Author: lakewooducc

Date: January 10, 2021 Outdoor worship
Scripture Lesson: Mark 1:4-11
Sermon: Downside Up
Pastor: Rev. Kim P. Wells

It was a slog, but some of us even read The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. Or maybe it was The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire. Or The Rise and Fall of the Ming Dynasty. We are captivated by the concept of the rise and fall of civilizations, cultures, governments, and movements as well as the rise and fall of individual leaders, entertainers, and other public figures.

This week, we have had cause to reflect on the rise and hopefully fall of the Trump era. More on that later.

But again and again in history we see the rise and fall of different phenomena.

In the scene that we were told about today from the gospel of Mark, we see a people who have fallen. They are on the down side of things. They are living under occupation. The Romans have the Jews under their thumb. They are being oppressed: their labor and their money extracted for Roman benefit. They are in the ‘fall’ position.

And we hear of this prophet, John, calling people to repent and be baptized. He is talking about preparing the way for one who will reverse their fortunes. A savior. A messiah. So the people pour from the capital, from villages and towns, out into the desert to hear John. To be part of creating the conditions for a rise in the fortunes of their people. They are turning toward God in hopes that God will bless them and improve their circumstances and rescue them from Roman oppression through the one who is to come.

And we are told that among those who head out to the Judean wilderness, to the banks of the Jordan River, is Jesus, of Galilee. And after he is baptized, a voice is heard saying, “You are my Beloved, my Own. On you my favor rests.” [Mark 1:11]

This story is written for us, for those who come after Jesus, for those who need to be told that Jesus carries the authority and approval of God.

And maybe part of why we need to be reminded of this is because Jesus doesn’t follow the usual human pattern of rise and fall. He doesn’t overthrow the Romans. He doesn’t become a civic ruler or military leader. He doesn’t follow the usual trajectory of rise to power, fortune and fame. In fact, Jesus inverts that pattern. He turns it upside down; his life ending in a humiliating public death on a cross.

James Howell of Duke Divinity School points this out when he writes, “In the world, it’s rise and fall. The rise and fall of the Third Reich, the rise and fall of the business tycoon, the rise and fall of a movie star. But with Jesus it’s fall and rise…We fall, and from that lowest point, we rise.”

We see this in the story of Jesus’ baptism. Jesus goes out to the wilderness to be baptized. The leaders in the capital, Jerusalem, the Temple authorities, they do not go out to the Jordan to be part of what John is doing. But Jesus goes among the common people. He goes low. He goes down into the water. The symbolism is of dying and rising to new life. Baptism is about the emergence of a new creation. Jesus invites people to be part of a new creation; a reality that is not based on the assumed pattern of rise and fall. The wielding of status, success, prominence, and power.

Jesus addresses himself to fall and rise not rise and fall. Again and again in his ministry we are told of his encounters with the lowly. He seeks out those who are lost and forgotten. Those who are suffering and marginalized. Those who are considered ‘less than.’ Jesus looks for those who have fallen, or been pushed down. So that he can lift them up. With Jesus it is about helping lift up those who are down. And he gets down to do it.

And what he teaches us is that our highest good is found in lifting others up. In helping the fallen to rise. That is how we rise. That is how we become a new creation.

The conventional pattern of rising involves amassing wealth, or status, or power, or influence. And this is often done on the backs of others. Empires are built on the shoulders of smaller countries and their wealth and labor. The Roman Empire. The British Empire. And, yes, the American Empire, came to what is seen as greatness on the backs of slaves from Africa, labor from Asia and Mexico, and natural resources extracted form other lands. And the wealth of the few continues to be built on the backs of the many who are denied health care, pensions, vacation time, affordable housing, good schools, clean air and water, etc. It is built on the backs of people who work long hours in unsafe conditions here and abroad. The rise is achieved on the fall of others as it was in Jesus’ day. But what Jesus shows us is what it means to rise by lifting others and standing beside them not by standing on their backs. He shows us that we rise by going down, looking down, reaching down, and serving others. We elevate our humanity by honoring the humanity of others, especially those who are hurting and struggling and bereft. And what Jesus shows us is that we are to lift each other, one on one, and as a community, a society. The people who went to John the Baptizer were looking to lift their people, their society, in the face of the oppression of the Roman Empire. It was about lifting the community as a whole. They were seeking a better future for their country.

