The Destructive Nature of Disorderliness
By Rev. Steven R Mitchell
First Congregational UCC, Rock Springs, WY 11/14/2010
Based on 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13
Just in case some of you wonder how I pick and choose what scripture I am going to use for any given Sunday’s worship, I can guarantee you that I don’t sit around each week seeing what problem we here at First Congregational might be dealing with and then go through the Bible looking for specific scripture that will help me “proof text” the points that I share with you. I follow what is call “the Common Lectionary Readings”, which is a three year cycle designed to look and examine a well balanced reading of the whole Bible. Once again, Paul is writing to not just of church some two thousand years ago but to us in this very congregation. It is one of those scripture lessons that tend to get pastors fired because it too often hits the nerve of issues going on in the church body. What I find interesting is, the lectionary throughout this whole year seems to be hitting directly to issues that exist here at First Congregational Church and I just know that God is trying to get me fired by bringing up these delicate topics.
But, as a minister of the gospel and in my effort to be true to my calling, I cannot ignore what seems to be the leading of the Holy Spirit and the word that God has for this congregation. Sharon Pribyl tells me that I like “confrontation” and I would have to tell her, she is correct in that assessment. But I don’t like confrontation that brings up arguing or anger just for anger and argument’s sake. It comes out of my own journey in life; I understand the value of confronting issues that are present in order to build a more healthy life.
The large part of today’s thoughts are going to come from the commentary, “Feasting on the Word”, with specific authors Rev Barbara Blodgett, Minister of Vocation and Formation, Parish Life and Leadership, Local Ministries of the national offices of the United Church of Christ, and of Rev Neta Pringle, Minister of Word and Sacrament, Presbyterian Church (USA), because they have expressed today’s thoughts in a way that far exceeds what I can formulate.
Some of the Thessalonians are letting the others down by refusing to contribute to the community by working. Paul has had to address this problem before in (I Thess. 5:14) but apparently now the situation has become even worse. So Paul admonishes them again. The writer does not mince words: he tells the responsible ones to keep their distance from the slackers and tells the slackers to either get back to work or expect not to eat!
It is important immediately to clarify three potential misinterpretations of the theological intent of this passage. First, Paul does not counsel the community to shun completely its idle members. All believers, even obstructive ones, are considered worthy of inclusion and concern. Secondly, Paul is not addressing individuals who were unable to work for some reason. There is no suggestion that dependents are being criticized for their dependency alone; such an interpretation would contradict the entire thrust of New Testament teaching on caring for all regardless of ability. Finally, Paul is not expressing “an early form of the Protestant work ethic” To early Christians, work and prosperity were not signs of individual grace but, rather, evidence of supporting oneself and thereby the whole community. To refuse to work was therefore to rebel and take unfair advantage of others, and this was the problem, not mere idleness.
In fact, in the history of interpretation of this text, many have suggested reading “idleness” as “disorderliness.” It is legitimate, therefore, to go beyond the specific issues of laziness and labor and consider more generally the problem of disorderly conduct within communities of faith like the Thessalonians or possibly like First Congregational of Rock Springs! This will help us better to appreciate the strict disciplinary tone of the text. Rev Barbara Blodgett, UCC
Paul’s most critical problem was the absence of a standard for settling intragroup disputes. This text raises two significant Spiritual issues. The first has to do with the individual. Each of us needs to take responsibility for our own life – our physical life and our spiritual life. Remember the line from I Corinthians 13:11? “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways.”
When grandson Brendan was two, if he wanted something he would grab it and demand,”mine!” At four he began to grow out of that childish way, but some people never do. To become mature Christians means that we do give up childish ways. We learn that we are not the center of the universe. We learn that sharing goes both ways. We learn to respect the needs and rights of others.
There are those who do not mooch just sandwiches, or money. They want to mooch spiritually as well. They may sit in the pew Sunday after Sunday, but they do not do any work themselves. “The preacher will tell me what the Bible says. The congregation will do my praying for me.” At that point Paul’s admonition – “if you will not work, you cannot eat” – becomes descriptive rather than prescriptive. If you do not read the Bible for yourself, if you do not have your own prayer time, no one else can do it for you. You will not be fed. You will not grow. You will not mature as a Christian.
The second issue Paul focuses on concerns the life of the community. It is not enough to have an individual commitment to Christ. That commitment must be lived out in the context of the community of faith. Read Paul’s letters and see just how much his writings focus on building a community that is caring, supportive, and joyful. Moochers and busybodies disrupt the community. They build resentment and distrust. They shame us in the eyes of the world. Who wants to be part of a group that is always fighting? Moochers and busybodies tarnish our witness and keep us from being Christ’s body in the world. Rev Neta Pringle, Presbyterian (USA)
Our text today is ultimately speaking to church discipline and accountability. Over the past few months there have been a group of folks working on revising our church constitution and by-laws, trying to update its language and bring it into line with how we truly function within this body. One of the last pieces that need to be addressed is that of “Membership”. Questions such as: “what does it mean to be a member of First Congregational Church of Rock Springs?” “Does giving money to the church but never showing up to worship or participating in other functions in the life of the church, constitute membership?” “Or should we demand more commitment from an individual who wishes to call themselves a member?” “What about accountability?” “Where does church discipline come into play?” All these are very serious questions that as a body, we need to be in conversation about and defining, not just a few, but the whole body. Because of the magnitude of these questions, we are holding a workshop on Saturday December 4th, focused on the topic of Membership. This workshop will be lead by Rev Jean Wade. From this workshop those who are working on membership issues within the by-laws will have an idea of how we as a congregation wish to define this important piece of who we are.
One of the things that we have discovered in our review of the by-laws is there is no standard for dealing with issues that come up within the life of the congregation, or as Rev Reta Pringle puts it, “intragroup disputes.” We have standards in which ministers and denominational representatives are held to and procedures to which we can follow to deal with misconduct and grievances, but most churches do not have in writing any standards to which they hold their membership to when there are grievances or misconduct. This allows then for what we call living a “disorderly” life. It allows for dysfunctional living which demoralizes a congregation. This is what Paul was struggling with, with the church in Thessalonica.
In his book “Seven Deadly Sins”, author Dr Rev Tony Campolo speaks to the very first deadly sin as “Sloth”, which we call “laziness”. We tend to think of laziness in relationship to the Protestant work ethic and not a spiritual issue, but Dr Campolo quotes psychotherapist, M. Scott Peck as pointing to Laziness as a major cause of evil, a primary cause of psychological illness, and the main reason that Americans are increasingly failing at human relations. Peck points out that laziness is what prevents us from being loving. Love requires commitment and work, and those who are lazy are seldom willing to expend that kind of energy. Our culture promotes a view of love that makes this most important characteristic of being human and of being Christian seem to be a spontaneous emotion which can be neither controlled nor created. This failure to recognize that love is an art requiring discipline and hard work is largely responsible for the absence of love in so many of our interpersonal relationships. Pg 14 Dr Campolo continues to say, “Joy in Christ requires a commitment to working at the Christian lifestyle. Salvation comes as a gift, but the joy of salvation demands disciplined action.
If the Apostle Paul were to point out this churches greatest issue, I think he would say we struggle with the very same sin as the church in Thessalonica did, that of Sloth at a congregational level. He would say, we have abdicated our responsibility to work at our Christian faith. As members, we have abdicated our responsibilities to work on committees, to work on our spiritual growth, to work at making Christ the head this church. And what would give him cause to say this? It’s not hard. We have on our membership roles, 134 members, how many of them attend worship regularly? We have difficulty in having people fill committee and board positions. We have a missions committee, but when was the last time that committee has been active? When I got here there was no children’s education going on. Why? The two things that I heard were, “I’m tired of teaching, I’ve done my tour of duty” and the other was “the pastor didn’t think it was important.”
There are two types of churches, those that have a vital ministry through its laity and those who have a maintenance ministry through the pastor. In other words, there are those churches that have a disciplined and working lifestyle of their faith and those churches that have grown into Slothfulness. I would ask, “did your last pastor truly think Sunday school or committees like Missions were not important, or was he saying that as a congregation, the laity needed to be disciplined enough to work at fulfilling those needs?” The church at Thessalonica was a church that was plagued with sloth.
Disorder come to a congregation when it’s members have abdicated their responsibilities to the greater body. By their refusal to work within the body of faith, they allow moochers, and busybodies to drain the church overall of its energy and resources. It allows for resentments and distrust to rule within the life of the congregation.
How then do we live together? That is Paul’s concern. Do the folks outside the church look at us and say, “That is not any place I want to be!” Does the face that we present to the world embarrass our Lord?” Or, do we create a place that makes folks stop, look and think: “Maybe there is something happening there that I want to be part of? Might this be a place where I can grow in my faith? ”
I realize that this sermon sounds like I am beating you down. I am not. But like a parent who loves their children, and wishes only the best for them, and wants to build strong Christ like character within them, at times the conversation sounds harsh. You all are tremendous people! But, there is still deep hurt within this congregation. I know this not just because of what people say to me in confidence, but because of those who are no longer sitting in worship with us. What we are living with at the moment is the result of people who abdicated their responsibilities as members to this congregation and allowed “disorder” to enter into the life of this congregation. It is our responsibility to work at correcting this and work on bringing “order” back into our congregational life. That takes work, discipline, love, and lots of forgiveness.
Churches today, like the Thessalonians, are sometimes plagued by forms of misconduct. In response, they might do well to remember that discipline and community formation are not necessarily contradictory. As individuals and as communities, brothers and sisters need to be encouraged not to become “weary in doing what is right” for each other’s sake. Rev Blodgett Amen
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Monday, November 8, 2010
An Epistle from Rev Steven R Mitchell, Rock Springs, WY
An Epistle from the Reverend Steven R. Mitchell
By Rev Steven R Mitchell
First Congregational UCC, Rock Springs, WY, Nov 7, 2010
Based on Ephesians 1:11-23, Luke 6:20-31 & Segments from personal profile
For All Saints Day Celebration
To the First Congregational UCC Church of Rock Springs:
Steven, a minister of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God’s holy people at First Congregational Church in Rock Springs, WY, the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace and peace to you from God our Parent and the Lord Jesus Christ.
As we come to worship this morning and remember those who have passed on before us, I thought I would share with you some portions from my Ministerial Profile, as these selections speak to how I was able to discern my call into minister. In these thoughts you will learn how some special folks, who are now gone to be with our Lord, influenced my life, as well as some other people who I have learned from, so far in my walk with Christ.
As I look back over my life and examine ‘my call’ to ministry, the best I can say is, ‘God has and is continuously cultivating’ me for ministry. There is not one person that has been in my life who has not had some kind of impact in the development of my gifts, talents and skills that I use in the role of Pastor. Most of you are here this morning because of the saintly influence of people in your life. People like your parents, or grandparents, or aunts and uncles; friends from when you were in school; you possibly are hear because of the influence of a Sunday school teacher or youth sponsor. The point being, God speaks to us in many differing ways and in many various voices.
