07/20/2014 ~ Proper 11 ~ Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Sixth Sunday after Pentecost ~ Genesis 28:10-19a; Psalm 139:1-12, 23-24; Wisdom of Solomon 12:13, 16-19 or Isaiah 44:6-8; Psalm 86:11-17; Romans 8:12-25; Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 ~ Readings Used: 2 Kings 2:9-14; Romans 8:31-38; and Matthew 13:24-30 ~ Water from the Well III ~ With Composer Lloyd Larson Conducting the Choirs.
For the Love of God
“I am convinced, certain, that neither death nor life, neither angels nor rulers, neither things present nor things future, neither height nor depth— nor anything else in all creation— will be able to separate us from the love of God that has come to us in Christ Jesus, our Savior.” — Romans 8:38-39.
The late Arthur Clarke was a British inventor, explorer and writer of both non-fiction and fiction. I’m sure the way most know him is as a writer of science fiction. Clarke wrote the novel and co-wrote the screenplay 2001: a Space Odyssey.
A friend of mine recently quoted Clarke on her Facebook page. “The greatest tragedy in humankind’s entire history may be the hijacking of morality by religion.”
I responded with another well known quote from Clarke. “I don’t believe in God... but I am very, very interested in her.”
I, in fact, agree with that first quote. Morality is often hijacked by religion. But what we may not realize is, in many ways, commonly held morality— populist morality, if you would— is not a religious standard. It is a secular standard.
So, for instance, not that long ago the secular standard was this: to hold slaves is moral. What changed? In America at last, Congregationalist made a religious claim. We said faith insists slavery is immoral.
Yes, faith does influence moral standards. And yes, it is also true religion has hijacked morality in ways which are inappropriate way, way too often.
Interestingly, the Pew Research Center which does research on religion conducted a survey among 40,000 people in various countries between 2011 and 2013. The survey asked a simple question: “Is belief in God essential to morality?”
Majorities in all highly developed countries do not think belief in God necessary for morality with only one exception: the USA. Even in Israel, whose basis in religion is clear, only 37 percent of the population connect God and morality. But in America the number is 53 percent. [1]
My point is, at least in part, that connection— religion/morality— would seem to be culturally driven and culturally governed— not really religiously driven. Which begs the question: if religion is not about morality, what is religion really about? (Very long pause.)
Religion is about seeing the face of God. Hence, religion is about cultivating a relationship with God and a relationship with others.
In Jesus, in the Messiah, Paul sees the face of God since the Apostle is (quote:) “convinced, certain, that neither death nor life, neither angels nor rulers, neither things present nor things future, neither height nor depth— nor anything else in all creation— will be able to separate us from the love of God that has come to us in Christ Jesus, our Savior.” (Slight pause.)
I need to point out that, for all the standards of morality some read into the writings of Paul, one aspect of that Apostle’s writings clearly supercedes all others. Paul constantly addresses the love God offers humanity. And for Paul that love is made manifest in the living reality of Jesus, the Messiah, the Christ. (Slight pause.)
This precept insists on a second question: how should we respond to the love of God? (Slight pause.) Love— unconditional love— this love God offers us is, by its nature, a gift freely given. Therefore, the love God offers does not demand anything in return.
The love God offers does, however, invite our love. And you have heard this invitation to respond hundreds of times. You have even heard the invitation to respond in words of Jesus. The invitation is simple: “love God; love neighbor.”
There are a multitude of ways to respond to the invitation. These are just a few. Feed the hungry; clothe the naked; house the homeless; care for the sick, etc., etc,. etc.
And that is where and how faith influences moral standards: when we respond by feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, housing the homeless, caring for the sick— these are the real standards of morality. And they come from loving neighbor. Love is, you see, the true and the only standard of morality. (Slight pause.)
Today we have gathered for a day when we focused on the praise of God with music. So, one question to ask is not what is religion about but, rather, what is song about? How does song fit in? (Slight pause.)
Song is also a response to the love God offers. Song is, indeed, a very human response— an emotional response, a response based in our emotional life. (Slight pause.)
