03/26/2017 ~ Fourth Sunday in Lent ~ 1 Samuel 16:1-13; Psalm 23; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41 ~ One Great Hour of Sharing All Church Offering Received.
God Sight
“The answer came: ‘The one they call Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and told me to go to Siloam and wash. When I went and washed I was able to see.’” — John 9:11.
The writers George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart were collaborators and titans of the mid-Twentieth Century theater world. They both died in 1961. Kaufman was a writer, director, humorist and drama critic who wrote comedies, political satire, books for musicals and even wrote for the Marx Brothers.
All that made him a good match with Moss Hart— also multi-talented, who also wrote a broad spectrum of material— comedies, political satire and books for musicals. Writing together they won a Pulitzer Prize for You Can’t Take It with You. Another one of their collaborations was the play Merrily We Roll Along.
One conceit of Merrily is that it tells its story backwards. It happens in reverse time, in reverse order. The first scene happens today.
The time sequence of each of the following scenes informs us as to what happened before that and before that and before that. The characters, therefore, move at the start from being older people who look at the world with some distrust, even cynicism, to an the end of the tale where they are younger and envision a future filled with hope and promise.
Therefore, the play often is performed with a second conceit. Since the characters get younger throughout, often young people— twenty-five and under— are cast in the parts. They, of course, start the play acting old and skeptical. By the end of the play they are young, optimistic.
In 1981 the well known composer Stephen Sondheim wrote a musical version of that play. It was Sondheim’s biggest flop, lasting just sixteen performances.
I saw it and I am, hence, one of the few who saw that original production which— by the way— featured a young Jason Alexander, who later came to fame as George on Seinfeld. I was reminded of all this because I recently saw a new documentary about the Sondheim musical.
Back when the Sondheim show was ready to open ABC had planned a program about the making of a musical and intended to use Merrily. Production on the ABC project stopped when Merrily was not successful.
Some of the film shot for that endeavor was recently rediscovered and is part of this new documentary. The documentary looks back at the original Sondheim show using that old, rediscovered film and then covers a more recent reunion of the original cast who gathered to present a concert version of Merrily.
In the old film actors— all under 25— are interviewed about being chosen to be in a Sondheim show early in their career. The optimism of youth is clear in their responses.
In the present the actors are interviewed again these thirty five years later. They reminisce. While cynicism is not a tune we hear, they do talk about where life might have led them and where life has really led them.
Hence the unifying conceit of the documentary, the musical and original play is each looks back in time from the perspective of knowing what has happened. They all look back on life lived and how life played out.
Thereby, questions arise. “If this is where I am now, how did I get here? Who am I, now? Did I become who I wanted to be?” (Slight pause.)
How did I get here? Who am I now? Did I become who I wanted to be?— poignant questions for each of us. Indeed, I was recently having a conversation with a friend, about 15 years younger than I who, reminiscing about who she was when she was twenty-something said, “I wish I knew then what I know now.”
Well, I suppose that is the real conceit of Merrily in all these versions. If we only knew how we got to where we are today, maybe we would have done things, if not differently, perhaps better. (Slight pause.)
This is what we hear in the Gospel According to the School of John: “The answer came: ‘The one they call Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and told me to go to Siloam and wash. When I went and washed I was able to see.’” (Slight pause.)
Few stories in the New Testament are told as well as the healing of the one born blind. Scenes are smoothly connected; characters unfold before our eyes; above all, crisp dialogue, ironic at almost every point, unveils the satire of someone born blind who comes to see and is enabled to see people who prove themselves blind.
The story is a work of art to be admired. In fact, one commentary I read said the story needs only to be told. One should never preach about it. Why? The story makes its own obvious theological claims.
Well, I like a challenge. So I will try to say something about it. (Slight pause.) Toward the end of this tale the one born blind is cast out of the synagogue, cut off from family, religion, heritage, home.
All anchors, all the things commonly perceived of as linchpins of life are gone. I want to suggest that, while the story makes all that happens sound as if it was inevitable evolution, it is not inevitable evolution. Real life is more scattered than it is inevitable. Let me throw out a concept here. We tend to think that knowledge is binary. Either you know something or you don’t. We see knowledge as a fact or a series of facts. But each of those facts, even in a series, is isolated, separate from other facts.
That leads me to ask ‘what is true knowledge?’ Is knowledge a fact or even a set of facts? Or is it something else? (Slight pause.)
I think knowledge is neither a fact nor is it a series of facts. Rather, true knowledge is an ability to connect facts.
True knowledge connects different aspects of life. True knowledge integrates facts. True knowledge is, therefore, complex, textured, emotionally demanding, random, scattered.
True knowledge is challenging. Or rather true knowledge, real knowledge, deep knowledge— by definition— challenges our ususal way of thinking. That usual way of thinking says knowing facts means we are knowledgeable. I am suggesting what really makes us knowledgeable is integrating facts.
Further, knowledge is not simply about winning or losing, certainly something we hear in many quarters. Knowledge is, therefore, a lot like a life lived, a lot like life. It is something we experience over time— complex, textured, emotionally demanding, random, scattered. (Slight pause.)
That brings me back to Merrily We Roll Along. Yes, we all wish we had 20/20 hindsight. Why? 20/20 hindsight sees things perfectly, or as close to perfect as we might imagine perfect to be.
Of course, that is the final conceit of Merrily, the idea that we might look back with perfect 20/20 hindsight. And we think that if we had 20/20 hindsight, we would have the same vision of the world God has. But real life is a lot more complex, textured, emotionally demanding, random, scattered and imperfect than simply having 20/20 hindsight.
Of course, all this brings me back to the textured story of the one born blind from birth. (Slight pause.) I think this story is an invitation to see the world as God sees the world.
However, counter to the way we think the world works, this story is an invitation to not see things as simply facts, an invitation to not see things isolated from everything else. Please understand everyone in the story except the one born blind sees things, sees the world as an immutable set of facts.
And we tend to see the story that way precisely because, like any story, it looks back. It has 20/20 hindsight. But does God see the world in hindsight or does God see the world with foresight? (Slight pause.)
Well, how does God see the world? Does God see the world from the perspective of one person? Does God see the world from the perspective of one nation? Does God see the world as an immutable set of facts? Does God even see the world in hindsight? (Slight pause.)
My bet is our own way of seeing the world is, by definition, limited. And I want to suggest God sees the world more fully than we do. God does not see facts as isolated, immutable. God does not see the world only in hindsight.
