07/31/2016 ~ Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost ~ Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Proper 13; Hosea 11:1-11 ~ Psalm 107:1-9, 43; Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23; Psalm 49:1-12; Colossians 3:1-11; Luke 12:13-21 ~ Service in the Founders’ Room.
Life or Death?
Jesus is recorded as speaking these words in the work known as Luke: “...God said to the farmer, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you.’” — Luke 12:20.
I think most of you know I wound up in ordained ministry by a very circuitous route. Generally, authorized ministers in the United Church of Christ and in Main Line denominations, are required to have both a Bachelor’s Degree and a 90 credit Master of Divinity Degree or the equivalent.
So yes, I did earn both a Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Writing, as it happens, and I did earn the Master of Divinity Degree. But I earned them in my forties, later in life as those things are usually measured.
Hence and therefore, I sometimes say the first school from which I graduated was the school of hard knocks. Getting into the prestigious school of hard knocks was easy. I simply dropped out of college after one semester. Needless to say, the first class session in the school of hard knocks is finding a job. I did that.
But, as happened to many of us back when I was young, got drafted and sent to Vietnam. Not long after I got back to these shores I decided to follow my heart and take a crack at writing, at being a writer, for professional theater.
I did many things when it came to theater work from being a business manager for a children’s theater to doing office work for the Actors’ Fund of America— the largest theatrical charity in the country. On the writing end of things the list longer. I wrote material for and directed club acts. I wrote a number of plays and musicals and something in the neighborhood of three hundred songs with different composers.
I contributed material to an off-Broadway Musical. That show starred Kaye Ballard, for those of you who might remember Kaye.
Two of my plays had showcases in prestigious venues. A comedy— New Face of the Year— was presented at the Manhattan Theater Club. Another, a musical version of Much Ado About Nothing— which with great good perversity I called, All’s Well That Ends Well— was showcased at The Lambs Club, the oldest theatrical social club in the United States.
I was invited to be a member of the ASCAP Musical Comedy Workshop, essentially a master’s class for composers, lyricists and librettists. It was run by Charles Strouse, who composed Annie.
Of course, and as is true of a lot of theater professionals, I also did all kinds of other jobs outside of theater to keep food on the table. These are some of the highlights from that list of endeavors. I worked as a tour guide at South Street Seaport Museum. I worked in computer operations— back when computers were the size of this room. I even worked as a store manager.
Last, certainly not least, I worked in back office operations on Wall Street. I am sure all this experience was worth at least a graduate degree from the aforementioned school of hard knocks. Now, it’s that last job I mentioned— working in back office operations on Wall Street— that I want to connect with the fact that I served in Vietnam.
To be clear, I don’t want to overstate what I saw in Southeast Asia. As these things go, I was in relatively safe places. On the other hand, no place was really safe. I got blown out of bed a couple of times by incoming.
My point is, when you daily live with the possibility of death for fourteen months, it does change your outlook on life. So, what could have happened on Wall Street that might have connected with Army life? (Slight pause.)
One job I had on the Street was to dispatch messengers who delivered stock and bond certificates to other brokerages. This was work done against a deadline. Certificates had to be delivered by certain times of the day or they would be rejected.
Once a senior vice-president came into my office with a stack of certificates and demanded they be delivered right away. But this was after any kind deadline had past. I time stamped the delivery sheet and said, “I’ll get them out as soon as I can. The deadline is past and all the messengers are out making on time deliveries.”
He shouted at the top of his lungs, “I will have your job! I will have you fired!”
I smiled and said, “Good luck with that.” His face got very red. He turned and, clearly on a mission, quickly scurried out of the office. The next voice I heard was that of the senior vice-president in charge of my area.
“O.K. What happened?” I calmly explained I had received a stack of certificates for delivery way past the deadline, time stamped the delivery sheet and would attempt delivery A.S.A.P. My guy, shaking his head, just turned around and left. (Slight pause.)
You see, when you’ve served for fourteen months in a war zone a threat which says, ‘you’re fired’ has very little meaning. You’re reaction is, “I know what a real threat is. I saw a real threat to my life every day for better than a year. So, go ahead. Tell me, ‘You’re fired!’ Big deal.” And that, my friends, is about a lesson from the school of hard knocks well learned and then put into action. (Slight pause.)
Jesus is recorded as speaking these words in the work known as Luke: “...God said to the farmer, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you.’” (Slight pause.)
Some might suggest “You’re fired” has become not just a catch phrase but a way of life in the culture today, in Twenty-first Century America. Equally, there are those who, because of the culture in which we live, might take these words of Jesus as a threat that effectively says, ‘I threaten you with death. Therefore, be good, be generous.’
But is that the case? (Slight pause.) I think seeing this text as a threat is very Twenty-first Century outlook. If we see it that way, it’s our culture informing us, not the text.
In fact, I don’t think death or any kind of threat is a part of the equation. What is a part of the equation are the obvious questions: ‘What is meaningful in life?’ and ‘Do possessions give life meaning?’ (Slight pause.)
I think freedom from greed is the real focus of this reading. And greed is a difficult issue in our culture. Indeed, many would insist to be free from greed is to deny the freedom to possess things. And yes, possessions are important to us. After all, we do live in a very material world— to quote another current catch phrase.
And yes, we do live in a culture that thrives on the profit motive, a culture puts a high premium on expansion and growth. For some, in reality, materialism is a religion.
And it is not always easy to separate greed from profit. But separating greed from need has to be done. Let me reiterate that: separating greed from need has to be done. And that leads me to the reading from Colossians.
This is one of those weeks where the matching lectionary reading from the Epistle helps illuminate the Gospel. What we hear from Colossians is that God grants us not just freedom from greed. What we have is freedom to live in goodness and with equity.
