Sermon Pentecost 5.27.12 Why Church?

Scripture Lessons: Acts 2: 1-21 and Romans 8: 22-27
Pastor: Rev. Kim Wells

I belong to the Newfoundland Club of Florida. No, it is not a club for a people who have an affinity for the beautiful maritime province of Canada. Rather, it is a club whose primary objective is, “To encourage and promote the purebred Newfoundland dog in the State of Florida.” [Constitution of the Newfoundland Club of Florida, Inc.] As the owner of a newfie, I take an interest in the activities of the club, particularly relating to rescue and placement of these wonderful dogs since this is how we got our beloved Fergus.

Someone who loves gardening may belong to a garden club to learn more about gardening, participate in civic beautification projects, and make friends with people who also share an affinity for gardening. Maybe you are part of a golf club, or a tennis club, because of your interest in those sports. Perhaps you enjoy playing bridge and belong to a bridge club. Maybe you have joined a club promoting to your political views, like the Democratic Club of Pinellas County. If you are concerned about the environment, you may be a member of the local Sierra Club, or a nature group like the Audubon Society. Whatever our interests or passions, we can probably find a group or form a group of like-minded souls especially with the internet to facilitate this kind of bonding.

So here we are at church, a group of people, joined with other groups of people all over the world in a huge religious organization. With its many expressions, the church is one of the largest, most prominent organizations in the world. And today, Pentecost, we celebrate the formation of the church. The Pentecost story tells us of a group of Jesus’ followers who are gathered together after his death for the Jewish festival of Pentecost, a celebration of the first harvest of the season. With people from all over the known world gathered in Jerusalem for this holy festival, Peter takes to preaching and souls are stirred. The people all hear the moving message in their own languages. The spirit speaks to all. No one is left out. All hear the good news of God’s love in Jesus Christ. Our story tells us that the Pentecost festival was not only an agricultural harvest, but a harvest of souls. Over 3,000 people are moved to be part of the Jesus community. And with this glorious beginning, the church is born. And we are still part of that same church today because the spirit is still stirring people, still calling folks, still speaking an invitation that cannot be denied.

But what is the purpose of the church? Is it a club for people with an affinity for Jesus? Is it a group for people who like to sing hymns? Does the church exist to promote the reading and study of scripture? Why does the church exist?

Here we turn to the reading from Paul’s letter to the Romans. We are told that, “the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now. . .” [Romans 8: 22] The world, the cosmos, is longing for new life. All that is, all of life and all of nature, is struggling to be born; to be freed. Creation is in labor, in the birth process, seeking to emerge as a world of justice and peace sustaining the flourishing of all life. In Jesus, this birthing process, this liberation has moved forward, and now the church has been created to fulfill what was begun: To assist in this birth process, to be an agent of the liberation of the cosmos. The church is called into being to give new life to the world.

Here we can draw upon two familiar images. Romans tells us that the whole creation is moaning in birth pangs, that creation is in labor. So this invites us to think of the church as a midwife. We are helping God’s creation to come to fruition in its fullness as a haven of peace and beauty; assisting in birthing this new reality. We are to foster peace, healing, and well-being. We are to care for creation and all life. The church exists to help the world become that beautiful iconic Eden, the garden, life-giving and life-sustaining for all. A place without fear, threat, or hostility. A place of abundance and delight. The church was created to help bring that kind of world to birth. So we can think of the church as a midwife doing all that is necessary to ensure the forthcoming of this beautiful, healthy, robust reality.

The other image suggested in Romans is freedom and liberation. And our Biblical model for that, of course, is Moses. We are told that God hears the cries of the Hebrew people in slavery in Egypt and Moses is deployed to transform the situation. His mission is unpopular and dangerous. With his brother, Aaron, and his sister, Miriam, Moses challenges the ultimate power of the Empire and leads the people to freedom. This calling to new life necessitates a monumental transition in lifestyle, mindset, attitude, and values. Our tradition tells us of the Hebrew people coming into the promised land: a land flowing with milk and honey, a land where everyone lives under his or her own vine and fig tree in peace and unafraid.

The story of Moses helps to illumine the calling of the church to free the cosmos from its servitude and enslavement to the forces of violence, oppression, destruction and death. The cries of creation, of humanity, are heard and in response, the church is sent as an agent of liberation. As was the case with Moses, this calling is unpopular, dangerous, and involves challenging the authority of the principalities and powers of this world. It also involves creating completely new assumptions, values, and ways of organizing human life and culture. The calling to liberation and freedom invites transformation of all of our assumptions that perpetuate the former reality. This is what the church is called to do and be.

