Author: Rev. Wells

Greetings and welcome to Corona Sabbath.  This is one of the ways the church is endeavoring to offer spiritual support during these challenging days of COVID-19.    We appreciate your feedback and suggestions.

This post focuses on All Saints Day.  We think about the story of the death of Moses and what it has to say to us about what it means to live our lives in God.   Jim Andrews reads the closing chapter of Deuteronomy, there is a reflection based on that story, and a music video created by Hilton Jones using pictures of saints submitted by the congregation.  So, we offer you this post.

Video of Deuteronomy 34:1-12

Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, the headland of Pisgah which faces Jericho, and Yahweh showed him all the land – Gilead as far as Dan, all of Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, the Negev, and the stretch of the valley of Jericho, the city of palms, and as far as Zoar.  Then Yahweh said to Moses, “This is the land I swore to Sarah and Abraham, to Rebecca and Isaac, to Leah, Rachel, and Jacob that I would give to their descendants.  I have let you feast your eyes upon it, but you will not cross over.”

So there in the land of Moab, Moses the servant of God died as Yahweh decreed, and he was buried in the valley opposite Beth Peor in the land of Moab, but to this day no one knows the exact burial place.  Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyesight was strong and he was still quite vigorous.  For thirty days the Israelites wept for Moses in the plains of Moab, until they had completed the period of grief and mourning.

Now Joshua ben-Nun, was filled with the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him.  And the Israelites gave him their obedience, carrying out the order God had given to Moses.

Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom Yahweh knew face to face.  There is no equal to all the signs and wonders Yahweh our God caused Moses to perform in the land of Egypt, against Pharaoh and all of pharaoh’s officials and the whole land.  How mighty the hand and how terrifying the displays of power that Moses wielded in the sight of all Israel!

Reflection from Kim

Moses is probably one of the most significant religious figures in human history.  He is important to Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Baha’i.  The Gospel of Matthew patterns the story of Jesus on the story of Moses.  The flight to Egypt.  The Sermon on the Mount.  And other stories that echo Moses.  Why?  Because Moses was a pinnacle of faithfulness to God.  He led his people not only out of slavery but he helped prepare them to become a model community of justice and righteousness centered in God, in love.  Moses – of the bull rushes, of the plagues and the river of blood, of the parting of the Red Sea, of the ten commandments – Moses is a legendary figure in the human drama.

And what do we do with our towering personages?   We revere them.  We honor them.  We celebrate them.  We commemorate them.  We give them a holiday.  We paint their portraits.  We name our children after them.  We enshrine their remains.  We build memorials.  We erect towers.

But in the story of the death of Moses, we are told, “. . . he was buried in the valley opposite Beth Peor in the land of Moab, but to this day no one knows the exact burial place.”  No one knows where Moses was buried.  No pyramid for Moses.  Not even an impromptu shrine of flowers and mementos and empty liquor bottles and pictures and teddy bears.  Nothing.  At the grave.  No one knows the exact burial place.

This legendary figure has no grave to be visited or decorated, even for Dia De Los Muertes.  This seminal prophet dies.  The people observe 30 days of mourning.  And there is a peaceful transfer of power to Joshua.  And the saga continues.  The people transition from wandering in the wilderness to settling in the Promise Land.  Moses is offered a glimpse of the land but he does not enter it.  He dies before the people move into the land and settle.  God’s vision for the Israelite people continues to unfold.  They continue to move into the future with faith and leadership provided by Joshua.

There is no personality cult in this story.  The people are not to revere Moses.  They are to emulate his faithfulness and commitment and trust in God.  They are to continue God’s mission of creating a society of justice and compassion.  The dedication and reverence and loyalty of the people is not to Moses but to God and God’s vision for them.  That is how it should be.

