10/29/2017 ~ Proper 25 ~ Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost ~ Deuteronomy 34:1-12; Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17; Leviticus 19:1-2, 15-18; Psalm 1; 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8; Matthew 22:34-46 ~ The Sunday Closest to the 500th Anniversary of the Commemoration of the Protestant Reformation.
500
“Do not be corrupt in administering justice; do not render an unjust judgment; do not show partiality to the poor or defer to the great; do not give honor to the great. Judge your neighbor with justice. Judge your neighbor with fairness. Do not go around slandering people. Do not profit by the blood of your neighbor. I am Yahweh, God.” — Leviticus 19:15-16.
You may have noticed we will be bracketing this service using the hymn A Mighty Fortress Is Our God. The words are by Martin Luther and the melody commonly used is not exactly the same one Luther composed but it is very close to it.
And, as was said at the start of the service, this Sunday is the closest to the 500th Anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, October 31st, 1517. We commemorate that date because it’s said Martin Luther nailed 95 thesis to the door of All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg on that date. But most scholars insist the tale has little to do with reality.
However, naming 1517 as the year the Protestant Reformation came to fruition is accurate. It needs to be noted Luther’s act was not one of rebellion but the act of a dutiful church member trying to help the church steer a sound, Biblically appropriate course.
The fact that we are now 500 years into this era raises a question about the Protestant Reformation, itself. Does the Reformation seem to us moderns to be “back there,” distant? And, if it is back there, distant, what makes it relevant?
Indeed, is not Christianity, itself, “back there,” distant, some 2,000 years ago? And, if it is, what makes Christianity relevant? On top of that, the Jewish traditions from which Christianity emerges, start some 5,000 years ago. And if those origins were “back there,” distant, what makes any of this relevant? (Slight pause.)
Since we commemorate the Protestant Reformation today, I’ll start there. (Slight pause.) Most people probably think the word “protestant” means we, Protestants, are protestant something. But when the word was coined the universal language, one which crossed borders— the lingua franca, to use the modern term— was Latin.
In Latin the word ‘Protestant’ comes from: pro and testari. Testari means to witness, to testify, to attest— as in testament. Pro means for. Hence, the word ‘protestant’ means that one is witnessing, testifying, attesting for something.
For what are we Protestants witnessing, testifying, attesting? In theory, at least, we witness, testify, attest to God. And we witness, testify, attest to the truth of the Word of God as it is found in Scripture. To the extent that we Protestants are protesting anything, again in theory at least, we protest when the institutional church runs afoul of the will and the Word of God as that Word might be discerned in Scripture.
And, as I indicated, that is exactly what Martin Luther did. The Reformation was not about rebellion. It was about witnessing, testifying, attesting, striving to help the church steer a sound, Biblically appropriate course, discern the will of God.
Put another way, the Reformation was about re-formation. It was about inviting the institutional church to a course correction, based on, as well as it can be discerned, the will and the Word of God. (Slight pause.)
These words are in the Nineteenth Chapter of the work known as Leviticus: “Do not be corrupt in administering justice; do not render an unjust judgment; do not show partiality to the poor or defer to the great; do not give honor to the great. Judge your neighbor with justice. Judge your neighbor with fairness. Do not go around slandering people. Do not profit by the blood of your neighbor. I am Yahweh, God.”
This section of Leviticus is devoted to the holiness code of Israel. Therefore, the first place we need to look is the last sentence. (Quote:) “I am Yahweh, God.”
Yahweh, God, is holy. Hence, Yahweh, God, has the audacity to say we should not be corrupt, unjust, partial, maintain justice, especially for the poor and outcast, deal fairly all those we encounter, do not slander and do not profit from the blood of your neighbor— tall order.
Why is that a tall order? Tell me, who among us, indeed, in the entire history of humanity, what institution built by humans has treated each individual with the respect they deserve since each of us and all of us are children of God? What individual or institution has escaped from failing, falling short in some way?
So we need to recognize everything in this text concerns neighbor. It is with neighbor that Israel acts out holiness. And since these words make the assertion that Yahweh, God, is holy, they, therefore, link the reality of neighbor to the reality of God.
Hence, the holiness of God enacted by us must be the justice God seeks on our blue green globe. Israel and we have no viable way to be holy except in and through treating each other as holy in and through transformed social relations. (Slight pause.)
Five hundred years since the Reformation— an interesting number. Let’s go back in time for a moment. (Slight pause.)
It is sometimes said the work known as Genesis contains the mythic, establishing stories of Israel. But, based on the details and the context of the story found in Scripture, if such people as Abram and Sari actually existed, the era in which God would have issued a call to them would have been about 2,500 Before the Common Era.
The tale of Joseph, given the details and context of the story, even if it just a mythic, establishing tale, may well have placed Joseph in Egypt around the year 2,000 Before the Common Era. Next, we get a little beyond myth. In whatever form it took, it is likely some kind of Exodus event happened around 1,500 Before the Common Era.
Now we get to some fairly solid numbers. The reign of David happened around the year 1,000 Before the Common Era. And the Babylonian Exile happened just short of the year 500 Before the Common Era.
Scholars say with confidence the Christ was born in what we would call the year 4 Before the Common Era. So, tell me, do you begin to see a 500 year pattern here?
And yes, the Western Roman Empire crumbles in the year 476 of the Common Era, close enough to be seen as yet another 500 year interval.
Next, many people, especially we Westerners, do not even acknowledge this. The Reformation is not the Great Schism of the church. The Great Schism was the split between the Eastern Church and Western Church. And when did that happen? 1054 is the one scholars and historians use, a date which flows right into the 500 year picture.
Now, you have already heard this here today: we date the Protestant Reformation to 1517. And you have already heard this here today: we are, now, 500 years later.
So, you tell me: is it time for another Reformation, another re-formation of the institution we today call church? It does seem to happen, whether by dint of external forces— the Babylonian Exile, the demise of Rome— or by dint of the fact that we, the institution, become so broken that adjustment is in order. Do note: the adjustments due to brokenness tend to come from the bottom up, not the top down. (Slight pause.)
All that brings me back to the ancient words from Leviticus. The truth is institutions are always in need of Reformation, constant re-formation. If that were not the case the words we heard about not being corrupt, unjust, partial, maintaining justice for the poor and outcast, dealing fairly all those we encounter, not slandering and not profiting from the blood of a neighbor would never have been recorded. (Slight pause.)
Well, I want to suggest the word Reformation has a sense of top down in it. I think that’s because by labeled it the way we do— Reformation happens in big ways and the very word makes it feel big.
But re-formation is, as I suggested, is bottom up. Now, that poses a serious question for the larger church and for this church. At this start of this 500 year cycle, how will we, the larger church and this church, re-form ourselves? (Slight pause.)
I want to suggest we need to start by very much concentrating on our own behavior. When we see corruption, injustice, partiality, unfair dealing, slander and profit from the blood of a neighbor we need to name it. We need to call it out.
And, if we do think bottom up is the way re-formation really works— as a Congregationalist I certainly think that— we first need to monitor ourselves, our behavior. Then we need to ask ourselves how can we witness, testify, attest to God. How can we witness, testify, attest to the Word of God as it is discerned in Scripture.
And yes, we need to link the reality of neighbor to the reality of God. Do not misunderstand me. Re-formation happens slowly, one step at a time. But unless we take that first step toward re-formation here at the local church, Reformation will not happen.
And you know what? We are due for a Reformation and a re-formation. After all, it’s been 500 years. Amen.
10/29/2017
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 came across a quote from theologian Richard Rhor this week. ‘We worshiped Jesus instead of following the same path, made Jesus into a mere religion instead of journeying toward union with God and the children of God. That shift made us a religion of believing and belonging instead of a religion of transformation.’ I want to suggest being a follower of the One, Triune God means being re-formed and transformed as we witness, testify and attest to God.”
BENEDICTION: God sends us into the world ready and equipped. God is with us each day and every day. We can trust God Whose love is steadfast and sure. Let us commit to doing God’s will and God’s work. And may God’s presence be with us this day and forevermore. Amen.
Sunday, October 29, 2017
Sunday, October 22, 2017
SERMON ~ 10/22/2017 ~ “Say One for Me”
10/22/2017 ~ Proper 24 ~ Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost ~ Exodus 33:12-23; Psalm 99; Isaiah 45:1-7; Psalm 96:1-9, (10-13); 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10; Matthew 22:15-22 ~ A Special Meeting of the Church to Vote on a Bylaws Amendment.
