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.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
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
Monday, September 27, 2010
First Congregational UCC of Rock Springs, WY 9/26/2010
Just a short comment about the last three sermons or so. Although I follow the Common Lectionary, it seems that the Holy Spirit is very supportive by seeing that the lectionary selections are corresponding with the needed challenge for this congregation to move beyond the comfort of being only a Sunday focused Church and look at becoming a congregation that is more pro-active in Social Justice Issues. It is very difficult in my observations for a person to grow Spiritually and not be aware and concerned with social justice. As a whole this congregation has no real focused programming in this area and with the help of the Scriptures, I have been able to continue to present the understanding that "faith" goes hand in hand with "justice", that this is a major part of what Jesus was challenging the religious structure of his day. This weeks scripture is particularly difficult to hear as a consumer driven society to realize just how much cost there is to so many around the world in order that we can enjoy the standards of daily living.
Making Visible the Invisible
By Rev. Steven R. Mitchell
First Congregational UCC, Rock Springs, WY 9/26/2010
Based on Luke 16:19-31
I am a great fan of motion pictures, early Television programs, and of early radio programs. As radio gave way to Television, many of the early 1950 T.V. programs were continuations of radio hits, such as The Jack Benny Show, or Amos and Andy. One of my favorite T.V. couples is George Burns and Gracie Allen. For those of you who might not be familiar with Burns and Allen, both were comedians with George being the person who would set up the joke or the story line while Gracie was the person who would deliver the lines that would receive the laughs. She was portrayed as a scattered brained housewife and would generally be the person who was always able to resolve whatever the crisis of the day was, in her own unique and very quirky logic!
In one episode, Gracie was working hard at becoming a member of a precigous book club. She enlists George’s help to stage their living room so that it would look as scholarly as possible. She had George place small statuaries on the coffee table that were of Shakespeare, David, and Venus De Milo. While placing a few classical books here and there, George asked her where she wanted the book, Tales of Two Cities placed? She thought for a few seconds then decided that it shouldn’t go out on any of the end tables. When George asked “why”, Gracie responded with, “I haven’t read the book yet and one of the cities might be in Florida.” This in her mind was not a good thing.
Today’s Gospel reading is very much like the title of the book “Tales of Two Cities”. It is a parable of two men and of two realities; this physical world and the afterlife. It is a story of a rich man and of a poor beggar, a story of two social classes, and a world of comfort verses a world of afflictions. It is also a story of reversals. The poor man is given a named, Lazarus, and the rich man is not named. In the story, we read where the rich man is dressed in purple while the beggar is dressed in sores, the rich man has ample food, living in abundance and in luxury, while Lazarus is praying for just the crumbs from the rich man’s table, and lives out on the street. Then when Lazarus dies, it is Lazarus who is in the bosom of Abraham, the Patriarchal Father, and it is the rich man who is now living in Hades. Both far removed from their former physical life’s circumstances.
This parable is filled with such subtle messages that most modern ears will miss if not familiar with early Jewish understanding. This story to the original audience was a story so abrasive, I am surprised that Jesus wasn’t taken out and strung up at that very telling. Every reference to the rich man was a reference to “being acceptable”, that of “being a righteous man before God”, while the poor beggar Lazarus would be perceived as one filled with “sin” and his living in poverty and plagued with sores was the punishment for his sinful ways. Yet, after death it was Lazarus who was in the arms of Abraham, which translates into being in the arms of God (Abraham being the founding father of the Hebrew faith, the highest example of righteous living) while it was just the opposite for the rich man who finds himself in eternal damned nation. All of this was a frontal assault on the perception of one’s trust in wealth as an assurance of your righteousness or right living and your salvation.
Jesus’ telling of this story comes directly after telling the parable of the “Shrewd Manager”, where he warns the children of the light (those who follow after Jesus) to be street-wise and as cleaver as the shrewd manager but only for good. In verse 14, we read: 14The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. 15Jesus said to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight.
G. Penny Nixon, Senior Minister of Congregational UCC Church of San Mateo, CA, sums up this parable told by Jesus in this way: What we know from the parable is that because of his lack of action and compassion, the rich man cannot cross over to the place of faith, nor does he have a place by Abraham’s side. The great teacher (Jesus) puts Abraham, the parent of faith, in the role of judge. Abraham sits with Lazarus, indicating a startling truth about who is faithful and who is not. To an impoverished group of people, this parable would offer great comfort that God sees their suffering and is on their side. To most of us, however, steeped in a consumer society and often on the wrong side of the chasm, this parable is one of the hardest to hear…if we really hear. Feasting on the Word, Yr C, pg 121
This parable doesn’t portray the rich man as being cruel or antagonistic toward Lazarus. For in truth, the rich man when he is looking through his window or even when he comes and goes from his home doesn’t even notice Lazarus sitting outside his door. You ask yourself, “How could anyone not notice someone who is dressed in filthy rages, covered in sores, and begging for food right outside of your own house?”
We don’t have many street corner beggars here in Rock Springs, but go to any major city and in the downtown area’s you can hardly walk on the sidewalks without tripping over people who are down and out. You hear them asking you for money and as long as you don’t look at them, you can walk by them, hearing their plea’s as nothing more than white background noise, thereby having very little intrusion on your consciousness; they truly are not there. But the minute you make eye to eye contact with one of these people, you at that point have recognized their plight and at that point must wrestle with your conscience about whether or not you will help them with a few coins. It is a making visible that which was invisible. This parable is attacking the rich, not because of their wealth, but because of their lack of responding to the needs of those who are suffering and live outside of the comfort of adequate resources.
This parable is depicted in the 1927 German expressionist silent film, Metropolis, and remade in animation in 2001, where we see the social crisis between workers and owners in capitalism. The story line is this futurist city where all of the capitalists live above ground in these marvelous skyscrapers and enjoy all the benefits of the “good life”, much like the rich man, at the expense of those laborers (the Lazarus’ of the world) who are doing back-breaking and life threatening work far beneath the earth’s surface, totally un-noticed by those who are benefiting from their harsh existence.
