06/29/2014 ~ Proper 8 ~ Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Third Sunday after Pentecost ~ Genesis 22:1-14; Psalm 13; Jeremiah 28:5-9; Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18; Romans 6:12-23; Matthew 10:40-42 ~ Note: Matthew 10:24-39 Got Used (Previous Week’s Lectionary) ~ Annual Organizational Meeting in Our 200th Year ~ Communion Sunday ~ Ceremony of Shalom for Cathy Hammons ~ Dedication of the Bells ~ A Ceremony of Recognition as We Honor Members in Long Standing ~ Women of the Church Will Provide Breakfast for Men ~ Communion.
Traveling Together [1]
“The student should be glad to simply become like the teacher, the follower like the leader.” — Matthew 10:25a
Many moons ago when I arrived at Bangor Seminary I knew right away I was where I belonged. Why? The Rev. Dr. Marvin Ellison, the Rev. Dr. Susan Davies, the Rev. Dr. Glenn Miller and Dr. Ann Johnston were known to everyone as Marvin, Susan, Glenn and Ann.
The only exception to that was when we wanted to pull Susan’s leg. She had two doctorates, not one. So we would occasionally call her the Rev. Dr. Dr. or the Rev. Very Dr. Dr.
To be clear, it was not the informality that pleased me. What was evident is students were not studying under these teachers. We were studying with these teachers. We were studying, learning, growing together. (Slight pause.)
Over time I hope I have made a number of things clear as I have stood in this pulpit. Among the things I have tried to illuminate is that our own culture can get in the way of understanding what Scripture says. In the case of these particular words we heard from Mathew, I think our culture prevents us from seeing something that should be obvious.
You see there is no question about this: we live in a top-down culture, a culture that tends to place someone in charge. We, on the other hand, claim to be Congregationalists.
Unlike many denominations which are top-down, where only prelates have the final say, Congregationalists insist guidance and responsibilities are both shared and come from all parties, not just one. Indeed, that is one reason we elect officers, as we just have.
Hence, what I need you to notice about the 25th verse in the 10th Chapter of Matthew is the expectation that the student becomes like the teacher, the followed like leader. This is a situation of equity. This is not top down. I think too often our culture reads these words to say ‘always give deference to a leader, to a decider.’
That is exactly what it does not say. Yes, we all need some guidance. Yes, we all need to learn. Yes, we all need to grow.
However, once guidance is offered, learning assimilated, growth launched, the expectation of the Gospel is we will travel together. The expectation of the Gospel is we will together share guidance, responsibility, leadership.
Put another way, one thing which makes the Gospel challenging is it calls us to maturity. Further, there is an expectation that our day to day living will be maturely acted out— acted out in love, in compassion, with vigor, with patience, with understanding, with calm, with wisdom— all signs of maturity.
Put another way yet again, that sense of maturity to which the Gospel calls us should be displayed to everyone with whom we come in contact. Indeed, the Gospel call to us, therefore, is also a call to sense of maturity whereby we display a willingness to live in community with one another, a willingness to travel along the path of life together, a willingness to deeply touch each other’s lives. Indeed, to be a Christian means to live in community— community with all its beauty and all its flaws.
So, as we travel together into our 201st year as a community of faith, let each of us make a commitment to each other. Let us commit to being faithful to one another. Let us commit to sharing with one another. Let us commit to being a community willing to offer guidance to each other, to learn from each other, to grow together. Amen.
06/29/2014
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: “The bells we dedicated today are a good example of what I tried to illustrate in my comments. We got more bells to fill out harmonies. In short, one bell can play a note. Two or more can produce harmony.”
BENEDICTION: 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] Do note: given the activities mentioned above in today’s service, this sermon is brief.
Monday, June 30, 2014
Friday, June 27, 2014
SERMON ~ 06/15/2014 ~ “Norwich, June 15th, 1845”
06/15/2014 ~ First Sunday after Pentecost ~ Known in Some Traditions as Trinity Sunday ~ Father’s Day on the Secular Calendar ~ Genesis 1:1-2:4a; Psalm 8; 2 Corinthians 13:11-13; Matthew 28:16-20 ~ A Union Service of Worship in West Park with First Baptist Church, the United Church of Christ, First Congregational and the Broad Street United Methodist Church in Celebration of the 200th Anniversary of the First Baptist Church and the 200th Anniversary of the United Church of Christ, First Congregational Followed by a Sharing a Meal.
