Yes! Yes! Yes!

Yes! Yes! Yes! 

In my understanding of the scriptures, the closer our relationship with the God of Creation, the more closely we become identified with God’s care for creation. We are especially invited to “see” the way others are being mistreated, and “hear” the call to represent God’s good love for all. 

In January of this year I took a tour of the Holy Land lead by Richard Blackburn, the director of the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center. I had taken classes from the Peace Center before. The promotional literature promised meetings with peace activists on the ground, so I thought I had a good idea of what I was in for. 

Each morning we would meet, and Richard, who has a passion for classical painting, would highlight the places we were to see during the day, and how they have been captured in the classical art of the West. Each evening we were scheduled to meet with folks actively engaged in addressing the Israeli/Palestinian issue. 

We traveled as far south as Hebron, went east to Jericho and the Jordan River, and spent time in the north in the region of Galilee including Nazareth. You can expect me to make frequent references to the places I went and the things I have seen as we share observations of the scriptures in our time together.  

I obviously did not understand much about the Israeli occupation of the West Bank before arriving. What I thought I knew was either wrong, or terribly shallow. The Occupation is oppressive, it is de-humanizing. I believe the Israeli Occupation provides an insight to the conservative movements in Europe and in the US today. It is an example of how easily we can systematize oppression of others. 

The Israelis do not use the word Occupation. When the issues are raised, they change the subject. They talk about the divine right of the Jews to ‘own’ the land as written in the scriptures. They comment on atrocities committed by other Arab countries. They talk about ‘Law and Order’ protecting good Israeli citizens from uncontrolled and random attacks by the Palestinians. I now consider appeals to “law and order” as code words for protecting the privileges of the people in power. 

If you would show the first picture please. The Israelis do not talk about the 19 ft. concrete wall that surrounds the town of Bethlehem, only four miles from Jerusalem. The Israeli Army controls all movement into and out of Bethlehem. It is possible for a Christian born in Bethlehem, to never in their life be given permission to visit the holy sights in Jerusalem. 

The picture here is of a boutique hotel opened this year, but after my visit, by the international artist “Banksy” - which invites Israelis in Tel Aviv to have an experience of what the Occupation means. “The Walled Off Hotel” is advertised as the hotel with the worst view in the world. 

The next picture is another portion of the wall around Bethlehem. There are more than 1900 miles of concrete walls, controlled 24/7 by armed security provided by the Israeli Army, and constructed to control the movements of the Palestinians within the West Bank. 

Jerusalem is a city that was divided in the United Nations 1948 Plan, assigning a portion to the new Jewish state, and a portion to the local inhabitants. In the War of 1968 Israel took control of Jerusalem, and though no international group acknowledges the authority of Israel in the city, the city and national government are systematically demolishing Palestinian homes and repurposing the land for Israeli projects. 

In the next picture we see the Temple Mount - the traditional site of the Jewish Temples, is home to the Dome on the Rock, the glorious Muslim Temple and Shrine was originally built in 691. The current Dome dates to 1023CE. The Western Wall at the base of the Temple Mount is the holy place where prayers take place. 

This next picture is taken from the Mt. of Olives looking at the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount with the Old City of Jerusalem, enclosed by the stone walls - restored in the early 1600s by the Ottoman Empire, which preserved many of the historical sites. 

The Mount stands at the west edge of a sharp cliff, the Kidron Valley, with a full view of the Mount of Olives directly to the east. The Garden of Gethsemane is at the base of the mount. A remanent of the Garden stands next to the Church of All Nations in this picture here. The oldest of the olive trees in the Garden is a mere 800 years old. 

About halfway up the hill is the church of Dominus Flavit. This is taken from the gospel of Luke 19:41-42, where Jesus looks over the city and cries, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, If only today you knew the way of peace.” Dominus Flavit means the Lord cries, or maybe better, the Lord’s tears flow. In retrospect, this best captures my experience of the Holy Land today. 

My experience of the Holy Land was different than I had imagined. I love having a sense of the geography of the city of Jerusalem and the distances between the Upper Room, the Chief Priests home where Peter denied knowing Jesus, and the path of the passion. 

With my new awareness of the oppressive occupation, much of the “holiness” of the Holy Land failed to miss my heart. I was too full of compassion for the living souls than to have my heartstrings tugged by the rocks of ancient days.  

I realize that the movement of most tourist groups are controlled in such a way that the Occupation seems invisible. My trip was special because we sought out the company of the oppressed. 

I did have an emotional moment of connection. Late in the trip, we were touring the area at the north end of the Sea of Galilee. Of the many churches/tourist stops, was a facility dedicated to the Primacy of Peter. It is a Catholic shrine celebrating Peter as the first among the disciples. 