All Saints Day is about remembering those who have given us a glimpse of God, of God’s vision, of God’s love.  In them we have seen a reflection of God’s dreams for Creation.  It is not about the person but about the love, the faith, and the values that we see in the person; that shine forth from the person, that are embodied in the person.  Saints are saints because they show us something of God.  They model for us how to express the Divine image within us.  They help us to find the Divine within ourselves.  They help light the way for us.  So that we, too, can bear witness to the love of God.  Saints move the drama of God’s unfolding hopes and dreams forward.  And for the most part, they have no idea that they are doing this.  They don’t even realize that they are saints.  And yet they are part of something so much bigger.  We know because of the impact those we name as saints have had in our lives.

Twentieth Century theologian Reinhold Niebuhr said, “Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in a lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope.”  Nothing worth doing can be done in a lifetime.  Each of us plays our part, moves things along.  We are part of an emerging reality.  But, like Moses, we don’t get to the Promised Land.  We simply do what we can to move the needle forward.  Part of a larger story, unfolding over time – a thousand ages for us like an evening for God the psalmist tells us.   

Therefore we are not to worry about whether we will be remembered with a memorial or a shrine.  We are only to hope that something of the Divine in us will be seen by others and will live on in them.  Whether we know it or not!  Whether they know it or not!

The book of Revelation tells of multitudes of saints gathered at the throne of God.  Maybe no one knows where they were buried.  But maybe somehow they passed on their devotion to the hopes and dreams of God.  This is a day to remember those who have shown us visions of God, in the world and in ourselves.  So that we, too, might be saints.     

As Catherine of Siena, a saint of the 14th century, advises:

Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.

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Greetings and welcome to Corona Sabbath. This is one of the ways the church is endeavoring to offer spiritual support during these challenging days of COVID-19. We appreciate your feedback and suggestions.

This post focuses on compassion and our motivations for considering the interests of others. There is a scripture reading, a reflection, and music from Hilton Jones.

We listen to 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8. The writer lays out his understanding of his relationship with the faith community at Thessalonica. And sees no self interest involved.

And you yourselves know, sisters and brothers, that our coming among you was not without effect. We had, as you know, been given rough treatment at Philippi, and it was our God who gave us the courage to proclaim the Good News to you in the face of stiff opposition. We don’t preach because of impure motives or deceit or any sort of trickery; rather, it was God who decided that we are fit to be entrusted with the Good News, and when we are speaking, we’re trying to please not mortals, but God, who can read our inmost thoughts.

You know very well – and can swear it before God – that never at any time has our speech been simple flattery or a cover for trying to get money; nor have we ever looked for any special honor from you or from anyone else – even though we could have imposed ourselves on you as apostles of Christ. On the contrary, while we were with you we were as gentle as any nursing mother caring for her little ones. So well disposed were we toward you, in fact, that we were willing to share with you not only the Good News, but our very lives as well – you had become that dear to us.

Reflection from Kim

I nursed all three of our children. The first two for a year each and the third child for the then recommended 2 years. Day, night, 24/7, I was their source of food.

I remember when we had our first child we lived in Manhattan. When he wanted to eat in the middle of the night, I would feed him in our one darkened bedroom where baby and parents all slept. I would look out the window of our apartment to the other apartment buildings near by and see lights on in some of the windows, and I would think, Well, I’m not the only one who is awake. I felt the solidarity and camaraderie of those strangers with their lights on in the middle of the night. They helped to get me through those lonely, dark feedings. And they will never know that!

Nursing is a miraculous system designed to meet the needs of the child. It is the perfect system to insure the care and growth of the infant. It is literally life giving. This is my body given for you. . . And the writer of Thessalonians mentions nursing.

In the beautiful passage we heard, there is that wonderful verse:

“while we were with you we were as gentle as any nursing mother caring for her little ones. So well disposed were we toward you, in fact, that we were willing to share with you not only the Good News, but our very lives as well – you had become that dear to us.”

While we were with you we were as gentle as any nursing mother caring for her little ones. The apostle and his cohorts offered the Good News of Jesus Christ to the people of Thessalonica as a mother offers milk to a child – out of concern for their wellbeing, out of a desire to see them grow and thrive.