NANCY:
These words are from the Gospel commonly called Matthew: “There {that is, on the mountain to which Jesus had directed them} the disciples saw the Risen Christ and fell down in homage and worshiped... but some doubted.” (Matthew 28:17).
[It should be noted this Sermon happened at a service in West Park, Norwich, New York. The current buildings which house the services of worship of the United Church of Christ, First Congregational border the park as does the Chenango County Courthouse. The Rev. Nancy Hale introduced the situation. The Rev. Mr. David Spiegel played the part of the Rev. Mr. Charles Johnson, the Pastor of the First Baptist Church. The Rev. Mr. Joseph Connolly played the part of the Rev. Mr. William Mason Richards, the Pastor of what was at that time known as the First Congregational Church.]
NANCY:
I need to ask you to use your imagination and paint a picture in your mind of what I am about to describe. You are here in Norwich, right where you find yourself now, except for one thing. The year is not 2014. The year is 1845. The date is the same as it is today. It is June the 15th. As it happens June the 15th, 1845 was also a Sunday. Yes, incredible as it seems, June the 15th, 1845 was also on a Sunday. But because you should be thinking that you are here in 1845, I ask that you put any modern sounds you might be hearing, like cars or horns out of you head. This is 1845. There are no cars. In 1845 the Chenango County Courthouse is already eight years old. [Nancy points to that building.] In 1845 the building in which the members of the First Baptist Church celebrate worship today, this building right here [Nancy points to the First Baptist Church], is in the process of being built. It is, in fact, nearing completion. This is a change in location for the Baptists, who had been conducting worship in a building on what is currently the East Park. From this time in 1845 right to the present day the building in which they worship will be and is across the way from the Congregationalists. The Congregational Meeting House is located on the same footprint as the current worship space. [Nancy points toward that building.] But it is not the same building. The structure in which the Congregationalists meet in 1845 is a building made of wood. It was built in 1819. It will burn down in 1860 and be replaced the following year by the brick structure in which their current worship space now resides. The Chenango Canal is also fairly new. The canal opened the same year as the courthouse, 1837. It will close in 1878 due to competition from the railroad. One more thing: in what you are about to hear, there will be a reference to a school 23 miles north on the canal. That school was then known as Hamilton Literary and Theological Institution. Today we know it as Colgate University.
That’s probably all you need to know to paint a picture in your mind of what is about to take place. And what is it which is about to take place? The pastor of the First Baptist Church in 1845, Charles Johnson, and the Pastor of the First Congregational Church in 1845, William Mason Richards, are about to meet here, between the two churches, for a little talk after their respective Sunday Services. One thing to note: we did not have a big enough budget to buy elaborate costumes, so you need to imagine these two pastors in period dress. And now, the talk between the two pastors.
JOE:
Mr. Johnson! Mr. Johnson! My, but it is good to see you. How is it going? ....the building... is it coming along on time?
DAVID:
Well, it seems to be, Mr. Richards. I guess people in this area learned a lot about working with stone when they built the courthouse and that canal. You do realize that not only the courthouse but all the 116 locks up and down the canal are made of stone.
JOE:
Oh, my yes. That blessed canal. If I was not a man of the cloth I would be using some pretty vile and harsh words about the canal.
DAVID:
My word, whatever do you mean? The canal is wonderful! It brought jobs to the county. It provides a fast, efficient way for our produce and our manufactured items to get to market— places as far away as New York City and Philadelphia! And, you know what the canal did? The canal has put Hamilton on the map. And you know what’s in Hamilton, do you not?
JOE:
Yes, yes, yes. I know.
DAVID:
Well, then say it!
JOE:
I shall not say it. I will not say it.
DAVID:
Then I shall. It put the Hamilton Literary and Theological Institution on the map. And, you know... it’s a Baptist School!
JOE:
Yes, yes, yes. The Hamilton Literary and Theological Institution— it’s a Baptist School. And Harvard and Yale are Congregational Schools.