(Quote:) “...put aside your old self with its practices...” And (quote:) “...in that renewal, in that image, there is no longer Greek and Hebrew, Jew or Gentile, barbarian or Scythian, no slave or citizen.” (Slight pause.)
This brings me back to how each of us thinks about life. Yes, my time in the service, my time overseas, changed me. As I said earlier, when I got back to these shores I decided to follow my heart, take a crack at being a writer for professional theater. And, obviously, I did a lot around that.
But what my time in the service really did for me was to empower the idea that I had to follow my heart. While I label it as following my heart I think I can better describe it by mentioning the questions I raised for myself when I returned. There are two: ‘Why am I here?’ and ‘Why did I survive?’ (Slight pause.)
That brings me back to the words of Jesus we heard at the end of the reading (quote:) “...this is the way it works for those who store up treasures, riches, for themselves but are not rich in God.” This is clear: God is not vengeful. God is a God of love. Life is not about how much you have, how high you live. Life is about how well you live. Life is not about how high you live. Life is about how well you live.
The choices we make can be and sometimes are about life and death. But what really brings us life and what really brings us to life is listening for a call from God and listening to our neighbors.
And when we listen to the call of God and when we help our neighbor, our own outlook on life will not be overwhelmed by threats or by materialism, possessions. Our own outlook on life will be one which embraces freedom.
So this passage is not about any kind of threat. This passage is about the freedom to live. And not just about the freedom to live but the freedom to live well, to live in the grace God offers each of us, grace which includes an invitation from God to live and to love to the fulness of our ability.
Why is that invitation there? Because God is not a vengeful God. God is a God of love. And that is not a threat. That is a promise— the promise of God. Amen.
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, New York
07/31/2016
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: “What I shared today was, obviously, a part of my personal story. But each of us has a unique personal story. Therefore, I think each of us needs to ask how does my own, unique, wonderful, personal story help me understand how I related to the world around me and to God?”
BENEDICTION: Let us never fear to seek the truth God reveals. Let us live as a resurrection people. Let us understand every day as a new adventure in faith as the Creator draws us into community. So, go now, go in safety— for you cannot go where God is not. Go now— go in love— for love alone endures. Go now— go with purpose and God will honor your dedication. And last, go in peace— for it is a gift from God to those whose hearts and minds are in Christ, Jesus. Amen.
Sunday, July 31, 2016
Sunday, July 24, 2016
SERMON ~ 07/24/2016 ~ “The Climax of the Covenant”
07/24/2016 ~ Tenth Sunday after Pentecost ~ Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Proper 12 ~ Hosea 1:2-10; Psalm 85; Genesis 18:20-32; Psalm 138; Colossians 2:6-15, (16-19); Luke 11:1-13 ~ Service in the Founder’s Room.
The Climax of the Covenant
“In Christ also you have been given the Covenant through a transformation performed not by human hands but with a spiritual circumcision, by the complete striping away of your body of flesh. This is what ‘circumcision’ in Christ means.” — Colossians 2:11.
You may have noticed that my wife, Bonnie, is not here today. She is in the great State of Maine. A lot of you have heard me talk a number of times about the island in the middle of Penobscot Bay to which we travel. That is where Bonnie is right now. She sent me a Facebook picture this morning of what she saw: the beautiful bay and the dock and the island across from that.
Why, you might ask, am I not with her? Well, if you read my article in the last newsletter you know I suffer from severe pollen allergies.
By way of describing my situation this is what I wrote: “If you’ve ever noticed my attire in the Summer (not that my sartorial choices should concern you!) as much as possible I wear long sleeve shirts and long pants (never short pants). That is not because I want to have a more formal look since I am a pastor, so formal might be in order.”
“That is because one does not get an allergic response only from breathing in pollen. When pollen lands on any exposed skin it causes an allergic reaction.”
Now, the older I’ve gotten, the worse the allergic reactions have become. And the pollen to which I have the most severe reaction is pine pollen.
That being said, being on this island for a week is like sitting in the middle of a pine forest for a week. Bonnie will tell you after I spend a seven days there my eyes are nearly swollen shut and it takes me a couple of weeks to fully recover.
The paradox is I love the island. I wish I was with Bonnie right now. Bonnie and I met on this island back when my allergies were not as bad as they are now. But I can really be there for only a day or two before I need to leave.
So, why might I love this place? Besides the fact that Bonnie and I met there, some of why I love this 80 acre patch of land surrounded by ocean— an outpost with no electric, by the way— some of why I love this island has to do with the traditions of Bonnie’s family, now also my family.
Bonnie’s Great-Great-Grandfather bought the island in 1898. It’s been in the family ever since. In 1927 they build seven cabins on it— prefabs purchased from the Sears catalogue, believe it or not. In the last 25 years all the cabins have been either rebuilt or replaced but always on that same footprint of the original cabins.
When those cabins were built, in 1927,this island became a Summer place for family and extended family. And for each and every day someone, anyone, has been on the island since 1927, a log has been kept— like a ship’s log— an account of the people present and the activities in which they engaged.
Hence, Bonnie can go to the log from 1927 and see entries which involve her father who was then 13 years old at that point. She can see the first entry which talks about her arrival on the island, in 1951.
She can see the first time she, as a youngster, wrote in the log herself. And we, both Bonnie and I, can see the entry of the day we met on the island, July 11th, 1987. Keeping a log for their time on the island is a cherished family tradition. (Slight pause.)
Traditions are, in one sense, a way of remembering, a way of keeping a memory alive. In one sense they are a way of learning— learning about what has been and perhaps how that might effect us now.
A different way to look at it says traditions are a means of making sure you never forget what’s important. And of course, when it comes to family, remembering, learning and never forgetting what’s important are all central to the process of bonding into family, the process of becoming family. (Slight pause.)