We are called to lift one another one by one, yes, but also to lift one another by creating institutions and organizations and power arrangements and economic systems that lift everyone. We are called to pursue justice for society as a whole. We are called to lift each other through societal arrangements that provide for everyone, not arrangements that provide for some at the expense of others.

The way of Jesus undermines the whole notion of hierarchy and rise and fall. Maybe that is why we need to hear again that what Jesus is showing us is the way of God. The way of Divine Love. That Jesus is beloved, favored by God. Because we are always in danger of doubting, of being drawn into the power arrangements that lead to the traditional model of rise and fall.

Rise and fall. We saw the manifestation of that phenomenon this week. A president who built his rise on the backs of people who perceive themselves as being left behind, ignored, forgotten, cut out, and cut down. Using them for his gain. And once it became clear that his cause was lost, he had no more need of them. It was never about them and their needs. It was always about him and his needs and what they would do for him. And now they can do nothing for him so he has abandoned them. That is rise and fall.

But we, as followers of Jesus, are to be about fall and rise. And a great challenge for us as Christians and for our society is how we are going to reach out to those who have been betrayed by the president. They are still our neighbors and coworkers. Still our family members and fellow citizens. So, how are we going to reach out, reach down, and help to lift up those who are angry and hurt and embittered? What about their pain? They, too, need lifting up. What word of hope and uplift and redemption do we have? How can we talk about a rise for all who have been battered? I don’t know exactly, but I know that we must take this seriously.

The story of the baptism of Jesus does not just tell us who Jesus is, it tells us who we are. We are the ones lifted by the love of Jesus. No matter how low we may be. No matter how deep we are mired. Jesus goes low. Reaches down. And lifts us up. And he calls us to extend our hand. And take hold of another.

As followers of Jesus, we are to concern ourselves not with the rise and fall, but with the fall and rise. Our fall under the water of baptism, our death to the ways of the worldly power, and our rise to the way of Jesus, lifting each other in love. Let us remember the call of God in our lives empowering us. Brennan Manning, who wrote The Ragamuffin Gospel, puts it this way:

“Define yourself radically as one beloved by God. This is the true self. Every other identity is illusion.” [Brennan Manning, Abba’s Child: The Cry of the Heart for Intimate Belonging, 20th century]

Hear that again: “Define yourself radically as one beloved by God. This is the true self. Every other identity is illusion.”

May we part of the fall and rise that define the commonwealth of God. 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.

Date: Jan. 23, 2022
Scripture Lessons: Nehemiah 8:1-10 and Luke 4:14-30
Sermon: Re-Set
Pastor: Rev. Kim P. Wells

During the Montgomery bus boycott, Dr. Martin Luther King’s house was bombed He was out at a meeting, but his wife, Coretta, and their baby, Yoki, along with a parishioner, Mrs. Mary Lucy Williams, were in the house. No one was hurt. That night, Dr. King had to pull himself back from descending into bitterness. He tells us:

“I tried to put myself in the place of the three commissioners. I said to myself these men are not bad men. They are misguided. They have fine reputations in the community. In their dealings with white people they are respectable and gentlemanly. They probably think they are right in their methods of dealing with Negroes. They say the things they say about us and treat us as they do because they have been taught these things. From the cradle to the grave, it is instilled in them that the Negro is inferior. Their parents probably taught them that; the schools they attended taught them that; the books they read, even their churches and ministers, often taught them that; and above all the very concept of segregation teaches them that. The whole cultural tradition under which they have gown — a tradition blighted with more than 250 years of slavery and more that 90 years of segregation — teaches them that Negroes do not deserve certain things. So these men are merely children of their culture. When they seek to preserve segregation they are seeking to preserve only what their local folkways have taught them was right.” [From Stride Toward Freedom, 1958, quoted in The Radical King: Martin Luther King, Jr., edited and introduced by Cornel West, pp. 11-12.]

Each of us is in some measure a product of our culture. Part of the function of culture is to form our identity. And, as King alludes, and the “South Pacific” song reminds us, ‘We’ve got to be carefully taught.’ And sometimes what our culture teaches us is at odds with the basic human values of morality and goodness. And it is also at times in conflict with the precepts of our faith as Christians. And, as King points out, and as we know from experience as well as from thousands of years of history, sometimes even our religious tradition leads us astray.

