At one point Manda was a member of an Open and Affirming United Church of Christ Congregation— a Congregation of 4,500— in Dallas, Texas. Which is also to emphasize you should not delude yourself: unlike dragons or unicorns an Open and Affirming United Church of Christ Congregation of 4,500 in Dallas, Texas also exists.
Back to Pastor Parker and his blog: in a recent post Eric insisted what the church does not need is Anchorman Christianity. For those unfamiliar with the movie Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and its current sequel, in using the term Anchorman Christianity Pastor Eric is not talking about real reporters who deliver real news.
Eric is addressing a certain strain of talking heads found in some media outlets, anchors who offer people what they want to hear, not what they need to hear. Of course, studies prove we don’t question inaccuracies that reenforce our own preconceived beliefs and/or prejudices. We accept them as true, even if they are dragons or unicorns.
Certainly one point Eric tries to make is we are the last defense against Anchorman Christianity. We are the last defense against these dragons and unicorns.
Now, in that blog Parker created a list to help identify what Anchorman Christianity looks like. To be clear: this list is very tongue in cheek and is meant to be funny. It is not meant to sound angry— some people might take it that was— it is not meant to sound angry, so please do see the humor in this.
So, to the list— first, Anchorman Christianity offers easy answers. After all, people don’t need good teaching and sound preaching. Easy answers are so much easier than in-depth explorations of faith, theology, history and ethics.
People also enjoy outrage, so Anchorman Christianity offers that. We are, by most counts, biologically inclined to respond viscerally to negative emotions like anger.
The media knows this well, says Eric. In church or on TV it is way easier to preach outrage— outrage about a range of issues from government to religion to personal agendas to money to the lack of money than to encourage people to grow in empathy and compassion.
Indeed, seeing the ‘other’ as human and their issues as problems we are called on to do something about takes work and a good measure of God’s help. After all, who has the energy to be calm, collected, compassionate, resourceful and tenacious? Outrage is easy.
Anchorman Christianity is evident when a preacher talks about the Bible people think they know as opposed to what the Bible really says. After all, the Bible says that God helps those who help themselves, says cleanliness is next to Godliness, says to thine own self be true, says love the sinner, hate the sin, says money is the root of all evil, says spare the rod, spoil the child.
No— the Bible says none of these. But it is undoubtedly more convenient to preach a Bible of fantasies and clichés, a Bible of dragons and unicorns than it is to preach on what is actually found in the pages of Scripture.
Anchorman Christianity also promises we will all get rich and never addresses the realities of the world and its brokenness in the church. Real economic and social issues— why, that’s too depressing. What does God care about that stuff, anyway?
Last, Anchorman Christianity preaches nostalgia, since people don’t really need to live in reality, don’t need to pay attention to what’s happening and don’t need to be... real. [1] Anchorman Christianity— it’s a world filled with dragons and unicorns. (Slight pause.)
We find these words in the Tanakh in the section known as The Writings in the portion called the Psalms, in the work known as Psalm 32. “Do not be like a horse or a mule, / without understanding, / whose temper must be curbed / with bit and bridle, / else it will not stay near you.” (Slight pause.)
Earlier I said one point Eric makes about Anchorman Christianity is we are the last defense against it, the last defense against dragons and unicorns. In short, we need to be both involved and educated to avoid being trapped by dragons and unicorns.
So, let me draw a parallel. Who stayed up late to watch the Oscars last Sunday? (Slight pause.) We have some. I did.
Part way through the proceedings the 75th Anniversary of the great picture The Wizard of Oz was marked with a celebration. It is one of my favorite films, there is no doubt about that. And I am glad they noted this anniversary.
But I did not hear in any media outlet any outcry of indignation because no mention was made of the other great film produced that same year. Indeed, although I think The Wizard is a great film, it actually lost money in it’s initial release. The other great film released the same year made over 100 times its production cost.
The Wizard won two Academy Awards. That other great film released the same year won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
The Wizard told a fanciful, heart warming story— a wonderful story. But the other great film released that same year examined a personal tragedy set against a backdrop of national cataclysm— certainly more significant from the point of view of history, more significant from the point of view of social relations, more significant from the point of view of American freedom. That other great film was... Gone with the Wind.
