READINGS: 11/25/2018 ~ Reign of Christ ~ Thirty-fourth and Last Sunday Before the New Church Year in Ordinary Time ~ Twenty-Seventh and Last Sunday after Pentecost Before the New Church Year ~ (Proper 29) ~ 2 Samuel 23:1-7; Psalm 132:1-12, (13-18); Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14; Psalm 93; Revelation 1:4b-8; John 18:33-37.
Trinitarian Continuity
“Yahweh reigns, robed in splendor; / You are robed, Yahweh, girded with strength. / Yahweh has established the world; / it stands firm; / it shall never be moved; / Indeed, Your throne, / Your reign is established from of old, / from ages past; / from everlasting to everlasting / from eternity You exist.” — Psalm 93:1-2.
The year was 1996, February 1996 to be exact, my last semester at Bangor Theological Seminary. Back then once a seminary student had entered the last semester that student could circulate a profile, a résumé for a pastor, a 20 to 30 page résumé.
And so, out my profile went to unsuspecting Search Committees all over the United States. Dozens of Search Committees from Iowa, Michigan, South Dakota, Maine, Connecticut and New York contacted me. I did phone interviews with some.
Some wanted an interview, but once I saw their profile I declined. When a pastor sends a profile to a church that church, if interested, sends their profile back. A church profile, is a 20 to 30 page résumé of a church. I declined some interviews because I felt they were not a match for my gifts, for who I am.
I suspect one reason my profile got a lot of interest is, even though I was about to graduate from seminary, I already had pulpit experience. I had served for two years as Assistant Pastor at a five church cooperative in Waldo County, Maine.
Now the profile twenty plus years ago had what was called a “forced choice” survey to fill out. The pastor had to check boxes from a list of 43 choices as to what that pastor thought their own gifts were. Then eight references for the pastor had to do the same— assess the gifts of the pastor, fill out the same survey, check boxes.
This was a “forced choice” survey because there were 43 boxes you could check. You had to choose 8, only 8. That was hard.
There were some obvious boxes to check: an effective preacher, a helpful counselor, makes pastoral calls— obvious. Some were not so obvious but were really good choices— works well on a team, accepting of divergent backgrounds. But all these were binary choices, a yes or no choice. Either the box was checked or it was not.
This history came to mind because of my duties on the Susquehanna Association Committee on Authorized Ministry. We are reviewing our polices for ordination so we looked at the current profile. In the new one the forced choice gauntlet no longer exists.
We now have the Faithful and Effective Marks of Ministry— 48 of them. But this is very different. These marks try to not be at all binary, yes or no. These try to be textured.
A serious and important possibility each mark poses is the idea that every last mark has 4 different levels of understanding. Just mathematics here: if each of 48 marks has 4 levels that’s 192 possibilities to be considered.
I would be the first to insist some marks just do not have multiple levels even though that’s the claim of the profile. For instance, one of the Marks of Ministry says a pastor needs to hold active membership in a local church. Now, either you belong to a church or you do not. That’s binary.
On the other hand the Mark of Ministry labeled as “Praying actively and nurturing spiritual practices” might have not just four levels. That one might have dozens of levels.
There is another mark which sounds binary, or perhaps to our 21st Century American ears it sounds binary. This Mark of Ministry says, “Acknowledging Jesus, the Christ, as the Sole Head of the Church.”
But is this binary? Is this mark a yes or a no answer? Jesus is the heard of the church; Jesus is not the head of the church? Or is the concept that the Christ is Head of the Church subtle, texture, complex with multiple levels? (Slight pause.)
We find these words in the work known as Psalm 93. “Yahweh reigns, robed in splendor; / You are robed, Yahweh, girded with strength. / Yahweh
has established the world; / it stands firm; / it shall never be moved;
/ Indeed, Your throne, / Your reign is established from of old, / from
ages past; / from everlasting to everlasting / from eternity You exist.” (Slight pause.)
Pilate, prefect of Rome in Judaea, tries to get Jesus to proclaim some kind of temporal, finite authority. Jesus avoids addressing temporal, finite authority. Instead Jesus speaks of witnessing to truth, eternal truth.
This is one of many truths to which Jesus attested: Jesus is the Christ. This is a subtle, textured complex claim and I think we have a difficult time grappling with how subtle, textured, complex it is.
Let me unpack that. Christ is Greek for Messiah. Messiah is one anointed to do the work and the will of God.
Indeed, as you heard earlier, today we celebrate a feast of the church: the Reign of the Christ. Of course, the word reign implies some kind of temporal authority.
But what do we Christians claim about the Messiahship of Jesus? Is it about finite authority? No. It is not about finite authority. We claim that in Jesus God is revealed— in Jesus God is revealed.
So, it seems to me connecting Jesus to temporal authority might simply be convenient shorthand. But it’s sloppy, not subtle, textured, complex.
We, of course, do not live in a society which particularly appreciates subtle, textured, complex. And this is where I think the reading from Psalm 93 comes into play and is helpful.
The Psalm leads us to a question: Who is the God Jesus proclaims? Jesus not only proclaims the God of the Hebrews, but Jesus refers to God by an intimate name. Jesus does not call God father. Jesus refers to Yahweh, God, as Abba, Daddy.
Please ask yourself what Jesus, in naming God ‘Daddy,’ might be saying about God? This is, after all, the God of the Hebrews, proclaimed in the Psalms, Who in the Hebrew tradition is proclaimed as One.
Further and again, Jesus says temporal, finite authority, is not a part of the picture. Further and again, Jesus also says I am the Christ, the Messiah, anointed to do the work and the will of Yahweh, God.
That leaves us with an obvious question. ‘Who is Jesus?’ People do often and accurately say Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah. So, if Jesus is the Messiah and if Yahweh, the God Jesus proclaims, is One, explain how Jesus, the Messiah, fits into the idea, the theological concept, that God is One. (Slight pause.)
It takes the church better than three centuries of thinking about this to respond. The place the church winds up has been given a grand name. We call it Trinity— three persons, One God.
I want to point out two things about this idea we call Trinity. First, Trinity insists we have a connection with Yahweh, God. That connection is Jesus.
Second, Trinity clearly insists there is some kind of relationship, a connection between God and the Messiah. The language Christians have historically used to explain the connection of God and Jesus is relational. Hence, the term ‘Father.’
But again, father is not the word Jesus used. Jesus used Daddy. I think the implication of using this kind of human familial language is not about Father-son, nor about Daddy-child. The implication is theological. It is about the sense of closeness God has with humanity and the sense of closeness humanity might have with God.
So, Trinity— Trinity which might sound like a high faluting subtle, textured, complex idea— Trinity is really about one thing and one thing only. Trinity says God loves us so much relationship matters.
And yes love is a subtle, textured, complex thing. Relationship is a subtle, textured, complex thing.
This brings me back to that Mark of Ministry which acknowledges Jesus, the Christ, as the Sole Head of the Church. Does Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, love us as God, the first person of the Trinity, loves us? If the answer is ‘yes’ seeing Jesus as the sole head of the church should be a part of a pastor’s profile.
And, as was said earlier, it is a Mark of Ministry in that profile. However, I need to point out that acknowledging Jesus as the Sole Head of the Church is not a mark only for pastors.
You see, when I got information from a church in Norwich, New York 20 plus years ago, a profile and a whole packet of information is what I got, one thing impressed me a lot. An enclosed Sunday bulletin said this: “Interim pastor: Charles Maxfield; Ministers: All the people.”
You see, Marks of Ministry are not simply traits for which we look in pastors. Marks of Ministry are traits in churches, traits found in parishioners, in the congregation.
And so for me, the point of Psalm 93, the point of the Messiahship of Jesus is not as subtle, textured, complex as it might seem. In a real way the point is rather simple.
The Psalm says God loves us. The Psalms, all of them, say God loves us. And Jesus, the One connected intimately to God, loves us. Therefore, when we, the church, show the love of Jesus, the Christ, to all people— we, the church— we are showing a Mark of Ministry. Amen.
