October 30, 2016 ~ Proper 26 ~ Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost ~ Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Known in Some Traditions as the Sunday Closest to All Saints Day (If All Saints not observed on this day) ~ Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4; Psalm 119:137-144; Isaiah 1:10-18; Psalm 32:1-7; 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12; Luke 19:1-10 ~ 11/01/2016 (The Following Tuesday) ~ All Saints Day ~ (Sometimes observed on first Sunday in November) ~ Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18; Psalm 149; Ephesians 1:11-23; Luke 6:20-31 ~ Annual Budget Information Meeting.
Solemn Festivals Filled with Injustice
“Do not bring your useless offerings. / It is futile; / their incense is an abomination to me / and fills me with loathing. / New moon and Sabbath / and convocations, assemblies— / I cannot endure another solemn festival / filled with iniquity, injustice.” — Isaiah 1:13.
I have a number of times referred in my comments to the fact that I am a baseball fan. Hence, I am overjoyed that Chicago, who has not won a World Series since 1908 and Cleveland, who has not won a World Series since 1948— the two longest streaks of not winning the Series in the Major Leagues— are in the Fall Classic.
Now, I think one reason the game has constantly fascinated me is I have been always been intrigued by the questions, “How does this work?” “What are the nuts and bolts which makes this happen?”
And baseball is a game that’s fairly easy to follow on those counts, once you know what’s going on, once you know how the game is supposed to be played. So, I’d like to tell a story from baseball fan’s point of view which, I hope, illustrates that fascination.
On Friday evening last Bonnie and I were watching the first World Series Game to be played in the friendly confines of Wrigley Field since 1945. Early in the game, the count on one Cleveland batter went to no balls and two strikes. As if they were one, the home town crowd in Chicago leaped to their feet and started to cheer in expectation of a third strike.
Bonnie, realizing nothing particularly special had happened— it was merely a two strike count— asked, “Why are they cheering?” I said, “They are cheering because they want the next pitch to be a third strike.”
“But these are people who had the money to buy tickets to a World Series game,” I continued. “They are not real baseball fans. Real baseball fans know nine times out of ten, perhaps ninety-nine times out of a hundred, the next pitch will be what people who really know the game refer to as a waste pitch.”
“The next pitch will be a ball and the count will go to one ball and two strikes. So, there is no reason to cheer just yet.”
And that’s exactly what happened. The next pitch was a ball, high and above the strike zone. I then continued my commentary. I am not sure Bonnie was pleased by my continued commentary but I kept going anyway. “The so called waste pitch,” I said, “is not at all a wasted pitch. It has a clear and definitive purpose.”
“The purpose is to change the eye level of the batter. The first two pitches, both strikes, were pitches low but in the strike zone. This last one, the ‘waste pitch,’ was up, too high to be a strike and probably not a pitch that could even be hit. The next one will be back down but probably below the strike zone.”
“What the pitcher is trying to do with the waste pitch is to change the eye level of the batter, to get the batter to misjudge how low the next pitch is, swing and probably miss because of the changed eye level. And yes, the change in location from the first two pitches— both of which were low in the strike zone— is small. But because of the high pitch in between— the waste pitch— the change in eye level is just enough to make the batter miss.”
I don’t have to tell you what happened next, do I? The pitch after the waste pitch was low, out of the strike zone and the batter swung... and missed— strike three— you’re out. (Slight pause.)
Like I said, what interests me is “How does this work?” “What are the nuts and bolts which makes this happen?” (Slight pause.)
We find these words in the Scroll of the Prophet Isaiah: “Do not bring your useless offerings. / It is futile; / their incense is an abomination to me / and fills me with loathing. / New moon and Sabbath / and convocations, assemblies— / I cannot endure another solemn festival / filled with iniquity, injustice.” (Slight pause.)
Let me say a word about a phrase you hear in this passage: burnt offerings. Burnt offerings— that is something for us which is archaic. In the modern vernacular you can say what burnt offerings really means is to give a meaningless gift. Indeed, in this translation a burnt offering is referred to as useless.
So, burnt offerings and special high holy days, this passage states, mean nothing unless the worshiper lives a life of goodness and justice. Worship is an idle exercise unless it brings about a change in heart within the worshiper.
But what is less than clear is the basic attitude of the prophet toward worship. It is one thing to say worship finds its ultimate meaning in the changed lives of the worshipers. It is quite another to say that worship, instead of offering a life-changing experience, actually acts as an impediment.
Yet one can read this text from Isaiah, as well as similar texts from Amos and Hosea, in such a manner. Worship as an impediment is precisely what they seem to say.
Thus, it may be instead of calling for a renewed worship, worship that brings about reoriented hearts, at least some of the prophets call for an abolition of worship altogether. Their reason: formal worship prevents the people of God from achieving their true calling— lives of justice and compassion.
There is, hence, an obvious question posed by this passage. Is this a denial of worship or an affirmation of worship? Here’s the short answer: because worship can lead people to lives characterized by faith inspired action these words are, indeed, an affirmation of worship. Which is to say these words are an affirmation of worship if people know what they are doing, if people know what the nuts and bolts of worship are about. (Slight pause.)
Now, you may think this is strange but that brings me back to baseball and a two strike count. As I indicated, on Friday night there was a two strike count on a Cleveland batter. As if they were one, the home town Chicago crowd leaped to their feet and started to cheer in expectation of that third strike.
But the question that poses is ‘why?’ Why did they leap to their feet in expectation of a third strike when, most of the time, that’s not how it works, as I explained earlier. The nuts and bolts of this, the real way to get a batter out, is to throw a ‘waste pitch.’ (Slight pause.)
In their defense, I want to suggest there is only one reason the crowd cheers for a third strike at that point. Within the context of a home town, Chicago crowd— and I am sure this happened in Cleveland also— in the context of a home town crowd to cheer for a third strike on a two strike count is a cultural norm— a cultural norm.
Cheering at that point is what the local, ingrained culture wants, expects and demands. Any deviation from that norm would bring scorn and ridicule, even though the way to really get the batter out in that situation is to throw that aforementioned waste pitch. (Slight pause.)
What I hope is clear in this passage is burnt offerings— meaningless gifts— represent a cultural norm. Burnt offerings— meaningless gifts— is what people do, what people are expected to do. If burnt offerings were not presented it’s likely the culture which surrounded them, the culture in which they live, would scorn them, ridicule them.
But in nearly every way, the passage asks this question: ‘What does God want?’ What is the cultural norm for God? And the answer is contained right in this passage.
God wants us to make ourselves clean, to remove our evil doings. God wants us to banish injustice, to cease doing evil. God wants us to learn to do good, to search for and to seek justice, to rescue, to help the oppressed, to defend and to protect those who are orphaned, to plead the case of those who are widowed. (Slight pause.)
So, how does this God centered cultural norm work? What are the nuts and bolts which makes this God centered cultural norm happen? (Slight pause.) At the risk of repeating myself from last week, let me say something about the nuts and bolts of what God expects of us, what God expects from us.
What God expects is action— positive action. Therefore, what God expects us to do is to work toward freedom, to work toward peace. What God expects us to do is to be filled with joy in that work.
What God expects us to do is to work toward equity and to embody love. What God expects us to do is to be examples of hope and to understand that hope is real and tangible and present. (Slight pause.)
What is our life with God about? What makes up the nuts and bolts of living within the grace of God and walking in ways of God? The nuts and bolts of life with God are the actions known as freedom, peace, joy, equity, love and hope.
These are not burnt offerings, meaningless gifts. These are the actions which take us on a path filled with justice. And that’s not merely any justice. That is justice as God sees justice— communal justice.
And the justice God would have is not our cultural norm nor does it represent any cultural norm in the modern world. Indeed, the justice of God is described by freedom, peace, joy, equity, love and hope. These are not common cultural norms. But these are the cultural norm of God. Amen.
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, New York
10/30/2016
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: “In talking about baseball I earlier said baseball is a game that’s fairly easy to follow once you know what’s going on, once you know how the game is supposed to be played. As I also said, the justice of God is described by freedom, peace, joy, equity, love and hope. Freedom, peace, joy, equity, love and hope is how the game is supposed to be played. It’s the cultural norm of God.”
