Author: Rev. Wells

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: July 16, 2023
Scripture Lessons:  Genesis 1:20-31 and John 10:7-15
Sermon: What Is Pro Life?
Pastor:  Rev. Kim P. Wells

Summer Sermons 2023 are based on topics suggested by the congregation.

While we were in Los Angeles this past week and a half, our son asked me to take his pick up truck into the shop for a repair.  When I dropped the car off, I asked the technician if there was something to see near by, somewhere to go, while I waited for the car.  He suggested going to the park with a lake a few blocks away.  So that is what I did.  I spent several hours enjoying Echo Park Lake, in the heart of Los Angeles.  The park includes a small lake with a walking path around it.  There are swan boats that can be rented.  The ones that you pedal to paddle.  It turns out that the lake began in the 1800’s as a reservoir for drinking water for the city of Los Angeles.  In the 1890’s the decision was made to turn the area into a public park and the four owners of the land around the reservoir donated 33 acres to be used as the park. 

Development of the park continued in the 1930’s as a Works Progress Administration project during the Depression.  A beautiful fountain was added when the 1984 Olympics were held in Los Angeles. 

Yes, Echo Park Lake is an attractive city park with a gorgeous view of the downtown skyline and lovely homes and apartments surrounding the lake.  But what really got my attention when I visited was, well, the posted rules for the park.  Among the rules for the park, along with things like no dumping and littering were:
        
         No feeding of non-domesticated animals
         Cruelty to any animal is a felony
         Abandonment of animals is against the law
         Harassment of animals is against the law
         All migratory birds are state and federally protected
         No injury to park property or plants

Frankly, I was surprised at the many rules that were intended for the safety of the wildlife and the trees and plants, as well as the water itself.  The protections seemed very comprehensive and specific which probably explains why, here at this lake, in the middle of urban Los Angeles, there is a plethora of bird life including various species of ducks and geese and other water birds. 

I was really glad to see the concern for nature conveyed in the rules for Echo Park Lake and I throughly enjoyed my afternoon at the lake while my son’s car was being fixed.

Concern for nature is at the heart of the purpose of the human species according to our faith tradition, as we heard from Genesis this morning.  Humanity was created, in the image of God, to carry out God’s mission of caring for the wondrous creation.  That includes human life as well as the life of plants and animals – all forms of life –  and it involves protecting the health of the environment that supports all of the myriad forms of life that make up the natural world.  So to be pro life is to be a supporter of all forms of life and of all of the habitat that is needed to support that life. 

The rights of nature movement is a beautiful expression of being pro life in our time.  This is a movement, worldwide, that seeks to get legal protection, rights, for land and water, as well as other than human species of life.  The rights of nature movement seeks to gain legally recognized rights for animals and plants and waters as well as people.  To me, this is a beautiful expression of our calling as a species to be pro life in all of its diversity, adaptation, abundance, balance, and interdependence.  That is what it means to be pro life in the Christian tradition:  To support the flourishing of all life, all of creation, by taking seriously our place in the vast system of creation to be caretakers entrusted with the stewardship of all that is. 

And this faith-based conception of what it means to be pro life is manifested in the ministry of Jesus and his focus on what it means to fully support and protect human life.  In the stories and teachings we have that are associated with Jesus, we see Jesus completely protecting the sacredness of human life.  He offers not only material support for human life – food, water, wine, healing –  but he offers spiritual support and the support of the community for all people.  This is expressed through forgiveness, grace, egalitarian community, generosity, equal rights for all people, and the decrying of laws, practices, and attitudes that diminish the lives of some people and privilege others.

Jesus shows us what abundant life for everyone looks like.  No one living at the expense of another.  Everyone valued and cared for.  No one demeaned or degraded.  No one beyond redemption or transformation.  No one.
I recently read a novel that takes place in Finland in 1946.  One of the characters, a doctor, reflects on the treatment of the dead body of another character:  “She weeps, too, for the care and attention she knows this body [the dead body] is being shown, in contrast to the countless labour-camp prisoners, her husband perhaps one of them, whose bodies are disposed of like so much offal.”  [Ice by Ulla-Lena Lundberg, p. 400.]  To be pro life to is to care at least as much for the living as for the dead.

When we are not pro life, fully supporting the life and habitat entrusted to our care and keeping, then we are denying and diminishing ourselves as human beings.  In the verses from John, we hear of false teachers, those who will try to lead the flock astray.  Well, we could spend until next Sunday discussing how we have gone astray when it comes to our calling to care for all of life; the ways that we have manipulated and dominated so that much of life is made subservient to the interests of a small portion of the human population.    

Here in Florida, an environmental coalition wanted to protect the rights of the waterways of Florida so that they can provide suitable habitat supporting many species of life.  But a ballot initiative to protect the rights of the waters of the state would never be supported.  No industrial dumping, no agricultural run off, no dumping of sewage and waste water, no spewing of heated water.  This kind of initiative would never gain widespread support here in Florida where people supposedly come first – which really means the economy comes first and that translates into rich people come first.  People in Florida don’t care enough about nature to bear the cost of needed protections.  BUT we do care about ourselves.  Overall, we are a selfish, self-centered lot.  And so these environmental groups came up with the idea of protecting not the rights of water or nature per se, but the rights of people, us, the inhabitants of Florida, to clean, safe water for consumption and recreation.  Now, that is something which serves us, so we can get behind that.  So that is the ballot initiative we have been promoting here at church and in the state.  It’s watered down, but it is a way to make a step in the right direction.  Oh, we know those thieves, marauders, and hired hands, that Jesus talks about, who are monopolized with serving what they see as their own personal interests. 