Tell me, if The Wizard was recognized simply because it’s been 75 years since its release, why did Gone with the Wind not deserve at least the same recognition? Perhaps even more to the point, why has there been no hue and cry as to that lack of recognition.
Are we a society trapped in an Anchorman mentality, a society fixed on ignoring reality and truth? Are we a society trapped by dragons and unicorns? Perhaps we are. (Slight pause.)
For a moment let me take you through Psalm 32, since I think it deals with reality, truth. And I think dragons and unicorns are nowhere to be found in these words.
The song starts with an insistence that God is good, God is forgiving and the steadfast love of God endures forever— the basic message of the Gospel. In Romans Paul uses these words from this Psalm as the foundation for justification by faith. [2]
The truth, the reality of the goodness of God changes the focus of the Psalmist outward and places attention on others, shifts the focus of what the Psalmist says to one’s neighbor. Hence, forgiven and loved, we are called to teach others about the ways of God. This ministry of teaching is not presumptuous because this teaching is not a witness to one’s own ego but a witness to the love God offers.
Now, if we are called to bear witness to the love of God (and we are), to accomplish that God offers us an invitation to do something. We are invited to deal with reality and truth. Or, as the Psalmist puts it, we need to avoid being like (quote:) “a horse or a mule, without understanding.” (Slight pause.)
Earlier I mentioned millennials, this younger generation. You have probably often heard it said this group is not going to church, even though I mentioned two who are pastors. But there are a lot of institutions millennials are not frequenting or using. Church is merely one of many.
Why? Institutions have become involved in defending and even creating dragons and unicorns. Institutions have become involved in defending and even in creating dragons and unicorns despite the fact that dragons and unicorns do not exist.
Broadly, at least, millennials are not interested in these fantasies. From what I’ve seen, the motto of millennials is simple: get real; be real— especially when it comes to being in relationship with God. (Slight pause.)
Something we in the church need to understand about Scripture is this: the Bible is not like Aladdin’s lamp. [The pastor picks up a book and rubs it.] You cannot rub Scripture— (I’m sorry that’s a hymnal, I left the Bible back there) [this elicits a large laugh from the Congregation]— you cannot rub Scripture and think answers about God or about our life will magically appear. I personally know people who think that.
To use Scripture that way is to say the Bible lives in and supports a world of dragons and unicorns. It does not. Scripture, when examined studiously, is about reality, is about truth. So, Scripture can help us seek truth, seek reality.
Therefore, this should be obvious: one needs to study Scripture, one needs to grapple with Scripture in order to understand it. After all, this Psalm is very direct and even makes a claim about this straight out (quote): “Do not be like a horse or a mule, / without understanding,....” Amen.
03/09/2014
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: “When the Psalm was introduced this was said (quote): ‘The great writer of musical comedy, Oscar Hammerstein II, said song is what happens when the emotion being transmitted is too great to be conveyed by mere dialogue.’ And then Hammerstein wrote this lyric for the Musical South Pacific. ‘You’ve got to be taught to hate and fear, / You’ve got to be taught from year to year, / It’s got to be drummed in your dear little ear, / You’ve got to be carefully taught.’ You see there is such a thing as false teaching. It’s what produces dragons and unicorns. And we are the last defense against it, the last defense when someone preaches that the love of God is not universal. And, if we don’t believe a message of hate— a message of dragons and unicorns is being preached in a lot of places— then we are not paying attention to what’s out there around us.”
[1] http://millennialpastor.net/2014/02/07/anchorman-christianity-9-steps-to-giving-people-what-they-want/
Note: this has been edited for size. The original is much longer.
[2] Texts for Preaching in the electronic version of this publication in the commentary about Psalm 32, the reading assigned for the day.
Understanding
“Do not be like a horse or a mule, / without understanding, / whose temper must be curbed / with bit and bridle, / else it will not stay near you.” — Psalm 32: 9.