Say One for Me
“We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you, remember you, in our prayers, constantly. We call to mind before our God and Creator how you are proving your faith by your actions and labor in love, showing steadfastness, constancy of hope, in our Savior, Jesus, the Christ.” — 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3.
I have probably mentioned this hundreds of times from the pulpit. The denominational tradition of my family, my faith background, is Roman Catholic. Or as I like to say, with a name like Joseph Francis Connolly, Jr., that is hard to hide.
And indeed, my mother spent time in the convent but left before taking her final vows. My father taught in one Roman Catholic High School— a High School run by the Jesuits at that— for his entire working career. And I am, obviously, a pastor.
Jews in the New Testament era— perhaps Jews in the city of Thessalonika— would have labeled someone involved in seeking God, as members of my family have been and are doing now, God seekers. You see, they understood even though a person might not be Jewish, some people take God seriously. The way they saw things is, if you take God seriously, you should be taken seriously.
Back to my family— for many years we lived in a house diagonally across the street from our local parish church, Saint Thomas the Apostle. That made going to Mass on Sunday an easy task. In my house it was often said if you fall out of bed and then take two steps you’re at the front door of the church.
As was true of nearly any inner city church in those days, on a Sunday the Mass schedule started at 7:00 a.m. Then there was one Mass every hour on the hour through 11:00 a.m., that last one being a so called “High Mass” with a choir singing parts of the Mass and the priest waving a thurible, that strange looking pot with burning coal which meant at this Mass the smell of incense permeated the chancel and wafted out into the nave.
For reasons too complex to bother to explain, it seemed most weeks in my family each of the seven of us who lived in that house choose to attend a different mass. My mother always attended the High Mass at 11:00 a.m. because she sang in the choir.
As an early riser, she was very aware of when each of us went out the door and took those two steps across the street to attend one of the Masses. And, when any of us would head out the door toward the church, she would say the same thing to each of us: “Say one for me.”
Effectively, she asked each of us to say a prayer for her as we attended Mass. While, theologically, I would argue each of us and all of us stands in the need of prayer, I would also argue that among the rag-tag group known as the Connolly family my mother was the one least in need of prayer. Still she asked.
She, in fact, said “Say one for me” to us so often that this phrase stuck in the memory of her three children permanently. Therefore when she died, we decided to put that saying on her gravestone. “Say one for me.” (Slight pause.)
We find these words in the First Letter to the Church in a City known in New Testament times and still known today as Thessalonika. “We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you, remember you, in our prayers, constantly. We call to mind before our God and Creator how you are proving your faith by your actions and labor in love, showing steadfastness, constancy of hope, in our Savior, Jesus, the Christ.” (Slight pause.)
I need you to look at the structure of what Paul does in this reading. First, Paul offers thanks. Thanks for who? Thanks for the people of the church, the community of faith gathered, in the City of Thessalonika.
As an aside, we moderns do not get this: all of these churches to whom Paul writes were small. Scholars doubt they would have numbered more than 50 people.
Next, Paul directly says those in that small church at Thessalonika are mentioned, remembered, held in prayer constantly by the Apostle. Then Paul praises them for their attitude, their hope, about the reality of God and Christ.
Paul acknowledges what they are doing by their example is through the movement of the Spirit. And because they are open to the Spirit, it is a model to all believers. Their faith has become known and celebrated everywhere. (Slight pause.)
I want to say two things about that summary. First, we have an example of how each of us, in the context of faith, should constantly relate to those around us.
Second, look at where Paul starts. When I say look at where Paul starts, you need to realize after a standard introductory sentence, Paul starts by offering prayer for the members of the Church in Thessalonika. “Paul effectively says— people of Thessalonika— let me say one for you.” (Slight pause.)
Now, something which has been said to me over and over again in my twenty plus years as a Pastor is a request that I pray for someone. And yes, I do honor those requests.
But that very inquiry, asking me to pray for someone, raises an obvious question. Do I have some kind of special relationship with God which might make any prayer I offer more valid than anyone else who is here today who prays?
The short answer is ‘no.’ I do not have any kind of singular conduit to God. Ordination did not somehow give me a special or secret knowledge about how to pray. And there is no question about this. We all need to follow Paul’s example and pray for one another. (Slight pause.)
It is my perception that what I am about to say is not addressed often enough. There are techniques, ways of praying, which can be taught and learned. These will not make payer any more effective. But they can offer ways for individuals to feel more comfortable praying and help the person for whom the prayer is being offered more comfortable.
Briefly, here are three things any of us can do. First, if you agree to pray with another person, listen carefully to the request and try to discern not just what is verbalized but the emotional depth of the request. Doing this will often offer guidance about what might be placed before God in prayer.
Next, if you are praying one on one with another person, offering prayer while holding hands or just looking into one another’s eyes can add a tactile or visual aspect to prayer. This empowers a real sense of connection with the other person.
Another technique is, as a prayer is being offered, even if the person is with you, close your eyes and visualize the person. Think about the person. Many say doing this can bring both the prayer and the person for whom the prayer is being offered into sharper focus.
All of which brings me back to my Mother. Yes, she may have been the one in our family who was least in need of prayer. But she also understood, as did Paul, that the first thing we need to do with one another and for one another is pray.
And so, we need to pray for one another faithfully and often. We need to hold each other in prayer. We thereby can and even will be empowered to see one another as children of God, equal before God. And oh, by the way, say one for me. Amen.
10/22/2017
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 need to say two things. The item I’ve prepared and something off the top of my head. First, the impromptu piece. I had the honor of being in the presence of the Nobel Laureate Desmond Tutu before he won the Nobel Prize. Someone asked how much he prayed during a single day. He said two to three hours, unless he was under stress. Then it was between three and four hours. As to the second piece, today I said we are ‘children of God.’ Certainly one of the issues in society right now is that some people are seen as outcast, as different, as the other, especially when we do not agree with them. But we are, all of us, children of God. And in God’s world no one is outcast, different, other. I think praying for others, especially those who society sees as outcast, different, other— whether we know them or not— can be life changing. At least for me, when I pray for those I do not know or with whom I do not agree, it becomes much harder for me to fail to see them as children of God.”
BENEDICTION: We have gathered, not just as a community, but as a community of faith. Let us respond to God, who is the true reality, in all that we are and say and do. Let the Holy Spirit dwell among us and may the peace of God which surpasses our understanding be with us this day and forever more. Amen.
Say One for Me
“We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you, remember you, in our prayers, constantly. We call to mind before our God and Creator how you are proving your faith by your actions and labor in love, showing steadfastness, constancy of hope, in our Savior, Jesus, the Christ.” — 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3.
I have probably mentioned this hundreds of times from the pulpit. The denominational tradition of my family, my faith background, is Roman Catholic. Or as I like to say, with a name like Joseph Francis Connolly, Jr., that is hard to hide.
And indeed, my mother spent time in the convent but left before taking her final vows. My father taught in one Roman Catholic High School— a High School run by the Jesuits at that— for his entire working career. And I am, obviously, a pastor.
Jews in the New Testament era— perhaps Jews in the city of Thessalonika— would have labeled someone involved in seeking God, as members of my family have been and are doing now, God seekers. You see, they understood even though a person might not be Jewish, some people take God seriously. The way they saw things is, if you take God seriously, you should be taken seriously.
Back to my family— for many years we lived in a house diagonally across the street from our local parish church, Saint Thomas the Apostle. That made going to Mass on Sunday an easy task. In my house it was often said if you fall out of bed and then take two steps you’re at the front door of the church.
As was true of nearly any inner city church in those days, on a Sunday the Mass schedule started at 7:00 a.m. Then there was one Mass every hour on the hour through 11:00 a.m., that last one being a so called “High Mass” with a choir singing parts of the Mass and the priest waving a thurible, that strange looking pot with burning coal which meant at this Mass the smell of incense permeated the chancel and wafted out into the nave.
For reasons too complex to bother to explain, it seemed most weeks in my family each of the seven of us who lived in that house choose to attend a different mass. My mother always attended the High Mass at 11:00 a.m. because she sang in the choir.