God sees all the aspects of life as connected, integrated, complex, textured. God sees the world as emotionally demanding, challenging. Equally and therefore, God does not see the world as being about winning or losing.
The economy of the world, as God sees it is— I think— a world in which equity, joy, peace, freedom, justice, hope and love reign. The economy of the world, as God sees it is— I think— not a place where distrust and cynicism abound.
This, my friends, is God’s sight, God’s vision, how God sees the world— a world— that world which I’ve just described— in which equity, joy, peace, freedom, justice, hope and love reign. And if anything, I think that is the lesson we need to hear when the story of the one blind from birth is told.
God’s sight invites us to see the world with the eyes of God, see the world not as an immutable fact or set of facts but as a place in which the integrated textures— the integrated textures of equity, joy, peace, freedom, justice, hope and love do reign. Additionally, God invites us to see the world with God’s foresight.
Let us, therefore, commit ourselves to seeing the world as God sees the world. Forgive me for suggesting— God sees with the heart, overwhelming love. 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 mentioned Jason Alexander of Seinfeld fame was in the Sondheim show. He readily admits he could not have foreseen what happened to him. Equally, in the year 2000 the show finally played on London’s West End, the British equivalent of Broadway. And it won their equivalent of the Tony Award for Best Musical. Life takes strange turns. Life is complex, textured, emotionally demanding, random and scattered, imperfect. None of us foresees fully. But we are called to see how God might see— a place in which equity, joy, peace, freedom, justice, hope and love do reign.”
BENEDICTION: There is but one message in Scripture: God loves us. Let us endeavor to let God’s love shine forth in our lives. For with God’s love and goodness there is power to redeem, power to revive, power to renew, power to resurrect. So, may the love of God the creator which is real, the Peace of Christ which surpasses all understanding and the companionship of the Holy Spirit which is ever present, keep our hearts and minds in the knowledge, love and care of God this day and forever more. Amen.
Sunday, March 26, 2017
Sunday, March 19, 2017
SERMON ~ 03/19/2017 ~ “Saved by the Life of....”
03/19/2017 ~ Third Sunday in Lent ~ Exodus 17:1-7; Psalm 95; Romans 5:1-11; John 4:5-42 ~ Morning Service with the Whole Church at Chenango Valley Home.
Saved by the Life of....
“So, if we are reconciled to God through the death of Christ while we were still powerless, how much more certain it is that we who have been reconciled will be saved by the life of Christ.” — Romans 5:10.
The first thing I need to say in my comments this morning is “Thank you.” Thank you to the residents of Chenango Valley Home for welcoming us, the members of the United Church of Christ, First Congregational, into your home. We, in the United Church of Christ, First Congregational, believe those of us who happen to be in a similar geographic location should be thought of as members of the same community.
But there is more to it than that, especially when it comes to sharing worship. We believe that when people worship together each person brings with them their own talents, their prayers, their concerns, their joys, their hopes and their sense of the Spirit— the Holy Spirit— who is both working in each of us and is working in all of us and is working in the greater community.
Hence, because of your presence in worship, because of the presence of any one individual, we, the congregation— all of us— we become a new and different creation by that presence, by your presence, here today. Therefore, we, the congregation, all of us, need to strive to affirm God’s works in each of us to move all of us together toward greater fullness, and indeed, toward greater community. The very name of my church— Congregational— indicates we are about community.
Let’s look at those two words for a moment: congregational and community. (Slight pause.) Hebrew— the language used in the Hebrew Scriptures, the so called “Old Testament”— is an interesting language. In Hebrew nearly every word can mean a lot of things.
In fact, in Hebrew— depending on the context— the same word can be translated many different ways. I always say the meaning of Hebrew words can change before our eyes, right in front of us. Now, in the Hebrew Scriptures the underlying word we translate as both congregation and community is qahal.
However, that’s not where the meaning of this underlying Hebrew word— qahal— ends. This word can mean congregation and community but it can also mean assembly, convocation, army, company— company as in a group of people gathered— multitude, cohort, gathering, group, session, crowd, horde. [1]
There is, however, one implication in all these ways of seeing the word— qahal— which is of extreme importance. And that is all these meanings imply the whole— everyone in a group. No one in the group is left out. The implication is we may be a group but we are one. We may be a group— many— but we are one. (Slight pause.)
We hear these words in Romans: “So, if we are reconciled to God through the death of Christ while we were still powerless, how much more certain it is that we who have been reconciled will be saved by the life of Christ.” (Slight pause.)
When this reading from Romans was introduced it was said this Epistle is considered by many scholars to be the crowning achievement of theological witness in the New Testament. It was also said this section touches on one of the bed rock principles of the Protestant movement: justification by faith.
In fact, one commentary I read says the first sentence of this reading makes a basic statement about justification by faith. But then Paul goes on and on and on about it for next four chapters! Equally, the commentary says what Paul says is very complex, hard to read, hard to understand.
And I don’t think I am saying anything you don’t know when I say this— the Apostle Paul is complex, hard to understand. On the other hand it was also just said earlier, stated earlier this is a great achievement of theological witness. If this achievement is so dense that we can’t understand it, what can we do to help us understand it? (Slight pause.)
I started my comments by addressing community. I want to suggest that, at least in part, justification by faith is about community. You see these words tell us we are (quote:) “...reconciled to God.” Further, these words tell us we are (quote:) “...saved by the life of Christ.”
Put differently, we are one with God because of Christ. Put differently yet again, we are one in community with God because of the life Christ. Put differently yet again, we are one people— one with God— because of the life of Christ.
And, please note, what makes us one is the life of Christ, the living Christ. Indeed, our proclamation as Christians is not just that Christ has died. What makes us Christians, our basic proclamation as Christians, is we say— and we shall say this on Easter morning— Christ is risen, Christ lives!
And because of Christ, because Christ lives, we are called to be in community because in community we are reconciled with God. Because Christ lives we are called to be one people because we are reconciled with God. Because Christ lives we, who are all very different, each one of us, are one people, one community, because we are reconciled with God. (Slight pause.)
All of which is to once again say to the residents here at Chenango Valley Home, “Thank you.” Thank you for welcoming us, the members of the United Church of Christ, First Congregational, into your home.
Thank you for bringing with you your talents, your prayers, your concerns, your joys, your hopes and your sense of the Spirit— the Holy Spirit— who is working in you and is working in the members of the United Church of Christ, First Congregational and working in the greater community. And why do I say that? How can I say that?