We see this in the story that we heard from Nehemiah. The people all gather for the reading of the scroll. And when they hear the law of Moses, the intentions of God for their community, they realize how far they have strayed, and they are sad, weeping, distraught. But the leaders tell them to rejoice. They see the error of their ways. They are regretful. They want to return to God. They are sorry. They can make a new start. And this recommitment brings joy to God. And the joy of God is their strength. It will give them the power to follow through on their commitment, to start anew, to clean things up. So it is an occasion to celebrate, a new beginning, a re- turning to God.

That is the kind of hope and possibility that King and the Black church saw in the bus boycott and the civil rights movement in general. It was an opportunity for a re-set. To recommit to the values expressed in the Constitution and certainly in the Judeo- Christian tradition. Remember, most Southern segregationists were church goers. Probably most Klan members were church members, too. Here was a moment to make a new beginning. To deal with the past honestly and to chart a new course into the future that would honor the dignity and humanity of all races and classes of people. Everyone truly a beloved child of God. Sacred. To be treated with dignity and respect. Period. And wouldn’t that kind of re-set bring joy to God and offer strength to the people, all of the people?

There is a similar situation in the gospel story that we heard. Jesus is reading in his hometown synagogue for the first time. He is given a scroll. Isaiah. The verses express God’s commitment to liberation — good news to the poor. Well, they were poor, made poor by Roman extortion and taxation. Liberty to those held captive.

They were being strangled under Roman rule. They so wanted their freedom. Recovery of sight to the blind. Yes, they wanted healing and wholeness. Release to those in prison. There were many in debtor’s prison because of the land seizures and taxes. They wanted relief. And the year of God’s favor. That was a reference to Jubilee when all debts were cancelled and all land restored to the original owner. Truly an economic and social reset. They were ready. As an oppressed people, this was good news.

But then Jesus reminds them that God’s liberation is intended for all who are bound, who are suffering. The references to the widow of Zarephath and Namaan are examples of God’s concern for all people not just people of the Jewish tradition. God is committed to the poor and captive whatever their religious or ethnic identity; a God of universal compassion. Well, the people of Nazareth don’t like this. They want favored status. They want to hear about a God that focuses the rescue efforts on them alone. So when they see the gap between their desires and God’s intentions, they are not moved by sadness or regret, they are angry. And they try to drive Jesus off of a cliff. But of course, the purposes of God will prevail. Not only against an angry mob but against the grave. God’s dreams cannot be killed or snuffed out or eradicated.

So when the faith community is faced with the reality of injustice, which is a failure to love on the societal scale, how do we respond? Sadness. Yes. Anger. Yes. And there is denial.

Desert Wisdom from early Christianity tells us: “Abba John the Little said: We have abandoned a light burden, namely self-criticism, and taken up a heavy burden, namely self-justification.”

That was true in Jesus’ day. In King’s day. And in our current times.

But as we heard this morning, ours is a faith that teaches the power of new beginnings, of new starts, of the re-set. We see this in story after story associated with Jesus. Forgive 70 times 7. The prodigal son. The one without sin cast the first stone. And the forgiveness offered by Jesus from the cross. Ours is a faith that is always redemptive and reconciling. This is not to say the past should be ignored or denied or distorted. It is to say that whatever the past, there can be a way forward.

This is one of the key functions of Christianity — to help people move forward, toward greater wholeness and community for everyone so that all can thrive and flourish. It is a message of hope and transformation. With God ALL things are possible.

So it is not surprising that when it came to the bus boycott in Montgomery, this amazing mobilization was possible because it was supported completely by the Black churches of Montgomery. The churches offered their buildings for meetings several times a week for months often involving thousands of people. The churches offered their vehicles for transportation, their staffs and facilities for operations, and of course, they provided constant spiritual support through worship, prayer, and inspirational preaching from all of the clergy. It took a lot to keep people motivated and moving many miles for months and months. And the churches were there. Persisting in this painful process of transformation. This re-set.