The principal feature of this site is the church, constructed on the beach of the Sea. There is a large rock and the church was built for the rock to be both inside and outside of the church. Tradition says, the resurrected Jesus stood on this rock to call to the disciples as they fished, and where he served them roasted fish for breakfast. 

My tour group gathered inside of the sanctuary, and said a prayer that highlighted Peter and his role among the first disciples. There was no hymn selected for this particular stop. With the permission of the tour group, I lead them in singing a song I wrote, that highlights the relationship between Jesus and all of us, his disciples. It was part of a collection of songs I wrote about the season of Advent during a sabbatical in 2010. 

Richard Rohr, is a Franciscan priest who directs the Center for Action and Contemplation. The CAC is dedicated to inviting people to have an encounter with the divine, in a spirit where contemplative prayer becomes the impetus to act in the world to honor God’s love by working for justice. 

Rohr loves to say that Christians were in such a rush to put Jesus on a pedestal and worship him we largely missed his point. We made the Jesus movement into a religion of believing the right things and worshipping Jesus, which he never asked for. Instead Jesus asked us to “follow him.” Jesus asked us to behave in ways that demonstrate and share God’s love for all of Creation. 

The origin of this song is rooted in an Illinois Conference Women’s Retreat at Pilgrim Park more than 10 years ago. My wife Martha and several women from the church in Spring Valley attended. The focus of the retreat included saying the Lord’s Prayer in several different forms. The changes are based on cultural perspectives and highlighted areas where there are different ways to see God. 

For the next year, we used a different “Lord’s Prayer” each month. I will not lie to you, the congregation HATED it. We did love the translation of “Amen” by Eugene Peterson, the translator of the Bible into current North American English, as “Yes! Yes! Yes!” That is what I captured in this song, so it would continue to be a part of the faith language of the congregation. 

Let me invite you to sing this song with me now. It is a “call and a response,” I sing a line, and you sing it back to me. You can never get lost. The tune is very simple. If you are dependent on the printed word, we are going to try to project the lyrics up here. 

The Dog Days of August

The Dog Days of August 

• Psalm 67, Matthew 15: 10 - 28 

It is late August. The kids are headed back to school, and we are happy about that, except that it “feels” too early. Part of our brains are more comfortable with school starting in September, even after Labor Day. 

The reality is based on simple logic and not on our collective feelings. High School football cannot start practice or have games except within so many days of the start of school. Football teams have regular season and conference games, then the best of them enter the playoffs. Many school districts start school to accommodate the state football championships on Thanksgiving weekend. 

We can know all of that, and still wish that school started in September. It is kind of hard for human beings to let loose of their usual patterns. Feeling the need to change can make us “cranky.” The psalmist says let God bless us all, and may all the earth praise God. In our heart of hearts, we visualize a world that is all Christian, knowing, loving, and serving God - with the same understanding that we have. 

The reality is different. God loved the Creation long before Jesus the Christ made his historical appearance. There are several traditions of knowing and loving the God of Creation with roots different from our tradition. God has used those traditions to bless creation, and continues to do that. It still may not “feel” right, but we know the reality is sometimes different from our feelings. 

You and I share a faith in a good and loving God, and embrace an understanding of the nature of God as revealed in the life and teaching of Jesus of Nazareth. While a piece of my heart embraces the platitudes about the faith that I was raised with, I recognize that the reality may be different from those old “feelings.” Once in a while I need to remind myself to actively trust in God’s blessings, and check my feelings against reality. 

My personal faith evolves over time. As a person who is a second career pastor, I was relatively settled in my ways when I went to seminary. I began seminary when I was still working full-time. The usual three year program took me four years. I graduated when I was 52 years-old. In wrestling with church history, and theology, I emerged changed. 

One of the biggest changes I had to make was to accept my own feelings, and learn to evaluate how those feelings matched up against reality. I have tried to check my automatic emotional reactivity, and see if my emotions are rooted in a healthy love of justice, or rooted in the sentimentality of my childish faith in a narrowly defined God and country. Seminary put me in situations where I dealt with the faith of Christians from Africa, and the Far East, and marginalized communities in the USA, and forced me to see the limitations of my white, middle-class, suburban upbringing. 

Now, my feelings are valid. My upbringing was rooted in the love of God and nurtured by good, generous, well-meaning family and friends -  whose lives carry the evidence of faithfulness. But a mature faith, needs to leave room for growth. God is still speaking, and if I really intend to listen, then I need to expect that my more mature self, might be ready for more of God’s truth. 