We find these words in Colossians: “In Christ also you have been given the Covenant through a transformation performed not by human hands but with a spiritual circumcision, by the complete striping away of your body of flesh. This is what ‘circumcision’ in Christ means.” (Slight pause.)
British Theologian Nicholas Thomas Wright describes Jesus as (quote:) “the Climax of the Covenant.” What is it this scholar means to indicate by using that label? (Slight pause.)
In order to unpack what the term “Climax of the Covenant” might mean I think I probably need to first state something I’ve said here time an again. In fact, I said in my comments just last week.
When reading Scripture we need to place ourselves in the context of the First Century of the Common Era, when these words were written. We need to ask ‘what did the words mean to those who first read or first heard them?’
Second, we need to state the obvious: Jesus is Jewish. And this is clear: the writer of Colossians— not likely to have been Paul, by the way— probably a piece written after Paul died and, therefore, a work written by a disciple of Paul— it is clear the writer of Colossians sees Jesus in light of the God of Israel, sees in Jesus the continuity, the traditions, of Hebrew heritage.
What should be obvious is this writer is intent on making a connection between Jesus and the God of Israel. And I, personally, would describe these words as a rethinking by early Christians about the God of Israel. I, personally, would also describe these words as these early Christians striving to wrestle with the reality of Jesus, wrestle with an understanding of who Jesus is.
And the place on which they come down says Jesus is the Christ. The early Christians— by calling Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah— offer a definition of what being the Christ that might mean.
In the defining Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, these early Christians proclaim Jesus as an extension of the Covenant made by the God of Israel with the people of Israel. By calling Jesus the Christ, the Messiah, these early Christians are making a connection to the traditions of the God of Israel. Indeed, this wrestling, this grappling with the person of Jesus, this trying to connect Jesus with the God of Israel, should be seen by us as a tradition we need to understand and with which we need to grapple ourselves.
You see, I think— if we claim to be Christians, as individuals and as a community— it is imperative that we not merely or simply accept what modern books and what modern preachers tell us about Jesus without examination or question. It is imperative that we, ourselves, wrestle with the very concept of who Jesus is, that we, ourselves, wrestle with the lineage of Jesus, that we, ourselves, wrestle with the connection of Jesus to God, that we, ourselves, wrestle with what Hebrew tradition says and with what Christian tradition says. (Slight pause.)
That brings me back to traditions. What is the purpose of traditions? Earlier I said traditions are about remembering, learning and never forgetting. Traditions are, thereby, central to the process of bonding into family, central to the process of becoming family.
So, why grapple? Why not just accept? (Slight pause.) The first verse in the reading today said (quote:) “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus,....” The Greek verb here translated as “received” refers to the reception of tradition. But this receiving of tradition is not about a static understanding or static acceptance of tradition as a collection of historical particulars and constraints. That is not the implication of that word, this language.
Rather, the language used indicates that receiving this tradition allows for being built up in Christ, allows for a continued growth and a continued development. Indeed, the means, the way to that growth and development is wrestling with and striving to understand how God and Christ are central to our own individual and collective history with God.
In short, if we are Christians, our tradition says we need to wrestle with the reality of who Jesus is, as did the early Christians. Our tradition says we need to wrestle with the idea that Jesus is an extension of the Covenant made by the God of Israel, made by God with the people of Israel. Our tradition says we need wrestle with the connection between Jesus and God.
And yes, I think examining our traditions is a means of making sure we never forget what’s important. And yes, traditions are about remembering. And yes, traditions are about learning and never forgetting what’s important and how they effect us.
And yes, I think by wrestling with our traditions we, as Christians, will accomplish what central to the process— holding and keeping traditions. And of course, then will bond into family. Then we will enter into the process of becoming family. Christians— this church— members of a family— now that is a novel idea— church— members of a family. Amen.
07/24/2016
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 Choral Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “I need to note that the name, the word Israel has a very specific meaning. The word Israel means the one who wrestled with God. Wrestling with our understanding of God and who God is may be our oldest and even our most cherished tradition.”
BENEDICTION: This is the blessing used by natives of the islands in the South Pacific: O Jesus, please be the canoe that holds me up in the sea of life. Please be the rudder that keeps me on a straight paths. Be the outrigger that supports me in times of stress. Let Your Spirit be the sail that carries me though each day. Keep me safe, so that I can paddle on steady in the voyage called life. God of all, bless us so we may have calm seas, a warm sun and clear nights filled with stars. Amen.
Sunday, July 17, 2016
SERMON ~ 07/17/2016 ~ “Necessary”
07/17/2016 ~ Ninth Sunday after Pentecost ~ Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Proper 11; Amos 8:1-12; Psalm 52; Genesis 18:1-10a; Psalm 15; Colossians 1:15-28; Luke 10:38-42 ~ Union Service with the First Baptist Church at the U.C.C. in the Founder’s Room.
Necessary
“Jesus replied, ‘Martha, Martha! You are worried, distracted, anxious, upset by so many things but only a few things are necessary.’” — Luke 10:41-42a
As I look around the room this morning I know some of you have been in my office and others have not. Let me take a moment to describe what you will find there: a couple of computers, a couple of chairs, a couple of desks, many, many, many stacks of books, stacks and stacks and stacks of books and then there’s stacks of stuff scattered all around— stuff scattered on the floor, scattered on the desks, scattered behind furniture, scattered on chairs.
Even the most kind, generous person would have only one description of the condition in my office: chaos. To be clear, I know exactly where everything I need is.
It is, therefore, organized chaos. However, if someone else tried to look for something in there they would probably need a Machete and maybe a long stick in case anything with teeth jumped out from behind a desk or out of the stacks and tried to bite.