11/25/2018
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: “As you heard earlier the Church, in it’s wisdom, has designated the last Sunday before Advent as the Feast of the Reign of Christ. Advent leads us toward Christmas, the Feast of the Incarnation, the Feast of the Birth of the Messiah. A number of years ago one parishioner told me she now understood Christmas is not about magic babies or angels or stables. What is Christmas about? Christmas is about us understanding the connection of Yahweh, God and the Messiah, the Christ. Christmas is about us understanding our connection, the connection of humanity with Yahweh, God and the Messiah, the Christ.”
BENEDICTION: Let us receive the gifts of God’s grace and peace. Let us rejoice in the freedom to love as Jesus loved. Let the Spirit of God speak through us today. Go forth and reach out to everyone you meet in the name of Christ. And may the face of God shine upon us; may the peace of Christ rule among us; may the fire of the Spirit burn within us this day and forevermore. Amen.
Sunday, November 25, 2018
Sunday, November 18, 2018
SERMON ~ 11/18/2018 ~ “Community”
READINGS:11/18/2018 ~ Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Pentecost ~ (Proper 28) ~ 1 Samuel 1:4-20; 1 Samuel 2:1-10; Daniel 12:1-3; Psalm 16; Hebrews 10:11-14, (15-18), 19-25; Mark 13:1-8.
Community
“...let us always think about how we can help one another to love and to do good deeds. Do not stay away from the meetings of the community, as is the habit of some, but encourage one another;....” — Hebrews 10:24-25.
I want to share a family story. But I also want to tie that story into American sociological-political history. I know— big concept. The personal family story has to do with the family of one Bonnie Scott Connolly.
Bonnie will tell you she was born in Philadelphia and there is family history connected with that city. But when she was young her parents moved to Westport, Connecticut. Even more family resided there. The year was 1952. (Stop trying to guess her age!)
So she grew up, came to maturity, in Westport— went to Grade School and High School there. Now, in the 1950s and 1960s, in that era, Bonnie describes Westport as a normal town.
Bonnie and I have a running disagreement about that. Me— the kid from Brooklyn— I say in that era the town was at least somewhat privileged. It was a suburb. From where I sat, from my perspective, that was privilege.
However, Bonnie is right. The town was normal. And that is what has to do with sociological-political history. In the mid-1950s the average salary of a CEO was much more in line with that of the average worker.
In the mid-50s a typical CEO made about 20 times the salary of an average worker at the same firm. Last year, CEO pay at a typical Standard and Poor’s 500 firm was an average of 361 times more than the average rank-and-file worker in the same company.
This is obvious. When that spread was closer, diversity in a community was a reality. I think a diverse community can mean a closer community. At the very least it seems a more likely possibility.
The reason I point this out is Westport, Connecticut is no longer normal in that sense. It has become an enclave for want to be CEOs, real CEOs and celebrities. Today it is a town largely cut off from what most people call normal.
But it is still Bonnie’s hometown, her community. And, just like I still keep track of news from the New York City theater scene, theater being my community, also not particularly normal— Bonnie keeps track of news from Westport, Connecticut. She regularly checks a couple web sites and blogs which specialize in Westport news.
One blog is called 06880. That’s the ZIP code in Westport. She is actually a contemporary of and personally knows the fellow who runs the site, Dan Woog.
A couple of weeks ago Dan posted some local news. “Trevor Noah, the host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central— head-liner at the tomorrow’s Anti-Defamation League of Connecticut fund-raiser— had to cancel. But the replacement is another well known name: Whoopi Goldberg.”
Given those names it’s pretty safe to say Westport is no longer normal. But that’s not the point. The point is the response which happened when Dan put up the post.
Somehow that information got re-posted on a web site that is not particularly friendly to people of color. And that other web site contained a link back to Dan’s post on 06880.
What happened? Hate comments started to flood Dan’s 06880 page which, as I indicated, is simply devoted to local Westport news.
Dan said this about the reaction. The comments were nasty, vile, racist. I disabled commenting on the story, took down the most odious ones, left others up. I wanted readers to see what’s out there, beyond the Westport bubble. [1] (Slight pause.)
This is clear. The writer of Hebrews refers to community as if it were a place. The reality is community is often located in a place. A place can be a way local communities self-identify.
Groups meet at a clubhouse, a restaurant, a designated room. I once regularly met with a Bible Study group in a room just off the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange. We were a community.
Needless to say, communities also meet in churches, synagogues, mosques, ashrams— you name it. The bottom line: the community label can be applied to nearly any small group no matter where they meet, especially those groups who meet for guidance, for study, for mutual support.
But is that what this writer is trying to highlight, just the local community? My answer is yes and no. I think we have to pay attention to a number of things in an effort to define community as it is laid out in these words.
To do that let me throw out two fancy, $24 words— $64 dollar words? Inflation. The two words: orthodoxy and orthopraxy. Orthodoxy is an adherence to accepted creeds. And Orthodoxy is what this writer is explaining in no uncertain terms in telling us who Jesus is.
Please notice where that explanation starts. (Quote:) “This is the covenant / I will make with them / in those days,....” Covenant— this is the letter to the broad community known as the Hebrews. Jesus is tied to covenant. Now that’s orthodox.
The words continue with more orthodoxy. Christ offered for all time one sacrifice, sits at the right hand of God and with one offering Jesus, the great priest, made perfect those who are being sanctified. So let us hold fast a confession of hope which we profess without wavering. That’s also orthodox, a creedal proclamation for a broad community.
Where does the writer take us next? We are taken to a community location. (Quote:) “...let us always think about how we can help one another to love and to do good deeds. Do not stay away from the meetings of the community, as is the habit of some, but encourage one another;....”
This is where that other $64 word— orthopraxy, practice— comes into play. And yes, a community relies on practice, on action, on participation. This is clear: no participation, no action, no practice equals no community, really. Participation, action, practice, is necessary. It is necessary even with a Bible Study group that meets just off the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange. We met with great regularity.
So, orthodoxy— belief— needs to be worked out in orthopraxy— action. What we say we believe is merely that, what we say. Unless there is some consequential action which fosters and encourages community the words are simply words.
I need to be clear about this. Orthodoxy, what we believe, and orthopraxy, what we do, are and need to be intertwined, inseparable.
Put another way, if the One who made the promise to us is faithful and we approach the house of God, enter the house of God filled with faith, filled with sincerity in our hearts— to quote the writer of Hebrews— what do we need to do there, in the house of God?
We need to (quote:) “...think about how we can help one another to love and to do good deeds.” Again, orthodoxy, belief, leads to orthopraxy, action. And not just action— action together, action in community. (Slight pause.)
That takes us to a pivotal question. What is community? Is community a group that meets in a church, a synagogue, a mosque, an ashram or just off the floor of the Stock Exchange? Or is community something different? (Slight pause.)
Too often I think, communities act as a protective bubble. That’s what the writer of the 06880 blog was pointing out. I say community cannot isolate itself in a bubble and be a real, a valid community. Why? I think this Letter to the Hebrews lets us know why.
If, in our practice, we are called to help one another to love and to do good deeds, if in our belief we are bound in covenant, then the community is where we gather for guidance, for study, for support. But that same community, if it is true to loving and doing good, points to other communities, points to never being isolated.
And yes, communities can grow isolated over time. Dan Woog pointed that out to the 06880 community.
Dan was saying ‘look!’ Look at the greater picture, the greater community. Look at what’s happening out there. Don’t get isolated. Don’t let yourself become isolated.’ (Slight pause.)
So indeed, community is larger than a small groups, larger than us, here today. That very concept proposes an obvious question: how is community built, the local community, the broad community?
Community is built two ways. A community who helps one another to love, to do good deeds, invites people in, invites people to be a part of that local community. After all, if what that community shares among its own members is helpful, why not spread the word that the community is wonderful?
And a community who helps one another to love and to do good deeds also goes out from the group. The community, recognizes, becomes involved with other communities. Unless I am mistaken the motto of the national United Church of Christ is, “That they all may be One.” (Slight pause.)
The opening hymn today was Come Let Us Join with Faithful Souls. These are the words of the first verse. (Quote:) “Come let us join with faithful souls our songs of faith to raise; / One family in heart we are and one the God we praise.”
I cannot say it better than that. What is community? We are all one community. We are all one family, the human family. Amen.
11/18/2018
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, NY
ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Choral Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “It is said the Hebrews did not have a theology. Rather, the Hebrews did theology. Western Christians are susceptible to thinking having a theology is enough— if you simply think right thoughts I don’t have to worry about anything. Clearly the writer of Hebrews did not think having a theology was enough. Doing theology— building community is vital.”