Let me offer two things the famous composer and conductor, Leonard Bernstein, said about music (quote): “Every once in a while we have feelings so deep and so special that we have no words for them. Music names them for us, only in notes instead of in words.” And this: “Music... can name the un-namable and communicate the unknowable.” (Slight pause.)
Do me a favor: close your eyes for a moment. Now picture someone you love very, very deeply. Can you ever know that person completely, totally, fully? (You can open you’re eyes now.)
I think if we’re honest, the answer is ‘no’— we cannot know another person completely, totally, fully. In a different Epistle Paul named a human truth for us: now we see things dimly, imperfectly.
Well, earlier I said “religion is about seeing the face of God.” If we see dimly, imperfectly, can we fully see the face of God? Can we fully name God? If we’re honest, the answer is ‘no.’
That is a human truth. Music, however, does help us with the emotional task of naming, the emotional task knowing, the emotional task of being aware of and therefore seeing God more fully, even when that task of awareness is limited by our own humanity.
All of which is to say Paul was right that nothing will (quote:) “be able to separate us from the love of God that has come to us in Christ Jesus, our Savior.” Why? Loving God is about our emotional life. And that’s why music is so central in our prayer and in our praise. Music does name the unnameable for us. Amen.
07/20/2014
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: “After all creation was formed, God called the angels together and asked them what they thought of it. One of them said, “Something is lacking: the sound of praise to the Creator.” So God created music. And music was heard in the whisper of the wind, in the chirp of the birds, in the tympani of the thunder. But that was not enough, so God gave humanity the gift of song. And down through the ages this gift has blessed, comforted and inspired many souls. This gift is a part of the covenant; we have the blessings and wonder which the gift from God bestows on and in us; and God is pleased when a joyful noise is heard.”
BENEDICTION: Hear now this blessing: May we love God so much, that we love nothing else too much. May we be so in awe of God that we are in awe of no one else and nothing else. Amen.
[1]
http://www.salon.com/2014/0 /18/the_destructive_myth_about_religion_that_americans_disproportionately_believe_partner/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=socialflow
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Sunday, July 13, 2014
SERMON ~ 07/13/2014 ~ “In Parables”
07/13/2014 ~ 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Fifth Sunday after Pentecost ~ Proper 10 ~ Genesis 25:19-34; Psalm 119:105-112; Isaiah 55:10-13; Psalm 65:(1-8), 9-13; Romans 8:1-11; Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 ~ Communion Sunday ~ Ceremony of .-: (Shalom) for Brooke Bonney.
In Parables
“Then the disciples came and asked Jesus, ‘Why do you speak to them in parables?’” — Matthew 13:10.
On a number of levels, really on any level, Pixar, the movie studio which makes animated films, is a great success story. It has produced only 14 films but among those are the three pictures in the Toy Story series and Monsters, Inc. and Finding Nemo and Up and The Incredibles. Odds are you recognized all those titles even if you did not see them.
The studio has racked up an astounding 27 Oscars. That’s not 27 nominations. That’s 27 Oscar wins in various categories. Their first film, Toy Story, was released in 1995, so that’s 27 Oscars for 14 films in less than twenty years.
Along with the late Steve Jobs of Apple Computer fame, one of the co-founders of Pixar Studios is Ed Catmull. Ed is currently the President of the firm and has lately been making the rounds of talk shows, promoting his book Creativity, Inc. In this work he tries to synthesize some lessons to be drawn from the experience of working at Pixar.
The first success at Pixar, Toy Story, was incredibly successful. And, as is often true with new ventures, success did not come easy.
On the other hand, Ed makes the point that what came after that first success was much, much harder. What was harder? Being successful the next time and the next time and the next time— 14 times in a row.
So, how did that happen? How is it Pixar that has had 14 successful moves and zero, nada, zilch flops? (Slight pause.)
Catmull has always said he us wary of maxims. He is suspicious of rules, because too often they turn out to be empty clichés, platitudes which impede thoughtfulness.