As a young child my mother took me weekly to church, that is until my father insisted that she stop wasting her time at church and spend that day with him. Then an Aunt who was Catholic would take me to mass when she could. There were a couple of parents of my childhood school mates who also saw to it that I was in church on a regular basis, by picking me up and taking me to their churches. Religion was discussed in one of my grandmothers home, where going to church was not one of the expectations of our spiritual training.
There were a couple of key people in my life that helped mentor me in my early development of my Christian walk while in me teens. One couple eventually became my parent-in-laws. Another was the mother of one of my buddies. I would go out weekly to their house and she and I would have deep theological discussions. One day she announced to me that ‘God’ was calling me into the ministry. With horror I denied this prophetic announcement saying, “I wanted a very different style of life.” Even though I thought she was overboard on her assessment of my future, deep down I knew it was possible.
I moved to Wichita, KS to attend the University. At that point I became involved in the life of a local American Baptist Church. In time I became the chairperson of a task force charged with the relocation and settlement of some 200 Southeast Asian refugees. It was while working on this task force that I remembered my mentor’s words, ‘God is calling you to ministry’. At the same time I was managing a convenience store. Time and again, as I listened to my customers, I became increasingly aware of just how many people had a feeling of separation and a deep longing to belong and be a part of something bigger than what they were currently experiencing, though not recognizing it as a spiritual longing. One would think having this insight and the epiphany of my high school mentor that I would have easily answered that call to ministry and enrolled at once into seminary. It took three years of struggling with that call before I could embrace it as ‘my call to ministry’. This time, was for me, my evening in the garden of Gethsemane.
Books have been an important influence to not only my calling but also in the shaping of my ministry. If I were limited to pick just one or two thoughts to describe the essence of my view of ministry, I would look to Matthew 25, “When you have done this to the least of my brothers, you have done this to me” and to Paul’s call in II Corinthians 5:18, “Christ gave us the ministry of reconciliation.”
As each day passes by, this realization becomes more real to me than the day before. Author/teacher and lecturer, Tony Campollo put forth an idea that if you see Christ in the face of each person you meet, then as a Christian, you would treat that person differently than what you might currently do. When I see the face of Jesus in the face of whom ever I encounter, I find that I cannot help but be more connected to that person; open to listening to their joys, their needs, their failures, their pain, their hopes and their wisdom. As we take the time to become intimately involved with one another, we become more intimately involved in our relationship with Jesus.
In Charles Sheldon’s book In His Steps (a Congregationalist Pastor in the early 20th Century); a minister challenges his congregation to ask this one question, “What would Jesus do?” When honestly asked, the answer more times than not conflicted with what traditional wisdom would say. This was true for Jesus, as he consistently asked for God’s guidance and when acting on those answers, saw himself crossing the established line of acceptable behavior both in the religious and secular community. It is my experience that when a person honestly seeks out the ‘truth’ in their spirit, they will often be at odds with the established systems that they once operated under.
One of today’s challenges within the church comes through “how do we minister.” Yet many churches are looking at their ‘ministries” through the eyes of survivalism. In reading many church profiles there is a common theme in the desire to grow, many times focusing on the need of “increased numbers” as a means to keep their local ministries alive. Church growth is important, but I believe “growth for survival” is misdirection and is not “ministry”.
As I continue to look at “effective ministry”, I look to Diana Butler Bass’s (author of Christianity for the Rest of Us) study of the last ten years of church growth among liberal mainline Protestant churches as she notes three basic commonalities among those congregations that are growing. These congregations work: 1) on becoming a community; 2) growing in intimacy with God; and 3) welcoming strangers. These three aspects fit right in with Matthew 25 and II Corinthians 5:18, the cornerstone of my understanding of the Good News that Jesus brought to a world that continues to be so disconnected.
I offer my personal insight: I have learned over the years that personal growth and change is the primary focus in growing a church. I would title my present focus on church growth as “An experiment in growing faith.” Once our faith is truly owned and personalized, we become more open to the beauty of “all” God’s creation and become encouragers of others. We become a magnet for people who are looking to grow and find expression in their spiritual journey. True church growth starts – with the growth in faith by oneself! It is my opinion that one should look to church growth not in terms of “How do we grow” but rather looking to answer in earnest “How can I deepen my relationship with God.” In other words, not how can we grow our church but rather, ‘how can I grow myself?’ It is with the personal growth in our spiritual lives that is the basis for any significant growth of a congregation and thus deepening of the congregation’s ministry.
It is through the faith of those who have come before us, that we are able to be who we are and even more importantly, become what God wishes for us to be. The work of this church has been the labor of those saints before us, we are here to labor forward, continually laying the foundation for the next generation. Thank God for those we look to as our mentors and may God help us to be the Saints of those who come after us! Amen
I wish to close with this prayer from Paul: “…I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, may give you the Spirit[f] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart’s may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe…”
By Rev Steven R Mitchell
First Congregational UCC, Rock Springs, WY, Nov 7, 2010
Based on Ephesians 1:11-23, Luke 6:20-31 & Segments from personal profile
For All Saints Day Celebration
To the First Congregational UCC Church of Rock Springs:
Steven, a minister of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God’s holy people at First Congregational Church in Rock Springs, WY, the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace and peace to you from God our Parent and the Lord Jesus Christ.
As we come to worship this morning and remember those who have passed on before us, I thought I would share with you some portions from my Ministerial Profile, as these selections speak to how I was able to discern my call into minister. In these thoughts you will learn how some special folks, who are now gone to be with our Lord, influenced my life, as well as some other people who I have learned from, so far in my walk with Christ.
As I look back over my life and examine ‘my call’ to ministry, the best I can say is, ‘God has and is continuously cultivating’ me for ministry. There is not one person that has been in my life who has not had some kind of impact in the development of my gifts, talents and skills that I use in the role of Pastor. Most of you are here this morning because of the saintly influence of people in your life. People like your parents, or grandparents, or aunts and uncles; friends from when you were in school; you possibly are hear because of the influence of a Sunday school teacher or youth sponsor. The point being, God speaks to us in many differing ways and in many various voices.
As a young child my mother took me weekly to church, that is until my father insisted that she stop wasting her time at church and spend that day with him. Then an Aunt who was Catholic would take me to mass when she could. There were a couple of parents of my childhood school mates who also saw to it that I was in church on a regular basis, by picking me up and taking me to their churches. Religion was discussed in one of my grandmothers home, where going to church was not one of the expectations of our spiritual training.
There were a couple of key people in my life that helped mentor me in my early development of my Christian walk while in me teens. One couple eventually became my parent-in-laws. Another was the mother of one of my buddies. I would go out weekly to their house and she and I would have deep theological discussions. One day she announced to me that ‘God’ was calling me into the ministry. With horror I denied this prophetic announcement saying, “I wanted a very different style of life.” Even though I thought she was overboard on her assessment of my future, deep down I knew it was possible.
I moved to Wichita, KS to attend the University. At that point I became involved in the life of a local American Baptist Church. In time I became the chairperson of a task force charged with the relocation and settlement of some 200 Southeast Asian refugees. It was while working on this task force that I remembered my mentor’s words, ‘God is calling you to ministry’. At the same time I was managing a convenience store. Time and again, as I listened to my customers, I became increasingly aware of just how many people had a feeling of separation and a deep longing to belong and be a part of something bigger than what they were currently experiencing, though not recognizing it as a spiritual longing. One would think having this insight and the epiphany of my high school mentor that I would have easily answered that call to ministry and enrolled at once into seminary. It took three years of struggling with that call before I could embrace it as ‘my call to ministry’. This time, was for me, my evening in the garden of Gethsemane.
Books have been an important influence to not only my calling but also in the shaping of my ministry. If I were limited to pick just one or two thoughts to describe the essence of my view of ministry, I would look to Matthew 25, “When you have done this to the least of my brothers, you have done this to me” and to Paul’s call in II Corinthians 5:18, “Christ gave us the ministry of reconciliation.”
As each day passes by, this realization becomes more real to me than the day before. Author/teacher and lecturer, Tony Campollo put forth an idea that if you see Christ in the face of each person you meet, then as a Christian, you would treat that person differently than what you might currently do. When I see the face of Jesus in the face of whom ever I encounter, I find that I cannot help but be more connected to that person; open to listening to their joys, their needs, their failures, their pain, their hopes and their wisdom. As we take the time to become intimately involved with one another, we become more intimately involved in our relationship with Jesus.
In Charles Sheldon’s book In His Steps (a Congregationalist Pastor in the early 20th Century); a minister challenges his congregation to ask this one question, “What would Jesus do?” When honestly asked, the answer more times than not conflicted with what traditional wisdom would say. This was true for Jesus, as he consistently asked for God’s guidance and when acting on those answers, saw himself crossing the established line of acceptable behavior both in the religious and secular community. It is my experience that when a person honestly seeks out the ‘truth’ in their spirit, they will often be at odds with the established systems that they once operated under.
One of today’s challenges within the church comes through “how do we minister.” Yet many churches are looking at their ‘ministries” through the eyes of survivalism. In reading many church profiles there is a common theme in the desire to grow, many times focusing on the need of “increased numbers” as a means to keep their local ministries alive. Church growth is important, but I believe “growth for survival” is misdirection and is not “ministry”.
As I continue to look at “effective ministry”, I look to Diana Butler Bass’s (author of Christianity for the Rest of Us) study of the last ten years of church growth among liberal mainline Protestant churches as she notes three basic commonalities among those congregations that are growing. These congregations work: 1) on becoming a community; 2) growing in intimacy with God; and 3) welcoming strangers. These three aspects fit right in with Matthew 25 and II Corinthians 5:18, the cornerstone of my understanding of the Good News that Jesus brought to a world that continues to be so disconnected.
I offer my personal insight: I have learned over the years that personal growth and change is the primary focus in growing a church. I would title my present focus on church growth as “An experiment in growing faith.” Once our faith is truly owned and personalized, we become more open to the beauty of “all” God’s creation and become encouragers of others. We become a magnet for people who are looking to grow and find expression in their spiritual journey. True church growth starts – with the growth in faith by oneself! It is my opinion that one should look to church growth not in terms of “How do we grow” but rather looking to answer in earnest “How can I deepen my relationship with God.” In other words, not how can we grow our church but rather, ‘how can I grow myself?’ It is with the personal growth in our spiritual lives that is the basis for any significant growth of a congregation and thus deepening of the congregation’s ministry.