DAVID:
Well, as far away from here as Harvard and Yale are, they might as well be in Europe. The Hamilton Literary and Theological Institution— imagine— it’s just 23 miles from here. And it’s a Baptist School. (Slight pause.) But tell me Mr. Richards, why is it you don’t like the canal, given the fine attributes I just outlined.
JOE:
It... it... it... smells.
DAVID:
That’s it? That’s your only complaint? It smells?
JOE:
I live my life by this rule: if it smells, something is rotten. If something is rotten something is wrong. As a man of the cloth, I mean to root out wrong. (Slight pause.) And besides, the canal will close.
DAVID:
The canal will close? Heaven forbid!
JOE:
You’ve heard of these things they call iron horses?
DAVID:
I’ve heard of them. I even rode on one.
JOE:
They will replace the canal.
DAVID:
I doubt it. Binghamton— and that’s a really big town— Binghamton does not even have any of those iron horses things yet. And it probably never will. Besides, I doubt they will ever amount to anything.
JOE:
Mark my word— in about 30 years time the iron horse will replace the canal.
DAVID:
You can’t be serious. I doubt that very much.
JOE:
And why do you doubt it? How can you doubt it? The iron horse represents change. You can’t stop change, you know. You can corral change; you can bend it, if you are diligent. No, you can’t stop change. But change can be forged into progress.
DAVID:
Iron horses are not progress.
JOE:
Whatever do you mean?
DAVID:
You just heard me say I’ve taken a ride on one of these iron horses, did you not?
JOE:
Why, yes I did.
DAVID:
Well then, the reason I say iron horses will not work, the reason I say iron horses are not a path to progress is the same reason you say you don’t like the canal.
JOE:
What are you getting at?
DAVID:
Have you ever taken a ride on an iron horse?
JOE:
Well, no.
DAVID:
They smell.
JOE:
They what?
DAVID:
They smell. They belch smoke; they snort coal dust; they exhale soot. And, when you ride one of these iron horse things, you can’t help but breathe in all that smoke, all that dust, all that soot. After I finished the ride I took and got off that dang contraption and not only did I smell of collected grime but I coughed and I coughed and I coughed for hours. Never again shall I even think about taking a ride on one of those contraptions. Give me a canal boat any day— quiet, calm, tranquil.
JOE:
Except when the horses and mules bray. But mark my word, the canal shall be a thing of the past very soon. The canal is not the way of progress. The canal sits in the way of progress.
DAVID:
But the canal is quiet. It’s calm. It’s tranquil. It’s even quick. It’s only 12 hours to Binghamton, five days to New York City. Now, that’s real progress. (Slight pause.)
JOE:
So tell me, what do your people think about progress? What do they think about the future? And whether or not they see an iron horse on the horizon, do they have.... doubts?
DAVID:
Doubts? Doubts about what?
JOE:
Doubts about the future.
DAVID:
How could we possibly have doubts? We’re putting up an edifice made of stone. This building will last forever.
JOE:
That’s what the Pharaohs did. They put up stone buildings. That’s what the Pharaohs said: ‘it will last forever.’ I like good solid wood buildings.
DAVID:
Wood does burn, you know. And I thought you were the one in favor of progress. Buildings of stone and brick and mortar— it’s the wave of the future. It’s the way to go. Stone is a symbol of progress. Stone is a symbol of change. The only question is will we, indeed, can we harness change? (Slight pause.)
JOE:
Maybe that’s the place from which doubt arises. I think we humans don’t like change. We like to be comfortable, quiet, tranquil. We like to be set in our ways. And we clearly don’t like doubt.
DAVID:
Well, you know what it says in Matthew 28: “...the disciples saw the Risen Christ and fell down in homage and worshiped... but some doubted.” Perhaps the disciples were simply comfortable and did not like the idea of change.
JOE:
Yes, but in that same Matthew passage right after those words, you know what the Risen Christ says? “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of Abba, God, and of the Only Begotten One, and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to carry out everything I have instructed. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
DAVID:
Well, perhaps that is the real difference between change and progress. Christ clearly instructed us to do. So, doing is our call! And, therefore, if change is a constant, it’s clear that the thing we can do and should do is to engage change and bend it, mold it until change does become progress.
