03/27/2016 ~ Resurrection of the Christ ~ Easter Day ~ Also Known as The Feast of the Resurrection ~ *Acts 10:34-43 or Isaiah 65:17-25; Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24; 1 Corinthians 15:19-26 or Acts 10:34-43; John 20:1-18 or Luke 24:1-12; Added Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:3-7 [ILV] ~ * During Eastertide a reading from Acts is often substituted for the lesson from the Hebrew Bible.
A READING FROM THE GOSPELS — Luke 24:1-12 [Inclusive Language Version]
INTRODUCTION: It needs to be noted there are no Resurrection stories in Scripture, no stories about Jesus emerging from the tomb. There are only post resurrection stories. It also needs to be noted Resurrection is not reanimation nor is it resuscitation. That has never been a Christian belief. Resurrection is what it says it is: Resurrection. Last, in an era when women were at best second class citizens, women are deeply involved throughout the post resurrection stories in all the Gospels. This fact in that particular era confronts us with an obvious question: what does that fact about the role the women played tell us about the message of equity offered by God? Hear now this reading from the Gospel we have come to know as Luke.
[1] On the first day of the week, at the first sign of dawn, the women came to the tomb, bringing spices they had prepared. [2] They found the stone rolled away from the tomb; [3] when they entered they did not find the body of Jesus.
[4] They were at a loss as to what to think about this. Then suddenly two figures in dazzling garments stood beside them. [5] Terrified, the women bowed to the ground. One of the two said, “Why do you look for the Living One among the dead? Jesus is not here; Christ has risen. [6] Remember what Jesus said to you, while you were still in Galilee— [7] that the Chosen One must be delivered into the hands of sinners and be crucified and on the third day rise again.” [8] With this reminder the words of Jesus came back to them.
[9] When they returned from the tomb, they told all this to the Eleven and to all the others. [10] Now the women who had experienced this and reported all these things were Mary of Magdala, Joanna and Mary the mother of James. The other women who were with those three also told these things to the apostles. [11] But these words seemed to those who listened to be an idle tale, nonsensical, and they refused to believe them. [12] Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Upon getting there this apostle stooped and looked in but could see nothing but the linen cloths, the wrappings, on the ground. Then Peter left, amazed at what had occurred.
This is the Gospel of Jesus, Who is the Christ, the Messiah, the One Who has been raised.
*************************************************************************
Christ Lives
“Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Upon getting there this apostle stooped and looked in but could see nothing but the linen cloths, the wrappings, on the ground. Then Peter left, amazed at what had occurred.” — Luke 24:12.
The disciple headed back down the road. Peter— his real name was Simon and since the day the Rabbi, the teacher, had given him the name Peter that is what everyone called him— Peter was exhausted.
Of course, he had been running. He was a little older than the others who followed the Rabbi so that rag-tag group looked to him for leadership. Despite his age, he was not in bad shape. So, it may not have simply been the distance covered running to the tomb which led to the exhaustion.
No... no, indeed— there were other reasons. The first was that he really expected to see the remains of his friend in that tomb, no matter what the women said. Tombs... tombs— these were the final resting place, the final destination, were they not?
But his friend Yahushua— in Greek the name is Jesus, but Peter knew the Rabbi by the Jewish name Yahushua— Yahushua kept saying wait for three days after I die. Just wait three days.
And so, after three days— somehow, some way— Jesus was no longer there, no longer in the tomb where Peter knew they had placed the earthly remains of his friend. Peter had watched when they buried the Rabbi. And now the tomb was empty.
So, was the exhaustion felt by Peter caused by the strain of running? Probably not. Surely, at least in part, the exhaustion arose from seeing nothing in the tomb except the wrappings on the ground. It left Peter emotionally exhausted.
After all, when Jesus preached all over Galilee, Peter was there. When Jesus healed the sick, Peter was there. When Jesus fed five thousand, Peter was there. When Jesus recited parables— something the Rabbi did over and over and over again— Peter was there.
When Jesus asked that pivotal question, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter had the answer. Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ. Right after that, when Jesus was transfigured and the three disciples heard a voice, loud and clear, a voice which insisted Jesus was the Chosen One, Peter... was... there. (Slight pause.)
And yes, when Jesus was taken as a prisoner of the state, Peter was there also. When Jesus was taken to the house of the High Priest not only was Peter there. Upon being confronted, Peter denied any knowledge of Jesus. And this happened just as the Rabbi said it would. The painful memory of the incident made Peter sigh as he walked. (Slight pause.)
What came next, in retrospect, seemed inevitable. Having become a prisoner of the state, Jesus— Jesus, Peter’s friend, Jesus, Peter’s teacher, Jesus, Peter’s guide, Jesus, Peter’s companion— Jesus was murdered by the state, crucified by the Romans. And Peter was there when that happened too, watching from afar as his friend... died.
But now, now this... this... empty tomb— the wrappings... so yes— Peter was... exhausted. And no, this exhaustion did not come from running. This was emotional exhaustion. Peter was spent. (Slight pause.)
