06/24/2018 ~ Fifth Sunday after Pentecost ~ Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Proper 7 ~ 1 Samuel 17:(1a, 4-11, 19-23), 32-49; Psalm 9:9-20 or 1 Samuel 17:57-18:5, 18:10-16; Psalm 133; Job 38:1-11; Psalm 107:1-3, 23-32; 2 Corinthians 6:1-13; Mark 4:35-41 ~ Annual Meeting; a Ceremony of Shalom; Certificates to Members in Long Standing Ceremony; OFC Mission Project Presentation.
The Present Tense
Moments ago you heard these words from Second Corinthians: “For God says, [and here Paul quotes the prophet Isaiah] / ‘At an acceptable time I heard you, / and on a day of salvation I helped you’ (unquote). / See, now is the acceptable time! See, now is the day of salvation!” — 2 Corinthians 6:2.
In this brief reading I think Paul says something amazing. First, God listens and hears. What? God listens... to us? And hears? How remarkable.
O.K. But what is this acceptable time to which God refers? I need to say two things about that. Paul quotes Second Isaiah, a passage probably written in the 6th Century Before the Common Era. The Israelites were in captivity in Babylon.
And, of course, this Apostle writes in the First Century of the Common Era, hundreds of years later. Despite the elapsed time since then, it’s clear we are meant to hear these words today— today— since these words are couched in the present tense. “Now is the acceptable time.”
What are we to make of that? (Slight pause.) This is how I understand it: we need to participate in the Dominion of God, right here, right now. (Slight pause.)
This service of worship has already and will, in may ways, reinforce that message. We invoked the blessing of God as we said goodbye to a member of the community.
Later we shall honor members in long standing. We will also bless and give thanks for one of our mission projects, this one with Opportunities for Chenango.
And yes, we shall have an organizational meeting. All of which informs us since, in these rituals, we recognize where we have been, were are now and where we need to go. (Slight pause.)
In the July/August Newsletter of this church which will get mailed next Friday. In it I will be writing about what happened two weeks ago when the New York Conference of the United Church of Christ had its Annual Meeting. I will address something of great importance about where we have been, were are now and where we need to go.
At the meeting we passed a resolution which declared us to be an anti-racism Conference. If you’re paying any attention to the news, one can readily argue we live in difficult times when it comes to ethical issues. And one could readily argue we humans always live in difficult times when it comes to ethical issues.
But that is the point I think Paul is making. Especially in times seen as difficult, this is the acceptable time. Now is the time for us to take a stand for God’s justice, God’s equity, God’s peace, God’s hope, God’s freedom, God’s love.
Now is the acceptable time for us to strive to live by ethical standards beyond reproach. So, where have we been unethical by breaking covenant? When we break covenant with anyone— anyone— that is unethical. So committing to anti-racism is but a small step on that ethical journey.
And now is the acceptable time for us to examine our own ethical standards. Now is the acceptable time for us to participate in the Dominion of God, the Realm of God, the acceptable time to embrace God’s love in this, our broken world. Amen. [1]
06/24/2018
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: “Earlier I said the New York Conference of the United Church of Christ passed an anti-racism resolution. We were moved to consider it because of an incident of racism on the campus at Syracuse University and the Conference Meeting was just miles away from the campus. On the other hand, it is telling that in today’s world we even had to consider such a resolution. Indeed, both the headlines in the news and that such a resolution was on our docket informs us about how broken, how lacking in ethical standards our world is. I need to add that didn’t happen yesterday. That’s not new. It also informs us about the work we need to do to help this broken world participate in the Dominion of God, the Realm of God. It is my hope that here today, in this service of worship at least ritually, we addressed some of that. It is my hope that those rituals empower us to move out from these walls and into world where the Gospel is in sore need of being preached.”
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.
[1] Note: because of all the extra rituals in this service of worship, i.e.: an Annual Meeting, a Ceremony of Shalom, Certificates to Members in Long Standing Ceremony and a culmination of the Deacons’ OFC Mission Project Presentation, this is a relatively short homily.
