Author: lakewooducc

Date: Oct. 3, 2021 World Communion Sunday
Scripture Lesson: Job 1:1-3, 2:1-13
Sermon: The Integrity of Job
Pastor: Rev. Kim P. Wells

So, what do Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Spain, Uruguay, and Venezuela all have in common?

Yes, they are all Spanish-speaking countries, which we are honoring this National Hispanic Heritage month in the US. But there is something else that these countries have in common. The people in all of these countries have known suffering and not just as a result of the process of colonization and exploitation.

Indeed, people in every country, in every region, in every community, in the world suffer. The experience of suffering, in some form, is universal.

Everyone suffers. Regardless of language, ethnicity, circumstances, income, age, sexual identity, lifestyle, or education, everyone experiences suffering. Whether you are Pentecostal, or evangelical, or Catholic, or Orthodox, or Mainline Protestant, or fundamentalist, you know suffering. Whether you are Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu, Zoroastrian, atheist, agnostic, Jewish, Wiccan, animist, or Unitarian/Universalist, suffering is part of your life experience. Democrats, Republicans, Greens, Independents, all experience suffering. People from countries that are communist, socialist, monarchist, dictatorships, and representative democracies, all experience suffering. Omnivores, carnivores, vegetarians, vegans, and pescatarians, all experience suffering. Teachers, doctors, tech ceos, mechanics, servers, clerks, managers, truck drivers, engineers, social workers, politicians, and farmers, all experience suffering.

Everyone suffers. Each of us in the human family suffers. We experience the disorientation, the numbness, the anger, the helplessness, the obsession, the distraction, the pain, the outrage, the desolation, the sorrow, the misery, the disappointment, and the grief, of suffering.

This World Communion Sunday, while we are joined in faith with Christians around the world, we realize that we are in very different circumstances. Some will observe communion in open air services with drums playing. Some will eat the bread and cup in a gorgeous, ancient cathedral drenched in the colored light of stained glass. The liturgy will be in different languages. The customs and prayers will be different. But all who observe this World Communion Sunday will come to the table having experienced suffering of some kind. We all suffer. And as Christians, we follow a Savior who personally experienced some of the worst suffering imaginable — and not only physical. Jesus also suffered injustice, being wrongly accused and punished, being misunderstood, being betrayed and deserted by his friends. Our faith is centered in a suffering servant. There is comfort in that solidarity. A knowing that God, however we may perceive God, knows suffering. Whatever the religion, religion is about understanding, making sense of, navigating, accounting for, and lessening or healing the experience of suffering.

I recently read that the failed Holy Land Experience theme park in Orlando has been sold for $32 million. Apparently, the theme park was originally founded by Marvin Rosenthal, who was raised Jewish and became a traditional Baptist minister, to educate Christians about the Jewish roots of their faith. The property was then sold to Trinity Broadcasting Network. A spokesperson for AdventHealth, connected to the Seventh Day Adventist Church, said the property would be redeveloped to bring health-care services to the community. So, this property will continue to be an expression of faith, only now it will deal directly with suffering and with offering healing to the community, a key component of Christian witness and of religious expression. The site will doubtless do more good as a healthcare facility than it did as a theme park! [The Christian Century, 8.9.21, p. 8]

We all suffer. We all know pain and sorrow. And religion is intended to help us through it. While the book of Job shows us a kind of schoolyard contest between God and the accuser, Satan, as the source of devastation in the life of Job, we know that suffering comes from many sources in this life.

We suffer at the hands of society, and policies and prejudices that create victims. We suffer at the hands of authorities who abuse their power. We suffer in our families and schools, and from peers and social media. Sometimes we suffer at the hands of the medical profession. We suffer because of the treatment by others.

We suffer due to circumstances well beyond our control – like natural disasters, storms, fire, lightening strikes, floods, tidal waves, and countless other occurrences that lead to harm that are morally neutral and did not involve human choice. And there are accidents, pure and simple, things that no one intended or could have predicted or knew to prevent, that lead to suffering and even death.

And we certainly bring suffering upon ourselves – with decisions and actions and choices that lead us to experience pain, regret, guilt, and shame. We make health choices that contribute to physical suffering. We bear the responsibility of being part of a society that inflicts suffering. And now this includes our complicity in global climate change and the suffering that is causing. Our attitudes and expectations can bring suffering upon us. So, while Job is presented as a completely innocent victim, we know that we often contribute to the suffering we experience in our own lives and we can be associated with inflicting suffering; it does not only come from outside sources.

