Hagar's Story Preached on June 25th, 2017 at Wollaston Congregational Church Scripture: Genesis 21:8-21 My story is in three books! Yes, three books. You may not think that is very many – you who have so many books. But my story comes from a time before books. And now my story is told by those who read from these three books. Who would have thought that the story of Hagar the slave girl and Ishmael her son, would be told by people all around the world? People of those three books: the Hebrews, the followers of Mohammad, and you, the followers of the Christ. The Abrahamic faiths. Oh, how you revere Abraham, father of many nations. The one who received promises from God, with his wife Sarah. The ones who were to be the parents of a great nation, whose descendants would outnumber the stars in the sky. But let me tell you a few things about the great Abraham and the gracious Sarah. These are not such good things. These are the things they did when they were not faithful to their one God, Elohim. These stories tell of their shadow sides. At first as Abraham and Sarah wandered the wilderness they were blessed with many good things: plenty to eat and drink, animals for food and to trade. Life was good. It is easy to be good, when life is good. But then there was a famine in the land and so they went to Egypt for survival. This is where it gets interesting because as they approached Egypt they made a plot to tell the Pharoah that Sarah was Abraham’s sister. Yes, you’ve heard it right! In those days they knew she was a beautiful woman. They knew that Pharoah might be attracted to her foreign looks! And the plot worked. Pharoah took Sarah into his harem. But let me tell you, the God is Israel was not pleased with this arrangement and afflicted the Egyptians with plagues.(Yes, you’ve heard stories of plagues in Egypt before haven’t you). When Pharoah found out that Sarah was Abraham’s wife, he was shocked and he sent them away! But they brought with them things from Egypt and one of those things was me, Hagar. I was a slave in Egypt then I was a slave to Sarah. The wandering began again. He is a strange God, this God of Israel, Elohim I like to call him. He does not manifest himself in mighty kings. He doesn’t require gold and treasures. He does not ask for great constructions of idols and replicas. Instead he wanders with his people through the wilderness. Well, when someone is a slave, they take the God of their mistresses and masters. I think you have this in your history too. But, I didn’t mind, I liked this Elohim. A good thing too, because Elohim became my salvation - but I’ll tell you more about that soon. Time went by, and Abraham and Sarah remained faithful to their God. He had promised them that they would become parents of many children. But that didn’t seem likely to happen. They were older now, old people wandering in the desert. This nation thing seemed unlikely. And, so they too began to lose faith. This is when Sarah came up with the next plot. Not very pleasing to the God of Israel, I don’t think. She decided that Abraham would lie with me, and that way they would have their child. Well, truly he didn’t take too much persuading. Weak man! Sarah was sure that this would make everything perfect. She had forgotten that the woman who bears the child is his mother! As I grew round and full, with the child who was to be born, she became jealous. And she can be mean when she is jealous. She became so mean, I decided to run away and have my baby alone in the desert. But Elohim called me back, he assured me that everything would be alright. Our child Ishmael fulfilled Abraham and Sarah’s dreams. All was well for quite some time. They doted on him and played with him, really they were like his grandparents. He lapped it up. We were happy, life was peaceful and he was well cared for. Until the day, some years later, when low and behold, who would have thought Sarah became pregnant! Of course, giving birth at that age, and in those times there was the usual worry about the child. They named him Isaac: one who laughs. Really everyone laughed about them having this child at their age! Ishmael was pleased to have a baby brother. But soon he noticed that Abraham and Sarah were favoring this child. He’s a clever one, he saw what was going on. But all was well, until Isaac was three years old and weaned. At this age the parents can breath easy at last. It is the age when the child will almost certainly survive. Past the likelihood of a tiny grave. Abraham threw a huge party. What a celebration! Ishmael played so happily with his little brother. Until, well it was almost nap time, and Ishmael being a older and a little jealous, teased his baby brother. Meltdown! That shadow side of Sarah erupted! The Tiger momma came out! “Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my son Isaac!” That was it. Abraham could have stopped it. He could have saved us. Of course, he claimed that Elohim spoke to him, telling him to do as Sarah said. Weak man! There have been more occasions when Abraham has “done as God told him.” Let me tell you, sometimes you need to question God! So Abraham took me and his own son, his firstborn, Ishmael. And here, he gives me a bread and a skin of water as though that would be enough. He points, go to the next settlement, they’ll take you in there. Which way? How far