Sunday, June 24, 2018
Sunday, June 17, 2018
SERMON ~ 06/17/2018 ~ “No Comparisons”
06/17/2018 ~ Fourth Sunday after Pentecost ~ Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Proper 6 ~ 1 Samuel 15:34 - 16:13; Psalm 20; Ezekiel 17:22-24; Psalm 92:1-4, 12-15; 2 Corinthians 5:6-10, (11-13), 14-17; Mark 4:26-34 ~ Father’s Day on the Secular Calendar.
No Comparisons
“With many such parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it, as much as they could understand; indeed, Jesus did not speak to them except in parables,....” — Mark 4:33.
There is no question about this: one of the great story tellers of our time is movie director Stephen Spielberg. Among the movies Spielberg has directed are Jaws, Close Encounters of a Third Kind, ET, Lincoln, Raiders of the Lost Ark (many versions of that), Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List.
Interestingly those last two, Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List were released in the same year. How could two stories be more different than those two? So Spielberg is not just a story teller but a versatile one.
And yes, I just referred to Spielberg as a story teller. And yes, we often think of writers as story tellers. And yes I know Spielberg does not write movies. He directs them.
That I would refer to a movie director and not a movie writer as a story teller tells us something about the medium called cinema. Movies are not a writer’s medium. Movies are a director’s medium.
Let me explain: these are examples of true mediums for writers— novels, plays, short stories to name just three. And in many ways the most important thing a writer does in spinning out a tale in any of these mediums is figure out how to tell a specific story within those forms.
Put differently, in a writer’s medium the writer needs to ask ‘what scenes will be revealed and in what sequence will they be revealed as the story is told?’ Indeed, it is pivotal to ask what scene must absolutely, positively be revealed next, right after the one currently in focus to make the whole story work, hang together, make sense.
Sometimes that concept is phrased this way. It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. Please note: this cliche is often also heard: “It’s not what you say, it’s the way that you say it.”
But that’s not what I just said. I said the way you say it, the dialogue, the words, are less important than how you say it. Mere words, on their own, do not carry a story. Scenes carry a story.
And that is why movies are a director’s medium, not a writer’s medium. The director has final say in what scene we see next and in which sequence we see the scenes. Those decision are about the way you say it.
In fact, Spielberg is famous for saying all stories, any story, actually never starts and never ends. The story was moving and active before the point at which the story teller starts, before the first scene we might see or read. And the story will continue after THE END flashes up on the screen or the last page of a book is read. Stories never really start or end. We just see the segment being told. (Slight pause.)
These words are found in the work known as Mark: “With many such parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it, as much as they could understand; indeed, Jesus did not speak to them except in parables,....” (Slight pause.)
Now that I’ve said all that about story telling I hope this is obvious. The medium in which a story is told is an important aspect of any story, an important aspect of how the story is conveyed.
Therefore, a movie is different than a play, different than a short story, different than a novel. All these mediums tell stories but in different ways.
In the New Testament we get four Gospels. The Gospels are their own exclusive medium, like nothing else, like no other kind of literature. And what do we get in the medium called Gospel?
It is often said we get “good news.” The very phrase “good news” begs the question: what is the good news?
Well, what is the story the Gospels tell? Many would argue the Gospels tell the story of the life and the crucifixion, the life and death of the Christ. I respectfully disagree. I would even suggest that interpretation misses the point of the story.
Precisely because of how the scenes of the Gospels unfold, the scene we are shown last, the scene which I maintain the good news, the point of the story. It is, therefore, is simple and easy to identify. It sits right in front of us. Christ is risen. God is with us.
We also need to realize the four Gospels each tell that story in a very different way. They each present the story in their own way, have a different way of unfolding the scenes to express the good news.
