Author: Rev. Wells

Pastor of Lakewood United Church of Christ since 1991. Graduate of Wellesley College and Union Theological Seminary of New York.

Sermon text 1.5.25 “Another Way”

LAKEWOOD/TRINITY UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
2601 54th Avenue South  St. Petersburg, FL  33712
On land originally inhabited by the Tocabaga
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Date: January 5, 2025    Epiphany! 
Scripture Lesson:Matthew 2:1-12
Sermon:  Another Way
Pastor: Rev. Kim P. Wells

This morning we heard about astrologers from the east, maybe Persia, following a star to the province of Judea.  They are looking for a king.  A newborn king.  So, they consult the current king about the whereabouts of the newborn king.  Sounds reasonable.  Unless the king is Herod, or another monarch or authoritarian ruler, who is power hungry and corrupt. 

The magi consulted Herod son of Antipater, procurator of Judea under Julius Caesar.  King under Augustus Caesar.  Also known as Herod the Great.  He ruled from 37 BCE to 4 BCE.  We don’t want to confuse him with Herod Antipas, his son, tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea, who was involved with the beheading of John the Baptizer and the conviction of Jesus leading to the crucifixion.  No, the gospel of Matthew starts with Herod the Great.  And he was great.  Great at being a menace.  A threatening, violent, insecure terror.   Everyone was deathly afraid of him.  He was great at building projects including rebuilding the Second Temple in Jerusalem at twice its original size and building 5 fortresses for refuge for himself and his family.  He had a great secret police and a personal guard of 2000 soldiers.  He was great at extorting money from his poor subjects, his own Jewish people, whom he impoverished with his building projects.  He was great in that he had 3 of his sons killed.  And he may be considered great in that he was eventually executed by members of his own family including his wife.  Oh he was great in many ways, but he was not good.   In the story we heard today, when those astrologers appear at Herod’s court and he consults his advisors, you can bet those advisors are quaking in their boots. They had to say just the right thing or they would be done for, and maybe the astrologers, too.  This was rule by intimidation, fear, and violence. 

In the aftermath of the magi’s visit to Herod, we are told the story of the slaughter of the innocents.  The babies in the vicinity of Bethlehem are killed to prevent the encroachment of this newborn king upon Herod’s power.  Herod is going to nip that in the bud.  This leads to the flight of the holy family to Egypt for safety.  Some of these stories are reminiscent of the stories of Moses.  This is because the writer of the gospel of Matthew wants to portray Jesus as a prophet in the line of Moses only greater. 

Herod represents the ways of the world.  Wielding power by fear and force.  Imposing rule by threat and intimidation.  We still see this today in many countries, including, sometimes, our own.

We are coming upon the anniversary of the January 6 insurrection which was an attempt to thwart the workings of the US Congress.  This mob attack was right in keeping with initiatives throughout the ages to unseat those who are in power and to impose new rulers.  This happens again and again in history.  People seek to impose their way on others through violence, intimidation, and fear.  It can be a one on one situation or a societal power play. 

Now, let’s notice something about the story we heard today.  The astrologers visit Jerusalem.  Doubtless in the camel barn or at the inn or in a cafe, they were told about Herod.  His evil violent nature.  His lust for power.  His oppression of the populace as well as his advisors and minions.  So these astrologers have been warned about Herod.  They know he is a bad guy. 

So, do the astrologers foment a rebellion against Herod?  Do they pull together a militia to take Herod down?  Do they return to their countries and amass an army to come to the defense of the Judeans being extorted and intimidated by Herod.  No. 

We are told that after their encounter with Herod and then Jesus and the Holy Family, they go home another way.  By another route.  To encounter Jesus is to be changed.  To be redirected.  To be rewired.  Re-oriented.  They are no longer the same.  While they may have had the inclination to confront the violence of Herod with further violence, this is no longer the case after their encounter with Jesus.  This newborn king inspires peace on earth, goodwill to all.  Transformation and change, liberation and justice are on the horizon, but they will not come to fruition through more violence and death.  It will have to happen another way.

As we head into this New Year, there are many challenges that will confront us.  Some of us are scared.  Some feel betrayed.  Some feel threatened.  Some of us are numb from all the trauma. 

The message of Christmas is that there is another way.  Love and peace can prevail.  Through commitment and creativity, new methods and strategies and tactics can emerge to alter reality.  The story of the magi tells us that there is another way.  We can encounter the Christ and be changed.  We do not have to keep losing the same losing game.  We, too, can go home another way.  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.

Lent Devotion 25

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The two congregations worship at Lakewood on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. 
All are welcome!