BENEDICTION: O God, You have bound us together in a common life. Help us, in the midst of our striving for justice and truth, to confront one another in love, and to work together with mutual patience, acceptance and respect. Send us out, sure in Your grace and Your peace which surpasses understanding, to live faithfully. 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.
Sunday, October 30, 2016
Sunday, October 23, 2016
SERMON ~ October 23, 2016 ~ “Apocalypse Later”
October 23, 2016 ~ Proper 25 ~ Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost ~ Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Joel 2:23-32; Psalm 65; Sirach 35:12-17 or Jeremiah 14:7-10, 19-22; Psalm 84:1-7; 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18; Luke 18:9-14.
Apocalypse Later
“Then, afterward, / I will pour out my spirit / on all flesh, on all humankind; / your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, / your elders, all of them, / shall have prophetic dreams, / and your young people shall see visions. / In those days / I will pour out my spirit / even on those who are enslaved;...” — Joel 2:28-29.
As I am sure you know there are only sixteen days left before the apocalypse. Indeed, in some places this election cycle has been described that way. Personally, I am not sure it is quite that important but in a fascinating, interesting twist of verbiage couched with obvious theological implications, some have dubbed this political season a battle for the soul.
I have heard it said and it has been said the outcome of this particular electoral process will be and is a choice which puts the every life and identity of each voter on the line. I have heard it said and it has been said this is a choice to be made in which good will or will not be triumphant. Therefore, there is no refuge seeking to be had by voters through non-participation or with alternative choices.
When we add to this assessment the moralizing rhetoric being broadcast by the competing campaigns it, once again, feels like a theological argument. Concerns have been expressed about evil, about aspects of and the possibility of an anti-Christ, aspects which address the end of days, talk about plagues and even concern that a Satanic individual will come out ahead. Based on that it should be absolutely clear to anyone an apocalypse, the end of times, is just around the corner. (Slight pause.)
I am fairly certain that the Jews living in Roman Palestine, in the First Century of the Common Era, thought an apocalypse, an end of times, was just around the corner. You see, historians tell us the occupying Army of Rome— yes the Army of Rome, the Roman Army, was the army of a foreign invader— the occupying Army of Rome is certainly reason to think the end of times might be at hand.
The Army of Rome was living in the homeland of the Jews and that occupying army crucified about 10,000 Jews every year in Roman Palestine. All the death and destruction wrought by Rome and its army on the Jewish people must surely have felt like a sign of the apocalypse, an end of times. (Slight pause.)
I am fairly certain that people living in the area we today call Europe in the 14th Century of the Common Era thought an apocalypse, an end of times, was just around the corner. You see, it’s estimated that as many as 200 million people died in what we call the Black Plague or Black Death in the course of the 14th Century in Europe.
It’s possible as much as 60% of the population died. No matter what the number of deaths, we do know it was not until the 17th Century— it took three centuries— it was not until the 17th Century that population levels recovered. Which is to say people living in 14th Century Europe were probably well justified in thinking an apocalypse was upon them. (Slight pause.)
In my own lifetime I have personally known people who witnessed October the 29th, 1929 crash. That event, the Stock Market Crash, and the following Great Depression, devastated the economy of both this country and the world.
How bad was it? In March of 1933 when Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office the unemployment rate was 25%. In Chicago the school teachers had worked and had taught every day since the previous September but had not been paid a dime .
The city simply did not have the money to do that. I am sure during the Great Depression many people were well justified in thinking an apocalypse, the end of times, was at hand, just around the corner. (Slight pause.)
On the other hand, as a baseball fan, I am fairly certain an apocalypse is at hand and just around the corner right now. After all, the Cleveland Indians are in the World Series and the Chicago Cubs are in the World Series. These are, unquestionably, the end times.
Seriously, the picture the current world presents to us at any given point in time can be disorienting. We can feel displaced, maybe even feel called to address our emotions, those feelings aroused in us by using in apocalyptic language. But are the end of times really at hand? (Slight pause.)
We hear these words from the Prophet Joel: “Then, afterward, / I will pour out my spirit / on all flesh, on all humankind; / your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, / your elders, all of them, / shall have prophetic dreams, / and your young people shall see visions. / In those days / I will pour out my spirit / even on those who are enslaved;...” (Slight pause.)
It does not matter what the prediction is and it does not matter who makes the prediction. Prognosticators, prophets, pastors, pundits, pontiffs, priests, prelates, politicians or just plain people— all of these are prone and have a propensity to make predictions about the end of times. But the truth is an apocalypse is not happening any time soon and is not going to happen any time soon.
You may not like what is happening right now. It may feel disoriented. You may feel displaced. But the end of times— these are not near.
Perhaps the end of an era is close at hand. And that can be disorienting. But eras, by definition, are of a limited time frame.
Yes, this is not the best of all possible worlds. I get that. But it never was the best of all possible worlds. That raises an obvious question: if it is not the end of times why do we feel we need to speak in those terms?
Indeed, ask the people who lived in Roman Palestine if it was the best of all possible worlds. Ask the people who lived through the plague of the 14th Century if it was the best of all possible worlds.
You may have known people who lived through the Stock Market Crash and the Great Depression, as I did. Each of them told me this truth: the crash and the Depression felt really, really bad. It was disorienting. But it was not the end of time. And we all know that. No matter how bad things feel, no matter how displaced we feel, it is not the end of time.
So, what are these words about? Indeed, what are these words about, especially since these words are not only what the Prophet Joel said but we find the same words repeated by Peter after the Pentecost event? (Slight pause.)
When the readings from Joel and from Acts were introduced it was said that we should realize apocalyptic language uses wonderful, powerful metaphors to describe what a deep experience of God feels like and these words were not insisting on an apocalypse, an ending, but rather proclaiming and rejoicing in a beginning. And I earlier indicated an apocalyptic argument is a theological argument.
In short, an apocalyptic argument, apocalyptic language is not about the end of times. Neither is an apocalyptic argument about who wins and who loses, although some would have it that way.
An apocalyptic argument, apocalyptic language is theological language about one thing and one thing only. Apocalyptic argument and language is about hope.
To use apocalyptic arguments and language to address the end times, to say the end of the world is at hand, is extraordinarily bane, common, trite and not at all theological. To use apocalyptic arguments, apocalyptic language to address the end of times is, in short, simply silly. (Slight pause.)
Well that having been said, in a couple of minutes you will be invited to sing the hymn Christians Rise and Act Your Creed. And what is our creed?
The creed of Christians is not about specific beliefs. (Slight pause.) The creed of Christians is about action— positive action. Therefore, the creed of Christians is about freedom. The creed of Christians is about peace. The creed of Christians is about joy.
The creed of Christians is about equity. The creed of Christians is about love. The creed of Christians is not about an apocalypse of any kind. The creed of Christians is very much about hope. Amen.
10/23/2016
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: “There is one other thing connected with hope and the action of hope— faith. Faith is, as I indicated, not a list of beliefs. Faith is also an action. These words of Spanish poet Gerado Oberman about faith illustrate that: ‘...faith is much more than feeling, knowing, repeating… / Faith is trusting in God, confiding in God; / and, in the meantime, on the path, in everyday life, / faith is resistance to all who oppose the love of God, / the fullness of life and the justice of God’s realm.’”
BENEDICTION: God stands by us to grant us support and strength. All who trust in God are strengthened and blessed. So, let us go on our way, proclaiming the Good News: when we question and when we are open, when we struggle to know God’s will and walk in God’s way, God will be our refuge. And may the face of God shine upon us; may the peace of Christ rule among us; may the fire of the Spirit burn within us this day and forevermore. Amen.
Apocalypse Later
“Then, afterward, / I will pour out my spirit / on all flesh, on all humankind; / your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, / your elders, all of them, / shall have prophetic dreams, / and your young people shall see visions. / In those days / I will pour out my spirit / even on those who are enslaved;...” — Joel 2:28-29.
As I am sure you know there are only sixteen days left before the apocalypse. Indeed, in some places this election cycle has been described that way. Personally, I am not sure it is quite that important but in a fascinating, interesting twist of verbiage couched with obvious theological implications, some have dubbed this political season a battle for the soul.
