05/28/2017 ~ Seventh Sunday of Easter (If Ascension not observed here) ~ *Acts 1:6-14; Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35; 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11; John 17:1-11 ~ Note: Ascension Readings: *Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 47 or Psalm 93; Ephesians 1:15-23; Luke 24:44-53 ~ Memorial Day Weekend on the Secular Calendar.
It’s Complicated
“All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as the sisters and brothers of Jesus.” — Acts 1:14.
I want to start with an obvious question: what is family? Notice, I did not ask ‘who are your blood relatives?’ I asked ‘what is family?’ (Slight pause.)
A couple of weeks ago Bonnie and I drove to Connecticut— five hours each way— to go to a memorial service. The service and the reception after it lasted at best three hours. Was this service for a blood relative? No. Not even close.
Was this person a significant part of our lives? Yes. Therefore, no matter what blood lines might say, was she family? Yes she was— family however you want to put that— family, extended family, whatever. As a common saying goes these days— especially when it comes to relationships— it’s complicated. (Slight pause.)
I have on occasion mentioned my late cousin Roseanna Genevieve McCool. Rose, as I just indicated, was true family, a blood relative— a cousin. Rose was the daughter of my paternal grandfather’s sister.
Roses’s mother died young and for many years Rose and her father lived in an apartment in the same house where my paternal grandfather and his wife lived. It was, in fact, a house my grandparents owned. Rose and her father rented the upstairs apartment.
When I was very young both Rose’s father and my grandfather’s wife died. One consequence of that was, instead of being simply a cousin, Rose became much more of a grandmother figure in my family life, in the structure of my family, for me.
Was Rose a grandmother, my grandmother? No. Was she a grandmother figure? Yes. So, even within the context of blood relations, things can be... complicated. (Slight pause.)
One more family story: Bonnie and I have a niece, Heather, who lives in Dallas. In early July she and her five year old son, Henry, will be visiting her Dad, Bonnie’s brother Jack, in Deer Isle, Maine. Since we have not seen Heather and Henry in two years and Maine is a lot closer than Dallas, Bonnie and I will be traveling to Maine to join in on the visit. (Slight pause.)
Except everything I just said about how Heather and Henry are related to us is wrong. Well, it is, in one sense, not wrong. But it is certainly... inaccurate.
How so? Heather is the daughter of Jack’s first wife, Susan. But she is not Jack’s daughter. They, we, are not related by blood. Even though Heather is not related to Jack, after Susan and Jack got a divorce, Jack had custody of Heather.
Heather calls Jack “Dad.” And she addresses her biological father not with any term of endearment like Dad. Heather addresses her biological father by his first name. (Slight pause.)
So, what is family— really? It is complicated, is it not? (Slight pause.) And even though it is complicated, we experience it, we live with the reality of it, we know the complexity of it, do we not? As I said— family— it’s... complicated. (Slight pause.)
We find these words in the work known as Luke/Acts in the section commonly referred to as Acts: “All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as the sisters and brothers of Jesus.” (Slight pause.)
Over time it has become evident to me people are often not comfortable with what Scripture really says, its reality, its complexity. Scripture... it’s complicated.
I think in part because of that complexity we tend to make up things about Scripture. And the things we make up often simplify what Scripture actually says.
For instance— as I have said many times— there are two Nativity stories, stories of the birth of Jesus, in the four Gospels— one in Luke with angels and shepherds and one in Matthew with a star and Magi. These are two stories written at two different times, by at least two different authors, addressed to two different audiences.
These stories exist not to report on the birth of Jesus but to make theological points about the Messiah. And what do we do with them? We mesh them together as if they were one. We simplify their complexity. After all, how many Christmas pageants have you seen with these stories told as if they were one?
But they are not in any way unified. Clearly one of many theological points Luke tries to make is the birth of the Messiah should be announced, proclaimed to the poor, the outcast.
Clearly one of many theological points Matthew tries to make is to tie the story of the Messiah to Jewish heritage, the Exodus. And in simplifying these two stories, in meshing them together, we miss the theological points. We flatten out the theological points they make. We make it theologically bland. We also make the stories culturally acceptable while blithely ignoring their theological thrust.
And, as I am sure you know, there are only two nativity stories in the four Gospels. Hence, two Gospels totally ignore the birth of the Messiah.
Why would two Gospels dismiss the nativity of the Messiah so completely, especially when our culture makes those stories so central? I would suggest those two Gospels discount the birth stories for two reasons.
First, those two Gospels have their own theological points to make and can make those points without considering the birth of the Messiah. Second, the nativity stories we do have are not at all about the actual birth of the Messiah, except from the theological perspective.
Indeed, the nativity stories are there to make specific theological points. But those points have nothing to do with angels or shepherds or stars or Magi. Like I said— it’s complicated. (Slight pause.)