These churches were very different in character and from different denominations which had different theologies and interpretations of scripture and ritual practices, but they could all agree that each and every human being was made in the image of God. They could agree that they were worthy of being treated with dignity and respect. And they could agree on loving your neighbor and loving your enemy, those that revile and persecute you. On those basic Christian teachings, they could agree.

Frankly, it’s hard to imagine the Christian community coming together like that today, white or Black. Things have become so fragmented and siloed and divided. Are there basics the faith community can agree upon? I sat near someone at a recent legislative update for religious leaders, and the topic of gun violence came up. The legislator is working for gun control. I made a comment to the woman beside me about how that was in the spirit of Jesus, and how Christians are to love their enemies not shoot them. She replied that that was appropriate for those times. At her church, they had armed security details. Ok. Well. Do we have any common ground? I don’t know. And this is a problem because the moral voice of the church, consistent with the teachings of Jesus that we see in King and others, is desperately needed today. Yes, there are fewer church goers than there were in the 50’s and 60’s. And, yes, the power of the church in society has decreased, but the possibility still exists for those of us in the church to embrace the moral authority of our tradition and speak up and speak out and not only against racism, but against every form of oppression and global warming which are strangling our country and our world.

Here there is more that we can learn from the bus boycott. When the court ruling mandated the integration of the buses in Montgomery, the Black church leaders made a concerted effort to prepare their people for this new reality. They passed out sheets with guidelines about how to behave riding the bus. They did trainings on how to behave a variety of situations that may arise. They practiced how to respond to hostility from white people. The ending of segregation on the buses was a huge re-set for Montgomery, and the Black leaders wanted to make sure that their people were prepared for this new reality. They wanted to do all that they could to support this new opportunity. They wanted to make it work for everyone. They did not want to antagonize the white bus riders or fuel further hostilities.

And how about the white churches of Montgomery? How did they prepare their people for this re-set? For this new reality? For this unfolding manifestation of the liberation that Jesus refers to from Isaiah in the story we heard today? Despite encouragement from their Black colleagues, they did nothing. Nothing to help prepare the way. Make the road smooth. Clear the path. Nothing. Maybe they thought Jesus would take care of everything for them. We don’t know.

What we do know is that we are a re-set religion. We are a faith rooted in new beginnings. The God of our tradition never abandons us. Divine Love is constant and unfailing. Our turning toward God, toward justice, toward love, toward wholeness and healing, is always an occasion for joy!

We have mammoth societal problems that plague us, and we are all dealing with personal dis-ease and heartbreak and grief. There is addiction, mental illness, and the psychological toll of the pandemics – covid, as well as racism, and sexism, and ethnocentrism, and white supremacy. There are so many divides. And now more than ever, the voice of Christianity is needed to echo Jesus, our teacher and leader – Love. Yourself. No matter how others or society treat you. Love yourself. You are holy and sacred. Love your neighbor. No matter what that neighbor looks like. Or where they are from. Or what foods they eat. Or what language they speak. Or what they wear. Or where they sleep. Love every neighbor. For every single human being is a temple of Divine Love. Love your enemy. Those who hate you. Disagree with you. Seek to harm you. Those you don’t understand. Those you can’t stand. Those who do harm. They can only be made whole with love. And we can only be made whole when we love even those we consider vile, misguided, and evil.

We come here each Sunday, to this sacred space, to this community of love and spiritual support, to be reminded of the dreams of God. And to equip ourselves to live into the compassion and healing that is possible for not only for us but for our enemy, and for our beloved world. We come here to train ourselves to go out into the world and treat everyone as sacred and holy and to honor the earth despite the forces of the culture around us that deny this reality. We come here to learn about how to seek reconciliation and restoration of relationships. We come to learn to be freed from the past which binds us and to pursue dreams of forgiveness and new beginnings. We come here to practice being part of a new reality. To be reminded that another world is possible. Things can be different. There can be change.

Here we are reminded of what is in our sacred story. There is good news for the poor. There is liberty for the captive. There is sight for the blind. There is release for those who are bound. There is economic liberation.

As we heard this morning, Jesus slipped through the crowd that sought to kill him. His ministry did not end on the brow of the hill near Nazareth. The way of God’s universal justice and solidarity and peace will persist and prevail. 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.