I have heard it said and it has been said the outcome of this particular electoral process will be and is a choice which puts the every life and identity of each voter on the line. I have heard it said and it has been said this is a choice to be made in which good will or will not be triumphant. Therefore, there is no refuge seeking to be had by voters through non-participation or with alternative choices.
When we add to this assessment the moralizing rhetoric being broadcast by the competing campaigns it, once again, feels like a theological argument. Concerns have been expressed about evil, about aspects of and the possibility of an anti-Christ, aspects which address the end of days, talk about plagues and even concern that a Satanic individual will come out ahead. Based on that it should be absolutely clear to anyone an apocalypse, the end of times, is just around the corner. (Slight pause.)
I am fairly certain that the Jews living in Roman Palestine, in the First Century of the Common Era, thought an apocalypse, an end of times, was just around the corner. You see, historians tell us the occupying Army of Rome— yes the Army of Rome, the Roman Army, was the army of a foreign invader— the occupying Army of Rome is certainly reason to think the end of times might be at hand.
The Army of Rome was living in the homeland of the Jews and that occupying army crucified about 10,000 Jews every year in Roman Palestine. All the death and destruction wrought by Rome and its army on the Jewish people must surely have felt like a sign of the apocalypse, an end of times. (Slight pause.)
I am fairly certain that people living in the area we today call Europe in the 14th Century of the Common Era thought an apocalypse, an end of times, was just around the corner. You see, it’s estimated that as many as 200 million people died in what we call the Black Plague or Black Death in the course of the 14th Century in Europe.
It’s possible as much as 60% of the population died. No matter what the number of deaths, we do know it was not until the 17th Century— it took three centuries— it was not until the 17th Century that population levels recovered. Which is to say people living in 14th Century Europe were probably well justified in thinking an apocalypse was upon them. (Slight pause.)
In my own lifetime I have personally known people who witnessed October the 29th, 1929 crash. That event, the Stock Market Crash, and the following Great Depression, devastated the economy of both this country and the world.
How bad was it? In March of 1933 when Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office the unemployment rate was 25%. In Chicago the school teachers had worked and had taught every day since the previous September but had not been paid a dime .
The city simply did not have the money to do that. I am sure during the Great Depression many people were well justified in thinking an apocalypse, the end of times, was at hand, just around the corner. (Slight pause.)
On the other hand, as a baseball fan, I am fairly certain an apocalypse is at hand and just around the corner right now. After all, the Cleveland Indians are in the World Series and the Chicago Cubs are in the World Series. These are, unquestionably, the end times.
Seriously, the picture the current world presents to us at any given point in time can be disorienting. We can feel displaced, maybe even feel called to address our emotions, those feelings aroused in us by using in apocalyptic language. But are the end of times really at hand? (Slight pause.)
We hear these words from the Prophet Joel: “Then, afterward, / I will pour out my spirit / on all flesh, on all humankind; / your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, / your elders, all of them, / shall have prophetic dreams, / and your young people shall see visions. / In those days / I will pour out my spirit / even on those who are enslaved;...” (Slight pause.)
It does not matter what the prediction is and it does not matter who makes the prediction. Prognosticators, prophets, pastors, pundits, pontiffs, priests, prelates, politicians or just plain people— all of these are prone and have a propensity to make predictions about the end of times. But the truth is an apocalypse is not happening any time soon and is not going to happen any time soon.
You may not like what is happening right now. It may feel disoriented. You may feel displaced. But the end of times— these are not near.
Perhaps the end of an era is close at hand. And that can be disorienting. But eras, by definition, are of a limited time frame.
Yes, this is not the best of all possible worlds. I get that. But it never was the best of all possible worlds. That raises an obvious question: if it is not the end of times why do we feel we need to speak in those terms?
Indeed, ask the people who lived in Roman Palestine if it was the best of all possible worlds. Ask the people who lived through the plague of the 14th Century if it was the best of all possible worlds.
You may have known people who lived through the Stock Market Crash and the Great Depression, as I did. Each of them told me this truth: the crash and the Depression felt really, really bad. It was disorienting. But it was not the end of time. And we all know that. No matter how bad things feel, no matter how displaced we feel, it is not the end of time.
So, what are these words about? Indeed, what are these words about, especially since these words are not only what the Prophet Joel said but we find the same words repeated by Peter after the Pentecost event? (Slight pause.)
When the readings from Joel and from Acts were introduced it was said that we should realize apocalyptic language uses wonderful, powerful metaphors to describe what a deep experience of God feels like and these words were not insisting on an apocalypse, an ending, but rather proclaiming and rejoicing in a beginning. And I earlier indicated an apocalyptic argument is a theological argument.
In short, an apocalyptic argument, apocalyptic language is not about the end of times. Neither is an apocalyptic argument about who wins and who loses, although some would have it that way.
An apocalyptic argument, apocalyptic language is theological language about one thing and one thing only. Apocalyptic argument and language is about hope.
To use apocalyptic arguments and language to address the end times, to say the end of the world is at hand, is extraordinarily bane, common, trite and not at all theological. To use apocalyptic arguments, apocalyptic language to address the end of times is, in short, simply silly. (Slight pause.)
Well that having been said, in a couple of minutes you will be invited to sing the hymn Christians Rise and Act Your Creed. And what is our creed?
The creed of Christians is not about specific beliefs. (Slight pause.) The creed of Christians is about action— positive action. Therefore, the creed of Christians is about freedom. The creed of Christians is about peace. The creed of Christians is about joy.
The creed of Christians is about equity. The creed of Christians is about love. The creed of Christians is not about an apocalypse of any kind. The creed of Christians is very much about hope. Amen.
10/23/2016
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: “There is one other thing connected with hope and the action of hope— faith. Faith is, as I indicated, not a list of beliefs. Faith is also an action. These words of Spanish poet Gerado Oberman about faith illustrate that: ‘...faith is much more than feeling, knowing, repeating… / Faith is trusting in God, confiding in God; / and, in the meantime, on the path, in everyday life, / faith is resistance to all who oppose the love of God, / the fullness of life and the justice of God’s realm.’”
BENEDICTION: God stands by us to grant us support and strength. All who trust in God are strengthened and blessed. So, let us go on our way, proclaiming the Good News: when we question and when we are open, when we struggle to know God’s will and walk in God’s way, God will be our refuge. And may the face of God shine upon us; may the peace of Christ rule among us; may the fire of the Spirit burn within us this day and forevermore. Amen.
Sunday, October 16, 2016
SERMON ~ October 16, 2016 ~ “An Old Concept: Forgiveness”
October 16, 2016 ~ Proper 24 ~ Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost ~ Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Jeremiah 31:27-34; Psalm 119:97-104; Genesis 32:22-31; Psalm 121; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5; Luke 18:1-8.
An Old Concept: Forgiveness
“No longer shall they need to teach one another or remind one another to listen to Yahweh or to know Yahweh. All of them— high and low alike— from the least of them to the greatest shall all listen to me, says Yahweh; for I will forgive their misdeeds, their iniquity, and remember their transgressions no more.” — Jeremiah 31:34.
There are several points to be made about this reading. But first, I need to reiterate what was said when this passage was introduced. It is a mistake is to give these words a preemptive Christian reading, to interpret the Prophet Jeremiah as saying anything about a difference between what we commonly refer to as the Testaments.
This passage is not in any way prophetic about the Christian era but is, rather, a call to renewal for the time in which it was written and for the people to whom it was written. Now that presents an obvious question. Why does attaching the concept of this being a prophecy about Jesus, a foretelling of the future, fail to be an accurate assessment?
The answer has two parts. First, prophecy in Scripture, all prophecy in Scripture, simply does not reference what might happen in the future. Prophecy in Scripture addresses what God might be saying in a given and specific context right then. Biblical prophecy, by definition, speaks about God’s everlasting truths, the principles God holds dear, not the future.
If that’s the case, this poses yet another obvious question. Why might people interpret Biblical Prophecy as a foretelling, a prediction? (Slight pause.)
Let me offer a story which I think might help explain why some people buy into this idea which says this passage is a foretelling of a Christian future. My story involves my father and one name you might know and another you probably do not know. So let me identify these folks who you may not know.