So, did you notice in the story from Acts Jesus has sisters and brothers? And that’s not just one sister and one brother. That’s sisters and brothers— plural. And have you noticed our culture pretty much obliterates that little detail? Indeed, from other passages in Scripture it’s clear the Apostle James is plainly and unambiguously labeled a brother, meaning a blood relative, of Jesus.
So, Jesus had sisters and brothers. Or at least that’s what it says. To reiterate, from what I’ve heard I am fairly certain— folk religion, populist religion, popular culture, is in large denial about Jesus having had any brothers, any sisters. (Slight pause.)
Now, here’s yet a different question: ‘given what I said earlier, are these people labeled as sisters and brothers actually sisters and brothers? Or are they some kind of extended family? (Slight pause.)
Not long after I came to Norwich to be the pastor at this church a parishioner asked me why I was so passionate about Scripture. This is the answer I gave. As I read what Scripture has to say, the people are real for me, alive for me. The situations are real, alive for me.
The way I see it, the people and the situations we find in Scripture are complicated. Therefore, the people and the situations seem real to me.
And then, there is the theology. What are these people, real people, these situations, real situations, trying to tell me, trying to tell us about the reality of God. (Slight pause.) I would suggest the reality of God— theological reality or any other kind of reality— the reality of God is just like our own every day reality, just like all reality. It’s complicated. (Slight pause.)
Or is it? My own perception is we make the reality of God more complicated than it actually is. How? We overlay the reality of God with cultural trappings, imposed culturally acceptable falsehoods, which have little or nothing to do with God’s truth. (Slight pause.)
That brings me back to the question: ‘what is family— really?’ Family— family is who you share your life with, who you share your love with.
And what is God’s truth? God’s truth is we are all part of God’s family. And that is not complicated. As I have said here many times over, God loves us and wants to covenant with us. That’s God’s truth.
So, God’s truth is we are all children of God. We are all a part of the family of God. And that, my friends, is as complicated or as simple as you make it out to be. So, is the love of God, as that loves is reflected in each of us, complicated? Your call. Amen.
05/28/2017
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 great American composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim wrote this lyric: ‘Anyone can whistle, / That’s what they say— / Easy. / Anyone can whistle / Any old day— Easy. / It’s all so simple: / Relax, let go, let fly. / So someone tell me why / Can’t I? / I can dance a tango, / I can read Greek— / Easy. / I can slay a dragon / Any old week— Easy. / What’s hard is simple. / What’s natural comes hard. / Maybe you could show me / How to let go, / Lower my guard, / Learn to be... free. / Maybe if you whistle, / Whistle for me.’ Sometimes, especially when it comes to covenant love, we need to Relax, let go, let fly.”
BENEDICTION: God promises to empower our witness. The Holy Spirit is present to us. Jesus, the Christ, lives among us. Let us go from this worship to continue our worship with work and witness. And may the peace of Christ, which surpasses our understanding keep our hearts, minds and spirits centered on God, this day and forevermore. Amen.
Sunday, May 28, 2017
Sunday, May 14, 2017
SERMON ~ 05/14/2017 ~ “God Among Us Now”
05/14/2017 ~ Fifth Sunday of Easter ~ *Acts 7:55-60; Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16; 1 Peter 2:2-10; John 14:1-14 ~ Mother’s Day on the Secular Calendar or the Festival of the Christian Home on the Church Calendar ~ The Sacrament of Baptism; the Rite of Confirmation.
God Among Us Now
As you know, earlier we had a celebration of Baptism. Baptism is a sacrament, a sacrament being an outward and visible sign of the grace of God. But there are a number of ways to look at Baptism. Let me elaborate.
For instance, it can be said in and with and by Baptism we welcome someone into a community of faith, a local church. It can said in and with and by Baptism we welcome someone into not just the local community of faith but the greater Christian community. It can be said in and with and by Baptism we welcome someone as a child of God.
But equally, it can be said Baptism is simply an acknowledgment on our part the newly Baptized is already a member of the local community of faith, already a member of the greater community, already a child of God. Put differently, nothing we do— no act of ours— makes a person a member of the local or greater community of faith or a child of God. Nothing we do imposes, dispenses, administers or inflicts some kind magic on an individual which in some way alters them.
To be clear, this claim is not to say the very ritual, the very act, the very actions we take, the celebration of the sacrament of Baptism— in and of itself— fails to be significant. It is significant. Our actions are the very thing the definition claims: an outward sign.
What I am trying to say about this ritual, this act, this sacrament— Baptism— is we should not read into the ritual, the act, the sacrament our cultural misconceptions or our desires, our wants, our emotions, our dreams about what Baptism is or is not. The nature of this sacrament, the nature of the two sacraments of the Protestant tradition— Baptism and Communion— is that they are not about us. (Slight pause.)