BENEDICTION: Go forth in faith. Go forth trusting that God will provide. Go forth and reach out to everyone you meet in the name of Christ. And may the face of God shine upon us; may the peace of Christ rule among us; may the fire of the Spirit burn within us this day and forevermore. Amen.
[1] Note: both of Dan’s statements used here are somewhat truncated for use in this context.
Community
“...let us always think about how we can help one another to love and to do good deeds. Do not stay away from the meetings of the community, as is the habit of some, but encourage one another;....” — Hebrews 10:24-25.
I want to share a family story. But I also want to tie that story into American sociological-political history. I know— big concept. The personal family story has to do with the family of one Bonnie Scott Connolly.
Bonnie will tell you she was born in Philadelphia and there is family history connected with that city. But when she was young her parents moved to Westport, Connecticut. Even more family resided there. The year was 1952. (Stop trying to guess her age!)
So she grew up, came to maturity, in Westport— went to Grade School and High School there. Now, in the 1950s and 1960s, in that era, Bonnie describes Westport as a normal town.
Bonnie and I have a running disagreement about that. Me— the kid from Brooklyn— I say in that era the town was at least somewhat privileged. It was a suburb. From where I sat, from my perspective, that was privilege.
However, Bonnie is right. The town was normal. And that is what has to do with sociological-political history. In the mid-1950s the average salary of a CEO was much more in line with that of the average worker.
In the mid-50s a typical CEO made about 20 times the salary of an average worker at the same firm. Last year, CEO pay at a typical Standard and Poor’s 500 firm was an average of 361 times more than the average rank-and-file worker in the same company.
This is obvious. When that spread was closer, diversity in a community was a reality. I think a diverse community can mean a closer community. At the very least it seems a more likely possibility.
The reason I point this out is Westport, Connecticut is no longer normal in that sense. It has become an enclave for want to be CEOs, real CEOs and celebrities. Today it is a town largely cut off from what most people call normal.
But it is still Bonnie’s hometown, her community. And, just like I still keep track of news from the New York City theater scene, theater being my community, also not particularly normal— Bonnie keeps track of news from Westport, Connecticut. She regularly checks a couple web sites and blogs which specialize in Westport news.
One blog is called 06880. That’s the ZIP code in Westport. She is actually a contemporary of and personally knows the fellow who runs the site, Dan Woog.
A couple of weeks ago Dan posted some local news. “Trevor Noah, the host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central— head-liner at the tomorrow’s Anti-Defamation League of Connecticut fund-raiser— had to cancel. But the replacement is another well known name: Whoopi Goldberg.”
Given those names it’s pretty safe to say Westport is no longer normal. But that’s not the point. The point is the response which happened when Dan put up the post.
Somehow that information got re-posted on a web site that is not particularly friendly to people of color. And that other web site contained a link back to Dan’s post on 06880.
What happened? Hate comments started to flood Dan’s 06880 page which, as I indicated, is simply devoted to local Westport news.
Dan said this about the reaction. The comments were nasty, vile, racist. I disabled commenting on the story, took down the most odious ones, left others up. I wanted readers to see what’s out there, beyond the Westport bubble. [1] (Slight pause.)
This is clear. The writer of Hebrews refers to community as if it were a place. The reality is community is often located in a place. A place can be a way local communities self-identify.
Groups meet at a clubhouse, a restaurant, a designated room. I once regularly met with a Bible Study group in a room just off the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange. We were a community.
Needless to say, communities also meet in churches, synagogues, mosques, ashrams— you name it. The bottom line: the community label can be applied to nearly any small group no matter where they meet, especially those groups who meet for guidance, for study, for mutual support.
But is that what this writer is trying to highlight, just the local community? My answer is yes and no. I think we have to pay attention to a number of things in an effort to define community as it is laid out in these words.
To do that let me throw out two fancy, $24 words— $64 dollar words? Inflation. The two words: orthodoxy and orthopraxy. Orthodoxy is an adherence to accepted creeds. And Orthodoxy is what this writer is explaining in no uncertain terms in telling us who Jesus is.
Please notice where that explanation starts. (Quote:) “This is the covenant / I will make with them / in those days,....” Covenant— this is the letter to the broad community known as the Hebrews. Jesus is tied to covenant. Now that’s orthodox.
The words continue with more orthodoxy. Christ offered for all time one sacrifice, sits at the right hand of God and with one offering Jesus, the great priest, made perfect those who are being sanctified. So let us hold fast a confession of hope which we profess without wavering. That’s also orthodox, a creedal proclamation for a broad community.
Where does the writer take us next? We are taken to a community location. (Quote:) “...let us always think about how we can help one another to love and to do good deeds. Do not stay away from the meetings of the community, as is the habit of some, but encourage one another;....”
This is where that other $64 word— orthopraxy, practice— comes into play. And yes, a community relies on practice, on action, on participation. This is clear: no participation, no action, no practice equals no community, really. Participation, action, practice, is necessary. It is necessary even with a Bible Study group that meets just off the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange. We met with great regularity.
So, orthodoxy— belief— needs to be worked out in orthopraxy— action. What we say we believe is merely that, what we say. Unless there is some consequential action which fosters and encourages community the words are simply words.
I need to be clear about this. Orthodoxy, what we believe, and orthopraxy, what we do, are and need to be intertwined, inseparable.
Put another way, if the One who made the promise to us is faithful and we approach the house of God, enter the house of God filled with faith, filled with sincerity in our hearts— to quote the writer of Hebrews— what do we need to do there, in the house of God?
We need to (quote:) “...think about how we can help one another to love and to do good deeds.” Again, orthodoxy, belief, leads to orthopraxy, action. And not just action— action together, action in community. (Slight pause.)
That takes us to a pivotal question. What is community? Is community a group that meets in a church, a synagogue, a mosque, an ashram or just off the floor of the Stock Exchange? Or is community something different? (Slight pause.)
Too often I think, communities act as a protective bubble. That’s what the writer of the 06880 blog was pointing out. I say community cannot isolate itself in a bubble and be a real, a valid community. Why? I think this Letter to the Hebrews lets us know why.
If, in our practice, we are called to help one another to love and to do good deeds, if in our belief we are bound in covenant, then the community is where we gather for guidance, for study, for support. But that same community, if it is true to loving and doing good, points to other communities, points to never being isolated.
And yes, communities can grow isolated over time. Dan Woog pointed that out to the 06880 community.
Dan was saying ‘look!’ Look at the greater picture, the greater community. Look at what’s happening out there. Don’t get isolated. Don’t let yourself become isolated.’ (Slight pause.)
So indeed, community is larger than a small groups, larger than us, here today. That very concept proposes an obvious question: how is community built, the local community, the broad community?
Community is built two ways. A community who helps one another to love, to do good deeds, invites people in, invites people to be a part of that local community. After all, if what that community shares among its own members is helpful, why not spread the word that the community is wonderful?
And a community who helps one another to love and to do good deeds also goes out from the group. The community, recognizes, becomes involved with other communities. Unless I am mistaken the motto of the national United Church of Christ is, “That they all may be One.” (Slight pause.)
The opening hymn today was Come Let Us Join with Faithful Souls. These are the words of the first verse. (Quote:) “Come let us join with faithful souls our songs of faith to raise; / One family in heart we are and one the God we praise.”
I cannot say it better than that. What is community? We are all one community. We are all one family, the human family. Amen.
11/18/2018
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, NY
ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Choral Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “It is said the Hebrews did not have a theology. Rather, the Hebrews did theology. Western Christians are susceptible to thinking having a theology is enough— if you simply think right thoughts I don’t have to worry about anything. Clearly the writer of Hebrews did not think having a theology was enough. Doing theology— building community is vital.”
BENEDICTION: Go forth in faith. Go forth trusting that God will provide. Go forth and reach out to everyone you meet in the name of Christ. And may the face of God shine upon us; may the peace of Christ rule among us; may the fire of the Spirit burn within us this day and forevermore. Amen.
[1] Note: both of Dan’s statements used here are somewhat truncated for use in this context.