Peter trod toward the center of Jerusalem, toward the house where the other disciples waited, knowing there was yet another emotional hill to climb. He needed to face the women.
It was the women who, on the first day of the week, at dawn, went to the tomb. It was the women who found the tomb empty. It was the women who were told “Why do you look for the Living One among the dead? Jesus is not here; Christ has risen.”
It was the women who, on returning from the tomb told the Eleven and the others about the empty tomb. It was the women... who no one believed. It was the women... who were ridiculed. It was the women... who were told their tale was idle, nonsensical.
And now Peter— the only one among the other followers of Jesus who even went to the tomb, Peter— the only one among them willing to face the reality of the empty tomb, Peter— the leader of this small band— Peter needed to affirm the women. They were, after all, right. He wondered if they would, in turn, ridicule him because of how the others had ridiculed them. (Slight pause.)
When Peter burst through the door into the large room where the whole group waited there was a cacophony of chatter. Peter raised a hand. What had been a wall of noise turned into immediate silence.
“It’s true,” he said, gesturing toward the women who were gathered in a corner. “They are right. The tomb is empty. (Slight pause.) I’m exhausted. Let me sit.”
And so he did. He sat on a bench. Perhaps the flood of emotions finally caught up with him. Suddenly it felt like the weight of the world was pressing down on his back. The women were the first to notice his distress.
From the corner of the room, this question was asked: “Peter, are you all right?”
Peter knew that voice. It was Mary of Magdala. She was perceptive. She knew when something was amiss before anyone else knew.
Peter, his eyes closed, responded. “Yes. I’m all right. I’ll be fine.”
And that’s when it happened. His body began to quake. Peter sobbed. Tears streamed down his face, his beard. He wept and wept and wept.
“Peter? Peter?” It was Mary’s voice. He was sure it was Mary’s voice.
The disciple felt a hand softly touch his shoulder. The touch was tender, healing, loving... familiar. “That is sweet of her,” thought Peter. “Mary is trying to offer solace in my time of need.”
After a bit, Peter got control of himself. Slowly, the crying ceased. Slowly, he wiped the tears away. “After all,” he thought trying to force his sense of logic and order to impose itself on his emotions, “there are only so many tears one can shed before one runs dry.”
The hand on his shoulder patted three times and then lifted away. He opened his eyes. Across the room was Mary of Magdala and the other women. Quickly he looked around. No one was behind him. No one was near him. No one had dared come near him.
“Mary! Were you just near me? Behind me?”
All she offered was a quizzical look. “No.”
“Someone was behind me. Someone was touching me.”
Everyone in the room stared at him not knowing what to say. This was, after all, Peter. He saw everything clearly. He had been the first one to see Jesus as the Messiah. He had been the first one to see Jesus as the Christ.
He pointed toward the end of the room. He pointed toward the women. He shouted as loud as he could. “You are right!” he said. “Jesus is risen! Jesus is the Christ.”
The women smiled. It was a knowing smile. But they said nothing.
Peter was emotionally drained but at the same time somehow filled with joy. Again, quieter Peter said it: “Jesus is risen! Jesus is the Christ.” (Long pause.) Amen.
03/27/2016 - Easter Day, The Feast of the Resurrection
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, New York
BENEDICTION: Hear now this blessing and then please join with me in the responsive Easter acclamation found in the bulletin. May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the love of Christ, Jesus, and in the knowledge of the Holy Spirit this day and forever. And please join with me in the Easter Acclamation.
ONE: Rejoice, people of God! Christ is risen from the dead! Go in peace to love and serve God. Christ is with you always. Alleluia! Christ is Risen!
MANY: Christ is risen, indeed. Alleluia!
ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Choral Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “I need to say two things: first, in Aramaic, the language which would have been spoken in Roman Palestine in New Testament times, to be saved meant to be made alive. Second, I am sure the well known American composer Irving Berlin was a nice fellow. He wrote Easter Parade and also a lesser know Easter Song, It’s a Lovely Day, Happy Easter. I want to suggest, however, that to merely say, ‘Happy Easter’ is not a Christian sentiment. So, let me make a suggestion: if someone walks up to you today and says, ‘Happy Easter’ shake their hand and say, ‘Christ is risen.’ ‘Christ is risen’ is the Christian sentiment.”
Sunday, March 27, 2016
Sunday, March 13, 2016
SERMON ~ 03/13/2016 ~ “The Future”
03/13/2016 ~ Fifth Sunday in Lent ~ Isaiah 43:16-21; Psalm 126; Philippians 3:4b-14; John 12:1-8.
The Future
“Beloved— sisters and brothers— I do not consider that I have made it my own; I do not think that I have reached the finish line. But this one thing I do: I give no thought to what lies behind; I forget what lies behind. I strain, I push forward on to what lies ahead.” — Philippians 3:13.
As I think and hope you all know, after the service today we will have a soup and bread lunch. Do not worry if you forgot to bring something for that meal or didn’t bring something for that meal. Believe me, there is enough to go around. I’ve looked.