Indeed, the Gospels, individually and collectively, are unquestionably, complex. They say many things. There are many stories therein. But I again insist the Gospels have a singular message when it comes to the point of the story. Christ is risen. God is with us.
So, the Gospels are complex stories with a simple message. Now let’s turn to the parables which are also complex.
As you heard when this Gospel reading was introduced, if you read a parable and glean only one meaning from it, you mis-read it. Parables are meant to spark the imagination, provoke more than one meaning. Therefore, you have within the complex story form called the Gospels, a small complex story form called parables.
Now, it is sometime said the parables are meant to be metaphors. So, let’s ask this: what is a metaphor? A metaphor is a way of saying what something is by saying what it is like. Therefore, you use something, by definition, it is not exactly like to describe it.
So a parable is not an exact description— not an exact description. Indeed, the words from this reading say (quote:) “Jesus did not speak to them except in parables,....” Put differently, even Jesus lacked the language to exactly describe the Dominion of God. (Slight pause.)
That, of course, still begs the question, what is the Dominion of God like? Tell me, what does your imagination tell you about what the Dominion of God is like? (Slight pause.)
Earlier I said for me the good news, the Gospel message, means Christ is risen. God is with us. It is that simple.
If my premise is right, that the metaphors known as parables are meant to draw us in, to spark our imagination, then I want to suggest understanding the parables might be simpler than we realize. I want to suggest the parables say the Dominion of God— note: not heaven but the Dominion of God— I want to suggest the parables say the Dominion of God is available right here, right now. You see, if Christ is risen, it is a given that God is with us; God reigns right here, right now.
Further, I want to suggest the specific parables we heard today say the Dominion of God is a place where things grow. Therefore, in the Dominion of God which is right here, right now, we need to help the world around us grow.
We need to help the world around us grow in justice— God’s justice. We need to help the world around us grow in equity— God’s equity. We need to help the world around us grow in peace— God’s peace. We need to help the world around us grow in hope— God’s hope.
We need to help the world around us grow in freedom— God’s freedom. We need to help the world around us grow in love— God’s love. (Slight pause.)
What is the Dominion of God like? The Dominion of God is like nothing we fully know. But the Dominion of God can be more real for us when we acknowledge the presence of Christ is with us always. The Dominion of God can be more real for us when we strive to seek God’s will. (Slight pause.)
I recently heard it said if you point your finger toward the moon you should not mistake your finger for the moon. The Bible is like a finger pointing toward the moon. The Dominion of God, present and real, is the moon.
And yes, story telling is a complicated, complex business. The Gospels and the parables within them tell a complicated, complex story. But the complicated, complex stories found in Scripture are not the Dominion of God.
Rather, the stories point toward the Dominion of God. And so where is this dominion of God? If we pay attention to what the story of the Gospels say— the presence of God is indeed with us— then we can then be empowered to strive to work on helping the world grow, on letting the love of God reign, right here, right now. In short, the Dominion of God is real, right here, right now... if we are simply aware of the presence of God. Amen.
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, New York
06/17/2018
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: “Here is a paradox: what makes a good story is, as its scenes unfold, it never tells you what its message is. Good story telling simply invites you to explore. The Gospels, the parables invite us to explore the idea that possibilities abound when we become aware God is present with us. It is, hence, incumbent on us to work with God toward a fulness of the Reign of God.”
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.
No Comparisons
“With many such parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it, as much as they could understand; indeed, Jesus did not speak to them except in parables,....” — Mark 4:33.
There is no question about this: one of the great story tellers of our time is movie director Stephen Spielberg. Among the movies Spielberg has directed are Jaws, Close Encounters of a Third Kind, ET, Lincoln, Raiders of the Lost Ark (many versions of that), Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List.
Interestingly those last two, Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List were released in the same year. How could two stories be more different than those two? So Spielberg is not just a story teller but a versatile one.
And yes, I just referred to Spielberg as a story teller. And yes, we often think of writers as story tellers. And yes I know Spielberg does not write movies. He directs them.