Sunday, November 11, 2018
SERMON ~ 11/11/2018 ~ “Finite We Are”
READINGS: 11/11/2018 ~ Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost ~ (Proper 27) ~ Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17; Psalm 127; 1 Kings 17:8-16; Psalm 146; Hebrews 9:24-28; Mark 12:38-44 ~ Stewardship/Enlistment Sunday ~ Veterans Day on the Secular Calendar.
Finite We Are
In the translation of the Psalm you read earlier in the New Century Hymnal these words were in verses 3 and 4 of Psalm 146: “Do not put your trust in nobles, / in mortals, / in whom there is no help, / When their breath departs, / they return to the earth; / on that very day their plans perish.” — Psalm 146:3-4 [NCH]. I need to say the translations used for the Psalms in our hymnal was done by my Seminary New Testament Professor, the late Rev. Dr. Burton Throckmorton.
In the November Newsletter there was an article by our Director of Music Ministries, Mary Williams. She touched on the idea that we strive to have some unity in our services among the Scripture readings, the hymns, the anthem, the prelude and postlude.
Mary noted she and I meet and review the lectionary readings for each Sunday. As you may be aware, we use and follow what is known as the Revised Common Lectionary. Many Main Line Protestant churches and the Roman Church follow a three year set of readings. Each denomination has some variations built into the lections but the readings are, for the most part, at least similar. We’re kind of saying or hearing the same things in a lot of churches.
Why follow set readings? Certainly part of the point is so parishioners can experience a range of readings over time.
I would also suggest using a lectionary places a helpful constraint on a pastor. You see, when the lectionary is followed parishioners are not being subjected to what may simply be the favorite readings of a pastor week after week after week. Equally, with the discipline offered by following a lectionary the pastor is, in a sense, obligated to deal with readings which may be obscure or difficult to understand when initially read.
Coming back to what Mary said— we strive to have unity in the course of worship. How does that work? How do Mary and I come to that place?
Well, I gather some thoughts based on the readings and send them to Mary. Then we sit together, discuss a general direction, a message, and find hymns that support the readings, as we work on refining a direction for the service.
So, rather than take a look first at the Psalm we read today as happens in my remarks often, I’d like to make a comment or two about the work known as the Book of Psalms, the whole book. The first thing to say is it’s organized into five sections, five books. A lot of people don’t know that.
Second, the words found in Psalms are not just poetry. I think even in translation we can discern these words are lyrics, words meant to be heard with music. Do we know what that ancient music in the Temple might have sounded like? No, we don’t.
Now, as you know, I write lyrics on occasion and I have over time written lyrics with and for three composers. And we, the composers and I all agree: lyrics are not simply poetry. Lyrics are different, take diversions, paths poetry might not, discover and uncover rhythms in syllables and words and sentences.
In any case, the bottom line is the Book of Psalms is a hymnal filled with lyrics. In fact, over time you may have heard me say this Book is the hymnal of the Second Temple in Jerusalem.
Which brings me back to the topic of organization. One glance at our New Century Hymnal should tell you it’s organized in several ways. To name two, it’s organized thematically and theologically.
The same is true for the Book of Psalms— it’s organized. And I want to stress the theological organization. You see, Psalm 146 is the opening work in the last book, Book 5, of the Psalms.
Hence, it has a task. And the task Psalm 146 tries to accomplish is to illuminate the entire work, the entire Book of Psalms. It recalls the beginning of the psalter— Psalms 1 and 2— which orients the reader to hear the Torah, the “instruction” found in Scripture. This is one instruction emphasized: we need to trust God. Do not trust human rulers.
Psalm 146 also recalls the message at the theological heart of the psalter Psalms 93, 95 and 99: God reigns. It recalls that message with one phrase. In Burt Throckmorton’s translation it says (quote:) “Praise be to God.” Often that phrase is translated with only one word: “Alleluia!”
That one word is a proclamation which praises God because God reigns. This analysis that I’ve just offered is a simple concept. The hymnal known as the Book of Psalms illuminates and is in service of the Torah, the instruction, the learning.
Now, if Psalm 146 is a hymn from a hymnal that brings up an interesting issue. What do music and lyrics say to us? How do we hear music and lyrics? Do we really, deeply listen? Or do we go on auto pilot, not pay attention to what is being said by the music and the lyrics, especially when the hymn is familiar? (Slight pause.)
Today for the Postlude Bob will play an arrangement of the well known hymn My Eyes Have Seen the Glory. In our hymnal this is # 610. Needless to say, this hymn is also known as The Battle Hymn of the Republic.
To see this work as a patriotic piece of music is to completely and utterly misunderstand what it says, what it means and is a violation of the Biblical context in which it was written and the Biblical message about which it was written. It is a hymn about the justice God seeks, not a hymn about nationalism or patriotism or any justice sought by a human entity.
Julia Ward Howe, a suffragette, an abolitionist, wrote the text to a camp meeting tune, a religious revival tune, when she witnessed a parade of Union troops near Washington, D.C. This was after the election but before the inauguration of Lincoln, just before the onset of the Civil War.
The hymn was intended to expresses not patriotism but a clear sense of a religious call to action. It was a summons to proclaim freedom not just for the privileged in society but for all people, the outcast, the downtrodden, the enslaved.
The hymn, if we are true to the sense of what the words actually mean, remains a call to action, action which might ensure the freedom offered in the reality of the dominion of God. Therefore, to treat this hymn as a call to nationalism or as a call to patriotism entirely misses the point of the sentiments being expressed.
This hymn, if you look at it carefully, is not even about specific nation or country. It is a call to humanity to work for peace, freedom, justice— God’s peace, God’s freedom, God’s justice. It is a call to humanity to do the work of God not the work of governments.
Indeed, as Christians, we need to pay particular attention to the last lines which read, “As Christ died to make us holy, / let us die to make all free:— all free— “all free” / While God is marching on.” If looked at in any light, this hymn should be looked at as sobering. After all, does God’s peace, God’s freedom, God’s justice prevail now, here, today?
If this work stirs up emotions in us, those emotions should inform us that injustice exists in our world, that injustice it is real, that injustice is pervasive and that we need to work at countering it. Indeed, I invite you to examine the insert in today’s bulletin with quotes about justice. [1] I might even say it is important to look at that insert. (Slight pause.)
As you know, today is our Enlistment Sunday. What does that have to do with justice? One of the things we try to accomplish here with our giving is making sure it has nothing to do with paying for the heat or electric bills. We try to ensure what we give is used to further the Dominion of God, the Reign of God, the justice of God.
What does that mean? In a real sense, it means our pledges are lyrics— lyrics which say we trust God, not human rulers. Our giving acts a lyric which says, “Alleluia! Praise be to God!”
One last thing: in making a pledge we need to understand the rulers of this world, the governments of this world are finite. And, yes, we too are finite. We are all here for a limited time.
In that time, in our time, we are called to seek and to do God’s will and God’s work. If what we offer to this church helps just a little in doing what this Psalm calls us to do— seeking justice for the oppressed, giving food to the hungry, setting prisoners free, lifting up those who are bowed down, upholding orphans, widows, then we are seeking to do the will of God, to do the work of God. Amen.
ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Choral Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “Earlier I said we are finite. I hope that’s obvious. However, the Christian apologist C. S. Lewis addressed both our being finite and the possibility of our infinite life with God this way (quote:) ‘You don’t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.’ Since we are a soul I want to suggest our souls need to strive to do God’s will which encompasses justice, mercy and freedom for all people no matter what their station. Where do we need to place our trust? We need to place are trust in God. Why? We are souls.”
BENEDICTION: Let us lay aside anxious toil. Let us give our lives over to the One who grants life. Let us be open to the possibility that the whole of our being should rest in the will and wisdom of God and that the whole of our being should rest in the ways of love taught by God. In short, let us trust God. And may the face of God shine upon us; may the peace of Christ be among us; may the fire of the Spirit burn within us this day and forevermore. Amen.