is that? How will I get there? I was terrified. And then, of course, Ishmael was mad! Can you blame him? His own father casting him and me out into the wilderness to die? He just ran and ran, under the hot sun, ran from his cruel step-mother and his weak father. I was chasing him, but of course soon, he collapsed in exhaustion. We had no more water and he was parched. I couldn’t bear it. I dragged his limp body under a bush. Then I left him. Think what you will. I couldn’t bear to watch my child die. I just fell down on the ground and wept. My life was over. The life of my child was over. Poor, insignificant Hagar and Ishmael. Lost in the wilderness, forgotten. But then I heard it, a voice like an angel coming from Heaven. It was the voice of Elohim. He had not forgotten me. He had not only remained with Abraham and Sarah and their child Isaac. He had come with me, into the desert. He saw me, as I suffered! “What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be afraid; for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. Come lift up the boy and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make a great nation of him.” When my eyes opened, I saw in front of me a well of fresh water. How could I have missed that before? Did Elohim, the God of Israel, bring this out of nothing? I filled my water skin, and ran to my dusty child, pouring out the water into his mouth. He gulped and swallowed. He was strong, he would survive! God would make a great nation of him, too. As well as his brother Isaac. God had looked kindly on us. When all seemed lost, Elohim was paying attention. Well, my son Ishmael grew. It turned out that the desert life suited him quite well. He became an expert with his bow, and learned to provide us with the food we needed. Yes, Ishmael would become the father of a great nation. But Elohim, this God who travels with the wandering in the wilderness. This God who writes the story of the poor and the afflicted. This God who reveals himself to the slaves of the ones who manipulate and confuse his words. This is the God I will follow. And so, my story is written in three books. The God who is with us also tells our story. And you, followers of the one named Jesus, who came much later than my child Ishmael. This One who was born of humble origins too. This one who knows what it means to be deserted and betrayed too. Listen to his teachings my friends. Hear what he has to say about the God of Israel, the God of all. The God who sees a slave woman lost in the desert. The God who sees a sparrow fall in the street. The God who knows every hair on your head. Listen to him.
0 Comments
On Sunday June 18th, 2017 Scripture: Matthew 9:35-10:16 In the passage we read today from Matthew’s gospel, Jesus gathers 12 of his followers. In this excerpt alone, Matthew refers to this select group as apostles. Usually he uses the term “disciples”, meaning students. But this time he uses the word that means “sent”. The 12 are going to be sent out. Jesus points out that there is a lot of work to be done. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. The poor people of Israel have been abandoned, like lost sheep without a shepherd. As the Roman Empire has moved in, it has grabbed land that rightfully belonging to the Jewish people. According to the prophet Micah, God’s vision was that each family would sit beneath their own vine and under their own fig tree, and no one would make them afraid. But the Romans have seized away the land, redistributing large areas to those the Jewish authorities who cooperate with them. This has left the poor of Israel, scattered and leaderless. The apostles are to do Jesus work among these lost sheep. They are now commissioned to do what only he has done so far. They are to travel the villages, healing and cleansing diseases, and casting out demons. They are to depend on the hospitality and kindness of strangers. And they are warned that some will not be kind or welcoming. As this commissioning takes place, I imagine that the apostles are feeling a little shaken up. So, Clare and Owen, you may not think that your chosen majors, Clare biology/environmental science and Owen political science, have a lot to do with this. But, I think that both your chosen fields fit quite well with the work Jesus sends the apostles to do: healing and cleansing, possibly even casting out demons. Clare, I’m sure you are aware, there are many children, in the United States and overseas, who are sick from drinking polluted water. Just last year, the story of lead in the water supply in Flint Michigan came to light. Children who are poisoned with lead suffer terrible consequences, and often end up in serious trouble due to behavioral problems. While Flint was highlighted in our news, there are many places in the United States where adults and children are exposed to toxic substances, through the water and other aspects of the environment. Furthering your chosen field of environmental science, could well lead to the healing of this situation, and many others. And so, I commission you to go out in Jesus’ name and study! Owen, politics are often seen as the solution to many problems, right? And so, it makes sense that if you wish to see improvements in our nation and the world you would go into that field. But I am proposing that our political system as it stands