At 12:30 that lunch will be followed by Adventures with Bonnie and Joe. Adventures with Bonnie and Joe is the report from my sabbatical, our trip across country and back, a trip we made between the end of last June and the end of September. And, even if you don’t stay for the lunch, do come back for that. We will start no earlier than 12:30. O.K.? So, if your not staying for lunch just come on back.
Now, last October, at the first service of worship I led after our return, I said when Bonnie and I were first married and going on a trip of some distance we’d get in the car and before Bonnie stepped on the gas— as many of you know when we were first married, since I arrived to the great State of Maine from the caverns of New York City I did not yet drive because Subways are the major mode of transportation in the city and I used them pretty exclusively— so, before Bonnie stepped on the gas we would look at each other and in unison say, ‘Adventures with Bonnie and Joe.’ And off we’d go: another adventure.
And so, On June 27th, last, when we left on our trip, we once again said to one another “Adventures with Bonnie and Joe.” So, if you are here for the presentation, you will hear about some of those adventures from encounters with Bison, to seeing a Major League Baseball game, to visiting the National Monument known as Devils Tower.
Since we are offering a report about the trip today, I want to point out a couple of things. First, I hope it’s evident that what we will offer is, in many ways, testimony. How so? We will talk about how educational, how interesting, how challenging, how enjoyable, how emotional, how engaging it all was— in short it was a great and useful experience.
But I want to also point out something else which should be obvious. The trip happened in the past. And yes, our memories of it are wonderful. They will linger with us until we leave the frail bonds of the time allotted to us.
But we cannot relive what happened. We cannot experience it again. Even if we went on another trip, it could be only similar. It would not be the same.
Hence and by definition, to give testimony means to reflect on experience, to reflect on something which happened. Thereby, testimony does not address the future and only in a peripheral way touches on the present. Testimony deals with the past. That testimony deals with the past does not render the past or the testimony about it invalid or useless.
The past often can and often should be treasured. The past can teach amazing and valuable lessons as we move on. Perhaps the only danger with testimony is when we are insistent about dwelling in the past.... and refusing to relinquish it. Living in the past is not just unhealthy. It is dangerous. (Slight pause.)
And we find these words in the work known as Philippians: “Beloved— sisters and brothers— I do not consider that I have made it my own; I do not think that I have reached the finish line. But this one thing I do: I give no thought to what lies behind; I forget what lies behind. I strain, I push forward on to what lies ahead.” (Slight pause.)
When this reading was introduced it was said the way the little story of Paul’s life becomes meaningful is by its relation to the big story of God’s activity. Unlike many modern autobiographies, Paul’s story does not invite readers to do their own thing or to copy Paul but asks them, asks the readers, to see themselves in the light of the divine story.
To elaborate on that thought, this is an autobiography in three stages. There is a statement of Paul’s heritage, Paul’s religious location. In offering this reflection, the Apostle gives a reevaluation of that aforementioned religious location in light of the reality of the Christ. Then Paul insists the possibilities of the present abound because of the reality of the Christ.
Those two stages together express experience, express testimony. It is that testimony, that history which spurs Paul on and into a life of active anticipation. In fact, it needs to be noted Paul’s present possibilities are valid only if lived out into the future, only if lived in active anticipation.
And the life Paul strives to live out, is lived out in a future created by God, not a future determined by Paul. It is God’s future which beckons. Also and therefore, Paul’s story is unfinished, unsure. The denouement, the outcome, the result of Paul’s story has not yet arrived when Paul writes these words.
On top of that, I think we are also meant hear these with words a sense of our acceptance by God. How is that so? How is that acceptance, our acceptance by God, expressed by Paul? It is expressed in the testimony offered by Paul, his story, his history.
In fact, that is why Paul’s testimony, any testimony, is valid. Paul understands this very basic reality about God. God acts. It is God who reaches out to Paul.
And the point of the testimony offered by Paul is not just that God acts. It is that God has reached out to Paul. The point of the testimony is to proclaim that God reaches out to each of us, all of us. God accepts us, as we are, where we are. If that failed to be true, if God did not reach out to each of us, what would be the point of giving any testimony?
You see, if God did not reach out to each of us, testimony would be reduced to a set of self-centered statements. Testimony would become diminished to mere bragging. And, thereby, since bragging is self-centered, such testimony could not be about God.
Hence, everything which Paul recites as history, everything in this testimony, does not point toward the past, does not point toward self-centeredness, does not point toward individual experience. Rather, everything points toward God and toward the future. Everything points toward a future to which we are invited by God. (Slight pause.)
Sometimes the words I’m about to use are called the Eleventh Commandment of the church. Sometimes the words I’m about to use are called the seven last words of the church. “But we’ve never done it that way.”
I have a colleague who has two framed posters in her office. Once of them has that Eleventh Commandment, those seven last words: “But we’ve never done it that way.” Another has a more sober, more true assessment of reality. “We live in a world of constant change.”