Today’s parable is a call for “Social Justice”! We as Christians cannot claim to have an active faith in the teachings of Christ, without being active in Social Justice Issues. This parable is calling us to task and letting us know that we as “good” people will ultimately be held accountable for the lack of response to those who are suffering from economic deprivation, of those who suffer from social alienation, and of our stewardship of our natural resources.
I use to rent out some of the bedrooms of my house when I was pastor at the Kittitas church to college students. One housemate in particular wasn’t the best English student and had transferred to Central Washington University from a very liberal college in Western Washington. He asked me and another housemate to read a paper that he had written because he wasn’t receiving the best grades from his earlier work.
This particular paper he was very proud of as it was showing the “evils” of the wealthiest of Americans (such as the Rockefellers, the Whitney’s for example) and how they have gained, as well as maintained their wealth at the expense of Third World Countries. Not that there wasn’t a good amount of truth in his report, but I asked him about his part as a “Wealthy American” who’s life style is supported by these same Third World Countries? He was totally unaware of what I was asking about, after all he didn’t come from one of these huge money families and he was a struggling college student. So we began a conversation about the amount of the world resources and how much we as Americans use compared to the rest of the world and that even our basic, what we would call, average economical existence is very much based on the cheap labor of Third World Countries. As American’s an average evening meal would be considered a banquet to most underdeveloped nations, our modest 3 bedroom, 2 plus bath homes are palaces to most of the world, and even the idea of taking a holiday is a non-reality to much of the world’s population. In essence, we are very unaware of the poverty of much of the world. It doesn’t make us bad people, but like the rich man, we do not see the true picture of our standard of living and at what cost to those who don’t have enough to survive on.
I wonder as a congregation, at what level of “awareness” and of action we see ourselves at? If we are students of Christ’s, as a teacher, what grade would He be giving us on our overal response to social justice issues? Would we be graded at the level of Lazarus or would Jesus grade us at the level of the “rich man”. We have very few programs that are geared to be pro-active to issues that are directly focused on social issues. I think Jesus would have us be more active in our working to understand the brokenness of our immigration laws. I think He would want us to be working at finding those who are disenfranchised in our community and working at bringing them into community. Jesus would call us to be working and learning how we could reduce our carbon footprint for the benefit of future generations.
This parable is a direct call for us to personally examine our heart and work at making the invisible (these social justice issues) into being visible within our hearts. It is a call for us to make that eye to eye contact with those in need and responding to that need. This parable powerfully calls into question how we handle not only our resources in dollars, but our time and attention and whether we “see” the poor at our doors. It calls us to realize, as one of the wealthiest nations in the world, who is suffering at the cost of what we enjoy on a daily basis. It is a parable calling us to make visible within our minds and hearts the invisible suffering of those outside of our doors, within the city of Rock Springs, of this country, and of the world at large. Amen
Making Visible the Invisible
By Rev. Steven R. Mitchell
First Congregational UCC, Rock Springs, WY 9/26/2010
Based on Luke 16:19-31
I am a great fan of motion pictures, early Television programs, and of early radio programs. As radio gave way to Television, many of the early 1950 T.V. programs were continuations of radio hits, such as The Jack Benny Show, or Amos and Andy. One of my favorite T.V. couples is George Burns and Gracie Allen. For those of you who might not be familiar with Burns and Allen, both were comedians with George being the person who would set up the joke or the story line while Gracie was the person who would deliver the lines that would receive the laughs. She was portrayed as a scattered brained housewife and would generally be the person who was always able to resolve whatever the crisis of the day was, in her own unique and very quirky logic!
In one episode, Gracie was working hard at becoming a member of a precigous book club. She enlists George’s help to stage their living room so that it would look as scholarly as possible. She had George place small statuaries on the coffee table that were of Shakespeare, David, and Venus De Milo. While placing a few classical books here and there, George asked her where she wanted the book, Tales of Two Cities placed? She thought for a few seconds then decided that it shouldn’t go out on any of the end tables. When George asked “why”, Gracie responded with, “I haven’t read the book yet and one of the cities might be in Florida.” This in her mind was not a good thing.
Today’s Gospel reading is very much like the title of the book “Tales of Two Cities”. It is a parable of two men and of two realities; this physical world and the afterlife. It is a story of a rich man and of a poor beggar, a story of two social classes, and a world of comfort verses a world of afflictions. It is also a story of reversals. The poor man is given a named, Lazarus, and the rich man is not named. In the story, we read where the rich man is dressed in purple while the beggar is dressed in sores, the rich man has ample food, living in abundance and in luxury, while Lazarus is praying for just the crumbs from the rich man’s table, and lives out on the street. Then when Lazarus dies, it is Lazarus who is in the bosom of Abraham, the Patriarchal Father, and it is the rich man who is now living in Hades. Both far removed from their former physical life’s circumstances.
This parable is filled with such subtle messages that most modern ears will miss if not familiar with early Jewish understanding. This story to the original audience was a story so abrasive, I am surprised that Jesus wasn’t taken out and strung up at that very telling. Every reference to the rich man was a reference to “being acceptable”, that of “being a righteous man before God”, while the poor beggar Lazarus would be perceived as one filled with “sin” and his living in poverty and plagued with sores was the punishment for his sinful ways. Yet, after death it was Lazarus who was in the arms of Abraham, which translates into being in the arms of God (Abraham being the founding father of the Hebrew faith, the highest example of righteous living) while it was just the opposite for the rich man who finds himself in eternal damned nation. All of this was a frontal assault on the perception of one’s trust in wealth as an assurance of your righteousness or right living and your salvation.
Jesus’ telling of this story comes directly after telling the parable of the “Shrewd Manager”, where he warns the children of the light (those who follow after Jesus) to be street-wise and as cleaver as the shrewd manager but only for good. In verse 14, we read: 14The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. 15Jesus said to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight.