[1] THOUGHTS ON JUSTICE
“The way of radical Christianity is to stay outside of unjust systems— insofar as possible— so they cannot control your breadth of thinking, feeling, loving, and living out universal justice.” — Richard Rohr
“As mankind becomes more liberal, they will be more apt to allow that all those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled to the protections of civil government. I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations of justice and liberality.”— President George Washington
“Justice is the grammar of things; mercy is the poetry.” — Frederick Buechner
“The work of divine justice always presupposes the work of mercy, and is based on it” — Thomas Aquinas
“I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little ways; I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by the experience of sight; I can divine it by conscience. And from what I see I am sure it bends towards justice.” — Theodore Parker, Of Justice and the Conscience (1853)
“Charity is no substitute for justice withheld.” — Saint Augustine
“In the absence of justice, what is sovereignty but organized robbery?” — Saint Augustine
“[Rebellion’s] most profound logic is not the logic of destruction; it is the logic of creation… the logic of the rebel is to want to serve justice so as not to add to the injustice of the human condition.” — Albert Camus, The Rebel
“Justice is the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought.” — John Rawls (1921–2002) Harvard University
“Rats and roaches live by competition under the laws of supply and demand; it is the privilege of human beings to live under the laws of justice and mercy.” — Wendell Berry
“If you hate injustice, tyranny, lust and greed, hate these things in yourself.” — Mahatma Gandhi
“Politicians who profit from exploiting hate, from fanning it, must not be tempted by this easy way to profit from fear and misunderstanding. And my fellow clerics, of all faiths, must stand up for the principles of universal dignity and fellowship. Exclusion is never the way forward on our shared paths to freedom and justice.” — Bishop Desmond Tutu
“‘Resurrected’ people prayerfully bear witness against injustice and evil— but also agree compassionately to hold their own complicity in that same evil. It is not over there, it is here.” — Richard Rohr
“Justice cannot be for one side alone, but must be for both.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
“We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.” — Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” — Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“We shall awaken from our dullness and rise vigorously toward justice. If we fall in love with creation deeper and deeper, we will respond to its endangerment with passion.” — Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179)
“Justice is truth in action.” — Benjamin Disraeli
“We cannot seek or attain health, wealth, learning, justice, or kindness in general. Action is always specific, concrete, individualized, unique.” — Benjamin Jowett
“Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable. Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.” — Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has his foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.” — Bishop Desmond Tutu
“There’s nothing more radical, nothing more revolutionary, nothing more subversive against injustice and oppression than the Bible. If you want to keep people subjugated, the last thing you place in their hands is a Bible.” — Bishop Desmond Tutu
“Liberty, equality— bad principles! The only true principle for humanity is justice; and justice to the feeble is protection and kindness.” — Henri F. Amiel
“Truth and justice interweave with all good things.” — Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179)
“May we, in our dealings with all the peoples of the earth, ever speak the truth and serve justice.” — Dwight D. Eisenhower
“My voice would like to have the strength of the voice of the humble and lowly. It is a voice that denounces injustice and proclaims hope in God and humanity. For this hope is the hope of all human beings who yearn to live in communion with all persons as their brother and sisters and as children of God.” — Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Nobel Lecture
“In many parts of the world the people are searching for a solution which would link the two basic values: peace and justice. The two are like bread and salt for mankind.” — Lech Walesa, Nobel Lecture
“If you desire peace, cultivate justice, but at the same time cultivate the field to produce more bread; otherwise there will be no peace.” — Norman Borlaug, Nobel Lecture
“I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.” — Abraham Lincoln
“If we want a beloved community, we must stand for justice, and have recognition for difference without attaching difference to privilege.” — bell hooks, American writer and professor
“Over and above all movements for social justice is God’s movement, [which is] the creative origin of any movement toward human liberation and solidarity.” — Welcoming Justice, by Charles Marsh and John Perkins
“If we ask why the God of the Bible cares about politics, about systemic justice, the answer is disarmingly simple. God cares about justice because the God of the Bible cares about suffering. And the single biggest cause of unnecessary human suffering throughout history has been and is unjust social systems.” — Marcus Borg
“If we are to keep democracy, there must be a commandment: Thou shalt not ration justice.” — Billings Learned Hand, Jurist
“Philanthropy is commendable, but it must not cause the philanthropist to overlook the circumstances of economic injustice which make philanthropy necessary.” — Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Never pray for justice. You just might get some.” — Margaret Atwood
“I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states.... Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.” — Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail
“Charity is commendable; everyone should be charitable. But justice aims to create a social order in which, if individuals choose not to be charitable, people still don’t go hungry, unschooled, or sick without care.” — Bill Moyers
“To take usury for money lent is unjust in itself, because this is to sell what does not exist, and this evidently leads to inequality, which is contrary to justice.” — Thomas Aquinas, (1225-1274)
“Ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.” — James Baldwin
“Justice is like the Dominion of God— it is not without us as a fact; it is within us as a great yearning.” — George Eliot, Romola
Finite We Are
In the translation of the Psalm you read earlier in the New Century Hymnal these words were in verses 3 and 4 of Psalm 146: “Do not put your trust in nobles, / in mortals, / in whom there is no help, / When their breath departs, / they return to the earth; / on that very day their plans perish.” — Psalm 146:3-4 [NCH]. I need to say the translations used for the Psalms in our hymnal was done by my Seminary New Testament Professor, the late Rev. Dr. Burton Throckmorton.
In the November Newsletter there was an article by our Director of Music Ministries, Mary Williams. She touched on the idea that we strive to have some unity in our services among the Scripture readings, the hymns, the anthem, the prelude and postlude.
Mary noted she and I meet and review the lectionary readings for each Sunday. As you may be aware, we use and follow what is known as the Revised Common Lectionary. Many Main Line Protestant churches and the Roman Church follow a three year set of readings. Each denomination has some variations built into the lections but the readings are, for the most part, at least similar. We’re kind of saying or hearing the same things in a lot of churches.
Why follow set readings? Certainly part of the point is so parishioners can experience a range of readings over time.
I would also suggest using a lectionary places a helpful constraint on a pastor. You see, when the lectionary is followed parishioners are not being subjected to what may simply be the favorite readings of a pastor week after week after week. Equally, with the discipline offered by following a lectionary the pastor is, in a sense, obligated to deal with readings which may be obscure or difficult to understand when initially read.
Coming back to what Mary said— we strive to have unity in the course of worship. How does that work? How do Mary and I come to that place?
Well, I gather some thoughts based on the readings and send them to Mary. Then we sit together, discuss a general direction, a message, and find hymns that support the readings, as we work on refining a direction for the service.
So, rather than take a look first at the Psalm we read today as happens in my remarks often, I’d like to make a comment or two about the work known as the Book of Psalms, the whole book. The first thing to say is it’s organized into five sections, five books. A lot of people don’t know that.
Second, the words found in Psalms are not just poetry. I think even in translation we can discern these words are lyrics, words meant to be heard with music. Do we know what that ancient music in the Temple might have sounded like? No, we don’t.
Now, as you know, I write lyrics on occasion and I have over time written lyrics with and for three composers. And we, the composers and I all agree: lyrics are not simply poetry. Lyrics are different, take diversions, paths poetry might not, discover and uncover rhythms in syllables and words and sentences.
In any case, the bottom line is the Book of Psalms is a hymnal filled with lyrics. In fact, over time you may have heard me say this Book is the hymnal of the Second Temple in Jerusalem.
Which brings me back to the topic of organization. One glance at our New Century Hymnal should tell you it’s organized in several ways. To name two, it’s organized thematically and theologically.
The same is true for the Book of Psalms— it’s organized. And I want to stress the theological organization. You see, Psalm 146 is the opening work in the last book, Book 5, of the Psalms.
Hence, it has a task. And the task Psalm 146 tries to accomplish is to illuminate the entire work, the entire Book of Psalms. It recalls the beginning of the psalter— Psalms 1 and 2— which orients the reader to hear the Torah, the “instruction” found in Scripture. This is one instruction emphasized: we need to trust God. Do not trust human rulers.
Psalm 146 also recalls the message at the theological heart of the psalter Psalms 93, 95 and 99: God reigns. It recalls that message with one phrase. In Burt Throckmorton’s translation it says (quote:) “Praise be to God.” Often that phrase is translated with only one word: “Alleluia!”
That one word is a proclamation which praises God because God reigns. This analysis that I’ve just offered is a simple concept. The hymnal known as the Book of Psalms illuminates and is in service of the Torah, the instruction, the learning.