Erik Parker is a Lutheran Pastor and also the writer of a blog I follow. The name of the blog is The Millennial Pastor. Eric is, you see, a part of the millennial generation.
According to the strict definition, a millennial is someone under 35. Eric both qualifies as a millennial and is a pastor in a Main Line denomination. Are millennial pastors rare?
While their numbers may be fewer than previous generations they are, perhaps, not as rare as you think. I, myself, was a mentor for a millennial pastor, Manda Adams, in our Susquehanna Association. She is now serving a church in the Buffalo area. Which is to emphasize you should not delude yourself: pastors who are also millennials are not like dragons or unicorns. They do exist.
At one point Manda was a member of an Open and Affirming United Church of Christ Congregation— a Congregation of 4,500— in Dallas, Texas. Which is also to emphasize you should not delude yourself: unlike dragons or unicorns an Open and Affirming United Church of Christ Congregation of 4,500 in Dallas, Texas also exists.
Back to Pastor Parker and his blog: in a recent post Eric insisted what the church does not need is Anchorman Christianity. For those unfamiliar with the movie Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and its current sequel, in using the term Anchorman Christianity Pastor Eric is not talking about real reporters who deliver real news.
Eric is addressing a certain strain of talking heads found in some media outlets, anchors who offer people what they want to hear, not what they need to hear. Of course, studies prove we don’t question inaccuracies that reenforce our own preconceived beliefs and/or prejudices. We accept them as true, even if they are dragons or unicorns.
Certainly one point Eric tries to make is we are the last defense against Anchorman Christianity. We are the last defense against these dragons and unicorns.
Now, in that blog Parker created a list to help identify what Anchorman Christianity looks like. To be clear: this list is very tongue in cheek and is meant to be funny. It is not meant to sound angry— some people might take it that was— it is not meant to sound angry, so please do see the humor in this.
So, to the list— first, Anchorman Christianity offers easy answers. After all, people don’t need good teaching and sound preaching. Easy answers are so much easier than in-depth explorations of faith, theology, history and ethics.
People also enjoy outrage, so Anchorman Christianity offers that. We are, by most counts, biologically inclined to respond viscerally to negative emotions like anger.
The media knows this well, says Eric. In church or on TV it is way easier to preach outrage— outrage about a range of issues from government to religion to personal agendas to money to the lack of money than to encourage people to grow in empathy and compassion.
Indeed, seeing the ‘other’ as human and their issues as problems we are called on to do something about takes work and a good measure of God’s help. After all, who has the energy to be calm, collected, compassionate, resourceful and tenacious? Outrage is easy.
Anchorman Christianity is evident when a preacher talks about the Bible people think they know as opposed to what the Bible really says. After all, the Bible says that God helps those who help themselves, says cleanliness is next to Godliness, says to thine own self be true, says love the sinner, hate the sin, says money is the root of all evil, says spare the rod, spoil the child.
No— the Bible says none of these. But it is undoubtedly more convenient to preach a Bible of fantasies and clichés, a Bible of dragons and unicorns than it is to preach on what is actually found in the pages of Scripture.
Anchorman Christianity also promises we will all get rich and never addresses the realities of the world and its brokenness in the church. Real economic and social issues— why, that’s too depressing. What does God care about that stuff, anyway?
Last, Anchorman Christianity preaches nostalgia, since people don’t really need to live in reality, don’t need to pay attention to what’s happening and don’t need to be... real. [1] Anchorman Christianity— it’s a world filled with dragons and unicorns. (Slight pause.)
We find these words in the Tanakh in the section known as The Writings in the portion called the Psalms, in the work known as Psalm 32. “Do not be like a horse or a mule, / without understanding, / whose temper must be curbed / with bit and bridle, / else it will not stay near you.” (Slight pause.)
Earlier I said one point Eric makes about Anchorman Christianity is we are the last defense against it, the last defense against dragons and unicorns. In short, we need to be both involved and educated to avoid being trapped by dragons and unicorns.