But the original readers don’t seem to understand this. They seem to think that the writer and his associates had other motives. Motives of self interest. Maybe of material gain. The writer has to mention, we did not share the Gospel with you out of impure motives, deceit, trickery, flattery, or as a cover for trying to get money or special honors. They are spreading the gospel, giving this gift to the Thessalonians, for the wellbeing of the Thessalonians. No self interest or personal gain involved. This is not a transactional relationship – we gave the gospel to you so that you would give us something to us in return. No. They have brought the gospel, like a nursing mother, for the well being of others.

Sadly, faith is often seen as offered in a self serving way. A gift with a catch. Europeans took the gospel around the world, but they insisted on imposing western culture along with the gospel thus denigrating other peoples and cultures and exploiting their resources – human and natural. I think Desmond Tutu says something about after the European missionaries came to Africa, the Africans had the Bible and the Europeans had the land. That kind of imperialism under the guise of sharing the gospel was thought of in western culture as benevolent. We now know better.

And we still regularly see examples of religious leaders who extort their congregations – taking money and living lavish life styles. Religion can be a lucrative gig. Getting people to invest in their afterlife abode with a monetary deposit in the coffers of the church in this world. Buying that bit of heaven. It’s a message ripe for manipulation and corruption.

It’s no wonder people are suspect – the Thessalonians as well as many people today.

And it is no wonder that we may be reticent to share with others the life giving power and strength that we find in our faith. It is no wonder we are hesitant to tell of the life sustaining power of the way of Jesus. It is not surprising that we feel awkward advocating for love and forgiveness. Religion is so ripe for deception and extortion.

Yet, today, so many people today are spiritually undernourished. They are starving. They are hungry. They want to grow and thrive, but don’t know how. Don’t know where to find true, nourishing sustenance. This is evident in rising rates of addiction, depression, and anxiety. This is evident in blatant expressions of racism and bigotry. We see it in the rise of fundamentalism in many religions and political movements. We see it in the greed and growing economic disparities in our country. We see the ravages of this hunger all around us. In people we know. In public figures. This gaping hunger for the way of love, acceptance, forgiveness, compassion, and service. The way of Jesus. The desire for the mother’s milk of the gospel. But people don’t know what it is or where to find it.

The explanation in Thessalonians gives us a way to approach this. Like a nursing mother. Not heavy handed imposition. Not a guilt trip. Not some kind of extortion or manipulation. No patronizing disrespect. No paternalistic demeaning. Just simple succor. Gently sharing our lives. Sharing how we find grounding, solace, and sustenance in the way of Jesus. An on ramp to a way of love and joy, getting off the path of greed, material consumption, getting even, winning and losing.

We have found our hunger and thirst for well being, for wholeness, satisfied by the gospel. We have been nurtured and sustained by our faith. We know our need and what has been given to us in the good news of Jesus Christ – to help us learn and grow and become more aware. To make us stronger, to help us develop into more mature human beings whose purpose is to love fully and freely.

We are needed to simply share what we have been given, what sustains us. And we can do this, like a nursing mother, because we have been nursed – we have been given what we need by our faith tradition, through family, through the church, through the scriptures, to grow and thrive. We are needed to gently offer ourselves, our stories, our lives to a malnourished, hungry world. Amen.

(Click HERE if you wish to see the post containing the video of this text.)

Greetings and welcome to Corona Sabbath. This is one of the ways the church is endeavoring to offer spiritual support during these challenging days of COVID-19. We appreciate your feedback and suggestions.

This post focuses on considering our loyalties in fractious times. There is a scripture reading, a reflection, and music from Hilton Jones. Barbara Donohue reads Matthew 22:15-22. In this story, religious leaders want to bait Jesus into saying something controversial that he will regret. Kind of sounds like a political debate or a judicial confirmation hearing which we are very familiar with at this moment in contemporary American life. But Jesus avoids the trap and his challengers retreat, stunned.

Video from Barbara Donohue.