right now, is in a toxic state, too. We have forgotten how to talk to one another and we have forgotten how to listen. The toxicity in politics came to a tragic climax this week, with the shooting of Congressman Stephen Scalise in Alexandria, Virginia. As a political science major, you are called to cleansing and healing of a huge system. That is quite a challenge, and so I commission you too to go out in Jesus’ name and study! But, of course, neither of you will be working in your chosen fields for a while. First you have to complete college. That is the place you are going next. Jesus’ words of sending especially apply to you college years. You will be meeting many new people, from all around the world. There will be those who, in common with you, are Christian. There will be those of other religious traditions, and those of no tradition at all. I encourage you to make friends with any and all who appeal to you, as I’m sure you have done in High School. There will be some who you turn to for hospitality, and some who do not welcome you. If someone resists are rejects your gracious friendship, don’t take it to heart. Do as Jesus says and shake the dust from you feet. You will both be going to school in New England, but I encourage you to not simply think of yourselves as blended with the New England culture. In the past decades the Congregational Church had a tendency to appear to be blended with the culture. I think that reputation has harmed our church. People of other denominations sometimes see our church as undifferentiated from the culture: hazy in beliefs and lukewarm in faith. But being a so called “mainline Christian” does actually mean something. In class discussions and conversations with your college community, don’t be afraid to identify as Christian. If your peers make assumptions about what that means, challenge them. What this means for you will be an individual choice, but here are a few quotes to get you started: “We take the Bible too seriously to read it literally” (Madeleine L’Engle) “Our faith is 2,000 years old, our thinking is not” (from the United Church of Christ UCC.org “Who We Are” page) Then there’s the Gracie Allen quote used by the UCC: “Never place a period where God has placed a comma.” But if the person you are talking with is more intellectual and historically oriented, remind them of what John Robinson said in 1620 to the Pilgrims as they set sail for the New World: “I am verily persuaded the Lord hath more truth yet to break forth out of His Holy Word.” You can remind your peers that the UCC is the Church of firsts:
We can all remind ourselves to differentiate our faith in the culture, and claim the things that make a difference. Finally, though, I’d like to talk about the times when you may feel like sheep among wolves. Whether it’s because of overwhelming homework assignments; or, from the howling of “night wolves” in your dorm, you are seriously sleep deprived; or you begin to question your decisions: are you really at the right school, did you really pick the right major? Your colleges have chaplaincies, places on campus where you can connect and receive spiritual care when you need it. There may be groups for students of faith, worship services and interfaith services. Connect with these services and students, even if their way of faith may seem different from your own. They may be able to provide you with support in times of need. Better still, find a nearby UCC or Congregational church and connect there. It can feel great to get off campus and feel a little bit a part of the community in “outside world.” At this point, I wonder if anyone else in the congregation is wishing they were going to college too. Perhaps some of you will sometime in the future. For others, those days may be over. But, that does not exclude any of us from being sent, like the apostles. We are sent to gather in the lost sheep of our community. And that brings me back to the words I just shared with Clare and Owen about seeking out a church in the community where they go to school. This is not a very common thing among white protestant students from communities like ours. Usually they go off to school and remain on campus among their fellow students. Some may attend chapel services. But few will have a sense of belonging to the wider church, and a need to connect with another congregation while they are away. I learned recently, that things are different in the black church. When African American students come to Boston, or go to other places for college, they often seek out a congregation to attend while they are in school. For students who perhaps feel out of their element, in a new strange place, a welcoming church can make all the difference to the college experience. That was very much like my experience in England. The residence halls felt sterile and bare. The cafeteria food became monotonous and unsatisfying. But I will always be grateful for the local congregations who invited in students to wonderful buffet lunches on Sunday after worship. Many members also extended invitations to their warm and welcoming homes for dinners and other gatherings. In the passage we read today, Jesus talks of a plentiful harvest. It is a harvest of harassed and helpless people, surely in need of this good news. God needs all the laborers available for this task. Wollaston