First: the name you might know— the comedian Jack Benny. Even though he died all the way back in the 1970s Benny was and to a certain extent still is quite famous. He had a radio program in the 1930s and 1940s and a television program well in the 1950s with some specials in the 1960s. Occasionally today I will still hear commercials using his lines or the sound of his voice.
His programs have been described as a variety show that blended in sketch comedy. Now, among the troupe of players who participated in both the variety and the sketch comedy aspects of Benny’s endeavors was this name I’m sure you don’t know— well, relatively sure. This fellow was a singer/actor, an Irish tenor, who went by the name of Dennis Day.
That having been said, my Father was a proud graduate of Manhattan College in the Bronx. Dennis Day was a proud graduate of Manhattan College in the Bronx. And whenever Dennis appeared on the screen of our old black and white television in the 1950s, my Dad would point at the TV and proudly say, “He’s a Manhattan graduate, you know.”
As a kid I remember thinking, “Why does he say that over and over every time he sees Dennis Day? What does it mean?” All these years later I think I can tell you what it means, or at least I think I can tell you what my father was trying to say. (Slight pause.)
Dennis Day— he’s a member of my tribe. And I’m a member of Dennis Day’s tribe. He may be famous and I’m not famous but we have a real connection. We belong to the same tribe. (Slight pause.)
You see, tribal connections do not need to make any logical sense. Tribal connections, this wanting to be connected with others— especially a tribal connection to the rich and/or famous— a tribal connection with those who you think might be in the same tribe as you is a visceral, emotional response.
And I think some people who make a connection between the Testaments do so because they see these words as if they foretold the future. And they are simply making a tribal, visceral, emotional connection here. That connection says “Look! The Prophet is pointing to my tribe! The Prophet is pointing to Jesus! And I am a part of the tribe of Jesus!” (Slight pause.)
Of course, the downside of insisting on this tribal connection is, by implication, it claims Jesus is a part of your tribe but the God of Jeremiah, the God of the Hebrew Scriptures is not a part of your tribe. And guess what? The God of the Jeremiah, the God of the Hebrew Scriptures, is a part of the tribe of Jesus. So making or even implying that there is a separation between the Testaments, no matter how visceral, how emotional that claim might feel, is an assertion which rests on quicksand.
To be clear, I do not doubt there might be hundreds of other reasons one perhaps could connect the words of Jeremiah with Jesus other than tribalism. But what I am saying is a sense of tribal connection needs to be high on that list of reasons in part because most of the time we don’t even consider tribal connections, don’t even think about it. But it’s there, hidden.
Of course, we tend to not think about it because it is a visceral, emotional response. We rarely or never think through visceral, emotional responses. It’s that cut and dry. (Slight pause.)
I need to make a second point about this reading and it may be evident already that this reading is thick with meanings. I need to make a second point about this reading so let’s explore it in a different way.
At one point in time it was a standard that, while someone was in Seminary pursuing a Master of Divinity Degree, that someone would write a Master’s thesis. By the time I was going through the process more than twenty years ago, writing a thesis had become a rarity. But write one I did.
The topic of my thesis was the Hebrew Scriptures. But my specific focus within that was midrash. Midrash is an ancient form of Jewish story telling evident both inside and outside of Scripture. In the introduction of that thesis I felt it was important to address my justification for wanting to write about this topic.
One of the things I said was I had grown up in New York City. New York City has a larger population of Jewish people than any other city in the in the world, larger than even Jerusalem. Further, I had many good and close friends who were Jewish and I had attended services of worship in synagogues.
I suggested I was thereby as much as a Christian could be, familiar with Jewish culture and had at least some understanding of Jewish culture. And midrash both was and is a part of Jewish culture— this story telling trait.
Now, that given— you have heard me say a number of times that what we commonly refer to as the Ten Commandments should in no way be taken as commands. Both in the Hebrew language and in Jewish tradition, in Jewish culture, these are known as the Ten Words.
Further and as you know, the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures, the Pentateuch— these are commonly and simply called the Law. But what is labeled as the Law— a name which would imply a strict set of rules— in Jewish tradition, in Jewish culture, is not thought of as set rules or as a series of commands. The Pentateuch, the Law, is thought of as instruction, a way to learn and a way of learning.
That having been said, last week a friend who had heard me say these things about the commandments and about the Pentateuch decided to do some fact checking. This friend wanted to see if my description was accurate. So they went to an acquaintance of theirs who is Jewish and inquired about the veracity of how I present the topic.
And guess what that friend reported back to me? “Well, the two of you use different words to describe it. But yes, you are saying the same thing. It comes down to instruction.”
So, what is labeled as the Law is not a set of rules but instruction. And right here, in this reading, you have the Prophet Jeremiah recording Yahweh, God, as saying (quote:) “I will put my Law within them, in their minds, and I will write it on their hearts.”
So, what is the Law, the instruction heard here? What is it we need to learn? (Slight pause.)
(Quote:) “I will forgive their misdeeds, their iniquity, and remember their transgressions no more.” The Law: I will forgive their misdeeds, their iniquity, and remember their transgressions no more. (Slight pause.)
I want to suggest what we need to learn is forgiveness— especially forgiving one another. Why? (Quote:) “I will be their God; they shall be my people.”
And Who is this God? God is a God for Whom forgiveness is an imperative. This is a God of peace. This is a God of freedom. This is a God joy. This is a God of liberty. This is a God of hope. This is a God of equity. This is a God of opportunity. This is a God of love. This is a forgiving God. Amen.
10/16/2016
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: “The Rev. Barbara Brown Taylor wrote this in her book Bread of Angels: ‘But...’ I love that word. Sometimes I think the whole gospel swings on that word— ‘I was lost but now I’m found, was lost but now I see’. It means things can change. It means we do not always know everything there is to know. It means God can still teach us something.”
BENEDICTION: God has made us partners in covenant. Let us truly be God’s people. Let us be guided by prayer, by study, by love, by justice. Let us continually praise the God of the universe who loves us. May our trust grow as we are empowered to do God’s work in this, God’s dominion. 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 and nothing else. Amen.
An Old Concept: Forgiveness
“No longer shall they need to teach one another or remind one another to listen to Yahweh or to know Yahweh. All of them— high and low alike— from the least of them to the greatest shall all listen to me, says Yahweh; for I will forgive their misdeeds, their iniquity, and remember their transgressions no more.” — Jeremiah 31:34.
There are several points to be made about this reading. But first, I need to reiterate what was said when this passage was introduced. It is a mistake is to give these words a preemptive Christian reading, to interpret the Prophet Jeremiah as saying anything about a difference between what we commonly refer to as the Testaments.
This passage is not in any way prophetic about the Christian era but is, rather, a call to renewal for the time in which it was written and for the people to whom it was written. Now that presents an obvious question. Why does attaching the concept of this being a prophecy about Jesus, a foretelling of the future, fail to be an accurate assessment?
The answer has two parts. First, prophecy in Scripture, all prophecy in Scripture, simply does not reference what might happen in the future. Prophecy in Scripture addresses what God might be saying in a given and specific context right then. Biblical prophecy, by definition, speaks about God’s everlasting truths, the principles God holds dear, not the future.
If that’s the case, this poses yet another obvious question. Why might people interpret Biblical Prophecy as a foretelling, a prediction? (Slight pause.)
Let me offer a story which I think might help explain why some people buy into this idea which says this passage is a foretelling of a Christian future. My story involves my father and one name you might know and another you probably do not know. So let me identify these folks who you may not know.
First: the name you might know— the comedian Jack Benny. Even though he died all the way back in the 1970s Benny was and to a certain extent still is quite famous. He had a radio program in the 1930s and 1940s and a television program well in the 1950s with some specials in the 1960s. Occasionally today I will still hear commercials using his lines or the sound of his voice.
His programs have been described as a variety show that blended in sketch comedy. Now, among the troupe of players who participated in both the variety and the sketch comedy aspects of Benny’s endeavors was this name I’m sure you don’t know— well, relatively sure. This fellow was a singer/actor, an Irish tenor, who went by the name of Dennis Day.