And, indeed, one piece of advice commonly given, a piece of advice we have all heard and largely accept this CEO says is inadequate. Catmull says he would replace “Trust the process” with “Trust the people”— rarely “Trust the process”— always “Trust the people.”
Even good people, he notes, get trapped by process when they follow it thoughtlessly. But when good people bring thoughtfulness— thoughtfulness— to bear on their work, you get results— results like 27 Oscars with 14 movies. Therefore, people are more important than process. (Slight pause.)
We find these words in the work known as Matthew. “Then the disciples came and asked Jesus, ‘Why do you speak to them in parables?’” (Slight pause.)
So, what is a parable? (Slight pause.) Although Jesus has previously used metaphor in Matthew, in the Eleventh Chapter we, for the first time, encounter a story the writer of this Gospel labels as “parable.”
Parables purposefully use words and stories which have a wide range of meanings and functions. The categories used by parables include a figure of speech, a proverb, an aphorism, a riddle, a lesson, an allegory. In short, the term parable can apply to almost any kind of speech which is indirect, imprecise.
This kind of storytelling is indirect. Hence, the meaning of a parable cannot be settled on in as if it had a singular message. However, some meaning, if not a precise meaning, can be gleaned from the way parables function within the Gospels.
Put another way, it is not what parables mean which matters. It is how parables spur our thought process which matters.
Let me offer a definition of parable considered one of the best (quote): “The parable is a metaphor, a simile, a method of speech drawn from nature or common life. It engages the hearer by its vividness and/or its strangeness. Hence, it leaves us with doubt— it leaves us with doubt— about its precise application. Thereby, the function of a parable is to tease us into active thought.” The function of a parable is to tease us into active thought. (Slight pause.)
I often say this about the witness of Scripture. Scripture is not like checking the video tape in slow motion to see if a runner was tagged out. So, never, never, never ask what Scripture says. Always, always, always ask what Scripture means. (Slight pause.)
That brings me back to Mr. Catmull and Pixar. As I said, he has one rule, one mantra: trust people. Why? Why trust people?
When you just trust the process— meaning when you do not put people first, when you fail to trust people— when you just trust the process, that is an invitation to passivity. Trusting process invites an individual to abdicate personal responsibility.
And when process is trusted over people, people become lulled, seduced by dull repetitions. When process is trusted too much, people produce empty versions of what was done before and limit their vision for the new.
I probably don’t need to remind you the eleventh commandment of the church is, “We’ve never done it that way before.” The unspoken implication of “We’ve never done it that way before” is: why should we try something new? Why should we do something different? Trust process!
Why, yes! That’s what we in the church should do— use the same process over and over and over again. Don’t trust people.
That doesn’t sound right to me. I hope it doesn’t sound right to you. (Slight pause.)
If you’re like me, you’ve probably heard the parable of the sower many times and may even have heard many sermons about the story. There are two obvious ways people tend to look it. One is to picture us, church people, as sowers. One is to picture church people as seed.
But I don’t think either of those tease us into active thought. Both the sower and the seed have to do with process. And active thought, not process, is the goal of the parable.
This suggests in order to glean any lesson in the story of the sower you should not look at any one aspect of the story. You need to look at the totality of the story.
And what constant is here? The soil— I think if there is any lesson in the story, we need to consider the ground, the dirt, the soil onto which the seed falls.
The sower will sow every time there is a planting and do so on all kinds of soil. The seed falls where the seed falls. But the ground— the ground is receptive or it is not.
Despite the fact that the ground just sits there, I want to suggest the ground is the active aspect of this story. And I want to suggest that we are the ground.
Are we receptive or we are not? Are we willing to be thoughtful or not? If we are receptive, thoughtful, then the process can live. But it’s people who make the process live. The process has no life on its own. (Slight pause.)
Now, what really interests me here is that God has an expectation of us. The expectation is that we, each of us, will be a part of the covenant God makes with humanity. When we participate in the Dominion of God, when we participate with the will of God, when we participate in the work of God, new life becomes possible.
