NOTE: This sermon was preached at Naples United Church of Christ on Sunday June 4, 2023. Rev. Kim Wells was invited to be a guest preacher. Kim’s daughter, Rev. Angela Wells-Bean, is the Minister for Congregational Care at Naples UCC.
LAKEWOOD UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
2601 54th Avenue South St. Petersburg, FL 33712
On land originally inhabited by the Tocabaga
727-867-7961
lakewooducc.org
lakewooducc@gmail.com
Date: June 4, 2023
Scripture Lesson: I Corinthians 12:3b-13
Sermon: Still Smoking
Pastor: Rev. Kim P. Wells
We moved to Florida in 1990 when Angela’s father was called to serve Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ in St. Petersburg. We moved at Thanksgiving and then it was on to the Christmas season. The congregation of Pilgrim Church was largely made up of retirees and they liked to get together for social events especially during the holidays. So we were invited to numerous gatherings and it was a good way to get to know people. I remember a conversation at a party in which one of the church members, John Bucklin, known as Bucky, a retiree, laughingly told me about how busy he was. He told me that he and his spouse jokingly refer to December as their season of 3-event days. They routinely have three scheduled events to attend most days in December. I tried to appreciate this good natured poke at being retired. But as a mother of 2 young children and used to working full time, I thought a three event day sounded like a vacation!
Yes, we are used to being busy in the Christmas season. And then after the holiday, we put the tree and the decorations away and resume ‘normal’ life – many fewer three event days for some of us!
In the early centuries of the Christian movement, there were three great holy day seasons each year. Christmas, of course. Easter. Yes. And, Pentecost. These three festivals anchored the church year. We celebrated Pentecost last week. It’s the festival of red and flames and wind and speaking in various languages. You probably had red paraments on the altar and pulpit and lectern last Sunday. The pastor probably wore a red stole. At our church we had windmakers which the congregation uses to make sound effects during the reading of the scripture referring to the wind.
But it is the week after Pentecost, and like the week after Christmas when the tree and wreaths are put away, we have likely put Pentecost away for another year.
In the Pentecost story in the book of Acts, we are told that over 3,000 people were baptized that day. What a success! But their mission did not end when everyone went home from Jerusalem at the end of the Festival of Pentecost. Those disciples went on to carry their message of love far and wide over many years. And it is because of their efforts, those simple country people, who were not sophisticated or well educated, that we are here today. And the compelling message that galvanized their mission was spreading the universal, unconditional love of God.
Dr. Stephen Patterson, once a professor at Eden Seminary where your former interim minister, David Greehaw, was president, is now a professor at Willamette University in Oregon. He is a scholar of religion, early Christianities, the historical Jesus, and the New Testament. He has written a book that outlines a reconstruction of an early Christian creed, the good news that the followers of Jesus repeated as a statement of their core beliefs and their mission. This creed has echoes in the verses that were read today from 1 Corinthians. Here is how Patterson translates what he calls the ‘forgotten creed’:
You are all children of God:
There is no Jew or Greek;
There is no slave or free;
There is no male and female;
For you are all one.
[See The Forgotten Creed: Christianity’s Original Struggle against Bigotry, Slavery, and Sexism by Stephen J. Patterson.]
This is the essence of the teachings of the earliest followers of Jesus. To me, this forgotten creed expresses the kind of community that the church is still called to be today. Community that is egalitarian, not patriarchal, not sexist, not stratified, not biased or prejudiced in any way. If this seems dreamy now, it was even more visionary in the early centuries of the Christian movement in the context of the Roman Empire which was founded on patriarchy and class division and in which people owned slaves and women were considered property as well.
Yet even in that context, Christians embraced this creed:
You are all children of God:
There is no Jew or Greek;
There is no slave or free;
There is no male and female;
For you are all one.
This creed remains an expression of the core mission of the church today. And we know that there is still a lot of work for our churches to be doing to create this kind of radical egalitarian community. And Naples UCC is blessed to have the expertise of associate pastor Angela Wells-Bean who was well-trained in diversity, equity, and inclusion as a
sociology major at New College — back when Florida still had DEI. Angela is a wonderful resource for pursuing this egalitarian vision for the church.