So, if the sacraments are not about us, what are they about? (Slight pause.) The sacraments are about God and the grace of God and the presence of God. (Slight pause.) Sacraments are about God and the grace of God and the presence of God. (Slight pause.)
We find these words in the work know as the Gospel according to the School of John: “Philip said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, show us God, and we will be satisfied.’ Jesus replied, ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen Abba God. How can you say, ‘Show us God’?” (Slight pause.)
I want to try a little thirty or forty second experiment. What I am going to ask is that each of us find another person, just one, perhaps someone whom you are sitting near and I was going to say this person should not really be a relative but we have so many folks who are relatives today, maybe we can get away with that. But if possible not a relative, O.K.? The idea was to take relationship of relative out of the equation but it will be tougher today. [1]
So, if you’re not sitting near someone, please move toward them. And this means someone needs to go with Bob Oehme— Bob— he came down from the loft he’s in back— I warned him, so this is good— he’s not up at the organ. O.K. Everyone get a partner. If there are is an odd number of people here today there will be one group of three. (Pause while people rearrange themselves.)
O.K. Looks like everyone’s paired up. Now, please do what I ask when I say ‘go’ everyone look into the eyes of your partner. This will last about thirty or forty seconds and I’ll time it.
Don’t say anything. There is no need to touch one another. Just look into the eyes of your partner. And I will let you know when time is up. O.K. Go! (Pause for the duration.) Amen. O.K.! If you moved too far you can go back to where you were if you want to— not a problem. Go ahead. (Pause for people to reassemble.)
O.K. I am not going to offer answers about this time together, but the obvious questions are: ‘How did that feel?’ Awkward. ‘What did you see?’ I am sure each of you has your own answer. Equally, I am sure for some people it was deeply moving. Others may have been asking, “What is Joe trying to get me into now?” (Slight pause.)
Now that we’ve had this exercise, let’s go back to the sacraments. I suggested the sacraments are not about us. The sacraments are about God and the grace of God and the presence of God.
Hence, for me, the Sacraments beg the question, “Where is God?” Indeed, let’s take what Philip says (quote:) “Rabbi, show us God and we will be satisfied.” I think the underlying question being asked by Philip really is, “Where... is... God?” (Slight pause.)
Given that question— “Where is God?” let’s turn to the rite we will be celebrating in a few moments, the Rite of Confirmation. In the Protestant tradition— as opposed to the Roman Catholic tradition— we do not call Confirmation a sacrament. We call it a rite of the church.
And, just like Baptism, it is a ritual performed in community. Just like Baptism, I would argue one of the things Conformation is about is community. Last I would argue, just like Baptism, the grace of God makes God’s own self available to us in the Rite of Confirmation.
However, I would also argue that, unlike Baptism, with Confirmation both the individual and we in the community of faith need to be proactive in participating in the grace offered by God with the rite. Indeed, while the grace of God is present, the reality of that grace is it needs our active participation to come to a state of full fruition, to come to a place of full enhancement.
In fact, over the years I’ve said Confirmation is not a rite of passage for teens. The Rite of Conformation is often looked at that way but to see Confirmation as a rite of passage is a very, very, very secular way of looking at it.
What I have said is all adults should go through the process of Confirmation every fifteen or twenty years. Why? The point of Confirmation is that it can be a process of renewal, refreshment and revitalization for us on our faith journey. Our active participation is a key part of the rite because continues once the ritual is finished.
The culture has unfortunately attached baggage to the rite. The first piece of baggage is the aforementioned idea that Confirmation is a right of passage. It is not.
Another is many think Confirmation is something which happens to them rather than the person being confirmed striving to participate in and with the grace God offers. The short version of my point is simple. Our active participation with God is vital not just or only in the process called Confirmation but in the journey called life. (Slight pause.)
All this circles back to asking you to look into the eyes of your neighbor. And all this circles back to what I think Philip is really asking: “Where is God?” (Slight pause.)
You see, the claim of Christianity is simple. Christ lives. But Christ lives where— in time, in space, in a place? (Slight pause.)
I want to suggest Christ is here, among us. Christ lives with us. Christ is reflected in each of us and in all of us, reflected in the community. Indeed, we call it the community of Christ.
I also want to suggest two things are necessary to constitute the community of Christ. First, the grace of God as found in the sacraments is necessary. God acts; we experience the grace of God.
Second, our participation in the grace God offers as found in the rites of the church such as Confirmation and our participation in the life of the church is vital. Together these rituals are a reminder to us that God is with us, Christ lives, and that the community which surrounds us is the dwelling place of God. God lives among us; Christ is with us.
Further, given the grace God offers through this community of Christ, we can find forgiveness, equity, peace, joy, hope, freedom and the love of God in each of us as we support one another on the journey called life. So, as we experience this journey called life, let’s keep looking in each others eyes. Why? God lives among us; Christ is with us. Amen.