I can say that because— rumor to the contrary— the basic message Paul has is easy to understand. That message says Christ is risen, Christ lives. And because Christ lives we are reconciled to God. And because we are reconciled to God we are one. We are community. Amen.
03/19/2017
United Church of Christ, First Congregational
Worship at Chenango Valley Home
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 the Congregational tradition the building in which members of my church meet for worship is not called a church. It is called a meeting house. The reason the building called a meeting house is simple. That’s where we meet for worship. The building is not called a church because the people, the congregation, the community is the church. You are I and all of us together— people— are the church, the congregation.”
BENEDICTION: Let us rest assured that God is among us and travels with us daily. Let us know that God’s Spirit empowers us to do things in the name of God we did not think possible. Therefore, let us share our love for God with others, confident that God will provide if we are faithful. And may we love God so much, that we love nothing else too much. May we be in awe of no one else and nothing else because we are so in awe of God. Amen.
[1] Strong’s: http://biblehub.com/hebrew/6951.htm
Saved by the Life of....
“So, if we are reconciled to God through the death of Christ while we were still powerless, how much more certain it is that we who have been reconciled will be saved by the life of Christ.” — Romans 5:10.
The first thing I need to say in my comments this morning is “Thank you.” Thank you to the residents of Chenango Valley Home for welcoming us, the members of the United Church of Christ, First Congregational, into your home. We, in the United Church of Christ, First Congregational, believe those of us who happen to be in a similar geographic location should be thought of as members of the same community.
But there is more to it than that, especially when it comes to sharing worship. We believe that when people worship together each person brings with them their own talents, their prayers, their concerns, their joys, their hopes and their sense of the Spirit— the Holy Spirit— who is both working in each of us and is working in all of us and is working in the greater community.
Hence, because of your presence in worship, because of the presence of any one individual, we, the congregation— all of us— we become a new and different creation by that presence, by your presence, here today. Therefore, we, the congregation, all of us, need to strive to affirm God’s works in each of us to move all of us together toward greater fullness, and indeed, toward greater community. The very name of my church— Congregational— indicates we are about community.
Let’s look at those two words for a moment: congregational and community. (Slight pause.) Hebrew— the language used in the Hebrew Scriptures, the so called “Old Testament”— is an interesting language. In Hebrew nearly every word can mean a lot of things.
In fact, in Hebrew— depending on the context— the same word can be translated many different ways. I always say the meaning of Hebrew words can change before our eyes, right in front of us. Now, in the Hebrew Scriptures the underlying word we translate as both congregation and community is qahal.
However, that’s not where the meaning of this underlying Hebrew word— qahal— ends. This word can mean congregation and community but it can also mean assembly, convocation, army, company— company as in a group of people gathered— multitude, cohort, gathering, group, session, crowd, horde. [1]
There is, however, one implication in all these ways of seeing the word— qahal— which is of extreme importance. And that is all these meanings imply the whole— everyone in a group. No one in the group is left out. The implication is we may be a group but we are one. We may be a group— many— but we are one. (Slight pause.)
We hear these words in Romans: “So, if we are reconciled to God through the death of Christ while we were still powerless, how much more certain it is that we who have been reconciled will be saved by the life of Christ.” (Slight pause.)
When this reading from Romans was introduced it was said this Epistle is considered by many scholars to be the crowning achievement of theological witness in the New Testament. It was also said this section touches on one of the bed rock principles of the Protestant movement: justification by faith.
In fact, one commentary I read says the first sentence of this reading makes a basic statement about justification by faith. But then Paul goes on and on and on about it for next four chapters! Equally, the commentary says what Paul says is very complex, hard to read, hard to understand.
And I don’t think I am saying anything you don’t know when I say this— the Apostle Paul is complex, hard to understand. On the other hand it was also just said earlier, stated earlier this is a great achievement of theological witness. If this achievement is so dense that we can’t understand it, what can we do to help us understand it? (Slight pause.)
I started my comments by addressing community. I want to suggest that, at least in part, justification by faith is about community. You see these words tell us we are (quote:) “...reconciled to God.” Further, these words tell us we are (quote:) “...saved by the life of Christ.”
Put differently, we are one with God because of Christ. Put differently yet again, we are one in community with God because of the life Christ. Put differently yet again, we are one people— one with God— because of the life of Christ.
And, please note, what makes us one is the life of Christ, the living Christ. Indeed, our proclamation as Christians is not just that Christ has died. What makes us Christians, our basic proclamation as Christians, is we say— and we shall say this on Easter morning— Christ is risen, Christ lives!
And because of Christ, because Christ lives, we are called to be in community because in community we are reconciled with God. Because Christ lives we are called to be one people because we are reconciled with God. Because Christ lives we, who are all very different, each one of us, are one people, one community, because we are reconciled with God. (Slight pause.)
All of which is to once again say to the residents here at Chenango Valley Home, “Thank you.” Thank you for welcoming us, the members of the United Church of Christ, First Congregational, into your home.
Thank you for bringing with you your talents, your prayers, your concerns, your joys, your hopes and your sense of the Spirit— the Holy Spirit— who is working in you and is working in the members of the United Church of Christ, First Congregational and working in the greater community. And why do I say that? How can I say that?
I can say that because— rumor to the contrary— the basic message Paul has is easy to understand. That message says Christ is risen, Christ lives. And because Christ lives we are reconciled to God. And because we are reconciled to God we are one. We are community. Amen.
03/19/2017
United Church of Christ, First Congregational
Worship at Chenango Valley Home
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 the Congregational tradition the building in which members of my church meet for worship is not called a church. It is called a meeting house. The reason the building called a meeting house is simple. That’s where we meet for worship. The building is not called a church because the people, the congregation, the community is the church. You are I and all of us together— people— are the church, the congregation.”
BENEDICTION: Let us rest assured that God is among us and travels with us daily. Let us know that God’s Spirit empowers us to do things in the name of God we did not think possible. Therefore, let us share our love for God with others, confident that God will provide if we are faithful. And may we love God so much, that we love nothing else too much. May we be in awe of no one else and nothing else because we are so in awe of God. Amen.
[1] Strong’s: http://biblehub.com/hebrew/6951.htm
Sunday, March 12, 2017
SERMON ~ 03/12/2017 ~ “Vision”
03/12/2017 ~ Second Sunday in Lent ~ Genesis 12:1-4a; Psalm 121; Romans 4:1-5, 13-17; John 3:1-17 or Matthew 17:1-9.