G. Penny Nixon, Senior Minister of Congregational UCC Church of San Mateo, CA, sums up this parable told by Jesus in this way: What we know from the parable is that because of his lack of action and compassion, the rich man cannot cross over to the place of faith, nor does he have a place by Abraham’s side. The great teacher (Jesus) puts Abraham, the parent of faith, in the role of judge. Abraham sits with Lazarus, indicating a startling truth about who is faithful and who is not. To an impoverished group of people, this parable would offer great comfort that God sees their suffering and is on their side. To most of us, however, steeped in a consumer society and often on the wrong side of the chasm, this parable is one of the hardest to hear…if we really hear. Feasting on the Word, Yr C, pg 121
This parable doesn’t portray the rich man as being cruel or antagonistic toward Lazarus. For in truth, the rich man when he is looking through his window or even when he comes and goes from his home doesn’t even notice Lazarus sitting outside his door. You ask yourself, “How could anyone not notice someone who is dressed in filthy rages, covered in sores, and begging for food right outside of your own house?”
We don’t have many street corner beggars here in Rock Springs, but go to any major city and in the downtown area’s you can hardly walk on the sidewalks without tripping over people who are down and out. You hear them asking you for money and as long as you don’t look at them, you can walk by them, hearing their plea’s as nothing more than white background noise, thereby having very little intrusion on your consciousness; they truly are not there. But the minute you make eye to eye contact with one of these people, you at that point have recognized their plight and at that point must wrestle with your conscience about whether or not you will help them with a few coins. It is a making visible that which was invisible. This parable is attacking the rich, not because of their wealth, but because of their lack of responding to the needs of those who are suffering and live outside of the comfort of adequate resources.
This parable is depicted in the 1927 German expressionist silent film, Metropolis, and remade in animation in 2001, where we see the social crisis between workers and owners in capitalism. The story line is this futurist city where all of the capitalists live above ground in these marvelous skyscrapers and enjoy all the benefits of the “good life”, much like the rich man, at the expense of those laborers (the Lazarus’ of the world) who are doing back-breaking and life threatening work far beneath the earth’s surface, totally un-noticed by those who are benefiting from their harsh existence.
Today’s parable is a call for “Social Justice”! We as Christians cannot claim to have an active faith in the teachings of Christ, without being active in Social Justice Issues. This parable is calling us to task and letting us know that we as “good” people will ultimately be held accountable for the lack of response to those who are suffering from economic deprivation, of those who suffer from social alienation, and of our stewardship of our natural resources.
I use to rent out some of the bedrooms of my house when I was pastor at the Kittitas church to college students. One housemate in particular wasn’t the best English student and had transferred to Central Washington University from a very liberal college in Western Washington. He asked me and another housemate to read a paper that he had written because he wasn’t receiving the best grades from his earlier work.
This particular paper he was very proud of as it was showing the “evils” of the wealthiest of Americans (such as the Rockefellers, the Whitney’s for example) and how they have gained, as well as maintained their wealth at the expense of Third World Countries. Not that there wasn’t a good amount of truth in his report, but I asked him about his part as a “Wealthy American” who’s life style is supported by these same Third World Countries? He was totally unaware of what I was asking about, after all he didn’t come from one of these huge money families and he was a struggling college student. So we began a conversation about the amount of the world resources and how much we as Americans use compared to the rest of the world and that even our basic, what we would call, average economical existence is very much based on the cheap labor of Third World Countries. As American’s an average evening meal would be considered a banquet to most underdeveloped nations, our modest 3 bedroom, 2 plus bath homes are palaces to most of the world, and even the idea of taking a holiday is a non-reality to much of the world’s population. In essence, we are very unaware of the poverty of much of the world. It doesn’t make us bad people, but like the rich man, we do not see the true picture of our standard of living and at what cost to those who don’t have enough to survive on.
I wonder as a congregation, at what level of “awareness” and of action we see ourselves at? If we are students of Christ’s, as a teacher, what grade would He be giving us on our overal response to social justice issues? Would we be graded at the level of Lazarus or would Jesus grade us at the level of the “rich man”. We have very few programs that are geared to be pro-active to issues that are directly focused on social issues. I think Jesus would have us be more active in our working to understand the brokenness of our immigration laws. I think He would want us to be working at finding those who are disenfranchised in our community and working at bringing them into community. Jesus would call us to be working and learning how we could reduce our carbon footprint for the benefit of future generations.
This parable is a direct call for us to personally examine our heart and work at making the invisible (these social justice issues) into being visible within our hearts. It is a call for us to make that eye to eye contact with those in need and responding to that need. This parable powerfully calls into question how we handle not only our resources in dollars, but our time and attention and whether we “see” the poor at our doors. It calls us to realize, as one of the wealthiest nations in the world, who is suffering at the cost of what we enjoy on a daily basis. It is a parable calling us to make visible within our minds and hearts the invisible suffering of those outside of our doors, within the city of Rock Springs, of this country, and of the world at large. Amen
First Congregational UCC, Rock Springs, WY 9/12/2010
Caring Enough!
By Rev. Steven R Mitchell
First Congregational UCC, WY 9/12/10
Based on 1 Timothy 1:12-17 and Luke 15:1-10
Each time we come together to worship, at the very beginning of our time together I give a greeting that says, “No matter who you are, whether you are a believer, a doubter, or a seeker, you are welcome in this sacred space.” I don’t know whether you think of this greeting as something that sounds “nice” and “welcoming” or if it brings to mind any type of “theological” statement that we as a congregation is trying to make. Actually, this phrase has been tentatively added into the basic constitution of this church which once all of the revisions are completed, will be discussed and voted on in the not too distant future. This morning’s lectionary texts are actually two examples of why the content of this greeting exists.
The believers could be representative of Paul in his opening statement to Timothy, as well as to where Paul himself was, prior to becoming a believer and spokesperson for Christ. The seekers would be representative of the one lost sheep or the one lost coin. It is Christ who is the one who is welcoming us into this place, and it is sacred because of the sacrifice that he made for the entire world.
This morning the Gospel reading is another set of very familiar parables. The problem for those of us who have grown up listening to these parables year after year or once every three years, is that after so many times of hearing about them or reading them, we start to turn off our minds to what they might have to say “anew” to us. As a minister, I find that the more often I have read a story, I have to spend more time thinking about what I am reading, and not just time but actually the clearing of my mind of any preconceived understanding that I am bringing to that reading.