JOE:
Yes, my friend, and when change is engaged, when change becomes progress, doubt is not banished. Doubt, indeed, is a necessary aspect of faith. To doubt is to be human. Therefore, if we don’t doubt, if we lack doubt, we lack faith. We have no faith. But, when we engage the world and all of the change the world brings, then doubt is still present. And when we engage the world doubt can be and is overcome. (Slight pause.)
DAVID:
Mr. Richards, I am always glad when I see you. We have such stimulating chats.
JOE:
Mr. Johnson, I am always glad to see you, since I know we are working toward the same goal: we work for the good of the people in this fair place called Norwich and we work toward the real goal of progress— that the realm of God is present in this place and in this time. (Slight pause.)
DAVID:
So, do you think that will be true— that we work for the good of the people of Norwich and that the real goal is progress toward the realm of God in— I don’t know— pick a date, pick a year— let’s say in the year 2014— in 2014 will it still be true?
JOE:
Of course it will be true. It will be true if we remain friends in Christ, one in Christ. If we are friends in Christ, one in Christ, then all things are possible. And, I might add, remaining friends in Christ? I firmly believe that’s the only thing that shall never change.
DAVID:
Amen.
JOE:
And again, amen.
06/15/2014
A Union Service of Worship in West Park with First Baptist Church, the United Church of Christ, First Congregational and the Broad Street United Methodist Church in Celebration of the 200th Anniversary of the First Baptist Church and the 200th Anniversary of the United Church of Christ, First Congregational Followed by a Sharing a Meal.
Norwich, June 15th, 1845
NANCY:
These words are from the Gospel commonly called Matthew: “There {that is, on the mountain to which Jesus had directed them} the disciples saw the Risen Christ and fell down in homage and worshiped... but some doubted.” (Matthew 28:17).
[It should be noted this Sermon happened at a service in West Park, Norwich, New York. The current buildings which house the services of worship of the United Church of Christ, First Congregational border the park as does the Chenango County Courthouse. The Rev. Nancy Hale introduced the situation. The Rev. Mr. David Spiegel played the part of the Rev. Mr. Charles Johnson, the Pastor of the First Baptist Church. The Rev. Mr. Joseph Connolly played the part of the Rev. Mr. William Mason Richards, the Pastor of what was at that time known as the First Congregational Church.]
NANCY:
I need to ask you to use your imagination and paint a picture in your mind of what I am about to describe. You are here in Norwich, right where you find yourself now, except for one thing. The year is not 2014. The year is 1845. The date is the same as it is today. It is June the 15th. As it happens June the 15th, 1845 was also a Sunday. Yes, incredible as it seems, June the 15th, 1845 was also on a Sunday. But because you should be thinking that you are here in 1845, I ask that you put any modern sounds you might be hearing, like cars or horns out of you head. This is 1845. There are no cars. In 1845 the Chenango County Courthouse is already eight years old. [Nancy points to that building.] In 1845 the building in which the members of the First Baptist Church celebrate worship today, this building right here [Nancy points to the First Baptist Church], is in the process of being built. It is, in fact, nearing completion. This is a change in location for the Baptists, who had been conducting worship in a building on what is currently the East Park. From this time in 1845 right to the present day the building in which they worship will be and is across the way from the Congregationalists. The Congregational Meeting House is located on the same footprint as the current worship space. [Nancy points toward that building.] But it is not the same building. The structure in which the Congregationalists meet in 1845 is a building made of wood. It was built in 1819. It will burn down in 1860 and be replaced the following year by the brick structure in which their current worship space now resides. The Chenango Canal is also fairly new. The canal opened the same year as the courthouse, 1837. It will close in 1878 due to competition from the railroad. One more thing: in what you are about to hear, there will be a reference to a school 23 miles north on the canal. That school was then known as Hamilton Literary and Theological Institution. Today we know it as Colgate University.
That’s probably all you need to know to paint a picture in your mind of what is about to take place. And what is it which is about to take place? The pastor of the First Baptist Church in 1845, Charles Johnson, and the Pastor of the First Congregational Church in 1845, William Mason Richards, are about to meet here, between the two churches, for a little talk after their respective Sunday Services. One thing to note: we did not have a big enough budget to buy elaborate costumes, so you need to imagine these two pastors in period dress. And now, the talk between the two pastors.