This creed expresses the mission the disciples were given on Pentecost. They were able to speak to everyone; to reach out to all. The church is called to create community where all are beloved — where it doesn’t matter where you are from, whether you are a citizen or an immigrant, where it doesn’t matter if you are a CEO of a Fortune 500 company or a janitor, where it doesn’t matter how you vote, where gender does not matter and all loving relationships are affirmed and there are bathrooms for everyone. And where there is a safe, clean natural environment to support human and other than human life. One beloved human community created in the Divine Image. The body of Christ. One body with different parts, yet an organic whole.
We may have put away the red paraments, and the windmakers, and the red candles, but the work of the church is not done. And the power of the Spirit being given to the church has not diminished.
I am not a movie person and I seldom watch TV. My spouse loves movies. At least once a week he asks me, Wanna watch a movie? I politely suggest he to go ahead — without me. Once in a while someone suggests a movie and I make it a point to watch it especially if recommended by a parishioner. But generally speaking movies are not on my menu.
So, several months ago, our son Malcolm and partner, Samantha, mentioned there was a movie they wanted to watch with us. We scheduled it. I don’t say no to our kids! They told us the name but not much else. I looked into it a bit so that I would have some context that might help me to appreciate it more. Instead of being illuminated I was confused by what I read. So I thought I’ll just watch politely and see what’s what.
So, we watched the movie. And I found myself thinking about it. Like every day. And I thought I would like to see it again. Maybe on the big screen so that I could see better what was going on.
Then, months later, lo and behold, the movie was in the theaters and I went to see it — three times. By now you’re probably wondering what the heck the movie was! Well, here goes. Everything Everywhere All At Once. How many of you have seen it? Now, in our family, there seem to be very strong feelings about this movie. Love it. Me. Or hate it. Angela. Not much in between. And that seems to be the case in the wider culture. Either you think it is great or you think it’s garbage, a waste of time. If you have any opinions about this movie, don’t look to me to change your mind.
To give you a bit of background, the story involves a Chinese American family that owns a laundromat. The owners, a couple, are being audited by the IRS. They go to the IRS office to meet with an auditor. In the course of things, the husband and wife find themselves in a utility closet, think brooms and mops, and he tells her a ludicrous story about an evil villain trying to take over the worlds, and how he has come from another metaverse to tell her that after searching the universes, they landed on her as the one who needs to defeat the evil villain. They have chosen Evelyn, this unremarkable wife, mother, business owner, daughter, to vanquish the evil villain.
Evelyn is having none of this story. She thinks the man, who appears to be her husband, is crazy. She is worrying about the IRS audit. And the Chinese new year party that night at the laundromat. And her father who is visiting from China. And her daughter who has a girlfriend, and making sure the Chinese grandfather does not find out about that. And she is thinking about the laundry of the woman with the little dog in a stroller. An evil villain threatening the metaverses and she is to vanquish this evil character, who, by the way, turns out to be her daughter? She is having none of this.
After this preposterous situation has been revealed to Evelyn, the messenger from another metaverse, presenting as her husband, Waymond, pleads with her, begs her, implores her, WE NEED YOU! And she replies, “Very busy today. No time to help you.” And she dismisses him. I love that scene.
So, Pentecost the third big festival of the church year is over. We have celebrated the birthday of the church. And the power of the Holy Spirit. And the monumental calling of the church to create egalitarian community. And ‘the season’ is over.
But the Spirit still has work for us to do. We are all in the church because we have been called, we have received the Spirit, we are needed to fulfill the mission of Jesus and spread the message of the forgotten creed year in and year out. There is still evil to be vanquished in the world, and we are called to confront evil by creating communities where everyone is welcome and loved and all are equally valued. We are to include people of all ethnic backgrounds, all gender and sexual identities, and people of all financial means or lack there of, yes, even the houseless, with everyone valued, respected, and treated with dignity. We have been given work that needs to go on all year, not just at the holy days. The Spirit is still smoking with power, revving up, blasting us, for this mission even though the red banners have been put away. “Very busy today. No time to help you.” Never. 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.
Lakewood United Church of Christ 