June 25, 2017 ~ Third Sunday after Pentecost ~ Proper 7 (12) ~ Genesis 21:8-21; Psalm 86:1-10, 16-17; Jeremiah 20:7-13; Psalm 69:7-10, (11-15), 16-18; Romans 6:1b-11; Matthew 10:24-39 ~ Annual Organizational Meeting of the Church in Our 213th Year; A Ceremony of Recognition as We Honor Members in Long Standing; the Sixtieth Anniversary of the, Church at the National Level, the United Church of Christ.
The Unexamined Life
“You who have found your own life will lose it; you who lose your own life for my sake will find it.” — Matthew 10:39.
Many of you know in my younger years I was a church member in the Roman Catholic tradition. In that context, as a member in a Roman Catholic Church, one is expected to go to confession.
When I was in grade school the nuns always taught us that, in order to prepare for the Sacrament of Confession— and do note in the Roman tradition Confession is a Sacrament— in order to prepare for the Sacrament of Confession a person had to do what was called an examination of conscience. Or so the nuns said. But what is meant by an examination of conscience? (Slight pause.)
Perhaps the informative question to ask here is the obvious one: ‘what is sin?’ In our Western culture we have somehow decided sin can be defined as specific acts committed by individuals.
Therefore, if little Tommy in Sister Mary Patrick’s 4th Grade class happens to accidentally lift a chocolate bar from the supermarket shelf and, unobserved, slip it in a pocket while shopping with Mom— well, that should be confessed. Hence, in the course of the aforementioned examination of conscience, little Tommy needs to count this as a sin.
In fact, Little Tommy needs to calculate what sins have been committed since the last time he went to confession and be ready to confess each of these. And this tends to be the practice to which many adhere from the 4th Grade forward until death. Assessing sin becomes a game of numbers. What was done? How often did you do it?
“Are you sorry for it” might not even be a part of the picture. Indeed, if one sees some act as sin but keeps doing it over and over, it becomes hard to envision a state of actual confession, handing one’s self over to God about one’s own behavior.
Well, why does little Tommy often account for sin this way when an examination of conscience is employed? Believe me, my 4th grade teacher, Sister Mary Patrick, used that little Tommy example of the lifted chocolate bar to explain an examination of conscience. Hence, for many an accounting mode becomes a reality. How many times, how often?
Of course, lifting a chocolate bar from the supermarket shelf does seem to fall under the heading of ‘Thou shalt not steal’ and all that rot. Therefore, this action and act is a sin, something you, individually, and you as an individual, can and might do.
But is that sin? (Slight pause.) Since I have made this point many times here before, I hope it will not surprise you if I say that, from the Biblical perspective, lifting a chocolate bar from the local supermarket shelf is, at best, a minor offense and probably not worthy of the name sin.
There are two things that need to be said about sin, from the Biblical perspective. First, sin is a corporate offense, something done by the community or in the community, not necessarily done by the individual. Second and therefore, what kind of act should be defined as sin? The definition of sin from that Biblical perspective is quite simple. Sin is missing the mark. What mark?
The mark is that in some way our covenant relationship with God has been broken and our covenant relationship with one another has been broken. In fact and from the Biblical perspective, sin is always considered to be so corporate, so communal, that the Biblical concept of sin says if any one of us offends God or one another, if any one individual breaks covenant, we have all offended God and one another, we have all broken covenant.
To reiterate, sin is not individual. I know that sounds un-American. It’s theologically quite sound. Sin is not individual. To make the claim that sin is only individual is a very secular way to look at it. Sin is corporate. And, I might add, sin is not a game of numbers: ‘how many times did I do what?’
All that brings us back to covenant. When we break covenant with God and one another, we miss the mark. It’s that simple. (Slight pause.)
We find these words in the work known as Matthew. “You who have found your own life will lose it; you who lose your own life for my sake will find it.” (Slight pause.)
Socrates was a Greek philosopher who lived from approximately 470 to 399 Before the Common Era and is one of the founders of Western philosophy. This is among many things Socrates is famous for saying: “The unexamined life is not worth living.”