Congregational Church, I believe that there are many young people in our culture today who need a welcoming place to be. It may not seem immediately obvious. The culture among the young is to project the idea that they have many friends. A face looking down at a cell phone does not necessarily mean that they are not lonely. There are many young people who feel lonely, there are even those who are suicidal. There are those who have been bullied by their peers, or have left behind abusive homes. There are those whose former churches have rejected them for their questions, their sexual orientation or gender identity, or their political convictions. Friends, the UCC and the Congregational Church does stand for something: a warm welcome to all who have been rejected elsewhere. I am proud this church is working to obtain permitting to continue our ministry of hosting youth who come here, having been sent to do the work of Jesus in this community. Whether or not the door is shut in our faces by those in control of the permitting, let us not be disheartened. Instead, let’s shake the dust of our feet and discern the ways that we can be a place of welcome and safety any young person who is lost in our world. Let all the people say: Amen .It’s A Beautiful World, but What Happened? Plan, Mystery or Design Flaw? Scripture: Genesis 1:1-2:4a What inspires awe for you? Is it the night sky, or maybe the sun rising over the ocean? It is the steady roll of the waves washing the shore, the mountains or the forest? Or perhaps it is the sight of the harbor islands seen from the airplane window, as you take off from Logan airport? Or a flock or birds, gathered in formation to fly South for the winter. I’ve noticed that as I have grown older, I need to remember to pause for awe. So often I am too busy doing things I think are important to remember awe. I love to see small children encountering the wonder of the universe for the first time. Children have such a great capacity for awe. I see it in the way they crouch and watch the journey of an ant across the sidewalk in front of them. Or when they look up with crooked necks to see the birds fly back and forth building a nest. Or when they ask questions, many questions, about the planets, the moon and the stars, and things of the universe. Our son, Ben, used to ask a lot of questions. These questions were difficult to answer. He had a very enquiring mind, and as he learned more and more his questions became more and more difficult. Around the age of 5, as I was driving him and his sisters to an errand, he asked from the back of the car “Mommy, what happens when you come to the end of the universe?” And on another occasion, again in the car, “since the sun is a ball of gases, why doesn’t it just explode into space?” I usually replied something like “I don’t know the answer … but that’s a very good question.” It’s tough when your five year old is reaching the limits of human knowledge. But later a seminary professor, who had younger children herself, told me she had three answers to the perplexing questions, that children ask:
For Christians and other faiths who experience God as creator, the first chapter of Genesis, that we read this morning, describes something we can ponder as both God’s purpose and plan and also as a divine mystery. The excerpt we read today is the Bible’s first story of creation, most likely imagined by astronomers and philosophers. It is a poetic view of the beginning of the universe. The earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. The Hebrew word used for the wind from God is ru’ah, meaning God’s breath or God’s Spirit. As the God’s breath swept over the face of the waters, God spoke the universe into being, “let there be light!” The prologue to John’s gospel riffs on the first story in Genesis, describing Christ as the Word of God, in Greek “Logos”: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Logos was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Logos, and without Logos not one thing came into being. What has come into being in Logos was life, and the life was the light of all people. From the very beginning, God the creator is in relationship, with the Word and the Spirit. For myself, scientific understanding of the beginning of the cosmos only enhances my awe. But, even as I ponder creation as God’s plan and also mystery, I must admit there’s also something I think of as the third option: a design flaw. Then God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth." So God created humankind in God’s image. God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion … over every living thing that moves upon the earth." God was talking to Godself. It was a conversation among the persons of Trinity. The Creator, Word and Spirit, having an internal dialogue, deciding to create humanity, in their own image. A great idea? Maybe not. The idea only gets worse as God created humankind in God’s image and then gave dominion over every living thing on the earth. The beautiful green and blue planet is created, and made lush with vegetation, plants, fruits, and vegetables. It is pristine, filled with clear oceans, pure fresh rivers and lakes. Birds call from the trees. Animals gather around watering holes at dusk. Gazelle sprint across the savanna. Of course, there is killing and what seems cruel from a