That I would refer to a movie director and not a movie writer as a story teller tells us something about the medium called cinema. Movies are not a writer’s medium. Movies are a director’s medium.
Let me explain: these are examples of true mediums for writers— novels, plays, short stories to name just three. And in many ways the most important thing a writer does in spinning out a tale in any of these mediums is figure out how to tell a specific story within those forms.
Put differently, in a writer’s medium the writer needs to ask ‘what scenes will be revealed and in what sequence will they be revealed as the story is told?’ Indeed, it is pivotal to ask what scene must absolutely, positively be revealed next, right after the one currently in focus to make the whole story work, hang together, make sense.
Sometimes that concept is phrased this way. It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. Please note: this cliche is often also heard: “It’s not what you say, it’s the way that you say it.”
But that’s not what I just said. I said the way you say it, the dialogue, the words, are less important than how you say it. Mere words, on their own, do not carry a story. Scenes carry a story.
And that is why movies are a director’s medium, not a writer’s medium. The director has final say in what scene we see next and in which sequence we see the scenes. Those decision are about the way you say it.
In fact, Spielberg is famous for saying all stories, any story, actually never starts and never ends. The story was moving and active before the point at which the story teller starts, before the first scene we might see or read. And the story will continue after THE END flashes up on the screen or the last page of a book is read. Stories never really start or end. We just see the segment being told. (Slight pause.)
These words are found in the work known as Mark: “With many such parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it, as much as they could understand; indeed, Jesus did not speak to them except in parables,....” (Slight pause.)
Now that I’ve said all that about story telling I hope this is obvious. The medium in which a story is told is an important aspect of any story, an important aspect of how the story is conveyed.
Therefore, a movie is different than a play, different than a short story, different than a novel. All these mediums tell stories but in different ways.
In the New Testament we get four Gospels. The Gospels are their own exclusive medium, like nothing else, like no other kind of literature. And what do we get in the medium called Gospel?
It is often said we get “good news.” The very phrase “good news” begs the question: what is the good news?
Well, what is the story the Gospels tell? Many would argue the Gospels tell the story of the life and the crucifixion, the life and death of the Christ. I respectfully disagree. I would even suggest that interpretation misses the point of the story.
Precisely because of how the scenes of the Gospels unfold, the scene we are shown last, the scene which I maintain the good news, the point of the story. It is, therefore, is simple and easy to identify. It sits right in front of us. Christ is risen. God is with us.
We also need to realize the four Gospels each tell that story in a very different way. They each present the story in their own way, have a different way of unfolding the scenes to express the good news.
Indeed, the Gospels, individually and collectively, are unquestionably, complex. They say many things. There are many stories therein. But I again insist the Gospels have a singular message when it comes to the point of the story. Christ is risen. God is with us.
So, the Gospels are complex stories with a simple message. Now let’s turn to the parables which are also complex.
As you heard when this Gospel reading was introduced, if you read a parable and glean only one meaning from it, you mis-read it. Parables are meant to spark the imagination, provoke more than one meaning. Therefore, you have within the complex story form called the Gospels, a small complex story form called parables.
Now, it is sometime said the parables are meant to be metaphors. So, let’s ask this: what is a metaphor? A metaphor is a way of saying what something is by saying what it is like. Therefore, you use something, by definition, it is not exactly like to describe it.
So a parable is not an exact description— not an exact description. Indeed, the words from this reading say (quote:) “Jesus did not speak to them except in parables,....” Put differently, even Jesus lacked the language to exactly describe the Dominion of God. (Slight pause.)
That, of course, still begs the question, what is the Dominion of God like? Tell me, what does your imagination tell you about what the Dominion of God is like? (Slight pause.)
Earlier I said for me the good news, the Gospel message, means Christ is risen. God is with us. It is that simple.