Scripture Matthew 22:15-22

Then the Pharisees went off and began to plot how they might trap Jesus by his speech. They sent their disciples to Jesus, accompanied by sympathizers of Herod, who said, “Teacher, we know you’re honest and teach God’s way sincerely. You court no one’s favor and don’t act out of respect for important people. Give us your opinion, then, in this case. Is it lawful to pay tax to the Roman emperor, or not?”

Jesus recognized their bad faith and said to them, “Why are you trying to trick me, you hypocrites? Show me the coin which is used to pay the tax.” When they handed Jesus a small Roman coin, Jesus asked them, “Whose head is this, and whose inscription?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

At that, Jesus said to them, “Then give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, but give to God what is God’s.”

When they heard this, they were astonished and went away.

Video from Kim

Reflection from Kim

Back in Jesus’ day, separation of church and state, religion and empire, was not a thing. The Roman Empire, the state, the government required worship of gods and cultic worship practices to entrench its influence and power. Caesar was seen as a god, and people were to worship Caesar, among a pantheon of other gods. This was the civic duty of those living in the Roman Empire. The Jews got a bit of a pass and were allowed to practice their own religion, albeit with restrictions. For Jewish people, their ideal was a territory where their religion dictated the laws of the land. Religion and civic life were seen as one, just as they were in the Roman Empire. So religion and government were seen as a whole, a package, mutually reinforcing.

So, there is this question, about the preeminence of Caesar and God. If Jesus says flat out that God is more important than Caesar, he is committing treason against the Roman Empire. If he expresses support of Caesar and the Roman Empire, he is betraying his religion. And he’s talking with religious leaders. So, Jesus gives an answer that leaves the inquisitors stunned. And, like a good Jewish teacher, his answer is open to multiple meanings. And the listener is not just handed an easy fix but has to do some sorting.

Here is how this helps me in my walk of faith today. What is God’s? Everything. Everything is in God. God is in everything. God is reality. So for me, that means the values and commitments I associate with God, as I see them in Jesus, are the energy field that hold my life and my reality together.

When everything is God’s, everything falls into place. It gives you a way of seeing everything including government and politics. I get the values that I live out as a citizen from Jesus. So, in a way, we are back to no separation of faith and civic engagement because it is all in God. Indeed, civic engagement can become an expression of faith. It should be an expression of faith for those who are followers of Jesus.

Are there conflicts and compromises along the way? YES!!! And everything gets more complicated when the issue involves money, and money is part of just about everything, especially in politics!

But Jesus is very clear. What is God’s? If we don’t say everything and everyone, then who is the judge? Are we to judge? To play God? It is not up to us.

In February, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made a passionate statement about the relationship between faith and governance. In a hearing, she said:

“I know and it is part of my faith that all people are holy and all people are sacred unconditionally. . . We love all people. There is nothing holy about rejecting medical care for people no matter who they are. . . There is nothing holy about turning someone away from a hospital. There is nothing holy about rejecting a child from a family. There is nothing holy about writing discrimination into the law. And I am tired of communities of faith being weaponized and being mischaracterized because the only time religious freedom is invoked is in the name of bigotry and discrimination. I’m tired of it. . . . because you are not to be denied anything that I am entitled to, that we are equal in the eyes of the law and we are equal in my faith in the eyes of the world. . . It is not up to us to deny medical care. It is up to us to feed the hungry, to clothe the poor, to protect children, and to love all people as ourselves.”

AOC is clearly well-schooled in the teachings of Jesus and that has led her into politics and public service.

Give to God what is God’s. It is all God’s, in God. No compartmentalizing. No areas of life that fall outside the scope of our faith commitment. Everything is in God: Our work lives. Our relationships. Our engagement as citizens. Our sexual activities. Our bank accounts and economic activity. Our consumption and food. Our activities and pursuits. All of it is of God. Sacred. Holy. Universal, unconditional love encompassing all of reality. Each one of us it to live our lives accordingly, in our circumstances, in our situations, with our unique gifts and talents and experiences.