I want to suggest no one, not myself, not you, not Paul can really prognosticate. None of us can predict the future. None of us can predict what the inevitable change— and we all know change will happen— none of us can predict what the inevitable change around us will bring with any certainty.
And, rumor to the contrary, predicting the future is not the point of theology. Predicting the future is not the point of living out one’s faith. Living into the future God has for us, living into the future God has for us and for those around us, for all humanity, Living into the future is the point living out one’s faith. (Slight pause.)
So, if you come to Adventures with Bonnie and Joe later today you will hear testimony. You will hear all about where we’ve been. But all testimony can do is inform us about where we were, where we’ve been.
Indeed, when Bonnie and I left on our trip we knew where we were going, or at least where we intended to go. But we did not know what would happen. We did not really know the future. And unless we use what happened to us to help us live into the future, God’s future, the testimony we offer will be trivial.
So, I think what Paul is getting at is not what I would call not a larger idea, or even a logical idea. But it is a theological idea, God centered logic. That theological idea is that God beckons us into an unknown future. At least it is unknown in terms of the kind of detail we often crave: where, how, why.
But there is one aspect of the future to which God beckons us that is both known and knowable. And that aspect is with Whom the future will happen. We are beckoned to walk toward the future with God.
We are beckoned to walk toward the future knowing God is both holy and good. We are beckoned to walk toward the future knowing that God walks with us, that God cherishes us, that God loves us. In that, our future is both known and assured. God loves us. Amen.
03/13/2016
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: “So, what is testimony, really? I think often we in the Main Line have an image of an Elmer Gantry preacher out there just giving testimony and it frightens us a little. If truth be told, testimony is simply being friendly. One of my mentors, the Rev. Carol Anderson, used to say we Americans are strange. We read a book, see a movie or TV show we like and what do we do? We share it. We tell a friend about it. In so doing we are simply being friendly. When we have a community of faith we like what do we do? [The pastor puts hand to mouth and makes several muffled sounds.] Doesn’t make a lot of sense does it? Testimony is simply being friendly. That’s all it is.”
BENEDICTION: In Christ, we experience God’s presence together. Where Christ leads, let us follow. Where God calls us to service, let us go. And may the peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep our hearts and minds in the knowledge of God, the love of Jesus, the Christ, and the companionship of the Holy Spirit, this day and forevermore. Amen.
The Future
“Beloved— sisters and brothers— I do not consider that I have made it my own; I do not think that I have reached the finish line. But this one thing I do: I give no thought to what lies behind; I forget what lies behind. I strain, I push forward on to what lies ahead.” — Philippians 3:13.
As I think and hope you all know, after the service today we will have a soup and bread lunch. Do not worry if you forgot to bring something for that meal or didn’t bring something for that meal. Believe me, there is enough to go around. I’ve looked.
At 12:30 that lunch will be followed by Adventures with Bonnie and Joe. Adventures with Bonnie and Joe is the report from my sabbatical, our trip across country and back, a trip we made between the end of last June and the end of September. And, even if you don’t stay for the lunch, do come back for that. We will start no earlier than 12:30. O.K.? So, if your not staying for lunch just come on back.
Now, last October, at the first service of worship I led after our return, I said when Bonnie and I were first married and going on a trip of some distance we’d get in the car and before Bonnie stepped on the gas— as many of you know when we were first married, since I arrived to the great State of Maine from the caverns of New York City I did not yet drive because Subways are the major mode of transportation in the city and I used them pretty exclusively— so, before Bonnie stepped on the gas we would look at each other and in unison say, ‘Adventures with Bonnie and Joe.’ And off we’d go: another adventure.
And so, On June 27th, last, when we left on our trip, we once again said to one another “Adventures with Bonnie and Joe.” So, if you are here for the presentation, you will hear about some of those adventures from encounters with Bison, to seeing a Major League Baseball game, to visiting the National Monument known as Devils Tower.
Since we are offering a report about the trip today, I want to point out a couple of things. First, I hope it’s evident that what we will offer is, in many ways, testimony. How so? We will talk about how educational, how interesting, how challenging, how enjoyable, how emotional, how engaging it all was— in short it was a great and useful experience.
But I want to also point out something else which should be obvious. The trip happened in the past. And yes, our memories of it are wonderful. They will linger with us until we leave the frail bonds of the time allotted to us.
But we cannot relive what happened. We cannot experience it again. Even if we went on another trip, it could be only similar. It would not be the same.
Hence and by definition, to give testimony means to reflect on experience, to reflect on something which happened. Thereby, testimony does not address the future and only in a peripheral way touches on the present. Testimony deals with the past. That testimony deals with the past does not render the past or the testimony about it invalid or useless.
The past often can and often should be treasured. The past can teach amazing and valuable lessons as we move on. Perhaps the only danger with testimony is when we are insistent about dwelling in the past.... and refusing to relinquish it. Living in the past is not just unhealthy. It is dangerous. (Slight pause.)