I think we have an example of this in today’s gospel lesson. The evangelist Matthew makes an on-going case for Jesus as the new Moses. He is careful to present Jesus of Nazareth as a gift from God to elevate our understanding of God in contrast with the codified and law bound understanding of the Temple-lead Jews of his day. 

Here Jesus allows the immediate request of the Canaanite woman to challenge our claim to an exclusive access to God’s blessings. “It would be a shame to waste God’s blessings on the dogs” Jesus tells her. Talk about racism! Talk about lacking in cultural sensitivity! Talk about insensitive name calling! Talk about Jesus acting like a person of privilege to a person on the margins! 

Clearly we have heard the woman praised in sermons for holding her ground. “Still she persisted” in making a claim for her sick child to the renowned Holy Man. She is lifted up as a model of persistence in prayer. And Jesus shares the love of God with her. 

We could debate whether the human Jesus changed his mind, or if the divine Jesus staged an example of changing his mind for the benefit of the faithful. Lets just lay claim to the example Jesus sets for us. 

We can change our minds. The world does not stop when we see things in a new way. We can extend God’s blessings to others, even if they do not promise to repent, they do not promise to come to church, they do not promise to read the “Christian” Bible. We can and should, be a blessing to the whole world. 

Many of us were raised to think that the Bible stories are supposed to make us feel good about ourselves and our church. It is not quite true. The gospel stories, especially the life and teaching of Jesus of Nazareth - are supposed to encourage us TO DO good in the world, sharing the blessings of God with the creation that God loves. The shorthand for this is the expression; “the gospel should comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” 

Our feelings are a valid indicator of where our emotional lives are, but honestly, they might not be rooted in what is true. For an extended part of my life, I held all of my feelings suspect. I over-reacted to the crass sentimentality that comprised much of my religious up-bringing. But when I do not acknowledge my feelings, they may be silently driving my behaviors in ways that can be damaging to myself, my family and my community. Behaviors rooted in an unexamined desire to feed pure ego needs have the potential for grave consequences. 

Today I try to recognize and appreciate my feelings, but also look for the real and deeper truths about the God I love and who loves me. Knowing that God loves me - and each person in all of creation - permits me to celebrate the Canaanite woman who was rejected, and still she persisted. Jesus shows me an example that I might change my mind, and then act to bless others, without consideration of whether they are worthy, and that challenges my sense of living out my faith. 

I stand among you today in Morton Illinois, and declare that Jesus loves every man, woman, and child in Morton, and the dogs, and probably the cats, too. It is our dogged duty to represent that good love, everywhere we go, even under the conditions that tend to make us cranky. God help us, we certainly need it. Amen. 

Being Fed or Feeding?

Just a thought I have been working through in my head. In our consumer oriented culture I hear people complain that they are thinking of changing churches "because they are just not being fed." And I get that sometimes as we grow our local congregation may feel too restrictive. But that is not always what these folks mean. So I believe a few questions need to be prayed about.

Is useful ministry being done in your church? Are you an active part of that ministry?

Do you have some personal need that you should talk over with your pastor?

Is it possible that God is trying to give you a nudge? Perhaps it is time to take off your bib, and put on your apron.

Just a thought I have been working on.

All in the Family

Genesis 25:19 - 34  Gospel: Matthew 13:1-9 

We think that coming to church is about each of us as an individual worshipping God. It is, but more than that, church - and all of life - is really about the relationship. When we use our God-given gifts to make relationships and keep them alive, we are living up to the image of God imprinted within us. I have long contended that the image of God in humans, is the ability to love and be loved. Usually I talk about these gifts in the context of the church, but these gifts and challenges are rooted in our families. The church is a good place to learn new things about relationships, practice them, and then take them home and into the wider community. 

During my seminary training I was introduced to Family Systems Theory developed by the psychiatrist Murray Bowen. Bowen’s Theory, identifies emotional growth and self-differentiation as being the key to peace of mind, but growth in this way best takes place within our family of origin. Differentiation is the ability to recognize and claim our own emotional lives, and not get “hooked” each time we or someone we love has their buttons pushed. We grow to own our own emotional space.  

Bowen would say that for humans to increase in emotional maturity, they need to be able to think and act logically and control our emotional reactivity, especially within our family of origin. It also says, when we get fed up with the way we are being treated, and go off in a huff, the amount of emotional growth that we are capable of, isolated from the family, is very limited. Our old patterns and limitations will re-emerge and we will find a substitute cast to play the roles of family members. But the subs are usually insufficient to help us grow out of the limiting old patterns.  

I honestly think that efforts towards differentiation lay the groundwork for contemplative prayer, which enables our spiritual growth. In contemplative prayer we see and accept ourselves as we really are, in order to grow. When we learn to accept our own limitations, we are better able to live in community. We recognize that we are all in this together, and in fact, we are not our complete selves without being in community. 