Vision
“Suddenly the disciples saw Moses and Elijah appear, talking with Jesus.” — Matthew 17:3.
Bangor Seminary was known for training pastors because the school sent many students to small rural churches to be pastors long before they graduated. This, thereby, provided O.J.T.— on the job training. One great piece of practical advice I got when I had just entered Seminary came from a student who was serving a small rural church and was about to graduate.
On any given Sunday night, she said, you may be dog tired. But read the Scriptures for the following Sunday. That way they will percolate all week.
I’ve always tried to do that. I did that last Sunday. They percolated right away. That night a story about an incident which happened when I was a Senior in High School came bubbling out of my subconscious, out of my memory, into my dreams. This is that story. (Slight pause.)
I attended Richmond Hill High School, Queens, New York. We had a club called the Discussion Forum. Somehow, as a Senior, I had the role of vice-chair.
Equally somehow, the group decided to have a Candidates Forum for people running for public office that year. One of the elections that year was for Mayor of New York City.
Equally somehow, someone convinced William F. Buckley, Jr., who was running for mayor, to come and speak at this local event. If you are unfamiliar with Buckley, he is considered one of the founders of the American Conservative movement.
Born to wealth, a graduate of Yale, he first came to public attention with the 1951 book God and Man at Yale. In 1955 he founded the magazine National Review.
From 1966 to 1999 Buckley was the host of the weekly PBS show, Firing Line. Erudite and funny, when asked what he would do if he actually won the race for Mayor, Buckley responded, “Demand a recount.”
Well, the event was held one evening in the school auditorium. That venue seated about 800. Given Buckley was to speak, the auditorium was nearly full.
I don’t remember why, but it fell to me to introduce a local politician who in turn introduced Buckley. I did my job, exited stage right, stood there and listened.
Having finished speaking Buckley glided off stage right where several of his aides waited and where I was standing. They exited into a school hallway. I followed.
A number of people, perhaps several dozen, burst into the hallway from an auditorium exit some twenty yards away. They were shouting Buckley’s name and waving programs, probably seeking autographs.
Knowing I was a student, one of Buckley’s aids turned to me and in a brusk manner asked, “What’s the closest exit to the street.” We were literally feet from an exit. I pointed at it. They pushed through the door. I followed.
The door slammed shut behind us. The same aide turned to me and said, “We parked on 113th street. Where’s that?”
I pointed back toward the door. “On the other side of the building.”
He muttered something unpleasant and tried the door. It was locked.
Buckley seemed calm and unconcerned but this fellow was really agitated. “How do we get to back 113th Street?” he demanded.
“Walk around the block?” I offered. He growled something contentious again.
You see, the school had a fenced in athletic field right next to it with no street access. Walking around the block meant walking two city blocks one way, across another block and two city blocks back.
It was late Spring. It was warm. All of us walked around those blocks together.
No one spoke as we walked. There seemed to be no local traffic, no cars. Around these inner-city streets there were stretches of darkness and circles of light from the street lamps above us.
When we got to the other side of the building Buckley and the others got into a waiting limousine. Off they went. This whole episode seemed quite surreal to me, even then.
I never saw Buckley in person again. John Lindsay won the race for Mayor. Buckley came in third with 13% of the vote.
Now, I did not tie a lot of facts to this story nor do I with great precision remember a lot. These are vague memories from a long time ago. All I really remember is what the experience felt like.
Perhaps that’s why it came to me in a dream. The story is from so long ago that, by definition, it’s about how it felt, not about facts. (Slight pause.)
These words are found in Matthew: “Suddenly the disciples saw Moses and Elijah appear, talking with Jesus.” (Slight pause.)
I want to make a couple points about how the story of the Transfiguration is told. The first point has to do with when the story was written.
Scholars believe Jesus died about the year we would call 30 of the Common Era. Scholars believe Matthew was written about the year 85. That’s 55 years later.
Tell me, what do you remember, in detail, from 55 years ago or even 10 years ago? If you remember anything, you probably simply have a sense of what happened.
The story about my Senior Year in High school happened in 1965. That’s 52 years ago. As I indicated, what I said about that incident— those are simply vague memories.
I did not tie a lot of facts to the story. I, for instance and these many years later, have no idea how to answer the following questions.
‘How did a school club get permission to run this kind of event at a Public High School?’ ‘How did we get a well known figure like Bill Buckley to come?’ ‘I was only the vice-chair of the Discussion Forum, not the chair. Why was I designated to introduce the person who introduced Buckley?’
You think I’d remember important details like that, would you not? But what I really remember is what the experience felt like, how surreal it seemed. (Slight pause.)
So, is the story of the Transfiguration about factual data? Or is the story about something else? (Slight pause.)
Having asked that, there are several general statement to make about the New Testament, things we all already know. These are also things to which most of us pay no attention whatsoever. (Slight pause.)
Here we go: the Gospels are stories about Jesus. Jesus was Jewish. The Gospel stories were written by people who were Jewish, about people who were Jewish and meant to communicate with people who were Jewish. Further, the Gospel stories were written in light of and influenced by the Hebrew Scriptures.
You see, the people for whom these Gospel stories were written knew the Hebrew Scriptures inside out and backwards. It was a common point of reference for them.
Indeed, when these stories were written, the work we call the Hebrew Scriptures was the only Bible. It was the Bible for Jesus. It was the Bible Jesus read. (Slight pause.)
That brings me back to these words from Matthew: “...the disciples saw Moses and Elijah....” So, why are the disciples pictured as seeing Moses and Elijah? (Slight pause.)
One answer to that question is Moses and Elijah represent the Law and the Prophets. Another is, according to the Hebrew Scriptures, both Moses and Elijah, themselves, had experiences of the real presence of God. The fancy word for that is a theophany.
This is clearly a story about the real presence of God, a theophany. So for a Jewish audience it would have sounded strange if Moses and Elijah were not there and yet there was a theophany.
Additionally, when we read Scripture we tend to read it with contemporary, modern eyes. Therefore, we ask Twenty-first Century questions of Scripture, like ‘Did this happen?’
That’s an odd question on two counts. First, the story is not trying to tell us what happened. ‘Did it happen’ is a moot point since that’s not what the author is writing about. Second, this is— probably— a story about feeling, a story that expressed something about an experience of the real presence of God, a theophany.
There is one more connection here that is clearly Jewish. In the context of Matthew, this story happens shortly after Jesus asks, ‘Who do you say I am?’ Peter responds Jesus is the Christ. The Christ— that’s the Jewish Messiah.