And we find these words in the work known as Philippians: “Beloved— sisters and brothers— I do not consider that I have made it my own; I do not think that I have reached the finish line. But this one thing I do: I give no thought to what lies behind; I forget what lies behind. I strain, I push forward on to what lies ahead.” (Slight pause.)
When this reading was introduced it was said the way the little story of Paul’s life becomes meaningful is by its relation to the big story of God’s activity. Unlike many modern autobiographies, Paul’s story does not invite readers to do their own thing or to copy Paul but asks them, asks the readers, to see themselves in the light of the divine story.
To elaborate on that thought, this is an autobiography in three stages. There is a statement of Paul’s heritage, Paul’s religious location. In offering this reflection, the Apostle gives a reevaluation of that aforementioned religious location in light of the reality of the Christ. Then Paul insists the possibilities of the present abound because of the reality of the Christ.
Those two stages together express experience, express testimony. It is that testimony, that history which spurs Paul on and into a life of active anticipation. In fact, it needs to be noted Paul’s present possibilities are valid only if lived out into the future, only if lived in active anticipation.
And the life Paul strives to live out, is lived out in a future created by God, not a future determined by Paul. It is God’s future which beckons. Also and therefore, Paul’s story is unfinished, unsure. The denouement, the outcome, the result of Paul’s story has not yet arrived when Paul writes these words.
On top of that, I think we are also meant hear these with words a sense of our acceptance by God. How is that so? How is that acceptance, our acceptance by God, expressed by Paul? It is expressed in the testimony offered by Paul, his story, his history.
In fact, that is why Paul’s testimony, any testimony, is valid. Paul understands this very basic reality about God. God acts. It is God who reaches out to Paul.
And the point of the testimony offered by Paul is not just that God acts. It is that God has reached out to Paul. The point of the testimony is to proclaim that God reaches out to each of us, all of us. God accepts us, as we are, where we are. If that failed to be true, if God did not reach out to each of us, what would be the point of giving any testimony?
You see, if God did not reach out to each of us, testimony would be reduced to a set of self-centered statements. Testimony would become diminished to mere bragging. And, thereby, since bragging is self-centered, such testimony could not be about God.
Hence, everything which Paul recites as history, everything in this testimony, does not point toward the past, does not point toward self-centeredness, does not point toward individual experience. Rather, everything points toward God and toward the future. Everything points toward a future to which we are invited by God. (Slight pause.)
Sometimes the words I’m about to use are called the Eleventh Commandment of the church. Sometimes the words I’m about to use are called the seven last words of the church. “But we’ve never done it that way.”
I have a colleague who has two framed posters in her office. Once of them has that Eleventh Commandment, those seven last words: “But we’ve never done it that way.” Another has a more sober, more true assessment of reality. “We live in a world of constant change.”
I want to suggest no one, not myself, not you, not Paul can really prognosticate. None of us can predict the future. None of us can predict what the inevitable change— and we all know change will happen— none of us can predict what the inevitable change around us will bring with any certainty.
And, rumor to the contrary, predicting the future is not the point of theology. Predicting the future is not the point of living out one’s faith. Living into the future God has for us, living into the future God has for us and for those around us, for all humanity, Living into the future is the point living out one’s faith. (Slight pause.)
So, if you come to Adventures with Bonnie and Joe later today you will hear testimony. You will hear all about where we’ve been. But all testimony can do is inform us about where we were, where we’ve been.
Indeed, when Bonnie and I left on our trip we knew where we were going, or at least where we intended to go. But we did not know what would happen. We did not really know the future. And unless we use what happened to us to help us live into the future, God’s future, the testimony we offer will be trivial.
So, I think what Paul is getting at is not what I would call not a larger idea, or even a logical idea. But it is a theological idea, God centered logic. That theological idea is that God beckons us into an unknown future. At least it is unknown in terms of the kind of detail we often crave: where, how, why.
But there is one aspect of the future to which God beckons us that is both known and knowable. And that aspect is with Whom the future will happen. We are beckoned to walk toward the future with God.
We are beckoned to walk toward the future knowing God is both holy and good. We are beckoned to walk toward the future knowing that God walks with us, that God cherishes us, that God loves us. In that, our future is both known and assured. God loves us. Amen.
03/13/2016
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: “So, what is testimony, really? I think often we in the Main Line have an image of an Elmer Gantry preacher out there just giving testimony and it frightens us a little. If truth be told, testimony is simply being friendly. One of my mentors, the Rev. Carol Anderson, used to say we Americans are strange. We read a book, see a movie or TV show we like and what do we do? We share it. We tell a friend about it. In so doing we are simply being friendly. When we have a community of faith we like what do we do? [The pastor puts hand to mouth and makes several muffled sounds.] Doesn’t make a lot of sense does it? Testimony is simply being friendly. That’s all it is.”
BENEDICTION: In Christ, we experience God’s presence together. Where Christ leads, let us follow. Where God calls us to service, let us go. And may the peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep our hearts and minds in the knowledge of God, the love of Jesus, the Christ, and the companionship of the Holy Spirit, this day and forevermore. Amen.