So, let me draw a parallel. Who stayed up late to watch the Oscars last Sunday? (Slight pause.) We have some. I did.
Part way through the proceedings the 75th Anniversary of the great picture The Wizard of Oz was marked with a celebration. It is one of my favorite films, there is no doubt about that. And I am glad they noted this anniversary.
But I did not hear in any media outlet any outcry of indignation because no mention was made of the other great film produced that same year. Indeed, although I think The Wizard is a great film, it actually lost money in it’s initial release. The other great film released the same year made over 100 times its production cost.
The Wizard won two Academy Awards. That other great film released the same year won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
The Wizard told a fanciful, heart warming story— a wonderful story. But the other great film released that same year examined a personal tragedy set against a backdrop of national cataclysm— certainly more significant from the point of view of history, more significant from the point of view of social relations, more significant from the point of view of American freedom. That other great film was... Gone with the Wind.
Tell me, if The Wizard was recognized simply because it’s been 75 years since its release, why did Gone with the Wind not deserve at least the same recognition? Perhaps even more to the point, why has there been no hue and cry as to that lack of recognition.
Are we a society trapped in an Anchorman mentality, a society fixed on ignoring reality and truth? Are we a society trapped by dragons and unicorns? Perhaps we are. (Slight pause.)
For a moment let me take you through Psalm 32, since I think it deals with reality, truth. And I think dragons and unicorns are nowhere to be found in these words.
The song starts with an insistence that God is good, God is forgiving and the steadfast love of God endures forever— the basic message of the Gospel. In Romans Paul uses these words from this Psalm as the foundation for justification by faith. [2]
The truth, the reality of the goodness of God changes the focus of the Psalmist outward and places attention on others, shifts the focus of what the Psalmist says to one’s neighbor. Hence, forgiven and loved, we are called to teach others about the ways of God. This ministry of teaching is not presumptuous because this teaching is not a witness to one’s own ego but a witness to the love God offers.
Now, if we are called to bear witness to the love of God (and we are), to accomplish that God offers us an invitation to do something. We are invited to deal with reality and truth. Or, as the Psalmist puts it, we need to avoid being like (quote:) “a horse or a mule, without understanding.” (Slight pause.)
Earlier I mentioned millennials, this younger generation. You have probably often heard it said this group is not going to church, even though I mentioned two who are pastors. But there are a lot of institutions millennials are not frequenting or using. Church is merely one of many.
Why? Institutions have become involved in defending and even creating dragons and unicorns. Institutions have become involved in defending and even in creating dragons and unicorns despite the fact that dragons and unicorns do not exist.
Broadly, at least, millennials are not interested in these fantasies. From what I’ve seen, the motto of millennials is simple: get real; be real— especially when it comes to being in relationship with God. (Slight pause.)
Something we in the church need to understand about Scripture is this: the Bible is not like Aladdin’s lamp. [The pastor picks up a book and rubs it.] You cannot rub Scripture— (I’m sorry that’s a hymnal, I left the Bible back there) [this elicits a large laugh from the Congregation]— you cannot rub Scripture and think answers about God or about our life will magically appear. I personally know people who think that.
To use Scripture that way is to say the Bible lives in and supports a world of dragons and unicorns. It does not. Scripture, when examined studiously, is about reality, is about truth. So, Scripture can help us seek truth, seek reality.
Therefore, this should be obvious: one needs to study Scripture, one needs to grapple with Scripture in order to understand it. After all, this Psalm is very direct and even makes a claim about this straight out (quote): “Do not be like a horse or a mule, / without understanding,....” Amen.
03/09/2014
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: “When the Psalm was introduced this was said (quote): ‘The great writer of musical comedy, Oscar Hammerstein II, said song is what happens when the emotion being transmitted is too great to be conveyed by mere dialogue.’ And then Hammerstein wrote this lyric for the Musical South Pacific. ‘You’ve got to be taught to hate and fear, / You’ve got to be taught from year to year, / It’s got to be drummed in your dear little ear, / You’ve got to be carefully taught.’ You see there is such a thing as false teaching. It’s what produces dragons and unicorns. And we are the last defense against it, the last defense when someone preaches that the love of God is not universal. And, if we don’t believe a message of hate— a message of dragons and unicorns is being preached in a lot of places— then we are not paying attention to what’s out there around us.”