Our faith teaches that we are created to be pro life.  We were put here to be protectors and care takers of all that supports life, all life, not just human life.  And Jesus shows us how to create human community that does just that: supports all of human life, through faith and community, and fulfills its role in the wider Divine plan by living simply and sustainably with generosity and compassion.  To be pro life, in the human community is to support life in all of its diversity, adaptation, abundance, balance, and interdependence.  ‘I am because you are’ as the African proverb puts it.  We are in this together.  And we are in it with the wider community of life around us and the habitat that supports all of life. 

Now we all know that when we say ‘pro life’ these days, the phrase is usually associated with the issue of abortion and reproductive rights.  The words ‘pro life’ are associated with protection of the life of an unborn fetus. 

And, let’s be clear, there is no direct mention of abortion in the Bible.  There is a reference to life before birth in Psalm 139:  “It was you who formed my inward parts; you who knit me together in my mother’s womb.  My form was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.  Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.”   These verses are poetic professions of theology not biology.  They speak of God, a God that knows us fully and completely and still loves us!

Interestingly, the roots of what we know as the pro life movement are in the 1800’s among doctors who were concerned about protecting the lives of women who were having abortions that were often fatal to the mother.  They wanted to protect the lives of women.  That is a far cry from the position associated with the pro life movement today.  Today what is known as the pro life movement, is a movement that is centered on making abortion illegal and unobtainable.  Period.  It is supposedly protecting the life of those not yet born.  It is definitely protecting patriarchy, privilege, and subjugation of the masses.  What is called the pro life movement is not protecting life in the broader sense that encompasses the wellbeing and flourishing of creation as whole. 

In fact, supposedly protecting an unborn life – is it really pro life?  One of the speakers at the UCC General Synod in Indianapolis talked about “children born into a world of horrors.”  And there are so many.  Flooding. Heat.  Houselessness.  Famine.  Censorship.  Climate change.  The school to prison pipeline leaving so many children without fathers and mothers to raise them.  The addiction epidemic that prevents parents from providing adequate love and care for their children.  Lack of access to health care and affordable child care.  And what about, here we will touch on a real hot button, the ravages of extractive capitalism irreparably damaging the earth and the lives of people from whom labor is extracted for the gain of a few leaving children without the basic necessities of life?  To be pro life is to dream and invest in a new economic system that provides for all.  Not for a few at the expense of the many which is what we currently have in this country. 

When we get sucked into capitalism and rugged individualism, we are perpetrating the thievery and marauding Jesus talks about.  When we look out for number one, for ourselves, our family,  our tribe, our kind, and allow the society around us to continue to privilege the rich and ensure their rights at the expense of those made poor, we are not pro life.   And we cannot find our highest good, our true purpose, our deepest joy without honoring our place in the Divine plan to care for all of life and all of creation.  To separate ourselves from that web is to cut ourselves off from our health and wholeness.  It is to throw ourselves to the wolves, to that which is death dealing, instead of that which is life giving – the way of egalitarian community that we see among the followers of Jesus. 

I want to close with another story from Los Angeles.  When I was making my way home, we got to the airport a bit early.  After checking my bag, I wanted to take a few minutes to repack my carry on bag.  I looked for a place to sit down in the ticketing area.  I didn’t see any seats.  I went up a floor to the security and gate level of the airport.  Again, I looked for somewhere to sit.  There were no chairs to be seen.  I went back down to ticketing, surely I missed seeing a seating area.  Ah, there were some seats.  An airport attendant was standing next to the row of 6 chairs.  There was a sign indicating that this was the place to wait for wheel chair assistance.  There was no one in any of the seats.  I asked the attendant if I could sit there for a few minutes to repack my small backpack.  She said no.  That’s when an expletive which should not be repeated in church escaped my lips.  The attendant, a middle aged Black woman, said, regretfully, “I’m sorry.”  I told her, my home airport was Tampa and there were chairs and places to sit down everywhere you turn.  That’s when I learned that there used to be a lot more seating in the Los Angeles airport.  But it has been removed.  To discourage houseless people from staying at the airport.  There is a woman who has lived at the airport for the last 5 years, moving from bathroom to bathroom.  And that would explain why there are repeated public service announcements at the airport saying that only people involved in traveling and employees of the airport are permitted on the airport premises. 

After the tutorial about the issues relating to the houseless in the LA airport, the attendant told me to go down a floor, to baggage claim and ground transportation, and walk past the coffee and tea shop, down to the last carousel, and there were a few chairs there.  Sure enough.  So, I sat down and repacked my little carry on backpack.  Then headed up two levels to airport security and the gates. 

The houseless problem of LA prevented me from having a convenient place to sit down to repack my bag.  Really?  But that is how it is with the web of life, the web of reality, the web of creation.  Everything is interconnected.  Interdependent.  To be pro life, is to be aware, to care about, and to make choices, that are for the benefit of the whole.  And then what we find is that we are taken care of.  We have what we need not only materially, but also spiritually and emotionally.   When we are truly pro life, according to our faith tradition and the teachings of Jesus, we find that we have life.  To the fullest.  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
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 18, 2023
Scripture Lesson: Genesis 11:1-9
Sermon: Becoming An Anti-Racist
Pastor:  Rev. Kim P. Wells

When you started your day today maybe you chose what kind of juice you wanted to drink.  Maybe you selected which clothes you would wear.  Maybe you decided what to have for breakfast.  And whether to have a coffee or a tea.  Maybe you chose which aftershave to splash on.  Maybe you picked out something from the freezer to defrost for dinner. 