All this comes back to understanding the Transfiguration the way people who first heard and read this story, the Jewish people, might have understood it. If you have the Law, the Prophets and the Messiah together this means one thing: the Realm of God is with us. And what is a continual message of Jesus? That the Realm of God is near. (Slight pause.)
I want to suggest if this story says the Realm of God is with us, here, now, perhaps the real challenge posed by the story to early Christians and, therefore, posed to us is simple. What are we to do to participate in the Realm of God?
Put another way, this story is not about a vision of Christ. This story is about a vision of God for our world. And this vision is a message to us about the Realm of God. This vision is a call to participate to help make our world a place where we endeavor bring God’s vision for the world to fruition.
And Scripture tells us what God’s vision of the world is and what God’s vision for the world looks like. God’s vision of the world and for the world is one in which, with the help of God, we eliminate poverty. God’s vision for the world is one in which, with the help of God, we eradicate inequity. God’s vision for the world is one in which, with the help of God, we extinguish injustice.
Last, I think this story means we are all called to be in right relationship with God. What is a right relationship with God? What can we do to be in a right relationship with God?
You’ve heard me say this hundreds of times. Love God; love neighbor. According to Jesus those words— love God; love neighbor— sum up the Law and the Prophets. [1] And those words are God’s vision for the world. Amen.
03/12/2017
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, NY
ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Choral Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “If the modern world proves anything to us it probably says there are many ways of seeing reality. I want to suggest that the one way of seeing reality I don’t think we’ve tried too often is God’s reality for the world, a reality of justice, peace, freedom, hope and trust which needs to reside among all humanity.”
BENEDICTION: God’s love will surround us even when we do not ask for it. God’s voice speaks to us. Let us be attentive to it. Let us share this with others, confident that God will be with us. 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.
[1] It should be noted that (although not directly stated in this sermon) Jesus reiterates that the Law and the Prophets are summed up with love God, love neighbor in the next chapter of Matthew, suggesting a continued flow among these stories and these chapters.
Vision
“Suddenly the disciples saw Moses and Elijah appear, talking with Jesus.” — Matthew 17:3.
Bangor Seminary was known for training pastors because the school sent many students to small rural churches to be pastors long before they graduated. This, thereby, provided O.J.T.— on the job training. One great piece of practical advice I got when I had just entered Seminary came from a student who was serving a small rural church and was about to graduate.
On any given Sunday night, she said, you may be dog tired. But read the Scriptures for the following Sunday. That way they will percolate all week.
I’ve always tried to do that. I did that last Sunday. They percolated right away. That night a story about an incident which happened when I was a Senior in High School came bubbling out of my subconscious, out of my memory, into my dreams. This is that story. (Slight pause.)
I attended Richmond Hill High School, Queens, New York. We had a club called the Discussion Forum. Somehow, as a Senior, I had the role of vice-chair.
Equally somehow, the group decided to have a Candidates Forum for people running for public office that year. One of the elections that year was for Mayor of New York City.
Equally somehow, someone convinced William F. Buckley, Jr., who was running for mayor, to come and speak at this local event. If you are unfamiliar with Buckley, he is considered one of the founders of the American Conservative movement.
Born to wealth, a graduate of Yale, he first came to public attention with the 1951 book God and Man at Yale. In 1955 he founded the magazine National Review.
From 1966 to 1999 Buckley was the host of the weekly PBS show, Firing Line. Erudite and funny, when asked what he would do if he actually won the race for Mayor, Buckley responded, “Demand a recount.”
Well, the event was held one evening in the school auditorium. That venue seated about 800. Given Buckley was to speak, the auditorium was nearly full.
I don’t remember why, but it fell to me to introduce a local politician who in turn introduced Buckley. I did my job, exited stage right, stood there and listened.
Having finished speaking Buckley glided off stage right where several of his aides waited and where I was standing. They exited into a school hallway. I followed.
A number of people, perhaps several dozen, burst into the hallway from an auditorium exit some twenty yards away. They were shouting Buckley’s name and waving programs, probably seeking autographs.
Knowing I was a student, one of Buckley’s aids turned to me and in a brusk manner asked, “What’s the closest exit to the street.” We were literally feet from an exit. I pointed at it. They pushed through the door. I followed.
The door slammed shut behind us. The same aide turned to me and said, “We parked on 113th street. Where’s that?”
I pointed back toward the door. “On the other side of the building.”
He muttered something unpleasant and tried the door. It was locked.
Buckley seemed calm and unconcerned but this fellow was really agitated. “How do we get to back 113th Street?” he demanded.
“Walk around the block?” I offered. He growled something contentious again.
You see, the school had a fenced in athletic field right next to it with no street access. Walking around the block meant walking two city blocks one way, across another block and two city blocks back.
It was late Spring. It was warm. All of us walked around those blocks together.
No one spoke as we walked. There seemed to be no local traffic, no cars. Around these inner-city streets there were stretches of darkness and circles of light from the street lamps above us.
When we got to the other side of the building Buckley and the others got into a waiting limousine. Off they went. This whole episode seemed quite surreal to me, even then.
I never saw Buckley in person again. John Lindsay won the race for Mayor. Buckley came in third with 13% of the vote.
Now, I did not tie a lot of facts to this story nor do I with great precision remember a lot. These are vague memories from a long time ago. All I really remember is what the experience felt like.
Perhaps that’s why it came to me in a dream. The story is from so long ago that, by definition, it’s about how it felt, not about facts. (Slight pause.)
These words are found in Matthew: “Suddenly the disciples saw Moses and Elijah appear, talking with Jesus.” (Slight pause.)
I want to make a couple points about how the story of the Transfiguration is told. The first point has to do with when the story was written.
Scholars believe Jesus died about the year we would call 30 of the Common Era. Scholars believe Matthew was written about the year 85. That’s 55 years later.
Tell me, what do you remember, in detail, from 55 years ago or even 10 years ago? If you remember anything, you probably simply have a sense of what happened.
The story about my Senior Year in High school happened in 1965. That’s 52 years ago. As I indicated, what I said about that incident— those are simply vague memories.
I did not tie a lot of facts to the story. I, for instance and these many years later, have no idea how to answer the following questions.
‘How did a school club get permission to run this kind of event at a Public High School?’ ‘How did we get a well known figure like Bill Buckley to come?’ ‘I was only the vice-chair of the Discussion Forum, not the chair. Why was I designated to introduce the person who introduced Buckley?’