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, New York
05/14/2017
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: “It has been argued we Americans have a religious culture. I would suggest, rather, that we are not a religious culture. We are culturally religious. That’s a big difference. And I think being culturally religious— a religiosity which derives from the culture— is not what God seeks. Rather God encourages us to participate with God in this world in a religious culture which embodies forgiveness, equity, peace, joy, hope, freedom and the love of God in each other as we support each other on the journey called life. Culturally religious populations only pretend to embodied forgiveness, equity, peace, joy, hope, freedom and love. Pretending doesn’t work with God.”
BENEDICTION: Jesus assures us we will be empowered to do great works. We are, in fact, representatives of Christ, as we share the gifts God has granted us. And 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 of God and in the care of God this day and forever more. Amen.
[1] As the Sacrament of Baptism and the Rite of Confirmation were both celebrated this day and the Bell Choir played two anthems, there were a lot of visitors and relatives present.
God Among Us Now
As you know, earlier we had a celebration of Baptism. Baptism is a sacrament, a sacrament being an outward and visible sign of the grace of God. But there are a number of ways to look at Baptism. Let me elaborate.
For instance, it can be said in and with and by Baptism we welcome someone into a community of faith, a local church. It can said in and with and by Baptism we welcome someone into not just the local community of faith but the greater Christian community. It can be said in and with and by Baptism we welcome someone as a child of God.
But equally, it can be said Baptism is simply an acknowledgment on our part the newly Baptized is already a member of the local community of faith, already a member of the greater community, already a child of God. Put differently, nothing we do— no act of ours— makes a person a member of the local or greater community of faith or a child of God. Nothing we do imposes, dispenses, administers or inflicts some kind magic on an individual which in some way alters them.
To be clear, this claim is not to say the very ritual, the very act, the very actions we take, the celebration of the sacrament of Baptism— in and of itself— fails to be significant. It is significant. Our actions are the very thing the definition claims: an outward sign.
What I am trying to say about this ritual, this act, this sacrament— Baptism— is we should not read into the ritual, the act, the sacrament our cultural misconceptions or our desires, our wants, our emotions, our dreams about what Baptism is or is not. The nature of this sacrament, the nature of the two sacraments of the Protestant tradition— Baptism and Communion— is that they are not about us. (Slight pause.)
So, if the sacraments are not about us, what are they about? (Slight pause.) The sacraments are about God and the grace of God and the presence of God. (Slight pause.) Sacraments are about God and the grace of God and the presence of God. (Slight pause.)
We find these words in the work know as the Gospel according to the School of John: “Philip said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, show us God, and we will be satisfied.’ Jesus replied, ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen Abba God. How can you say, ‘Show us God’?” (Slight pause.)
I want to try a little thirty or forty second experiment. What I am going to ask is that each of us find another person, just one, perhaps someone whom you are sitting near and I was going to say this person should not really be a relative but we have so many folks who are relatives today, maybe we can get away with that. But if possible not a relative, O.K.? The idea was to take relationship of relative out of the equation but it will be tougher today. [1]
So, if you’re not sitting near someone, please move toward them. And this means someone needs to go with Bob Oehme— Bob— he came down from the loft he’s in back— I warned him, so this is good— he’s not up at the organ. O.K. Everyone get a partner. If there are is an odd number of people here today there will be one group of three. (Pause while people rearrange themselves.)
O.K. Looks like everyone’s paired up. Now, please do what I ask when I say ‘go’ everyone look into the eyes of your partner. This will last about thirty or forty seconds and I’ll time it.
Don’t say anything. There is no need to touch one another. Just look into the eyes of your partner. And I will let you know when time is up. O.K. Go! (Pause for the duration.) Amen. O.K.! If you moved too far you can go back to where you were if you want to— not a problem. Go ahead. (Pause for people to reassemble.)
O.K. I am not going to offer answers about this time together, but the obvious questions are: ‘How did that feel?’ Awkward. ‘What did you see?’ I am sure each of you has your own answer. Equally, I am sure for some people it was deeply moving. Others may have been asking, “What is Joe trying to get me into now?” (Slight pause.)
Now that we’ve had this exercise, let’s go back to the sacraments. I suggested the sacraments are not about us. The sacraments are about God and the grace of God and the presence of God.
Hence, for me, the Sacraments beg the question, “Where is God?” Indeed, let’s take what Philip says (quote:) “Rabbi, show us God and we will be satisfied.” I think the underlying question being asked by Philip really is, “Where... is... God?” (Slight pause.)
Given that question— “Where is God?” let’s turn to the rite we will be celebrating in a few moments, the Rite of Confirmation. In the Protestant tradition— as opposed to the Roman Catholic tradition— we do not call Confirmation a sacrament. We call it a rite of the church.
And, just like Baptism, it is a ritual performed in community. Just like Baptism, I would argue one of the things Conformation is about is community. Last I would argue, just like Baptism, the grace of God makes God’s own self available to us in the Rite of Confirmation.