Today’s parables are a direct response to the grumblings of the Pharisees and the scribes, as they were upset with the conduct of Jesus around people that the Pharisees perceived as “no account, good for nothing reprobates.” These are two of three parables that deal with being lost in one fashion or another. For us this morning, we need to figure out “who” it is that is lost with respect to how it relates to us. Are we the shepherd or the woman who leaves what she has to go and search for that one lost sheep or lost coin? Or is Jesus referring to the Pharisees and the scribes as being the lost? After all, they are the ones who would know the law, they are the ones who are suppose to be “welcoming” and “administering” to the needs of those who are in need, and they were, as it says, “grumbling about whom Jesus was willing to hang out with. Would these stories be relating to those who had come to listen to Jesus, where he is able to have one of those “teachable moments”, where Jesus is able to present a case for their “salvation?” Or is it possible that “we” are the ones being referred to as the ones being lost? Is it even possible for those of us that call ourselves “disciples of Christ” to actually be or become lost for that matter?
When I get to reminiscing about my childhood and try to tell whomever it is that I am sharing stories of my childhood with, I generally am trying to convey what a model child I was, and how I rarely gave challenge to my parents. But then there are stories that start to come to the forefront of my mind that might give a different perspective than how I tend to view myself.
One such story deals with my desire to go visit my cousin who lived on the other side of town. I lived in a small community of about three thousand people. I lived just one block away from my grandmother’s house, and actually all I had to do was cut across the yard on the opposite side of the street that I lived on, and then I was at my grandmother’s. I visited my grandmother every day without fail. I hadn’t seen my cousin for what felt like weeks, while in truth it was probably just a couple of days. After all, when you are four years old, time holds a different standard than it does for grown-ups.
As I was saying, I had been missing my cousin for some time and for whatever reason, my mother wasn’t willing to take me over so that I could visit and play with him. I had even been talking to my grandmother about this situation, hoping to enlist her sympathy, to where she would either make my mother relinquish her position or grandmother herself would drive me over so I could see my cousin. That didn’t seem to work very well either, so one particular afternoon I decided that I was going to go on my own to see my cousin.
Now I was a pretty smart kid, I knew Mom expected me home from grandmother’s each day at a certain time, so I on the day that I decide to take matters into my own hands, I left my grandmother’s house about an hour early, telling her that I was going home. I had full confidence that I would be able to walk over to my cousin’s house, have time to play with him and be back home within that hour. After all, when we would drive from our house to his, it took only a matter of minutes. Of course, at the age of four, you also don’t realize that a ten minute ride in a car could equal several miles in one direction. My home town may have been small, but it had big yards and long blocks!
When I started out on my little adventure, I had full confidence that I knew my way to my cousin’s house. I knew that I needed to get onto the street that had the courthouse on a corner of an intersection. I also knew that I needed to go past my Aunt and Uncle’s tavern. Well, go past might be understating it just a bit. The reality was, I needed to sneak past it and not be seen by my great-auntie, otherwise, she would call my mom and I wouldn’t get to visit my cousin. Well, I managed to do that, or so I thought. Over all, I was doing pretty well until I got to a street that I didn’t quit recognize. Then there was another street that I didn’t recognize, but I knew that if I just continued in the general direction of West, even though I had started to zig and zag around streets that didn’t seem familiar to me, I would eventually get to his house, or at the very least, find the edge of town, which was just as good, since the street he lived on was the last street in town.
At some point there came the realization that it was taking me a lot longer time to get to my cousin’s than I had previously thought. I also don’t mind sharing that it was at that point that I started to worry about whether I actually was going to make it to my cousin’s house. Finally, after a very long time, I came upon a street that did look familiar and in fact I could actually see my cousin’s house on the top of the hillside. It was also about that time that my mother pulled up beside me in the car. I could see in her eyes a certain relief that she had found me, safe and sound. After I had gotten into the car and had assured her that I was all right, we started to have a discussion about my being lost and how that made my mother feel.
In many respects, my mother was like the shepherd, who had left the rest of the flock, meaning my sister and infant brother, to come and search for me. Although I wasn’t aware of it, I had wondered off like that one sheep told in the parable. I have to tell you that once my mother found me, I was very surprised that I didn’t receive a spanking right there and then, which was the usual mannor of swift justice and retribution. Rather, I recall my mother asking me what I thought she should do to me as a way of deterring this or similar behavior in the future; a behavior that wasn’t just disobeying the authority of my mother, but behavior that could truly be harmful to my health. I remember telling her that I suppose I should receive a spanking, as I did realize this was a major breach of conduct. I don’t really remember if we went with my suggestion or if mom was just so glad that I was safe and knowing I had actually learned a valuable lesson, that I never received that spanking.
I think one of the things that we can learn through this parable is that even those of us who call ourselves “Christians”, members of the flock, so to say, are capable of wandering off and becoming lost, and not even know we are lost at the time. “What if it is our faith that we have lost? Do we not sometimes find ourselves in the place of the seeker, not exactly seeking God, but seeking the faith that has become lost to us? What is it to “lose faith”, but to lose the conviction that one has been found, to begin to wonder whether one is sought at all – whether there is in fact a shepherd or a peasant woman tracking us down? To those who are lost, object is faith itself, these parables whisper that losing faith – that is, becoming like the tax collector and sinner rather than the Pharisee and scribe – is to have wandered into the place where one can be found.” Scott Bader-Saye, Feasting on the Word, YR C
In this week’s UCC reflections, Rev Kate Huey shares this story: This week, I watched a segment of Primetime Live in which Diane Sawyer was revisiting – eight years later – several young people she had interviewed on the streets of a city in Oregon. These kids were definitely lost children. At least two of them were gay, and one can only imagine the terrible rejection that drove them from their homes and families. One young boy was asked to describe his dream home. He answered quickly, as if he had dreamed of it often; his dream home would have a marble staircase and a big entrance hall (doesn’t that sound like someone who feels the need to be welcomed?) Asked to describe his dream parents, he said, “They would have their mouths taped shut so they couldn’t yell at me and their hands tied so they couldn’t hit me.” Years later, this same young man looked back on the years he spent as a runaway; when Diane Sawyer asked him, “Is that what you wanted – for someone to come and find you?” His response: “Yes, that’s what I wanted – I wanted someone to care enough to come looking for me.”