You think I’d remember important details like that, would you not? But what I really remember is what the experience felt like, how surreal it seemed. (Slight pause.)
So, is the story of the Transfiguration about factual data? Or is the story about something else? (Slight pause.)
Having asked that, there are several general statement to make about the New Testament, things we all already know. These are also things to which most of us pay no attention whatsoever. (Slight pause.)
Here we go: the Gospels are stories about Jesus. Jesus was Jewish. The Gospel stories were written by people who were Jewish, about people who were Jewish and meant to communicate with people who were Jewish. Further, the Gospel stories were written in light of and influenced by the Hebrew Scriptures.
You see, the people for whom these Gospel stories were written knew the Hebrew Scriptures inside out and backwards. It was a common point of reference for them.
Indeed, when these stories were written, the work we call the Hebrew Scriptures was the only Bible. It was the Bible for Jesus. It was the Bible Jesus read. (Slight pause.)
That brings me back to these words from Matthew: “...the disciples saw Moses and Elijah....” So, why are the disciples pictured as seeing Moses and Elijah? (Slight pause.)
One answer to that question is Moses and Elijah represent the Law and the Prophets. Another is, according to the Hebrew Scriptures, both Moses and Elijah, themselves, had experiences of the real presence of God. The fancy word for that is a theophany.
This is clearly a story about the real presence of God, a theophany. So for a Jewish audience it would have sounded strange if Moses and Elijah were not there and yet there was a theophany.
Additionally, when we read Scripture we tend to read it with contemporary, modern eyes. Therefore, we ask Twenty-first Century questions of Scripture, like ‘Did this happen?’
That’s an odd question on two counts. First, the story is not trying to tell us what happened. ‘Did it happen’ is a moot point since that’s not what the author is writing about. Second, this is— probably— a story about feeling, a story that expressed something about an experience of the real presence of God, a theophany.
There is one more connection here that is clearly Jewish. In the context of Matthew, this story happens shortly after Jesus asks, ‘Who do you say I am?’ Peter responds Jesus is the Christ. The Christ— that’s the Jewish Messiah.
All this comes back to understanding the Transfiguration the way people who first heard and read this story, the Jewish people, might have understood it. If you have the Law, the Prophets and the Messiah together this means one thing: the Realm of God is with us. And what is a continual message of Jesus? That the Realm of God is near. (Slight pause.)
I want to suggest if this story says the Realm of God is with us, here, now, perhaps the real challenge posed by the story to early Christians and, therefore, posed to us is simple. What are we to do to participate in the Realm of God?
Put another way, this story is not about a vision of Christ. This story is about a vision of God for our world. And this vision is a message to us about the Realm of God. This vision is a call to participate to help make our world a place where we endeavor bring God’s vision for the world to fruition.
And Scripture tells us what God’s vision of the world is and what God’s vision for the world looks like. God’s vision of the world and for the world is one in which, with the help of God, we eliminate poverty. God’s vision for the world is one in which, with the help of God, we eradicate inequity. God’s vision for the world is one in which, with the help of God, we extinguish injustice.
Last, I think this story means we are all called to be in right relationship with God. What is a right relationship with God? What can we do to be in a right relationship with God?
You’ve heard me say this hundreds of times. Love God; love neighbor. According to Jesus those words— love God; love neighbor— sum up the Law and the Prophets. [1] And those words are God’s vision for the world. Amen.
03/12/2017
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, NY
ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Choral Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “If the modern world proves anything to us it probably says there are many ways of seeing reality. I want to suggest that the one way of seeing reality I don’t think we’ve tried too often is God’s reality for the world, a reality of justice, peace, freedom, hope and trust which needs to reside among all humanity.”
BENEDICTION: God’s love will surround us even when we do not ask for it. God’s voice speaks to us. Let us be attentive to it. Let us share this with others, confident that God will be with us. 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.
[1] It should be noted that (although not directly stated in this sermon) Jesus reiterates that the Law and the Prophets are summed up with love God, love neighbor in the next chapter of Matthew, suggesting a continued flow among these stories and these chapters.
Sunday, March 5, 2017
SERMON ~ 03/05/2017 ~ “Broken?”
03/05/2017 ~ First Sunday in Lent ~ Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7; Psalm 32; Romans 5:12-19; Matthew 4:1-11 ~ Communion Sunday ~ Note: Lent Communion Used.
Broken?
“To sum this up, then: just as a single trespass, a single offense, brought condemnation to all, a single righteous act brought to all acquittal and, therefore, brought to all life.” — Romans 5:18.
Well, as you heard earlier, it is the Season of Lent. Now, many of you know I grew up in the Roman Catholic tradition.
Perhaps as a consequence of that when I was young the changing seasons of the church were quite familiar to me, especially this season— Lent. I think Lent is fixed in my memory because of the traditional Roman practices throughout Lent.
In the Roman Church there are two common practices in which one engages— the discipline of fast and the discipline of abstinence. For those unfamiliar with these terms, abstinence means one abstains from eating meat, does not eat meat at specific times. Fish yes, meat no— and if you sell seafood that sounds good; if you’re a butcher, not so much.
Fasting, on the other hand, is what is sounds like. One does not eat. But fasting, in the ways employed in the Lent tradition, does not mean one fails to eat anything. It does mean one strives to limit the amount one eats.
Fasting as a practice during Lent usually consists of consuming two smaller meals— probably breakfast and lunch. Then you get to have a regular third meal in the evening. You also have the option of switching it around and eating a large meal at mid-day, just so long as you ease off in the evening.
However— and this is, I think, where the practice of fasting might have a large impact on your personal habits— this particular discipline of fasting means one should consume nothing between meals— no snacks, no candy. This, of course, is said by the pastor whose church always has a jar of candy sitting in the office tempting anyone, even during Lent.
Now, as I indicated, Lent was distinctive for me when I was young. One reason for that might be the rules recommended now are not quite the same rules recommended when I was young. They changed in 1966.
In our time the prescribed days on which the rules say one should both fast and abstain are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday— that’s really it. The rules also say one should practice abstinence every Friday during Lent.
When I was a child the rules were more— I guess the word I’d use here is stringent— the rules were more stringent. One was expected to fast for all of Lent, excluding Sundays. Sundays were and are considered feast days, holy days, therefore days on which fasting and abstinence were and are not required. Back then— and not many people know this because the rule was widely ignored— one was supposed to abstain from meat not just on Friday but on Saturday also. [1]
That brings me to the topic of rule breaking. Rule breaking is sometimes done with permission and sometimes done without permission.