I am reading a book about arctic exploration, and there is discussion of the avid faith of Lieutenant William Edward Parry was part of polar expeditions in the 19th century. Apparently, Parry was known for his strong evangelical faith. We’re told: “To Parry, a man without religion was like a clock without weights or a mainspring. He himself prayed constantly, day and night. His sense of the infinite, already well developed, was certainly deepened and strengthened by the Arctic. In a later remarkable declaration Parry announced that he would give up his wife before he would give up his God.” [From Arctic Grail: The. Quest for the Northwest Passage and the North Pole, 1818-1909, Pierre Berton, p. 28] Oh, dear. Well, since his commitment to God was so sincere and complete, then I think his spouse had nothing to worry about. She had a loving, caring, faithful partner.

Jesus’ words do not leave me stunned or perplexed or confused. They give me a center. They root me. God. In all. Everything of God. Holy. Sacred. This illuminates everything else. This is the lens which enables us to see life clearly and honestly. And the right to live out our faith, in God/Spirit/Divine Love, as made known in Jesus, that right is protected and respected by the law of our land. Taxes? They can be seen as a way of supporting the common good, an expression of faith. Some people of faith are very willing to pay more taxes so that everyone can have access to affordable housing, food, clothing, higher education, and, yes, healthcare. If only those were the main functions of government spending! So, we are reminded to stay grounded in God first and foremost – pray, read the Bible, help others, and be sure to vote. Amen.

(Click HERE if you wish to see the post containing the video of this text.)

Greetings and welcome to Corona Sabbath.  This is one of the ways the church is endeavoring to offer spiritual support during these challenging days of COVID-19.    We appreciate your feedback and suggestions.

This post focuses on the process of change.  There is a scripture reading, a reflection, and music from Hilton Jones.  Colleen Coughenour reads Exodus 32:1-14.  This is the story of the golden calf.  While Moses is away praying to God on the mountain, the people take matters into their own hands and, Moses’ brother, Aaron, left in charge, is quite willing to placate his base.  A golden calf.  Sure.  No problem.  

Video from Colleen

Exodus 32:1-14

Moses was an extremely long time in returning from the mountain, and when the people saw this, they turned to Aaron and said, “Come and make a god for us, someone who will lead us.  We don’t know what has happened to that Moses, who brought us up from the land of Egypt.”

Aaron replied, “Remove the gold earrings you are wearing – wives and husbands, sons and daughters alike – and bring them all to me.”  All the people brought their gold earrings to Aaron.  Aaron took the gold, melted it down and cast it in a mold, and made it into a calf, a young bull.

Then the people said, “Israel, here is your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!”

When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before the idol, proclaiming, “Tomorrow we will have a feast in honor of Yahweh!“

In the morning the people rose early, sacrificing burnt offerings and bringing communion offerings, and then they sat down to eat and drink, and lost themselves in debauchery.

Yahweh said to Moses, “Go down, now!  These people whom you led out of Egypt have corrupted themselves!  In such a short time, they have turned from the way that I have given them, and made themselves a molten calf.  Then they worshipped it and sacrificed to it saying, ‘Israel, here is your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’”

Yahweh then said to Moses, “I look at these people – how stubborn they are!  Now leave me to myself so that my anger may pour out on them, and destroy them!  But you I’ll make into a great nation.”

Then Moses soothed the face of Yahweh, his God.  “But why, my God, should you let your wrath pour out on these people whom you delivered from Egypt with great might, with a strong hand?  Why should the Egyptians say, ‘Their God intended to destroy them all along, to kill them in the mountains, to erase them from the earth?’  Turn your back on your rage; reconsider the disaster you intended for your people.  Do not forget Sarah and Abraham, Rebecca and Isaac, and Leah and Rachel and Jacob, your chosen ones, to whom you promised, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky; I will give to you all this land which I have promised – I will give it to your descendants, and they will enjoy its inheritance forever.’”

So Yahweh relented, and the disaster that threatened the Israelites was forestalled.

Reflection from Kim

Ok.   This reflection is not going to be about the election.  From what I hear, people are so saturated and inundated with election news that it would not be of spiritual succor to talk about the election.  I get it.  