Sunday, March 6, 2016
SERMON ~ 03/06/2016 ~ “Them and Us”
03/06/2016 ~ Fourth Sunday in Lent ~ Joshua 5:9-12; Psalm 32; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21; Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 ~ Communion Sunday.
Them and Us
“So this makes us ambassadors for Christ, since God is making an appeal directly through us. Therefore, we entreat and implore you on behalf of Christ, and in the name of Christ: be reconciled to God.” — 2 Corinthians 5:20.
When I was very young, my family lived in Brooklyn in the kind of house that was, both then and now, called a railroad flat. It gets that odd name because these houses are long and quite narrow, like a railroad car. Part of what gave a railroad flat a railroad car kind of look to its interior design was the fact that it was built on only half a city lot.
Generally, a typical lot size in Brooklyn was 23 feet wide. Therefore, half a lot was eleven and a half feet. And two of these railroad flats houses fit on a single 23 foot wide lot. The two house addresses on a lot would, hence and for instance, be 74 A Schaefer Street and 74 B Schaefer Street, each house taking up half a lot number 74— section A and section B.
All the railroad flat houses on an entire street were connected, side by side— no spaces in between. Once you subtract the thickness of the walls on each side that drops the useable width, the room width in any one railroad flat, to under eleven feet wide.
And, since the useable space was under eleven feet that poses the obvious question about railroad cars: how wide is an Amtrak car? About 10 feet, two inches— long and narrow— so you can see how the railroad flat got its name.
Under eleven feet is not a lot of living space. And the kitchens were really tiny— New York City kitchens— really tiny. The one in the house of my youth was crammed into what could only be called a cubby hole off a dinning room. It had a stove, a sink and cabinets all squeezed into it.
Well, when I was young one of the chores often assigned in rotation to myself, my brother and my sister was helping my mother do the dishes. Being the oldest, I was the first one who could actually help my mother do this. So once, when I was maybe six or seven and helping her (because I would have been the doing that at this point), I was standing on a stool over the sink washing. She was drying.
I am not sure how this happened, but at one point she lifted a large, cast iron frying pan out of the drying rack. It suddenly slipped from her hands and landed on her foot— the big toe of her left foot to be precise.
Good Irish Catholic woman that she was, she did not curse. However, I do remember her jumping up and down in place on the good foot because of the pain and the words “Jesus, Mary and Joseph” escaping from her lips. (If no one has ever told you this, “Jesus, Mary and Joseph” is what passes as a curse from a good Irish Catholic woman.)
I know she went to the doctor right away, since I went to the doctor with her. The doctor had to remove the nail on her big toe. And the nail was never the same. It eventually grew back but always looked ugly, bumpy, twisted.
Now, the reason I’m telling this story is my impressionable young brain somehow absorbed this incident, this accident, as being my fault. I was standing there! It must have been my fault!
I somehow translated what happened to my mother as my having caused her to drop the heavy pan on her toe. And not only did I think it was my fault. I became convinced that she would never forgive me.
Neither of those things were, of course, true. It is simply what I perceived to be true. (Slight pause.)
Well, one day when I was in my mid-thirties and talking with my mother, I mentioned this incident. Then I told her I realized the accident was my fault and, at this late date, I wanted to say I was sorry.
She looked at me like I had just landed in a spaceship from Mars. “I dropped the pan on my own foot,” she said. “You... had nothing to do with it.”
“But, but...” I stammered, “you took me to the doctor with you. That’s one reason I thought it was my fault.”
“I took you with me to the doctor for two reasons,” she insisted. “I did not want to burden your grandmother with all three of you at once and if I had fainted dead away on the street from pain at least you were old enough to have asked someone for help.” (Slight pause.)
One wonders, of course, why I felt both culpable and unforgiven. Well, as I said, I was young. I was impressionable. And the truth is, a lack of maturity can contribute to a total misreading of reality. (Slight pause.)
These words are found in Second Corinthians: “So this makes us ambassadors for Christ, since God is making an appeal directly through us. Therefore, we entreat and implore you on behalf of Christ, and in the name of Christ: be reconciled to God.” (Slight pause.)
Nothing may be more difficult for Christians in North America in the early Twenty-first Century than adopting the new way of discernment— Paul’s way of discernment— which is inherent in the message of Scripture. Part of that discernment has this basic truth: the old categories— race, gender, social status— all of which Paul references earlier in Second Corinthians— the old categories have become obsolete when it comes to judging people.
It seems obvious to me these categories— used in Paul’s day as well as our own— these categories— race, gender, social status— and others, are, in fact, how people judge. And yet, the message offered is stunningly clear. With God there are no categories. With God there is no them and us. The message is plain, simple: be reconciled to God.
Further, God acts to shape a new creation out of the chaos of alienation, estrangement, which frankly we can feel around us. What is, to use the same words again— stunningly clear, stunningly clear— is that the love of God knows no limitations. (Slight pause.)
In that Fifteenth Chapter of Luke we hear three parables. It has become an unfortunate traditional that some Bibles print headings for different sections, especially parables.