And the path of life inevitably brings suffering because it ends in death. We die. Those we love die. And that process is difficult because life is so precious. Really the only way to go through life without suffering is to live without love of any kind in your life, and that may just be a living death. So suffering is inevitable part of life. It comes with being alive. As Job puts it, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there; God gave, and God has taken away; blessed by the name of God.” [1:21]

In his classic book, When Bad Things Happen to Good People, Rabbi Harold Kushner cites this story:

“There is an old Chinese tale about the woman whose only son had died. In her grief, she went to the holy man and said, ‘What prayers, what magical incantations do you have to bring my son back to life?’ Instead of sending her away or reasoning with her, he said to her, ‘Fetch me a mustard seed from a home that has never known sorrow. We will use it to drive the sorrow out of your life.’ The woman set off at once in search of that magical mustard seed. She came first to a splendid mansion, knocked at the door and said, ‘I am looking for a home that has never known sorrow. Is this such a place? It is very important to me.’ They told her ‘You’ve certainly come to the wrong place,’ and began to describe all the tragic things that had recently befallen them. The woman said to herself, ‘Who is better able to help these poor unfortunate people than I, who have had misfortune of my own?’ She stayed to comfort them, then went on in her search for a home that had never known sorrow. But wherever she turned, hovels and in palaces, she found one tale after another of sadness and misfortune. Ultimately, she became so involved in ministering to other people’s grief that she forgot about her quest for the magical mustard seed, never realizing that it had in fact driven the sorrow out of her life.”

Yes, we all suffer. And we all seek to find relief or redemption from the experience of suffering.

And that shared experience can bring us together. It can help us to be aware of our common bond with others of our species, in solidarity, in community. Talk with people who have faced some kind of disaster together – like a hurricane or a flood. There is a bond there – we have been through this together. We see this with people who have been in the armed services together and faced danger and hardship.

When we hear of the sufferings of others, it touches our hearts, we understand, we feel sympathy and perhaps empathy. In this pandemic, we have seen beautiful bonds formed among people who have lost a loved one to covid. We have seen solidarity among workers who have faced challenges during covid, especially in the healthcare field. We have seen solidarity in dealing with the restrictions and deprivations necessary to get rid of covid. We have seen people help each other and reach out to their neighbors.

And covid has helped us to see another response to suffering – anger, hostility, selfishness, competition, rudeness, and lack of sympathy. We have seen horrible displays of inconsiderate, dangerous, self-centered behavior – from the refusal to wear a mask, to physically attacking airline personnel, to hoarding of basic goods, to the deceitful undermining of the main tool we have to use against the virus – the vaccine.

Our current situation shows us that we can choose whether suffering brings out compassion and understanding or whether it brings out hostility and selfishness.

We also find that just like suffering can bring us together in common recognition of our humanity and our pain, it can also bring us closer to God, or Spirit, or Divine Love, or however we talk about those inner resources of light and strength and resilience and perseverance. Suffering, pain, challenge, and distress, can open the door for us to rely on our spiritual resources with greater need and trust. We can become more deeply rooted in the promises of our faith.

Suffering and facing vicissitudes can lead us to experience deep love in new ways – love for ourselves, for others, and for God, however we understand God.

This is what we see in the case of Job. He was faithful at the beginning of the story. And he defends his integrity throughout the whole story. But he does not remain unchanged. The story includes an encounter between Job and God. Job is finally getting his much desired ‘day in court’ with God, where he can ask why he has been handed such an awful lot when he has stayed true to God all along. And what Job discovers is that, well, he just didn’t know what there was to know about God. He was faithful and devoted, but he didn’t realize how much more there was to God. More of the mystery of God is revealed to him in his encounter with God. He doesn’t get an explanation for his condition, his situation, but he experiences God more fully and he is in awe. At the end of the book, Job confesses to God:

“I know that you can do all things,
and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
. . .
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,

things too wonderful for me, which I did not
know.

. . .
I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees you;
therefore I despise myself,
and repent in dust and ashes.” [42:1-6]

Job’s experience expands his understanding and conception of God. Job is transformed. His faith is deepened. The connection between faithfulness and good fortune is severed, as it should be. But Job’s connection to God and his devotion grow stronger.

Job does not choose to follow the counsel of his wife, “Curse God, and die.” [2:9] though many do abandon their commitment to God when they experience severe pain and suffering. Instead of letting their experience of God, the Divine, the Holy, be transformed and deepened, they blame God and sever the relationship, evict God from their thoughts and their consciousness.

We all suffer. No matter how good we are. How rich we are. How apathetic we are. How abusive we are. No matter how we treat others. Or others treat us. We’ll still experience suffering in this life. Job invites us to be open to that experience. To let it bring us together with others and strengthen our common bond as human beings regardless of our background or circumstances. And Job invites us to find a deeper experience of God, of good, of love, of light, through our experience of suffering. And to be transformed by that experience.