Based on that most people might say, “Well, Joe is merely sloppy.” Well, yes and no. After all, I can find what I need. Besides— not to brag— there are a myriad of studies which say very intelligent folk often maintain a sloppy work environment.
Now, for me as a person, there is another side of the aforementioned chaos. Some people would say I have a very serious neat streak. Say what? Neat streak? Have you seen this guy’s office?
Well, here are a couple of examples of me and neat. I cannot find it in me to leave dirty dishes in the sink. It drives me crazy. Even if I am late and need to rush out the door, if there are dirty dishes in the sink, I immediately stop and wash them and get them into the drainer.
Another item: over time many of you may have noticed I do not wear what one might call regular shoes. I wear black sneakers and only black sneakers.
That’s something I’ve done for over 40 years. And because podiatrists insist one should not wear the same pair of shoes two days in a row, I have several pairs.
But each pair of these sneakers looks exactly the same. So, how can I tell the difference from one pair to the next? Well, in order to facilitate that day to day to day rotation, those sneakers need to be lined up at the end of my bed in precise order.
The most recently worn pair sits on the right end of the line. The pair to be worn next, today’s pair, is on the left end of that line. And they move that way (the pastor indicates that movement right to left).
Another example: the cash I carry in my wallet— I need all the bills facing the same direction with the pictures facing me. And all the bills need to be in ascending order, starting with one dollar bills, next the fives, etc., etc., etc. (Slight pause.)
So, here’s my bet. When it comes to neat most of us have some things we are really very neat about. And other things— who cares? We choose. We make priorities.
Sometimes those choices make sense. Sometimes those choices make sense only to us. Sometimes we do what we do and we really don’t know why we do what we do. We’ve not thought all those choices through. This sound familiar to anyone? (Slight pause.)
We find these words in the Gospel commonly referred to as Luke: “Jesus replied, ‘Martha, Martha! You are worried, distracted, anxious, upset by so many things but only a few things are necessary.’”
There are a lot of levels in this brief story. I will try to unpack just one. But let me start by making a comment about how we read Scripture. When I facilitate a Bible Study I often remind those in attendance of an important principle.
The first question we need to ask is ‘what did the words mean to those who first read or first heard them?’ Unless we ask that question and consider that premise, we cannot even begin to ask what the words in a passage might mean to us.
Further, in order to ask what the words might have meant to those who first read or heard them, one needs know what life looked like in that era. To name just a few aspects, one needs to know something about the economic system, the system of government, the social conditions, the roles people played in their day to day lives.
That being said, there is something in this scene which would not necessarily be evident to our Twenty-first Century ears. In this era the women would be the ones who did what Martha was doing, busy with all the details of hospitality. Men were not expected to be attentive to those details at all.
To be clear, for some today that gender role situation still might be true. Not where I come from. Not in my world. Not in my house. But it still might be true for some.
So, in order to understand what’s happening here we need to be aware of not what Martha is doing. In this scene what Martha is doing what would be considered normal.
We need to pay attention to what Mary is doing. What Mary is doing is not normal. And what Mary, a female, is doing in the context of the First Century of the Common Era, is what a male would do.
For those who first read this story or heard this story, that would not only have caught their attention. That would have made the story shocking.
Why? Because Mary is pictured as being equal with a male, something not normal in that time. Further, if that is a given, a clear question becomes what are the choices Mary makes and why are they meaningful? (Slight pause.)
So let’s think about that by putting ourselves in that First Century context. In the course of this Gospel the writer has already established a link between the teachings of Jesus and the Word of God— and that’s Word, capital ‘W.’
Therefore, this scene resonates with the rabbinic lore and that’s lore— L-O-R-E and not L-A-W. And this is what the rabbinic lore in that era said (and I quote:) “Let your house be a meeting-house for the Sages and sit amid the dust of their feet and drink in their words with thirst... [but] talk not much with womankind.”
All of which is to say by sitting at the feet of Jesus, Mary is acting clearly like a male and neglecting a socially assigned role— the household tasks. This not only would have violated a clear social boundary of the time. The consequence is much larger than that. This would have been seen as bringing shame upon her house.
Hence, Martha’s protest to Jesus is not simply justifiable. It is real. And we also need to realize the narrator casts what Martha says in a negative light by characterizing Martha as “distracted” by this work. Distracted from what? What could have been so important that it demands she pay attention? [1]
Given the times, I think the conclusion is clear. Although Martha is fulfilling the role assigned by society, simply because this is only a socially assigned role, she has therefore allowed secondary matters— matters not concerning God— to distract her also from hearing the Word of God.
So, it is not just that Mary acts like a male, on its own an amazing concept in this passage. The implication is Martha also needs to act like a male.
And, once again, given the era, only a male was to be the one who listened for the Word of God. All that leads us to what makes this passage so radical and yet one which possesses a basic message of the New Testament.
Hearing the Word of God is for all people, everyone. Everyone is included. There are no outcasts, no second class citizens in the Dominion of God.
Perhaps even more importantly and therefore, roles— roles of gender, roles of class, roles mandated because one had wealth, any roles assigned by society— all these did not matter when it comes to listening for the Word. And in that era this was a totally new concept, a new idea.
All that brings me back to the question: am I messy or am I neat? Why yes I am— I am both messy and neat. You see, my point is we all pick and we choose priorities all the time. I am neat about some things, not so neat about other things— priorities.
But what is it which takes priority in our lives, in the life of each of us, in the life of all of us as communities of faith? Do we attentively listen for and to the Word of God? Is listening for and to the Word of God a necessary aspect, an essential part of our life?
I would suggest that if God’s message of inclusiveness, God’s message that we are all made in the image of God, God’s message of equity among all people is internalized within us, then we are listening for and hearing the Word. Indeed, that is the challenge for us.