I say it’s unfortunate we get these headings because the headings are not part of the underlying text. Indeed, the translators of the text do not put these headings in. The decision which places these headings in Bibles are made by editors and publishers.
For the casual reader the headings may make stories easier to find. But they can also leave an inaccurate impression as to the nature of the stories.
Among these three parables in the Fifteenth Chapter each is often seen with the following headings: The Parable of the Lost Sheep, The Parable of the Lost Coin, The Parable of the Prodigal Son. But, again, those titles imply what is at best an inaccurate assessment of the stories.
If one was to continue with the ill advised practice of placing headings in the text but named these stories more accurately, the appropriate titles might be: The Parable of the Diligent Housekeeper, The Parable of the Passionate Shepherd, The Parable of the Loving Parent. I want to suggest just seeing the parables in a way which reflects what they really say changes our whole perspective on their meaning. And their meaning is not about us being lost. Their meaning is about God who loves.
And their meaning is not just that the love of God knows no limitations. Their meaning is that God acts and God acts first. God actively seeks to be reconciled with us.
That brings me back to the story of the interaction I had with my mother and the misconception under which I labored for thirty or so years. I thought I was both culpable and unforgiven. Well, I was young, impressionable. And the truth is a lack of maturity can contribute to misreading.
And I think part of our problem today is we, as a society, read Scripture in a way that lacks maturity. So, the question with which that thought presents us is straightforward: can we discern what Scripture actually says or does the culture in which we live inhibit us? Does the culture in which we live entice to read Scripture in an immature way?
After all, what Scripture says is both clear and runs counter to a cultural message we encounter on a daily basis— a cultural message of fear. What Scripture says is the love of God knows no limitations. What Scripture says is God actively seeks to be reconciled with us. What Scripture says is God wants us to be reconciled with one another. Amen.
03/06/2016
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: “There is, of course, one thing in the words of this passage which really frightens us. It is that we are (quote:) “entrusted us with this message of reconciliation.” This frightens us because the clear implication is that we must spread that word, share that word. But Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson says this: ‘It’s funny that you can preach a judgmental and vengeful and angry God and nobody will mind. But when you start preaching a God that is too accepting, too loving too forgiving, too merciful, too kind you are in trouble.’”
BENEDICTION: Let us seek to love as we have been loved by God, welcoming our brothers and sisters. Let us rejoice in God’s goodness and steadfast love. Let us follow where God leads. Let us go on our way with Christ as our companion. And may the steadfast love of God and the peace of Christ, which surpasses understanding, keep our minds and hearts in the companionship and will of the Holy Spirit, this day and forever more. Amen.
Them and Us
“So this makes us ambassadors for Christ, since God is making an appeal directly through us. Therefore, we entreat and implore you on behalf of Christ, and in the name of Christ: be reconciled to God.” — 2 Corinthians 5:20.
When I was very young, my family lived in Brooklyn in the kind of house that was, both then and now, called a railroad flat. It gets that odd name because these houses are long and quite narrow, like a railroad car. Part of what gave a railroad flat a railroad car kind of look to its interior design was the fact that it was built on only half a city lot.
Generally, a typical lot size in Brooklyn was 23 feet wide. Therefore, half a lot was eleven and a half feet. And two of these railroad flats houses fit on a single 23 foot wide lot. The two house addresses on a lot would, hence and for instance, be 74 A Schaefer Street and 74 B Schaefer Street, each house taking up half a lot number 74— section A and section B.
All the railroad flat houses on an entire street were connected, side by side— no spaces in between. Once you subtract the thickness of the walls on each side that drops the useable width, the room width in any one railroad flat, to under eleven feet wide.
And, since the useable space was under eleven feet that poses the obvious question about railroad cars: how wide is an Amtrak car? About 10 feet, two inches— long and narrow— so you can see how the railroad flat got its name.
Under eleven feet is not a lot of living space. And the kitchens were really tiny— New York City kitchens— really tiny. The one in the house of my youth was crammed into what could only be called a cubby hole off a dinning room. It had a stove, a sink and cabinets all squeezed into it.
Well, when I was young one of the chores often assigned in rotation to myself, my brother and my sister was helping my mother do the dishes. Being the oldest, I was the first one who could actually help my mother do this. So once, when I was maybe six or seven and helping her (because I would have been the doing that at this point), I was standing on a stool over the sink washing. She was drying.
I am not sure how this happened, but at one point she lifted a large, cast iron frying pan out of the drying rack. It suddenly slipped from her hands and landed on her foot— the big toe of her left foot to be precise.
Good Irish Catholic woman that she was, she did not curse. However, I do remember her jumping up and down in place on the good foot because of the pain and the words “Jesus, Mary and Joseph” escaping from her lips. (If no one has ever told you this, “Jesus, Mary and Joseph” is what passes as a curse from a good Irish Catholic woman.)
I know she went to the doctor right away, since I went to the doctor with her. The doctor had to remove the nail on her big toe. And the nail was never the same. It eventually grew back but always looked ugly, bumpy, twisted.