It is through the faith of those who have come before us, that we are able to be who we are and even more importantly, become what God wishes for us to be. The work of this church has been the labor of those saints before us, we are here to labor forward, continually laying the foundation for the next generation. Thank God for those we look to as our mentors and may God help us to be the Saints of those who come after us! Amen
I wish to close with this prayer from Paul: “…I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, may give you the Spirit[f] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart’s may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe…”
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Love Is Say, "I'm Sorry"
Love Is Saying, “I’m Sorry”
Rev Steven R Mitchell
First Congregational UCC, Rock Springs, WY 10/31/2010
Based on Psalm 32: 1-7 & Luke 19:1-10
We American’s love a good love story. Millions of books are written depicting the search for that one “true love”. Hundreds of movies have been produced concerning “true love”, with its audiences quietly dabbing the tears from their eyes in the darkness of the theatre. Movies like Sleepless In Seattle even refer to these types of movies, such as a scene where all the women in the apartment are in tears as they watch An Affair To Remember, and the guys in the kitchen drinking their beer, berate it as a “Chick flick”, when in another scene you see all the men sitting in the living room crying while they are watching the movie Rocky, and the women are in the kitchen contributing their husbands emotionalism to watching a “Man flick.”
There are always memorable lines that come from these types of movies. Lines like, “We’ll always have Paris”, or “Play it again, Sam” which actually really wasn’t in the movie Casablanca, but became a memorable line anyway. Another memorable bit of Proverb comes from the 1970 hit movie, strangely enough titled, Love Story. The line used twice within the film about two young lovers, both from the opposite side of the tracks; the man from old New England family and money, the girl from a poor family with no notoriety. This famous line was, “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.”
I didn’t much like this line in 1970 and the older I become the more convinced it is the furtherest thing from truth. Actually, in 1972, in the movie What’s Up Doc, Barbara Streisand’s character looks up to Ryan O’Neal, bats her eyes and once again delivers the line, “after all Doc, Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” Ryan O’Neal, who first delivered that line in the movie Love Story, looks at the camera and with a blank look on his face, say’s, “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”
If we look at what today’s lectionary reading is saying this morning, saying “you’re sorry” seems to be the only way to come back into fellowship with another person. In Psalm 32, we read where the renewed relationship between the writer and God comes by recognizing his sin and the asking for forgiveness. It was the psalmist’s sin that was keeping him separated from God. The result of his refusal to acknowledge his sin kept his spirit in despair and his strength was draining away from him. But once the psalmist said, “I am sorry for my sin”, he recognized a change within his heart and his burden, his aloneness was at once changed to where he felt “renewed” and “alive” and no longer “alone” in life.
Our relationship with God so very much parallels the relationships that we have as humans, whether it is between two people who are in love, or between individuals within a faith community, or two friends, or even within the family structure. When we are in relationship with someone, we have to be open within our heart in order to deepen that relationship. When we find that we have wronged that person, and become stubborn and do not acknowledge that wrong, we then begin to build walls that if left unattended, eventually become such barriers that the relationship experiences an ultimate break down.
This happens far too often in church communities. One person gets their feelings hurt, or their integrity or authority challenged by someone else, sometimes without the other person realizing it. Lines are drawn and the process of “retaliation” begins, which can escalate into all out and out conflict that by this point includes a good number of people, each taking sides. From the point of the psalmist and looking at the faith community as a single body, he says, “my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.” This is what happens when we build up walls and do not acknowledge our sin to God or to one another. The body begins to dry up and whither, a cancer grows within the body and eats away at all that is good.
The only way that healing and reconciliation can come about, then, is to say, “I am sorry”. I want to share a couple of examples of how varying aspects of wrong doing develop into the building of walls and ultimately prevent healing. In my early twenties, I was a fresh kid on the block, so to speak, as a new member of a church that had had a major split. A split so severe that it was handled at the Superior Court level and the winners, if you want to call them that were a handful of people who were given back a building that could seat 2,000 for worship, along with two educational wings, one with five floors and the other four stories. This group of 175 members was able to keep their place of worship but from the eyes of the larger community, the building was always viewed as, the place where those people can’t get along with one another, and the growth of that faith community suffered because of the cities sigma that was represented by the physical building. The healing for that congregation didn’t come until a pastor by the name of Dr. Roger Fredrickson, a man with great skill, contacted the pastor of the larger, displaced congregation who had build a new home across the river, with the intent to trade pulpits and have each congregation worship with the other in both buildings in two separate evening services. This was going against a court order of twenty-five years that stated the group in exile was never to step foot inside the original building of dispute. As it turns out, the larger, displaced congregation was also in need of healing and through this act of worshipping together and with many people saying, “I’m sorry” to folks that they hadn’t seen in twenty-five years, there was a renewal within the heart of both congregations. It was big news and with the coverage by the local news paper, there was a healing within the community itself and no longer did people look at the big old stone building on Broadway Ave, as the church where “they can’t get along.”
As a new person and wanting to contribute within the structure of the church, I joined various boards over my years there. As I worked on these boards, I continually butted heads with one man in particular, who always seemed to be on the other side of any issue. By my way of thinking, his views tended to be in the directions that strangled church growth. My frustration continued to grow toward this man. Finally I decided to pray about the situation. I had once been told by a wise person, not to pray for change for the other person, but for myself. As I did this, I eventually began to realize that this person’s opposition wasn’t to keep the church from growing but rather was based on good intensions. I was so convicted of my frustration, that once I found release from it through prayer, I had to go and share what had been going on within my heart with this man and asked for his forgiveness. The funny thing was, he wasn’t aware of our alienation, for you see, most of it had been in my own heart, yet through that conversation, and we were able to build stronger bonds of respect and open communications. This wouldn’t have been possible had I held onto my feelings of frustration and had I not been willing to go to him and say, “I was sorry.”
On the other end of the spectrum, my first appointment as a pastor was in a small rural community, where once again, there had been a huge dispute, again between the pastor and the congregation. Through the hardening of hearts, on both sides of the issue, this dispute ultimately involved the whole community of around a thousand people. During this dispute, one of the patriarchs of the church received a letter for a minister in the neighboring town, basically accusing him as being the center of that dispute. This man deeply hurt by these accusations, held on to this letter for several years, often referring back to it. Eventually I submitted to reading this letter and in truth it was a letter filled with many hurtful things. Whether, the things within the letter were based on fact or not, isn’t the point that I am wanting to stress. What this letter represented was a wall that was preventing a healing for this man over a situation that had pasted several years earlier. The eventual healing came when this man was able to destroy the letter, for in destroying the letter, it broke down that barrier and allowed him to heal and move forward. Once his healing started, the church seemed to begin to heal as well. I’m not saying that this man was keeping the church from moving forward, but rather, there was a change that seemed to occur within the whole congregation, that can only be explained as the “healing through the Holy Spirit” at a congregational level. This healing wasn’t able to happen until this one person actually started to heal emotionally and spiritually, I think because the congregation as a whole saw the change within him, much like what we see in the change in Zacchaeus the tax collector.
In Luke, we read where Zacchaeus, an obviously sinful person, finds healing through an encounter with Jesus. In this particular story, we do not read that Zacchaeus has actually “repented” in front of Jesus, but by his actions was definitely a different man prior to Jesus coming to his house. I think to get a fuller picture about this story we have to go back to chapter eighteen and read about the parable Jesus was telling about two men who were praying to God; One was a Pharisee, the other a tax-collector. The Pharisee, was looking up to heaven thanking God he wasn’t like the tax-collector, who was a sinner; while the tax-collector was so contrite in his pray of asking for forgiveness, that he couldn’t even raise his head to heaven. In this parable, Jesus indicates that it was the Tax-collector who went away as a forgiven man and able to enter into a right relationship with God and that the Pharisee, the religious man was the one not forgiven for his sin, first and foremost because he actually didn’t ask for forgiveness.
I think that this parable Jesus was sharing came from an actual encounter that he had had with Zacchaeus, and that when Jesus had entered into Jericho, he recognized Zacchaeus as the tax-collector in the previous town and by his inviting himself to Zacchaeus’ house, gives the indication of just how included Zacchaeus actually is, as a man who had asked to be forgiving for his wrong doing and has found reconciliation and affirmation in the eyes of Jesus.
The church as a collective body has often acted like the Pharisee that sees itself as righteous, when in fact has done many sinful and harmful acts upon individuals, harmful acts so great that it builds up walls that prevent “reconciliation” between God and those individuals, as well as walls of isolation between God and the church. True healing doesn’t take place until there is a real, “I’m sorry” being spoken. The opportunity for healing for American Japanese did not take place until our government publically “apologized” for placing them into concentration camps during World War II. The work of Congregational Missionaries in Hawaii, destroyed a culture, and with the admission by the UCC to the Hawaiians, that we recognize the pain, sorrow, and injustices that were incurred through our zeal to provide “salvation” to them and in saying “we are sorry for our wrongness”, deep wounds are starting to heal.
A church will never truly over come deep hurts that occur within its individual members until there is forgiveness being asked for. There are people within a faith community that can feel they are the “victims” and pray that they will be vindicated. But you know what? That is a prayer of futility, for that type of prayer will never change anything. The prayer of the person who feels “victimized” should be a prayer for personal healing. Why? Because, you can never change “the other person”, but we can change ourselves, and it is through personal transformation where we are able to break down those walls that separate us spiritually, both from those that we feel have victimized us, as well as from God. For the odd thing is, the more we hold on to hurt and pain and memory of “who did what to us”, the farther away we move from a truly loving relationship with God. Our hearts are either like the Pharisee and see “others” as being the problem, or our hearts are going to be like the tax-collector and know that we are the problem. It is in the heart of the tax-collector that God truly is able to heal, and with that healing, everyone benefits, not just the one saying, “I’m sorry” but everyone! Am
Rev Steven R Mitchell
First Congregational UCC, Rock Springs, WY 10/31/2010
Based on Psalm 32: 1-7 & Luke 19:1-10
We American’s love a good love story. Millions of books are written depicting the search for that one “true love”. Hundreds of movies have been produced concerning “true love”, with its audiences quietly dabbing the tears from their eyes in the darkness of the theatre. Movies like Sleepless In Seattle even refer to these types of movies, such as a scene where all the women in the apartment are in tears as they watch An Affair To Remember, and the guys in the kitchen drinking their beer, berate it as a “Chick flick”, when in another scene you see all the men sitting in the living room crying while they are watching the movie Rocky, and the women are in the kitchen contributing their husbands emotionalism to watching a “Man flick.”
There are always memorable lines that come from these types of movies. Lines like, “We’ll always have Paris”, or “Play it again, Sam” which actually really wasn’t in the movie Casablanca, but became a memorable line anyway. Another memorable bit of Proverb comes from the 1970 hit movie, strangely enough titled, Love Story. The line used twice within the film about two young lovers, both from the opposite side of the tracks; the man from old New England family and money, the girl from a poor family with no notoriety. This famous line was, “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.”
I didn’t much like this line in 1970 and the older I become the more convinced it is the furtherest thing from truth. Actually, in 1972, in the movie What’s Up Doc, Barbara Streisand’s character looks up to Ryan O’Neal, bats her eyes and once again delivers the line, “after all Doc, Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” Ryan O’Neal, who first delivered that line in the movie Love Story, looks at the camera and with a blank look on his face, say’s, “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”
If we look at what today’s lectionary reading is saying this morning, saying “you’re sorry” seems to be the only way to come back into fellowship with another person. In Psalm 32, we read where the renewed relationship between the writer and God comes by recognizing his sin and the asking for forgiveness. It was the psalmist’s sin that was keeping him separated from God. The result of his refusal to acknowledge his sin kept his spirit in despair and his strength was draining away from him. But once the psalmist said, “I am sorry for my sin”, he recognized a change within his heart and his burden, his aloneness was at once changed to where he felt “renewed” and “alive” and no longer “alone” in life.