That having been said, my Father was a proud graduate of Manhattan College in the Bronx. Dennis Day was a proud graduate of Manhattan College in the Bronx. And whenever Dennis appeared on the screen of our old black and white television in the 1950s, my Dad would point at the TV and proudly say, “He’s a Manhattan graduate, you know.”
As a kid I remember thinking, “Why does he say that over and over every time he sees Dennis Day? What does it mean?” All these years later I think I can tell you what it means, or at least I think I can tell you what my father was trying to say. (Slight pause.)
Dennis Day— he’s a member of my tribe. And I’m a member of Dennis Day’s tribe. He may be famous and I’m not famous but we have a real connection. We belong to the same tribe. (Slight pause.)
You see, tribal connections do not need to make any logical sense. Tribal connections, this wanting to be connected with others— especially a tribal connection to the rich and/or famous— a tribal connection with those who you think might be in the same tribe as you is a visceral, emotional response.
And I think some people who make a connection between the Testaments do so because they see these words as if they foretold the future. And they are simply making a tribal, visceral, emotional connection here. That connection says “Look! The Prophet is pointing to my tribe! The Prophet is pointing to Jesus! And I am a part of the tribe of Jesus!” (Slight pause.)
Of course, the downside of insisting on this tribal connection is, by implication, it claims Jesus is a part of your tribe but the God of Jeremiah, the God of the Hebrew Scriptures is not a part of your tribe. And guess what? The God of the Jeremiah, the God of the Hebrew Scriptures, is a part of the tribe of Jesus. So making or even implying that there is a separation between the Testaments, no matter how visceral, how emotional that claim might feel, is an assertion which rests on quicksand.
To be clear, I do not doubt there might be hundreds of other reasons one perhaps could connect the words of Jeremiah with Jesus other than tribalism. But what I am saying is a sense of tribal connection needs to be high on that list of reasons in part because most of the time we don’t even consider tribal connections, don’t even think about it. But it’s there, hidden.
Of course, we tend to not think about it because it is a visceral, emotional response. We rarely or never think through visceral, emotional responses. It’s that cut and dry. (Slight pause.)
I need to make a second point about this reading and it may be evident already that this reading is thick with meanings. I need to make a second point about this reading so let’s explore it in a different way.
At one point in time it was a standard that, while someone was in Seminary pursuing a Master of Divinity Degree, that someone would write a Master’s thesis. By the time I was going through the process more than twenty years ago, writing a thesis had become a rarity. But write one I did.
The topic of my thesis was the Hebrew Scriptures. But my specific focus within that was midrash. Midrash is an ancient form of Jewish story telling evident both inside and outside of Scripture. In the introduction of that thesis I felt it was important to address my justification for wanting to write about this topic.
One of the things I said was I had grown up in New York City. New York City has a larger population of Jewish people than any other city in the in the world, larger than even Jerusalem. Further, I had many good and close friends who were Jewish and I had attended services of worship in synagogues.
I suggested I was thereby as much as a Christian could be, familiar with Jewish culture and had at least some understanding of Jewish culture. And midrash both was and is a part of Jewish culture— this story telling trait.
Now, that given— you have heard me say a number of times that what we commonly refer to as the Ten Commandments should in no way be taken as commands. Both in the Hebrew language and in Jewish tradition, in Jewish culture, these are known as the Ten Words.
Further and as you know, the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures, the Pentateuch— these are commonly and simply called the Law. But what is labeled as the Law— a name which would imply a strict set of rules— in Jewish tradition, in Jewish culture, is not thought of as set rules or as a series of commands. The Pentateuch, the Law, is thought of as instruction, a way to learn and a way of learning.
That having been said, last week a friend who had heard me say these things about the commandments and about the Pentateuch decided to do some fact checking. This friend wanted to see if my description was accurate. So they went to an acquaintance of theirs who is Jewish and inquired about the veracity of how I present the topic.
And guess what that friend reported back to me? “Well, the two of you use different words to describe it. But yes, you are saying the same thing. It comes down to instruction.”
So, what is labeled as the Law is not a set of rules but instruction. And right here, in this reading, you have the Prophet Jeremiah recording Yahweh, God, as saying (quote:) “I will put my Law within them, in their minds, and I will write it on their hearts.”
So, what is the Law, the instruction heard here? What is it we need to learn? (Slight pause.)
(Quote:) “I will forgive their misdeeds, their iniquity, and remember their transgressions no more.” The Law: I will forgive their misdeeds, their iniquity, and remember their transgressions no more. (Slight pause.)
I want to suggest what we need to learn is forgiveness— especially forgiving one another. Why? (Quote:) “I will be their God; they shall be my people.”
And Who is this God? God is a God for Whom forgiveness is an imperative. This is a God of peace. This is a God of freedom. This is a God joy. This is a God of liberty. This is a God of hope. This is a God of equity. This is a God of opportunity. This is a God of love. This is a forgiving God. Amen.
10/16/2016
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: “The Rev. Barbara Brown Taylor wrote this in her book Bread of Angels: ‘But...’ I love that word. Sometimes I think the whole gospel swings on that word— ‘I was lost but now I’m found, was lost but now I see’. It means things can change. It means we do not always know everything there is to know. It means God can still teach us something.”
BENEDICTION: God has made us partners in covenant. Let us truly be God’s people. Let us be guided by prayer, by study, by love, by justice. Let us continually praise the God of the universe who loves us. May our trust grow as we are empowered to do God’s work in this, God’s dominion. 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 and nothing else. Amen.
Sunday, October 9, 2016
SERMON ~ October 9, 2016 ~ “Made Whole”
October 9, 2016 ~ Proper 23 ~ Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost ~ Twenty-eight Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7; Psalm 66:1-12; 2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15c; Psalm 111; 2 Timothy 2:8-15; Luke 17:11-19 ~ The Weekend of the Secular Holiday Known as Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Made Whole
“Then Jesus asked, ‘Were not all ten made whole? Where are the other nine? Was there no one to return and give praise to God other than this foreigner?’ Then Jesus said to the Samaritan, ‘Get up and go on your way; your faith has saved you.’” — Luke 17:17-19.
Last month Bonnie and I celebrated a wedding anniversary, our twenty-eighth to be precise. Bonnie will tell you she made only one mistake when she agreed to marry me. She did not marry a golfer. I had no experience playing the game of golf.
Bonnie has been playing the game since she was a teen. And she is good at it. In fact, anyone with any knowledge about the game will tell you when a golfer scores less than 100 for 18 holes— breaks 100 is the term used— they are doing well. Bonnie breaks 100 with some regularity. So yes, she is good.
Now, quite a while after we got married, indeed after we moved to Norwich, Bonnie convinced me to take up golf. And, much to Bonnie’s surprise, I love the game. And much to Bonnie’s bewilderment, I am really, really terrible at it.
That I am at best a duffer, does not faze me in the least. I just like wacking the ball around the course.
Well, there’s a commercial currently running on television that features golf and my guess is many of you have seen it. The commercial shows an old fellow and I label this guy as old because the commercial labels this guy as old.
On the other hand, I suspect that, in terms of age, I am not that far behind this guy. Those of you facile at math have already figured out how old I am since a couple of minutes ago I told you how long I’ve been married and at what age that marriage happened, which was 40. I think I cut that 40 out of this script. So now you know, right? O.K.
Now, I need to note I do not think of myself as old, but that’s all perspective. I am sure to a twenty something I am old.
In any case, this old fellow in the commercial is a golfer— an old golfer. The commercial shows him standing on a golf course. He looks into the camera and with great sincerity states he is really, really bad at golf— I can relate to that. And then with equal sincerity he insists he wants to continue being really, really bad at golf as long as he possibly can— and I can relate to that also.
At that point the commercial tries to pitch the rejuvenating elixir it’s peddling. I have two basic personal reactions to that pitch.
I do not think of myself as old; why do I need that stuff the commercial is selling? But if I expect to continue being really, really bad a golf as long as I possibly can, maybe I should try it.
Needless to say, what the commercial is really trying to sell is not the product, the elixir. What that commercial is really trying to sell is well-ness, wholeness. And somewhere along the way our society concocted the idea that an elixir or some magic formula can get you there— can get you to well-ness, wholeness. (Slight pause.)