human perspective. But the order is established. Animals only act according to their nature and instincts. Eco-systems flourish. Species emerge and die away, evolution takes its course. In the midst of this beauty, what was God, the Trinity, thinking, creating humankind, even in their image? Why did they bless the humans and tell them to be fruitful and multiply? And so it seems, the flaw begins. Human beings cannot grasp the principle of dominion, which means stewardship and care. Instead they twist the interpretation to mean “domination” and then they set about taking control. The result, we can see today, is desecration of the environment. Instead of living in harmony with the natural world, humans have destroyed the habitat for many species. Now it seems we are going to destroy our own habitat too. Humankind seems prone to abuse the invitation to partner with God in caring for one another and for the world. And this impulse to domination and control leads to dis-connection. As we have tried to suppress the restraints of the natural world, we became disconnected from the ebb and flow of creation’s rhythms. We made artificial light and then used it to allow ourselves to work night and day, instead of taking time for rest. When we fail to pause for rest, our relationships with God and with one another get lost in the busy-ness. As we have sought to harvest resources from the natural world, for energy and products, we have become greedy. Our relationships with others have broken down, and we fight over distribution of those resources. What is blessed about our frail and flawed species? And how is it that we are created in the image of God? To answer these questions, I believe we need to turn to the perspective of God as Trinity. In the book “The Divine Dance”, Richard Rohr proposes that for much of Christian history, we have been living with a faulty understanding of God. We have often been given to understand God as a “critical spectator”, existing in isolation, sitting back and judging humankind and the mess we are making. Fr. Rohr and his co-author, Mike Morrell, tell us we are ripe for a paradigm shift in our understanding. We are being called embrace the understanding of the Trinity first expressed by the ancient Christian mystics. This understanding sees God as the as “the Ultimate Participant, in everything – both the good and the painful.”[1] This perspective re-tells the creation story, saying “in the beginning was relationship.” Jesus emphasized God’s existence in relationship all the time, frequently referring to God as the Father, and himself as the Son. To be Father or Mother means to be in relationship. There is no parent without a child. In the same way, to be Son or Daughter is only found in relationship. And so, according to Fr. Rohr’s understanding, God is not an isolated judge in the sky looking down on a completed creation. Rather God is participating in the world, inviting us to be restored to relationship with Godself. This truth is “embedded in creation” as he puts it. It was always God’s intention that the Word, who was in relationship with the Creator since the beginning, would come to dwell with us in the person of Jesus. Sadly, many people have seen God coming to live with us, in the vulnerable infant Jesus, as the bailout plan. When humans began to mess things up, the Son was sent to “pay the price” and die on the cross for our sins. But, when we see God as divine relationship, creating us for relationship, our understanding of sin is different. It is less a consequence of violating rules written in a book, more a denial of our original blessedness and reflection of God’s image. When we embrace the idea that we are created to participate with God, in relationship with the world, we are moved to relationship with one another and with all living things. We see God’s relationship with the world as non-dominance. We see Jesus’ life as an invitation to us to participate in God’s reconciliation of all things to Godself. If we can begin to understand things in these terms, perhaps we can begin to restore connectedness in our lives. Connectedness to the natural world, connectedness to one another and to God. This, I believe, begins with awe,
All this, I am convinced, will bring us to awe of our mysterious, unknowable God. God not distant, but participatory living, Creator, Christ and Holy Spirit, in the in-breath of awe and the out-breath of wonder. And so, like children, in awe of the wonder of the universe, I imagine us turning to God and asking questions: Why, Holy One, did you create humans so frail and flawed, and continue to dwell among us? It was God’s plan from the beginning. Why Holy One, do human beings constantly turn away from relationship with you? It is a mystery. And so, what, Holy One, is the design flaw? There is no flaw. Let all of God’s people say Amen. [1] Richard Rohr with Mike Morrell, The Divine Dance, (Whitaker House, New Kensington, PA, 2016), 36 Spiritual or Religious? Preached at Wollaston Congregational Church June 4th, 2017 Do you think of yourself as spiritual, religious, not very spiritual or not very religious, or possibly spiritual but not religious? At different times in my life, people have said to me “you are very spiritual” or “you are very religious.” I have been under the impression that the first is intended as a