This morning’s sermon title “Caring Enough“, was inspired by this story about the young man who had been a runaway. All he wanted was to know that someone cared. We all have times in our lives when we feel that no one cares about us, whether that is real or falsely perceived, the fact that we feel this way, means that it is real to us. We just want to know that someone cares. That someone might not be able to do anything to physically improve our situation, but just knowing that someone does care, many times is enough to help us get past that feeling of being lost.
The important position that these two parables present to us, is that our being found is not by our efforts. Like the sheep and the coin, we are found – and found in a way that is not dependent on our seeking but only on our being sought. The good news is just that – we are sought, and more, we have always already been found. Scott Bader-Saye, Feasting on the Word, YR C This is one of the most important facets of what we as a church or as an individual follower of Christ can provide for everyone that we meet. We can provide that care, a sense that each person we meet is important, because we ourselves at one point or another have been lost but then found.
Today’s lesson is one that lets us know that we are that lost sheep or that lost coin at some time in our lives, and we might not even realize this condition. It is a lesson to those who already have that sense of belonging to learn to rejoice in the recovery of those who have been lost in their journey. It is a story about celebration for those who have been found and brought back home. It is a story of assurance, that no matter what happens along life’s pathway, we are so precious that if even one of us seems to find ourselves lost, God’s love is so great, that we will be sought after by God, no matter how far gone we think we have strayed. That is truly the resurrection story: that God so loved the world that he sent his son into the world that none may be lost! Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah! The message today is a resounding: GOD CARES ENOUGH! Amen
By Rev. Steven R Mitchell
First Congregational UCC, WY 9/12/10
Based on 1 Timothy 1:12-17 and Luke 15:1-10
Each time we come together to worship, at the very beginning of our time together I give a greeting that says, “No matter who you are, whether you are a believer, a doubter, or a seeker, you are welcome in this sacred space.” I don’t know whether you think of this greeting as something that sounds “nice” and “welcoming” or if it brings to mind any type of “theological” statement that we as a congregation is trying to make. Actually, this phrase has been tentatively added into the basic constitution of this church which once all of the revisions are completed, will be discussed and voted on in the not too distant future. This morning’s lectionary texts are actually two examples of why the content of this greeting exists.
The believers could be representative of Paul in his opening statement to Timothy, as well as to where Paul himself was, prior to becoming a believer and spokesperson for Christ. The seekers would be representative of the one lost sheep or the one lost coin. It is Christ who is the one who is welcoming us into this place, and it is sacred because of the sacrifice that he made for the entire world.
This morning the Gospel reading is another set of very familiar parables. The problem for those of us who have grown up listening to these parables year after year or once every three years, is that after so many times of hearing about them or reading them, we start to turn off our minds to what they might have to say “anew” to us. As a minister, I find that the more often I have read a story, I have to spend more time thinking about what I am reading, and not just time but actually the clearing of my mind of any preconceived understanding that I am bringing to that reading.
Today’s parables are a direct response to the grumblings of the Pharisees and the scribes, as they were upset with the conduct of Jesus around people that the Pharisees perceived as “no account, good for nothing reprobates.” These are two of three parables that deal with being lost in one fashion or another. For us this morning, we need to figure out “who” it is that is lost with respect to how it relates to us. Are we the shepherd or the woman who leaves what she has to go and search for that one lost sheep or lost coin? Or is Jesus referring to the Pharisees and the scribes as being the lost? After all, they are the ones who would know the law, they are the ones who are suppose to be “welcoming” and “administering” to the needs of those who are in need, and they were, as it says, “grumbling about whom Jesus was willing to hang out with. Would these stories be relating to those who had come to listen to Jesus, where he is able to have one of those “teachable moments”, where Jesus is able to present a case for their “salvation?” Or is it possible that “we” are the ones being referred to as the ones being lost? Is it even possible for those of us that call ourselves “disciples of Christ” to actually be or become lost for that matter?
When I get to reminiscing about my childhood and try to tell whomever it is that I am sharing stories of my childhood with, I generally am trying to convey what a model child I was, and how I rarely gave challenge to my parents. But then there are stories that start to come to the forefront of my mind that might give a different perspective than how I tend to view myself.
One such story deals with my desire to go visit my cousin who lived on the other side of town. I lived in a small community of about three thousand people. I lived just one block away from my grandmother’s house, and actually all I had to do was cut across the yard on the opposite side of the street that I lived on, and then I was at my grandmother’s. I visited my grandmother every day without fail. I hadn’t seen my cousin for what felt like weeks, while in truth it was probably just a couple of days. After all, when you are four years old, time holds a different standard than it does for grown-ups.
As I was saying, I had been missing my cousin for some time and for whatever reason, my mother wasn’t willing to take me over so that I could visit and play with him. I had even been talking to my grandmother about this situation, hoping to enlist her sympathy, to where she would either make my mother relinquish her position or grandmother herself would drive me over so I could see my cousin. That didn’t seem to work very well either, so one particular afternoon I decided that I was going to go on my own to see my cousin.
Now I was a pretty smart kid, I knew Mom expected me home from grandmother’s each day at a certain time, so I on the day that I decide to take matters into my own hands, I left my grandmother’s house about an hour early, telling her that I was going home. I had full confidence that I would be able to walk over to my cousin’s house, have time to play with him and be back home within that hour. After all, when we would drive from our house to his, it took only a matter of minutes. Of course, at the age of four, you also don’t realize that a ten minute ride in a car could equal several miles in one direction. My home town may have been small, but it had big yards and long blocks!
When I started out on my little adventure, I had full confidence that I knew my way to my cousin’s house. I knew that I needed to get onto the street that had the courthouse on a corner of an intersection. I also knew that I needed to go past my Aunt and Uncle’s tavern. Well, go past might be understating it just a bit. The reality was, I needed to sneak past it and not be seen by my great-auntie, otherwise, she would call my mom and I wouldn’t get to visit my cousin. Well, I managed to do that, or so I thought. Over all, I was doing pretty well until I got to a street that I didn’t quit recognize. Then there was another street that I didn’t recognize, but I knew that if I just continued in the general direction of West, even though I had started to zig and zag around streets that didn’t seem familiar to me, I would eventually get to his house, or at the very least, find the edge of town, which was just as good, since the street he lived on was the last street in town.