Our relationship with God so very much parallels the relationships that we have as humans, whether it is between two people who are in love, or between individuals within a faith community, or two friends, or even within the family structure. When we are in relationship with someone, we have to be open within our heart in order to deepen that relationship. When we find that we have wronged that person, and become stubborn and do not acknowledge that wrong, we then begin to build walls that if left unattended, eventually become such barriers that the relationship experiences an ultimate break down.
This happens far too often in church communities. One person gets their feelings hurt, or their integrity or authority challenged by someone else, sometimes without the other person realizing it. Lines are drawn and the process of “retaliation” begins, which can escalate into all out and out conflict that by this point includes a good number of people, each taking sides. From the point of the psalmist and looking at the faith community as a single body, he says, “my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.” This is what happens when we build up walls and do not acknowledge our sin to God or to one another. The body begins to dry up and whither, a cancer grows within the body and eats away at all that is good.
The only way that healing and reconciliation can come about, then, is to say, “I am sorry”. I want to share a couple of examples of how varying aspects of wrong doing develop into the building of walls and ultimately prevent healing. In my early twenties, I was a fresh kid on the block, so to speak, as a new member of a church that had had a major split. A split so severe that it was handled at the Superior Court level and the winners, if you want to call them that were a handful of people who were given back a building that could seat 2,000 for worship, along with two educational wings, one with five floors and the other four stories. This group of 175 members was able to keep their place of worship but from the eyes of the larger community, the building was always viewed as, the place where those people can’t get along with one another, and the growth of that faith community suffered because of the cities sigma that was represented by the physical building. The healing for that congregation didn’t come until a pastor by the name of Dr. Roger Fredrickson, a man with great skill, contacted the pastor of the larger, displaced congregation who had build a new home across the river, with the intent to trade pulpits and have each congregation worship with the other in both buildings in two separate evening services. This was going against a court order of twenty-five years that stated the group in exile was never to step foot inside the original building of dispute. As it turns out, the larger, displaced congregation was also in need of healing and through this act of worshipping together and with many people saying, “I’m sorry” to folks that they hadn’t seen in twenty-five years, there was a renewal within the heart of both congregations. It was big news and with the coverage by the local news paper, there was a healing within the community itself and no longer did people look at the big old stone building on Broadway Ave, as the church where “they can’t get along.”
As a new person and wanting to contribute within the structure of the church, I joined various boards over my years there. As I worked on these boards, I continually butted heads with one man in particular, who always seemed to be on the other side of any issue. By my way of thinking, his views tended to be in the directions that strangled church growth. My frustration continued to grow toward this man. Finally I decided to pray about the situation. I had once been told by a wise person, not to pray for change for the other person, but for myself. As I did this, I eventually began to realize that this person’s opposition wasn’t to keep the church from growing but rather was based on good intensions. I was so convicted of my frustration, that once I found release from it through prayer, I had to go and share what had been going on within my heart with this man and asked for his forgiveness. The funny thing was, he wasn’t aware of our alienation, for you see, most of it had been in my own heart, yet through that conversation, and we were able to build stronger bonds of respect and open communications. This wouldn’t have been possible had I held onto my feelings of frustration and had I not been willing to go to him and say, “I was sorry.”
On the other end of the spectrum, my first appointment as a pastor was in a small rural community, where once again, there had been a huge dispute, again between the pastor and the congregation. Through the hardening of hearts, on both sides of the issue, this dispute ultimately involved the whole community of around a thousand people. During this dispute, one of the patriarchs of the church received a letter for a minister in the neighboring town, basically accusing him as being the center of that dispute. This man deeply hurt by these accusations, held on to this letter for several years, often referring back to it. Eventually I submitted to reading this letter and in truth it was a letter filled with many hurtful things. Whether, the things within the letter were based on fact or not, isn’t the point that I am wanting to stress. What this letter represented was a wall that was preventing a healing for this man over a situation that had pasted several years earlier. The eventual healing came when this man was able to destroy the letter, for in destroying the letter, it broke down that barrier and allowed him to heal and move forward. Once his healing started, the church seemed to begin to heal as well. I’m not saying that this man was keeping the church from moving forward, but rather, there was a change that seemed to occur within the whole congregation, that can only be explained as the “healing through the Holy Spirit” at a congregational level. This healing wasn’t able to happen until this one person actually started to heal emotionally and spiritually, I think because the congregation as a whole saw the change within him, much like what we see in the change in Zacchaeus the tax collector.
In Luke, we read where Zacchaeus, an obviously sinful person, finds healing through an encounter with Jesus. In this particular story, we do not read that Zacchaeus has actually “repented” in front of Jesus, but by his actions was definitely a different man prior to Jesus coming to his house. I think to get a fuller picture about this story we have to go back to chapter eighteen and read about the parable Jesus was telling about two men who were praying to God; One was a Pharisee, the other a tax-collector. The Pharisee, was looking up to heaven thanking God he wasn’t like the tax-collector, who was a sinner; while the tax-collector was so contrite in his pray of asking for forgiveness, that he couldn’t even raise his head to heaven. In this parable, Jesus indicates that it was the Tax-collector who went away as a forgiven man and able to enter into a right relationship with God and that the Pharisee, the religious man was the one not forgiven for his sin, first and foremost because he actually didn’t ask for forgiveness.
I think that this parable Jesus was sharing came from an actual encounter that he had had with Zacchaeus, and that when Jesus had entered into Jericho, he recognized Zacchaeus as the tax-collector in the previous town and by his inviting himself to Zacchaeus’ house, gives the indication of just how included Zacchaeus actually is, as a man who had asked to be forgiving for his wrong doing and has found reconciliation and affirmation in the eyes of Jesus.
The church as a collective body has often acted like the Pharisee that sees itself as righteous, when in fact has done many sinful and harmful acts upon individuals, harmful acts so great that it builds up walls that prevent “reconciliation” between God and those individuals, as well as walls of isolation between God and the church. True healing doesn’t take place until there is a real, “I’m sorry” being spoken. The opportunity for healing for American Japanese did not take place until our government publically “apologized” for placing them into concentration camps during World War II. The work of Congregational Missionaries in Hawaii, destroyed a culture, and with the admission by the UCC to the Hawaiians, that we recognize the pain, sorrow, and injustices that were incurred through our zeal to provide “salvation” to them and in saying “we are sorry for our wrongness”, deep wounds are starting to heal.
A church will never truly over come deep hurts that occur within its individual members until there is forgiveness being asked for. There are people within a faith community that can feel they are the “victims” and pray that they will be vindicated. But you know what? That is a prayer of futility, for that type of prayer will never change anything. The prayer of the person who feels “victimized” should be a prayer for personal healing. Why? Because, you can never change “the other person”, but we can change ourselves, and it is through personal transformation where we are able to break down those walls that separate us spiritually, both from those that we feel have victimized us, as well as from God. For the odd thing is, the more we hold on to hurt and pain and memory of “who did what to us”, the farther away we move from a truly loving relationship with God. Our hearts are either like the Pharisee and see “others” as being the problem, or our hearts are going to be like the tax-collector and know that we are the problem. It is in the heart of the tax-collector that God truly is able to heal, and with that healing, everyone benefits, not just the one saying, “I’m sorry” but everyone! Am
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Meditational Thoughts for the Celebration of a Life
I thought I would share with you both the scripture that I refer to as well as this meditational thought as I reflected upon in response to being asked to officiate at a persons funeral who would consider themselves "unchurched". There are many in our country that do not have direct relationships with any denomination or particular church, yet they would consider themselves as being Spiritual. So what does or what can a pastor of the Christian religion say to those families that do not identify themselves as Christian, yet recognize that there is a power beyond how the church defines God? This I think is one of the biggest challenges of Christianity today, that of being able to relate to, comfort, and verbalize the love that God has for all of Creation without using "church language". A second challenge for todays ministers and congregations is to become more humble and throw off the chains of arrogance that organized religion in general presents itself with and examine the premise of life, both in this physical world and beyond. We are just starting to learn the inter-relatedness of atoms and sub-atomic life, is it not possible, then for us to start examining the traditional understanding of the relationship of spirit with that of God and entertain the possibility that God's wish of reconcilition goes far beyond and much deeper than what we have previously understood?
With these questions being raised, I now share with you a meditational thought that I presented yesterday at a "Celebration of Life" for a man who died suddenly and was not identified in the traditional sense as being a Christian, but was a spiritual individual and lived life by the qualities that Jesus the Christ would say were in line with our Creator God, our loving Parent!
Psalm 121:
I lift up my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from? My help comes from God, the Maker of heaven and earth. The Heavenly Creator will not let your foot slip – God watches over you and never slumbers; indeed, God watches over all humanity and never slumbers. Your Heavenly Parent watches over you. Your Eternal Parent will keep you from all harm- It is God who watches over your life; God will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
MEDITATIONAL THOUGHTS
In Psalm 121, we read the thoughts the Psalmist had as he reflects over his relationship with God. One of the lines reads, “Your Eternal Parent will keep you from all harm…” When we find ourselves dealing with the loss of a brother or father or friend that comes from death, especially when it is sudden and unexpected such as with (incert name), it is hard for us to believe in words that say, God will keep us from all harm. Yet, we read these Psalms as a way of giving us comfort and eventual healing of the broken hearts that come when someone we love has left us and moved on into the next plain of life.
Life is a curious thing. As human beings we have only a three dimensional perspective. We see life only as it is contained within what we call our bodies. Because of our finite abilities, we can only recognize and define life as seen through our eyes and experienced with these bodies. This is our reality: that life begins once we are born and that it ends once our body ceases to function. Therefore, when we hear phrases like, God will keep us from all harm, we find it hard, sometimes even impossible to reconcile the realities of a physical death when it doesn’t match up with our perceptions of what living means.
Living life is a paradox. We see it only as what we do between the time that we are born until the time that we say death has come. Yet there is so much more about life that we experience but cannot physically see or rationally explain. Things like emotions, of love and hate, of what motivates us, or not understanding things that hold us back. We cannot really understand the things that give us joy, or what can bring sadness. All of these things are a part of living life, as we experience events within the mechanical functions that we call our body.
There are aspects of living life that come in the way that we interact with other human beings. We too often judge a person as having been good or not so good by how they interact with those around them. [this portions deals with some specific examples of how this individual related to those that are called friends and/or family] (insert name) was the type of a person who looked after people. (He/she) would help friends out in small but meaningful ways, such as bringing in the mail for friends, or staying on the phone late at night, giving weather reports and road conditions to friends as they would leave work and make a late night drive home from Rock Springs to Superior. (insert name)was a blessing to family and friends! And in return, those of you how took (insert name) hunting with you, or arrowhead hunting, or fishing, or letting (insert name) drive on the back hills, you were a blessing to (insert name) life as well.