Maybe you even decided whether to mow the lawn or come to church this morning.

Most of us probably made numerous choices and decisions, just this morning, before church.  We are very fortunate to have so many options!

And as we awoke this morning with all of these choices to make, we also want to notice that we awoke into a society that is characterized by systemic and individual racism.  That is a trait of our culture.  It is part of our reality at this time in this place.  And if we open our eyes and our minds, it can be seen all around us.  We don’t wake up and say to ourselves, “I am going to choose to participate in systemic, institutional racism today.”  Or, “I am going to choose not to participate in systemic institutional racism today.”  As long as we are living in this country, we are living in a reality imbued with racism.  It surrounds us and it is within us.  We don’t really have the choice of opting in or opting out. 

We don’t have health insurance for all, like Europeans, because when the New Deal was being implemented the white people and politicians would not support paying for health care for all of the Black people in the country.  And as a consequence, millions of white people have died and are dying from lack of access to needed healthcare as well as countless Black people.  This is systemic racism.  And there are countless examples of similar decisions in our society – past and present.  And this hurts everyone.  And it is part of our reality like the air we breathe.

I just finished listening to the book Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America, (by Beth Macy), a thorough examination of the opioid addiction epidemic focussed on northern Virginia.  This is a horrifying family and community destroying health crisis.  Interestingly, it has been revealed that this epidemic is a bigger problem among whites than Blacks because doctors more freely prescribed pain relievers to white people than to Black people because they had less trust in the Black people to use the prescriptions appropriately.  There it is again, systemic racism. 

You can see it all the time in the media, including in mainstream news, not just social media.  More negative images and assumptions relating to Black people and people of color.  More reporting on crimes perpetrated by Black people and people of color. 

All of this and so much more helps to form the reality we are living in.  And it is passed on from generation to generation.  Like we know from the song in the musical South Pacific, “You’ve Got to be Carefully Taught.”  And we are.  Carter G. Woodson, the African American historian and journalist, would call this ‘miseducation.’  And it is.  And it is something we all learn.

Systemic racism is so imbedded in the culture we are in that we often don’t even see it.  I certainly don’t.   It has become part of the atmosphere we live in.  It’s simply like the air we breathe.  We don’t really notice it.  It is just there.  And it impacts the reality of whites and Blacks alike. 

Thankfully, there are people in our country who are helping us all to see this reality; what is actually there but has been ignored, forgotten, or very often, intentionally suppressed.  I mean, if you are not allowing people to teach actual history, the story of past events and actions, it can only be because you are afraid of the truth.  We are waking up to see more honestly and clearly the reality that we are all a part of.  

The Bible story that we listened to of the Tower of Babel is a story that helps us to see our reality more clearly.  Yes, this is a story that helps to account for the diversity among the human species, of habit and language.  It helps to explain why there are humans all over the earth and not just in certain specific habitats.  The story has been taken as a commentary on humanity over reaching and trying to attain the Divine.  And there are other lessons in this story of ancient lore intended to express truth that applies to all of humankind, the whole world, not just one culture, time, or place. 

When this story is considered in its wider context of the book of Genesis, we remember that the human creature has been tasked with filling the Earth and taking care of the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and every living thing that moves upon the Earth.  And in the Babel story, what is the human community doing?  They are concentrating their energy and efforts on building a tower that they believe will bring them closer to God.  They are concentrating their power in what they see as self-preservation.  They are limiting their attention to themselves and their perceived  desires.  The building of the tower is a sign of self absorption and devotion to self preservation.  It is self serving.  All this while they are supposed to be spreading themselves around the planet and taking care of each living creature including its habitat.  Instead, they are monopolized with concentrating on taking care of only themselves.  They are limiting their attention to themselves instead of the whole of creation.  Obsessed with their tower they are neglecting the greater good; the needs of the whole creation, not just their own desires and needs.  This is a problem.  They are not carrying out their appointed role in the created order.  They are denying the image of the Divine within them that is concerned with the wellbeing and flourishing of the whole of creation, not just one community. 

We can see how these lessons shed light on the human construct of race and racism.  It is a system, integrated with patriarchy and capitalism, that has been built into a huge monolith of power, consuming resources, energy, and creativity.  And it is all concentrated on the self preservation and self serving desires of some at the expense of the greater good, not only of other people but of the planet.  Systemic racism which is embedded in our society has caused us to neglect our responsibilities to the greater good and to the well being of the whole of creation.  Investment in this enterprise has come at an enormous cost, to people of color, to the planet, and even to those we consider ‘white’ who are supposedly benefitting from this system.  Tell that to the unemployed, depressed communities of Appalachia where the most reliable way to feed your family may just be by dealing drugs. 

Racism.  Systemic.  Institutional.  It is like that big tower in the story from Genesis.  It is something that has been constructed by human beings.  The concept of race has been created by people.  There is no such concept among other living creatures – a hierarchy based on variations in color.  Color is a feature in nature that may be related to mating and procreation, but there is nothing like the humanly created construct of race.

So when we consider race, it is not like getting to know more about, say, space – something that exists that we did not create or construct.  Race is about something that people have made, constructed, invented, designed, and created. 