JOE:
Mr. Johnson! Mr. Johnson! My, but it is good to see you. How is it going? ....the building... is it coming along on time?
DAVID:
Well, it seems to be, Mr. Richards. I guess people in this area learned a lot about working with stone when they built the courthouse and that canal. You do realize that not only the courthouse but all the 116 locks up and down the canal are made of stone.
JOE:
Oh, my yes. That blessed canal. If I was not a man of the cloth I would be using some pretty vile and harsh words about the canal.
DAVID:
My word, whatever do you mean? The canal is wonderful! It brought jobs to the county. It provides a fast, efficient way for our produce and our manufactured items to get to market— places as far away as New York City and Philadelphia! And, you know what the canal did? The canal has put Hamilton on the map. And you know what’s in Hamilton, do you not?
JOE:
Yes, yes, yes. I know.
DAVID:
Well, then say it!
JOE:
I shall not say it. I will not say it.
DAVID:
Then I shall. It put the Hamilton Literary and Theological Institution on the map. And, you know... it’s a Baptist School!
JOE:
Yes, yes, yes. The Hamilton Literary and Theological Institution— it’s a Baptist School. And Harvard and Yale are Congregational Schools.
DAVID:
Well, as far away from here as Harvard and Yale are, they might as well be in Europe. The Hamilton Literary and Theological Institution— imagine— it’s just 23 miles from here. And it’s a Baptist School. (Slight pause.) But tell me Mr. Richards, why is it you don’t like the canal, given the fine attributes I just outlined.
JOE:
It... it... it... smells.
DAVID:
That’s it? That’s your only complaint? It smells?
JOE:
I live my life by this rule: if it smells, something is rotten. If something is rotten something is wrong. As a man of the cloth, I mean to root out wrong. (Slight pause.) And besides, the canal will close.
DAVID:
The canal will close? Heaven forbid!
JOE:
You’ve heard of these things they call iron horses?
DAVID:
I’ve heard of them. I even rode on one.
JOE:
They will replace the canal.
DAVID:
I doubt it. Binghamton— and that’s a really big town— Binghamton does not even have any of those iron horses things yet. And it probably never will. Besides, I doubt they will ever amount to anything.
JOE:
Mark my word— in about 30 years time the iron horse will replace the canal.
DAVID:
You can’t be serious. I doubt that very much.
JOE:
And why do you doubt it? How can you doubt it? The iron horse represents change. You can’t stop change, you know. You can corral change; you can bend it, if you are diligent. No, you can’t stop change. But change can be forged into progress.
DAVID:
Iron horses are not progress.
JOE:
Whatever do you mean?
DAVID:
You just heard me say I’ve taken a ride on one of these iron horses, did you not?
JOE:
Why, yes I did.
DAVID:
Well then, the reason I say iron horses will not work, the reason I say iron horses are not a path to progress is the same reason you say you don’t like the canal.
JOE:
What are you getting at?
DAVID:
Have you ever taken a ride on an iron horse?
JOE:
Well, no.
DAVID:
They smell.
JOE:
They what?
DAVID:
They smell. They belch smoke; they snort coal dust; they exhale soot. And, when you ride one of these iron horse things, you can’t help but breathe in all that smoke, all that dust, all that soot. After I finished the ride I took and got off that dang contraption and not only did I smell of collected grime but I coughed and I coughed and I coughed for hours. Never again shall I even think about taking a ride on one of those contraptions. Give me a canal boat any day— quiet, calm, tranquil.
JOE:
Except when the horses and mules bray. But mark my word, the canal shall be a thing of the past very soon. The canal is not the way of progress. The canal sits in the way of progress.
DAVID:
But the canal is quiet. It’s calm. It’s tranquil. It’s even quick. It’s only 12 hours to Binghamton, five days to New York City. Now, that’s real progress. (Slight pause.)
JOE:
So tell me, what do your people think about progress? What do they think about the future? And whether or not they see an iron horse on the horizon, do they have.... doubts?
DAVID:
Doubts? Doubts about what?
JOE:
Doubts about the future.
DAVID:
How could we possibly have doubts? We’re putting up an edifice made of stone. This building will last forever.