You see, life as we live it within these fragile bodies, really is about relationships. It is much less about the physical aspects that we see and can touch, but more about the invisible, non-tangible things about life. It is about the joys we share with one another, it is about the pain we fell when others are struggling. It is about the acts of kindness that we not only do toward others, but also in receiving acts of generosity. Living life is about being a part of a community, a community made up of family and of friends and of strangers.
Life goes beyond this physical world. It is made up of so much more than what our physical, finite bodies can understand. This is what the Psalmist is really trying to tell us, when he says that God will keep us from harm. God see’s each and every one of us as belonging to him, as God's children. It is the love of a parent that always keep the parent on watch of their child. Although we cannot prove the existence of this parent of ours, we see, God in many ways in this world. We see God through the majestic landscape, we see God in the birth of a new born child, we see God in the eyes of two people in love, we see God in the goodness that we as human beings can give to one another. We can see God, through having personal experiences with people like (insert name).
Life is not always easy to cope with. There are times that we feel anger, or hate, or wounded, especially by those that we love. But there are also times for joy, and love, times of appreciation, as well as times of just shear silliness. We know that physical life as we experience it in these bodies, at some point comes to an end. When that happens to a friend or one that we deeply love, the pain seems almost unbearable. We deeply greive when someone dies at an early age like (insert), but also, our pain comes from the hole that is left in our life with their passing. Sometimes when someone like (insert) dies, we become fearful about death itself and wonder if this life is all there is and that once we leave this body that we have occupied for so long, that there is nothing beyond and we truly cease to exist.
These are the intangible aspects of life that the Psalmist shares with us, about the everlasting love and care that comes from God for creation. This is what Jesus was talking about to Martha and Mary as he talked with them about their brother Lazarus’ death, that through Jesus’ love for all of God’s creation, nobody ultimately dies but lives. It is a life in another dimension that we are not able to comprehend, but deep down in our souls, believe exists. During this time of lose, hold fast to these words, That God watches over our lives; God watches over our coming and going both now and forevermore.
With these questions being raised, I now share with you a meditational thought that I presented yesterday at a "Celebration of Life" for a man who died suddenly and was not identified in the traditional sense as being a Christian, but was a spiritual individual and lived life by the qualities that Jesus the Christ would say were in line with our Creator God, our loving Parent!
Psalm 121:
I lift up my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from? My help comes from God, the Maker of heaven and earth. The Heavenly Creator will not let your foot slip – God watches over you and never slumbers; indeed, God watches over all humanity and never slumbers. Your Heavenly Parent watches over you. Your Eternal Parent will keep you from all harm- It is God who watches over your life; God will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
MEDITATIONAL THOUGHTS
In Psalm 121, we read the thoughts the Psalmist had as he reflects over his relationship with God. One of the lines reads, “Your Eternal Parent will keep you from all harm…” When we find ourselves dealing with the loss of a brother or father or friend that comes from death, especially when it is sudden and unexpected such as with (incert name), it is hard for us to believe in words that say, God will keep us from all harm. Yet, we read these Psalms as a way of giving us comfort and eventual healing of the broken hearts that come when someone we love has left us and moved on into the next plain of life.
Life is a curious thing. As human beings we have only a three dimensional perspective. We see life only as it is contained within what we call our bodies. Because of our finite abilities, we can only recognize and define life as seen through our eyes and experienced with these bodies. This is our reality: that life begins once we are born and that it ends once our body ceases to function. Therefore, when we hear phrases like, God will keep us from all harm, we find it hard, sometimes even impossible to reconcile the realities of a physical death when it doesn’t match up with our perceptions of what living means.
Living life is a paradox. We see it only as what we do between the time that we are born until the time that we say death has come. Yet there is so much more about life that we experience but cannot physically see or rationally explain. Things like emotions, of love and hate, of what motivates us, or not understanding things that hold us back. We cannot really understand the things that give us joy, or what can bring sadness. All of these things are a part of living life, as we experience events within the mechanical functions that we call our body.
There are aspects of living life that come in the way that we interact with other human beings. We too often judge a person as having been good or not so good by how they interact with those around them. [this portions deals with some specific examples of how this individual related to those that are called friends and/or family] (insert name) was the type of a person who looked after people. (He/she) would help friends out in small but meaningful ways, such as bringing in the mail for friends, or staying on the phone late at night, giving weather reports and road conditions to friends as they would leave work and make a late night drive home from Rock Springs to Superior. (insert name)was a blessing to family and friends! And in return, those of you how took (insert name) hunting with you, or arrowhead hunting, or fishing, or letting (insert name) drive on the back hills, you were a blessing to (insert name) life as well.
You see, life as we live it within these fragile bodies, really is about relationships. It is much less about the physical aspects that we see and can touch, but more about the invisible, non-tangible things about life. It is about the joys we share with one another, it is about the pain we fell when others are struggling. It is about the acts of kindness that we not only do toward others, but also in receiving acts of generosity. Living life is about being a part of a community, a community made up of family and of friends and of strangers.
Life goes beyond this physical world. It is made up of so much more than what our physical, finite bodies can understand. This is what the Psalmist is really trying to tell us, when he says that God will keep us from harm. God see’s each and every one of us as belonging to him, as God's children. It is the love of a parent that always keep the parent on watch of their child. Although we cannot prove the existence of this parent of ours, we see, God in many ways in this world. We see God through the majestic landscape, we see God in the birth of a new born child, we see God in the eyes of two people in love, we see God in the goodness that we as human beings can give to one another. We can see God, through having personal experiences with people like (insert name).
Life is not always easy to cope with. There are times that we feel anger, or hate, or wounded, especially by those that we love. But there are also times for joy, and love, times of appreciation, as well as times of just shear silliness. We know that physical life as we experience it in these bodies, at some point comes to an end. When that happens to a friend or one that we deeply love, the pain seems almost unbearable. We deeply greive when someone dies at an early age like (insert), but also, our pain comes from the hole that is left in our life with their passing. Sometimes when someone like (insert) dies, we become fearful about death itself and wonder if this life is all there is and that once we leave this body that we have occupied for so long, that there is nothing beyond and we truly cease to exist.
These are the intangible aspects of life that the Psalmist shares with us, about the everlasting love and care that comes from God for creation. This is what Jesus was talking about to Martha and Mary as he talked with them about their brother Lazarus’ death, that through Jesus’ love for all of God’s creation, nobody ultimately dies but lives. It is a life in another dimension that we are not able to comprehend, but deep down in our souls, believe exists. During this time of lose, hold fast to these words, That God watches over our lives; God watches over our coming and going both now and forevermore.
Blessing of the Pets Celebration Oct 17, 2010
This last Sunday was one of the most meaningful worship experience of this year, with the blessing of our pets celebration. Although I have been a part of this type of celebration for many years in Seattle, WA, this is a fairly new concept for folks in Rock Springs, WY. Last year was the first celebration in worship for this congregation and we had a pretty fair turn out with six dogs, six cats, and one gold fish. This year, we had a much larger turn out with fiftenn dogs and seven cats. I regret to report that the gold fish didn't make it through this past year. I am posting the meditational thoughts that I used for this celebration which I hope will be of inspiration to you who read this blog and help you in your developing relationship with our God, Creator Parent.
Another Connection to GodBy Rev Steven R Mitchell
First Congregational UCC, Rock Springs, WY 10/17/10
Based on Genesis 1:24-31; Psalm 104: 10-34; and Luke 12:22-30
I have probably shared this story with many of you, but when I was in seminary, there was a standing reference by most of the faculty, of one of my pastoral mentors, Dr. Rev. Roger Fredrickson, saying, “That Roger could have a religious experience just walking across the golf course.” As I grow older, I appreciate more and more this back-handed compliment and hope that someday; I too, might be referred to in this manner, because this refers to the depth of my mentor’s Spiritual awareness.
There is another person that the wider church looks to as being a person who could have a spiritual experience by just walking across a field or through the simple act of observing nature. We acknowledge that man this morning as we celebrate worship with the focus on “blessing our pets.” For some of you, this might be the first worship service that you have experienced where we take time out to thank God for our pets and give a blessing to them and you might not understand “why” we do this or even if it is really “Christian”. Then there might be those of you who were here last year when we had our first service of blessing our pets and not really understand “why” we do this, especially during worship.
The person that I am speaking about is Giovanni Francesco di Bernardone, more commonly known as St. Francis of Assisi. He was the founder of the Order of Friars Minor, more commonly known as the Franciscans. Francis is known as the patron saint of animals and of the environment. It has been customary for Anglican and Roman Catholic churches to hold ceremonies blessing animals on his feast day of 4 October, and as we become more aware of our relationship with our environment and a broaden understanding of an all encompassing Creator, more and more Protestant denominations are also taking part in this celebration.[3] Wikipedia
As I was reflecting on the First chapter of Genesis and the portion that we read this morning, I looked at a large number of translations to see what words were most commonly used that might have lead to we human’s misunderstanding of our role within God’s creation. The verse that most speaks to our perceptions of responsibility comes in verse 28, “God blessed woman and man, saying to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." In general the most common words used in a variety of translations are words like: reign, dominion, rule, and subdue. All of these words, on face value imply that we have power over creation and can be thought of as being solely for our use and abuse. There is little reference here that would lead us to think in terms of working alongside or of giving equal value to those other creatures that God placed here on earth.
However in Eugene Peterson’s translation we read a very different understanding. “God blessed them: "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.” Here Peterson uses the phrase “Be responsible for…” This gives a whole new perspective as to how we as “humans” are to relate with the rest of God’s creation.
We are to be “responsible!” Isn’t that one of the first things we learn as children, when we are adopting our first pet, be it a gold fish or a puppy or a rabbit; to be responsible to it. This means, feed it on a regular basis, change its litter box, make sure it has water, or change the water in the case of fish, and to show love toward it. These are basically the same things that we do as parents with our children, so why would it seem odd to think of our pets as any different as one of the members of our family unit?
There is this huge theological debate as to whether or not humans are the only creatures that has a sole, which then allows us to think of anything not human as less than human. We do this with people groups actually. That was one of the arguments as to justify people as slaves, especially black folks; they were less than human somehow, which then allowed us to place them in positions lower than ourselves. Through St. Francis’ spiritual growth, he began to recognize the sacredness of animals, which allowed him then to have conversations with them, as indicated in his sermon “Peace, bird, peace.” For St. Francis, it became another way of connecting with God and with God’s creation over all.
Jesus a millennium before St. Francis, spoke about this same awareness and connectedness with God’s creation, as he dealt with the anxiety of daily living. "Don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or if the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your inner life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the ravens, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, carefree in the care of God. And you count far more.”