However, I would also argue that, unlike Baptism, with Confirmation both the individual and we in the community of faith need to be proactive in participating in the grace offered by God with the rite. Indeed, while the grace of God is present, the reality of that grace is it needs our active participation to come to a state of full fruition, to come to a place of full enhancement.
In fact, over the years I’ve said Confirmation is not a rite of passage for teens. The Rite of Conformation is often looked at that way but to see Confirmation as a rite of passage is a very, very, very secular way of looking at it.
What I have said is all adults should go through the process of Confirmation every fifteen or twenty years. Why? The point of Confirmation is that it can be a process of renewal, refreshment and revitalization for us on our faith journey. Our active participation is a key part of the rite because continues once the ritual is finished.
The culture has unfortunately attached baggage to the rite. The first piece of baggage is the aforementioned idea that Confirmation is a right of passage. It is not.
Another is many think Confirmation is something which happens to them rather than the person being confirmed striving to participate in and with the grace God offers. The short version of my point is simple. Our active participation with God is vital not just or only in the process called Confirmation but in the journey called life. (Slight pause.)
All this circles back to asking you to look into the eyes of your neighbor. And all this circles back to what I think Philip is really asking: “Where is God?” (Slight pause.)
You see, the claim of Christianity is simple. Christ lives. But Christ lives where— in time, in space, in a place? (Slight pause.)
I want to suggest Christ is here, among us. Christ lives with us. Christ is reflected in each of us and in all of us, reflected in the community. Indeed, we call it the community of Christ.
I also want to suggest two things are necessary to constitute the community of Christ. First, the grace of God as found in the sacraments is necessary. God acts; we experience the grace of God.
Second, our participation in the grace God offers as found in the rites of the church such as Confirmation and our participation in the life of the church is vital. Together these rituals are a reminder to us that God is with us, Christ lives, and that the community which surrounds us is the dwelling place of God. God lives among us; Christ is with us.
Further, given the grace God offers through this community of Christ, we can find forgiveness, equity, peace, joy, hope, freedom and the love of God in each of us as we support one another on the journey called life. So, as we experience this journey called life, let’s keep looking in each others eyes. Why? God lives among us; Christ is with us. Amen.
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, New York
05/14/2017
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: “It has been argued we Americans have a religious culture. I would suggest, rather, that we are not a religious culture. We are culturally religious. That’s a big difference. And I think being culturally religious— a religiosity which derives from the culture— is not what God seeks. Rather God encourages us to participate with God in this world in a religious culture which embodies forgiveness, equity, peace, joy, hope, freedom and the love of God in each other as we support each other on the journey called life. Culturally religious populations only pretend to embodied forgiveness, equity, peace, joy, hope, freedom and love. Pretending doesn’t work with God.”
BENEDICTION: Jesus assures us we will be empowered to do great works. We are, in fact, representatives of Christ, as we share the gifts God has granted us. And 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 of God and in the care of God this day and forever more. Amen.
[1] As the Sacrament of Baptism and the Rite of Confirmation were both celebrated this day and the Bell Choir played two anthems, there were a lot of visitors and relatives present.
Sunday, May 7, 2017
SERMON ~ 05/07/2017 ~ “They Did Not Understand”
05/07/2017 ~ Fourth Sunday of Easter ~ *Acts 2:42-47; Psalm 23; 1 Peter 2:19-25; John 10:1-10 ~ Communion Sunday.
They Did Not Understand
“Jesus used this figure of speech, this metaphor with the disciples. But they did not grasp, they did not understand what Jesus was trying to say to them.” — John 10:6.
As you may know, we have Christian Education sessions on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings. On Sundays our young folks go upstairs to the Christian Education area and are under the tutelage of Linda Oehme.
Those a little longer in tooth have to endure a session with me. The braver souls among them also visit with me for a different session on Wednesday evenings.
Last year on Sunday mornings those of us of that certain age watched a series of undergraduate lectures in the Hebrew Scriptures given by Professor Christine Hayes of Yale University. These lectures are out there on the internet and they are free. Anyone can watch.
These lectures are a 101, basic level, college course. I suspect many first year students take the course thinking passing it is a piece of cake. They are wrong.
Now, since it is a given this class will have people with many views about the Bible, in the first lecture Professor Hayes lays out the purpose of the course, which is not to change the beliefs people have. Rather, the purpose is to invite students to analyze what is to be found in Scripture and to think deeply about what is found. While that kind of work has the potential to change thinking, it is not the object of the class.
Well, during the first lecture Hayes states she has two daughters one is a teen and one is verging on her teen years. Professor Hayes— a Biblical Scholar— then says she does not let these two young ladies read the Bible.
What is in the Bible, she says, the text, is clearly adult reading. Among other issues, it contains violence of all kinds— economic violence, physical violence, misconduct, abuse. This is not appropriate reading for children. (Slight pause.)