We find these words in the Gospel commonly called Luke: “Then Jesus asked, ‘Were not all ten made whole? Where are the other nine? Was there no one to return and give praise to God other than this foreigner?’ Then Jesus said to the Samaritan, ‘Get up and go on your way; your faith has saved you.’” (Slight pause.)
Every month I write a column in the Newsletter of this church. In the October issue I started my thoughts this way: “Happy Christmas! No. Wait. It’s too early for that.”
I went on to address the Nativity stories in my letter in Scripture and said among the four Gospels there are only two Nativity stories. That’s because it’s unlikely the birth of the Messiah was as important to the culture when the New Testament was recorded as it seems to be to our culture today.
I then said in Luke you will not find any star or any Magi. You will find angels, a manger and the lowly, the outcast— the shepherds.
Also, check out the words of the angels in Luke carefully. It says they speak. Nowhere does it say the angels sing. To be clear, I think it’s probable the angels sing. But that’s not what’s written in Scripture.
Now, if you turn to Matthew you find the Magi. In secular culture the Magi are sometimes called the “Three Wise Men.” But there is no reference to either their number or their gender.
Furthermore, based on the story being told in Matthew it seems pretty clear the Magi would have arrived in Bethlehem quite a bit after the birth of the Messiah. While nothing is stated directly, Jesus may have already been a toddler.
So, where does all this that we often see as the Nativity story come from? Three Magi, all gathered at the manger, a star overhead, singing angels, shepherds— shepherds who are never pictured as lowly and outcast, but are pictured as peaceful, pastoral— all these crammed into one version of the story when these details are not from the same version of the story. Why do we see this all in one place when they are from unrelated stories?
Put another way and to drive home this point, it should be clear that the concept that all these are gathered in one story is not a Biblical idea. You will not find the story told in Scripture that way. (Slight pause.)
Well, just Friday I spoke with an old friend in New York City who reads the Newsletter online. My friend asked me, “Why did you write about the Christmas story in the October Newsletter? Why didn’t you wait until December to write about that?” I said I was not writing about the Christmas story, per se. Rather, I was writing about cultural fantasies. (Slight pause.)
Recently a very conservative, very well known pastor, Andy Stanley, found himself enmeshed in a theological controversy after a sermon. In that talk he said he grew up in a church where the subtitle for everything was, ‘If the Bible says it, that settles it.’
Many of us, he noted, were brought up to believe ‘Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.’ He then had the audacity to point out the obvious. Saying you believe because it says so in the Bible places a belief in Scripture above a belief in God. That approach insists the Bible is more important than God.
I want to suggest that, probably from different directions, both Pastor Stanley and I are addressing the same issue. It is a mistake to allow cultural fantasies to get in the way of serious, thoughtful theology.
I would also note that insisting on theological truth and, thereby, violating a cultural fantasy, a cultural belief, can be a daunting project. It seems to me, as pastor Stanley discovered, that many would much rather cling to a cultural belief than engage in serious, thoughtful theology.
All that beings me back to the healing of the lepers. You see, after the obvious first definition of the word leper— one who has leprosy— the second definition is quite revealing.
The second definition: a leper is someone who has been rejected or ostracized. A leper is an outcast. And my bet is that was the definition in New Testament times. (Slight pause.)
We have a cultural fantasy about this story. The cultural fantasy says one of two things. Either this story is about healing or this story is about offering gratitude.
I want to suggest these readings, these understandings of the story, one which says it’s about healing and one which says it’s about gratitude, are cultural fantasies. Yes, it is wonderful to be grateful, to be thankful. I agree. I approve of being grateful— not an issue.
And yes, I want to play golf as long as I can. So it would probably be wise to use that elixir. But I would be foolish to think it might impart wholeness.
Equally, I think a serious, thoughtful theological understanding of this story would not take Scripture literally, relegating it to simply be about either gratitude or healing. A serious, thoughtful theological understanding of this story would say it’s about two other things. First and obviously, this story is about those who are outcast— in this case not just a leper but a Samaritan, someone outcast in multiple ways.
But on top of that, this story is about the outcast who can be and is made whole. For me, wholeness— not healing— especially since this is wholeness for an outcast— is central to the story.
In short, God wants us to be whole. God loves us so much that the healing God seeks for us is not simply healing, physical— but what God seeks for us is wholeness, completeness— a larger idea.
And of course then, then... God also takes an extra step. God does not want just wholeness for just some. God wants wholeness for everyone, even for the outcast.
God’s love extends to everyone, all people, the poor, the outcast, those who have no power. Imagine that: a world in which those who have no power are made whole. Amen.
10/09/2016
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: “The Thought for Meditation today comes from St. John Chrysostom in the Fourth Century of the Common Era. (Quote:) ‘Christ, in sending the people to the scriptures, sent them, not merely to read them, but carefully to search and ponder them. And did Christ not say, ‘Read the Scriptures,’ but ‘Search the Scriptures.’ The meaning of the Scriptures is not expressed superficially or set forth in their literal sense, but, like a treasure, lies buried at a great depth. And those who seek for hidden things will not be able to find the object of the search if they do not seek carefully and painstakingly.’ Which is to say the Scriptures were not taken literally in the Fourth Century. Why should they be taken literally now?”
BENEDICTION: When we trust, we have faith. When we trust God and one another, we are faithful. When we act, trusting God and one another, we proclaim our faith. Let us rejoice that we may abide in God’s covenant of faith. Let us rejoice that God provides for us in all things. And may we love God so much, that we love nothing else too much. May we be in awe of no one and nothing else because we are so in awe of God. Amen.
Made Whole
“Then Jesus asked, ‘Were not all ten made whole? Where are the other nine? Was there no one to return and give praise to God other than this foreigner?’ Then Jesus said to the Samaritan, ‘Get up and go on your way; your faith has saved you.’” — Luke 17:17-19.
Last month Bonnie and I celebrated a wedding anniversary, our twenty-eighth to be precise. Bonnie will tell you she made only one mistake when she agreed to marry me. She did not marry a golfer. I had no experience playing the game of golf.
Bonnie has been playing the game since she was a teen. And she is good at it. In fact, anyone with any knowledge about the game will tell you when a golfer scores less than 100 for 18 holes— breaks 100 is the term used— they are doing well. Bonnie breaks 100 with some regularity. So yes, she is good.
Now, quite a while after we got married, indeed after we moved to Norwich, Bonnie convinced me to take up golf. And, much to Bonnie’s surprise, I love the game. And much to Bonnie’s bewilderment, I am really, really terrible at it.
That I am at best a duffer, does not faze me in the least. I just like wacking the ball around the course.
Well, there’s a commercial currently running on television that features golf and my guess is many of you have seen it. The commercial shows an old fellow and I label this guy as old because the commercial labels this guy as old.
On the other hand, I suspect that, in terms of age, I am not that far behind this guy. Those of you facile at math have already figured out how old I am since a couple of minutes ago I told you how long I’ve been married and at what age that marriage happened, which was 40. I think I cut that 40 out of this script. So now you know, right? O.K.
Now, I need to note I do not think of myself as old, but that’s all perspective. I am sure to a twenty something I am old.
In any case, this old fellow in the commercial is a golfer— an old golfer. The commercial shows him standing on a golf course. He looks into the camera and with great sincerity states he is really, really bad at golf— I can relate to that. And then with equal sincerity he insists he wants to continue being really, really bad at golf as long as he possibly can— and I can relate to that also.
At that point the commercial tries to pitch the rejuvenating elixir it’s peddling. I have two basic personal reactions to that pitch.
I do not think of myself as old; why do I need that stuff the commercial is selling? But if I expect to continue being really, really bad a golf as long as I possibly can, maybe I should try it.
Needless to say, what the commercial is really trying to sell is not the product, the elixir. What that commercial is really trying to sell is well-ness, wholeness. And somewhere along the way our society concocted the idea that an elixir or some magic formula can get you there— can get you to well-ness, wholeness. (Slight pause.)