Society always assigns roles. It’s what society does— not saying it’s right or wrong— it’s just what society does. So, can we as individuals and as communities of faith, overcome the messages of society to listen to and hear the necessary, inclusive message of the living God. Amen.
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, NY
A Union Service with the First Baptist Church of Norwich, NY
07/17/2016
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: “Am I sloppy? My sister once told me I was the only person she knew who could make a pair of jeans look like a tuxedo. And my late Mother once said to me I was born with a shirt and a tie on. As I said, we all make choices. And so we need to choose to participate in the Dominion of God by listening for and to and acting on the Word of God.”
BENEDICTION: We can find the presence of God in unexpected places. God’s light leads us to places we thought not possible just moments ago. God’s love abounds and will live with us throughout eternity. The grace of God is deeper than our imagination. The strength of Christ is stronger than our needs. The communion of the Holy Spirit is richer than our togetherness. May the one triune God sustain us today and in all our tomorrows. Amen.
[1] This analysis is found in the New Interpreters Bible (The Electronic Version) in the section about this passage. Needless to say, the Electronic Version is the same as the print version but lacking page numbers for reference.
Necessary
“Jesus replied, ‘Martha, Martha! You are worried, distracted, anxious, upset by so many things but only a few things are necessary.’” — Luke 10:41-42a
As I look around the room this morning I know some of you have been in my office and others have not. Let me take a moment to describe what you will find there: a couple of computers, a couple of chairs, a couple of desks, many, many, many stacks of books, stacks and stacks and stacks of books and then there’s stacks of stuff scattered all around— stuff scattered on the floor, scattered on the desks, scattered behind furniture, scattered on chairs.
Even the most kind, generous person would have only one description of the condition in my office: chaos. To be clear, I know exactly where everything I need is.
It is, therefore, organized chaos. However, if someone else tried to look for something in there they would probably need a Machete and maybe a long stick in case anything with teeth jumped out from behind a desk or out of the stacks and tried to bite.
Based on that most people might say, “Well, Joe is merely sloppy.” Well, yes and no. After all, I can find what I need. Besides— not to brag— there are a myriad of studies which say very intelligent folk often maintain a sloppy work environment.
Now, for me as a person, there is another side of the aforementioned chaos. Some people would say I have a very serious neat streak. Say what? Neat streak? Have you seen this guy’s office?
Well, here are a couple of examples of me and neat. I cannot find it in me to leave dirty dishes in the sink. It drives me crazy. Even if I am late and need to rush out the door, if there are dirty dishes in the sink, I immediately stop and wash them and get them into the drainer.
Another item: over time many of you may have noticed I do not wear what one might call regular shoes. I wear black sneakers and only black sneakers.
That’s something I’ve done for over 40 years. And because podiatrists insist one should not wear the same pair of shoes two days in a row, I have several pairs.
But each pair of these sneakers looks exactly the same. So, how can I tell the difference from one pair to the next? Well, in order to facilitate that day to day to day rotation, those sneakers need to be lined up at the end of my bed in precise order.
The most recently worn pair sits on the right end of the line. The pair to be worn next, today’s pair, is on the left end of that line. And they move that way (the pastor indicates that movement right to left).
Another example: the cash I carry in my wallet— I need all the bills facing the same direction with the pictures facing me. And all the bills need to be in ascending order, starting with one dollar bills, next the fives, etc., etc., etc. (Slight pause.)
So, here’s my bet. When it comes to neat most of us have some things we are really very neat about. And other things— who cares? We choose. We make priorities.
Sometimes those choices make sense. Sometimes those choices make sense only to us. Sometimes we do what we do and we really don’t know why we do what we do. We’ve not thought all those choices through. This sound familiar to anyone? (Slight pause.)
We find these words in the Gospel commonly referred to as Luke: “Jesus replied, ‘Martha, Martha! You are worried, distracted, anxious, upset by so many things but only a few things are necessary.’”
There are a lot of levels in this brief story. I will try to unpack just one. But let me start by making a comment about how we read Scripture. When I facilitate a Bible Study I often remind those in attendance of an important principle.
The first question we need to ask is ‘what did the words mean to those who first read or first heard them?’ Unless we ask that question and consider that premise, we cannot even begin to ask what the words in a passage might mean to us.
Further, in order to ask what the words might have meant to those who first read or heard them, one needs know what life looked like in that era. To name just a few aspects, one needs to know something about the economic system, the system of government, the social conditions, the roles people played in their day to day lives.
That being said, there is something in this scene which would not necessarily be evident to our Twenty-first Century ears. In this era the women would be the ones who did what Martha was doing, busy with all the details of hospitality. Men were not expected to be attentive to those details at all.
To be clear, for some today that gender role situation still might be true. Not where I come from. Not in my world. Not in my house. But it still might be true for some.
So, in order to understand what’s happening here we need to be aware of not what Martha is doing. In this scene what Martha is doing what would be considered normal.
We need to pay attention to what Mary is doing. What Mary is doing is not normal. And what Mary, a female, is doing in the context of the First Century of the Common Era, is what a male would do.
For those who first read this story or heard this story, that would not only have caught their attention. That would have made the story shocking.
Why? Because Mary is pictured as being equal with a male, something not normal in that time. Further, if that is a given, a clear question becomes what are the choices Mary makes and why are they meaningful? (Slight pause.)
So let’s think about that by putting ourselves in that First Century context. In the course of this Gospel the writer has already established a link between the teachings of Jesus and the Word of God— and that’s Word, capital ‘W.’
Therefore, this scene resonates with the rabbinic lore and that’s lore— L-O-R-E and not L-A-W. And this is what the rabbinic lore in that era said (and I quote:) “Let your house be a meeting-house for the Sages and sit amid the dust of their feet and drink in their words with thirst... [but] talk not much with womankind.”