As an early riser, she was very aware of when each of us went out the door and took those two steps across the street to attend one of the Masses. And, when any of us would head out the door toward the church, she would say the same thing to each of us: “Say one for me.”
Effectively, she asked each of us to say a prayer for her as we attended Mass. While, theologically, I would argue each of us and all of us stands in the need of prayer, I would also argue that among the rag-tag group known as the Connolly family my mother was the one least in need of prayer. Still she asked.
She, in fact, said “Say one for me” to us so often that this phrase stuck in the memory of her three children permanently. Therefore when she died, we decided to put that saying on her gravestone. “Say one for me.” (Slight pause.)
We find these words in the First Letter to the Church in a City known in New Testament times and still known today as Thessalonika. “We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you, remember you, in our prayers, constantly. We call to mind before our God and Creator how you are proving your faith by your actions and labor in love, showing steadfastness, constancy of hope, in our Savior, Jesus, the Christ.” (Slight pause.)
I need you to look at the structure of what Paul does in this reading. First, Paul offers thanks. Thanks for who? Thanks for the people of the church, the community of faith gathered, in the City of Thessalonika.
As an aside, we moderns do not get this: all of these churches to whom Paul writes were small. Scholars doubt they would have numbered more than 50 people.
Next, Paul directly says those in that small church at Thessalonika are mentioned, remembered, held in prayer constantly by the Apostle. Then Paul praises them for their attitude, their hope, about the reality of God and Christ.
Paul acknowledges what they are doing by their example is through the movement of the Spirit. And because they are open to the Spirit, it is a model to all believers. Their faith has become known and celebrated everywhere. (Slight pause.)
I want to say two things about that summary. First, we have an example of how each of us, in the context of faith, should constantly relate to those around us.
Second, look at where Paul starts. When I say look at where Paul starts, you need to realize after a standard introductory sentence, Paul starts by offering prayer for the members of the Church in Thessalonika. “Paul effectively says— people of Thessalonika— let me say one for you.” (Slight pause.)
Now, something which has been said to me over and over again in my twenty plus years as a Pastor is a request that I pray for someone. And yes, I do honor those requests.
But that very inquiry, asking me to pray for someone, raises an obvious question. Do I have some kind of special relationship with God which might make any prayer I offer more valid than anyone else who is here today who prays?
The short answer is ‘no.’ I do not have any kind of singular conduit to God. Ordination did not somehow give me a special or secret knowledge about how to pray. And there is no question about this. We all need to follow Paul’s example and pray for one another. (Slight pause.)
It is my perception that what I am about to say is not addressed often enough. There are techniques, ways of praying, which can be taught and learned. These will not make payer any more effective. But they can offer ways for individuals to feel more comfortable praying and help the person for whom the prayer is being offered more comfortable.
Briefly, here are three things any of us can do. First, if you agree to pray with another person, listen carefully to the request and try to discern not just what is verbalized but the emotional depth of the request. Doing this will often offer guidance about what might be placed before God in prayer.
Next, if you are praying one on one with another person, offering prayer while holding hands or just looking into one another’s eyes can add a tactile or visual aspect to prayer. This empowers a real sense of connection with the other person.
Another technique is, as a prayer is being offered, even if the person is with you, close your eyes and visualize the person. Think about the person. Many say doing this can bring both the prayer and the person for whom the prayer is being offered into sharper focus.
All of which brings me back to my Mother. Yes, she may have been the one in our family who was least in need of prayer. But she also understood, as did Paul, that the first thing we need to do with one another and for one another is pray.
And so, we need to pray for one another faithfully and often. We need to hold each other in prayer. We thereby can and even will be empowered to see one another as children of God, equal before God. And oh, by the way, say one for me. Amen.
10/22/2017
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 need to say two things. The item I’ve prepared and something off the top of my head. First, the impromptu piece. I had the honor of being in the presence of the Nobel Laureate Desmond Tutu before he won the Nobel Prize. Someone asked how much he prayed during a single day. He said two to three hours, unless he was under stress. Then it was between three and four hours. As to the second piece, today I said we are ‘children of God.’ Certainly one of the issues in society right now is that some people are seen as outcast, as different, as the other, especially when we do not agree with them. But we are, all of us, children of God. And in God’s world no one is outcast, different, other. I think praying for others, especially those who society sees as outcast, different, other— whether we know them or not— can be life changing. At least for me, when I pray for those I do not know or with whom I do not agree, it becomes much harder for me to fail to see them as children of God.”
BENEDICTION: We have gathered, not just as a community, but as a community of faith. Let us respond to God, who is the true reality, in all that we are and say and do. Let the Holy Spirit dwell among us and may the peace of God which surpasses our understanding be with us this day and forever more. Amen.
Sunday, October 15, 2017
SERMON ~ 10/15/2017 ~ “Advantages”
10/15/2017 ~ Proper 23 ~ Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost ~ Exodus 32:1-14; Psalm 106:1-6, 19-23; Isaiah 25:1-9; Psalm 23; Philippians 4:1-9; Matthew 22:1-14 ~ New Member Ceremony.
Advantages
“Finally, my beloved, my sisters and brothers, your thoughts should be wholly directed to all that is true, all that is honorable, all that deserves respect, all that is honest, all that is just, all that is pure, all that is decent, all that is pleasing, all that is commendable, all that is virtuous, all that is excellent and all that is worthy of praise. Think about these things.” — Philippians 4:8.
I don’t know if you caught this in the news during the past week, but the Pope is at it again. Perhaps the current Pontiff likes to upset applecarts.
This is a quote from Francis: “Tradition is a living reality.... The Word of God cannot be conserved in mothballs as if it were an old blanket to be preserved from parasites.... The Word of God is dynamic, always alive. It progresses and grows because it tends towards a fulfillment that we cannot stop.” (Slight pause.)
That having been said, I want to bring up a term that might sound very academic because it’s in German. It is often applied to studying the Bible. But believe me, this is not academic and it is not the exclusive property of those who study the Bible.
The term is “Sitz im Leben.” Somebody correct my German accent. (The pastor points to a parishioner who has offered a thumbs up.) She says it’s good. O.K.
Roughly translated it means “setting in life.” Sitz im Leben, when referring to the Bible, means ‘what is the situation in the passage you are reading?’ And it simultaneously asks ‘what your current situation?’
‘What is the situation?’ is a complex question. When you read a passage in Scripture you need to ask questions like, ‘what was the economic situation,’ ‘the government structure,’ ‘the cultural practices of the place and time the composition, itself, was written.’ All this goes into Sitz im Leben, the situation. Another question to ask is, if you can discern who wrote a passage, what is the Sitz im Leben of the writer or writers.
Then, if you want to attempt to apply the text being studied to what’s happening today, you need to ask ‘what is the Sitz im Leben today?’ And, if anything, asking what the Sitz im Leben today, is a much harder question to answer than what was the situation in ancient times. Why would it be harder?
That comes back to what the Pope said. “The Word of God is dynamic, always alive. It progresses and grows because it tends towards a fulfillment that we cannot stop.” We congregationalists would say it this way: there is still more light and truth to break forth from God’s Word. (Slight pause.)
We find these words in Philippians: “Finally, my beloved, my sisters and brothers, your thoughts should be wholly directed to all that is true, all that is honorable, all that deserves respect, all that is honest, all that is just, all that is pure, all that is decent, all that is pleasing, all that is commendable, all that is virtuous, all that is excellent and all that is worthy of praise. Think about these things.” (Slight pause.)
So, what is my— my— personal Sitz im Leben, my situation? Let me be real simple about this. I am a Caucasian male in my 60s, who has a higher education.
And let me be clear when it comes to the advantages inherent in my Sitz im Leben. As a Caucasian male, in my 60s with a higher education, opportunities are out there in our society for me today which might not be afforded to someone of a different race or a different gender, no matter how well qualified.
Since there are literally thousands of studies which prove that those prejudices exist, I don’t really think I have to inform you that in modern society there are many disadvantages for women and people of color and advantages for Caucasian men. But let me illustrate that with a picture from a much earlier time where I was on both sides of that coin, at an advantage and at a disadvantage.
At the tender age of 19 I was already working in computer operations. I worked on a big IBM Main Frame computer, something that took up a space the size of the Founders’ Room. It was all Caucasian males on that side of the building.