The examined life— to be clear, not the unexamined life but the examined life— is what philosophy is about. Why do I say that? Well, what does the word philosophy mean? Philosophy is a combination of two Greek words— philo and sophia.
I am sure you know Philadelphia is the city of brotherly love. Well, philo means love. Sophia is a common name for women. But sophia is also the Greek word for wisdom or virtue. Hence, philosophy is the love of or the pursuit of wisdom or the love of or the pursuit of virtue.
Hence, when we examine our lives what are we really doing? When we examine our lives we are not trying to decide if we are guilty of lifting a candy bar off a shelf. When we examine our lives— or as the Nuns would have had it, when we examine our conscience— we are trying to see if we have fully pursued wisdom, virtue. If we have not fully pursued wisdom, virtue, or put another way if we have not adhered to a covenant with God and one another, we have missed the mark. (Slight pause.)
And that turns me toward another modern Western concept, the thought that we are constantly and always good, without fault. We hit on this earlier in the Prayers of the People.
In that litany of Confession, which we often use in the seasons of Lent and Advent, first one person says “I confess to God and in the company of the people of God that my life and the life of the all the world is not whole.”
Then everyone responds, “May God forgive you, Christ renew you and the Spirit enable you to grow in love.” Once that happened then this was said: “We confess to God and in the company of the people of God that each of our lives and the life of all the world is not whole.” That was then followed by an expression of forgiveness.
This, my friends, illustrates the examined life. And it also brings us directly back to the words attributed to Jesus (quote:) “You who have found your own life will lose it; you who lose your own life for my sake will find it.”
You see the love of or the pursuit of wisdom, the love of or the pursuit of virtue is not about us. The love and the pursuit of covenant is not about us. Nor is it about goals or numbers. The love of or the pursuit of wisdom, the love of or the pursuit of virtue, the pursuit of covenant, the love of covenant is about a purity of heart and about doing for others.
An examination of life is about being in covenant with one another. And we need to come to that place— being in covenant with one another— because God is in covenant with us.
Or as it says in another section of the reading from Matthew (quote:) “...not a single sparrow will fall to the ground without the knowledge of Abba, God.” These words about sparrows are really, you see, about what happens when we are in covenant.
Why would I say these words about sparrows is about what happens when we are in covenant? Because, as the lyric in the hymn we used earlier says, “God’s eye is on the sparrow, and I know God watches me.”
So, God’s eye is on the sparrow. And yes, God is in covenant with us. And God, who is in covenant with us, invites us to be in covenant with one another. Why? We are all children of God. Or, if you like, we are all sparrows.
And, as children of God, as God’s sparrows, we need to see to each other’s well being, to each other’s welfare, to each other’s well-ness, to each other’s wholeness. And perhaps most importantly, we need to see to each other’s holiness. We need to see each other as holy. Seeing each other as holy: that is what I call the pursuit of virtue, the pursuit of wisdom, the pursuit of... covenant. Amen.
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, NY
06/25/2017 - Sunday of the Annual Meeting
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: “Robert Green Ingersoll, born in Dobbs Ferry, was an American lawyer, a Civil War veteran and political leader. He said, ‘In nature there are neither rewards nor punishments; there are consequences.’ And, indeed, we tend to divide things up into rewards or punishments, hence we divide things up into winners and losers. But in God’s economy there are no winners or losers. There are sparrows.”
BENEDICTION: May we love God so much, that we love nothing else too much. May we be so in awe of God, that we are in awe of no one else and nothing else. Amen.
Sunday, June 25, 2017
Sunday, June 18, 2017
SERMON ~ 06/18/2017 ~ “The Journey Called Salvation”
06/18/2017 ~ Second Sunday after Pentecost ~ Proper 6 ~ 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Genesis 18:1-15, (21:1-7); Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19; Exodus 19:2-8a; Psalm 100; Romans 5:1-8; Matthew 9:35-10:8, (9-23) ~ Father’s Day.
The Journey Called Salvation
“Then Moses went up to God; and Yahweh— God— called out from the mountain and said, “This is what you shall say to the house of Jacob, what you are to tell the Israelites: ‘You saw for yourselves that which I did to Egypt, and how I bore you, carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.’” — Exodus 19:3-4.