All of which is to say by sitting at the feet of Jesus, Mary is acting clearly like a male and neglecting a socially assigned role— the household tasks. This not only would have violated a clear social boundary of the time. The consequence is much larger than that. This would have been seen as bringing shame upon her house.
Hence, Martha’s protest to Jesus is not simply justifiable. It is real. And we also need to realize the narrator casts what Martha says in a negative light by characterizing Martha as “distracted” by this work. Distracted from what? What could have been so important that it demands she pay attention? [1]
Given the times, I think the conclusion is clear. Although Martha is fulfilling the role assigned by society, simply because this is only a socially assigned role, she has therefore allowed secondary matters— matters not concerning God— to distract her also from hearing the Word of God.
So, it is not just that Mary acts like a male, on its own an amazing concept in this passage. The implication is Martha also needs to act like a male.
And, once again, given the era, only a male was to be the one who listened for the Word of God. All that leads us to what makes this passage so radical and yet one which possesses a basic message of the New Testament.
Hearing the Word of God is for all people, everyone. Everyone is included. There are no outcasts, no second class citizens in the Dominion of God.
Perhaps even more importantly and therefore, roles— roles of gender, roles of class, roles mandated because one had wealth, any roles assigned by society— all these did not matter when it comes to listening for the Word. And in that era this was a totally new concept, a new idea.
All that brings me back to the question: am I messy or am I neat? Why yes I am— I am both messy and neat. You see, my point is we all pick and we choose priorities all the time. I am neat about some things, not so neat about other things— priorities.
But what is it which takes priority in our lives, in the life of each of us, in the life of all of us as communities of faith? Do we attentively listen for and to the Word of God? Is listening for and to the Word of God a necessary aspect, an essential part of our life?
I would suggest that if God’s message of inclusiveness, God’s message that we are all made in the image of God, God’s message of equity among all people is internalized within us, then we are listening for and hearing the Word. Indeed, that is the challenge for us.
Society always assigns roles. It’s what society does— not saying it’s right or wrong— it’s just what society does. So, can we as individuals and as communities of faith, overcome the messages of society to listen to and hear the necessary, inclusive message of the living God. Amen.
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, NY
A Union Service with the First Baptist Church of Norwich, NY
07/17/2016
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: “Am I sloppy? My sister once told me I was the only person she knew who could make a pair of jeans look like a tuxedo. And my late Mother once said to me I was born with a shirt and a tie on. As I said, we all make choices. And so we need to choose to participate in the Dominion of God by listening for and to and acting on the Word of God.”
BENEDICTION: We can find the presence of God in unexpected places. God’s light leads us to places we thought not possible just moments ago. God’s love abounds and will live with us throughout eternity. The grace of God is deeper than our imagination. The strength of Christ is stronger than our needs. The communion of the Holy Spirit is richer than our togetherness. May the one triune God sustain us today and in all our tomorrows. Amen.
[1] This analysis is found in the New Interpreters Bible (The Electronic Version) in the section about this passage. Needless to say, the Electronic Version is the same as the print version but lacking page numbers for reference.
Sunday, July 3, 2016
SERMON ~ 07/03/2016 ~ “Harvest”
07/03/2016 ~ Seventh Sunday after Pentecost ~ Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Proper 9 ~ 2 Kings 5:1-14; Psalm 30; Isaiah 66:10-14; Psalm 66:1-9; Galatians 6:(1-6), 7-16; Luke 10:1-11, 16-20.
Harvest
“...Jesus appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead in pairs to every town and place the Rabbi intended to visit and said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, rich, but the laborers, the workers are few; therefore ask the overseer of the harvest to send out the laborers, workers to the harvest.’” — Luke 10:1-2
Last year at this time Bonnie and I were not here in Norwich. As many of you know, we were on a cross country trip since I had just started a three month sabbatical. We left on June the 27th. But I actually started planning for the trip the previous September— that’s September 2014.
September 2014 was the deadline to apply to be the United Church of Christ chaplain for a week at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York. I did not find out I had been chosen to be the Chaplin for the week of June 27th through the July 3rd, the first week of Sabbatical, until late-January— January 2015.
So I had to wait 5 months for that news. That was a long wait between planning and the eventual approval of that plan.
The chaplaincy at Chautauqua combined both service and education, to my mind the best of all possible worlds. And to be clear, Chautauqua is a place where education happens every day. Each day you can avail yourself of three hour long sessions— talks— offered by nationally known figures. We saw everyone from the broadcaster Charlie Rose to former the Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison.
Now, sometimes people accuse me of trying to do too much. Indeed, having set up one educational piece, I tried to plan a second one.
I knew one thing Bonnie and I wanted to do on this trip was to visit her brother, Chuck and his wife Judy, who live near San Francisco. I also knew the Pacific School of Religion, 20 minutes from where Chuck and Judy live, held Summer sessions.
So, I contacted the Pacific School also in September of 2014. They contacted me right away and said, yes, Summer sessions will happen and we will have a scheduled published by early January, 2015— well, not quite.
January turned into February and February turned into Mach and March turned into April before their Summer scheduled was in place. The week-long session I signed up for started July the 20th, so I knew we wanted to be in the Bay area by July 18th, just to have a little down time.
Well, on July 17th, as we were having lunch on our way to see Chuck and Judy, I got a call from the Pacific School of Religion. They had just canceled the class due to the illness of the instructor.
The best laid plans of mice and men... etc., etc., etc. Sometimes plans work out. Sometimes they do not.
On the other hand, having done an education piece already, the cancellation of this second segment turned out just fine. I got to spend a lot more time with Bonnie and Chuck and Judy than I would have otherwise. And I also got to see places in San Francisco I would not have seen had I been cooped up in a classroom. (Slight pause.)