If my premise is right, that the metaphors known as parables are meant to draw us in, to spark our imagination, then I want to suggest understanding the parables might be simpler than we realize. I want to suggest the parables say the Dominion of God— note: not heaven but the Dominion of God— I want to suggest the parables say the Dominion of God is available right here, right now. You see, if Christ is risen, it is a given that God is with us; God reigns right here, right now.
Further, I want to suggest the specific parables we heard today say the Dominion of God is a place where things grow. Therefore, in the Dominion of God which is right here, right now, we need to help the world around us grow.
We need to help the world around us grow in justice— God’s justice. We need to help the world around us grow in equity— God’s equity. We need to help the world around us grow in peace— God’s peace. We need to help the world around us grow in hope— God’s hope.
We need to help the world around us grow in freedom— God’s freedom. We need to help the world around us grow in love— God’s love. (Slight pause.)
What is the Dominion of God like? The Dominion of God is like nothing we fully know. But the Dominion of God can be more real for us when we acknowledge the presence of Christ is with us always. The Dominion of God can be more real for us when we strive to seek God’s will. (Slight pause.)
I recently heard it said if you point your finger toward the moon you should not mistake your finger for the moon. The Bible is like a finger pointing toward the moon. The Dominion of God, present and real, is the moon.
And yes, story telling is a complicated, complex business. The Gospels and the parables within them tell a complicated, complex story. But the complicated, complex stories found in Scripture are not the Dominion of God.
Rather, the stories point toward the Dominion of God. And so where is this dominion of God? If we pay attention to what the story of the Gospels say— the presence of God is indeed with us— then we can then be empowered to strive to work on helping the world grow, on letting the love of God reign, right here, right now. In short, the Dominion of God is real, right here, right now... if we are simply aware of the presence of God. Amen.
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, New York
06/17/2018
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: “Here is a paradox: what makes a good story is, as its scenes unfold, it never tells you what its message is. Good story telling simply invites you to explore. The Gospels, the parables invite us to explore the idea that possibilities abound when we become aware God is present with us. It is, hence, incumbent on us to work with God toward a fulness of the Reign of God.”
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.
Sunday, June 3, 2018
SERMON ~ 06/03/2018 ~ “Observing the Sabbath”
06/03/2018 ~ Second Sunday after Pentecost ~ Proper 4 ~ Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ 1 Samuel 3:1-10, (11-20); Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18; Deuteronomy 5:12-15; Psalm 81:1-10; 2 Corinthians 4:5-12; Mark 2:23-3:6 ~ Communion Sunday ~ Celebrate Cheri Sunday, i.e.: A Celebration of Ministry ~ Reception of New Members.
Observing the Sabbath
“But the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh, your God. You shall not do any work— neither you, nor your son nor your daughter, nor workers, nor your ox nor your donkey, nor any of your livestock, your animals, nor even the foreigners in your towns, the foreigners who live among you. Thus your workers— both men and women— will rest as you do.” — Deuteronomy 5:14.
One of my Seminary professors, the Rev. Mr. Cliff Davis, grew up in Massachusetts in the 1940s and 50s. He got an Associates Degree from Paul Smith’s College here in upstate New York when a two year degree was all that school offered.
While there he met and married a local woman, then went off to the University of Colorado in Denver Where he picked up a degree in Business Management. At that point Cliff heard a call to ministry and went to Bangor Theological Seminary— thirty years before I wound up there— for that state accredited 90 credit Master of Divinity I talk about. Once ordained, he served churches in New Hampshire.
Having served those churches he decided his real calling within ministry was to be a seminary librarian. And so he returned to Bangor first in the role of acting librarian and then librarian when he acquired the academic credential necessary to fill that slot at the graduate level— a Master of Library Science from the University of Maine.
This should be obvious. Having become a seminary librarian there was one thing Cliff no longer did: serve a local church.
When people asked Cliff, as they sometimes did, why he no longer served a local church he had a stock response. With a twinkle in his eye he would say, “Why would I serve a local church? After all, it’s against my religion to work on Sundays.” (Slight pause.)