In case you have not heard, this year marks the 40th anniversary of the space opera Star Wars. And yes, it is a film beloved by many.
And yes, Star Wars earned more money that year than any other movie. How much more? In 1977, the year it was released, Star Wars earned more than twice as much money as its closest competitor which, by the way, was Smokey and the Bandit.
Now movie studios are corporations seeking profit. Because of the earnings potential in the Star Wars model of movie making, studios recognized a lucrative cash stream was available. This changed the way the film industry operated. These blockbuster style movies have become the cultural norm, especially in the Summer.
However, I think many, many, many years hence, or perhaps even “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...,” when historians look at Star Wars, how much money the film earned and how it changed the movie industry will be a minor topic. I think the more likely topic will be “how did this film enter into, feed into and even meld with the psyche of America.”
And here’s an obvious question on that count. ‘What is it about the psyche of this nation which enabled, empowered this film to enthrall us?’ (Slight pause.)
Well, what is Star Wars about... really? Is the film simply about Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa and Han Solo and the Wookiee Chewbacca and the Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, as they traverse across galaxies? Is that what it’s about? Or is it about something else, perhaps something more engaging, more central than mere action? (Slight pause.)
I want to suggest Star Wars taps into our psyche— and by labeling Star Wars as tapping into the American psyche I was not giving the film the credit it is due. Star Wars does not just tap into the American psyche. Star Wars taps into our human psyche. In any case, I want to suggest Star Wars taps into our psyche because it is about three very basic human experiences.
Star Wars is about the journey— the journey called life. Star Wars is about freedom— human freedom. Additionally, in the story there is a sense of some kind of spirit reality, a reality beyond human understanding, which seems to be a constant presence. (Slight pause.)
We find these words in the work known as Exodus: “Then Moses went up to God; and Yahweh— God— called out from the mountain and said, “This is what you shall say to the house of Jacob, what you are to tell the Israelites: ‘You saw for yourselves that which I did to Egypt, and how I bore you, carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.’” (Slight pause.)
We Christians— especially Western Christians— often seem to be comfortable with what the early church and even the church historic would label as a heresy. That heresy says the salvation offered by God started with Jesus. I won’t go as far as to call this a heresy, but I would certainly label the idea that salvation started with Jesus as a misunderstanding of or an inaccurate reading of the message in the Hebrew Scriptures.
Even a cursory reading of the Exodus should clearly tell anyone God offers salvation. (Quote:) “You saw for yourselves that which I did to Egypt, and how I bore you, carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.” These words describe the action of God and action— especially that action— constitutes salvation. That action is salvation.
Now, my guess is, especially Western Christians, don’t count the action of God in our lives as having anything to do with salvation. Why? Besides the idea that salvation started with Jesus, Western Christians seemed to have grasped onto the notion that salvation is somehow postponed to an afterlife.
And that, indeed, points out a second way we misunderstand, don’t understand, fail to understand the message in Scripture. We equate afterlife with salvation.
Now given that, I find it interesting that often oppressed communities clearly and obviously understand the salvation God offers can be seen as the present action of God. Oppressed communities understand salvation as something tangible, real, something which can happen and even is happening now.
The best proof I can offer about how oppressed communities see salvation as a possibility in the present tense are two hymns based in the experience of African-American community. These two hymns are Go Down Moses and In Egypt under Pharaoh, a hymn we used today. These hymns reference the experience of God as something which can happen now and, therefore, something which should be equated with salvation.
So, why do oppressed communities equate the experience of God right now, in our time, in our midst, with salvation? (Slight pause.) Let’s, for a moment, go back to Star Wars and, once again, explore how that film taps into the human psyche.
I made three claims about that story. Star Wars is about the journey called life. It’s about freedom— human freedom. And in the story there is a sense of some kind of spirit reality beyond human understanding which seems to be a constant presence. (Slight pause.)
You see, Star Wars is not about Luke and Leia and Han and Chewbacca and Obi-Wan as they travel across galaxies. That is merely the story.