Now, if Psalm 146 is a hymn from a hymnal that brings up an interesting issue. What do music and lyrics say to us? How do we hear music and lyrics? Do we really, deeply listen? Or do we go on auto pilot, not pay attention to what is being said by the music and the lyrics, especially when the hymn is familiar? (Slight pause.)
Today for the Postlude Bob will play an arrangement of the well known hymn My Eyes Have Seen the Glory. In our hymnal this is # 610. Needless to say, this hymn is also known as The Battle Hymn of the Republic.
To see this work as a patriotic piece of music is to completely and utterly misunderstand what it says, what it means and is a violation of the Biblical context in which it was written and the Biblical message about which it was written. It is a hymn about the justice God seeks, not a hymn about nationalism or patriotism or any justice sought by a human entity.
Julia Ward Howe, a suffragette, an abolitionist, wrote the text to a camp meeting tune, a religious revival tune, when she witnessed a parade of Union troops near Washington, D.C. This was after the election but before the inauguration of Lincoln, just before the onset of the Civil War.
The hymn was intended to expresses not patriotism but a clear sense of a religious call to action. It was a summons to proclaim freedom not just for the privileged in society but for all people, the outcast, the downtrodden, the enslaved.
The hymn, if we are true to the sense of what the words actually mean, remains a call to action, action which might ensure the freedom offered in the reality of the dominion of God. Therefore, to treat this hymn as a call to nationalism or as a call to patriotism entirely misses the point of the sentiments being expressed.
This hymn, if you look at it carefully, is not even about specific nation or country. It is a call to humanity to work for peace, freedom, justice— God’s peace, God’s freedom, God’s justice. It is a call to humanity to do the work of God not the work of governments.
Indeed, as Christians, we need to pay particular attention to the last lines which read, “As Christ died to make us holy, / let us die to make all free:— all free— “all free” / While God is marching on.” If looked at in any light, this hymn should be looked at as sobering. After all, does God’s peace, God’s freedom, God’s justice prevail now, here, today?
If this work stirs up emotions in us, those emotions should inform us that injustice exists in our world, that injustice it is real, that injustice is pervasive and that we need to work at countering it. Indeed, I invite you to examine the insert in today’s bulletin with quotes about justice. [1] I might even say it is important to look at that insert. (Slight pause.)
As you know, today is our Enlistment Sunday. What does that have to do with justice? One of the things we try to accomplish here with our giving is making sure it has nothing to do with paying for the heat or electric bills. We try to ensure what we give is used to further the Dominion of God, the Reign of God, the justice of God.
What does that mean? In a real sense, it means our pledges are lyrics— lyrics which say we trust God, not human rulers. Our giving acts a lyric which says, “Alleluia! Praise be to God!”
One last thing: in making a pledge we need to understand the rulers of this world, the governments of this world are finite. And, yes, we too are finite. We are all here for a limited time.
In that time, in our time, we are called to seek and to do God’s will and God’s work. If what we offer to this church helps just a little in doing what this Psalm calls us to do— seeking justice for the oppressed, giving food to the hungry, setting prisoners free, lifting up those who are bowed down, upholding orphans, widows, then we are seeking to do the will of God, to do the work of God. Amen.
ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Choral Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “Earlier I said we are finite. I hope that’s obvious. However, the Christian apologist C. S. Lewis addressed both our being finite and the possibility of our infinite life with God this way (quote:) ‘You don’t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.’ Since we are a soul I want to suggest our souls need to strive to do God’s will which encompasses justice, mercy and freedom for all people no matter what their station. Where do we need to place our trust? We need to place are trust in God. Why? We are souls.”
BENEDICTION: Let us lay aside anxious toil. Let us give our lives over to the One who grants life. Let us be open to the possibility that the whole of our being should rest in the will and wisdom of God and that the whole of our being should rest in the ways of love taught by God. In short, let us trust God. And may the face of God shine upon us; may the peace of Christ be among us; may the fire of the Spirit burn within us this day and forevermore. Amen.
[1] THOUGHTS ON JUSTICE
“The way of radical Christianity is to stay outside of unjust systems— insofar as possible— so they cannot control your breadth of thinking, feeling, loving, and living out universal justice.” — Richard Rohr
“As mankind becomes more liberal, they will be more apt to allow that all those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled to the protections of civil government. I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations of justice and liberality.”— President George Washington
“Justice is the grammar of things; mercy is the poetry.” — Frederick Buechner
“The work of divine justice always presupposes the work of mercy, and is based on it” — Thomas Aquinas
“I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little ways; I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by the experience of sight; I can divine it by conscience. And from what I see I am sure it bends towards justice.” — Theodore Parker, Of Justice and the Conscience (1853)
“Charity is no substitute for justice withheld.” — Saint Augustine
“In the absence of justice, what is sovereignty but organized robbery?” — Saint Augustine
“[Rebellion’s] most profound logic is not the logic of destruction; it is the logic of creation… the logic of the rebel is to want to serve justice so as not to add to the injustice of the human condition.” — Albert Camus, The Rebel
“Justice is the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought.” — John Rawls (1921–2002) Harvard University
“Rats and roaches live by competition under the laws of supply and demand; it is the privilege of human beings to live under the laws of justice and mercy.” — Wendell Berry
“If you hate injustice, tyranny, lust and greed, hate these things in yourself.” — Mahatma Gandhi
“Politicians who profit from exploiting hate, from fanning it, must not be tempted by this easy way to profit from fear and misunderstanding. And my fellow clerics, of all faiths, must stand up for the principles of universal dignity and fellowship. Exclusion is never the way forward on our shared paths to freedom and justice.” — Bishop Desmond Tutu
“‘Resurrected’ people prayerfully bear witness against injustice and evil— but also agree compassionately to hold their own complicity in that same evil. It is not over there, it is here.” — Richard Rohr
“Justice cannot be for one side alone, but must be for both.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
“We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.” — Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” — Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“We shall awaken from our dullness and rise vigorously toward justice. If we fall in love with creation deeper and deeper, we will respond to its endangerment with passion.” — Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179)
“Justice is truth in action.” — Benjamin Disraeli
“We cannot seek or attain health, wealth, learning, justice, or kindness in general. Action is always specific, concrete, individualized, unique.” — Benjamin Jowett
“Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable. Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.” — Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has his foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.” — Bishop Desmond Tutu
“There’s nothing more radical, nothing more revolutionary, nothing more subversive against injustice and oppression than the Bible. If you want to keep people subjugated, the last thing you place in their hands is a Bible.” — Bishop Desmond Tutu
“Liberty, equality— bad principles! The only true principle for humanity is justice; and justice to the feeble is protection and kindness.” — Henri F. Amiel
“Truth and justice interweave with all good things.” — Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179)
“May we, in our dealings with all the peoples of the earth, ever speak the truth and serve justice.” — Dwight D. Eisenhower
“My voice would like to have the strength of the voice of the humble and lowly. It is a voice that denounces injustice and proclaims hope in God and humanity. For this hope is the hope of all human beings who yearn to live in communion with all persons as their brother and sisters and as children of God.” — Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Nobel Lecture
“In many parts of the world the people are searching for a solution which would link the two basic values: peace and justice. The two are like bread and salt for mankind.” — Lech Walesa, Nobel Lecture
“If you desire peace, cultivate justice, but at the same time cultivate the field to produce more bread; otherwise there will be no peace.” — Norman Borlaug, Nobel Lecture
“I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.” — Abraham Lincoln
“If we want a beloved community, we must stand for justice, and have recognition for difference without attaching difference to privilege.” — bell hooks, American writer and professor
“Over and above all movements for social justice is God’s movement, [which is] the creative origin of any movement toward human liberation and solidarity.” — Welcoming Justice, by Charles Marsh and John Perkins
“If we ask why the God of the Bible cares about politics, about systemic justice, the answer is disarmingly simple. God cares about justice because the God of the Bible cares about suffering. And the single biggest cause of unnecessary human suffering throughout history has been and is unjust social systems.” — Marcus Borg
“If we are to keep democracy, there must be a commandment: Thou shalt not ration justice.” — Billings Learned Hand, Jurist
“Philanthropy is commendable, but it must not cause the philanthropist to overlook the circumstances of economic injustice which make philanthropy necessary.” — Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Never pray for justice. You just might get some.” — Margaret Atwood
“I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states.... Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.” — Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail
“Charity is commendable; everyone should be charitable. But justice aims to create a social order in which, if individuals choose not to be charitable, people still don’t go hungry, unschooled, or sick without care.” — Bill Moyers
“To take usury for money lent is unjust in itself, because this is to sell what does not exist, and this evidently leads to inequality, which is contrary to justice.” — Thomas Aquinas, (1225-1274)
“Ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.” — James Baldwin
“Justice is like the Dominion of God— it is not without us as a fact; it is within us as a great yearning.” — George Eliot, Romola
Sunday, November 4, 2018
SERMON ~ 11/04/2018 ~ “What Do We Say to Children?”