These are words from the Torah in the work commonly called Deuteronomy: “But the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh, your God. You shall not do any work— neither you, nor your son nor your daughter, nor workers, nor your ox nor your donkey, nor any of your livestock, your animals, nor even the foreigners in your towns, the foreigners who live among you. Thus your workers— both men and women— will rest as you do.” (Slight pause.)
The first five books of the Bible are referred to as the Torah. In English that word is often rendered as the Law. That, at best, offers a poor understanding of what the word Torah means. Torah is better understood as Teachings.
Indeed, as was noted when the passage from Deuteronomy was introduced and contrary to populist belief, the words of the Decalogue are not commands with the same sense one might assign in English. There is, after all, no command tense in Hebrew.
It also needs to be said when the commandments are referenced in Scripture, especially in the New Testament, most of the time the Ten are not being addressed. Let me repeat that: in the New Testament when the commandments are referenced it is not the Ten being addressed. What is being addressed are the mitzvah. The teachings named most often refer to the mitzvah, the 613 mitzvah, the 613 teachings in Scripture.
Further, when examined with care, it should be evident the words we heard today are teachings— teachings about how relationships are acted out. These words are about relationship with God, with one another, with the environment in which we live, with self. Here’s another way to put it: these words are about covenant— covenant with God, with one another, with the environment in which we live, with self.
Let me put that another way. These specific words concern observing Sabbath. A Sabbath is about our relationship with God, with one another, with the environment in which we live, with self.
All right, let me put that yet another way again. These words are about being empowered to do the ministry to which God calls us because we honor our relationship with God, with one another, with the environment in which we live, with self. (Slight pause.)
That leaves three questions open: what is covenant about, really? What is ministry about, really? And how are these reflected in keeping Sabbath? (Slight pause.)
I can assure you of this: covenant is about growth. In order to be in covenant, in order to maintain covenant, growth— dare I say it— change is necessary.
In order to be in relationship with God, with one another, with the environment in which we live, with self, we need to grow, change. In order to do ministry we need to be in relationship with God, with one another, with the environment in which we live, with self... which means change.
I hope something is, therefore, evident. A hallmark of the ministry to which we are called, to which we are all called by God is full engagement in growth— full engagement in growth— growth in relationship with God, with one another, with the environment in which we live, with self.
So, how is covenant growth nurtured by Sabbath? These are the words Mark uses describe the position of Jesus concerning Sabbath (quote:) “The Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath.”
Hence, I hope this is also evident. Growth needs to start with self. Therefore, each of us, we together, need to first take care of self in order to empower growth.
I want to suggest taking care of self is what Sabbath is really about— about people fully realizing themselves, who they have been, who they are, who they might become, how they might grow. This can be and is done by taking time— Sabbath is the label used here to address this kind of time— time taken to understand relationship with self and God.
Paradoxically and hence, Sabbath is work. It is work on self so one can nurture growth in self and thereby growth for and with others.
You see, once someone understands their relationship with God one becomes more aware of self— who they have been, who they are, who they might become, their place in their own environment. Then, at that point, they can begin to reach out to others, reach out in covenant love.
And that work of reaching out is, my friends, called ministry. The danger is, of course, that one will become satisfied with self or simply tied and give up, stop engaging in ministry, stop growing. Let me direct your attention back to that word— covenant— it means growth. (Slight pause.)
In a few moments we shall recognize the ministry of Cheryl Aranka Willard— Cheri— our Parish Coordinator— Parish Coordinator— an interesting title that. The title makes the job sound so officious, official, makes the job sound like it’s bound up in rules, makes the job sound like growth is not a possibility, sound like it could never be a ministry.
I want to be clear about what Cheri really does for this church. She does ministry. She is constantly engaged in growing and in helping others grow. You shall hear something about what she does in a bit when some folks offer testimony.