So too it is with the Exodus story. Indeed, when this passage was introduced it was said the Sinai episode is at the center of Exodus. It is central to Exodus. And what should draw our attention about that story?
The Exodus story has some basic ideas which tap into the human psyche. The Exodus story tells us life is a journey. The Exodus story tells us that the journey moves us toward freedom. The Exodus story tells us there is some sense of a spirit reality beyond human understanding which seems to be a constant presence.
Star Wars fans call that spirit reality the force. Readers of the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian Scriptures call that spirit reality God. (Slight pause.)
All this should lead us to ask yet another obvious question. If that is a valid reading of the Hebrew Scriptures and accurately assesses how the Hebrew Scriptures address salvation, how should we be reading New Testament on the topic of salvation? (Slight pause.)
Street corner evangelists sometimes ask the question: “Are you saved?” The implication is somewhere, somehow there is a goal to be achieved. But is that the message of Jesus about salvation? (Slight pause.)
In the reading from Matthew we heard these words (quote): “...go make this proclamation: ‘The reign of heaven has drawn near.’” Biblical scholars agree on this. The message of Jesus in the Gospels is clear: God is near. God is with us on the journey. On that journey God walks with us toward the freedom God offers. (Slight pause.)
You see, the prime message of Scripture— the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian Scriptures— is this basic: life is a journey. The journey moves us toward freedom because of the presence of God. And, by the way, there is a sense of some kind of spirit reality beyond human understanding which seems to be a constant presence. And we call that presence God. Amen.
06/18/2017
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: “I’ve said this here before. It bears repeating. The late poet Maya Angelou said she was always surprised when someone told her they were a Christian. She was under the impression that took a lifetime to accomplish. Life is a journey. The journey moves us toward freedom. God walks with us.”
BENEDICTION: Let God’s love be our first awareness each day. Let God’s love flow through our every activity. Let us rejoice that God frees us to be witnesses for God. Let us understand every day as a new adventure in faith because the Creator draws us into community. 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.
The Journey Called Salvation
“Then Moses went up to God; and Yahweh— God— called out from the mountain and said, “This is what you shall say to the house of Jacob, what you are to tell the Israelites: ‘You saw for yourselves that which I did to Egypt, and how I bore you, carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.’” — Exodus 19:3-4.
In case you have not heard, this year marks the 40th anniversary of the space opera Star Wars. And yes, it is a film beloved by many.
And yes, Star Wars earned more money that year than any other movie. How much more? In 1977, the year it was released, Star Wars earned more than twice as much money as its closest competitor which, by the way, was Smokey and the Bandit.
Now movie studios are corporations seeking profit. Because of the earnings potential in the Star Wars model of movie making, studios recognized a lucrative cash stream was available. This changed the way the film industry operated. These blockbuster style movies have become the cultural norm, especially in the Summer.
However, I think many, many, many years hence, or perhaps even “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...,” when historians look at Star Wars, how much money the film earned and how it changed the movie industry will be a minor topic. I think the more likely topic will be “how did this film enter into, feed into and even meld with the psyche of America.”
And here’s an obvious question on that count. ‘What is it about the psyche of this nation which enabled, empowered this film to enthrall us?’ (Slight pause.)
Well, what is Star Wars about... really? Is the film simply about Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa and Han Solo and the Wookiee Chewbacca and the Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, as they traverse across galaxies? Is that what it’s about? Or is it about something else, perhaps something more engaging, more central than mere action? (Slight pause.)
I want to suggest Star Wars taps into our psyche— and by labeling Star Wars as tapping into the American psyche I was not giving the film the credit it is due. Star Wars does not just tap into the American psyche. Star Wars taps into our human psyche. In any case, I want to suggest Star Wars taps into our psyche because it is about three very basic human experiences.
Star Wars is about the journey— the journey called life. Star Wars is about freedom— human freedom. Additionally, in the story there is a sense of some kind of spirit reality, a reality beyond human understanding, which seems to be a constant presence. (Slight pause.)
We find these words in the work known as Exodus: “Then Moses went up to God; and Yahweh— God— called out from the mountain and said, “This is what you shall say to the house of Jacob, what you are to tell the Israelites: ‘You saw for yourselves that which I did to Egypt, and how I bore you, carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.’” (Slight pause.)