JOE:
That’s what the Pharaohs did. They put up stone buildings. That’s what the Pharaohs said: ‘it will last forever.’ I like good solid wood buildings.
DAVID:
Wood does burn, you know. And I thought you were the one in favor of progress. Buildings of stone and brick and mortar— it’s the wave of the future. It’s the way to go. Stone is a symbol of progress. Stone is a symbol of change. The only question is will we, indeed, can we harness change? (Slight pause.)
JOE:
Maybe that’s the place from which doubt arises. I think we humans don’t like change. We like to be comfortable, quiet, tranquil. We like to be set in our ways. And we clearly don’t like doubt.
DAVID:
Well, you know what it says in Matthew 28: “...the disciples saw the Risen Christ and fell down in homage and worshiped... but some doubted.” Perhaps the disciples were simply comfortable and did not like the idea of change.
JOE:
Yes, but in that same Matthew passage right after those words, you know what the Risen Christ says? “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of Abba, God, and of the Only Begotten One, and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to carry out everything I have instructed. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
DAVID:
Well, perhaps that is the real difference between change and progress. Christ clearly instructed us to do. So, doing is our call! And, therefore, if change is a constant, it’s clear that the thing we can do and should do is to engage change and bend it, mold it until change does become progress.
JOE:
Yes, my friend, and when change is engaged, when change becomes progress, doubt is not banished. Doubt, indeed, is a necessary aspect of faith. To doubt is to be human. Therefore, if we don’t doubt, if we lack doubt, we lack faith. We have no faith. But, when we engage the world and all of the change the world brings, then doubt is still present. And when we engage the world doubt can be and is overcome. (Slight pause.)
DAVID:
Mr. Richards, I am always glad when I see you. We have such stimulating chats.
JOE:
Mr. Johnson, I am always glad to see you, since I know we are working toward the same goal: we work for the good of the people in this fair place called Norwich and we work toward the real goal of progress— that the realm of God is present in this place and in this time. (Slight pause.)
DAVID:
So, do you think that will be true— that we work for the good of the people of Norwich and that the real goal is progress toward the realm of God in— I don’t know— pick a date, pick a year— let’s say in the year 2014— in 2014 will it still be true?
JOE:
Of course it will be true. It will be true if we remain friends in Christ, one in Christ. If we are friends in Christ, one in Christ, then all things are possible. And, I might add, remaining friends in Christ? I firmly believe that’s the only thing that shall never change.
DAVID:
Amen.
JOE:
And again, amen.
06/15/2014
A Union Service of Worship in West Park with First Baptist Church, the United Church of Christ, First Congregational and the Broad Street United Methodist Church in Celebration of the 200th Anniversary of the First Baptist Church and the 200th Anniversary of the United Church of Christ, First Congregational Followed by a Sharing a Meal.
Monday, June 9, 2014
SERMON ~ 06/08/2014 ~ Day of Pentecost ~ Seeing Visions; Dreaming Dreams
06/08/2014 ~ Day of Pentecost ~ A Celebration of the Rite of Confirmation ~ Baptism of Corey Johnson ~ Music Sunday ~ Acts 2:1-21 or Numbers 11:24-30; Psalm 104:24-34, 35b; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13 or Acts 2:1-21; John 20:19-23 or John 7:37-39.
Seeing Visions; Dreaming Dreams [1]
“Your sons and your daughters will prophesy / and your young people will see visions / and your elders will dream dreams.” — Acts 2:17b.
I, personally, do not doubt God wants us to see visions and dream dreams. More particularly, I believe God wants us to see the visions God has for humanity and God wants us to dream the dreams God has for humanity. That begs the question: how do we humans get there, get to a place we are and can be empowered to see the visions and dream the dreams God would have us see and dream? (Slight pause.)
We will confirm three teens and one adult today. And, given our Protestant heritage— the priesthood of all believers— I, personally, think every adult should seek to be confirmed— seek to be confirmed— at least every fifteen to twenty years. Why? Well, why would any of us not want an opportunity to mature, to learn, to grow, to engage, to grapple with our faith?
After all, how else might we come to a place we are and can be empowered to see the visions and dream the dreams God would have us see and dream, if not by growing, if not through growth? Now, in fact, when we strive toward a maturity of faith, strive to learn, to grow, to engage, to grapple with our faith might that be just a little frightening? Perhaps— but is that a reason to not do it? (Slight pause.)