[1] http://millennialpastor.net/2014/02/07/anchorman-christianity-9-steps-to-giving-people-what-they-want/
Note: this has been edited for size. The original is much longer.
[2] Texts for Preaching in the electronic version of this publication in the commentary about Psalm 32, the reading assigned for the day.
Sunday, March 2, 2014
SERMON ~ 03/02/2014 ~ “The Glory of God”
03/02/2014 ~ Transfiguration Sunday ~ Last Sunday before Lent ~ Exodus 24:12-18; Psalm 2 or Psalm 99; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Matthew 17:1-9 ~ Communion Sunday.
The Glory of God
“Now, to the Israelites the glory of Yahweh, God, was like an all consuming fire on the top of the mountain.” — Exodus 24:17.
When the reading from Exodus was introduced you heard this word: theophany. That word was defined as a manifestation of the presence of God.
But what is the presence of God? Is it a feeling? Is it a form of wisdom or knowledge somehow imparted? Does it happen only in certain places, under certain circumstances, at certain times? (Slight pause.)
To be blunt, I am not sure I can offer a definitive definition of theophany. I can, however, tell you some stories about things that have happened to me.
Are these stories theophanies? Was the real presence of God with me when these things happened? I don’t know. All I can do is tell you the stories. (Slight pause.)
Toward the end of his life my grandfather suffered a series of relatively minor strokes. He seemed to bounce back from each quite nicely. That is until the last one. He was hospitalized four days and then died.
At the time I was in my early 20s. I was employed by a major corporation and working the night shift. Having completed my shift, I left for home at daybreak and took a subway— I was in New York City— I took a subway toward home.
On that trip I had to change trains once. As I waited on the station for the second train, I had an overwhelming sense that my grandfather had died. I did not expect he would die since he had bounced back so often. But I did have a sense it had happened.
When I arrived home I knew something was up as my mother looked distraught. Holding back tears she said, “Grandpa died.” I said, “I know.” (Slight pause.)
I often wonder why she did not question my statement or at least ask me how I knew. Perhaps it was because I said it with such conviction. But I did know.
So, what happened? Did I have some kind of Star Wars sense of a hidden force? Was I a latter day Obi-Wan Kenobi, able to detect a tear in the fabric of the universe when someone departs these mortal bounds?
Or was that experience a theophany? Did that knowledge come to me by way of the Spirit of God? I don’t know. (Slight pause.)
I have mentioned a number of times my mother died of Cancer at a fairly young age. She was 58. Her treatment started with a major operation.
Before that operation, I asked if I could pray with her. She agreed. So we sat in a room alone together, held hands and prayed. At that point in time we did not know how serious her Cancer was. But at some point in the middle of those prays, I came to a quite unwanted sense that not only was this Cancer serious, it was terminal. (Slight pause.)
So, what happened? How did I know that? Was that experience a theophany? Did that knowledge come to me by way of the Spirit of God? I don’t know. (Slight pause.)
You have heard, probably ad nauseam, about how Bonnie and I met on an island in the middle of Penobscot Bay off the coast of Maine. The first three days out there were solid Maine fog— pea soup. You were lucky to see 20 feet down the trail.
On the fourth day the Sun arrived. There was not a cloud in the sky, nor a breath of wind. The sea remained as calm as glass well into the afternoon. If you know anything about Penobscot Bay weather, you know a lack of wind is not a normal trait.
I don’t remember if I asked Bonnie or Bonnie asked me but, given the conditions, we decided to take a canoe out on the incredibly calm ocean. We had gone maybe a mile off shore when we both heard an odd noise. “What was that?” I asked.
Bonnie said, “I don’t know. Stop paddling.” And there we sat, in silence, on a calm sea. There was not a breath of wind and we said not a word. We simply waited and listened. (Slight pause.)