We Christians— especially Western Christians— often seem to be comfortable with what the early church and even the church historic would label as a heresy. That heresy says the salvation offered by God started with Jesus. I won’t go as far as to call this a heresy, but I would certainly label the idea that salvation started with Jesus as a misunderstanding of or an inaccurate reading of the message in the Hebrew Scriptures.
Even a cursory reading of the Exodus should clearly tell anyone God offers salvation. (Quote:) “You saw for yourselves that which I did to Egypt, and how I bore you, carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.” These words describe the action of God and action— especially that action— constitutes salvation. That action is salvation.
Now, my guess is, especially Western Christians, don’t count the action of God in our lives as having anything to do with salvation. Why? Besides the idea that salvation started with Jesus, Western Christians seemed to have grasped onto the notion that salvation is somehow postponed to an afterlife.
And that, indeed, points out a second way we misunderstand, don’t understand, fail to understand the message in Scripture. We equate afterlife with salvation.
Now given that, I find it interesting that often oppressed communities clearly and obviously understand the salvation God offers can be seen as the present action of God. Oppressed communities understand salvation as something tangible, real, something which can happen and even is happening now.
The best proof I can offer about how oppressed communities see salvation as a possibility in the present tense are two hymns based in the experience of African-American community. These two hymns are Go Down Moses and In Egypt under Pharaoh, a hymn we used today. These hymns reference the experience of God as something which can happen now and, therefore, something which should be equated with salvation.
So, why do oppressed communities equate the experience of God right now, in our time, in our midst, with salvation? (Slight pause.) Let’s, for a moment, go back to Star Wars and, once again, explore how that film taps into the human psyche.
I made three claims about that story. Star Wars is about the journey called life. It’s about freedom— human freedom. And in the story there is a sense of some kind of spirit reality beyond human understanding which seems to be a constant presence. (Slight pause.)
You see, Star Wars is not about Luke and Leia and Han and Chewbacca and Obi-Wan as they travel across galaxies. That is merely the story.
So too it is with the Exodus story. Indeed, when this passage was introduced it was said the Sinai episode is at the center of Exodus. It is central to Exodus. And what should draw our attention about that story?
The Exodus story has some basic ideas which tap into the human psyche. The Exodus story tells us life is a journey. The Exodus story tells us that the journey moves us toward freedom. The Exodus story tells us there is some sense of a spirit reality beyond human understanding which seems to be a constant presence.
Star Wars fans call that spirit reality the force. Readers of the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian Scriptures call that spirit reality God. (Slight pause.)
All this should lead us to ask yet another obvious question. If that is a valid reading of the Hebrew Scriptures and accurately assesses how the Hebrew Scriptures address salvation, how should we be reading New Testament on the topic of salvation? (Slight pause.)
Street corner evangelists sometimes ask the question: “Are you saved?” The implication is somewhere, somehow there is a goal to be achieved. But is that the message of Jesus about salvation? (Slight pause.)
In the reading from Matthew we heard these words (quote): “...go make this proclamation: ‘The reign of heaven has drawn near.’” Biblical scholars agree on this. The message of Jesus in the Gospels is clear: God is near. God is with us on the journey. On that journey God walks with us toward the freedom God offers. (Slight pause.)
You see, the prime message of Scripture— the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian Scriptures— is this basic: life is a journey. The journey moves us toward freedom because of the presence of God. And, by the way, there is a sense of some kind of spirit reality beyond human understanding which seems to be a constant presence. And we call that presence God. Amen.
06/18/2017
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: “I’ve said this here before. It bears repeating. The late poet Maya Angelou said she was always surprised when someone told her they were a Christian. She was under the impression that took a lifetime to accomplish. Life is a journey. The journey moves us toward freedom. God walks with us.”
BENEDICTION: Let God’s love be our first awareness each day. Let God’s love flow through our every activity. Let us rejoice that God frees us to be witnesses for God. Let us understand every day as a new adventure in faith because the Creator draws us into community. 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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)