We find these words in the Gospel commonly called Luke: “Then Jesus asked, ‘Were not all ten made whole? Where are the other nine? Was there no one to return and give praise to God other than this foreigner?’ Then Jesus said to the Samaritan, ‘Get up and go on your way; your faith has saved you.’” (Slight pause.)
Every month I write a column in the Newsletter of this church. In the October issue I started my thoughts this way: “Happy Christmas! No. Wait. It’s too early for that.”
I went on to address the Nativity stories in my letter in Scripture and said among the four Gospels there are only two Nativity stories. That’s because it’s unlikely the birth of the Messiah was as important to the culture when the New Testament was recorded as it seems to be to our culture today.
I then said in Luke you will not find any star or any Magi. You will find angels, a manger and the lowly, the outcast— the shepherds.
Also, check out the words of the angels in Luke carefully. It says they speak. Nowhere does it say the angels sing. To be clear, I think it’s probable the angels sing. But that’s not what’s written in Scripture.
Now, if you turn to Matthew you find the Magi. In secular culture the Magi are sometimes called the “Three Wise Men.” But there is no reference to either their number or their gender.
Furthermore, based on the story being told in Matthew it seems pretty clear the Magi would have arrived in Bethlehem quite a bit after the birth of the Messiah. While nothing is stated directly, Jesus may have already been a toddler.
So, where does all this that we often see as the Nativity story come from? Three Magi, all gathered at the manger, a star overhead, singing angels, shepherds— shepherds who are never pictured as lowly and outcast, but are pictured as peaceful, pastoral— all these crammed into one version of the story when these details are not from the same version of the story. Why do we see this all in one place when they are from unrelated stories?
Put another way and to drive home this point, it should be clear that the concept that all these are gathered in one story is not a Biblical idea. You will not find the story told in Scripture that way. (Slight pause.)
Well, just Friday I spoke with an old friend in New York City who reads the Newsletter online. My friend asked me, “Why did you write about the Christmas story in the October Newsletter? Why didn’t you wait until December to write about that?” I said I was not writing about the Christmas story, per se. Rather, I was writing about cultural fantasies. (Slight pause.)
Recently a very conservative, very well known pastor, Andy Stanley, found himself enmeshed in a theological controversy after a sermon. In that talk he said he grew up in a church where the subtitle for everything was, ‘If the Bible says it, that settles it.’
Many of us, he noted, were brought up to believe ‘Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.’ He then had the audacity to point out the obvious. Saying you believe because it says so in the Bible places a belief in Scripture above a belief in God. That approach insists the Bible is more important than God.
I want to suggest that, probably from different directions, both Pastor Stanley and I are addressing the same issue. It is a mistake to allow cultural fantasies to get in the way of serious, thoughtful theology.
I would also note that insisting on theological truth and, thereby, violating a cultural fantasy, a cultural belief, can be a daunting project. It seems to me, as pastor Stanley discovered, that many would much rather cling to a cultural belief than engage in serious, thoughtful theology.
All that beings me back to the healing of the lepers. You see, after the obvious first definition of the word leper— one who has leprosy— the second definition is quite revealing.
The second definition: a leper is someone who has been rejected or ostracized. A leper is an outcast. And my bet is that was the definition in New Testament times. (Slight pause.)
We have a cultural fantasy about this story. The cultural fantasy says one of two things. Either this story is about healing or this story is about offering gratitude.
I want to suggest these readings, these understandings of the story, one which says it’s about healing and one which says it’s about gratitude, are cultural fantasies. Yes, it is wonderful to be grateful, to be thankful. I agree. I approve of being grateful— not an issue.
And yes, I want to play golf as long as I can. So it would probably be wise to use that elixir. But I would be foolish to think it might impart wholeness.
Equally, I think a serious, thoughtful theological understanding of this story would not take Scripture literally, relegating it to simply be about either gratitude or healing. A serious, thoughtful theological understanding of this story would say it’s about two other things. First and obviously, this story is about those who are outcast— in this case not just a leper but a Samaritan, someone outcast in multiple ways.
But on top of that, this story is about the outcast who can be and is made whole. For me, wholeness— not healing— especially since this is wholeness for an outcast— is central to the story.
In short, God wants us to be whole. God loves us so much that the healing God seeks for us is not simply healing, physical— but what God seeks for us is wholeness, completeness— a larger idea.
And of course then, then... God also takes an extra step. God does not want just wholeness for just some. God wants wholeness for everyone, even for the outcast.
God’s love extends to everyone, all people, the poor, the outcast, those who have no power. Imagine that: a world in which those who have no power are made whole. Amen.
10/09/2016
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: “The Thought for Meditation today comes from St. John Chrysostom in the Fourth Century of the Common Era. (Quote:) ‘Christ, in sending the people to the scriptures, sent them, not merely to read them, but carefully to search and ponder them. And did Christ not say, ‘Read the Scriptures,’ but ‘Search the Scriptures.’ The meaning of the Scriptures is not expressed superficially or set forth in their literal sense, but, like a treasure, lies buried at a great depth. And those who seek for hidden things will not be able to find the object of the search if they do not seek carefully and painstakingly.’ Which is to say the Scriptures were not taken literally in the Fourth Century. Why should they be taken literally now?”
BENEDICTION: When we trust, we have faith. When we trust God and one another, we are faithful. When we act, trusting God and one another, we proclaim our faith. Let us rejoice that we may abide in God’s covenant of faith. Let us rejoice that God provides for us in all things. And may we love God so much, that we love nothing else too much. May we be in awe of no one and nothing else because we are so in awe of God. Amen.
Sunday, October 2, 2016
SERMON ~ October 2, 2016 ~ “Sound Teaching”
October 2, 2016 ~ Proper 22 ~ Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost ~ Twenty Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Lamentations 1:1-6 or Lamentations 3:19-26 or Psalm 137; Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4; Psalm 37:1-9; 2 Timothy 1:1-14; Luke 17:5-10 ~ Communion Sunday ~ World-Wide Communion Sunday; Neighbors in Need Sunday.
Sound Teaching
“Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Guard the good treasure, the rich deposit of faith entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit who is living within in us.” — 2 Timothy 1:13-14.
I said this in my comments just a couple of months ago. Because I am a lyricist with professional credits, I am a member of A.S.C.A.P., the American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers. Better than thirty years ago I was invited to participate in the A.S.C.A.P. Musical Comedy Workshop.
This was and is, essentially, a Master Class in Musical Theater for composers, lyricists and librettists. At the time it was run by Charles Strouse the composer of, among many other works, Annie.
When I say master class, aside from the presence of Mr. Strouse, at every meeting a well known theater professional from various fields would visit. Each schooled us from their particular points of view, their learned disciplines, by listening to songs and scenes written by members of the workshop and then offering advice and criticism.
Among those who came were Patty Lapone, originator of the title role in the Broadway production of Evita; Peter Stone, librettist of 1776; Sheldon Harnick, lyricist of Fiddler on the Roof; Alan Menken, best known as the composer for many Disney movies including Beauty and the Beast.
Stephen Sondheim also graced us with his presence. He is, of course, the lyricist for West Side Story and the composer/lyricist for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods to name just a few.
When I say Sondheim graced us with his presence that is exactly what I mean. Yes, he is a great composer, a great lyricist. He is an even more amazing teacher— kind, considerate, giving, sensitive, generous— a coach, a guide— everything you would hope for in someone of his stature and notoriety.
Here’s an example of what I just described. At one session a participant presented a piece. And it was good, very good. And Stephen said it was good, very good. Then, after a bit of discussion of about how good it was, Sondheim got up, went to the piano, sat and said, “From the seventh measure on you might want to try something like this progression” and played a couple of bars.
Please note what he did not say. He did not say, “I think you didn’t do that very well” or “I think that rots” or “I know how to do it better.” He said, “Try this and see what happens, see if it’s productive for you, see where it takes you.” In short, what makes Sondheim an amazing teacher, coach, guide is an emphasis on discovery by the student. (Slight pause.)
We find these words in the work known as First Timothy: “Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Guard the good treasure, the rich deposit of faith entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit who is living within in us.” (Slight pause.)
In the Gospel reading the Apostles ask Jesus to increase their faith. Using some brief parables Jesus effectively says, “Not doing it. Your job.” Why? It’s not as if faith can be measure out as in “more” or “less.” Faith is not a quantity.