If you walked across the hall to the Key Punch area, about 50 women were engaged in drudge work, punching data cards on key punch machines. There were a couple of women of color in that room, but not many.
As an aside, those of you who are under, I don’t know, 50 or 55 might need to meet with later and I will try to explain what a key punch machine and punch cards are, or were. My point is back in that time when dinosaurs still roamed the earth called the 1960s and even though I was only 19, just being a Caucasian male gave me access to a job for which none of those women would even be considered and I was paid a lot more than they were.
Now, for me, personally, here’s the other side of that coin. I had dropped out of college. It was the late 1960s. I was neither wealthy nor educated at that point. Therefore, guess who got drafted and went to Vietnam?
Again, since there are literally thousands of studies which prove this happened, I don’t really think have to inform you that in the late 1960s and even today many who go into our armed services lack a higher education and/or are not wealthy. Back in the 1960s that would have been me.
Now I hope, at least from the point of view of an individual, what I’ve said might help you unpack what Sitz im Leben really means. And that swings us around to the Apostle to the Gentiles, Paul, and the obvious question. On the level of the individual what was the Sitz im Leben of this person commonly called Paul of Tarsus?
Well, Paul was able to both read and write and traveled a lot. It is likely this Apostle knew at least 4 languages— Greek, Aramaic, Latin and Hebrew. Paul was a Rabbi, a teacher.
Which is to say it was not just that Paul had what we would today call an upper education. In this society, as one who could read, write, was well traveled and educated, it needs to be understood Paul was a member of the upper class in that society. Last, Paul was not just a Jew. Paul was a citizen of the Roman Empire.
So, please look at all the inherent advantages in the Sitz im Leben of the Apostle to the Gentiles— and when you hear the term Apostle to the Gentiles what you really need to hear is Apostle to the Romans because that’s who the Gentiles were— look at all the inherent advantages Paul was afforded given the Sitz im Leben I just described. Being a citizen of Rome alone probably kept Paul from being killed numerous times over the course of at least a dozen years.
Given Paul’s Sitz im Leben we now need to look at what Paul writes. As I am sure you know, the Roman Empire was a patriarchal society. Yet Paul insists that the people to whom this letter is sent cooperate with two women who have worked with the Rabbi defending and delivering the Good News, the Gospel.
That having been said, Paul then exhorts everyone that their thoughts should be directed to all that is true, honorable, deserves respect, is honest, is just, is pure, is decent, is pleasing, is commendable, is virtuous, is excellent and worthy of praise. Then Paul adds something. Think about these things. The implication is thinking helps doing.
Now, do me a favor. Please look again at all the inherent advantages Paul has. You see, despite that— despite having those advantages— Paul understands that being a follower of the living Christ means he needs to be one with those who are outcast and not capitalizing on those advantages for personal benefit or even for personal safety. Being a follower of the living Christ means not just standing in solidarity with anyone who might be labeled as ‘the other,’ labeled as different, but means working to change the system in a broken world. (Slight pause.)
And that bring us back to our Sitz im Leben, our situation in life, our world. Just living in America means because of our Sitz im Leben we have some built in advantages. Here’s a simple one: for the most part and for instance, we do not have to worry about contaminated drinking water.
As you heard earlier, this is world food day. [1] A lot of Americans are not well nourished. But most of us, most of us, have way more food thank folks in other places, other countries. And this is just simply true in vast swatches of our globe, our world.
Having mentioned those tow, these are simple examples, I think it behooves us to ask the obvious question. To where does the Gospel call us?
Does it call us to silently take advantage of our own Sitz im Leben? Or are we called on to defend and deliver the Good News, the Gospel?
As Pope Francis suggests, does defending and delivering the Good News, the Gospel, call us to profess the Word of God as a (quote:) “...dynamic reality, always alive, that progresses and grows because it tends towards a fulfillment that we cannot stop.” If the answer is ‘yes’ then the next question needs to be ‘how?’ (Slight pause.)
I think Paul has that answer. We need to both think about and do all that is true, honorable, deserves respect, is honest, is just, is pure, is decent, is pleasing, is commendable, is virtuous, is excellent and worthy of praise— tall order, that. Amen.
10/15/2017
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: “American poet John Greenleaf Whittier was a Quaker and a advocate of the abolition of slavery. He wrote this. ‘And so I find it well to come / For deeper rest to this still room, / For here the habit of the soul / Feels less the outer world’s control; / The strength of mutual purpose pleads / More earnestly our common needs; / And from the silence multiplied / By these still forms on either side, / The world that time and sense have known / Falls off and leaves us God alone.’— God alone. That we need God alone is perhaps what I tried to say today. And what I also think I said is what we really need and who we really are— and, by the way, we are all children of God— what we really need and who we really are is, unfortunately and too often, distracted by who we think we are and what we think we need.”
BENEDICTION: God can open our minds to what is true. God can fill our lives when we participate in the work of God’s realm, participate in seeking justice and peace and love. When we seek what is pleasing to God we are doing God’s will. And may the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ, Jesus and the unity of the Holy Spirit, this day and forever more. Amen.
[1] The Church School children prepared Coffee Hour and learned about how food is needed in other places on our planet. Then the Children’s Time focused on that project.
Advantages
“Finally, my beloved, my sisters and brothers, your thoughts should be wholly directed to all that is true, all that is honorable, all that deserves respect, all that is honest, all that is just, all that is pure, all that is decent, all that is pleasing, all that is commendable, all that is virtuous, all that is excellent and all that is worthy of praise. Think about these things.” — Philippians 4:8.
I don’t know if you caught this in the news during the past week, but the Pope is at it again. Perhaps the current Pontiff likes to upset applecarts.
This is a quote from Francis: “Tradition is a living reality.... The Word of God cannot be conserved in mothballs as if it were an old blanket to be preserved from parasites.... The Word of God is dynamic, always alive. It progresses and grows because it tends towards a fulfillment that we cannot stop.” (Slight pause.)
That having been said, I want to bring up a term that might sound very academic because it’s in German. It is often applied to studying the Bible. But believe me, this is not academic and it is not the exclusive property of those who study the Bible.
The term is “Sitz im Leben.” Somebody correct my German accent. (The pastor points to a parishioner who has offered a thumbs up.) She says it’s good. O.K.
Roughly translated it means “setting in life.” Sitz im Leben, when referring to the Bible, means ‘what is the situation in the passage you are reading?’ And it simultaneously asks ‘what your current situation?’
‘What is the situation?’ is a complex question. When you read a passage in Scripture you need to ask questions like, ‘what was the economic situation,’ ‘the government structure,’ ‘the cultural practices of the place and time the composition, itself, was written.’ All this goes into Sitz im Leben, the situation. Another question to ask is, if you can discern who wrote a passage, what is the Sitz im Leben of the writer or writers.
Then, if you want to attempt to apply the text being studied to what’s happening today, you need to ask ‘what is the Sitz im Leben today?’ And, if anything, asking what the Sitz im Leben today, is a much harder question to answer than what was the situation in ancient times. Why would it be harder?
That comes back to what the Pope said. “The Word of God is dynamic, always alive. It progresses and grows because it tends towards a fulfillment that we cannot stop.” We congregationalists would say it this way: there is still more light and truth to break forth from God’s Word. (Slight pause.)
We find these words in Philippians: “Finally, my beloved, my sisters and brothers, your thoughts should be wholly directed to all that is true, all that is honorable, all that deserves respect, all that is honest, all that is just, all that is pure, all that is decent, all that is pleasing, all that is commendable, all that is virtuous, all that is excellent and all that is worthy of praise. Think about these things.” (Slight pause.)
So, what is my— my— personal Sitz im Leben, my situation? Let me be real simple about this. I am a Caucasian male in my 60s, who has a higher education.
And let me be clear when it comes to the advantages inherent in my Sitz im Leben. As a Caucasian male, in my 60s with a higher education, opportunities are out there in our society for me today which might not be afforded to someone of a different race or a different gender, no matter how well qualified.
Since there are literally thousands of studies which prove that those prejudices exist, I don’t really think I have to inform you that in modern society there are many disadvantages for women and people of color and advantages for Caucasian men. But let me illustrate that with a picture from a much earlier time where I was on both sides of that coin, at an advantage and at a disadvantage.