What I am going to talk about is change.  Transformation.  The emergence of social values and norms.  

We are in a time of major transition in human history/human emergence.  And accelerating climate change is a big component of this time of transition.  We’re in a radical turning – like the transition to settled agriculture, or the use of fire as a tool, or the invention of the wheel.  This transformation is technological, biological, and social/spiritual.  Things are changing.  Maybe not in the way we would like sometimes.  Maybe not fast enough at times.  But things are changing.

And as with previous major human transitions, we don’t know just where we are going or how long it will take to get there.  That will only be known from hindsight.  

And here we turn to the Hebrews wandering in the wilderness.  This grand Biblical epic.  The Hebrews migrated to Egypt during a drought to find food.  Then they become enslaved.  The story tells us that God hears their cries under the burden of their oppression and liberates them from slavery in Egypt.  Then there are 40 years of wandering in the wilderness before settling in the land of milk and honey.  

There are many chapters in the Hebrew scriptures devoted to those years of wandering.  The group is led by a cloud in the day and fire at night.  There are stories about needing water.   Stories of hunger and manna and quail.  

There are stories of the giving of the law – the 10 commandments.  Twice.  And many other directives regarding daily life, religious observance, a judicial system, a priestly system.  Extensive directives on many, many matters.   All aimed toward creating a model society of justice and peace.  

In Exodus 23, we find these directives:

“When you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden and you would hold back from setting it free, you must help to set it free.” 

We could see this as a statement about animal rights.

And, “You shall not oppress a resident alien; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.”

That is certainly a message that still needs to be heard by all church-going Americans today.  You were once an alien, an immigrant, a transplant.   

And, “You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in their lawsuits.”  

Yup.  It actually says that in the Bible.  Don’t screw the poor in the legal system.

I wonder if the president has ever read the Bible he waved around outside the church in Washington, DC?

And there is this instruction in Deuteronomy:

“If you come on a bird’s nest, in any tree or on the ground, with fledglings or eggs, with the mother sitting on the fledglings or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young.  Let the mother go, taking only the young for yourself, in order that it may go well with you and you may live long.”  [22:6]

There’s surely a conservation message there.

And there is the specific directive: “You shall not make gods of silver alongside me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold.”  [Ex. 20:23]

Ah.  That was one of the rules that was forgotten as we heard in the story of the golden calf.  The ideal is set forth, but it takes a long time to get there.  With many fits and starts along the way.  

We are told of the Israelites wandering in the wilderness for forty years.  That’s a long time for a society to be nomadic immigrants.  But change takes time.  Re-creation can be a slow process.  The people leave Egypt and must adjust to being out from under the Egyptian boot.  They must learn to let go of fear.  They must heal from the internalized oppression.  They must regain their agency.   They must figure out how to organize themselves.  Set up social structures to embody their commitment to justice and compassion.   Create a system of religious observance that keeps their life together focussed on this ideal community that is the expression of the dreams of God.  It takes time.  It takes the passing of generations.  Moses sees the promised land but does not enter it.  His life ends and Joshua takes over leading the people into their new forever home.  

The process of transitioning from slavery to a model community takes time and it is by no means a smooth, well-marked path.  The story of the golden calf is only one of the many hurdles to be overcome.  Challenges that required Moses to de-escalate God’s wrath and mobilize the re-commitment of the people.  Change is not easy.  

And in a sense we are still wandering in the wilderness, trying to make our way to a social order that is characterized by peace, justice, and well-being for all.  As Americans we say, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.  It is a long process.  Significant change takes time.  There is stumbling along the way.  There is back sliding.  And there are glorious leaps forward.  Like the Civil Rights legislation of the 1960’s.  We must continue the journey.  We must band together and recommit again and again and make our way toward Shalom, the beloved community, the commonwealth of God.  

We are part of a long process in our faith tradition and in the emergence of human history.  And right now we are in the midst of a significant transition in the human drama.  And yes, there is an election.  And yes, it matters.  But there is still a long road ahead and I am glad to be on that journey with the Lakewood UCC community!  Amen.  

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