READINGS: 11/04/2018 ~ Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost ~ (Proper 26) ~ Ruth 1:1-18; Psalm 146; Deuteronomy 6:1-9; Psalm 119:1-8; Hebrews 9:11-14; Mark 12:28-34 ~ Communion Sunday.
What Do We Say to Children?
“Let these words that I command today / be written in your heart. / Recite them, teach them diligently to your children....” — Deuteronomy 6:6-7a.
Newspaper articles and Facebook postings made many aware the interfaith community gathered at the Chenango County Courthouse steps on Thursday last to offer a vigil for peace. At the vigil we tried to address the current violence against different groups and, therefore, stand against hate.
I am sure many would say: the opposite of hate is love, is it not? And we are all for love? Are we not? So organizing a gathering against hate was a given.
However, that misses the point. The opposite of hate is not love. The opposite of hate is apathy. That is why we needed to gather, needed to take action, the action of shining a light on love which is neither apathetic nor indifferent. Love, itself, is an action.
Members of this church were present. But for those who were not let me offer a précis of how it unfolded— or at least what I remember. A caveat: some who were there may have different details or impressions. This is just my experience. (Slight pause.)
One count put the number of souls assembled at more than 100. At the beginning we heard the steeple bell of this church peal 13 times.
Dr. Tom Holmes started by referring to recent violence. 11 people were murdered while worshiping at a synagogue in Pittsburgh and two African-Americans died in Tennessee while shopping, murdered because of their race.
We were gathered, Tom said, to honor those who died in acts which were clearly hate crimes, American citizens murdered because they were Jewish or African-American. Ken Warner from the Norwich Jewish Center then read the names of the 13 who died.
Ken also recited the Kaddish, the prayer said as part of mourning rituals in the Jewish tradition. There was silence and then Mary Williams rang a handbell 13 times.
Susan Fertig from the Norwich Jewish Center offered context. She recalled how 2 ships carrying Jews seeking asylum, seeking safety, were turned away from our shores just before and during WWII. Many who were refused entry wound up in concentration camps.
Sue spoke of personal history, of relatives who both did not survive the holocaust or lived through it. She spoke about the desecration of the Jewish Center here in Norwich several years ago. The building has still not been totally restored.
Next the Rev. Rachel Morse of Broad Street United Methodist Church read Psalm 5 from the translation known as The Message. Verses 4, 5 and 6 read: “God, You do not socialize with Wicked, / invite Evil over as Your houseguest. / Hot-Air-Boasters collapse in front of You; / You shake Your head over Mischief-Makers. / God destroys Lie-Speakers; / Blood-Thirsty, Truth-Benders disgust You.” And verse 11 says, “...You, O God, welcome us with open arms / when we run to You for cover.” (Slight pause.)
The Rev. Dr. David Spiegel of the First Baptist Church then spoke with passion. David was raised in his mother’s Christian tradition but his father was Jewish. His father, a World War II hero, acted as the personal body guard of General Dwight David Eisenhower.
After the war David’s father tried to join the Jersey State troopers. You can’t do that, he was told. You’re Jewish, too weak. You’ll run when there’s danger. Eventually David’s father became the chief, the commanding officer, of the Jersey State Police.
David’s Dad always impressed on him prejudice was going to be a part of his life. Indeed, when David attended a Christian College in Iowa, since he had name often associated with a Jewish heritage, people asked him why he wanted to go to a Christian school. David’s message to us was clear: marginalization, hate, bigotry have no place.
I was next. I offered some history. I said marginalizing groups and inciting has been around for many, many millennia. In 1949— more recent but still a long time ago— Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote the musical South Pacific.
In this work the song You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught is sung by Marine Lieutenant Joe Cable who is in an interracial relationship. He insists racism is “not born in you! It happens after you’re born...” Cable then sings these words.
“You’ve got to be taught to hate and fear. / You’ve got to be taught from year to year / It’s got to be drummed in your dear little ear. / You’ve got to be carefully taught. / You’ve got to be taught to be afraid / Of people whose eyes are oddly made / And people whose skin is a diff’rent shade / You’ve got to be carefully taught. / You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late / Before you are six or seven or eight / To hate all the people your relatives hate / You’ve got to be carefully taught.”
Then I said let us, together, understand we must not marginalize, we must not teach hate. Let us understand we must teach love and respect. When we teach love and respect and when we learn love and respect, this will empower us all to be truly free. At that point I offered a Benediction. I will use those words at the end of this service today.
A number of people told me they were moved by this event, moved by its simplicity, its sentiments, its honesty, its attempt at shining a light when light is sorely needed. I take no individual credit for that. I was part of a team. (Slight pause.)
This is what we hear in the work known as Deuteronomy: “Let these words that I command today / be written in your heart. / Recite them, teach them diligently to your children....” (Slight pause.)
We need to understand something about the instruction which tells us to teach our children. What are we invited to teach? (Quote:) “Yahweh, our God, Yahweh alone, is one. You are to love Yahweh, our God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.” (Slight pause.)
This should be obvious. We are invited to love. As I said earlier, love is an action. We are invited to teach. Teach is an action. Why was there a gathering Thursday last? Action was necessary. Action was imperative.
We live in a world where silence is not an option. It does not matter if you are an introvert and say, “Well, I can’t say anything in public. That’s not who I am.”
You do not have to say a word. You can act. Actions speak louder than words. (Slight pause.)
In a couple minutes, in the time set aside for the Prayers of the People, we shall have a Litany of Remembrance. It might be argued these prayers are just words, not action, when action is required.
So let me address my experience with words which are prayers. Prayer centers us to be prepared to take action, to be active, centers us and thereby empowers us to understand God walks with us at all times, under all circumstances.
Which brings us back to action— the action called for by Deuteronomy— that we need to diligently teach the love of God to our children. I think a key question for us as a society is not ‘what are we teaching our children?’ We know we need to teach love. The key question is ‘how are we teaching our children?’
We need to teach our children with action. And yes, sometimes actions are words. Sometimes words are used to spread love of God and love of neighbor. And yes, sometimes words are used to spread violence and anger and hate.
Indeed, I said marginalizing groups and inciting have been around for millennia. So perhaps words and action have always been necessary. To be clear, I think many of us believe in our time silence is not viable option.
I do not think silence, at this time, is golden. I do realize right now there are many who are practicing silence, perhaps with the belief that violence, anger, fear will dissipate on its own or perhaps malice drives the silence. Again, silence is not an option. Silence is a display of apathy.
Let me quote holocaust survivor, Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel on the topic of silence. (Quote:) “Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men and women are persecuted because of race, religion or political views, that place must— at that moment— become the center of the universe.” [1]
So, how are we teaching our children? Do our words and our actions invite violence, anger, fear? Or do our words, our actions invite what Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, insisted were the two great commandments (quote:) “...love the Most High God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength” and (quote:) “...love your neighbor as yourself.” (Slight pause.)
Love of God and love of neighbor are irrevocably intertwined with justice— God’s justice for all people. We must not remain silent as we seek God’s justice. Amen.
11/04/2018
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 a number of people told me they were moved by the vigil, moved by its simplicity, its sentiments, its honesty, its attempt at shining a light when light is sorely needed. I hope for those who were not there my description helped you feel some of that. But descriptions are poor substitutes. Living through things, experiencing helps us understand ourselves, understand what life, what justice, what love is about. So to reiterate, silence is not an option. Action is necessary to help us understand ourselves, understand life, justice, love especially when teaching out children.”