Suddenly just in front of us several porpoises breached the water, spines curved, blowing air out their blow holes. And then just as suddenly they were all around us— twelve, maybe fifteen of them. And then they simply disappeared. They were gone. (Slight pause.)
Still we said nothing. Without a word we both started to paddle again, knowing that we had seen something so wonderful we felt God was there. (Slight pause.)
Since we were in the middle of Penobscot Bay, a place with no ambient light, that night we decided to sit on the dock and look at the stars. As clear as it was— and it was still quite calm— we had no trouble seeing the Milky Way. Within an hour, the sky in the East slowly got a lighter and a full moon burst over the horizon.
Once again, we realized we were seeing something wonderful. Was God with us? I don’t know. (Slight pause.) I am certain of this: we both God thought was present. (Slight pause.)
What is a theophany? What is the presence of God? Is it a feeling? Is it some form of wisdom or knowledge somehow imparted? Does it happen only in certain places, under certain circumstances, at certain times? I don’t know. (Slight pause.)
We find these words in the work known as Exodus: “Now, to the Israelites the glory of Yahweh, God, was like an all consuming fire on the top of the mountain.” (Slight pause.)
I don’t think a definitive definition of the experience of God can be offered. In fact, I think any definition of the experience of God is offered only through the telling stories. And I think that is what we have in this passage from Exodus.
I know this passage is a theophany because the term “the glory of God” is used here. It is the Hebrew word is kabod. That means “the glory of God” in Hebrew. It effectively means the presence of God.
What seems clear to me is the Israelites are not trying to speak about God in literal terms. They express themselves in terms of story. And there are, in fact, several sections in the passage meant to indicate different stories, different theophanies.
{Note: as each of these are enumerated, the Pastor counts them off by hold up the number of fingers which represent the number of incidents being listed.} God speaks to Moses: a theophany. Moses goes up on the mountain into the clouds: a theophany. The clouds are pictured as the presence of God: a theophany.
The same presence is seen as an all consuming fire on the top of the mountain: a theophany. Then God calls to Moses yet again: a theophany. Finally, Moses disappears in the cloud: a theophany. (Slight pause.)
What is a theophany? What is the presence of God? A feeling, a form of wisdom or knowledge— does it happen only in certain places, under certain circumstances, at certain times? I don’t know. (Slight pause.)
In our Newsletter this month our friend and parishioner Lynn Olcott tells a story. This is what she wrote.
“While shoveling the walk, I fall into conversation with God. I remark to God on the beauty of the day, the silky snow, the subtly tinted sky and the clean, cold air that is barreling through our valley just now.”
“By the time I reach the end of the walkway we’ve had quite a good discussion about life, about work, about the family and the past. But what I really need is advice for today.
“I’m getting ready to move. I’ve moved many times— for necessity, for convenience, for adventure, for love.”
“In my nomadic past I relocated with the carefree, box-slinging, single mindedness of youth and later with the grudging cheerfulness of middle age. Now I am old.” (Slight pause.)
“I turn my face into the wind and breathe. I ask God for the energy to pull this off. I ask God to fill my mind with sunlight. I thank God for listening and go back inside to pack another box.” (Slight pause.)
You see, I think Lynn has the answer about the presence of God. Yes, God is with us at special times and in special ways. But God is with us always.
And if we take time to talk with God and to occasionally listen we will realize God is with is. If we take time to see the face of God in those around us we will know God is with us. (Slight pause.)
We live in a world that feels busy. So our tendency is to not take the time we need to be aware of God. But if we do take that time— no— if we purposefully make that time— then we will realize the Spirit of God is all around us, always. And that, my friends, is the reality and the consummate definition of theophany— the presence of God is with us always. Amen.
03/02/2014
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: “Let me emphasis once again, the only way to speak about the real presence of God is through story. That is because, paradoxically, there are no words to define God. But there are words to describe what it feels like to be in the presence of God. It has been said many times here in the last several weeks that we are in our 200th year as a Congregation. Over that time there have been hundreds of stories of our experience of God, which raises a two fold question: what is your experience of God as an individual and what is our experience of God as a Congregation? Unless we are willing to do what the Israelites did and share those experiences, no one we encounter will recognize us as a church.”