When I am in a public setting, not knowing anyone, it isn’t unusual for strangers to pick me out in a crowd and start up a conversation with me. Most people think this is because I have that look of “accessibility”, but when I ask these people “why” did they chose me to visit with out of all the other people who are in that gathering, the majority tell me it was because I looked like I was “present.” What that means is that I was a person who seemed aware of what was going on at that particular time and place.
I think this is what Jesus was speaking about to his audience. Don’t let the worries of tomorrow occupy your mind, because if you do, you will miss what is going on right now. If you are always thinking about the future or even the past for that matter, you are not living in the “present” and you will not be receiving the full benefit of what it has to offer. Animals live very much in the present. They don’t worry about what they should wear, or about planting food, all that stuff will be taken care of by God. St. Francis noted this, and we do also to some extent when we take the time to observe what our pets have to offer us, especially when it comes as total unconditional love. Living in the present, in the moment, if you will, is another connection to God.
I would like to close these thoughts with something that was sent to me some years ago by e-mail, titled, “Things I learned from my Dog”
• 1. Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joy ride.
• 2. Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
• 3. When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
• 4. When it’s in your best interest, practice obedience.
• 5. Let others know when they’ve invaded your territory.
• 6. Take naps and stretch before rising.
• 7. Run, romp, and play daily.
• 8. Eat with gusto and enthusiasm.
• 9. Be loyal.
• 10. If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
• 11. When someone is having a bad day, be silent. Sit close by and nuzzle them gently.
• 12. Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
• 13. Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
• 14. When you’re happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
• 15. No matter how often you’re scolded, don’t buy into the guilt thing and pout…. run right back and make friends
• 16. Delight in the simple joys of a long walk.
Let us realize through our pets, “Another Connection to God!” Amen
Another Connection to GodBy Rev Steven R Mitchell
First Congregational UCC, Rock Springs, WY 10/17/10
Based on Genesis 1:24-31; Psalm 104: 10-34; and Luke 12:22-30
I have probably shared this story with many of you, but when I was in seminary, there was a standing reference by most of the faculty, of one of my pastoral mentors, Dr. Rev. Roger Fredrickson, saying, “That Roger could have a religious experience just walking across the golf course.” As I grow older, I appreciate more and more this back-handed compliment and hope that someday; I too, might be referred to in this manner, because this refers to the depth of my mentor’s Spiritual awareness.
There is another person that the wider church looks to as being a person who could have a spiritual experience by just walking across a field or through the simple act of observing nature. We acknowledge that man this morning as we celebrate worship with the focus on “blessing our pets.” For some of you, this might be the first worship service that you have experienced where we take time out to thank God for our pets and give a blessing to them and you might not understand “why” we do this or even if it is really “Christian”. Then there might be those of you who were here last year when we had our first service of blessing our pets and not really understand “why” we do this, especially during worship.
The person that I am speaking about is Giovanni Francesco di Bernardone, more commonly known as St. Francis of Assisi. He was the founder of the Order of Friars Minor, more commonly known as the Franciscans. Francis is known as the patron saint of animals and of the environment. It has been customary for Anglican and Roman Catholic churches to hold ceremonies blessing animals on his feast day of 4 October, and as we become more aware of our relationship with our environment and a broaden understanding of an all encompassing Creator, more and more Protestant denominations are also taking part in this celebration.[3] Wikipedia
As I was reflecting on the First chapter of Genesis and the portion that we read this morning, I looked at a large number of translations to see what words were most commonly used that might have lead to we human’s misunderstanding of our role within God’s creation. The verse that most speaks to our perceptions of responsibility comes in verse 28, “God blessed woman and man, saying to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." In general the most common words used in a variety of translations are words like: reign, dominion, rule, and subdue. All of these words, on face value imply that we have power over creation and can be thought of as being solely for our use and abuse. There is little reference here that would lead us to think in terms of working alongside or of giving equal value to those other creatures that God placed here on earth.
However in Eugene Peterson’s translation we read a very different understanding. “God blessed them: "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.” Here Peterson uses the phrase “Be responsible for…” This gives a whole new perspective as to how we as “humans” are to relate with the rest of God’s creation.
We are to be “responsible!” Isn’t that one of the first things we learn as children, when we are adopting our first pet, be it a gold fish or a puppy or a rabbit; to be responsible to it. This means, feed it on a regular basis, change its litter box, make sure it has water, or change the water in the case of fish, and to show love toward it. These are basically the same things that we do as parents with our children, so why would it seem odd to think of our pets as any different as one of the members of our family unit?
There is this huge theological debate as to whether or not humans are the only creatures that has a sole, which then allows us to think of anything not human as less than human. We do this with people groups actually. That was one of the arguments as to justify people as slaves, especially black folks; they were less than human somehow, which then allowed us to place them in positions lower than ourselves. Through St. Francis’ spiritual growth, he began to recognize the sacredness of animals, which allowed him then to have conversations with them, as indicated in his sermon “Peace, bird, peace.” For St. Francis, it became another way of connecting with God and with God’s creation over all.
Jesus a millennium before St. Francis, spoke about this same awareness and connectedness with God’s creation, as he dealt with the anxiety of daily living. "Don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or if the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your inner life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the ravens, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, carefree in the care of God. And you count far more.”
When I am in a public setting, not knowing anyone, it isn’t unusual for strangers to pick me out in a crowd and start up a conversation with me. Most people think this is because I have that look of “accessibility”, but when I ask these people “why” did they chose me to visit with out of all the other people who are in that gathering, the majority tell me it was because I looked like I was “present.” What that means is that I was a person who seemed aware of what was going on at that particular time and place.
I think this is what Jesus was speaking about to his audience. Don’t let the worries of tomorrow occupy your mind, because if you do, you will miss what is going on right now. If you are always thinking about the future or even the past for that matter, you are not living in the “present” and you will not be receiving the full benefit of what it has to offer. Animals live very much in the present. They don’t worry about what they should wear, or about planting food, all that stuff will be taken care of by God. St. Francis noted this, and we do also to some extent when we take the time to observe what our pets have to offer us, especially when it comes as total unconditional love. Living in the present, in the moment, if you will, is another connection to God.
I would like to close these thoughts with something that was sent to me some years ago by e-mail, titled, “Things I learned from my Dog”
• 1. Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joy ride.
• 2. Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
• 3. When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
• 4. When it’s in your best interest, practice obedience.
• 5. Let others know when they’ve invaded your territory.
• 6. Take naps and stretch before rising.
• 7. Run, romp, and play daily.
• 8. Eat with gusto and enthusiasm.
• 9. Be loyal.
• 10. If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
• 11. When someone is having a bad day, be silent. Sit close by and nuzzle them gently.
• 12. Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
• 13. Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
• 14. When you’re happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
• 15. No matter how often you’re scolded, don’t buy into the guilt thing and pout…. run right back and make friends
• 16. Delight in the simple joys of a long walk.
Let us realize through our pets, “Another Connection to God!” Amen
Monday, October 11, 2010
A New Normal, First Congregational UCC, Rock Springs, WY Oct 10, 2010
A New Normal
By Rev Steven R Mitchell
First Congregational UCC, Rock Springs, WY 10/10/10
Based on Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7 and Luck 17:11-19
These last couple of weeks has been exceptionally moving, spiritually for me. One of these events was spending a few days in the Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. During this time I took long walks in the woods, stopped and took long periods of time to gaze at the mired of Fall colors on the hillsides, I was able to observe big game as they grazed in the meadows, and see the raw power of the great falls and dramatic majesty of the deep canyons that had been carved out by that river – it was just taking time to commune with a piece of God’s creation.
Another spiritual high came yesterday in Fort Collins, Co. as Jonathan Firme and I attended a workshop on Church Vitality, Worship and Stewardship, lead by Kate Huey, who works at the national office heading up the Stewardship ministries program as well as writing sermon seeds and bible study materials. During yesterday’s workshop, several questions and a realization came to my mind as a result of group discussions and from pieces of her presentation. One of the questions that came up for me is from a story about a little girl who was very intent in drawing a picture. When her Sunday school teacher asked her what she was drawing, the little girls response was God’s face. The teacher thoughtfully responded with, “Sweet heart, no body knows what God look’s like.” The budding artist replied, “They will in five minutes!”
So I want to find out from some of you, “What does God look like to you?” The reason behind asking this question is this: how can we open ourselves up to someone without having some image about what that person looks like? This is an exercise in developing a part of our Spirituality. It’s like dating, we tend to be pretty anxious when we have agreed to go out on a blind date compared to if you have seen the person who is asking you out. When we have some sort of mental imagery of an individual, we are better able to relate to that person.
Another piece that was brought out in our discussions was the realization that “being spiritually hungry opens us to being vulnerable.” Again it is a relational thing. When one becomes married, one has opened themselves to become vulnerable to their life partner. The depth of any relationship is directly in proportion to how vulnerable one is willing to be with their partner. If one keeps defenses up and doesn’t trust their partner enough to be open to them, then the relationship never deepens. If we do not allow ourselves to open up to God’s spirit, we will never develop a deep trust in God and will always operate in a mode of scarcity instead of through an awareness of abundance.
This leads me into my next question, when we come to this place on Sunday mornings, “Do we come to Worship or do we come to Church?” If we say we come to “worship”, and yet not have an image of what God looks like, wouldn’t that make it harder to “worship” God? If we are afraid of being vulnerable before God, doesn’t it hinder our desire to be spiritually hungry? If we are not spiritually hungry, what then, gives us the motivation to put our trust and our faith in God?
This morning’s stories are directed at making “a new normal.” Here we find Jeremiah speaking to a people who were carried off from their home land, to a land far, far, a way. It is a story of the Southern Kingdom, Israel, being carried off to the land of their captures, off to Babylonian, a land where a different language was spoken, a land with many different ways of doing things and looking at life, a land with unfamiliar gods. How does one survive when life is totally disrupted? As last weeks Psalm 137 stated, “How can we sing the songs of Zion”, being carried off into a foreign land, where every aspect of life is so totally different than what one grows up learning and understanding? Within this particular reading, Jeremiah tries to address these questions as a way of giving comfort to those in exile, and also as a way of giving them hope toward a better future.
A week or so ago, I was having dinner at the home of Ed and Liesel Shineberg. As most of you know, liesel is a refuge from German, who because of her being a Jewess, had to flee her homeland as anti-Semitism was developing to new heights in Europe. At one point in the evening Liesel wanted to show off a quilt that had been made by a friend, from pillow slips that Liesel’s mother had packed in her suite case and carried with her flight to Holland. These particular pillow cases had been a part of her mother’s trousseau. Liesel’s story of her family coming to America is a story that closely reflects the writings in Jeremiah. Their first home was in New York City, in Harlem. Not only were they foreigners in a new land, not understanding the language very well, they were one of the few white families in the neighborhood and they were Jews. They were very much like their ancestors, finding themselves having to cope in a land that was totally foreign to them. At one point, Liesel’s mother made the comment to her husband, “and for this we left Germany?” Then there is Helmut Anderson. We often don’t hear stories about Germans who also fled their homeland in order to find safety, but Helmut has his own story about being a refugee and the challenges of moving to a new country.