compliment. Perhaps it is said with a little envy, as if I have something that is unattainable for the person who is speaking. They have probably gotten the wrong impression, only seeing me at moments when I am at my most centered and calm. They haven’t seen me in heavy traffic on route 128 … not so spiritual then. Sometimes a church member may say to me, “I am not very spiritual.” Is that you? Perhaps the spiritual practices we sometimes use in prayer and worship make you uncomfortable. Perhaps you prefer to get on with the business of church, the doing. Perhaps you feel uncomfortable with “the journey within”, you’re afraid of what the silence might reveal. Has anyone ever told you “you are very religious”? I think this is intended less as a compliment, more of an observation. The people who say this to me know I’m involved in church and attend regularly. I follow the rules and color inside the lines. Sometimes they seem to feel shown up or embarrassed by what they think of as my religiosity. Many people, both within the church and outside, have said to me “I am not very religious.” Is that you? Are you troubled by the notions of belief and commitment that you associate with religion? Perhaps you don’t want to “buy in” to doctrines and principles that make no sense to you. Religious historian and writer, Diana Butler Bass, asked various groups she was working with to list words that they associated with the word religion. They include words such as: institution, rules, order, dogma, hierarchy, boundaries, and certainty. What people call “Organized Religion” is generally seen as harsh and harmful, hypocritical and judgmental. [1] And to be truthful, the Church, our church, has lived up to these labels in many times and places. Then, of course, there are the people who say “I am spiritual but not religious.” Maybe that is you. I’m sure you know that the SBNR movement, as it is known, has gained traction in recent years. People who are SBNR seek out spirituality outside the confines of “organized religion”, through popular mind-body-spirit practices such as tai chi, reiki, or yoga. Diana Butler Bass also listed words that her group attendees associated with the word spiritual. These include: experience, inclusive, intuition, prayer, doubt, and wisdom. [2] Almost from the very beginning, the Church, has lived in tension between Spirit and the structures and rules of organized religion. Most religious movements, such as the Great Awakenings of American history, began with Spirit and Passion. Yet, places are needed for the growth and development of those new to the faith. In order allow those who experience heart change to live into their new way of life, religious structures are needed. In order for the organization to discern the prompting of the Spirit, and hear the communal wisdom of the congregation, procedures and guidelines were needed. With these thoughts in mind, let’s turn the story of the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Apostles were gathered in that house in Jerusalem, all those years ago. It was the Jewish festival of Pentecost, 50 days after Passover, when Jews and others, known as “God fearers”, were gathered from all around the known world. These people spoke many different languages. The apostles faced many challenges, but one thing they didn’t have to deal was a conflict between spirituality and religion. Those words would make no sense in their context. All they knew was that they, the friends and followers of Jesus, were gathered together in this one place. Suddenly there was a wild and dramatic experience of the presence of God manifest in wind and fire the Holy Spirit. Immediately they were empowered to preach of what was happening, in a most miraculous way. It seems that all of the disciples were moved to speak at once, in languages that were understood by the diversity of people gathered around. As Peter explained, this wonderful event had been anticipated by the prophet Joel: 'In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.’ This outpouring of Spirit was a heart-opening event, which would include all kinds of people: all ages, all genders, all socio-economic groups. The receptive ones among the crowds found an amazing commonality in the coming of the Spirit. Even coming from different cultural backgrounds and nationalities, they each heard the apostles words in their own tongues. But, there were also people in Jerusalem that day who did not appreciate this coming of this unifying Spirit. They were the ones who sneered at the apostles’ apparent ranting and said “what are they drinking?” I suspect that they were ones who were bound up in the existing religious establishment. They resisted the heart-opening experience of the Spirit. They wished to keep these uneducated Galilean out-of-towners in their place. And so it has been, for much of the history of Christianity, that those who are invested in the rules and structures, the organized religion if you like, have been inclined to sneer at those who have speak of radical spiritual experience. Especially if those who are coming from the outside. And I can relate. Having attended church my whole life long, I am inclined to be one of those who likes order and structure. And when newcomers come along, I like to tell them how we do things. First we have the call to worship, then the first