That brings up this concept of Sola Scriptura— Scripture alone. One could say this a tenet of the Protestant Reformation. Sola Scriptura holds Scripture is the sole rule of faith and practice, one of the main theological points raised by Martin Luther.
Indeed, Luther translated the Bible into the vernacular. For Luther the vernacular was German. This helped Scripture be more accessible for many, at least for those who read German.
However, one of the things we do not realize about the era in which the Protestant Reformation happened is literacy rates were low. Among adult males the rate in the 1500s ran about 20%. Among women it was lower. Hence, even in a vernacular translation, those who read Scripture were among the few and were fairly well educated.
In fact, when Scripture was read from the pulpit in the church served by Calvin in Geneva— and Calvin was in the next generation of reformers after Luther— when was read from the pulpit in the church served by Calvin in Geneva it would be read in the original languages— Hebrew and Greek. A translation would not be read.
An assumption was being made that all those in the pews listening understood those original languages. These were highly educated people. (Slight pause.)
When I talk to people about how to read Scripture I always say you should never read Scripture without a commentary right next to you. I never read Scripture without a commentary right next to me.
Do I know more about Scripture than the average bear? Probably. Even though I have a Master of Divinity Degree, I do not presume I know what a passage means simply by reading it. At best, that would be ego-centric. So I consult commentaries.
To be clear, I am not saying you should avoid reading Scripture. You should read Scripture; we all should read Scripture. Reading Scripture should be a part of our daily prayer and practice. I am simply saying to read it without bringing some understanding beyond one’s own grasp of what’s there is simply unwise.
You see, the last time I looked the Bible is not Aladdin’s lamp. And God is not some kind of genie who grants wishes based on what you think the words say, especially since the words we read are a translation from ancient languages.
To treat Scripture and the reading thereof as if it is a simply a straightforward process is akin to treating God as a genie and Scripture as the lamp you rub. And that is a very, very, very secular way of looking at Scripture. (Slight pause.)
We find these words in the Gospel according to the School of John: “Jesus used this figure of speech, this metaphor with the disciples. But they did not grasp, they did not understand what Jesus was trying to say to them.” (Slight pause.)
The Hebrew Scriptures— which by the way, that’s the only Bible Jesus knew— the Hebrew Scriptures have many images of God as a shepherd. Hence, the question which immediately comes to mind for me is why do those who listen have a hard time grasping the shepherd metaphor. Indeed, the next sentence after today’s assigned reading says (quote): “I am the good shepherd.” (Slight pause.)
Let’s explore this a little. We find a number of “I am” statements in John. The “I am” statements are found only in John, one of the things which sets this Gospel apart from the Synoptic Gospels. But the question still remains: ‘why are those who listen confused?’ (Slight pause.)
I want to suggest one reason those who listen to Jesus might be confused has to do with the object of all the “I am” statements. And for the record, these statements are I am ‘the gate,’ ‘the bread of life,’ ‘the light of the world,’ ‘the door,’ ‘the good shepherd,’ ‘the resurrection,’ ‘the life,’ ‘the way,’ ‘the truth’ and ‘the vine.’ In each of these the object of the statements are not the point being made by this Gospel.
The important part of these statements is “I am.” “I am,” as you probably know, is, effectively, the name of God. I want to suggest those who listened to Jesus both understood this but did not want to understand this.
You see, for a good Jew in New Testament times the issue was not that Jesus might be the Messiah. Any Jew could have processed that. For a good Jew in New Testament times the issue was how was one to connect God and the Messiah?
And that’s where the “I am” statements become difficult in this era, in this place. As to why any Jew would have trouble with the “I am” statements, Jews maintained that there is one God and that God is one.
And even if you argue the “I am” statements did not clearly equate God and Jesus, the “I am” statements imply an equivalency. For a good Jew in New Testament times to draw an equivalency between God and anyone was heresy.
Indeed, in the Gospel we commonly call John, Jesus is consistently pictured as being divine. And even if you argue this was not a heresy for a good Jew in New Testament times— if you make that argument— it certainly came right up to the line that would make folks really nervous. (Slight pause.)
All that brings me back to the thought that we might need a commentary near us when we read Scripture. Why. Why? We have our own modern heresy.
We tend to treat Scripture, we treat what is commonly referred to as the Word of God, this collection of canonized books... like it is God. The Bible is... not... God. (Slight pause.)
Now, my bet is some of you are thinking the argument I’m presenting is an argument that effectively says Scripture needs to be studied and, therefore, Scripture is only accessible to academics or people who are in some way elite. And how can that be? After all, we are not all academics and God does not favor the elite! (Slight pause.)