At the tender age of 19 I was already working in computer operations. I worked on a big IBM Main Frame computer, something that took up a space the size of the Founders’ Room. It was all Caucasian males on that side of the building.
If you walked across the hall to the Key Punch area, about 50 women were engaged in drudge work, punching data cards on key punch machines. There were a couple of women of color in that room, but not many.
As an aside, those of you who are under, I don’t know, 50 or 55 might need to meet with later and I will try to explain what a key punch machine and punch cards are, or were. My point is back in that time when dinosaurs still roamed the earth called the 1960s and even though I was only 19, just being a Caucasian male gave me access to a job for which none of those women would even be considered and I was paid a lot more than they were.
Now, for me, personally, here’s the other side of that coin. I had dropped out of college. It was the late 1960s. I was neither wealthy nor educated at that point. Therefore, guess who got drafted and went to Vietnam?
Again, since there are literally thousands of studies which prove this happened, I don’t really think have to inform you that in the late 1960s and even today many who go into our armed services lack a higher education and/or are not wealthy. Back in the 1960s that would have been me.
Now I hope, at least from the point of view of an individual, what I’ve said might help you unpack what Sitz im Leben really means. And that swings us around to the Apostle to the Gentiles, Paul, and the obvious question. On the level of the individual what was the Sitz im Leben of this person commonly called Paul of Tarsus?
Well, Paul was able to both read and write and traveled a lot. It is likely this Apostle knew at least 4 languages— Greek, Aramaic, Latin and Hebrew. Paul was a Rabbi, a teacher.
Which is to say it was not just that Paul had what we would today call an upper education. In this society, as one who could read, write, was well traveled and educated, it needs to be understood Paul was a member of the upper class in that society. Last, Paul was not just a Jew. Paul was a citizen of the Roman Empire.
So, please look at all the inherent advantages in the Sitz im Leben of the Apostle to the Gentiles— and when you hear the term Apostle to the Gentiles what you really need to hear is Apostle to the Romans because that’s who the Gentiles were— look at all the inherent advantages Paul was afforded given the Sitz im Leben I just described. Being a citizen of Rome alone probably kept Paul from being killed numerous times over the course of at least a dozen years.
Given Paul’s Sitz im Leben we now need to look at what Paul writes. As I am sure you know, the Roman Empire was a patriarchal society. Yet Paul insists that the people to whom this letter is sent cooperate with two women who have worked with the Rabbi defending and delivering the Good News, the Gospel.
That having been said, Paul then exhorts everyone that their thoughts should be directed to all that is true, honorable, deserves respect, is honest, is just, is pure, is decent, is pleasing, is commendable, is virtuous, is excellent and worthy of praise. Then Paul adds something. Think about these things. The implication is thinking helps doing.
Now, do me a favor. Please look again at all the inherent advantages Paul has. You see, despite that— despite having those advantages— Paul understands that being a follower of the living Christ means he needs to be one with those who are outcast and not capitalizing on those advantages for personal benefit or even for personal safety. Being a follower of the living Christ means not just standing in solidarity with anyone who might be labeled as ‘the other,’ labeled as different, but means working to change the system in a broken world. (Slight pause.)
And that bring us back to our Sitz im Leben, our situation in life, our world. Just living in America means because of our Sitz im Leben we have some built in advantages. Here’s a simple one: for the most part and for instance, we do not have to worry about contaminated drinking water.
As you heard earlier, this is world food day. [1] A lot of Americans are not well nourished. But most of us, most of us, have way more food thank folks in other places, other countries. And this is just simply true in vast swatches of our globe, our world.
Having mentioned those tow, these are simple examples, I think it behooves us to ask the obvious question. To where does the Gospel call us?
Does it call us to silently take advantage of our own Sitz im Leben? Or are we called on to defend and deliver the Good News, the Gospel?
As Pope Francis suggests, does defending and delivering the Good News, the Gospel, call us to profess the Word of God as a (quote:) “...dynamic reality, always alive, that progresses and grows because it tends towards a fulfillment that we cannot stop.” If the answer is ‘yes’ then the next question needs to be ‘how?’ (Slight pause.)
I think Paul has that answer. We need to both think about and do all that is true, honorable, deserves respect, is honest, is just, is pure, is decent, is pleasing, is commendable, is virtuous, is excellent and worthy of praise— tall order, that. Amen.
10/15/2017
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: “American poet John Greenleaf Whittier was a Quaker and a advocate of the abolition of slavery. He wrote this. ‘And so I find it well to come / For deeper rest to this still room, / For here the habit of the soul / Feels less the outer world’s control; / The strength of mutual purpose pleads / More earnestly our common needs; / And from the silence multiplied / By these still forms on either side, / The world that time and sense have known / Falls off and leaves us God alone.’— God alone. That we need God alone is perhaps what I tried to say today. And what I also think I said is what we really need and who we really are— and, by the way, we are all children of God— what we really need and who we really are is, unfortunately and too often, distracted by who we think we are and what we think we need.”
BENEDICTION: God can open our minds to what is true. God can fill our lives when we participate in the work of God’s realm, participate in seeking justice and peace and love. When we seek what is pleasing to God we are doing God’s will. And may the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ, Jesus and the unity of the Holy Spirit, this day and forever more. Amen.
[1] The Church School children prepared Coffee Hour and learned about how food is needed in other places on our planet. Then the Children’s Time focused on that project.
Sunday, October 8, 2017
SERMON ~ 10/08/2017 ~ “I Did Everything Right”
10/08/2017 ~ Proper 22 ~ Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost ~ Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20; Psalm 19; Isaiah 5:1-7; Psalm 80:7-15; Philippians 3:4b-14; Matthew 21:33-46 ~ Columbus Day Known in Some Places as Indigenous Peoples’ Day a Holiday Weekend on the Secular Calendar.
I Did Everything Right
“I was above reproach when it came to justice based on the Law— blameless.” — Philippians 3:6b.
I’m afraid need to start my comments today with something I said in a sermon last month: I have to begin with a disclaimer. Rumor has it I’m a preacher and preachers tell stories. Rumor has it I’ve been known to tell a story or two and not just from the pulpit, but anytime to nearly anyone.
My problem this morning is I don’t know if I’ve told the story I am about to offer to various people— probably a hundred times— or if I’ve told it from the pulpit. I can’t remember.
I don’t think I’ve told this story from this pulpit, but if I have I apologize. My prayer is, if you’ve heard it before— and again, I’ve told it to hundreds of people probably— it won’t be too boring for you to hear it again.
On to the story— I can name the year this happened: 1961. I was twelve. I know it was 1961 because my family had just moved from a house in Brooklyn, New York where they had lived from September of 1929 through January of 1961— two generations of us— to a house in Queens, New York. For us, this house was new.
When this incident happened I was home alone in the house. I know my mother was not home because she had gone to a doctor’s appointment. I do have a brother and sister, but they were not home. I presume they were in school which makes sense because they went to a different school than I did.
Of course, it’s possible I was home because I was I sick. Did my mother keep me home from school because I was sick? I do not know. Sick or not the point is I was home— alone.
Now, that we were in a new house is a pertinent fact. My Mom had to travel 50 minutes by Subway to the old neighborhood for that doctor’s appointment.
All that having been said, if I was sick I think it is unlikely I was very sick. Why? I decided I would be productive. I decided I was going to help my mother out.
I decided that, while I was home alone and while she was out, I would surprise her. I would clean the bathroom, stem to stern— floors, tub, toilet.
And so, I got to work. When the floors and tub were done, I turned my attention to the toilet. For reasons now beyond me, I took the tank cover off the back top of the toilet and washed it in the tub.
Once I was satisfied it was clean, I lifted it out of the tub and moved it back toward the toilet. You, of course, do realize I was carrying a wet, slippery, heavy piece of porcelain with wet slippery hands.
I think my twelve year old brain did not quite grasp that. Just as I got near the toilet, not quite having made it, this rectangular chunk of white ceramic slipped from my grasp and shattered into hundreds of pieces on the floor.
Needless to say, when I felt the thing begin to slip, I gave up trying to hold on and let go. Therefore, both my hands were now stretched out parallel to the floor, palms down, facing the floor.
Well, there was one oddity about how that tank top shattered. My palms, as I said, faced downward. A single large shard of porcelain— which looked like a dagger about three inches long— logged itself dead center in the palm of my left hand.