This past week, we have been thinking about those who are Muslim starting the holy season of Ramadan.  In Islam, there is reference to the 99 names for God.  Some of the names are:  God the Merciful, the Compassionate, the Peaceful, the Faithful, the Tolerant.  There are many beautiful ways of naming and thus describing God.
In the Jewish tradition, there is the custom of not saying the name of God out loud.  The four letters used to denote God, YHWH, are all consonants so technically the word is unpronounceable.   So, there is a tradition of not saying the name of God in Judaism.
In Christianity, we seem to embrace both of these approaches.  We try to affirm the mystery and inscrutability of God.  And, like our tradition of Jesus, we try to name God and call upon God like an abba, a daddy.
In his time in the desert, Alesandro Pronzato came up with another name to add to the list of names for God:  “God the Difficult.”  Maybe we know about that God, too!
Our tradition teaches that naming has power.  When you give something a name, in a way, you claim it.  And you create a way to influence or control it.  Also, depending on what the name is, you may also be defining the thing.  So naming has power.
During the sacrament of baptism, the child or adult is named.  Given a name, an identity, a way of being claimed by God through the church.  There is power in that naming.
Given the contention between people of differing religions today, and the continuing unfolding of scientific knowledge which influences our conceptions of God, I am wondering about abandoning the naming of God enterprise.  What about a non-anthropomorphic God and a non-anthropocentric Christianity added to the mix?  Maybe the less we make God like us and about us, the more we will live into the image-of-Godness within us – a force for love, never fully understood.  In love with all of Creation.
Note:  The Lenten meditations for 2024 are written by Kim Wells and inspired by themes in the book Meditations on the Sand by Alesandro Pronzato written in 1981.
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Lent Devotion 22

View this email in your browserThe two congregations worship at Lakewood on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. 
All are welcome!Lent

It’s hard to keep up in today’s world even on something as simple as the news let alone the laundry!  And then there are relationships which take time and energy.  And holidays.  And dealing with the healthcare system.  I have been trying to get a prescription for an inhaler since January.  Well, you know.
When we went on the Camino de Santiago for the first time which involved 33 days of walking, I did not have a smart phone.  I did not take a phone.  That was 2012.  When we went on the Camino in 2017, I did have a smart phone.  And we sent a picture to our kids every day so they would not worry about us.  And when we did the Camino in 2022 and walked for 6 weeks, we had our phones but tried to only use them for pictures and needed arrangements and information.  But what you discover, when you attempt to ‘unplug’ for a month or more, is that the world goes right on turning without you.  And when you plug in again, it is all right there waiting for you as if you had never left.  Really, no one, except maybe your family and your friends and your church, misses you.
Busy as we are, and the messaging that makes us think being busy makes us important, it’s bosh.  And prayer can remind us of this.  Opening ourselves to a power beyond and within us can restore our perspective on our importance.  And it can be, well, amusing.  And, hopefully, we can laugh.
Alesandro Pronzato, in his book Meditations on the Sand, tells us:  “Among the fruits of prayer there is one which, to my knowledge, is not recorded in standard books on prayer.  It is laughter.”   I think Pronzato is right.  We don’t usually associate prayer with laughter.  But we should.  Pronzato offers this litany of the funny side of prayer.
I laugh because I take myself too seriously. I laugh because I believe that I am the centre of the world. I laugh because I think everything depends on me. I laugh because I am so inconsistent. I laugh because I presume to advise God. I laugh because I am worried about my reputation. I laugh because I discover the truth about myself.
Surely you can find yourself somewhere in that litany.  So, take the opportunity to laugh when you pray today and everyday!
Note:  The Lenten meditations for 2024 are written by Kim Wells and inspired by themes in the book Meditations on the Sand by Alesandro Pronzato written in 1981.

Lent Devotion 21

View this email in your browserThe two congregations worship at Lakewood on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. 
All are welcome!Lent