I need to make a distinction. Scripture is not faith, itself. And more to the point, just as Scripture is not God, Scripture is not faith in God. We should not treat Scripture like it is God or treat Scripture like it is faith in God. That is when and where we get lost— when we treat Scripture like it’s God or treat Scripture like it’s faith in God. (Slight pause.)
Now, this poses yet another interesting question: what is the practice of faith about? Is the practice of faith simply about what we find in Scripture? Or is the practice of faith about us living in our time, knowing and believing in God, Who is in our world and relating to our world? (Slight pause.)
A famous Biblical scholar of the 20th Century, Rabbi Abraham Heschel, said this: “God is hiding in the world. Our task is to let the divine emerge from our deeds.”
And indeed, our task is to seek the will of God in our world and to act on the will of God. And that is what real faith is about and that is what faith is really about.
Can we learn about God from Scripture? Yes. But I think we can learn a lot about God by being faithful and striving to do the will of God in this, God’s world.
Or as I said at the end of my comments last week, the God of Covenant is a God of forgiveness, joy, peace, hope, freedom, equity and love. If we are faithful and have faith in the God of Covenant, we can come to a real understanding of what Scripture actually says rather than what we think it might say.
Why? How can we come to that understanding? Forgiveness, joy, peace, hope, freedom, equity and love are not just central to Who God is. Forgiveness, joy, peace, hope, freedom, equity and love should jump out at us from every page of Scripture when we do understand Who God is. Amen.
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, New York.
05/07/2017
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 quote that has been attributed to many people says we need to have the Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other. It does not matter who said it. The point is when we deal with the world around us, the real world, we need to reflect the forgiveness, joy, peace, hope, freedom, equity and love of God.”
BENEDICTION: Let us rejoice for Christ is risen. This service of worship is over but our service in the name of God continues outside these doors. 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.
They Did Not Understand
“Jesus used this figure of speech, this metaphor with the disciples. But they did not grasp, they did not understand what Jesus was trying to say to them.” — John 10:6.
As you may know, we have Christian Education sessions on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings. On Sundays our young folks go upstairs to the Christian Education area and are under the tutelage of Linda Oehme.
Those a little longer in tooth have to endure a session with me. The braver souls among them also visit with me for a different session on Wednesday evenings.
Last year on Sunday mornings those of us of that certain age watched a series of undergraduate lectures in the Hebrew Scriptures given by Professor Christine Hayes of Yale University. These lectures are out there on the internet and they are free. Anyone can watch.
These lectures are a 101, basic level, college course. I suspect many first year students take the course thinking passing it is a piece of cake. They are wrong.
Now, since it is a given this class will have people with many views about the Bible, in the first lecture Professor Hayes lays out the purpose of the course, which is not to change the beliefs people have. Rather, the purpose is to invite students to analyze what is to be found in Scripture and to think deeply about what is found. While that kind of work has the potential to change thinking, it is not the object of the class.
Well, during the first lecture Hayes states she has two daughters one is a teen and one is verging on her teen years. Professor Hayes— a Biblical Scholar— then says she does not let these two young ladies read the Bible.
What is in the Bible, she says, the text, is clearly adult reading. Among other issues, it contains violence of all kinds— economic violence, physical violence, misconduct, abuse. This is not appropriate reading for children. (Slight pause.)
That brings up this concept of Sola Scriptura— Scripture alone. One could say this a tenet of the Protestant Reformation. Sola Scriptura holds Scripture is the sole rule of faith and practice, one of the main theological points raised by Martin Luther.
Indeed, Luther translated the Bible into the vernacular. For Luther the vernacular was German. This helped Scripture be more accessible for many, at least for those who read German.
However, one of the things we do not realize about the era in which the Protestant Reformation happened is literacy rates were low. Among adult males the rate in the 1500s ran about 20%. Among women it was lower. Hence, even in a vernacular translation, those who read Scripture were among the few and were fairly well educated.
In fact, when Scripture was read from the pulpit in the church served by Calvin in Geneva— and Calvin was in the next generation of reformers after Luther— when was read from the pulpit in the church served by Calvin in Geneva it would be read in the original languages— Hebrew and Greek. A translation would not be read.
An assumption was being made that all those in the pews listening understood those original languages. These were highly educated people. (Slight pause.)
When I talk to people about how to read Scripture I always say you should never read Scripture without a commentary right next to you. I never read Scripture without a commentary right next to me.
Do I know more about Scripture than the average bear? Probably. Even though I have a Master of Divinity Degree, I do not presume I know what a passage means simply by reading it. At best, that would be ego-centric. So I consult commentaries.
To be clear, I am not saying you should avoid reading Scripture. You should read Scripture; we all should read Scripture. Reading Scripture should be a part of our daily prayer and practice. I am simply saying to read it without bringing some understanding beyond one’s own grasp of what’s there is simply unwise.
You see, the last time I looked the Bible is not Aladdin’s lamp. And God is not some kind of genie who grants wishes based on what you think the words say, especially since the words we read are a translation from ancient languages.