Genesis is the first Book of the Bible. It consists of stories and traditions that describe where we came from, and how God was instrumental in making us the people we are today. Because we get our personal identity, and our cultural identity from our family relationships, Genesis is full of family stories. Like all families, the families in the Bible have some people with outstanding character, and there are characters who are outstanding examples of bad and weak behavior. Many are both. Because the culture of that day gave greater emphasis to men than to women, the stories of brothers get special attention. Cain and Abel come to mind. Today we have Esau and Jacob. The story of these men is detailed because they are a basic building block to describe personal and communal growth and spiritual development.  

Esau and Jacob are twins, but as different as night and day. One, an impetuous red-head with a ruddy complexion and massive amounts of body hair from the day he was born; and the other a mama’s boy who stuck around the house and made plans for the future. Let me remind you here in this story, and in the story of your own life and family, God loves both of these boys. One is a hunter and one is a cook, and God blesses them both. 

Religion has contributed to clouding up the interpretation of these stories. Over the years layers of interpretation have been added to these stories to encourage moral behavior. In many ways those layers become a distraction for people trying to find their way back to God. Esau might think he needs to shave and give up hunting to be pleasing to God, but it just isn’t so. Jacob may believe that he needs to make amends with Esau who has suffered because of his tricks. Jacob is closer to the truth, because it is about the relationship. 

The gospel story was not picked out to go with the Genesis story. This summer the lectionary invites us to touch base with the greatest hits of Genesis. I invite you to read through Genesis this summer, to remember the flow and the characters. 

In Matthew this week we have the parable of the sower. Ancient farming, as described in the gospel, is not a project scientifically constrained to maximize yield per resources expended. Here the farmer broadcasts the seed everywhere. The seed is flung by hand over land that has no preparation noted. 

Because today we see farmers planting seeds carefully and systematically, we know how to predict where the yield will be the greatest. I presume that God could do the same with grace. God could spend the greater part of attention and grace where it is most likely to produce the best results. There are some Christians who preach that God does just that, picks favorites for blessings, and identifies the rest for damnation. 

The gospel does not say that. The gospel says that God spreads grace and blessing all over the place. Not everyone is willing or able to respond to God’s grace, but it is there for the asking. Grace is pressed into our lives every day, at every turn. Even when we feel like we are being rejected and pushed aside, God is in that moment giving us blessings and calling us into relationships that will result in great gains of peace and love, both for today and tomorrow. 

So our brother does us wrong, and goes off in a huff. It is right to give him a cooling off period. But we have to find him and tell him that he is still our brother and we are willing to keep on talking. Esau and Jacob will split apart. But Jacob will not fulfill his destiny until he comes home. Esau will never fully forgive Jacob, and that will limit Esau’s availability to filling God’s purpose. The families of Esau and Jacob (the Edomites and Israelites) will be each other’s loyal opposition for the years ahead, but they need each other. 

Living a life of relationships means that we need to deal with change. Jake had proposed to young Gina, and was being interviewed by his prospective father-in-law. "Do you think you are earning enough to support a family?" the older man asked the suitor. 

"Yes, Sir," replied Jake, “I'm, sure I am." "Think carefully now," said Gina's father. "There are twelve of us..." 

The Bible has family stories, because the God of the Bible believes in relationship. We are family, with all of creation. The better we do at staying in touch with the families who raised us, the greater potential we have to grow in emotional maturity, and be at peace with ourselves. When we find peace in our hearts, we are better able to see the hand of God alive in our lives, leading us in paths of righteousness, even when we walk through the inevitable valleys of death and darkness.   

So today I would tell you, that no matter who you are, and where you are in life’s journey, the God of creation knows and loves you and is calling you to grow in emotional maturity in your relationships. I want to tell each of you, that there is always hope for reconciliation within your families. Reconciliation does not mean that you are expected to place yourself at risk for abuse. It does mean that you continue to be in relationship; keeping the conversation going. Doing your very best to be thoughtful and intelligent, and not allowing your emotional reactivity to corrupt your behavior. 

I would tell you that God knows that families can be difficult, and the Bible stories prove that families have always been difficult. But families are also the places where the greatest potential for growth and blessing are found. We are called to live up to the image of God within us, the ability to love and be loved is the very seed of God within us. Use the gifts of the church, the Bible stories, your prayers together, the guidance of your pastor, to continue to grow in emotional and spiritual maturity. And let us praise God for the generous and liberal seeds of grace and blessing he faithfully broadcasts over his creation. 

I have a song to close the sermon here this morning. I call it, The Pastor Chuck Theme Song, as my early ministry was rooted in dynamic issues of community relationships. 