Now, here is what I think is important about that.  Since we have created it, we have perpetuated it, we have woven it into our reality, we have passed it on from generation to generation, we have given it power, this means that we can change it.  It is within our power to deconstruct, to destroy, to dissemble, the tower we have created – racism.  Bill McKibben, the well-known environmentalist and founder of 350.org talks about our ability to ‘de-create.’  Since humanity has created race and racism, we have the power to de-create racism.  Take it down.  Brick by brick. 

It’s small, but just having the national holiday Juneteenth is a tiny brick being removed from the monolith of racism that can then be used to construct a new reality that is not only not racist but is proactively anti racist.   That tower of Babel came down and humanity spread and flourished across the earth to take up caretaking of the entire planet.  Sometimes what we have constructed must be demolished so that something better can take its place.

This is work for us as Christians, followers of Jesus, people of love and compassion for at least two reasons.  One is we have a responsibility for dismantling racism because as Christians, believing we are created in the Divine Image, we are called to take care of the whole earth, every person, every life form, every acre of land, every fathom of water.  This is work for us as Christians who are citizens and inhabitants of this country who want to make it a better home for everyone and who are called to serve the world entire. 

This is also work for us to do as the Christian church because the church and religion have been used, or I would say abused, to construct and reinforce the racist system in which we find ourselves.  Yes, there were abolitionists in the church.  Yes, there are people in the church today working tirelessly to deconstruct racism and build an egalitarian culture in which all people and the Earth itself flourish.  But the church is imbued with racism just as the society that we are part of.  As the church, we have helped to create this society and we have upheld it.  At best with ignorant, benign intentions.  At worst, with completely self serving motivations. 

So, we as Christians, have a particular responsibility, obligation, motivation, to do this work of de-creating the racism of the society we are part of in this country.  And there is work for us to do in every aspect of society – education, politics, government, religion, healthcare, sports, arts, entertainment, social relations,  economic arrangements, the legal and criminal justice and law enforcement systems – all across the board.  We must ferret out and remove all obstacles to equity and justice like removing asbestos or lead paint from an old building.   And there must be recompense and assistance to those who have been sidelined, redlined, and maligned by the racist reality that has infected our society.

This is work we all need to be doing.  And we need to be doing it together and helping each other.  Helping each other learn, grow, self examine, strategize, mobilize, and offer support and encouragement along the way.  And if I say something that appears to be imbued with racism today, or at any time, I hope you will point it out to me.  You see, we have all been very carefully taught.

So I am going to close telling a story on my dear husband.  He knows this is coming.  I warned him!

Now those of you who know Jeff know of his kindness and his commitment to justice.  He would never knowingly harm anyone.  He is always helping people.  In addition, he is very well-educated, Harvard.  He has a doctorate.  He is a student of American history having been the assistant curator of the Paul Revere House in Boston.  He majored in Government.  He’s been a pastor, a science teacher, a social worker, and a garage door installer, among other things!  Yes, his people came over on the Mayflower but he is very much committed to being on the side of the oppressed. 

This will help you to understand the story I am going to share about the pervasive nature of the absorption of racism into our psyches simply by being in the society we are in. 

We were in Colorado last month attending a baby shower for my niece.  As we were driving to the airport in Denver, with the mountains in the background, and unending flat plains as far as the eye could see, we were commenting about the terrain.  I mentioned that if I was coming across the country in a wagon to settle in the west, I would take one look at those mountains and turn around.  Jeff commented that there was all this land, this space, with nothing there.  It makes sense that they settled there.  I questioned him.  Nothing there.  I reminded him there were people living there.  Indigenous people.  Who lived there.  And were nomadic.  And who lived off that land.  Oh yeah, Jeff said, sheepishly.  I forgot about that. 

I tell you this not to condemn Jeff.  But to remind us how deeply rooted racism, ethnocentrism, whiteness, and patriarchy, are embedded in our reality whatever our background or ethnicity.  It’s a tall tower.  And it keeps us from our calling to tend and care for all of the earth and all of the earth’s inhabitants, human and other than human.  It separates us from God.  From Divine Love.  From the reality of God.  From each other.  And from the natural world.  And we all have work to do on this – whoever we are, wherever we are, in this society. 

I am reminded of someone from our congregation who was in his last days in the health center at Westminster Suncoast.  He made it a point to get to know, take an interest in, to learn about and show compassion for the nursing aids, mostly Black women, who took care of him.  He was still trying to help dismantle the edifice of racism to his dying day.  Many of you knew him – Lloyd Conover.

We all have lots of choices that we can make each and every day.  Today, you decided to come to church instead of mowing the lawn, or going out to brunch, or reading the paper, or catching up on your social media feeds.  As the church, as Christian people, as followers of Jesus, may we choose to fulfill our calling to attend to the flourishing of all people, all life forms, and the creation itself.  This necessitates eradicating the systemic, institutional, and individual racism that pervades our society.  Like the tower in the story from Genesis, the humanly constructed tower of racism must be dismantled and the bricks used to create egalitarian community where people of all hues and tongues not only thrive and flourish but take care of planet Earth.  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
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 11, 2023
Scripture Lesson: Jeremiah 32:1-15, 42-44
Sermon: History and Hope
Pastor:  Rev. Kim P. Wells

This is a season for graduations and weddings and other celebrations.  We attended a baby shower recently.  It is wonderful to celebrate these events that point to the future with hope.

We might send a card with a message like, ‘Congratulations!  May all your hopes and dreams come true.’  Or ‘With all hope and good wishes for a wonderful future together.’  These celebrations call for excitement about what is ahead.

We don’t sent a card to a college grad saying something like, ‘We hope you enjoyed your last 4 years at school.’  No.  We say something about hope for the future, not looking back to the past.