I distinctly remember looking at it, amazed it was hanging there, sticking down from my palm, not falling out, just dangling. So, I did what any self confident twelve year old would do. I pulled the shard out. The wound, of course, began to bleed.
I ran to a closet, got a face cloth and pressed it very hard against my palm. Much to my surprise, the bleeding stopped. I think the piece of porcelain really was like a dagger. Had it been jagged, pulling it out would have done more damage. But it was a thin piece, narrow and smooth. So, when I extracted it, no additional damage was done.
Then, knowing my mother was at the doctor’s office, I called there. I got her on the line and explained what had happened. She handed the phone over to Doctor Gabriel Kirshenbaum— the family doctor for two generations.
With his soothing, deep resonant bass voice he calmly walked me through what had happened, what I had done in response, then assured me I would be fine. He did promise my mother would be home soon. He, in fact, gave her money for a cab so she would not have to take the Subway back home.
It was not until she walked through the door that my emotions exploded. I ran to her. I hugged her. She hugged me. And I cried and I cried and I cried.
“Why,” I asked, “why did this happen when I was trying to be helpful, when I trying to do everything right?” (Slight pause.)
We hear these words in the Letter commonly called Philippians: “I was above reproach when it came to justice based on the Law— blameless.” (Slight pause.)
There are those who say Paul was riddled with guilt over an inability to live as the law demanded. However, when this passage is examined carefully Paul obviously is claiming and is proud of the Hebrew heritage. Paul has defended tradition and is deeply involved in it.
Further and to be clear about what should be obvious, Paul is not renouncing doing things right. Paul does not see doing things right as a negative. So, where’s the guilt? Not here, or at least I don’t think so.
But that does pose the question ‘why is Paul not riddled with guilt?’ (Slight pause.) I think the answer is also obvious.
Paul explains that lack of guilt with testimony. Paul’s testimony, Paul’s claim is about an old understanding, a Hebrew understanding, of the relationship of God with humanity.
And Paul’s testimony, Paul’s claim, is also about a new understanding, a new understanding for Paul at least. And the new understanding says the Apostle to the Gentiles, this Apostle has come to better understand of that old relationship with God because of the reality of the Christ.
Why is it significant that Paul has both reclaimed an old understanding and come upon a new one? I personally think what makes this significant is that, in a real sense, these two understandings are one.
And that understanding is both simple and seems to constantly escape us: God loves humanity. Yes, there is no question based on Paul’s testimony that we, humanity, need to strive to do things right. However, and I think this is where Paul is coming from, we need to strive to do things not just right but well.
This is what I mean by doing things well: our doing, our action, is not what’s primary. It is the love God has for humanity which is primary.
That the love of God comes first is a hard thought for many of us. After all, we like to be and we even want to be in control. But we are not.
On the other hand, these words also present us with a paradox. The paradox stems from an insistence that the heritage of the Hebrews is not to be forsaken. After all, when it comes to justice based on the Law Paul is blameless. The paradox? If God is the prime mover, if God takes the initiative, how are we to move forward? Ignore the Law? (Slight pause.)
Paul’s answer is found in the verse I quoted. It says Paul was blameless when it came to justice based on the Law. What it says I think, and therefore, is true justice, God’s justice is not based on the law. Justice is not based on rules.
And that is a very hard concept for us to grasp. Let me phrase that the way it is more commonly said. Justice is not based on our works. We are not justified by works.
And that very basic idea, that justice is not based on our works, should lead to us to ask ‘what is the basis of justice?’ Or, more to the point, ‘what is the basis of God’s justice?’ (Slight pause.)
The basis of God’s justice is relationship. And that is precisely what Paul is driving at. You see, that God takes the initiative is a primary tenet of the Hebrew Scriptures. That God takes the initiative is a primary tenet of the reality of the Christ.
Should we have a response? Yes, we should. But any response on our part pales compared to God’s embrace of humanity, the love of God for humanity.
And that brings me back to the day I mentioned in 1961 I found a shard of porcelain hanging out of my left hand. Should I have not tried to help my mother? My answer is the same as Paul’s answer. Be blameless. Help as much as you can.
But perhaps more to the point, I think in trying to help my mother I was really trying to be about relationship. And yes, sometimes the best laid plans of twelve year old boys do go astray. And yes, there are times our work has no impact on justice or on relationship.
But as Paul insists, what will never go astray is the love God has for humanity. What we should never forget is God loves us and wants to be in relationship with us. And that, my friends, is Paul’s basic testimony. God loves us and wants to be in relationship with us. Amen.
10/08/2017
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: “My late Mother always downplayed Mother’s Day. She always said, ‘Don’t try to give me a present and be nice to me one day a year and forget to deal with the other 364 days.’ A point well taken. Relationship is constant. Love is constant. The law of love, in fact, needs to be our guidelines, our law.”
BENEDICTION: Let us never fear to seek the truth God reveals. Let us live as a resurrection people. Let us understand every day as a new adventure in faith as the Creator draws us into community. 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.
I Did Everything Right
“I was above reproach when it came to justice based on the Law— blameless.” — Philippians 3:6b.
I’m afraid need to start my comments today with something I said in a sermon last month: I have to begin with a disclaimer. Rumor has it I’m a preacher and preachers tell stories. Rumor has it I’ve been known to tell a story or two and not just from the pulpit, but anytime to nearly anyone.
My problem this morning is I don’t know if I’ve told the story I am about to offer to various people— probably a hundred times— or if I’ve told it from the pulpit. I can’t remember.
I don’t think I’ve told this story from this pulpit, but if I have I apologize. My prayer is, if you’ve heard it before— and again, I’ve told it to hundreds of people probably— it won’t be too boring for you to hear it again.
On to the story— I can name the year this happened: 1961. I was twelve. I know it was 1961 because my family had just moved from a house in Brooklyn, New York where they had lived from September of 1929 through January of 1961— two generations of us— to a house in Queens, New York. For us, this house was new.
When this incident happened I was home alone in the house. I know my mother was not home because she had gone to a doctor’s appointment. I do have a brother and sister, but they were not home. I presume they were in school which makes sense because they went to a different school than I did.
Of course, it’s possible I was home because I was I sick. Did my mother keep me home from school because I was sick? I do not know. Sick or not the point is I was home— alone.
Now, that we were in a new house is a pertinent fact. My Mom had to travel 50 minutes by Subway to the old neighborhood for that doctor’s appointment.
All that having been said, if I was sick I think it is unlikely I was very sick. Why? I decided I would be productive. I decided I was going to help my mother out.
I decided that, while I was home alone and while she was out, I would surprise her. I would clean the bathroom, stem to stern— floors, tub, toilet.
And so, I got to work. When the floors and tub were done, I turned my attention to the toilet. For reasons now beyond me, I took the tank cover off the back top of the toilet and washed it in the tub.
Once I was satisfied it was clean, I lifted it out of the tub and moved it back toward the toilet. You, of course, do realize I was carrying a wet, slippery, heavy piece of porcelain with wet slippery hands.
I think my twelve year old brain did not quite grasp that. Just as I got near the toilet, not quite having made it, this rectangular chunk of white ceramic slipped from my grasp and shattered into hundreds of pieces on the floor.
Needless to say, when I felt the thing begin to slip, I gave up trying to hold on and let go. Therefore, both my hands were now stretched out parallel to the floor, palms down, facing the floor.
Well, there was one oddity about how that tank top shattered. My palms, as I said, faced downward. A single large shard of porcelain— which looked like a dagger about three inches long— logged itself dead center in the palm of my left hand.
I distinctly remember looking at it, amazed it was hanging there, sticking down from my palm, not falling out, just dangling. So, I did what any self confident twelve year old would do. I pulled the shard out. The wound, of course, began to bleed.
I ran to a closet, got a face cloth and pressed it very hard against my palm. Much to my surprise, the bleeding stopped. I think the piece of porcelain really was like a dagger. Had it been jagged, pulling it out would have done more damage. But it was a thin piece, narrow and smooth. So, when I extracted it, no additional damage was done.
Then, knowing my mother was at the doctor’s office, I called there. I got her on the line and explained what had happened. She handed the phone over to Doctor Gabriel Kirshenbaum— the family doctor for two generations.