The Answer Is: Community

The Answer Is: Community 

New Testament: Acts 2:1-21 

Pentecost Sunday has always been one of my favorite church holidays. It is regarded as the Birthday of the Church. Before the events in the Upper Room, the followers of Christ were only held together by their relationship to the person of Jesus of Nazareth. 

Let’s pause here for just a moment and consider the personal presence of Jesus in the flesh. He must have been a powerful and persuasive presence, drawing this initial diverse group together. I imagine that the person of Jesus would be such a compelling force, that the message of Jesus might be hard to hear as a separate a distinct event. The personal contact, would overwhelm the theological dimension. 

But the disciples of Jesus have now experienced the ministry of Jesus, the resurrected Christ, and witnessed the Ascension into heaven. And still, here they are together, what do they do now? 

Into this situation comes the Holy Spirit. The Greek word for Spirit can also mean wind, or breath. The event uses the senses of the collected people; the sound of the wind, the sight of flames, and the powerful force of sharing this unique experience together. They were able to see every person in the room was sharing this life changing encounter with the divine, and the emotion in the gathered community rose up together. 

At the risk of being predictable I want to highlight several things. When Solomon dedicated the original Temple in Jerusalem, the place was filled with smoke, and flashing lights, the sound of wind, and the unmistakable presence of the divine. When the Temple was rebuilt after the Exile to Babylon, there is no similar sense of the presence -returning to the place. In the scriptures, the next powerful appearance of the presence occurs here, in the midst of the community, resting on these people of faith. (Observation courtesy of N.T. Wright.) 

The presence of God is not a function of the temporary building. The presence of God is not a gift to an individual. One cannot own the Spirit, and use the power for personal gain, and party tricks. This Spirit is a gift of the community, within the community, for what God intends. Can you hear me? The gift of the Spirit is among the members of the community. 

If the presence of God would have an impact in the world, we would seek the presence of the Spirit, the presence of the Spirit of the Christ, when we are together. We should look for the light and the fire of the Spirit resting on each other, as others may see it resting on you. You can only feel the fire, when you are in a shared experience. Can you hear me? The presence of the Spirit is a gift within the community. 

For us to become closer to God, we must gather as a community, and then call upon the Spirit. I would love to tell you that each Sunday at 10:00 you can feel the presence of God, if you are here. But the experience of the presence of God requires dedication and a certain maturity in the faith. 

We laugh when we consider maturity in the context of early teen-agers. Certainly there are teens who are mature for their age. But as a rule, teens evidence little appreciation for the impact of their words and behaviors on others. 

Much of what has passed as Christian faith is immature, it has been limited to teaching morality, following rules, being good. I have grown up in that mindset, and I can tell you it does not lead to an ecstatic experience of the presence of God. The apostle Paul tells us that he was the master of following the rules, and it made him a mean and treacherous presence among the faithful. 

Today I invite you to lift your sights a little higher. You are only limited by the love you have for your neighbor. The Franciscan priest, Richard Rohr, would tell you that when we keep our focus on our own ego needs, we limit the ability of the Spirit to work in and through us. It is only when we are willing and able to see the light of God in each other, and respect that presence as a gift of God for the community, only then can we experience the presence of the Spirit. 

As a young man, I attended a minor seminary, expecting that I would in time become a Catholic priest. I struggled with the way the Catholic church insisted on mediating the relationship between the people of God and God. I recoiled against the hierarchy and against the treatment of women. 

My French teacher was Father Michael Van der Peet, SCJ. He was born and raised in Holland, and came to the US to teach in the schools and seminaries of the order. He tried to teach me French - with a Dutch accent. Undeterred by his failure to make me a priest or even good at French, he went on to perform useful ministry.

When visiting Rome he recognized Mother Theresa of Calcutta at a bus stop in 1975. He said, “I did not want to disturb her privacy, but I thought ‘Here is a saint, and I am a sinner, I should at least ask her to pray for me.’” 

Out of that chance encounter a friendship developed. Fr. Van der Peet gave several retreats for Mother Theresa and members of her community. In personal letters she confided to him - that she had experienced a crisis in faith, felt rejected by God, and was tempted to abandon her work. 

Father Van der Peet advised her that the Holy Spirit is an independent actor, going wherever it wants. The presence of the Spirit is a gift, never earned, not even for the most honored and faithful. The Spirit enters the community, and rests lightly for a time on whoever is chosen. In Mother Theresa’s house, the Spirit would often rest on the youngest and least sophisticated of the women novices. 