So how do we maintain hope in dark times?  As we look around today, much of what we see does not point to a better future but seems like more of an erosion of the gains that were being made toward peace and security and well-being for all.  We seem to be backsliding.  On voting rights.  On gay rights.  On trans rights.  On reproductive rights.  On freedom of speech.   On economic justice.  And so much more. 

So how do we hold on to hope?

Our faith has much to say about hope.  Yes, hope is about a better future.  It has a future orientation.  But our faith tradition teaches us that hope is rooted in the past.  Our faith teaches us that hope is about looking back and seeing what has happened, how far we have come, seeing the workings of Divine Love in the past, which then gives us the courage and faith to face the future with hope.

Again and again and again in the Hebrew scriptures there are references to the Exodus.  This is the story of the Hebrew people being brought out of slavery in Egypt into the Promised Land.  This is the story that involves Moses confronting the Egyptian Pharaoh.  The plagues.  The river of blood.  The angel of death passing over the houses with lamb’s blood on the lintel.  Going through the Red Sea.  Wandering in the wilderness.  And then finally being brought into the land of milk and honey. 

That story is referenced again and again in the Bible because it is a source of hope; especially when people are going through hard times.   People look back and see what God has done, what they have come through.  And they know that the perils and pains they are experiencing are not the end of the story.  There is a brighter future awaiting them.  As God brought the people out of Egypt, so God will bring us out of whatever hardship we are currently facing. 

The Psalms, especially, which are regularly repeated in worship, are full of heartfelt pleas to God and affirmations of trust in God’s saving power, including specific references to the Exodus.  In worship, on a regular basis, people recount past experiences and this gives them hope in the power of God to see them through current travails to a more promising future.  People have hope in the future because of what they believe has happened in the past.  Rooted in that history, they face the future with hope. 

So, how do we maintain hope in dark times?  We look back.  We take a long view.  Even back to Exodus. 

Just in our country, let’s look back.   Despite intentional efforts to eliminate indigenous peoples and cultures, there are still native peoples and cultures in this land.  That is a reason for hope.  Slavery is over. That is a reason for hope.  The centuries old vendetta against the Jews has not resulted in their eradication.    Even with the recent rise in incidents of antisemitism in this country, there is still reason for hope.  Assault weapons were banned for 10 years in the US.  If we did it before, we can do it again.  That is reason for hope.  There was safe, legal access to abortion for decades.  It can be that way again.  That is reason for hope.  There was a moratorium on the death penalty for decades.  It can happen again.  Again, reason for hope.  We have had a Black president.  And a Black vice president.  That is reason for hope.  Look back.

My spouse Jeff was listening to an audio book about Teddy Roosevelt and Howard Taft.  Roosevelt was an adamant trust buster.  He fought the power of big money in American society.  He wanted a fair shot for the average worker.   He called it a square deal.  And he was a millionaire.  And a Republican.  Look back. 

Just a side bar.  This looking back is not encouraged in our country.  We like to stay oriented to the future.   We are trained to look ahead.  We don’t think we need the past.  We only like to remember the past when it serves our purposes as we pursue something in the future.   Gore Vidal has said that we are the United States of Amnesia.

But our faith teaches us that to maintain hope, especially in dark times, we must look back and remember and recite the ways that Divine Love has been made manifest in our history and in our lives.  Take a long view.
This is also the case not only with society, and the human community, and cosmic history, but also in our personal lives.  To maintain hope, we must remember.  Think of the health crisis that you have come through.  Or the grief that knocked you down, but you are standing, if shakily, once again.  Think of how you or someone you are close to has faced addiction with courage and has come through.  Think of the tragedy you have experienced, or someone close to you, something beyond horrific.  And somehow, life is still going on.  And there can still be joy.  Think of what you and your loved ones have come through.  That, too, fosters our hope in the future.  Because of what we have come through, we do not give up. 

When I saw this sermon topic request, Hope in dark times, I immediately thought of the story of Jeremiah and buying the field at Anathoth.  Here is Jeremiah.  In the worst of times.  He is in prison for delivering the word of God, that was not to the liking of the king.  His country is being ravaged by the Babylonians and Chaldeans.  Their land is being devastated.  They will be taken away as the spoils of war.  So, in jail, about to be overrun and deported or worse, Jeremiah buys a piece of land.  It is a prophetic symbolic gesture.  He makes sure everything is done legally and in good order.  Then, the deeds are put in an earthenware jar where they can be preserved for decades?  Centuries?  Millenia?  Who knows?  But Jeremiah is declaring his trust in the promise of God that they will once again inhabit the land and be a flourishing community though everything else at the moment is pointing in a different direction.

The most important part of any real estate transaction is location, location, location.  And the prophet Jeremiah wants everyone to know that he is buying a piece of utterly worthless land, putting good money down, making a public display so that everyone knows what he is doing, preserving the documents related to the sale – because this location, location, location will once again be a place where the community of the faithful will flourish and thrive.  He is making a scene.  Based on the faithfulness of God in the past, Jeremiah buys the field.  And puts everyone on notice that change is gonna come.  Based on the past, the Exodus, for example, this prophet is making a down payment on a bright future.  He is demonstrating hope.

We can look around us and see that things are pretty bleak.  There is global warming and the horrific weather, fires, and floods that are happening.  There is an impending presidential election with the continuous barrage of lies and blame and rancor.  There will be more Supreme Court decisions that curtail our liberties.  There is the continuing rise in racism, jingoism.  There are the backward strides in education.  There is the continuing escalation of violence.  A gun has more rights than a person it seems.  There is the continued erosion of voting rights. 