And this brings me to a key point. If covenant, if ministry is about growth— growth of the individual which nurtures growth of community, then by definition ministry happens because of who you are. Please note: ministry happens because of who you are, not because of what you do. What you do is only a result of who you are, a result of being engaged in covenant growth.
That, of course, has implications for who we, the community of faith together. I believe that we are a people— both individuals and a community— called by God to growth, to change. So what do you think? Are we called to growth and to change? There is no doubt about this: we are called to ministry. So do you think growth and change is a requirement of that? Amen.
06/03/2018
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, New York.
ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Choral Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “The fixation of our society on the Ten Commandments borders on and probably is anti-Christian. Let me say that again: the fixation of our society on the Ten Commandments borders on and probably is anti-Christian. There really is no question about that. Interestingly, our society borders on and probably is in about the same place as society in Roman Palestine in New Testament times— engaged in Empire, immersed in fear. But when asked about the mitzvah, the so called commandments, Jesus said they no longer applied. Empire and fear no longer applied. Rather, that we need to love God and love neighbor, said Jesus. And on these hang all the teachings, the prophets. And what are these teachings about? These are about growth and relationships.”
BENEDICTION: Hear now this blessing: the work and the will of God is placed before us. Further, we are called to be faithful and seek to do God’s will and work. In so doing, 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.
Observing the Sabbath
“But the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh, your God. You shall not do any work— neither you, nor your son nor your daughter, nor workers, nor your ox nor your donkey, nor any of your livestock, your animals, nor even the foreigners in your towns, the foreigners who live among you. Thus your workers— both men and women— will rest as you do.” — Deuteronomy 5:14.
One of my Seminary professors, the Rev. Mr. Cliff Davis, grew up in Massachusetts in the 1940s and 50s. He got an Associates Degree from Paul Smith’s College here in upstate New York when a two year degree was all that school offered.
While there he met and married a local woman, then went off to the University of Colorado in Denver Where he picked up a degree in Business Management. At that point Cliff heard a call to ministry and went to Bangor Theological Seminary— thirty years before I wound up there— for that state accredited 90 credit Master of Divinity I talk about. Once ordained, he served churches in New Hampshire.
Having served those churches he decided his real calling within ministry was to be a seminary librarian. And so he returned to Bangor first in the role of acting librarian and then librarian when he acquired the academic credential necessary to fill that slot at the graduate level— a Master of Library Science from the University of Maine.
This should be obvious. Having become a seminary librarian there was one thing Cliff no longer did: serve a local church.
When people asked Cliff, as they sometimes did, why he no longer served a local church he had a stock response. With a twinkle in his eye he would say, “Why would I serve a local church? After all, it’s against my religion to work on Sundays.” (Slight pause.)
These are words from the Torah in the work commonly called Deuteronomy: “But the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh, your God. You shall not do any work— neither you, nor your son nor your daughter, nor workers, nor your ox nor your donkey, nor any of your livestock, your animals, nor even the foreigners in your towns, the foreigners who live among you. Thus your workers— both men and women— will rest as you do.” (Slight pause.)
The first five books of the Bible are referred to as the Torah. In English that word is often rendered as the Law. That, at best, offers a poor understanding of what the word Torah means. Torah is better understood as Teachings.
Indeed, as was noted when the passage from Deuteronomy was introduced and contrary to populist belief, the words of the Decalogue are not commands with the same sense one might assign in English. There is, after all, no command tense in Hebrew.
It also needs to be said when the commandments are referenced in Scripture, especially in the New Testament, most of the time the Ten are not being addressed. Let me repeat that: in the New Testament when the commandments are referenced it is not the Ten being addressed. What is being addressed are the mitzvah. The teachings named most often refer to the mitzvah, the 613 mitzvah, the 613 teachings in Scripture.
Further, when examined with care, it should be evident the words we heard today are teachings— teachings about how relationships are acted out. These words are about relationship with God, with one another, with the environment in which we live, with self. Here’s another way to put it: these words are about covenant— covenant with God, with one another, with the environment in which we live, with self.