With his soothing, deep resonant bass voice he calmly walked me through what had happened, what I had done in response, then assured me I would be fine. He did promise my mother would be home soon. He, in fact, gave her money for a cab so she would not have to take the Subway back home.
It was not until she walked through the door that my emotions exploded. I ran to her. I hugged her. She hugged me. And I cried and I cried and I cried.
“Why,” I asked, “why did this happen when I was trying to be helpful, when I trying to do everything right?” (Slight pause.)
We hear these words in the Letter commonly called Philippians: “I was above reproach when it came to justice based on the Law— blameless.” (Slight pause.)
There are those who say Paul was riddled with guilt over an inability to live as the law demanded. However, when this passage is examined carefully Paul obviously is claiming and is proud of the Hebrew heritage. Paul has defended tradition and is deeply involved in it.
Further and to be clear about what should be obvious, Paul is not renouncing doing things right. Paul does not see doing things right as a negative. So, where’s the guilt? Not here, or at least I don’t think so.
But that does pose the question ‘why is Paul not riddled with guilt?’ (Slight pause.) I think the answer is also obvious.
Paul explains that lack of guilt with testimony. Paul’s testimony, Paul’s claim is about an old understanding, a Hebrew understanding, of the relationship of God with humanity.
And Paul’s testimony, Paul’s claim, is also about a new understanding, a new understanding for Paul at least. And the new understanding says the Apostle to the Gentiles, this Apostle has come to better understand of that old relationship with God because of the reality of the Christ.
Why is it significant that Paul has both reclaimed an old understanding and come upon a new one? I personally think what makes this significant is that, in a real sense, these two understandings are one.
And that understanding is both simple and seems to constantly escape us: God loves humanity. Yes, there is no question based on Paul’s testimony that we, humanity, need to strive to do things right. However, and I think this is where Paul is coming from, we need to strive to do things not just right but well.
This is what I mean by doing things well: our doing, our action, is not what’s primary. It is the love God has for humanity which is primary.
That the love of God comes first is a hard thought for many of us. After all, we like to be and we even want to be in control. But we are not.
On the other hand, these words also present us with a paradox. The paradox stems from an insistence that the heritage of the Hebrews is not to be forsaken. After all, when it comes to justice based on the Law Paul is blameless. The paradox? If God is the prime mover, if God takes the initiative, how are we to move forward? Ignore the Law? (Slight pause.)
Paul’s answer is found in the verse I quoted. It says Paul was blameless when it came to justice based on the Law. What it says I think, and therefore, is true justice, God’s justice is not based on the law. Justice is not based on rules.
And that is a very hard concept for us to grasp. Let me phrase that the way it is more commonly said. Justice is not based on our works. We are not justified by works.
And that very basic idea, that justice is not based on our works, should lead to us to ask ‘what is the basis of justice?’ Or, more to the point, ‘what is the basis of God’s justice?’ (Slight pause.)
The basis of God’s justice is relationship. And that is precisely what Paul is driving at. You see, that God takes the initiative is a primary tenet of the Hebrew Scriptures. That God takes the initiative is a primary tenet of the reality of the Christ.
Should we have a response? Yes, we should. But any response on our part pales compared to God’s embrace of humanity, the love of God for humanity.
And that brings me back to the day I mentioned in 1961 I found a shard of porcelain hanging out of my left hand. Should I have not tried to help my mother? My answer is the same as Paul’s answer. Be blameless. Help as much as you can.
But perhaps more to the point, I think in trying to help my mother I was really trying to be about relationship. And yes, sometimes the best laid plans of twelve year old boys do go astray. And yes, there are times our work has no impact on justice or on relationship.
But as Paul insists, what will never go astray is the love God has for humanity. What we should never forget is God loves us and wants to be in relationship with us. And that, my friends, is Paul’s basic testimony. God loves us and wants to be in relationship with us. Amen.
10/08/2017
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: “My late Mother always downplayed Mother’s Day. She always said, ‘Don’t try to give me a present and be nice to me one day a year and forget to deal with the other 364 days.’ A point well taken. Relationship is constant. Love is constant. The law of love, in fact, needs to be our guidelines, our law.”
BENEDICTION: Let us never fear to seek the truth God reveals. Let us live as a resurrection people. Let us understand every day as a new adventure in faith as the Creator draws us into community. And may we love God so much, that we love nothing else too much. May we be so in awe of God, that we are in awe of no one else and nothing else. Amen.
Sunday, October 1, 2017
SERMON ~ 10/01/2017 ~ “Right Relationship”
10/01/2017 ~ Proper 21 ~ Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost ~ Exodus 17:1-7 ~ Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16; Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32; Psalm 25:1-9; Philippians 2:1-13; Matthew 21:23-32 ~ Communion Sunday and World Wide Communion Sunday ~ Piano Dedication.
Right Relationship
“When John came to you walking on the road of righteousness— a right relationship with God— and justice, you did not believe, but tax collectors and prostitutes did.” — Matthew 21:32a.
What I am about to say is not true for some of us. But it is true both world wide and for many Americans. Facebook has become ubiquitous, omnipresent.
It seems to be everywhere, on our computers, on our phones, in our lives. Even if you do not have a computer and you do not have a have a so called smart phone, if you read the newspaper, watch television or have conversation with others, at some point Facebook will be mentioned. So the odds are you have at least heard of Facebook.
Facebook’s whole concept is one becomes friends— Facebook friends, that is— with other people. This is, as they say, social networking. Indeed, I am a Facebook friend with people I have never met face to face but with whom I am now networked.
Some are professional contacts, such as John Dorhauer, President and General Minister of the United Church of Christ. Some are simply friends of friends. For instance, David Spiegel, pastor at the First Baptist Church, and I are Facebook friends. Of course, we are not just colleagues. We are friends.
But, because of my Facebook friendship with David, one of his friends, William Field, a professor at Rutgers University and a member of a United Church of Christ Church in New Jersey, sent me a friend request. Why? I don’t really know.
Since I am David’s friend he might have seen something I posted and liked it. In any case, he sent me a friend request and I accepted. Hence, I am now his Facebook friend. We have never met face to face. Do we really know each? Ehhh, not really.
Well, and to be clear, what many people post on Facebook is frivolous, not a bad idea bit frivolous— what they had for dinner, where they are going, that they put up shelving in the kitchen. Family pictures, pet pictures, pictures of them standing in front of landmarks get posted. Well, I recently saw this funny write up about what people post on Facebook. Let me share it. (Slight pause.)
I am trying to make friends outside of Facebook by applying the same principles I use in Facebook. Therefore, today I walked down the street and told the people I passed what I had for dinner, how I felt at that moment, what I did last night, where I will go later and with whom.
I gave these people pictures of my family, of my cats, of me standing in front of landmarks. I even followed people down the block for hundreds of yards, listening to their conversations. I gave them a thumbs up and told them I liked what they said.
It turns out this worked just like Facebook works. When you do this people actually do follow you. I’ve done this for just a day and I already have four people following me: two police officers, a private investigator and a psychiatrist! (Slight pause.)
These words are in the work we have come to know as Matthew: “When John came to you walking on the road of righteousness— a right relationship with God— and justice, you did not believe, but tax collectors and prostitutes did.” (Slight pause.)
Question: which translation of the Bible did the Pilgrims bring with them to these shores? Hint: it was not the King James Bible.
The King James was the work of the English crown, the government and the Anglican Church. The other name by which the Pilgrims are known is, you see, Separatists. They did not agree with the actions of the crown or the church when it came to faith. Neither did the crown nor the church agree with their style of religious practice.
We Twenty-first Century Americans do not seem to get this. The religion an individual practiced in the 17th Century was determined by what the government said the religion of the individual needed to be. The individual had no say.
That, in part, explains why the Bible of the Pilgrims was the Geneva Bible. And, just FYI, the Geneva Bible was what Shakespeare would have used and quoted, since the King James was compiled after the death of the Bard.
This brings me to what I think of as the key word in this passage: righteousness. Today people most take righteousness to mean a person is morally right or justified.
In the translation I used today the word is elaborated on: righteousness— a right relationship with God. I think the one word translation in Geneva Bible, the one the Pilgrims used, is quite accurate. The Geneva Bible used the word right-wise— one is right-wise with God. (Slight pause.)