But there are prophets in our midst who tell us that these are the last, desperate, fearful gasps of those who are threatened by a more open, compassionate, egalitarian society.  They are scaling up because they see the way things have been going.  They see the progress that has been made.  And they are rising up. 

But we are looking back.  In a speech delivered  before the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Convention on January 29, 1858, Theodore Parker, a Unitarian minister, declared:  “I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little ways; I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by the experience of sight, I can divine it by conscience. And from what I see I am sure it bends towards justice.”   We are familiar with this from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:  The moral arc of the universe is long but it bends towards justice. 

How do we maintain hope?  Our faith teaches us to look back.  For the Jews, this involves continually revisiting the story of the Exodus and other stories.  For Christians, this also involves revisiting the story of the crucifixion and resurrection.  We are told that from the cross Jesus is remembered quoting Psalm 22:  “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  This is a plea uttered at a very dark moment.  And if Jesus knew the first verse of the Psalm, surely it is implied that the knew the 4th and 5th verses.  He would know them from reciting them in worship settings.  They are:

“In you our ancestors trusted;
         they trusted, and you delivered them.
To you they cried, and were saved;
         in you they trusted, and were not put to shame.” 

This is a direct reference to the Exodus event.

Just as we are describing, Jesus, too, looked back to the Jewish experience of the saving power of God in his darkest hour and that sustained his hope.

How do we maintain hope in dark times?  Look back and see the wider reality of the purposes of God.  Look back a decade.  A century.  A millennia.  Eons.  Look back.  Take a long view.  See what has been done.  See the progress that has been made.  Trust in the power of Divine Love.  And what love can do. 

And then, like Jeremiah, invest in the future.   Invest all you can, all you have, in a future of justice and peace and well-being for all, especially for our dear mother Earth.  Invest in a future that you may never see.  Look back.  Then invest.  And that investment will give your life, right here and right now, meaning and purpose so that you will not only survive but thrive.  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
2601 54th Avenue South  St. Petersburg, FL  33712
On land originally inhabited by the Tocabaga
727-867-7961

lakewooducc.org
lakewooducc@gmail.com

Date: May 28 2023  Pentecost
Scripture Lesson: Acts 2:1-21
Sermon: Powered Up!
Pastor: Rev. Kim P. Wells

Many of you know that I seldom watch TV.  And I rarely watch movies.  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.  There’s the crossword to do.  And maybe a jigsaw puzzle.  And other stuff to take care of.  Even on an airplane that has movies, I’d rather listen to an audio book or read a book.  A movie, well, if I have to.  Once in a while someone suggests a movie and I make it a point to watch it.  And I usually like it.  But generally speaking movies are not on my menu.

So, several months ago, the young adults in our life, 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 them!  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 thinking about why they wanted us to watch it.  And then I would think about it some more.  I felt like there was more there than I was ‘getting.’  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.  And I still don’t get it all.  But I get a little more of it.  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.  Or hate it.  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.  But there’s something I noticed in the movie.  And it has to do with the main character, the mother, the wife, Evelyn.  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, etc. 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.  She is having none of this story.  She thinks the man, who appears to be her husband, is crazy.  She is worrying about the IRS.  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?  This woman, wife, mother, business owner, daughter, she is having none of this.  

But then in the course of things, she gets transported to another reality and she learns martial arts.  Then she is back in the IRS office.  And they are after her, so she decides to try out these new powers.  And they work!

As the movie goes on, she puts her powers to use.  Powers of violence as well as powers of kindness, love, and persuasion and, well, things happen.  She gets things done.  She makes a difference.  She starts to trust her powers.  And she assumes her role in this great drama of vanquishing evil.  The more she tries out her powers and uses them, the more she trusts them and sees the potential for efficacy.  I won’t tell you how the movie ends, in case you see it.  But we learn that she starts out chosen for this important role in the multiverse, vanquishing the evil enemy, because she is not good at anything.  And she is given the powers needed and she puts them to use.

And maybe one of the things that hooks me in this movie are the resonances with our Christians stories.  We have a Bible full of stories of common, unremarkable people being chosen for monumental missions.  Like Samuel choosing David as King.  Like David serving as King.  Like Mary birthing Jesus.  And like the story we heard this morning about the empowerment of the disciples.  

Think about it.  We are here thing morning, in this metaverse in this sanctuary for this church service.  And we are here because we are part of the Christian movement that began over 2,000 years ago in a remote, inconsequential province of the great Roman Empire.  There was this little fringe religious sect, the Jews.  And they expected a messiah to be sent by God to rescue them from the forces that were squelching them, their autonomy, their freedom.  And there was this Jesus guy who seemed to fit the bill.  But he got crucified; the most ignominious, heinous, humiliating death imaginable.  He was killed as a traitor in an excruciating manner.  And there were some of these Jews who had given their lives to this crucified Jesus.  What will happen?  Will the Roman authorities, or the Temple authorities, come for them?  Jesus was killed during a festival.  Hoards of people were in Jerusalem for the Passover Festival.  Fifty days later and it is time for the Pentecost festival.  A celebration of the first harvest of the season.  Another festival.  Will this be another opportunity for the authorities to clamp down on the Jesus community?  Will there be more attacks?  Are they next?  The followers of Jesus are dazed and reeling from his death  —  even 50 days later.  Yes, there are stories of resurrection.  But what is going to happen to them????  They are scared.  They are hiding.  They are afraid to go out.  They are watching their backs.  