BENEDICTION: Let us go in joy and in love and in peace, for our hope is in the one who has made covenant with us. God reigns. Let us go in God’s peace. And may the face of God shine upon us; may the peace of Christ rule among us; may the fire of the Spirit burn within us this day and forevermore. Amen.
The Glory of God
“Now, to the Israelites the glory of Yahweh, God, was like an all consuming fire on the top of the mountain.” — Exodus 24:17.
When the reading from Exodus was introduced you heard this word: theophany. That word was defined as a manifestation of the presence of God.
But what is the presence of God? Is it a feeling? Is it a form of wisdom or knowledge somehow imparted? Does it happen only in certain places, under certain circumstances, at certain times? (Slight pause.)
To be blunt, I am not sure I can offer a definitive definition of theophany. I can, however, tell you some stories about things that have happened to me.
Are these stories theophanies? Was the real presence of God with me when these things happened? I don’t know. All I can do is tell you the stories. (Slight pause.)
Toward the end of his life my grandfather suffered a series of relatively minor strokes. He seemed to bounce back from each quite nicely. That is until the last one. He was hospitalized four days and then died.
At the time I was in my early 20s. I was employed by a major corporation and working the night shift. Having completed my shift, I left for home at daybreak and took a subway— I was in New York City— I took a subway toward home.
On that trip I had to change trains once. As I waited on the station for the second train, I had an overwhelming sense that my grandfather had died. I did not expect he would die since he had bounced back so often. But I did have a sense it had happened.
When I arrived home I knew something was up as my mother looked distraught. Holding back tears she said, “Grandpa died.” I said, “I know.” (Slight pause.)
I often wonder why she did not question my statement or at least ask me how I knew. Perhaps it was because I said it with such conviction. But I did know.
So, what happened? Did I have some kind of Star Wars sense of a hidden force? Was I a latter day Obi-Wan Kenobi, able to detect a tear in the fabric of the universe when someone departs these mortal bounds?
Or was that experience a theophany? Did that knowledge come to me by way of the Spirit of God? I don’t know. (Slight pause.)
I have mentioned a number of times my mother died of Cancer at a fairly young age. She was 58. Her treatment started with a major operation.
Before that operation, I asked if I could pray with her. She agreed. So we sat in a room alone together, held hands and prayed. At that point in time we did not know how serious her Cancer was. But at some point in the middle of those prays, I came to a quite unwanted sense that not only was this Cancer serious, it was terminal. (Slight pause.)
So, what happened? How did I know that? Was that experience a theophany? Did that knowledge come to me by way of the Spirit of God? I don’t know. (Slight pause.)
You have heard, probably ad nauseam, about how Bonnie and I met on an island in the middle of Penobscot Bay off the coast of Maine. The first three days out there were solid Maine fog— pea soup. You were lucky to see 20 feet down the trail.
On the fourth day the Sun arrived. There was not a cloud in the sky, nor a breath of wind. The sea remained as calm as glass well into the afternoon. If you know anything about Penobscot Bay weather, you know a lack of wind is not a normal trait.
I don’t remember if I asked Bonnie or Bonnie asked me but, given the conditions, we decided to take a canoe out on the incredibly calm ocean. We had gone maybe a mile off shore when we both heard an odd noise. “What was that?” I asked.
Bonnie said, “I don’t know. Stop paddling.” And there we sat, in silence, on a calm sea. There was not a breath of wind and we said not a word. We simply waited and listened. (Slight pause.)
Suddenly just in front of us several porpoises breached the water, spines curved, blowing air out their blow holes. And then just as suddenly they were all around us— twelve, maybe fifteen of them. And then they simply disappeared. They were gone. (Slight pause.)
Still we said nothing. Without a word we both started to paddle again, knowing that we had seen something so wonderful we felt God was there. (Slight pause.)