Jeremiah speaks to those who physically had been carried off to a foreign land, but there are truly differing empires, those Babylon’s within our life’s that make today’s lectionary reading personal to us. Empires with names like fear, or materialism, or militarism, consumerism, violence in the home, mental illness, and even loneliness. There are times in our lives when circumstances seem to dictate our having to leave what is familiar to us and plunges us into a land that is unknown to us.
The new territory or exile can be a geographical area, or it can be a change in careers, or in personal relationships, with a death of a spouse, or a serious health issue, or even changing circumstance in our spirituality. There are all sorts of events in our lives that demand a change in what we are use to experiencing. In times like these, questions arise, such as: how long will we have to put up with not having a job; how will we be able to survive this disease; where are we going to live now that we have lost the house; how are we going to “do church” in 2010 when we really want it to remain 1950? Or even more personal, “how do I keep my faith in God, when my world is going down the toilet?”
Jesus healed ten men of leprosy, men who had lived in exile from their homes. He told them to go and present themselves before the priest so that they may once again come back home to their community. They lived in exile as lepers. Yet only one of those, who had been cured of his affliction, came back to Jesus to thank him. He was not just in exile from his disease but was a social out case because of his being a Samaritan and not a Jew. The other nine men who were Jews, did as Jesus had told them to do. They did what they were required by the religious practices of their day, yet by not going back to Jesus, they missed out on receiving the true gift that was available. Their picture of God was found in the temple. But the Samaritan, through his vulnerability, was able to see the image of God in Jesus’ act of healing him, opening up the way for this man to go back to praise God and receive a deeper blessing.
This is what the church is suppose to be about, a place where as a family of faith, we are able to provide a safe and loving environment, where as people who live in exile can find nurture and grow into the individuals that God wishes for us. A place where we trust each other enough to be vulnerable to the moving of the Holy Spirit, a place where we can come to God and worship out of the abundance in our lives. Jeremiah encouraged the Israelites to take root and flourish in a hostile land, to develop their spiritual growth and deepen their trust in God. Through worship us find God and a sanctuary in times of calamity. It is through our vulnerability that we truly receive and recognize God’s love and care. Amen
By Rev Steven R Mitchell
First Congregational UCC, Rock Springs, WY 10/10/10
Based on Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7 and Luck 17:11-19
These last couple of weeks has been exceptionally moving, spiritually for me. One of these events was spending a few days in the Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. During this time I took long walks in the woods, stopped and took long periods of time to gaze at the mired of Fall colors on the hillsides, I was able to observe big game as they grazed in the meadows, and see the raw power of the great falls and dramatic majesty of the deep canyons that had been carved out by that river – it was just taking time to commune with a piece of God’s creation.
Another spiritual high came yesterday in Fort Collins, Co. as Jonathan Firme and I attended a workshop on Church Vitality, Worship and Stewardship, lead by Kate Huey, who works at the national office heading up the Stewardship ministries program as well as writing sermon seeds and bible study materials. During yesterday’s workshop, several questions and a realization came to my mind as a result of group discussions and from pieces of her presentation. One of the questions that came up for me is from a story about a little girl who was very intent in drawing a picture. When her Sunday school teacher asked her what she was drawing, the little girls response was God’s face. The teacher thoughtfully responded with, “Sweet heart, no body knows what God look’s like.” The budding artist replied, “They will in five minutes!”
So I want to find out from some of you, “What does God look like to you?” The reason behind asking this question is this: how can we open ourselves up to someone without having some image about what that person looks like? This is an exercise in developing a part of our Spirituality. It’s like dating, we tend to be pretty anxious when we have agreed to go out on a blind date compared to if you have seen the person who is asking you out. When we have some sort of mental imagery of an individual, we are better able to relate to that person.
Another piece that was brought out in our discussions was the realization that “being spiritually hungry opens us to being vulnerable.” Again it is a relational thing. When one becomes married, one has opened themselves to become vulnerable to their life partner. The depth of any relationship is directly in proportion to how vulnerable one is willing to be with their partner. If one keeps defenses up and doesn’t trust their partner enough to be open to them, then the relationship never deepens. If we do not allow ourselves to open up to God’s spirit, we will never develop a deep trust in God and will always operate in a mode of scarcity instead of through an awareness of abundance.
This leads me into my next question, when we come to this place on Sunday mornings, “Do we come to Worship or do we come to Church?” If we say we come to “worship”, and yet not have an image of what God looks like, wouldn’t that make it harder to “worship” God? If we are afraid of being vulnerable before God, doesn’t it hinder our desire to be spiritually hungry? If we are not spiritually hungry, what then, gives us the motivation to put our trust and our faith in God?
This morning’s stories are directed at making “a new normal.” Here we find Jeremiah speaking to a people who were carried off from their home land, to a land far, far, a way. It is a story of the Southern Kingdom, Israel, being carried off to the land of their captures, off to Babylonian, a land where a different language was spoken, a land with many different ways of doing things and looking at life, a land with unfamiliar gods. How does one survive when life is totally disrupted? As last weeks Psalm 137 stated, “How can we sing the songs of Zion”, being carried off into a foreign land, where every aspect of life is so totally different than what one grows up learning and understanding? Within this particular reading, Jeremiah tries to address these questions as a way of giving comfort to those in exile, and also as a way of giving them hope toward a better future.
A week or so ago, I was having dinner at the home of Ed and Liesel Shineberg. As most of you know, liesel is a refuge from German, who because of her being a Jewess, had to flee her homeland as anti-Semitism was developing to new heights in Europe. At one point in the evening Liesel wanted to show off a quilt that had been made by a friend, from pillow slips that Liesel’s mother had packed in her suite case and carried with her flight to Holland. These particular pillow cases had been a part of her mother’s trousseau. Liesel’s story of her family coming to America is a story that closely reflects the writings in Jeremiah. Their first home was in New York City, in Harlem. Not only were they foreigners in a new land, not understanding the language very well, they were one of the few white families in the neighborhood and they were Jews. They were very much like their ancestors, finding themselves having to cope in a land that was totally foreign to them. At one point, Liesel’s mother made the comment to her husband, “and for this we left Germany?” Then there is Helmut Anderson. We often don’t hear stories about Germans who also fled their homeland in order to find safety, but Helmut has his own story about being a refugee and the challenges of moving to a new country.
Jeremiah speaks to those who physically had been carried off to a foreign land, but there are truly differing empires, those Babylon’s within our life’s that make today’s lectionary reading personal to us. Empires with names like fear, or materialism, or militarism, consumerism, violence in the home, mental illness, and even loneliness. There are times in our lives when circumstances seem to dictate our having to leave what is familiar to us and plunges us into a land that is unknown to us.
The new territory or exile can be a geographical area, or it can be a change in careers, or in personal relationships, with a death of a spouse, or a serious health issue, or even changing circumstance in our spirituality. There are all sorts of events in our lives that demand a change in what we are use to experiencing. In times like these, questions arise, such as: how long will we have to put up with not having a job; how will we be able to survive this disease; where are we going to live now that we have lost the house; how are we going to “do church” in 2010 when we really want it to remain 1950? Or even more personal, “how do I keep my faith in God, when my world is going down the toilet?”
Jesus healed ten men of leprosy, men who had lived in exile from their homes. He told them to go and present themselves before the priest so that they may once again come back home to their community. They lived in exile as lepers. Yet only one of those, who had been cured of his affliction, came back to Jesus to thank him. He was not just in exile from his disease but was a social out case because of his being a Samaritan and not a Jew. The other nine men who were Jews, did as Jesus had told them to do. They did what they were required by the religious practices of their day, yet by not going back to Jesus, they missed out on receiving the true gift that was available. Their picture of God was found in the temple. But the Samaritan, through his vulnerability, was able to see the image of God in Jesus’ act of healing him, opening up the way for this man to go back to praise God and receive a deeper blessing.
This is what the church is suppose to be about, a place where as a family of faith, we are able to provide a safe and loving environment, where as people who live in exile can find nurture and grow into the individuals that God wishes for us. A place where we trust each other enough to be vulnerable to the moving of the Holy Spirit, a place where we can come to God and worship out of the abundance in our lives. Jeremiah encouraged the Israelites to take root and flourish in a hostile land, to develop their spiritual growth and deepen their trust in God. Through worship us find God and a sanctuary in times of calamity. It is through our vulnerability that we truly receive and recognize God’s love and care. Amen
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Remember Who You Are, First Congregational UCC, Rock Springs, WY Oct 3,2010
Remember Who You Are!
By Rev. Steven R. Mitchell
First Congregational UCC, Rock Springs, WY 10/03/2010
Based on 2 Timothy 1:1-14 Psalm 137
“I am grateful to God – whom I worship with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did…” What a powerful statement the Apostle Paul is making to us in this morning’s letter to Timothy! This morning’s lectionary readings are focused on remembering. In the Psalms, we read a lament of those who are finding themselves in captivity, amongst the tormenting of their captives, of remembering what life was like back in Jerusalem, not only home to the Israelites, but the spiritual center where their religious practices could be conducted without restrictions or interference of those who were none believers.
The United States is relatively a very young country and if we think in terms of the traditional first landing of Europeans at Plymouth Rock, European’s have been in the North America’s for just under four hundred years. Some of us can trace our heritage back to those earliest of immigrants, like my children can on their mother’s side of the family tree. I however can only go back to 1767, when my family’s patriarch came over from Germany as an indentured servant. That is on my mother’s father’s side of the family. On my mother’s, mother’s side of the family, we can trace their entering the United States in the early 1850’s coming from a small village in Southern England.
There is less known about my grandmothers people than that of my grandfather’s. For all of the information of my grandmother’s family history is oral and with each passing generation knowledge of this history shrinks. This is not the case on my grandfather’s side, as we have a very detailed record of the family tree. I have some very intriguing diaries from some of my ancestors who help in the settling of the Iowa frontier, specifically around Pella, Iowa.
I know from these records that I come from people who were willing to take chances to change their circumstances in life. I know that I come from people who didn’t believe in war. My ancestors are known as Frontier people. Meaning, when a new territory was opened for settlement, they would pick up and move into these new areas. I know that some of my ancestors were good friends and hunting buddies with Wyatt, Virgil, and Morgan Earp, and if you know anything about the Earp family, it tells me that these ancestors of mine were probably a pretty rowdy bunch of guys. I also know that my ancestors were very interested in higher education as they helped set up a college in the Iowa territory. I come from a long line of artisans. There were members of my family involved in the Great Oklahoma Land grab. I come from people who were not afraid to push boundaries. As an example, my grandfather during Prohibition was a runner for bootleggers, as a way of providing a living for his family during the depression and as an activity protests against a law his saw as unreasonable.