So, how does all this fit in with Facebook? Facebook may or may not be about real friendships, real relationships. As a New York Times columnist has said about this, our Facebook friends probably will not be able to water our flowers while we are away. But the actual human who lives next door, if we develop and have a real relationship with that person, might. (Slight pause.)
I think real relationships are about a binding trust, covenant. But I am not sure you can have or come to binding trust, covenant, just on a computer, just on Facebook.
Jesus, you see, had a right-wise relationship with God, a binding relationship with God. And Jesus says even some tax collectors and prostitutes have a right-wise relationship with God, a binding relationship with God.
And what is being in a right-wise relationship with God about? It is about trusting God totally, trusting that God walks with us no matter what happens in our lives. (Slight pause.)
And what trait did Jesus, the Messiah, have with God? As the reading from Philippians today reminded us, Jesus trusted God totally. (Pause.)
What I am about to say may sound like I am getting off my central idea here, that we need to emulate Jesus in our trust of God. But believe me, I am not.
Total trust, you see, by its nature involves our emotional life. And the language we call music unquestionably involves our emotional life. And so today we will dedicate a piano. As we do so we shall pray— this is in the liturgy— that “...we must, ourselves, be dedicated to seeking Your will and doing Your will.”
Unless we engage not just our intellect but our emotional lives in trusting God there is no way we can be dedicated to seeking and doing the will of God. And music helps us do that— engage emotionally.
Therefore, it is appropriate that today we dedicated this instrument. Also and indeed, as we encourage one another let us be in right-wise relationship with God and with one another, rather than being satisfied with the kinds of surface relationships we so often see all around us, that we so often see in society today. Amen.
10/01/2017 ~ Dedication of the Chaplin Family Piano
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: “You have probably heard me say this many times. The famous lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II said song happens in a musical when the emotions being conveyed are too great to be carried by mere dialogue. Our relationship with God is not and cannot be simply an intellectual relationship or even a distant relationship. Our relationship with God needs to be right-wise, fully engaged on all levels, including an emotional level. Therefore, make no mistake about this. Every time we sing a hymn certainly one purpose is to help us engage with God on an emotional level. And that has been true since some lyricist and some composer wrote the first Psalm.”
BENEDICTION: The grace of God is deeper than our imagination. The strength of Christ is stronger than our need. The communion of the Holy Spirit is richer than our togetherness. O Holy Triune God, guide and sustain us today and in all our tomorrows. Amen.
Right Relationship
“When John came to you walking on the road of righteousness— a right relationship with God— and justice, you did not believe, but tax collectors and prostitutes did.” — Matthew 21:32a.
What I am about to say is not true for some of us. But it is true both world wide and for many Americans. Facebook has become ubiquitous, omnipresent.
It seems to be everywhere, on our computers, on our phones, in our lives. Even if you do not have a computer and you do not have a have a so called smart phone, if you read the newspaper, watch television or have conversation with others, at some point Facebook will be mentioned. So the odds are you have at least heard of Facebook.
Facebook’s whole concept is one becomes friends— Facebook friends, that is— with other people. This is, as they say, social networking. Indeed, I am a Facebook friend with people I have never met face to face but with whom I am now networked.
Some are professional contacts, such as John Dorhauer, President and General Minister of the United Church of Christ. Some are simply friends of friends. For instance, David Spiegel, pastor at the First Baptist Church, and I are Facebook friends. Of course, we are not just colleagues. We are friends.
But, because of my Facebook friendship with David, one of his friends, William Field, a professor at Rutgers University and a member of a United Church of Christ Church in New Jersey, sent me a friend request. Why? I don’t really know.
Since I am David’s friend he might have seen something I posted and liked it. In any case, he sent me a friend request and I accepted. Hence, I am now his Facebook friend. We have never met face to face. Do we really know each? Ehhh, not really.
Well, and to be clear, what many people post on Facebook is frivolous, not a bad idea bit frivolous— what they had for dinner, where they are going, that they put up shelving in the kitchen. Family pictures, pet pictures, pictures of them standing in front of landmarks get posted. Well, I recently saw this funny write up about what people post on Facebook. Let me share it. (Slight pause.)
I am trying to make friends outside of Facebook by applying the same principles I use in Facebook. Therefore, today I walked down the street and told the people I passed what I had for dinner, how I felt at that moment, what I did last night, where I will go later and with whom.
I gave these people pictures of my family, of my cats, of me standing in front of landmarks. I even followed people down the block for hundreds of yards, listening to their conversations. I gave them a thumbs up and told them I liked what they said.
It turns out this worked just like Facebook works. When you do this people actually do follow you. I’ve done this for just a day and I already have four people following me: two police officers, a private investigator and a psychiatrist! (Slight pause.)
These words are in the work we have come to know as Matthew: “When John came to you walking on the road of righteousness— a right relationship with God— and justice, you did not believe, but tax collectors and prostitutes did.” (Slight pause.)
Question: which translation of the Bible did the Pilgrims bring with them to these shores? Hint: it was not the King James Bible.
The King James was the work of the English crown, the government and the Anglican Church. The other name by which the Pilgrims are known is, you see, Separatists. They did not agree with the actions of the crown or the church when it came to faith. Neither did the crown nor the church agree with their style of religious practice.
We Twenty-first Century Americans do not seem to get this. The religion an individual practiced in the 17th Century was determined by what the government said the religion of the individual needed to be. The individual had no say.
That, in part, explains why the Bible of the Pilgrims was the Geneva Bible. And, just FYI, the Geneva Bible was what Shakespeare would have used and quoted, since the King James was compiled after the death of the Bard.
This brings me to what I think of as the key word in this passage: righteousness. Today people most take righteousness to mean a person is morally right or justified.
In the translation I used today the word is elaborated on: righteousness— a right relationship with God. I think the one word translation in Geneva Bible, the one the Pilgrims used, is quite accurate. The Geneva Bible used the word right-wise— one is right-wise with God. (Slight pause.)
So, how does all this fit in with Facebook? Facebook may or may not be about real friendships, real relationships. As a New York Times columnist has said about this, our Facebook friends probably will not be able to water our flowers while we are away. But the actual human who lives next door, if we develop and have a real relationship with that person, might. (Slight pause.)
I think real relationships are about a binding trust, covenant. But I am not sure you can have or come to binding trust, covenant, just on a computer, just on Facebook.
Jesus, you see, had a right-wise relationship with God, a binding relationship with God. And Jesus says even some tax collectors and prostitutes have a right-wise relationship with God, a binding relationship with God.
And what is being in a right-wise relationship with God about? It is about trusting God totally, trusting that God walks with us no matter what happens in our lives. (Slight pause.)
And what trait did Jesus, the Messiah, have with God? As the reading from Philippians today reminded us, Jesus trusted God totally. (Pause.)
What I am about to say may sound like I am getting off my central idea here, that we need to emulate Jesus in our trust of God. But believe me, I am not.
Total trust, you see, by its nature involves our emotional life. And the language we call music unquestionably involves our emotional life. And so today we will dedicate a piano. As we do so we shall pray— this is in the liturgy— that “...we must, ourselves, be dedicated to seeking Your will and doing Your will.”
Unless we engage not just our intellect but our emotional lives in trusting God there is no way we can be dedicated to seeking and doing the will of God. And music helps us do that— engage emotionally.
Therefore, it is appropriate that today we dedicated this instrument. Also and indeed, as we encourage one another let us be in right-wise relationship with God and with one another, rather than being satisfied with the kinds of surface relationships we so often see all around us, that we so often see in society today. Amen.
10/01/2017 ~ Dedication of the Chaplin Family Piano
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: “You have probably heard me say this many times. The famous lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II said song happens in a musical when the emotions being conveyed are too great to be carried by mere dialogue. Our relationship with God is not and cannot be simply an intellectual relationship or even a distant relationship. Our relationship with God needs to be right-wise, fully engaged on all levels, including an emotional level. Therefore, make no mistake about this. Every time we sing a hymn certainly one purpose is to help us engage with God on an emotional level. And that has been true since some lyricist and some composer wrote the first Psalm.”
BENEDICTION: The grace of God is deeper than our imagination. The strength of Christ is stronger than our need. The communion of the Holy Spirit is richer than our togetherness. O Holy Triune God, guide and sustain us today and in all our tomorrows. Amen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)