All of which is to say, in one sense at least, there is no such thing as teaching. There is only learning. Yes, someone can be, like Sondheim, an effective teacher, coach, guide.
There are many effective teachers, coaches and guides in this room. I know some of them are here right now. But unless there is a willingness on the part of the learner, teaching can become immobilized. Teaching and learning together are, you see, a single process which cannot be divided into distinct parts.
Teaching and learning together is a covenant between parties. Teaching and learning are not mutually exclusive. (Slight pause.)
The term covenant leads us into another area. Tell, me, what is your vision of church? What should church look like? Is church a place for learning? Can church be a place for learning?
Please note: even though the term “a place for learning” implies a location it’s more than location. A place for learning is a space— a safe space— a safe space to grow, to mature, to develop, to grapple, to better understand life with the help of those around us, the guides and teachers among us, those with whom we are in covenant. And we are all here to teach one another for we are all in covenant with one another. (Slight pause.)
I think the basic implication of what I’ve stated is twofold. First, if church is a place where faith is nurtured (and I believe it is), then we, in the church, need to be and must be a safe space for that to happen. Second, church is a place where education does need to happen. Why?
Well back to enumeration, first, education is a part of the covenant. Second, acquiring an education, by definition, means growth. And growth is a part of covenant relationship. Static doesn’t work in covenant. Growth is a part of it.
That leaves us with an obvious paradox, two of them in fact. I suspect in our culture church is rarely thought of as a place of education. Second, we live in a culture where education is often held suspect. Hence, it is little or no surprise that church is not too often thought of as an institution were education and learning happens.
That, of course, turns me back to my favorite word: covenant. Sound teaching is what happens when our covenant with God is honored.
Why do we need to honor that covenant and to be a place where learning happens? Well, for starters this is what it says in First Timothy (quote:) “Guard the good treasure, the rich deposit of faith entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit who is living within in us.” (Short pause.)
What do you think? Do you think we should honor the Spirit and the presence of the Spirit. Amen.
10/02/2016
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 hope we engaged in some various learning styles of each of us with our special World Wide Communion Sunday service today. It is sometimes said there are seven learning styles— visual, aural, verbal, physical, logical, social, solitary. I would suggest the many combinations of these actually means that it’s seven to the power of seven available learning styles. That’s over 800,000 learning styles. And because there are so many ways of learning anyone who is a teacher knows these words of Oscar Hammerstein II, who was the teacher of Stephen Sondheim: ‘It’s a very ancient saying, / But a true and honest thought, / That if you become a teacher, / By your pupils you’ll be taught.’”
BENEDICTION: We are called by God to serve faithfully, trusting in God’s grace. May the gifts of God be rekindled within and among us. May our trust grow as we are empowered to do God’s work in this, God’s dominion. And may the peace of Christ which surpasses our understanding keep our hearts and minds in the knowledge and companionship of God’s Spirit this day and forevermore. Amen.
Sound Teaching
“Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Guard the good treasure, the rich deposit of faith entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit who is living within in us.” — 2 Timothy 1:13-14.
I said this in my comments just a couple of months ago. Because I am a lyricist with professional credits, I am a member of A.S.C.A.P., the American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers. Better than thirty years ago I was invited to participate in the A.S.C.A.P. Musical Comedy Workshop.
This was and is, essentially, a Master Class in Musical Theater for composers, lyricists and librettists. At the time it was run by Charles Strouse the composer of, among many other works, Annie.
When I say master class, aside from the presence of Mr. Strouse, at every meeting a well known theater professional from various fields would visit. Each schooled us from their particular points of view, their learned disciplines, by listening to songs and scenes written by members of the workshop and then offering advice and criticism.
Among those who came were Patty Lapone, originator of the title role in the Broadway production of Evita; Peter Stone, librettist of 1776; Sheldon Harnick, lyricist of Fiddler on the Roof; Alan Menken, best known as the composer for many Disney movies including Beauty and the Beast.
Stephen Sondheim also graced us with his presence. He is, of course, the lyricist for West Side Story and the composer/lyricist for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods to name just a few.
When I say Sondheim graced us with his presence that is exactly what I mean. Yes, he is a great composer, a great lyricist. He is an even more amazing teacher— kind, considerate, giving, sensitive, generous— a coach, a guide— everything you would hope for in someone of his stature and notoriety.
Here’s an example of what I just described. At one session a participant presented a piece. And it was good, very good. And Stephen said it was good, very good. Then, after a bit of discussion of about how good it was, Sondheim got up, went to the piano, sat and said, “From the seventh measure on you might want to try something like this progression” and played a couple of bars.
Please note what he did not say. He did not say, “I think you didn’t do that very well” or “I think that rots” or “I know how to do it better.” He said, “Try this and see what happens, see if it’s productive for you, see where it takes you.” In short, what makes Sondheim an amazing teacher, coach, guide is an emphasis on discovery by the student. (Slight pause.)
We find these words in the work known as First Timothy: “Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Guard the good treasure, the rich deposit of faith entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit who is living within in us.” (Slight pause.)
In the Gospel reading the Apostles ask Jesus to increase their faith. Using some brief parables Jesus effectively says, “Not doing it. Your job.” Why? It’s not as if faith can be measure out as in “more” or “less.” Faith is not a quantity.
All of which is to say, in one sense at least, there is no such thing as teaching. There is only learning. Yes, someone can be, like Sondheim, an effective teacher, coach, guide.
There are many effective teachers, coaches and guides in this room. I know some of them are here right now. But unless there is a willingness on the part of the learner, teaching can become immobilized. Teaching and learning together are, you see, a single process which cannot be divided into distinct parts.
Teaching and learning together is a covenant between parties. Teaching and learning are not mutually exclusive. (Slight pause.)
The term covenant leads us into another area. Tell, me, what is your vision of church? What should church look like? Is church a place for learning? Can church be a place for learning?
Please note: even though the term “a place for learning” implies a location it’s more than location. A place for learning is a space— a safe space— a safe space to grow, to mature, to develop, to grapple, to better understand life with the help of those around us, the guides and teachers among us, those with whom we are in covenant. And we are all here to teach one another for we are all in covenant with one another. (Slight pause.)
I think the basic implication of what I’ve stated is twofold. First, if church is a place where faith is nurtured (and I believe it is), then we, in the church, need to be and must be a safe space for that to happen. Second, church is a place where education does need to happen. Why?
Well back to enumeration, first, education is a part of the covenant. Second, acquiring an education, by definition, means growth. And growth is a part of covenant relationship. Static doesn’t work in covenant. Growth is a part of it.
That leaves us with an obvious paradox, two of them in fact. I suspect in our culture church is rarely thought of as a place of education. Second, we live in a culture where education is often held suspect. Hence, it is little or no surprise that church is not too often thought of as an institution were education and learning happens.
That, of course, turns me back to my favorite word: covenant. Sound teaching is what happens when our covenant with God is honored.
Why do we need to honor that covenant and to be a place where learning happens? Well, for starters this is what it says in First Timothy (quote:) “Guard the good treasure, the rich deposit of faith entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit who is living within in us.” (Short pause.)
What do you think? Do you think we should honor the Spirit and the presence of the Spirit. Amen.
10/02/2016
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 hope we engaged in some various learning styles of each of us with our special World Wide Communion Sunday service today. It is sometimes said there are seven learning styles— visual, aural, verbal, physical, logical, social, solitary. I would suggest the many combinations of these actually means that it’s seven to the power of seven available learning styles. That’s over 800,000 learning styles. And because there are so many ways of learning anyone who is a teacher knows these words of Oscar Hammerstein II, who was the teacher of Stephen Sondheim: ‘It’s a very ancient saying, / But a true and honest thought, / That if you become a teacher, / By your pupils you’ll be taught.’”
BENEDICTION: We are called by God to serve faithfully, trusting in God’s grace. May the gifts of God be rekindled within and among us. May our trust grow as we are empowered to do God’s work in this, God’s dominion. And may the peace of Christ which surpasses our understanding keep our hearts and minds in the knowledge and companionship of God’s Spirit this day and forevermore. Amen.
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