And who are these people?  They are in Jerusalem, the capital.  The cultic center.  But they are from the hinterland where there is little sophistication.  Little education.  These people probably can’t read or write.  They aren’t schooled in marketing.  They don’t know anything about spreadsheets.  They are not social media whizzes.  They are down home hard working, solid simple people.  Salt of the Earth. 

But we are here today in this room, right now, centuries later, with all of our technology and communication advances, we are here, at this moment because of that little band of misfits and dreamers who lived long ago and far away.  People who were not expected to amount to much of anything.  

And we have this story that we heard today of how they were given power – power from God, the power of Love.  And they were able to communicate in different languages.  Preach and teach in ways that drew others in to this vortex of Love.  

And in the Pentecost story we are told that over 3,000 people were baptized that day.  And then each day, as time went on, there were more.  And these disciples go further afield in the Roman empire and beyond with their message of Love.  Empowered by the Holy Spirit of the God of Love, they put the power to work.  They test it out. They see the results.  And they learn to trust it.  And put it to work even more.  And more.  Taking greater risks.  And making a greater witness.  

And because of what they did, we are here at Lakewood United Church of Christ today.  Because of these people who weren’t of consequence.  Or status.  Who weren’t expected to amount to anything.  But who were given the power of forgiveness and love.  And who tried it out.  Put it to work.  And made a difference.  And it is because of them that we are here today, that the church is here today, that the story of Jesus is known today, that the way of Jesus is transforming lives in the world today.  I think those followers of Jesus in the Pentecost story would be beyond shocked at our being here because of them.  

In the movie, Everything Everywhere All At Once, Evelyn, this character of no note, being audited by the IRS, a clear manifestation of her powerlessness, ends up doing amazing things.  We might even say, in spite of herself.  

Now here we are, facing a multiplicity of challenges in the world around us and in our lives.  Yes, there is violence, war, greed, global warming, prejudice, small-minded myopia, and so much more.  People are suffering.  Rights are being taken away.  Lives are being demeaned and diminished.   We could construe all of this as a manifestation of evil that needs to be eradicated.  

And our faith story is about a God that gives ordinary, unremarkable people the power of love to confront all that diminishes and degrades the sacredness of life.  Our faith story is about a God who takes risks on lackluster people.  A God that gives dreams and visions and infuses people with the power of love so that earth becomes as it is in heaven – the reality of God made manifest in the life and ministry and relationships of Jesus.  

Pentecost reminds us that we are like EV’s plugged in to a power source.  A little, scared group of marginalized people got us here.  Today.  Because they accepted the power, they tried it out, the dared, they risked.  And here we are from another metaverse, centuries away, and they are saving our lives.  

In Everything Everywhere All At Once, Evelyn wants nothing to do with conquering evil and saving the world.  But when she is given the power and she starts to put it to use, she becomes less resistant.

We are the little people who are being given the power of Love to transform our lives, the lives of those around us, and the very life of the world.  

As a sign of our willingness to embrace the power of love and to test it out, put it to work, we have candles representing the light and power of love; the light of Jesus Christ, who is identified as the light of the world.  We have candles that remind us of the teaching, you are the light of the world.  And the admonition not to hide your light under a bushel but to put it on a stand for all to see.  This light, this power, is seeking to be present in us.  

As a sign of your willingness to receive the the power of love and to put it to work, you are invited to come forward and light the candle on the altar that you brought.  If you did not bring a candle, there are some additional candles provided that your are welcome to use.  

In lighting our candles, we affirm the presence of the Divine within us and among us and we consecrate ourselves as vessels for the power of Love.  We express our desire to be lit up, on fire, bearing witness to the transforming power of Love.

Please, come as you wish, and light your candle. 

Let us join the unison reading in the bulletin and affirm the healing power of the light of Divine Love.  

Reading: Blessed are you who bear the light                             Jan Richardson b. 1967

Blessed are you
who bear the light
in unbearable times,
who testify
to its endurance
amid the unendurable,
who bear witness
to its persistence
when everything seems
in shadow
and grief.
Blessed are you
in whom
the light lives,
in whom
the brightness blazes—
your heart
a chapel,
an altar where
in the deepest night
can be seen
the fire that
shines forth in you
in unaccountable faith,
in stubborn hope,
in love that illumines
every broken thing

it finds.

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
2601 54th Avenue South  St. Petersburg, FL  33712
On land originally inhabited by the Tocabaga
727-867-7961

lakewooducc.org
lakewooducc@gmail.com

Date: May 21, 2023
Scripture Lesson: 1 Peter 4:12-16, 5:6-11
Sermon: Cast Your Cares Upon God
Pastor:  Rev. Kim P. Wells

This past week I spoke with someone I have known for years about his childhood.  I had assumed that he had a typical upbringing in the 50’s and 60’s — until our recent conversation.  I found out the this person’s father died when he was 5 or 6 years old.  And then his mother died when he was in what was then called junior high.  And his brother, 7 years older, was his guardian.  

The two brothers lived together in the familial home.  Then when he was in high school, the brother was drafted – this was during the Vietnam War.  So, the brother went off to the service.  And my friend continued to live in the family home by himself and to finish high school.  He got a check for about $84 a month from Social Security and that is what he used to pay the utilities, etc.  The house was paid for.  As he told me about all of this, he did not seem sad or burdened.  This was simply his story.  His ‘normal.’  