We know that the Spirit is most vitally present when people of faith gather together. At any one time the Spirit may be more evident in one person than another. Since the presence of the Spirit is a gift of God, it can feel unfair. “Why should “she” be blessed with the Spirit, when all of my sacrifices and hard work do not enjoy the same reward?” The psalmist says, “How long - do I have to wait for my turn?” The presence of the Spirit is best sensed in a community where there is no pretense of personal property.

We are not waiting for a turn, the Spirit is present. When we see the Spirit alive and active in our neighbor, we ask the neighbor for a prayer, for a word from God. When you become a part of the community, you put yourself in a position to be used by God for God’s purposes. When someone asks you for a prayer, God may speak through you in a way that will address a deep need in them. You do not need to know what it is all about. You are simply sharing God’s love, sometimes not even in an intentional way. 

What is the answer to the feeling of dry spells in the life of faith?  Community. The great spiritual leaders through the years have known dry spells. In those moments, they look around, and find the soul who is filled with the spirit. They ask for prayers and assurances from that person, and the Spirit that is dwelling within them. This follows the model of Fr. Van der Peet. The presence of that Spirit is a gift to the whole community.   

As a mature person, you all know the many easy ways there are to disturb and break the power of community. We can insist on hierarchy. We can make rules of conduct and evaluate others based on legality. We can fill the house of God with politics and power plays. And I can assure you, that will effectively limit sightings of the Holy Spirit, because the power of community has been stolen for lowly ego needs. 

The Holy Spirit will rest on whichever soul it chooses, or may inflame and inspire the whole room. You and I, we cannot control or conjure up the Spirit. While we most certainly can design and maintain a culture that can prevent a recurring presence of the Spirit. We are no better, and no less, a welcoming place for the presence of God than Mother Theresa of Calcutta. You know, she was never happy with Father Van der Peet’s advice to seek the presence of God within the community. And still, she persisted in her work, and many thousands of people experienced the presence of God through her. 

The greatest hope of the church is to lead those who would be faithful to experience the presence of God, and then carry that blessing into the world. You have the power to create a culture in this time and place, where the Spirit is honored and welcomed. It is nurtured when you give sincere compliments to the faithful work of your partners in faith. It is nurtured when you recognize the Spirit present in your neighbor, and ask for their prayers and blessing. The power of the presence grows when you intentionally bless those around you, even if you never before considered yourself a source of blessing. 

So that is the one point I want to make today, plainly and clearly. The presence of God is all around you each and every day. It is not dependent on you to be good, or worthy, or become a world recognized saint. The Spirit wants to be with you everyday. 

In every moment that you reduce your focus on the needs of your ego, and let your center be in the heart of the community, the Spirit’s presence grows. When you act to bless your neighbors, and call them into community, the voice of God is heard coming right out of your mouth. Learn to think about seeing the presence of the Spirit, in every person and every place that you go. You will be surprised by the many places the Spirit appears, and how many times others see that Spirit in you. Amen.  

Reflection on the Wedding Day

Reflection on the Wedding Day

Ecclesiastes 4: 9 - 12

1 Corinthians 13: 4 - 12 

It is always a pleasure to be invited to officiate a wedding ceremony. Truth be told, more than once, couples have backed out of the invitation when I told them I required three meetings in advance of the service. A lot of folks have no desire to spend meaningful time stuck in a room with a clergy person talking about life, love, and commitment. 

I explained to Melissa that this requirement would also apply to her and Clinton, they agreed without hesitation. So you might be interested in what goes on in these sessions. 

In the first session, we talk about their relationship. We talk about the families that raised them. We talk about what it means to them to love and be loved. We also ask each one of them to express what “unfaithfulness” looks like in their eyes. 

I invite you to consider this idea. As individuals we are quick to justify and explain away our actions and behaviors from our own perspective. One of the greatest gifts human being enjoy, is to totally lie to ourselves and be very happy to believe that lie until it explodes and we are covered in our own BS, and that is not short for Bachelor of Science degree. 

When we listen to what unfaithfulness “Looks Like” to our partner, we encounter a shift in reality. If I want my partner to love and trust me, then I must be trustworthy in their eyes. The ability to deceive ourselves is greatly diminished - when we declare the opinion of our partner to be the determining criteria, not our own self-justification. This is a useful moment of awareness as we prepare to make a lifelong commitment. 

Yes, I am a clergy person. Yes, I believe that having a church home and a pastor are useful and important. Believe me when I say that I find a moment or two to speak to that. But what I find most important is to give the couple some hints that will help them get through some tough moments, and help their relationship last. 

In our second session, I provide them with feedback based on the information about their families of origin. Our position in the family among our siblings, the roles our fathers played in our upbringing, often predispose us to patterns of behavior within our marriage. 