At some point there came the realization that it was taking me a lot longer time to get to my cousin’s than I had previously thought. I also don’t mind sharing that it was at that point that I started to worry about whether I actually was going to make it to my cousin’s house. Finally, after a very long time, I came upon a street that did look familiar and in fact I could actually see my cousin’s house on the top of the hillside. It was also about that time that my mother pulled up beside me in the car. I could see in her eyes a certain relief that she had found me, safe and sound. After I had gotten into the car and had assured her that I was all right, we started to have a discussion about my being lost and how that made my mother feel.
In many respects, my mother was like the shepherd, who had left the rest of the flock, meaning my sister and infant brother, to come and search for me. Although I wasn’t aware of it, I had wondered off like that one sheep told in the parable. I have to tell you that once my mother found me, I was very surprised that I didn’t receive a spanking right there and then, which was the usual mannor of swift justice and retribution. Rather, I recall my mother asking me what I thought she should do to me as a way of deterring this or similar behavior in the future; a behavior that wasn’t just disobeying the authority of my mother, but behavior that could truly be harmful to my health. I remember telling her that I suppose I should receive a spanking, as I did realize this was a major breach of conduct. I don’t really remember if we went with my suggestion or if mom was just so glad that I was safe and knowing I had actually learned a valuable lesson, that I never received that spanking.
I think one of the things that we can learn through this parable is that even those of us who call ourselves “Christians”, members of the flock, so to say, are capable of wandering off and becoming lost, and not even know we are lost at the time. “What if it is our faith that we have lost? Do we not sometimes find ourselves in the place of the seeker, not exactly seeking God, but seeking the faith that has become lost to us? What is it to “lose faith”, but to lose the conviction that one has been found, to begin to wonder whether one is sought at all – whether there is in fact a shepherd or a peasant woman tracking us down? To those who are lost, object is faith itself, these parables whisper that losing faith – that is, becoming like the tax collector and sinner rather than the Pharisee and scribe – is to have wandered into the place where one can be found.” Scott Bader-Saye, Feasting on the Word, YR C
In this week’s UCC reflections, Rev Kate Huey shares this story: This week, I watched a segment of Primetime Live in which Diane Sawyer was revisiting – eight years later – several young people she had interviewed on the streets of a city in Oregon. These kids were definitely lost children. At least two of them were gay, and one can only imagine the terrible rejection that drove them from their homes and families. One young boy was asked to describe his dream home. He answered quickly, as if he had dreamed of it often; his dream home would have a marble staircase and a big entrance hall (doesn’t that sound like someone who feels the need to be welcomed?) Asked to describe his dream parents, he said, “They would have their mouths taped shut so they couldn’t yell at me and their hands tied so they couldn’t hit me.” Years later, this same young man looked back on the years he spent as a runaway; when Diane Sawyer asked him, “Is that what you wanted – for someone to come and find you?” His response: “Yes, that’s what I wanted – I wanted someone to care enough to come looking for me.”
This morning’s sermon title “Caring Enough“, was inspired by this story about the young man who had been a runaway. All he wanted was to know that someone cared. We all have times in our lives when we feel that no one cares about us, whether that is real or falsely perceived, the fact that we feel this way, means that it is real to us. We just want to know that someone cares. That someone might not be able to do anything to physically improve our situation, but just knowing that someone does care, many times is enough to help us get past that feeling of being lost.
The important position that these two parables present to us, is that our being found is not by our efforts. Like the sheep and the coin, we are found – and found in a way that is not dependent on our seeking but only on our being sought. The good news is just that – we are sought, and more, we have always already been found. Scott Bader-Saye, Feasting on the Word, YR C This is one of the most important facets of what we as a church or as an individual follower of Christ can provide for everyone that we meet. We can provide that care, a sense that each person we meet is important, because we ourselves at one point or another have been lost but then found.
Today’s lesson is one that lets us know that we are that lost sheep or that lost coin at some time in our lives, and we might not even realize this condition. It is a lesson to those who already have that sense of belonging to learn to rejoice in the recovery of those who have been lost in their journey. It is a story about celebration for those who have been found and brought back home. It is a story of assurance, that no matter what happens along life’s pathway, we are so precious that if even one of us seems to find ourselves lost, God’s love is so great, that we will be sought after by God, no matter how far gone we think we have strayed. That is truly the resurrection story: that God so loved the world that he sent his son into the world that none may be lost! Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah! The message today is a resounding: GOD CARES ENOUGH! Amen
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Sermon for First Congregational UCC, Rock Springs, WY 9/5/2010
Doing the Right Thing
By Rev Steven R Mitchell
First Congregational UCC, Rock Springs, WY 9/5/2010
Based on Philemon 1-21 and Luke14:25-33
What an interesting Gospel reading we have this morning as we come together not just for worship but also to partake in Communion. Here we read where Jesus is speaking about our need to “hate” in order to follow him as a disciple, and yet we are coming to a table that, Jesus tells us, comes out of an act of “Love”. IF we are to take this scripture at face value, at the words that are used, then for most of us, we will be totally turned away and unable to understand why Jesus says in order to follow him we must “hate” our mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, and even ourselves; all the time hearing that Jesus’ mission in his ministry was to speak about “reconciliation”, of “unity”, of “love”, none of which can occur if “hate” is at the heart of our feelings instead of “love.” So, which is it, Jesus? Are we suppose to hate or are we suppose to love? How can we in good conscience come to an “agape” celebration (agape being the Greek’s understanding of the highest and most pure love), and be in the state of “hate”?
In the Eugene Peterson translation called “The Message”, we hear this with a different, and I hope in a more accurate, language. "Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters—yes, even one's own self!—can't be my disciple. Anyone who won't shoulder his own cross and follow behind me can't be my disciple.” With this type of language, we can then bring into consideration our reading from the letter to Philemon, a letter that is written by the Apostle Paul to Philemon in love and about acting in love; a letter about “doing the right thing.” Not only does the Peterson translation lend itself in bringing both of today’s readings together in unity, but it brings our celebration at the communion table into a cohesive act of what Jesus is trying to teach us; the “cost” of being a disciple of Christ.