Indeed, the expectation of God here is that we will be (quote:) “good soil.” Indeed, the expectation of God here is that we, the good soil, will yield (quote:) “a crop of grain some thirty, sixty or even a hundredfold of what was sown.” In short, I think the parable asks a simple question of us: ‘are we willing to be participants in the Dominion of God?’ (Slight pause.)
In a couple of minutes we will have a Ceremony of Shalom for Brooke Bonney, as she is off to college. I know Brooke fairly well. If memory serves, she has been with us at least since the age of three. (She is nodding her head ‘yes.’) And she has just been Confirmed.
I suspect she is, pardon the expression, good soil. We, the community of faith, have tried to surrounding her with our love and our support. And I, personally, have no doubt she will strive to pass that nurturing on. (Slight pause.)
Well, I suppose that’s what all this is really about is are we willing, ourselves, to be good soil? Are we willing to be a people who cultivate, a people to continue to think and grow, a people who do not become trapped by the process? (Slight pause.)
And why did Jesus speak in parables? Perhaps it was to tease us into active thought. Amen.
07/06/2014
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 words of Closing Hymn, Lead Us from Death to Life, say this: ‘Lead us from death to life, from falsehood to truth, despair to hope, fear to trust, hate to love, war to peace— let peace fill our hearts.’ It occurs that doesn’t happen without out thoughtful participation.”
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.
In Parables
“Then the disciples came and asked Jesus, ‘Why do you speak to them in parables?’” — Matthew 13:10.
On a number of levels, really on any level, Pixar, the movie studio which makes animated films, is a great success story. It has produced only 14 films but among those are the three pictures in the Toy Story series and Monsters, Inc. and Finding Nemo and Up and The Incredibles. Odds are you recognized all those titles even if you did not see them.
The studio has racked up an astounding 27 Oscars. That’s not 27 nominations. That’s 27 Oscar wins in various categories. Their first film, Toy Story, was released in 1995, so that’s 27 Oscars for 14 films in less than twenty years.
Along with the late Steve Jobs of Apple Computer fame, one of the co-founders of Pixar Studios is Ed Catmull. Ed is currently the President of the firm and has lately been making the rounds of talk shows, promoting his book Creativity, Inc. In this work he tries to synthesize some lessons to be drawn from the experience of working at Pixar.
The first success at Pixar, Toy Story, was incredibly successful. And, as is often true with new ventures, success did not come easy.
On the other hand, Ed makes the point that what came after that first success was much, much harder. What was harder? Being successful the next time and the next time and the next time— 14 times in a row.
So, how did that happen? How is it Pixar that has had 14 successful moves and zero, nada, zilch flops? (Slight pause.)
Catmull has always said he us wary of maxims. He is suspicious of rules, because too often they turn out to be empty clichés, platitudes which impede thoughtfulness.
And, indeed, one piece of advice commonly given, a piece of advice we have all heard and largely accept this CEO says is inadequate. Catmull says he would replace “Trust the process” with “Trust the people”— rarely “Trust the process”— always “Trust the people.”
Even good people, he notes, get trapped by process when they follow it thoughtlessly. But when good people bring thoughtfulness— thoughtfulness— to bear on their work, you get results— results like 27 Oscars with 14 movies. Therefore, people are more important than process. (Slight pause.)
We find these words in the work known as Matthew. “Then the disciples came and asked Jesus, ‘Why do you speak to them in parables?’” (Slight pause.)
So, what is a parable? (Slight pause.) Although Jesus has previously used metaphor in Matthew, in the Eleventh Chapter we, for the first time, encounter a story the writer of this Gospel labels as “parable.”
Parables purposefully use words and stories which have a wide range of meanings and functions. The categories used by parables include a figure of speech, a proverb, an aphorism, a riddle, a lesson, an allegory. In short, the term parable can apply to almost any kind of speech which is indirect, imprecise.
This kind of storytelling is indirect. Hence, the meaning of a parable cannot be settled on in as if it had a singular message. However, some meaning, if not a precise meaning, can be gleaned from the way parables function within the Gospels.
Put another way, it is not what parables mean which matters. It is how parables spur our thought process which matters.