Since we were in the middle of Penobscot Bay, a place with no ambient light, that night we decided to sit on the dock and look at the stars. As clear as it was— and it was still quite calm— we had no trouble seeing the Milky Way. Within an hour, the sky in the East slowly got a lighter and a full moon burst over the horizon.
Once again, we realized we were seeing something wonderful. Was God with us? I don’t know. (Slight pause.) I am certain of this: we both God thought was present. (Slight pause.)
What is a theophany? What is the presence of God? Is it a feeling? Is it some form of wisdom or knowledge somehow imparted? Does it happen only in certain places, under certain circumstances, at certain times? I don’t know. (Slight pause.)
We find these words in the work known as Exodus: “Now, to the Israelites the glory of Yahweh, God, was like an all consuming fire on the top of the mountain.” (Slight pause.)
I don’t think a definitive definition of the experience of God can be offered. In fact, I think any definition of the experience of God is offered only through the telling stories. And I think that is what we have in this passage from Exodus.
I know this passage is a theophany because the term “the glory of God” is used here. It is the Hebrew word is kabod. That means “the glory of God” in Hebrew. It effectively means the presence of God.
What seems clear to me is the Israelites are not trying to speak about God in literal terms. They express themselves in terms of story. And there are, in fact, several sections in the passage meant to indicate different stories, different theophanies.
{Note: as each of these are enumerated, the Pastor counts them off by hold up the number of fingers which represent the number of incidents being listed.} God speaks to Moses: a theophany. Moses goes up on the mountain into the clouds: a theophany. The clouds are pictured as the presence of God: a theophany.
The same presence is seen as an all consuming fire on the top of the mountain: a theophany. Then God calls to Moses yet again: a theophany. Finally, Moses disappears in the cloud: a theophany. (Slight pause.)
What is a theophany? What is the presence of God? A feeling, a form of wisdom or knowledge— does it happen only in certain places, under certain circumstances, at certain times? I don’t know. (Slight pause.)
In our Newsletter this month our friend and parishioner Lynn Olcott tells a story. This is what she wrote.
“While shoveling the walk, I fall into conversation with God. I remark to God on the beauty of the day, the silky snow, the subtly tinted sky and the clean, cold air that is barreling through our valley just now.”
“By the time I reach the end of the walkway we’ve had quite a good discussion about life, about work, about the family and the past. But what I really need is advice for today.
“I’m getting ready to move. I’ve moved many times— for necessity, for convenience, for adventure, for love.”
“In my nomadic past I relocated with the carefree, box-slinging, single mindedness of youth and later with the grudging cheerfulness of middle age. Now I am old.” (Slight pause.)
“I turn my face into the wind and breathe. I ask God for the energy to pull this off. I ask God to fill my mind with sunlight. I thank God for listening and go back inside to pack another box.” (Slight pause.)
You see, I think Lynn has the answer about the presence of God. Yes, God is with us at special times and in special ways. But God is with us always.
And if we take time to talk with God and to occasionally listen we will realize God is with is. If we take time to see the face of God in those around us we will know God is with us. (Slight pause.)
We live in a world that feels busy. So our tendency is to not take the time we need to be aware of God. But if we do take that time— no— if we purposefully make that time— then we will realize the Spirit of God is all around us, always. And that, my friends, is the reality and the consummate definition of theophany— the presence of God is with us always. Amen.
03/02/2014
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: “Let me emphasis once again, the only way to speak about the real presence of God is through story. That is because, paradoxically, there are no words to define God. But there are words to describe what it feels like to be in the presence of God. It has been said many times here in the last several weeks that we are in our 200th year as a Congregation. Over that time there have been hundreds of stories of our experience of God, which raises a two fold question: what is your experience of God as an individual and what is our experience of God as a Congregation? Unless we are willing to do what the Israelites did and share those experiences, no one we encounter will recognize us as a church.”
BENEDICTION: Let us go in joy and in love and in peace, for our hope is in the one who has made covenant with us. God reigns. Let us go in God’s peace. And may the face of God shine upon us; may the peace of Christ rule among us; may the fire of the Spirit burn within us this day and forevermore. Amen.
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