Early in my ministry, I would time to time watch on Television the worship program “The Hour of Power”, at the Crystal Cathedral, with Robert Schuller. He, along with Norman Vincent Peale, are the Kings of “Positive” thinking in the religious world. I would listen to him and found most of his messages to be very shallow and what I would call, “sugar and spice and all things nice” Christianity. Then some years later, I had the opportunity to read Schuller’s autobiography, “My Journey”, where I learned more about the depth of Dr. Schuller’s theology and how it has shaped his ministry.
Within those pages I discovered that Dr. Schuller started out his ministry in the style of what we would refer to as the preaching of “hell, fire and damned nation.” It wasn’t until he had a guest speaker from his own denomination, the Dutch Reformed Church of America, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, speak to his congregation who stated that, “Jesus never condemned anyone.” Of course Dr Schuller took exception with that statement and never heard the rest of the message as he was searching through his scriptures in order to correct Dr. Peale. Schuller was never able to find the scripture to repute Dr. Peale and it caused him to re-evaluate his own ministry and theological stance. It was that epiphany that helped Dr Schuller realize that people needed to hear if only for one hour a week, that message that they are good in the eyes of God and not condemned as so many sermons in too many pulpits are preached each week, because, most of us hear all week long about how we do not measure up. This is how the “Hour of Power” ministry was born!
I bring this story up, because, even though God loves us and we are good within God’s eyes, we forget there is a cost that comes with being called “disciples” of Christ. We don’t seem to have too much of a problem when we talk about the “cost” of our freedom that we enjoy here in this country. It is understood that the life we enjoy comes at the cost of defending our soil, and not a cheap cost, but literally the cost of the lives of our young men and women, of our sons and daughters, of our fathers and mothers.
Yet, when we think of the cost of being a Christian, we generally think about how much money are we suppose to give to the church, or how does this affect my willingness to give up my Sunday mornings of staying home and reading the New York Times or which do I attend, a home game of the WY State Football or pay penance and go to church that Sunday? Jesus, isn’t talking about an actual “hate” toward our family, friends, society, or even of self. What Jesus is speaking about is realizing that we have to divorce ourselves from the things, the distractions, the self-desires that keep us from fully incorporating the life and teachings of Jesus into our hearts, minds, and lives. Remember the greatest commandment, “to love your God with heart, mind, and soul and to love your neighbor as yourself.”
For Philemon, Paul is challenging him to grow to another level in his Christian understanding and discipleship, and to change his perception of the slave Onesimus. In this very personal letter to Philemon, we learn that Philemon isn’t just a Christian, but that he has been taught by Paul, that he has worked side by side with Paul, and that Philemon is the head of the house church that is held in his own home. Philemon is a wealthy man and one who is respected within his community and one who also is spreading the gospel of Christ. Paul is asking Philemon not just to “free” Onesimus, but to look at him as his equal, to see him as a brother, not just in Christ but in a social setting.
It is in this letter that we see where Philemon is going to have to choose what the cost of his relationship to Christ is going to be. It means that if he chooses to honor Paul’s request, he will be giving up a slave, who has a dollar value to it, he will also have to face probable ridicule and standing within his community (those who are not living by Christian standards) and ultimately, if he has more than one slave, have to reconcile a consistent standard of, “if I free one slave, how can I then own other slaves?” There is a tremendous cost being weighed here.
What does it mean to us, who call ourselves Christians and members of this church? What does it cost us? Are we really able to “let go of our own selves” to follow Jesus, or are we more of the “sugar and spice” type of person, a person who believes and lives in what we and possibly Jesus would call, “cheap grace?” We may say that we are willing to follow Christ and his teachings to develop a life that is filled with “true rewards”, but it is through our actions that we will truly speak about where our priorities lay.
What does church membership mean to us? These are huge questions as they speak about our commitment and the cost of our commitment, to this ministry, to Christ’s ministry through this congregation. Do we come to church when “we feel like it”, or “when the Cowboys aren’t playing at home”, or when it doesn’t interfere with other opportunities that are placed before us? When we are not town, but in another city, do we go to a nearby church and take time to “Worship” or create a time for formal praise while camping, or do we look at it as a day “off”?
We come to this table this morning because of the commitment that Christ had in his relationship to God. The cost of Jesus’ relationship with God was his life. I remember a line in the movie, “Torch Song Trilogy”, where two lovers were discussing the possibilities of a reconciled relationship that had broken up some years before because of the one person’s inability to be open about his sexual orientation while the other person was totally open and out, and the one man after hearing the plea of his lover wanting a second chance, says, “I just threw my own mother out of my life. All she wanted to do was just not “talk about it.” Do you think I would expect any less from you?” Even when there is love involved, there is a cost to any relationship. When we think by not choosing to do one thing over another, we have made a choice and there is a cost in that choice.
We do not know what Philemon chooses to do with Paul’s plea to free Onesimus and to welcome him into the family as an equal. We have the words of Jesus to each of us this morning about counting the cost to follow him. What will be our response? How much is following Jesus worth to you? Think about it the next time you have the option of deepening your spiritual walk or choosing that which will “not.” Our discipleship comes at a cost. Jesus asks us to think hard about what we are willing to give up to follow him. This table symbolizes the cost that He paid for us, He simply is asking what will we do in return? Amen
By Rev Steven R Mitchell
First Congregational UCC, Rock Springs, WY 9/5/2010
Based on Philemon 1-21 and Luke14:25-33
What an interesting Gospel reading we have this morning as we come together not just for worship but also to partake in Communion. Here we read where Jesus is speaking about our need to “hate” in order to follow him as a disciple, and yet we are coming to a table that, Jesus tells us, comes out of an act of “Love”. IF we are to take this scripture at face value, at the words that are used, then for most of us, we will be totally turned away and unable to understand why Jesus says in order to follow him we must “hate” our mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, and even ourselves; all the time hearing that Jesus’ mission in his ministry was to speak about “reconciliation”, of “unity”, of “love”, none of which can occur if “hate” is at the heart of our feelings instead of “love.” So, which is it, Jesus? Are we suppose to hate or are we suppose to love? How can we in good conscience come to an “agape” celebration (agape being the Greek’s understanding of the highest and most pure love), and be in the state of “hate”?