And these words are from the work known as Luke: “...Jesus appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead in pairs to every town and place the Rabbi intended to visit and said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, rich, but the laborers, the workers are few; therefore ask the overseer of the harvest to send out the laborers, workers to the harvest.’” (Slight pause.)
As said earlier, the Fourth of July is tomorrow, so let me offer a bit of American religious history that predates the Revolution, before 1776. In the 1740s there was a so called “Great Awakening,” a surge of religious fervor in the colonies.
It had a permanent impact on American Protestantism. This Awakening reoriented Congregational Churches, Presbyterian Churches, Dutch Reformed Churches and German Reformed Churches. It also strengthened what at the time were very small groups of Baptist Churches and Methodist Churches.
One of the leaders of this movement was George Whitfield, an English Anglican cleric, one of the founders of Methodism. In 1740, Whitfield traveled to America and preached a series of revivals, central to this “Great Awakening.”
Now, what I need you to know about this is twofold. First, the historic record says George Whitfield was, indeed, a good and powerful preacher.
Second, Whitfield also did something very well: he planned. He had people go to the towns where he was to preach as much as a year in advance to advertise he was coming. He had help and he had helpers.
That returns us to the thought that (quote:) “...Jesus appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead in pairs to every town and place the Rabbi intended to visit...” Put differently, Whitfield just copied what Jesus did.
But there is another thing going on when Jesus sends these disciples out. They are instructed with a simple message: do not worry about success or failure. Accept the generosity of others. Let go of the negative. (Slight pause.)
Preaching the Word, sharing the Word, is not a battle and it should not be approached that way. The realm of God is realized gently, one moment at a time. Further, when we live simply, when we focus on what’s really important, a new creation can emerge. Light can shine.
This passage is good news for preachers and for congregations. The passage counsels us to be faithful. Success is not a consideration. This passage counsels us to reclaim simplicity of spirit.
This passage counsels us to awaken to life transforming possibilities right where we are. This passage insists God’s creative energy is right here and with us now. Dust off your sandals, jump in the river, be renewed. (Slight pause.)
But wait a minute. If planning is imperative (and I think did say that) but we need to rely on God for everything (and I think did say that), isn’t that contradictory? Are not these two ideas diametrically opposed? (Slight pause.)
Each year the New York Conference offers a retreat for pastors before the start of its Annual Meeting in early June. This year was no exception and I went.
One of the exercises the retreat leader asked us to do was easy for me. Why? It was something I had already done. In fact, I did when I was in the eighth grade.
She said whether or not we know it, everyone has either their own life motto or a family motto. These are words we live by, sometimes unconsciously, sometimes quite consciously.
I already had a motto. You see, when I graduated from grade school, everyone in the class got a signature book. Many pages were blank and they were multi-colored, and the idea was you could get your classmates to sign the book or write things, memories of you and for you.
But the first pages of the book were pre-printed with places to fill in your name, the names of family members— that kind of personal data. At the top of one of those pages it said: “Your Motto” and then there were several lines on which to write.
I thought about what to write for a day or two. Then I came up with this. “Pray like everything depended on God. Work like everything depended on you.”
Now, I’m not recommending that course of action. Here’s why. To be a Christian, to do the work of Christ, is not meant to be work, at all. To be a Christian, to do the work of Christ, is meant to be a way of life.
Indeed, that Christianity is a way of life is precisely what our society has a hard time understanding. Why? I think we live in a society where work and the success we believe springs from that work is an ultimate for us. Success, thereby, becomes a goal.
But we need to live in a society in which faithfulness is a goal. We need to live in a society in which being aware that there are life transforming possibilities right here, where we are, within our reach is real to us. We need to live our lives as if we know God is hear, God with us.
All of which is to say, planning is important. But sometimes you travel 3,000 miles and suddenly your plans change.
Planning is helpful. But God is good. And being open to where God takes us is imperative. And when we are open to God, the Dominion of God and its fruits will await us. Amen.
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 want to call your attention to the Thoughts for Meditation found in the bulletin today. ‘Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.’ — Isaac Asimov. ‘Power is not sufficient evidence of truth.’ — Samuel Johnson. Please notice when Jesus sent the seventy-two out they were not told to pillage and burn. They were not even told to be successful. Faithfulness was, however, a given.”
BENEDICTION: Redeemer God, Who sustains us, visit Your people; pour out Your courage upon us, that we may hurry to make welcome all people not only in our concern for others, but by serving them generously and faithfully in Your name. And may we love God so much, that we love nothing else too much. May we be so in awe of God, that we are in awe of no one else and nothing else. Amen.
Harvest
“...Jesus appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead in pairs to every town and place the Rabbi intended to visit and said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, rich, but the laborers, the workers are few; therefore ask the overseer of the harvest to send out the laborers, workers to the harvest.’” — Luke 10:1-2
Last year at this time Bonnie and I were not here in Norwich. As many of you know, we were on a cross country trip since I had just started a three month sabbatical. We left on June the 27th. But I actually started planning for the trip the previous September— that’s September 2014.
September 2014 was the deadline to apply to be the United Church of Christ chaplain for a week at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York. I did not find out I had been chosen to be the Chaplin for the week of June 27th through the July 3rd, the first week of Sabbatical, until late-January— January 2015.
So I had to wait 5 months for that news. That was a long wait between planning and the eventual approval of that plan.
The chaplaincy at Chautauqua combined both service and education, to my mind the best of all possible worlds. And to be clear, Chautauqua is a place where education happens every day. Each day you can avail yourself of three hour long sessions— talks— offered by nationally known figures. We saw everyone from the broadcaster Charlie Rose to former the Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison.
Now, sometimes people accuse me of trying to do too much. Indeed, having set up one educational piece, I tried to plan a second one.