Now, the reason I’m telling this story is my impressionable young brain somehow absorbed this incident, this accident, as being my fault. I was standing there! It must have been my fault!
I somehow translated what happened to my mother as my having caused her to drop the heavy pan on her toe. And not only did I think it was my fault. I became convinced that she would never forgive me.
Neither of those things were, of course, true. It is simply what I perceived to be true. (Slight pause.)
Well, one day when I was in my mid-thirties and talking with my mother, I mentioned this incident. Then I told her I realized the accident was my fault and, at this late date, I wanted to say I was sorry.
She looked at me like I had just landed in a spaceship from Mars. “I dropped the pan on my own foot,” she said. “You... had nothing to do with it.”
“But, but...” I stammered, “you took me to the doctor with you. That’s one reason I thought it was my fault.”
“I took you with me to the doctor for two reasons,” she insisted. “I did not want to burden your grandmother with all three of you at once and if I had fainted dead away on the street from pain at least you were old enough to have asked someone for help.” (Slight pause.)
One wonders, of course, why I felt both culpable and unforgiven. Well, as I said, I was young. I was impressionable. And the truth is, a lack of maturity can contribute to a total misreading of reality. (Slight pause.)
These words are found in Second Corinthians: “So this makes us ambassadors for Christ, since God is making an appeal directly through us. Therefore, we entreat and implore you on behalf of Christ, and in the name of Christ: be reconciled to God.” (Slight pause.)
Nothing may be more difficult for Christians in North America in the early Twenty-first Century than adopting the new way of discernment— Paul’s way of discernment— which is inherent in the message of Scripture. Part of that discernment has this basic truth: the old categories— race, gender, social status— all of which Paul references earlier in Second Corinthians— the old categories have become obsolete when it comes to judging people.
It seems obvious to me these categories— used in Paul’s day as well as our own— these categories— race, gender, social status— and others, are, in fact, how people judge. And yet, the message offered is stunningly clear. With God there are no categories. With God there is no them and us. The message is plain, simple: be reconciled to God.
Further, God acts to shape a new creation out of the chaos of alienation, estrangement, which frankly we can feel around us. What is, to use the same words again— stunningly clear, stunningly clear— is that the love of God knows no limitations. (Slight pause.)
In that Fifteenth Chapter of Luke we hear three parables. It has become an unfortunate traditional that some Bibles print headings for different sections, especially parables.
I say it’s unfortunate we get these headings because the headings are not part of the underlying text. Indeed, the translators of the text do not put these headings in. The decision which places these headings in Bibles are made by editors and publishers.
For the casual reader the headings may make stories easier to find. But they can also leave an inaccurate impression as to the nature of the stories.
Among these three parables in the Fifteenth Chapter each is often seen with the following headings: The Parable of the Lost Sheep, The Parable of the Lost Coin, The Parable of the Prodigal Son. But, again, those titles imply what is at best an inaccurate assessment of the stories.
If one was to continue with the ill advised practice of placing headings in the text but named these stories more accurately, the appropriate titles might be: The Parable of the Diligent Housekeeper, The Parable of the Passionate Shepherd, The Parable of the Loving Parent. I want to suggest just seeing the parables in a way which reflects what they really say changes our whole perspective on their meaning. And their meaning is not about us being lost. Their meaning is about God who loves.
And their meaning is not just that the love of God knows no limitations. Their meaning is that God acts and God acts first. God actively seeks to be reconciled with us.
That brings me back to the story of the interaction I had with my mother and the misconception under which I labored for thirty or so years. I thought I was both culpable and unforgiven. Well, I was young, impressionable. And the truth is a lack of maturity can contribute to misreading.
And I think part of our problem today is we, as a society, read Scripture in a way that lacks maturity. So, the question with which that thought presents us is straightforward: can we discern what Scripture actually says or does the culture in which we live inhibit us? Does the culture in which we live entice to read Scripture in an immature way?
After all, what Scripture says is both clear and runs counter to a cultural message we encounter on a daily basis— a cultural message of fear. What Scripture says is the love of God knows no limitations. What Scripture says is God actively seeks to be reconciled with us. What Scripture says is God wants us to be reconciled with one another. Amen.
03/06/2016
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: “There is, of course, one thing in the words of this passage which really frightens us. It is that we are (quote:) “entrusted us with this message of reconciliation.” This frightens us because the clear implication is that we must spread that word, share that word. But Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson says this: ‘It’s funny that you can preach a judgmental and vengeful and angry God and nobody will mind. But when you start preaching a God that is too accepting, too loving too forgiving, too merciful, too kind you are in trouble.’”
BENEDICTION: Let us seek to love as we have been loved by God, welcoming our brothers and sisters. Let us rejoice in God’s goodness and steadfast love. Let us follow where God leads. Let us go on our way with Christ as our companion. And may the steadfast love of God and the peace of Christ, which surpasses understanding, keep our minds and hearts in the companionship and will of the Holy Spirit, this day and forever more. Amen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)