BENEDICTION: Here now this blessing and this is the Blessing I used at the vigil for peace on Thursday: Go now— go in safety, for you cannot go where God is not. Go now— go with the purpose of fulfilling the will of God and God will honor your dedication. God now— go in freedom as we know God is the One Who sets us free from all that destroys. Go now— go in hope, for hope sees clearly the promise of God to walk with us. Go now— Go in love, for the love of God endures. Go now— go in peace for it is a gift of God to all people whose hearts and minds honor, respect and love. Amen.
[1] The Nobel Laureate speech of Elie Wiesel:
http://eliewieselfoundation.org/elie-wiesel/nobelprizespeech/
What Do We Say to Children?
“Let these words that I command today / be written in your heart. / Recite them, teach them diligently to your children....” — Deuteronomy 6:6-7a.
Newspaper articles and Facebook postings made many aware the interfaith community gathered at the Chenango County Courthouse steps on Thursday last to offer a vigil for peace. At the vigil we tried to address the current violence against different groups and, therefore, stand against hate.
I am sure many would say: the opposite of hate is love, is it not? And we are all for love? Are we not? So organizing a gathering against hate was a given.
However, that misses the point. The opposite of hate is not love. The opposite of hate is apathy. That is why we needed to gather, needed to take action, the action of shining a light on love which is neither apathetic nor indifferent. Love, itself, is an action.
Members of this church were present. But for those who were not let me offer a précis of how it unfolded— or at least what I remember. A caveat: some who were there may have different details or impressions. This is just my experience. (Slight pause.)
One count put the number of souls assembled at more than 100. At the beginning we heard the steeple bell of this church peal 13 times.
Dr. Tom Holmes started by referring to recent violence. 11 people were murdered while worshiping at a synagogue in Pittsburgh and two African-Americans died in Tennessee while shopping, murdered because of their race.
We were gathered, Tom said, to honor those who died in acts which were clearly hate crimes, American citizens murdered because they were Jewish or African-American. Ken Warner from the Norwich Jewish Center then read the names of the 13 who died.
Ken also recited the Kaddish, the prayer said as part of mourning rituals in the Jewish tradition. There was silence and then Mary Williams rang a handbell 13 times.
Susan Fertig from the Norwich Jewish Center offered context. She recalled how 2 ships carrying Jews seeking asylum, seeking safety, were turned away from our shores just before and during WWII. Many who were refused entry wound up in concentration camps.
Sue spoke of personal history, of relatives who both did not survive the holocaust or lived through it. She spoke about the desecration of the Jewish Center here in Norwich several years ago. The building has still not been totally restored.
Next the Rev. Rachel Morse of Broad Street United Methodist Church read Psalm 5 from the translation known as The Message. Verses 4, 5 and 6 read: “God, You do not socialize with Wicked, / invite Evil over as Your houseguest. / Hot-Air-Boasters collapse in front of You; / You shake Your head over Mischief-Makers. / God destroys Lie-Speakers; / Blood-Thirsty, Truth-Benders disgust You.” And verse 11 says, “...You, O God, welcome us with open arms / when we run to You for cover.” (Slight pause.)
The Rev. Dr. David Spiegel of the First Baptist Church then spoke with passion. David was raised in his mother’s Christian tradition but his father was Jewish. His father, a World War II hero, acted as the personal body guard of General Dwight David Eisenhower.
After the war David’s father tried to join the Jersey State troopers. You can’t do that, he was told. You’re Jewish, too weak. You’ll run when there’s danger. Eventually David’s father became the chief, the commanding officer, of the Jersey State Police.
David’s Dad always impressed on him prejudice was going to be a part of his life. Indeed, when David attended a Christian College in Iowa, since he had name often associated with a Jewish heritage, people asked him why he wanted to go to a Christian school. David’s message to us was clear: marginalization, hate, bigotry have no place.
I was next. I offered some history. I said marginalizing groups and inciting has been around for many, many millennia. In 1949— more recent but still a long time ago— Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote the musical South Pacific.
In this work the song You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught is sung by Marine Lieutenant Joe Cable who is in an interracial relationship. He insists racism is “not born in you! It happens after you’re born...” Cable then sings these words.
“You’ve got to be taught to hate and fear. / You’ve got to be taught from year to year / It’s got to be drummed in your dear little ear. / You’ve got to be carefully taught. / You’ve got to be taught to be afraid / Of people whose eyes are oddly made / And people whose skin is a diff’rent shade / You’ve got to be carefully taught. / You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late / Before you are six or seven or eight / To hate all the people your relatives hate / You’ve got to be carefully taught.”
Then I said let us, together, understand we must not marginalize, we must not teach hate. Let us understand we must teach love and respect. When we teach love and respect and when we learn love and respect, this will empower us all to be truly free. At that point I offered a Benediction. I will use those words at the end of this service today.
A number of people told me they were moved by this event, moved by its simplicity, its sentiments, its honesty, its attempt at shining a light when light is sorely needed. I take no individual credit for that. I was part of a team. (Slight pause.)
This is what we hear in the work known as Deuteronomy: “Let these words that I command today / be written in your heart. / Recite them, teach them diligently to your children....” (Slight pause.)
We need to understand something about the instruction which tells us to teach our children. What are we invited to teach? (Quote:) “Yahweh, our God, Yahweh alone, is one. You are to love Yahweh, our God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.” (Slight pause.)
This should be obvious. We are invited to love. As I said earlier, love is an action. We are invited to teach. Teach is an action. Why was there a gathering Thursday last? Action was necessary. Action was imperative.
We live in a world where silence is not an option. It does not matter if you are an introvert and say, “Well, I can’t say anything in public. That’s not who I am.”
You do not have to say a word. You can act. Actions speak louder than words. (Slight pause.)
In a couple minutes, in the time set aside for the Prayers of the People, we shall have a Litany of Remembrance. It might be argued these prayers are just words, not action, when action is required.
So let me address my experience with words which are prayers. Prayer centers us to be prepared to take action, to be active, centers us and thereby empowers us to understand God walks with us at all times, under all circumstances.
Which brings us back to action— the action called for by Deuteronomy— that we need to diligently teach the love of God to our children. I think a key question for us as a society is not ‘what are we teaching our children?’ We know we need to teach love. The key question is ‘how are we teaching our children?’
We need to teach our children with action. And yes, sometimes actions are words. Sometimes words are used to spread love of God and love of neighbor. And yes, sometimes words are used to spread violence and anger and hate.
Indeed, I said marginalizing groups and inciting have been around for millennia. So perhaps words and action have always been necessary. To be clear, I think many of us believe in our time silence is not viable option.
I do not think silence, at this time, is golden. I do realize right now there are many who are practicing silence, perhaps with the belief that violence, anger, fear will dissipate on its own or perhaps malice drives the silence. Again, silence is not an option. Silence is a display of apathy.
Let me quote holocaust survivor, Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel on the topic of silence. (Quote:) “Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men and women are persecuted because of race, religion or political views, that place must— at that moment— become the center of the universe.” [1]
So, how are we teaching our children? Do our words and our actions invite violence, anger, fear? Or do our words, our actions invite what Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, insisted were the two great commandments (quote:) “...love the Most High God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength” and (quote:) “...love your neighbor as yourself.” (Slight pause.)
Love of God and love of neighbor are irrevocably intertwined with justice— God’s justice for all people. We must not remain silent as we seek God’s justice. Amen.
11/04/2018
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 a number of people told me they were moved by the vigil, moved by its simplicity, its sentiments, its honesty, its attempt at shining a light when light is sorely needed. I hope for those who were not there my description helped you feel some of that. But descriptions are poor substitutes. Living through things, experiencing helps us understand ourselves, understand what life, what justice, what love is about. So to reiterate, silence is not an option. Action is necessary to help us understand ourselves, understand life, justice, love especially when teaching out children.”
BENEDICTION: Here now this blessing and this is the Blessing I used at the vigil for peace on Thursday: Go now— go in safety, for you cannot go where God is not. Go now— go with the purpose of fulfilling the will of God and God will honor your dedication. God now— go in freedom as we know God is the One Who sets us free from all that destroys. Go now— go in hope, for hope sees clearly the promise of God to walk with us. Go now— Go in love, for the love of God endures. Go now— go in peace for it is a gift of God to all people whose hearts and minds honor, respect and love. Amen.
[1] The Nobel Laureate speech of Elie Wiesel:
http://eliewieselfoundation.org/elie-wiesel/nobelprizespeech/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)