Often folks believe that if they have lived together for a while, all of these things have been worked out. It can and does happen that way - with very secure and mature couples. For most of us ordinary humans, with ordinary levels of self doubt, making the promises of marriage really change the nature of the deal. At some internal level, our expectations revert to a life and relationship we have dreamed of, but rarely expressed. But now that we are married, we kind of thought that “happily ever after” would line up with our expectations. 

So I try to name the places where they are most likely going to find reality is less than dreamlike. We name out loud where natural frictions might come from. We try to make it seem normal, and in a way predictable, that these are the places where we might be disappointed in each other. 

The hope is that this bit of warning will make it possible to talk about these frictions when they appear. Instead of getting angry, or feeling like our partner does not care, or is being selfish, we can name the source of discomfort, and work it out. Love is working it out together when life turns out to be harder than we thought it would be. 

And Clinton and Melissa, I want you to know that life always turns out to be harder than we thought it would be. Everyone will encounter pain and illness and disappointment. You are not a failure when life becomes hard. When life gets hard, your relationship may carry you through the toughest moments. 

Then, when you survive together, friends will tell you that you have never known heartache. You can smile. Some pain can be avoided, but wisdom can allow us to use our strengths, and not make it worse. And as you trust and cling to each other, you may be able to survive together what would break you standing alone. From a distance, it may appear easy. 

The sober writer of Ecclesiastes, recognizes that for those who have been given a valued partner, and the wisdom to defend and preserve the health of that relationship, much can be endured. And you also chose the words from the apostle Paul, who was likely a difficult and maddening personality, but we find it helpful when reading his letters second-hand, when we are not defensive. Love exposes us to our partner, in ways that are both flattering, and embarrassing. 

In a relationship where our reality is known, the good and the bad, the grace-filled and the anxious, when we trust our partner to love us in that reality, we have a true blessing from heaven. A relationship like that, is the best description of the love of God for each of us. That is what I wish for you, and why I am so happy to share this moment of your life together.

Assignments End - But the Power of Love Goes On

This Sunday I completed my contract as Interim Pastor to the congregation at Union Congregational UCC in Somonauk. Several folks commented that they felt the Children's Time was an important part of the message this week, so I have included it here. 

Kids Time 

      What is a Pot Luck Dinner? 

Many times the church will have a Pot Luck. The word is shared that everyone should bring a dish to pass. In most churches, some of the leaders work it out that some will bring an entree’, like a casserole or chicken, some will bring salad, some will bring dessert. 

I was once part of a church where we called a new pastor. It was his first time being a pastor. The church planned a Pot Luck. People asked the Pastor what they should bring. He told all of the people who asked him, that he liked Brownies. There were more than 20 different kinds of Brownies, and not very much else. Nobody ever asked that Pastor what to bring to a Pot Luck after that. 

A Pot Luck means that we expect that everything will be ok - if we all bring something to share. We trust that there will be enough to go around. Even in my example, there were plenty of Brownies for everyone. 

A Pot Luck dinner is one of my favorite images of church. We are all hungry and happy to eat. We are happy to be hanging out with our friends. The whole scene is enough to make you smile. 

You will likely have a number of people in your life that you will call Pastor. Some will tell silly stories. Some will sing songs. Some will always be tasting the Brownies. All of them will have a way to help you understand God and life. You will have a rich life, when you have memories with different pastors in the midst of the memories. I am so happy that I have had the chance to be a Pastor to you. 

Let us pray. Dear God, thanks for the Pastors you send to love us. Thanks for the ways they teach us to love you. Being part of the church makes my life better, and helps me love you more, amen.

Love Is   

Acts 2:14a, 36-41

John 20:19-23  

You heard me tell the kids that I like a Pot Luck as an analogy for the local church. I told the confirmation kids last Sunday that the kitchen table is where the love learned in the church is most visible. 

When Martha and I were freshly married we lived in Ottawa. We visited the UCC congregation in town. I had become very interested in the UCC during the pre-marital counseling sessions we had at her grandmother’s church in Western Springs - where we were married by the Rev. Robert Kemper, one of the Illinois Conference’s most recognized saints. 

Rev. Kemper lost the greater part of his eyesight as an adult. This loss was a real sacrifice for a man of great education and wisdom. Despite that loss, the congregation rallied to his support, and he continued to lead as the Senior Pastor of that large congregation for many years. What impressed me most, was not so much the pastor, but the way that an entire denomination celebrated the love of God without the guilt trips and oppressive hierarchy that was the burden of being a Roman Catholic. So we went to the UCC church in Ottawa. 

The people in the pews were friendly. The pastor was warm, but very boring. He preached long sermons debating and contrasting fine points of theology written by men whose names were unfamiliar to me. But I appreciated that this church would allow, permit, and even encourage people to have their own opinions on matters of faith. 