What does all this personal family history, as well as the film clips on “Why I love My Church” have to do with 2 Timothy and Psalm 137? The sharing of some of my family history is an example of knowing who I am. It is a part of what helps give me balance in my life. A part of this balance is due to knowing my roots, of knowing the type of people I come from. Paul was giving encouragement to Timothy by helping him remember who he was and where he came from. Through the film clips, we gain a sense of history of who we are as a denomination. Paul found solace during those times that he found life totally unbearable, and the ability to look forward with hope, in part, because of his sense of his history. He was telling Timothy, “to remember what he had received from his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois”, as a way to continue his walk forward, a faith in Christ, which would help guide his life and ability to share God’s love with others, and be able to strengthen the local church.
I’m about to make a broad statement, but one that has a basic truth to it: When an individual has a good understanding of their “history”, they tend to be, as an individual, more comfortable with themselves, possessing a more confident attitude, giving them the ability to move forward in life’s challenges with a sense of purpose.
A church operates collectively very much like an individual. In order for it to move forward with vision and mission, it first has to hold a strong sense of its past. The United Church of Christ as a denomination is actually young as denominations go, being born in 1957, yet we are the grandchildren of four denominations with very rich and diverse history. We come from German Reformed traditions, as well as one being a uniquely American denomination, and also, as the oldest religious tradition in this country, stemming back to the Puritans who were looking for a land where religious freedom could be practice, which developed into Congregationalist’s. Of course, freedom to practice your religious beliefs meant being a part of the congregational roles, as there was no toleration for other faiths in those very early years.
Paul tells Timothy, “…to rekindle the gift of God that is within you…for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.” There was a study done many years ago that studied the active faith of Christian families. What this study found is that the first generation Christian tends to be very strong in both faith and activity in their church involvement; the second generation from that family still has a viable, personal faith, but not as strong as their first generation family; by the third generation, there is generally little personal faith and if there is any church attendance it tends to come from a sense of history rather than that of personal faith experience as did the first generation; if the fourth generation continues to go to church, it only survives because of a renewed personal experience.
A congregation goes through a similar cycle in its faith life. The original group of believers that start a church have a sense of purpose and conviction to achieve its mission; the second generation tends to possess less of this sense of purpose and conviction but is able to maintain a reasonable level of congregational health; by the third generation, the sense of purpose no longer is driven by personal faith but rather by history of the church and membership begins to dwindle dramatically; by the fourth generation the church finds itself struggling for life and ultimately will be closing its doors due to lack of vitality and interest or it will find as St Paul puts it, “a re-kindled” spirit, thereby gaining a new vision of purpose.
The ability of a church to “re-kindle” its faith, in part is to understand its history and understand our history through documents, with the basic document being scripture. It is through the reading of scripture, through the contemplation of what scripture says, that we as Christians find renewal. We as a church need to take to heart what the Apostle Paul is saying to Timothy – to rekindle the gift of God that is within us! It is my assessment that currently we as a body of faith are in the fourth generation, metaphorically speaking. I do not sense as a congregation, there is a clear purpose of what the ministry is for this church. I see in the low percentage of member activity, in the lack of programming in missions, and in the disparity of younger members. You can rationalize all day long as to why this doesn’t happen or why that stopped, but the real reason boils down to the degree of our personal spiritual health and lack of vision and hunger for the ministry of Christ.
We come to Christ’s table this morning, not alone, but as part of a long history of Christians before us. There is the history of almost a hundred and twenty-five years of this congregation, there is the history of those that we call the UCC and of its grandparents, there is the history of those that believed in Jesus in the first century. Today we celebrate World Communion Sunday as a way of acknowledging our unity in Christ throughout the world.
World Communion Sunday (originally called World Wide Communion Sunday) originated in the Presbyterian Church (USA). In 1936, for the first time, the first Sunday in October was celebrated in Presbyterian churches in the United States and overseas. From the beginning, it was planned so that other denominations could make use of it and, after a few years, the idea spread beyond the Presbyterian Church.
The Department of Evangelism of the Federal Council of Churches (a predecessor body of the National Council of Churches) was first associated with World Wide Communion Sunday in 1940 when the department’s executive secretary, Jesse Bader, led in its extension to a number of churches throughout the world. Wikipedia
Let us come to Christ’s table with a hunger to re-kindle the spirit of Christ. A spirit of that gives us courage to face daily trials, of power to over come adversity, of love that helps us reach out to others unselfishly, and of self-discipline to move into the future God has waiting for us! Amen
By Rev. Steven R. Mitchell
First Congregational UCC, Rock Springs, WY 10/03/2010
Based on 2 Timothy 1:1-14 Psalm 137
“I am grateful to God – whom I worship with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did…” What a powerful statement the Apostle Paul is making to us in this morning’s letter to Timothy! This morning’s lectionary readings are focused on remembering. In the Psalms, we read a lament of those who are finding themselves in captivity, amongst the tormenting of their captives, of remembering what life was like back in Jerusalem, not only home to the Israelites, but the spiritual center where their religious practices could be conducted without restrictions or interference of those who were none believers.
The United States is relatively a very young country and if we think in terms of the traditional first landing of Europeans at Plymouth Rock, European’s have been in the North America’s for just under four hundred years. Some of us can trace our heritage back to those earliest of immigrants, like my children can on their mother’s side of the family tree. I however can only go back to 1767, when my family’s patriarch came over from Germany as an indentured servant. That is on my mother’s father’s side of the family. On my mother’s, mother’s side of the family, we can trace their entering the United States in the early 1850’s coming from a small village in Southern England.
There is less known about my grandmothers people than that of my grandfather’s. For all of the information of my grandmother’s family history is oral and with each passing generation knowledge of this history shrinks. This is not the case on my grandfather’s side, as we have a very detailed record of the family tree. I have some very intriguing diaries from some of my ancestors who help in the settling of the Iowa frontier, specifically around Pella, Iowa.
I know from these records that I come from people who were willing to take chances to change their circumstances in life. I know that I come from people who didn’t believe in war. My ancestors are known as Frontier people. Meaning, when a new territory was opened for settlement, they would pick up and move into these new areas. I know that some of my ancestors were good friends and hunting buddies with Wyatt, Virgil, and Morgan Earp, and if you know anything about the Earp family, it tells me that these ancestors of mine were probably a pretty rowdy bunch of guys. I also know that my ancestors were very interested in higher education as they helped set up a college in the Iowa territory. I come from a long line of artisans. There were members of my family involved in the Great Oklahoma Land grab. I come from people who were not afraid to push boundaries. As an example, my grandfather during Prohibition was a runner for bootleggers, as a way of providing a living for his family during the depression and as an activity protests against a law his saw as unreasonable.
What does all this personal family history, as well as the film clips on “Why I love My Church” have to do with 2 Timothy and Psalm 137? The sharing of some of my family history is an example of knowing who I am. It is a part of what helps give me balance in my life. A part of this balance is due to knowing my roots, of knowing the type of people I come from. Paul was giving encouragement to Timothy by helping him remember who he was and where he came from. Through the film clips, we gain a sense of history of who we are as a denomination. Paul found solace during those times that he found life totally unbearable, and the ability to look forward with hope, in part, because of his sense of his history. He was telling Timothy, “to remember what he had received from his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois”, as a way to continue his walk forward, a faith in Christ, which would help guide his life and ability to share God’s love with others, and be able to strengthen the local church.
I’m about to make a broad statement, but one that has a basic truth to it: When an individual has a good understanding of their “history”, they tend to be, as an individual, more comfortable with themselves, possessing a more confident attitude, giving them the ability to move forward in life’s challenges with a sense of purpose.
A church operates collectively very much like an individual. In order for it to move forward with vision and mission, it first has to hold a strong sense of its past. The United Church of Christ as a denomination is actually young as denominations go, being born in 1957, yet we are the grandchildren of four denominations with very rich and diverse history. We come from German Reformed traditions, as well as one being a uniquely American denomination, and also, as the oldest religious tradition in this country, stemming back to the Puritans who were looking for a land where religious freedom could be practice, which developed into Congregationalist’s. Of course, freedom to practice your religious beliefs meant being a part of the congregational roles, as there was no toleration for other faiths in those very early years.
Paul tells Timothy, “…to rekindle the gift of God that is within you…for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.” There was a study done many years ago that studied the active faith of Christian families. What this study found is that the first generation Christian tends to be very strong in both faith and activity in their church involvement; the second generation from that family still has a viable, personal faith, but not as strong as their first generation family; by the third generation, there is generally little personal faith and if there is any church attendance it tends to come from a sense of history rather than that of personal faith experience as did the first generation; if the fourth generation continues to go to church, it only survives because of a renewed personal experience.
A congregation goes through a similar cycle in its faith life. The original group of believers that start a church have a sense of purpose and conviction to achieve its mission; the second generation tends to possess less of this sense of purpose and conviction but is able to maintain a reasonable level of congregational health; by the third generation, the sense of purpose no longer is driven by personal faith but rather by history of the church and membership begins to dwindle dramatically; by the fourth generation the church finds itself struggling for life and ultimately will be closing its doors due to lack of vitality and interest or it will find as St Paul puts it, “a re-kindled” spirit, thereby gaining a new vision of purpose.
The ability of a church to “re-kindle” its faith, in part is to understand its history and understand our history through documents, with the basic document being scripture. It is through the reading of scripture, through the contemplation of what scripture says, that we as Christians find renewal. We as a church need to take to heart what the Apostle Paul is saying to Timothy – to rekindle the gift of God that is within us! It is my assessment that currently we as a body of faith are in the fourth generation, metaphorically speaking. I do not sense as a congregation, there is a clear purpose of what the ministry is for this church. I see in the low percentage of member activity, in the lack of programming in missions, and in the disparity of younger members. You can rationalize all day long as to why this doesn’t happen or why that stopped, but the real reason boils down to the degree of our personal spiritual health and lack of vision and hunger for the ministry of Christ.
We come to Christ’s table this morning, not alone, but as part of a long history of Christians before us. There is the history of almost a hundred and twenty-five years of this congregation, there is the history of those that we call the UCC and of its grandparents, there is the history of those that believed in Jesus in the first century. Today we celebrate World Communion Sunday as a way of acknowledging our unity in Christ throughout the world.
World Communion Sunday (originally called World Wide Communion Sunday) originated in the Presbyterian Church (USA). In 1936, for the first time, the first Sunday in October was celebrated in Presbyterian churches in the United States and overseas. From the beginning, it was planned so that other denominations could make use of it and, after a few years, the idea spread beyond the Presbyterian Church.
The Department of Evangelism of the Federal Council of Churches (a predecessor body of the National Council of Churches) was first associated with World Wide Communion Sunday in 1940 when the department’s executive secretary, Jesse Bader, led in its extension to a number of churches throughout the world. Wikipedia
Let us come to Christ’s table with a hunger to re-kindle the spirit of Christ. A spirit of that gives us courage to face daily trials, of power to over come adversity, of love that helps us reach out to others unselfishly, and of self-discipline to move into the future God has waiting for us! Amen
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