This Memorial Day weekend invites us remember the need for the transformation of our culture of violence. The horrors of war still plague us and healing is needed. Columnist Nicholas Kristoff tells us that about 25 American soldiers will take their own lives for every one killed on the battlefield this year. Twenty-five to one. More than 6500 veteran suicides take place every year, more than the total of American soldiers killed in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. [Quoted in The Christian Century, May 16, 2012, p. 9] The world cries out for a culture of peace and anti-violence. Creation is groaning, desperate for new life and liberation. And the church has been deployed for the job.

So, this morning, we got up and we came to church. Some of us even wore red. Our presence here is a manifestation of divine blessing of the entire cosmos. As part of the church, we are bringing new birth to the world. We are creating life that is sustainable and abundant; life that is just and peaceable. Our being here in the church today is liberating the world from all that holds it back from being the Eden of divine intention. Our presence as the church, is freeing the world from greed, from selfishness, from corruption, from evil, from misery, from violence and from war. We are rescuing creation from bondage to all that oppresses and harms and abuses, not just people, but all of life, and the very cosmos itself. We are here in service to creating a new reality that values the life and well-being of creation above personal gain and self-interest. We are here as agents of the healing of creation. That’s what the church is about. That is what we are celebrating today, on this birthday of the church.

The church was created to bring new life and freedom to the cosmos. We are blessing each and every rock and tree, river and stream, whale and grasshopper. We are blessing each sun and quasar, every planet and black hole. We are blessing every person in the world, of all cultures, languages, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and gender identities. The fact that we are the church, the body of Christ, means that we are making the world a better place for people who are Buddhist, for people who are Muslim, for people who are Hindu, for people of every religious and spiritual path. The church is called to make the entire cosmos Eden for everything and everyone.

Yes, that is why the church exists. That is why we are here. And it is a monumental calling. But take heart from a student at the Inanda Seminary for Girls, in South Africa, a school supported by the United Church of Christ. Naledi Luthuli writes:

Walking down the street of my country
I observed so much
Lovers, friends, children having fun
I could see they were happy

As I turned around the corner
My grin faded
I took a giant step back
I felt traumatized

He was raping a five-year-old child
She screamed for help but no one helped
I turned around
Only to turn to a gun pointed at me
He commanded all I had or see no tomorrow

I gave him all
My cell was gone,
I couldn’t call 911
I felt helpless

Crime is our everyday meal
People have no respect for others
Most are miserable and in pain
What has South Africa become

Self-discipline is gone
Violence is a way to make money
We are no longer safe
We don’t recognize those in pain

We care only about me, myself, and I
No one is trustworthy
Unity and peace is no more
We do the opposite of what we are supposed to do

But my goal is to change South Africa
Slowly over time
And bring life back into my country.

[“Life in My Country,” by Naledi Luthuli, Inanda Seminary (High School), Durban South Africa, quoted in Gifts in Open Hands edited by Maren Tirabassi and Kathy Wonson Eddy, p. 258]

We began this morning talking about clubs. Clubs are good. They bring people together, create community, promote friendship, and get things done. But the church is so much more. The church exists to transform reality as we know it. God’s dream for the church is to bring a new world to birth and to liberate the world from all that holds it back. In the poem, “What to Remember When Waking,” David Whyte writes, “there is a small opening into the new day/which closes the moment you begin your plans.” Whyte goes on, “What you can plan is too small for you to live.” [Quoted in Water, Wind, Earth and Fire: The Christian Practice of Praying with the Elements, Christine Valters Painter, p. 31]

This is what we as the church need to remember. Our calling is so grand, so expansive, so wild. There is nothing more important in our lives than our calling to be part of the church of Jesus Christ. We are the midwives, we are the liberators of the cosmos. Yes, we. The church.

The Pentecost images of flame and wind encourage us. Run your finger through flame. Nothing there. Yet – what fire can do! Destroy all that impedes divine intentions for the world. Take down greed, selfishness, prejudice, hatred, violence, lust for power. The Holy Spirit of God through the church can destroy it all. Wind, immensely powerful, yet we can’t touch it or control it. Wind fanning the flames of liberation and new life for the world through the church. That is the Spirit, so awesome, at work in the church. We can’t control it. We can only be driven by its power bringing forth a new world. That’s what brings us together here, now, in this space, as this gathering. Happy Birthday, church! Amen.

A reasonable effort has been made to appropriately cite materials referenced in this sermon. For additional information, please contact Lakewood United Church of Christ.