Let me offer a definition of parable considered one of the best (quote): “The parable is a metaphor, a simile, a method of speech drawn from nature or common life. It engages the hearer by its vividness and/or its strangeness. Hence, it leaves us with doubt— it leaves us with doubt— about its precise application. Thereby, the function of a parable is to tease us into active thought.” The function of a parable is to tease us into active thought. (Slight pause.)
I often say this about the witness of Scripture. Scripture is not like checking the video tape in slow motion to see if a runner was tagged out. So, never, never, never ask what Scripture says. Always, always, always ask what Scripture means. (Slight pause.)
That brings me back to Mr. Catmull and Pixar. As I said, he has one rule, one mantra: trust people. Why? Why trust people?
When you just trust the process— meaning when you do not put people first, when you fail to trust people— when you just trust the process, that is an invitation to passivity. Trusting process invites an individual to abdicate personal responsibility.
And when process is trusted over people, people become lulled, seduced by dull repetitions. When process is trusted too much, people produce empty versions of what was done before and limit their vision for the new.
I probably don’t need to remind you the eleventh commandment of the church is, “We’ve never done it that way before.” The unspoken implication of “We’ve never done it that way before” is: why should we try something new? Why should we do something different? Trust process!
Why, yes! That’s what we in the church should do— use the same process over and over and over again. Don’t trust people.
That doesn’t sound right to me. I hope it doesn’t sound right to you. (Slight pause.)
If you’re like me, you’ve probably heard the parable of the sower many times and may even have heard many sermons about the story. There are two obvious ways people tend to look it. One is to picture us, church people, as sowers. One is to picture church people as seed.
But I don’t think either of those tease us into active thought. Both the sower and the seed have to do with process. And active thought, not process, is the goal of the parable.
This suggests in order to glean any lesson in the story of the sower you should not look at any one aspect of the story. You need to look at the totality of the story.
And what constant is here? The soil— I think if there is any lesson in the story, we need to consider the ground, the dirt, the soil onto which the seed falls.
The sower will sow every time there is a planting and do so on all kinds of soil. The seed falls where the seed falls. But the ground— the ground is receptive or it is not.
Despite the fact that the ground just sits there, I want to suggest the ground is the active aspect of this story. And I want to suggest that we are the ground.
Are we receptive or we are not? Are we willing to be thoughtful or not? If we are receptive, thoughtful, then the process can live. But it’s people who make the process live. The process has no life on its own. (Slight pause.)
Now, what really interests me here is that God has an expectation of us. The expectation is that we, each of us, will be a part of the covenant God makes with humanity. When we participate in the Dominion of God, when we participate with the will of God, when we participate in the work of God, new life becomes possible.
Indeed, the expectation of God here is that we will be (quote:) “good soil.” Indeed, the expectation of God here is that we, the good soil, will yield (quote:) “a crop of grain some thirty, sixty or even a hundredfold of what was sown.” In short, I think the parable asks a simple question of us: ‘are we willing to be participants in the Dominion of God?’ (Slight pause.)
In a couple of minutes we will have a Ceremony of Shalom for Brooke Bonney, as she is off to college. I know Brooke fairly well. If memory serves, she has been with us at least since the age of three. (She is nodding her head ‘yes.’) And she has just been Confirmed.
I suspect she is, pardon the expression, good soil. We, the community of faith, have tried to surrounding her with our love and our support. And I, personally, have no doubt she will strive to pass that nurturing on. (Slight pause.)
Well, I suppose that’s what all this is really about is are we willing, ourselves, to be good soil? Are we willing to be a people who cultivate, a people to continue to think and grow, a people who do not become trapped by the process? (Slight pause.)
And why did Jesus speak in parables? Perhaps it was to tease us into active thought. Amen.
07/06/2014
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 words of Closing Hymn, Lead Us from Death to Life, say this: ‘Lead us from death to life, from falsehood to truth, despair to hope, fear to trust, hate to love, war to peace— let peace fill our hearts.’ It occurs that doesn’t happen without out thoughtful participation.”
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.
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