hymn, then the call to confession. You get the idea. I like the Spirit, too, but ideally the Spirit will fit into the program I have planned. I follow the rules, I color inside the lines. A few years ago I read the book “Take this Bread” by Sara Miles. The author describes coming to the Episcopal church “St Gregory of Nyssa” in San Francisco for the first time, as an atheist. She describes her conversion experience: “One early, cloudy morning when I was forty-six, I walked into a church, ate a piece of bread, took a sip of wine … until that moment I'd led a thoroughly secular life, at best indifferent to religion, more often appalled by its fundamentalist crusades. This was my first communion. It changed everything.” [3] Sara Miles was attracted by the warmth of St Gregory’s: the open and welcoming communion, alternative liturgy, song and art. Very soon, she noticed the needs of the many poor people in the vicinity of the church, and felt the need to extend the “open” communion to feeding the poor of the city. As she became more involved in the church, Sara listened to the Spirit’s leading and began a mission from St Gregory’s to feed the poor. She began with a food pantry and moved on to serve delicious cooked meals for the community right out of the church. As I read the book, I was moved by Sara Miles’ response to the Holy Spirit she first experienced in St Gregory’s. And I was impressed that she quickly heeded the calling to feed the poor through her new church. But I found myself getting a little irritated by how harshly Sara Miles portrayed the leaders of the church. She described their reaction as hypocritical, as some leaders resisted the disruption of the growing food ministry. I figured that Miles was inexperienced in matters of church life. I felt defensive on the part of her congregation. My impression was that she didn’t realize that congregations are always flawed and in need of renewal and forgiveness. She seemed to expect perfection. I began to wonder how members of the congregation felt about the publication of a book, in which Sara Miles highlighted and criticized their hypocrisy. I’ve occasionally entertained such feelings of irritation and defensiveness, when people have come along with new gifts for my church. It’s a reaction not too different from those who sneered on that day the apostles first received the Spirit. Often a newcomer’s heart has been changed by the warming, stirring action of the Holy Spirit in their lives. They have attempted to share the passion that the spiritual experience has ignited in them with the church. They have been sent to teach us something. Sometimes, this includes some criticism of our way of being. When I feel irritated or defensive, I would do well to remember some of the reactions I encountered some years ago at my former church. My husband and I had joined the church while our children were very young along with a number of other young parents. As I began to talk with some of the other mothers, we shared feelings of being overwhelmed while trying to balance work, parenting, and some kind of a spiritual life. Many young moms told me that they felt at sea, spiritually, and they were longing for some grounding. I talked with another woman in the church, and we decided to begin a group for mothers of young children. With the support of our pastor, we gathered weekly to study scriptures and grow in our spiritual lives. But some of the established church women did not welcome this supportive group. Instead they responded with opposition. Their institutionally entrenched “Women’s Association” was seeking out new leadership. The women who had supported the association over the years wanted to hand on the baton to some of the younger women. They objected to what they saw as our “self interested” group. They saw is as opposition to the association that was focused on service to the church. They could not understand that the newer women were not ready to take on institutional responsibilities, until they had received some help, support and spiritual growth. It was while I was providing leadership of the mothers group, that people started telling me I was spiritual or I was religious. I guess I was a little of both, perhaps you are too. And so we must remind ourselves, that there is a hunger and thirst for the Spirit in our world. If we are willing to support their visions, young ones may see the future for our church. Elders, dreaming their dreams, may imagine how the spiritual may be integrated into our religious life. Hearts of people in our world are stirred daily by the warming, action of the Spirit in their lives. We would do well to pay attention. The Holy Spirit came to the apostles on the day of Pentecost and the Church was born. On this day of Pentecost, let us embrace both the Spirit and the Church. Amen. [1] Diana Butler Bass, Christianity After Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening, (HarperCollins, New York, NY, 2013), 69 [2] Ibid. [3] Sara Miles, Take This Bread: A Radical Conversion, (The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC, 2006), 58 |
If you enjoy a sermon or have a question, please leave a comment. If you would like to quote any of my material in your own sermons or writings, please use appropriate attribution. I look forward to hearing from you!Archives
April 2022
Categories |