This devotion is intended for March 8. International Women’s Day. Maybe you have gotten some emails about special sales on things for women? That is extremely ironic given that International Women’s Day has its roots in the socialist movement.
And why is there an International Women’s Day? The same reason there is Black History Month and Native American Heritage Month. You get a day or a month when you have been cheated, mistreated, lied to, or taken advantage of. International Women’s Day is to highlight that women are economically disadvantaged, still second class, and still having their rights to health care attacked and besieged. The temptation is to buy a new dress or a new set of sheets and forget about the rest.
When it comes to prayer, sometimes we first don’t want to see the reality of what is surfacing. And then, we don’t really want to see the problems fixed. That’s too much change. Won’t a quick makeover do?
In his book, Meditations on the Sand, Alesandro Pronzato points out the difference between God the creator and God the decorator. He says: “However, I have since realised that prayer is never a matter of repairing and retouching. If you decide to subject yourself to the purifying action of prayer, you must be prepared for some merciless, devastating work of demolition. And if you allow God freedom of action in prayer, you can expect to be transformed beyond recognition. God does not use plaster and varnish; he [sic] awaits you with the scalpel and the cautery.”
International Women’s Day. It is not about a new nail color. Or being able to run for president. It’s about eliminating patriarchy and creating egalitarian community that includes everyone. It’s not about running for president. It’s about getting elected president. We still live in a country marred by sexism and sexist stereotypes. As one of our church elders declared at an Ash Wednesday service, “I am fired up about the war on women.”
So, forgive me if I don’t wish you a Happy International Women’s Day. As Jesus followers, trying to submit ourselves fully to the forces of Divine Love, may we pray for the elimination of International Women’s Day; for the day when it will not be needed because patriarchy will not have just been painted over but dismantled and replaced altogether with Beloved Community.
Note: The Lenten meditations for 2024 are written by Kim Wells and inspired by themes in the book Meditations on the Sand by Alesandro Pronzato written in 1981.d class, and still having their rights to health care attacked and besieged.  The temptation is to buy a new dress or a new set of sheets and forget about the rest.
When it comes to prayer, sometimes we first don’t want to see the reality of what is surfacing.  And then, we don’t really want to see the problems fixed.  That’s too much change.  Won’t a quick makeover do?
In his book, Meditations on the Sand, Alesandro Pronzato points out the difference between God the creator and God the decorator.  He says:  “However, I have since realised that prayer is never a matter of repairing and retouching.  If you decide to subject yourself to the purifying action of prayer, you must be prepared for some merciless, devastating work of demolition.  And if you allow God freedom of action in prayer, you can expect to be transformed beyond recognition.  God does not use plaster and varnish; he [sic] awaits you with the scalpel and the cautery.”
International Women’s Day.  It is not about a new nail color.  Or being able to run for president.  It’s about eliminating patriarchy and creating egalitarian community that includes everyone.  It’s not about running for president.  It’s about getting elected president.  We still live in a country marred by sexism and sexist stereotypes.  As one of our church elders declared at an Ash Wednesday service, “I am fired up about the war on women.”
So, forgive me if I don’t wish you a Happy International Women’s Day.  As Jesus followers, trying to submit ourselves fully to the forces of Divine Love, may we pray for the elimination of International Women’s Day; for the day when it will not be needed because patriarchy will not have just been painted over but dismantled and replaced altogether with Beloved Community.
Note:  The Lenten meditations for 2024 are written by Kim Wells and inspired by themes in the book Meditations on the Sand by Alesandro Pronzato written in 1981.

Lent Devotion 20


The two congregations worship at Lakewood on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. 
All are welcome!

Lent Devotion 20

It’s the middle of Lent.  Maybe you have been setting aside time for prayer and contemplation.  Maybe you have been trying to be open and malleable. 

Maybe you have been trying to be patient.  Maybe you have been trying to cultivate a creative relationship with waiting.  Maybe you have been focussing on more forgiveness in your life.  Maybe you have been trying to move closer to your heart center.   Maybe you have been trying to tap into the flow of love.
Maybe you have been trying to disentangle yourself from negative messages.  Maybe you have been trying to deprogram attitudes and assumptions that are harmful to you and others.  Maybe you have been trying to disempower memories that cause pain. 

And by now, maybe you are wondering if anything is ‘happening’?  Is it working?  Are you getting more ‘holy’?   I mean, we like measurable results.
In his book, Meditations on the Sand, Alesandro Pronzato addresses the situation where it doesn’t seem like much is going on in our prayer life despite our best intentions.  He writes:

“In the desert I came to know this Arab saying:  ‘There is always water at the bottom of a deep well.  Unlucky is the man [person] whose rope is not long enough.’”

We are told of Jesus spending 40 days in the wilderness maybe testing the length of his rope.  And finding what he needed.  Getting to the water.
Whatever the length of our rope, we affirm a God that is seeking to make sure that we have access to water, even to living water, to Jesus.  We are in relationship with a God, however we may imagine God, that seeks our highest good.  Maybe we need a longer rope.  We’re only half way through Lent.  It will be provided.  Water awaits.

Note:  The Lenten meditations for 2024 are written by Kim Wells and inspired by themes in the book Meditations on the Sand by Alesandro Pronzato written in 1981.