I knew one thing Bonnie and I wanted to do on this trip was to visit her brother, Chuck and his wife Judy, who live near San Francisco. I also knew the Pacific School of Religion, 20 minutes from where Chuck and Judy live, held Summer sessions.
So, I contacted the Pacific School also in September of 2014. They contacted me right away and said, yes, Summer sessions will happen and we will have a scheduled published by early January, 2015— well, not quite.
January turned into February and February turned into Mach and March turned into April before their Summer scheduled was in place. The week-long session I signed up for started July the 20th, so I knew we wanted to be in the Bay area by July 18th, just to have a little down time.
Well, on July 17th, as we were having lunch on our way to see Chuck and Judy, I got a call from the Pacific School of Religion. They had just canceled the class due to the illness of the instructor.
The best laid plans of mice and men... etc., etc., etc. Sometimes plans work out. Sometimes they do not.
On the other hand, having done an education piece already, the cancellation of this second segment turned out just fine. I got to spend a lot more time with Bonnie and Chuck and Judy than I would have otherwise. And I also got to see places in San Francisco I would not have seen had I been cooped up in a classroom. (Slight pause.)
And these words are from the work known as Luke: “...Jesus appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead in pairs to every town and place the Rabbi intended to visit and said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, rich, but the laborers, the workers are few; therefore ask the overseer of the harvest to send out the laborers, workers to the harvest.’” (Slight pause.)
As said earlier, the Fourth of July is tomorrow, so let me offer a bit of American religious history that predates the Revolution, before 1776. In the 1740s there was a so called “Great Awakening,” a surge of religious fervor in the colonies.
It had a permanent impact on American Protestantism. This Awakening reoriented Congregational Churches, Presbyterian Churches, Dutch Reformed Churches and German Reformed Churches. It also strengthened what at the time were very small groups of Baptist Churches and Methodist Churches.
One of the leaders of this movement was George Whitfield, an English Anglican cleric, one of the founders of Methodism. In 1740, Whitfield traveled to America and preached a series of revivals, central to this “Great Awakening.”
Now, what I need you to know about this is twofold. First, the historic record says George Whitfield was, indeed, a good and powerful preacher.
Second, Whitfield also did something very well: he planned. He had people go to the towns where he was to preach as much as a year in advance to advertise he was coming. He had help and he had helpers.
That returns us to the thought that (quote:) “...Jesus appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead in pairs to every town and place the Rabbi intended to visit...” Put differently, Whitfield just copied what Jesus did.
But there is another thing going on when Jesus sends these disciples out. They are instructed with a simple message: do not worry about success or failure. Accept the generosity of others. Let go of the negative. (Slight pause.)
Preaching the Word, sharing the Word, is not a battle and it should not be approached that way. The realm of God is realized gently, one moment at a time. Further, when we live simply, when we focus on what’s really important, a new creation can emerge. Light can shine.
This passage is good news for preachers and for congregations. The passage counsels us to be faithful. Success is not a consideration. This passage counsels us to reclaim simplicity of spirit.
This passage counsels us to awaken to life transforming possibilities right where we are. This passage insists God’s creative energy is right here and with us now. Dust off your sandals, jump in the river, be renewed. (Slight pause.)
But wait a minute. If planning is imperative (and I think did say that) but we need to rely on God for everything (and I think did say that), isn’t that contradictory? Are not these two ideas diametrically opposed? (Slight pause.)
Each year the New York Conference offers a retreat for pastors before the start of its Annual Meeting in early June. This year was no exception and I went.
One of the exercises the retreat leader asked us to do was easy for me. Why? It was something I had already done. In fact, I did when I was in the eighth grade.
She said whether or not we know it, everyone has either their own life motto or a family motto. These are words we live by, sometimes unconsciously, sometimes quite consciously.
I already had a motto. You see, when I graduated from grade school, everyone in the class got a signature book. Many pages were blank and they were multi-colored, and the idea was you could get your classmates to sign the book or write things, memories of you and for you.
But the first pages of the book were pre-printed with places to fill in your name, the names of family members— that kind of personal data. At the top of one of those pages it said: “Your Motto” and then there were several lines on which to write.
I thought about what to write for a day or two. Then I came up with this. “Pray like everything depended on God. Work like everything depended on you.”
Now, I’m not recommending that course of action. Here’s why. To be a Christian, to do the work of Christ, is not meant to be work, at all. To be a Christian, to do the work of Christ, is meant to be a way of life.
Indeed, that Christianity is a way of life is precisely what our society has a hard time understanding. Why? I think we live in a society where work and the success we believe springs from that work is an ultimate for us. Success, thereby, becomes a goal.
But we need to live in a society in which faithfulness is a goal. We need to live in a society in which being aware that there are life transforming possibilities right here, where we are, within our reach is real to us. We need to live our lives as if we know God is hear, God with us.
All of which is to say, planning is important. But sometimes you travel 3,000 miles and suddenly your plans change.
Planning is helpful. But God is good. And being open to where God takes us is imperative. And when we are open to God, the Dominion of God and its fruits will await us. Amen.
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 want to call your attention to the Thoughts for Meditation found in the bulletin today. ‘Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.’ — Isaac Asimov. ‘Power is not sufficient evidence of truth.’ — Samuel Johnson. Please notice when Jesus sent the seventy-two out they were not told to pillage and burn. They were not even told to be successful. Faithfulness was, however, a given.”
BENEDICTION: Redeemer God, Who sustains us, visit Your people; pour out Your courage upon us, that we may hurry to make welcome all people not only in our concern for others, but by serving them generously and faithfully in Your name. And may we love God so much, that we love nothing else too much. May we be so in awe of God, that we are in awe of no one else and nothing else. Amen.
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