In the Eugene Peterson translation called “The Message”, we hear this with a different, and I hope in a more accurate, language. "Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters—yes, even one's own self!—can't be my disciple. Anyone who won't shoulder his own cross and follow behind me can't be my disciple.” With this type of language, we can then bring into consideration our reading from the letter to Philemon, a letter that is written by the Apostle Paul to Philemon in love and about acting in love; a letter about “doing the right thing.” Not only does the Peterson translation lend itself in bringing both of today’s readings together in unity, but it brings our celebration at the communion table into a cohesive act of what Jesus is trying to teach us; the “cost” of being a disciple of Christ.
Early in my ministry, I would time to time watch on Television the worship program “The Hour of Power”, at the Crystal Cathedral, with Robert Schuller. He, along with Norman Vincent Peale, are the Kings of “Positive” thinking in the religious world. I would listen to him and found most of his messages to be very shallow and what I would call, “sugar and spice and all things nice” Christianity. Then some years later, I had the opportunity to read Schuller’s autobiography, “My Journey”, where I learned more about the depth of Dr. Schuller’s theology and how it has shaped his ministry.
Within those pages I discovered that Dr. Schuller started out his ministry in the style of what we would refer to as the preaching of “hell, fire and damned nation.” It wasn’t until he had a guest speaker from his own denomination, the Dutch Reformed Church of America, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, speak to his congregation who stated that, “Jesus never condemned anyone.” Of course Dr Schuller took exception with that statement and never heard the rest of the message as he was searching through his scriptures in order to correct Dr. Peale. Schuller was never able to find the scripture to repute Dr. Peale and it caused him to re-evaluate his own ministry and theological stance. It was that epiphany that helped Dr Schuller realize that people needed to hear if only for one hour a week, that message that they are good in the eyes of God and not condemned as so many sermons in too many pulpits are preached each week, because, most of us hear all week long about how we do not measure up. This is how the “Hour of Power” ministry was born!
I bring this story up, because, even though God loves us and we are good within God’s eyes, we forget there is a cost that comes with being called “disciples” of Christ. We don’t seem to have too much of a problem when we talk about the “cost” of our freedom that we enjoy here in this country. It is understood that the life we enjoy comes at the cost of defending our soil, and not a cheap cost, but literally the cost of the lives of our young men and women, of our sons and daughters, of our fathers and mothers.
Yet, when we think of the cost of being a Christian, we generally think about how much money are we suppose to give to the church, or how does this affect my willingness to give up my Sunday mornings of staying home and reading the New York Times or which do I attend, a home game of the WY State Football or pay penance and go to church that Sunday? Jesus, isn’t talking about an actual “hate” toward our family, friends, society, or even of self. What Jesus is speaking about is realizing that we have to divorce ourselves from the things, the distractions, the self-desires that keep us from fully incorporating the life and teachings of Jesus into our hearts, minds, and lives. Remember the greatest commandment, “to love your God with heart, mind, and soul and to love your neighbor as yourself.”
For Philemon, Paul is challenging him to grow to another level in his Christian understanding and discipleship, and to change his perception of the slave Onesimus. In this very personal letter to Philemon, we learn that Philemon isn’t just a Christian, but that he has been taught by Paul, that he has worked side by side with Paul, and that Philemon is the head of the house church that is held in his own home. Philemon is a wealthy man and one who is respected within his community and one who also is spreading the gospel of Christ. Paul is asking Philemon not just to “free” Onesimus, but to look at him as his equal, to see him as a brother, not just in Christ but in a social setting.
It is in this letter that we see where Philemon is going to have to choose what the cost of his relationship to Christ is going to be. It means that if he chooses to honor Paul’s request, he will be giving up a slave, who has a dollar value to it, he will also have to face probable ridicule and standing within his community (those who are not living by Christian standards) and ultimately, if he has more than one slave, have to reconcile a consistent standard of, “if I free one slave, how can I then own other slaves?” There is a tremendous cost being weighed here.
What does it mean to us, who call ourselves Christians and members of this church? What does it cost us? Are we really able to “let go of our own selves” to follow Jesus, or are we more of the “sugar and spice” type of person, a person who believes and lives in what we and possibly Jesus would call, “cheap grace?” We may say that we are willing to follow Christ and his teachings to develop a life that is filled with “true rewards”, but it is through our actions that we will truly speak about where our priorities lay.
What does church membership mean to us? These are huge questions as they speak about our commitment and the cost of our commitment, to this ministry, to Christ’s ministry through this congregation. Do we come to church when “we feel like it”, or “when the Cowboys aren’t playing at home”, or when it doesn’t interfere with other opportunities that are placed before us? When we are not town, but in another city, do we go to a nearby church and take time to “Worship” or create a time for formal praise while camping, or do we look at it as a day “off”?
We come to this table this morning because of the commitment that Christ had in his relationship to God. The cost of Jesus’ relationship with God was his life. I remember a line in the movie, “Torch Song Trilogy”, where two lovers were discussing the possibilities of a reconciled relationship that had broken up some years before because of the one person’s inability to be open about his sexual orientation while the other person was totally open and out, and the one man after hearing the plea of his lover wanting a second chance, says, “I just threw my own mother out of my life. All she wanted to do was just not “talk about it.” Do you think I would expect any less from you?” Even when there is love involved, there is a cost to any relationship. When we think by not choosing to do one thing over another, we have made a choice and there is a cost in that choice.
We do not know what Philemon chooses to do with Paul’s plea to free Onesimus and to welcome him into the family as an equal. We have the words of Jesus to each of us this morning about counting the cost to follow him. What will be our response? How much is following Jesus worth to you? Think about it the next time you have the option of deepening your spiritual walk or choosing that which will “not.” Our discipleship comes at a cost. Jesus asks us to think hard about what we are willing to give up to follow him. This table symbolizes the cost that He paid for us, He simply is asking what will we do in return? Amen
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