After all, so many people simply ignored the Saturday abstinence rule back then that most people did not even know it existed— an example of rule breaking without permission. But there is one major example of rule breaking done with permission during Lent.
This rule breaking with permission was done especially by those of us who did not just grow up Catholic but grew up Catholic and Irish and not just those of us who grew up not just Catholic and Irish but grew up Catholic and Irish and lived in New York City. I’m an Irish Catholic New Yorker. That makes me a triple threat.
This rule breaking with permission was done by all Irish Catholic New Yorkers. And the rule breaking done with permission is called Saint Patrick’s Day.
You see, falling as it does on March 17th, there is no way Saint Patrick’s Day ever falls outside of Lent. And observing a fast on Saint Patrick’s Day is hard enough.
But what do you do if Saint Patrick’s Day happens to fall on a Friday when you’re supposed to abstain from meat also? Do you bless some fish and eat it and hope it’s going to taste like Corned Beef? Faith and begorra, no!
That’s where the good Bishops of New York City came into play. On Saint Patrick’s Day they offered a dispensation from the rules. Therefore, no good Irish Catholic New Yorker ever had to observe any of these rules on Saint Patrick’s Day no matter which day of the week it was because the Bishops suspended the rules for the day.
Of course, no good Irish Catholic New Yorker would have ever observed these rules on Saint Patrick’s Day anyway, no matter what any Bishop said. And that’s probably the real reason the Bishops offered a dispensation in the first place. (Slight pause.)
We hear these words in the work know as Romans: “To sum this up, then: just as a single trespass, a single offense, brought condemnation to all, a single righteous act brought to all acquittal and, therefore, brought to all life.” (Slight pause.)
Maren Tirabassi is a United Church of Christ pastor and a well known poet. She occasionally posts poems of other poets on her web site. This poem posted by Maren is by Katherine Burgess. The poem is described as an evening prayer and described as a prayer for Lent and it is based on the Beatitudes. (Slight pause.)
“I bless the emptiness in our hearts, / Because that leaves a space for God to enter in. / I bless the things in us that touch other people gently, / Because gentleness is the way to reach another.”
“I bless the sadness that sometimes overwhelms us, / Because that will lead others to comfort us. / I bless our yearning for the truth, / Because it can be satisfied in Jesus, the Christ.”
“I bless the mercy and forgiveness that we show others, / Because it reflects God’s mercy and forgiveness / That is extended to us every single day. / I bless the childlike purity in all of our hearts, / For we must become like little children / To see the face of God.”
“I bless you when you are a peacemaker / And grant you God’s peace which passes all understanding. / I bless you in a time of persecution, / For Jesus was... persecuted. / And you will be with Jesus in the dominion of heaven.”
“I bless us with a good sleep / And a peaceful rest / So that tomorrow / We can continue / With God’s work. / Amen.” [2] (Slight pause.)
When the reading from Romans was introduced it was said the writings of Paul can be quite convoluted and that Paul addresses sin, death, the law, the Christ— all in several sentences. I think a key to understanding both Paul and the Letter to the Church in Rome is this simple message: Christ overcomes and even overwhelms the law. Christ overcomes and even overwhelms the rules. Christ overcomes and even overwhelms legalism.
A good Irish Catholic New Yorker would put this way: Christ is our dispensation. Put in a more traditional, simple way, Jesus loves us. And what does the law, any law, any rule, any fast, any abstinence, have to do with the law called love? (Slight pause.)
That thought brings me back to the final words of the poem by Katherine Burgess. “I bless us with a good sleep / And a peaceful rest / So that tomorrow / We can continue / With God’s work.” (Slight pause.)
You see Lent is not about giving anything up. Lent is not about staying within the rules. Lent is not about the law.
Lent is about living out from the law. Lent is about tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow after that continuing with God’s work, doing God’s work.
Lent, you see, is not about sacrifice of any kind and not about broken-ness of any kind. We may not be perfect but we are not broken. Christ fixed everything that needed to be fixed so we are not broken. We are all in working order. And the work we need to be about is the work of God.
And what is the work of God? These words and ideas are also from the poem by Katherine Burgess and very much address what we need to do, the work we need to do, in the Season of Lent.
Leave a space for God to enter in. Be gentle. Have a yearning for the truth. Show others mercy and forgiveness.
Seek and see the face of God. Make peace, because the peace of God does pass all understanding. (Slight pause.)
Everything in that list addresses the work of God. And nothing in that list is about rules.
This is about living out from the law, living out from the rules. And that is, perhaps, both the real work and the real challenge of Lent: doing the work of God by living out from the law. 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: “A clergy colleague recently said if you really, really, really want to give something up for Lent you can. Give up racism, homophobia, fear, sexism, pride, greed, worry, doubt, violence of all kinds— my friends list went on and on. Yes, there is a lot we can give up, from which we might and should abstain. But let’s think about and concentrate on what we can do because I think there is a lot we can do.”
BENEDICTION: Let us learn as faithful disciples of Christ. Let us know that God is available to us at any time and in any place. Let us give thanks for the grace of God in Christ, Jesus. Let us trust in God for all time and for all eternity. 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.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lent
[2] For the purpose of this manuscript I broke these words into paragraphs. There are no paragraphs in the original poem. There are only line breaks which are shown.
https://giftsinopenhands.wordpress.com/2017/02/28/evening-prayer-for-lent/
Broken?
“To sum this up, then: just as a single trespass, a single offense, brought condemnation to all, a single righteous act brought to all acquittal and, therefore, brought to all life.” — Romans 5:18.
Well, as you heard earlier, it is the Season of Lent. Now, many of you know I grew up in the Roman Catholic tradition.
Perhaps as a consequence of that when I was young the changing seasons of the church were quite familiar to me, especially this season— Lent. I think Lent is fixed in my memory because of the traditional Roman practices throughout Lent.
In the Roman Church there are two common practices in which one engages— the discipline of fast and the discipline of abstinence. For those unfamiliar with these terms, abstinence means one abstains from eating meat, does not eat meat at specific times. Fish yes, meat no— and if you sell seafood that sounds good; if you’re a butcher, not so much.
Fasting, on the other hand, is what is sounds like. One does not eat. But fasting, in the ways employed in the Lent tradition, does not mean one fails to eat anything. It does mean one strives to limit the amount one eats.
Fasting as a practice during Lent usually consists of consuming two smaller meals— probably breakfast and lunch. Then you get to have a regular third meal in the evening. You also have the option of switching it around and eating a large meal at mid-day, just so long as you ease off in the evening.