Let me put that another way. These specific words concern observing Sabbath. A Sabbath is about our relationship with God, with one another, with the environment in which we live, with self.
All right, let me put that yet another way again. These words are about being empowered to do the ministry to which God calls us because we honor our relationship with God, with one another, with the environment in which we live, with self. (Slight pause.)
That leaves three questions open: what is covenant about, really? What is ministry about, really? And how are these reflected in keeping Sabbath? (Slight pause.)
I can assure you of this: covenant is about growth. In order to be in covenant, in order to maintain covenant, growth— dare I say it— change is necessary.
In order to be in relationship with God, with one another, with the environment in which we live, with self, we need to grow, change. In order to do ministry we need to be in relationship with God, with one another, with the environment in which we live, with self... which means change.
I hope something is, therefore, evident. A hallmark of the ministry to which we are called, to which we are all called by God is full engagement in growth— full engagement in growth— growth in relationship with God, with one another, with the environment in which we live, with self.
So, how is covenant growth nurtured by Sabbath? These are the words Mark uses describe the position of Jesus concerning Sabbath (quote:) “The Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath.”
Hence, I hope this is also evident. Growth needs to start with self. Therefore, each of us, we together, need to first take care of self in order to empower growth.
I want to suggest taking care of self is what Sabbath is really about— about people fully realizing themselves, who they have been, who they are, who they might become, how they might grow. This can be and is done by taking time— Sabbath is the label used here to address this kind of time— time taken to understand relationship with self and God.
Paradoxically and hence, Sabbath is work. It is work on self so one can nurture growth in self and thereby growth for and with others.
You see, once someone understands their relationship with God one becomes more aware of self— who they have been, who they are, who they might become, their place in their own environment. Then, at that point, they can begin to reach out to others, reach out in covenant love.
And that work of reaching out is, my friends, called ministry. The danger is, of course, that one will become satisfied with self or simply tied and give up, stop engaging in ministry, stop growing. Let me direct your attention back to that word— covenant— it means growth. (Slight pause.)
In a few moments we shall recognize the ministry of Cheryl Aranka Willard— Cheri— our Parish Coordinator— Parish Coordinator— an interesting title that. The title makes the job sound so officious, official, makes the job sound like it’s bound up in rules, makes the job sound like growth is not a possibility, sound like it could never be a ministry.
I want to be clear about what Cheri really does for this church. She does ministry. She is constantly engaged in growing and in helping others grow. You shall hear something about what she does in a bit when some folks offer testimony.
And this brings me to a key point. If covenant, if ministry is about growth— growth of the individual which nurtures growth of community, then by definition ministry happens because of who you are. Please note: ministry happens because of who you are, not because of what you do. What you do is only a result of who you are, a result of being engaged in covenant growth.
That, of course, has implications for who we, the community of faith together. I believe that we are a people— both individuals and a community— called by God to growth, to change. So what do you think? Are we called to growth and to change? There is no doubt about this: we are called to ministry. So do you think growth and change is a requirement of that? Amen.
06/03/2018
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, New York.
ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Choral Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “The fixation of our society on the Ten Commandments borders on and probably is anti-Christian. Let me say that again: the fixation of our society on the Ten Commandments borders on and probably is anti-Christian. There really is no question about that. Interestingly, our society borders on and probably is in about the same place as society in Roman Palestine in New Testament times— engaged in Empire, immersed in fear. But when asked about the mitzvah, the so called commandments, Jesus said they no longer applied. Empire and fear no longer applied. Rather, that we need to love God and love neighbor, said Jesus. And on these hang all the teachings, the prophets. And what are these teachings about? These are about growth and relationships.”
BENEDICTION: Hear now this blessing: the work and the will of God is placed before us. Further, we are called to be faithful and seek to do God’s will and work. In so doing, may we love God so much, that we love nothing else too much. May we be so in awe of God, that we are in awe of no one else and nothing else. Amen.
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