Theologian and Pastor, Rev. Brian McLaren says this (quote:) “You are not finished yet. You are ‘in the making.’ You have the capacity to learn, mature, think, change and grow. You also have the freedom to stagnate, regress, constrict and lose your way. Which road will you take?” {unquote} (Slight pause.)
It seems to me, as Christians, we have a pretty clear choice. Growth may sometimes be painful but I think we are called to growth by the Holy Spirit.
Or, in the words of Saint Catherine of Sienna, “Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” Setting the world on fire: last time I looked that is supposed to be why we, as a church, practice the Rite of Confirmation. And that is why I, as a pastor, recommend not just Confirmation for our youth. I recommend adult Confirmation. Adult Confirmation is, you see, an opportunity for growth in the Spirit. Who would want less? Amen.
06/08/2015
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: “Author H. G. Wells said this (quote;) ‘Human history is more and more a race between education and catastrophe.’ On the more optimistic side, Winston Churchill said this: ‘Success is not final; failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.’”
BENEDICTION
The love of God is abundant and steadfast. When we give God’s love away, it returns in breathtaking abundance. Let us willingly participate in the grace God offers. May we love God so much, that we love nothing else too much. May we be in awe of God enough, that we need be in awe of nothing and no one else. And may the Word of God be on our tongues, the wisdom of God be with our thinking and the love of God be present in our hearts. Amen.
[1] Given that in this service there was a Baptism, Confirmation and we celebrated Music Sunday, this is a short Homily.
Seeing Visions; Dreaming Dreams [1]
“Your sons and your daughters will prophesy / and your young people will see visions / and your elders will dream dreams.” — Acts 2:17b.
I, personally, do not doubt God wants us to see visions and dream dreams. More particularly, I believe God wants us to see the visions God has for humanity and God wants us to dream the dreams God has for humanity. That begs the question: how do we humans get there, get to a place we are and can be empowered to see the visions and dream the dreams God would have us see and dream? (Slight pause.)
We will confirm three teens and one adult today. And, given our Protestant heritage— the priesthood of all believers— I, personally, think every adult should seek to be confirmed— seek to be confirmed— at least every fifteen to twenty years. Why? Well, why would any of us not want an opportunity to mature, to learn, to grow, to engage, to grapple with our faith?
After all, how else might we come to a place we are and can be empowered to see the visions and dream the dreams God would have us see and dream, if not by growing, if not through growth? Now, in fact, when we strive toward a maturity of faith, strive to learn, to grow, to engage, to grapple with our faith might that be just a little frightening? Perhaps— but is that a reason to not do it? (Slight pause.)
Theologian and Pastor, Rev. Brian McLaren says this (quote:) “You are not finished yet. You are ‘in the making.’ You have the capacity to learn, mature, think, change and grow. You also have the freedom to stagnate, regress, constrict and lose your way. Which road will you take?” {unquote} (Slight pause.)
It seems to me, as Christians, we have a pretty clear choice. Growth may sometimes be painful but I think we are called to growth by the Holy Spirit.
Or, in the words of Saint Catherine of Sienna, “Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” Setting the world on fire: last time I looked that is supposed to be why we, as a church, practice the Rite of Confirmation. And that is why I, as a pastor, recommend not just Confirmation for our youth. I recommend adult Confirmation. Adult Confirmation is, you see, an opportunity for growth in the Spirit. Who would want less? Amen.
06/08/2015
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: “Author H. G. Wells said this (quote;) ‘Human history is more and more a race between education and catastrophe.’ On the more optimistic side, Winston Churchill said this: ‘Success is not final; failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.’”
BENEDICTION
The love of God is abundant and steadfast. When we give God’s love away, it returns in breathtaking abundance. Let us willingly participate in the grace God offers. May we love God so much, that we love nothing else too much. May we be in awe of God enough, that we need be in awe of nothing and no one else. And may the Word of God be on our tongues, the wisdom of God be with our thinking and the love of God be present in our hearts. Amen.
[1] Given that in this service there was a Baptism, Confirmation and we celebrated Music Sunday, this is a short Homily.
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