However— and this is, I think, where the practice of fasting might have a large impact on your personal habits— this particular discipline of fasting means one should consume nothing between meals— no snacks, no candy. This, of course, is said by the pastor whose church always has a jar of candy sitting in the office tempting anyone, even during Lent.
Now, as I indicated, Lent was distinctive for me when I was young. One reason for that might be the rules recommended now are not quite the same rules recommended when I was young. They changed in 1966.
In our time the prescribed days on which the rules say one should both fast and abstain are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday— that’s really it. The rules also say one should practice abstinence every Friday during Lent.
When I was a child the rules were more— I guess the word I’d use here is stringent— the rules were more stringent. One was expected to fast for all of Lent, excluding Sundays. Sundays were and are considered feast days, holy days, therefore days on which fasting and abstinence were and are not required. Back then— and not many people know this because the rule was widely ignored— one was supposed to abstain from meat not just on Friday but on Saturday also. [1]
That brings me to the topic of rule breaking. Rule breaking is sometimes done with permission and sometimes done without permission.
After all, so many people simply ignored the Saturday abstinence rule back then that most people did not even know it existed— an example of rule breaking without permission. But there is one major example of rule breaking done with permission during Lent.
This rule breaking with permission was done especially by those of us who did not just grow up Catholic but grew up Catholic and Irish and not just those of us who grew up not just Catholic and Irish but grew up Catholic and Irish and lived in New York City. I’m an Irish Catholic New Yorker. That makes me a triple threat.
This rule breaking with permission was done by all Irish Catholic New Yorkers. And the rule breaking done with permission is called Saint Patrick’s Day.
You see, falling as it does on March 17th, there is no way Saint Patrick’s Day ever falls outside of Lent. And observing a fast on Saint Patrick’s Day is hard enough.
But what do you do if Saint Patrick’s Day happens to fall on a Friday when you’re supposed to abstain from meat also? Do you bless some fish and eat it and hope it’s going to taste like Corned Beef? Faith and begorra, no!
That’s where the good Bishops of New York City came into play. On Saint Patrick’s Day they offered a dispensation from the rules. Therefore, no good Irish Catholic New Yorker ever had to observe any of these rules on Saint Patrick’s Day no matter which day of the week it was because the Bishops suspended the rules for the day.
Of course, no good Irish Catholic New Yorker would have ever observed these rules on Saint Patrick’s Day anyway, no matter what any Bishop said. And that’s probably the real reason the Bishops offered a dispensation in the first place. (Slight pause.)
We hear these words in the work know as Romans: “To sum this up, then: just as a single trespass, a single offense, brought condemnation to all, a single righteous act brought to all acquittal and, therefore, brought to all life.” (Slight pause.)
Maren Tirabassi is a United Church of Christ pastor and a well known poet. She occasionally posts poems of other poets on her web site. This poem posted by Maren is by Katherine Burgess. The poem is described as an evening prayer and described as a prayer for Lent and it is based on the Beatitudes. (Slight pause.)
“I bless the emptiness in our hearts, / Because that leaves a space for God to enter in. / I bless the things in us that touch other people gently, / Because gentleness is the way to reach another.”
“I bless the sadness that sometimes overwhelms us, / Because that will lead others to comfort us. / I bless our yearning for the truth, / Because it can be satisfied in Jesus, the Christ.”
“I bless the mercy and forgiveness that we show others, / Because it reflects God’s mercy and forgiveness / That is extended to us every single day. / I bless the childlike purity in all of our hearts, / For we must become like little children / To see the face of God.”
“I bless you when you are a peacemaker / And grant you God’s peace which passes all understanding. / I bless you in a time of persecution, / For Jesus was... persecuted. / And you will be with Jesus in the dominion of heaven.”
“I bless us with a good sleep / And a peaceful rest / So that tomorrow / We can continue / With God’s work. / Amen.” [2] (Slight pause.)
When the reading from Romans was introduced it was said the writings of Paul can be quite convoluted and that Paul addresses sin, death, the law, the Christ— all in several sentences. I think a key to understanding both Paul and the Letter to the Church in Rome is this simple message: Christ overcomes and even overwhelms the law. Christ overcomes and even overwhelms the rules. Christ overcomes and even overwhelms legalism.
A good Irish Catholic New Yorker would put this way: Christ is our dispensation. Put in a more traditional, simple way, Jesus loves us. And what does the law, any law, any rule, any fast, any abstinence, have to do with the law called love? (Slight pause.)
That thought brings me back to the final words of the poem by Katherine Burgess. “I bless us with a good sleep / And a peaceful rest / So that tomorrow / We can continue / With God’s work.” (Slight pause.)
You see Lent is not about giving anything up. Lent is not about staying within the rules. Lent is not about the law.
Lent is about living out from the law. Lent is about tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow after that continuing with God’s work, doing God’s work.
Lent, you see, is not about sacrifice of any kind and not about broken-ness of any kind. We may not be perfect but we are not broken. Christ fixed everything that needed to be fixed so we are not broken. We are all in working order. And the work we need to be about is the work of God.
And what is the work of God? These words and ideas are also from the poem by Katherine Burgess and very much address what we need to do, the work we need to do, in the Season of Lent.
Leave a space for God to enter in. Be gentle. Have a yearning for the truth. Show others mercy and forgiveness.
Seek and see the face of God. Make peace, because the peace of God does pass all understanding. (Slight pause.)
Everything in that list addresses the work of God. And nothing in that list is about rules.
This is about living out from the law, living out from the rules. And that is, perhaps, both the real work and the real challenge of Lent: doing the work of God by living out from the law. 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: “A clergy colleague recently said if you really, really, really want to give something up for Lent you can. Give up racism, homophobia, fear, sexism, pride, greed, worry, doubt, violence of all kinds— my friends list went on and on. Yes, there is a lot we can give up, from which we might and should abstain. But let’s think about and concentrate on what we can do because I think there is a lot we can do.”
BENEDICTION: Let us learn as faithful disciples of Christ. Let us know that God is available to us at any time and in any place. Let us give thanks for the grace of God in Christ, Jesus. Let us trust in God for all time and for all eternity. 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.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lent
[2] For the purpose of this manuscript I broke these words into paragraphs. There are no paragraphs in the original poem. There are only line breaks which are shown.
https://giftsinopenhands.wordpress.com/2017/02/28/evening-prayer-for-lent/
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