The pastor called and asked if he might stop by. We talked a while. He indicated that he had heard from the congregation that I could sing. Choir practice was on Wednesday, for an hour, beginning at 7:00. I joined the choir. There were two other, more polished tenors in a very good choir. 6 or 8 months later, Martha and I joined the church. 

Renee Marks had intended to join the church today.  However, she has taken a job, and nearly all hourly pay jobs require folks to work 7-day schedules and a wide range of hours. We live in a 24/7 world. So she cannot be here today. Renee still intends to join the church. She thinks being a part of this faith community makes her feel close to God. It has given her the courage to join the Bell Choir, well outside of her comfort zone, joining the choir before joining the church. She is willing to help in any way she can. She wants to belong. 

She wanted to close the deal before I left. It was her way of tipping her cap, acknowledging that my service was a part of what made it easy for her to join. But it is my last hour as your pastor. No one is fooled. She is joining “your” church, not the church of Pastor Chuck. 

I tell you that her joining makes the perfect sermon. We belong to God. We are a part of the “great cloud of witnesses.” Each congregation has unique gifts and talents. Each congregation has its own traditions and perspective. Renee gets it, and Renee is signing on.  

My love for the church, is wider now than when I first came here. I brought with me the things I have learned from what is now Open Table in Ottawa, and United Church of Christ (Congregational) in Spring Valley, and the experiences I had serving the Church and Ministry Committee of the Prairie Association. 

As you opened your heart and shared your love and experiences, we grew together. I understand that the church I love is many congregations, complete with distinct personalities, all of them being faithful in their own way. 

Together we have made a point of noticing and commenting on the unique voices of the gospel writers. We have found ourselves noting the different ways the stories of Jesus are told and remembered, and have hailed that as a sign of the diversity that is an honored part of our faith. 

As I leave, I will change the settings on Social Media, “Unfriending” and “Un-Following” the folks of Union. This is not because I love you any less, but I came to be your Pastor. I leave, as you have called a new pastor. I will do everything I can to honor the position of your pastor, because the future of the congregation is best encouraged by your willingness to accept the new pastor, and share your future with him. 

Clearly the most distinct growth I have had in faith during my time with you, comes from a new understanding of the person of God. I came considering the Trinity - God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost - as a convenient handle for saying that the attributes of God are more diverse than the attributes of any one person. By identifying God as three persons, made it possible to accept what might otherwise seem like contradictory statements. 

Today I see God as love in action. The communication between the Creator to the Redeemer - and the way the expression of the Redeemer - is sustained in the Holy Spirit, is the flow of love. We are not idle observers of this divinity. When we are at our best, real power is expressed in the world, because the communication that passes around the Trinity - passes through this community of faith. We have a share in all that is good, all that is just, all that expresses love. 

The greater sin, is stepping away from the love God. When we make God a distant artifact of belief, and not a part of our engagement with the world, we isolate ourselves from the power of God. When we step out of the loop of God’s communication, we choose to turn away from God. Not only is that a sin, it is a darn shame, and a foolish choice. And the whole world is less loving. 

So I am not truly leaving you. You are being carried in my heart and you are part of my sense of who God is. I will never be the same after having walked with you. I have been touched by the faithfulness of Dealas Willey. I have appreciated how Debbie Matthews finds music that the choir loves to sing, making choir a joy in both practice and worship. I admire how Madeline charges forward, asking for opinions and listening well, but never stopping, never suffering from paralysis by analysis. I could go on marking the faithfulness of Cindy, Ginny, Jim Williams, Pam and Heather, but I trust you know what I mean. 

When I came to you in November of 2015, you were honoring the work Michelle Prentice-Leslie did in helping steady the ship after a turbulent parting of the ways with Pastor Moore. In fairness, Pastor Kirk was called during a boom time, when growth felt inevitable. When the economy tanked, all of the plans and intentions became moot. It just ended badly. While Michelle was here, with an endowment Fund that had suffered devastating losses, you still replaced the roof without taking on debt. You put a cap on your troubles. 

Today Union Congregational UCC celebrates a peaceful and pleasant Interim period. The Search Committee has found an experienced, ordained, UCC pastor - who wants to be here, and chooses to live in the parsonage right here in town. And that is very cool.

You have the peace of Christ, just as you have the power of the Holy Spirit. It belongs to you, not as a personal attribute. It belongs to you as a collective. As you are the church, you share in God’s love and God’s power. As you are the church, you sing your part in the choir, a physical and mental activity that expresses faith. As you are the church, you have a mission, and a future, and the ability to grow in faith and in practice. May God continue to bless you, as you have truly blessed me. Amen.