A New Song, Love One Another

A New Song, Love One Another

Psalm 98; Acts 8:26-40; John 15:1-8 

I know several churches that have left the denomination of the United Church of Christ based on pronouncements from one or another biennial meeting of the church called the General Synod. The General Synod gathers representatives from all of the UCC Conferences for worship and celebration, and conducting the business of the church. 

While General Synod does the work of electing the national officers, and making the final decision on major aspects of our life together, the focal point of much of the energy concerns the review of Resolutions,  asking the church to take a stand on issues of the day. 

There is a formal process for submitting Resolutions for discernment at General Synod. In the Illinois Conference, delegates are elected from each of the Associations, and each delegate is assigned one of more resolutions to review and be a member of the committee. 

Once arriving at General Synod, there are public hearings conducted for each of the Resolutions, where the case is laid out by the advocates. Those who oppose the Resolution can apply in advance to both be a part of the Hearing, and present at the working session of the committee. 

The group dynamic at General Synod is very upbeat. While ministers are notoriously introverts who need to pump themselves up to get through an average Sunday morning, there are a surprising number of ministers who actually are extroverts. The joy of the extroverts in the national assembly of the church is infectious. First-time visitors to Synod will often get so excited, they will want to be everywhere and try to do everything. 

So you need to know that the next General Synod is in 2019, and will take place in Milwaukee. If you have never had a taste of General Synod I highly recommend you attend. A typical schedule would have plenty of events available to the general public. This includes Resolution hearings on Friday afternoon. Saturday there will be ministry opportunities, performances, speakers, and lots of events to participate and/or witness. The Sunday Worship is large and festive, with great music and a dynamic preacher. Then they do committee and plenary session work for several days. 

Among the most controversial General Synod Resolutions was taken up at GS 25 in 2005 regarding Marriage Equality for gay couples. That Synod was held in 2005 in Atlanta, GA. The Resolution passed with a large majority of affirming votes. 

In the years immediately following the vote, many congregations expressed shock and distress. They did not understand how our church works, and how such a significant shift in the faith community could occur at a church meeting they did not personally attend. Quite a few congregations withdrew their membership in the UCC in the next year or two after the decision. 

On the one hand, it is disappointing to think that many of the members of the UCC do not understand that in our polity, the General Synod is the ruling body of the church. The national officers and the various church instruments, work for the church and answer to the General Synod. There are no lifetime representatives to GS. In the Illinois Conference folks are elected to terms of 4 years, or two Synods. 

The other thing you need to understand is that these conventions, develop a unique buoyancy, that lifts the spirits of those who participate, and generate a lot of care and concern for the world, and especially for those who are hurt by the world as it is. Resolutions that demonstrate compassion for the oppressed have a high likelihood of being embraced by the UCC General Synod. 

I say all of this as we are at the gateway to Pentecost, the Birthday of the church. Pentecost is a celebration of the presence of the Holy Spirit. I need to be frank with you here, this Holy Spirit is a complete and authentic way to know and celebrate God. The Holy Spirit is a not so subtle reminder that God is God - and God does not answer to us, or follow our guidelines. The more structured and organized we get our thoughts and theories about God - the more likely it is that the Holy Spirit will come and upset the apple cart. 

To live in a loving relationship with the Holy Spirit is to engage in a wild ride. You will be called and taken to places you have never been. You will have your heart broken open at unpredictable times, in order to be touched with tenderness and beauty you never knew existed. The word for spirit, is the same word for breath. When you love this adventurous God, you are liable to have your breath taken away at moments you least expect it. 

Each time I have attended General Synod, I have returned home wishing I could help others experience the sense of being lifted up from our own moorings, and being touched by the Spirit of God, that Genesis describes as hovering over the waters of Creation. An undeniable sense overwhelms me such that my overweight body moves weightlessly in prayer, and song, and poetry. I wish that I could share the power of the experience of being in that select company of saints, gathered in a geographic location, if only briefly. 

More importantly, I wish I could make every Sunday morning, an encounter with the divine, that would touch and enthuse each person present, and make you so disappointed when you have to miss a Sunday. Just to present you with a sense of the wonder that is creation, the gift of an amazing and present God. We describe God as the Trinity, because one expression would be too confining, too limiting, and would by necessity cause us to more grossly misunderstand the glory that is God. 

So while the church has historically used the expression of the Trinity to sort out people who do not believe “the right thing” about God, we blithely skip over the fact that the Trinity is at its very core, a handle we place on a divine mystery. We toss the name around to avoid admitting we are over awed at the concept. 

The concept is that God by definition is a relationship. In short, God is: The Father/Creator in relationship with the Christ/Savior in relationship with the Holy Wind of Inspiration and Wisdom. We are made in the image of that God, a whirlwind of virtue and commitment and community. What I treasure most at General Synod, and the best of worship services anywhere, is the sense, that we have been lifted off of terra firma for a moment, and drawn closer to the spirit of the living God. 

It is difficult to understand for those who cannot fathom “what came over those at General Synod,” and who carefully stay a safe distance from Association, and Conference meetings, and never dreamed of attending Synod. So many folks expect the larger church to be a longer and more dreary version of the Church Council Meeting from Hell. 

While there are moments like that, especially in committee, and occasionally on the floor during plenary sessions. But there will be more times when our hearts are touched, and the fire of our faith will find the gas flow turned up, and we feel the surge of power within our hearts. 

Today the Psalm tells us to sing a new song to the God of Creation. For me a new song is one with the distinctive markings of my own growing faith in God, questions proclaimed as boldly as the affirmations. 

In Acts, Peter who so often represents the original 12 apostles and the hesitates to see the faith in Jesus as being more than a personal memory, gets confronted by the presence of the Holy Spirit, in gentiles no less. The Spirit goes where it will, and inflames hearts beyond what any preacher can say or do. The Spirit selects whomever it chooses, by unfathomable criteria. 

And finally, the gospel of John records for us the voice of Jesus, telling us that we are chosen to share his love. The simple command is, “Love One Another.” 

Today we are not pointing fingers at others. Today we are not bickering over doctrine. Today we celebrate the awesome mystery of the divine. These three expressions of the almighty God, in music, and inspiration, and command, are all pointing us towards relationship. “It’s all about the relationship.”