To treat Scripture and the reading thereof as if it is a simply a straightforward process is akin to treating God as a genie and Scripture as the lamp you rub. And that is a very, very, very secular way of looking at Scripture. (Slight pause.)
We find these words in the Gospel according to the School of John: “Jesus used this figure of speech, this metaphor with the disciples. But they did not grasp, they did not understand what Jesus was trying to say to them.” (Slight pause.)
The Hebrew Scriptures— which by the way, that’s the only Bible Jesus knew— the Hebrew Scriptures have many images of God as a shepherd. Hence, the question which immediately comes to mind for me is why do those who listen have a hard time grasping the shepherd metaphor. Indeed, the next sentence after today’s assigned reading says (quote): “I am the good shepherd.” (Slight pause.)
Let’s explore this a little. We find a number of “I am” statements in John. The “I am” statements are found only in John, one of the things which sets this Gospel apart from the Synoptic Gospels. But the question still remains: ‘why are those who listen confused?’ (Slight pause.)
I want to suggest one reason those who listen to Jesus might be confused has to do with the object of all the “I am” statements. And for the record, these statements are I am ‘the gate,’ ‘the bread of life,’ ‘the light of the world,’ ‘the door,’ ‘the good shepherd,’ ‘the resurrection,’ ‘the life,’ ‘the way,’ ‘the truth’ and ‘the vine.’ In each of these the object of the statements are not the point being made by this Gospel.
The important part of these statements is “I am.” “I am,” as you probably know, is, effectively, the name of God. I want to suggest those who listened to Jesus both understood this but did not want to understand this.
You see, for a good Jew in New Testament times the issue was not that Jesus might be the Messiah. Any Jew could have processed that. For a good Jew in New Testament times the issue was how was one to connect God and the Messiah?
And that’s where the “I am” statements become difficult in this era, in this place. As to why any Jew would have trouble with the “I am” statements, Jews maintained that there is one God and that God is one.
And even if you argue the “I am” statements did not clearly equate God and Jesus, the “I am” statements imply an equivalency. For a good Jew in New Testament times to draw an equivalency between God and anyone was heresy.
Indeed, in the Gospel we commonly call John, Jesus is consistently pictured as being divine. And even if you argue this was not a heresy for a good Jew in New Testament times— if you make that argument— it certainly came right up to the line that would make folks really nervous. (Slight pause.)
All that brings me back to the thought that we might need a commentary near us when we read Scripture. Why. Why? We have our own modern heresy.
We tend to treat Scripture, we treat what is commonly referred to as the Word of God, this collection of canonized books... like it is God. The Bible is... not... God. (Slight pause.)
Now, my bet is some of you are thinking the argument I’m presenting is an argument that effectively says Scripture needs to be studied and, therefore, Scripture is only accessible to academics or people who are in some way elite. And how can that be? After all, we are not all academics and God does not favor the elite! (Slight pause.)
I need to make a distinction. Scripture is not faith, itself. And more to the point, just as Scripture is not God, Scripture is not faith in God. We should not treat Scripture like it is God or treat Scripture like it is faith in God. That is when and where we get lost— when we treat Scripture like it’s God or treat Scripture like it’s faith in God. (Slight pause.)
Now, this poses yet another interesting question: what is the practice of faith about? Is the practice of faith simply about what we find in Scripture? Or is the practice of faith about us living in our time, knowing and believing in God, Who is in our world and relating to our world? (Slight pause.)
A famous Biblical scholar of the 20th Century, Rabbi Abraham Heschel, said this: “God is hiding in the world. Our task is to let the divine emerge from our deeds.”
And indeed, our task is to seek the will of God in our world and to act on the will of God. And that is what real faith is about and that is what faith is really about.
Can we learn about God from Scripture? Yes. But I think we can learn a lot about God by being faithful and striving to do the will of God in this, God’s world.
Or as I said at the end of my comments last week, the God of Covenant is a God of forgiveness, joy, peace, hope, freedom, equity and love. If we are faithful and have faith in the God of Covenant, we can come to a real understanding of what Scripture actually says rather than what we think it might say.
Why? How can we come to that understanding? Forgiveness, joy, peace, hope, freedom, equity and love are not just central to Who God is. Forgiveness, joy, peace, hope, freedom, equity and love should jump out at us from every page of Scripture when we do understand Who God is. Amen.
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, New York.
05/07/2017
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 quote that has been attributed to many people says we need to have the Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other. It does not matter who said it. The point is when we deal with the world around us, the real world, we need to reflect the forgiveness, joy, peace, hope, freedom, equity and love of God.”
BENEDICTION: Let us rejoice for Christ is risen. This service of worship is over but our service in the name of God continues outside these doors. And may we love God so much, that we love nothing else too much. May we be so in awe of God that we are in awe of no one else and nothing else. Amen.
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