I must have looked appalled or aghast as I listened because my friend added, “Things were different then.”  Yes, they were.  But still.  A high schooler left to raise himself?  I asked him, how was it being by yourself?  Were you lonely?  No, not really.  He had lots of friends and their parents helped to look out for him.  One parent of a friend saw to it that he was not drafted.  And he had lots of extended family in the area and they were looking out for him.  He had a community of support and he was able to move on with his life, get an education, work productively in his chosen career, and not really be significantly negatively impacted by his situation.  

This morning, we heard from First Peter, verses addressed to a people living under duress;  in adverse circumstances.  One thing they are told is not to bring more suffering upon themselves by doing evil like “being a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a destroyer of another’s rights.”  Note that – destroyer of another’s rights.  We can relate to that!  Some of our supposed Christian elected officials need to be reading their Bibles. 

In addition to not doing evil themselves, the people who are suffering are told to cast their cares on God.  In another translation, ‘cares’ is translated ‘anxiety.’  “Cast all your anxiety on God.”  Well, we, too, know about cares and anxiety in spite of the fact that we live in a time of access to amazing material comforts and medical care.  Still, who does not have anxiety – about death, health issues, finances, the future, global warming, our children and grandchildren, our society, those who are being left out and left behind, the rights that are being taken away from people, gun violence, and so much more.  No matter how much money we have or how comfortable and stable our life may seem, being a human being involves worry and anxiety.  And despite all of our accomplishments and progress as a species the experiencing of anxiety is on the rise on our context.  Maybe this is influenced by the internet which makes us aware of so much more pain in the world and in the lives of others.  And with more information sometimes it seems there is more to be afraid of.  No more ‘ignorance is bliss.’  Anxiety is on the rise.  And medical science has shown that the stress of anxiety has negative effects upon our physical health which gives us even more to worry about!  Articles abound about how to calm your anxieties through breathing, therapy, processing, relaxation exercises, etc.  First Peter invites us to add cast your cares, your anxieties, upon God as another tool in our kit to decrease our worries and our fears. 

So I am interested in this advice, cast your cares upon God.  We can be sure that this includes prayer.  Offering our worries, our fears, our anxiety, our grief, to God, how ever we may understand God, in prayerful devotion.  That is very important and can be extremely effective.  We are invited to unburden ourselves to God.  Through prayer, meditation, journaling, walking the labyrinth, and other spiritual disciplines.  I also think this casting your cares upon God is something that can happen when we gather as a faith community and share our concerns.  

The advisors are the governing board of our church.  They meet regularly to discuss things like personnel issues, property concerns, finances.  Always finances!  But at the beginning of each meeting, we begin with ‘check in.’  Each person is invited to share what is going on with them.  And then we extend that to the people of the church community for whom we are concerned.  We are at the meeting to be the church.  And yes, that involves administration, but I would hate to think that someone came to an advisors meeting heavily burdened and all we did was discuss the bank balance and the plumbing problem.  We are here to incarnate the love of Christ to one another, to share each other’s burdens and joys.  That’s why we bother with the budget. 

Cast your cares upon God.  To me, that is what we are here as a congregation to do.  And yes, we pray, but we also share our burdens, our anxieties, our cares, in community, in relationship with one another, and receive needed support and sympathy.   How did my friend make it through his stressful childhood?  With the support of a community of family and friends.  We are here to be that community for each other.

I remember one year, in stewardship season, I think, we had people in the congregation talk about what the church means to them and why they come to church.  One person mentioned, that she comes to church in part because “somebody may need me.”  Cast your cares.  We come with our needs and cares and anxieties but we also come knowing someone else may come needing us – to listen, to offer spiritual support, to care.  Yes, at church on Sunday there is singing and praying and praising and teaching, but there is also what appears to be casual conversation that may very well be an opportunity for us to share cares and worries and anxieties and know that they are received with love and concern.  In these exchanges we incarnate the love and care of God to one another.  

So I would like to invite you to take a few moments to think about what cares, worries, or anxieties are weighing on your heart this morning.  What is keeping you up at night?  Maybe something in your own life.  Maybe something in the life of someone you care about.  Maybe something in our society involving concern for others negatively impacted by societal forces.  So you are invited to just reflect for a few moments on the cares and anxieties that you are carrying within you at this moment.  

PAUSE

Now I would like to invite you to turn to someone else who is here this morning and have a brief conversation about your cares and concerns.  You can talk with someone you know or someone who is new to you.  I encourage you to consider talking with someone that you don’t typically engage with.  You can get up and move.  You can adjust the chairs to suit your conversation.  So, take 5 minutes or so to share something that is weighing on your heart with someone who is here this morning and to listen to the cares of another.

SMALL GROUP CONVERSATION

Is there anyone who would like to comment on this experience before we wrap up?

Cast your cares upon God.  That is one of the things we do at church each week.  Yes, it can be a private, prayerful, experience, but it can also be a social experience done in community as we have done here today.  We are incarnating the love of God to one another as Jesus did.  We are sharing the cares and burdens we bring.  We are offering solace and spiritual support by listening and caring.  We are embodying Divine Love to one another.  And if you did not come with concerns that you need to unburden, you can be uplifted knowing that you helped to ease the burden of someone else by hearing their cares.  

We close with a prayer from contemporary mystic Andrew Harvey:

Mother,
Make of my heart
A vast bed of peace
Where you can lay down your heart
And rest from the agony that harrows it
From all we are and continue to do.
As you comfort me, so may I comfort you.
[Andrew Harvey, contemporary mystic]
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.