We see the blessing of suffering in this beautiful story about a mission trip to Nicaragua:

“We thought we went to Nicaragua to build houses and get to know about the country and people. We discovered God had a lot more in store for us. We built the better part of three houses and had fun exploring the countryside: swimming on white sand beaches, horseback riding, and boating on the lake. We made friends at the work sites, sharing simple feasts of freshly caught fish. In the end we learned a lesson of humility concerning how God can use each of us in powerful and unexpected ways.

“The presence of our mission team gave the local pastor an opportunity to hold a revival. We provided preaching and special music — a little intimidating for members of our group. Four days into our stay, I was approached by a middle-aged man. With the help of the interpreter his story unfolded. The night before, a member of our group had preached about the power of Christ demonstrated by the raising of Lazarus. This man came to believe through the revival and observing us taking time as a group each morning to pray that our group was truly filled with God’s Spirit. He wanted us to pray over Carlos, his son, who had epilepsy.

“No one in the group had participated in a service like this before, but we took it very seriously. We sang. We prayed. We read scripture from James that tells us to anoint with oil those who need healing. We asked Carlos to come forward and be anointed with the only oil we had access to: the cooking oil from the community kitchen. Then to my surprise one of the members of our own group stepped forward and asked to be anointed as well. As the team leader I was aware that this person had epilepsy too, but few of the other members were aware of this.

“We anointed two people whose lives were worlds apart but at the same time united by a bond few would desire. They both knelt, while the other members of the team and the boy’s family laid hands on them, as we prayed fervently for God’s healing to touch them. The bond the two shared provided them with the knowledge that they were not alone with their malady, which was a form of healing by itself, even if nothing else occurred.

“Prayer: (Psalm 133) God, heal us and make us healers. Anoint us with the oil of kindred spirit across all of differences.” Amen.

[Janice L. Burns-Watson, USA, Nicaragua, pp. 58-59 in Gifts in Open Hands, More Worship Resources for the Global Community, Maren Tirabassi and Kathy Wonson Eddy.]

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: Sept. 26, 2021
American Indian Ministries Sunday
Scripture Lessons: James 5:13-20 and Mark 9:38-50
Pastor: Rev. Kim P. Wells

Our beautiful church here in Lakewood Estates in sunny St. Petersburg on the Gulf coast of Florida is nested among streets with names that harken back to the Spanish exploration of what is now Florida and the Gulf coast region. Some of you live on these streets. Among them DeSoto, Narvarez, Cortez, and, of course, Columbus. Mixed in with the names of these historic figures are the names of cities and towns in Spain. A myth associated with the Spanish exploration is that the Spanish came to this continent to spread Christianity; to offer life and hope in the name of the church to the native peoples who already inhabited these shores.

Oh, and then there was the gold, the silver, the labor, the land, and the other resources that were of interest to European powers who were actually seeking not so much to evangelize as to increase their power and prestige by conquering additional territories for exploitation. Religion was used to mask the agenda of nationalism and empire. An old, familiar game.

So, how did these particular Spanish explorers who came to these specific shores do at spreading the gospel? Jesus has made it clear to the disciples that they are to help others, to serve others, to heal others, to offer forgiveness, dignity, and community to all. And as we heard today, they are not only to help others, they are not to do any harm to others. There is the reference:

“Rather than make one of these little ones who believe in me stumble, it would be better to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone hung around your neck.” [Mark 9:42]

The phrase ‘little ones’ was not just a reference to children, it included people new to the gospel. So, it referred to potential new recruits. These verses and the ones that follow about amputation, convey that the disciples, the Jesus followers, the evangelizers, are to be scrupulous in their self examination to be sure that they are being true to the gospel – serving, rather than being served. The gospel agenda is an inversion of common societal values. While to society to be elect or chosen means to receive reward and privilege, Jesus teaches that to be chosen is to embrace service, ministry to the least of these, care and concern for those who are weak and disadvantaged.

So, did those early Spanish visitors who came to these shores offer help and food to the locals? Hardly. They were looking for resources, for riches, for labor and land, that could be exploited for gain. They didn’t come to give, as Jesus indoctrinates his followers, they came to get, to take, to receive. What they gave was disease and violence and hostility not empowerment or assistance as Jesus teaches. So we can’t say that the Spanish were very successful in offering the new life of the gospel to the indigenous population.

And not only did the Spanish not help the indigenous people, they debased the local population. They saw the locals as uncivilized, primitive, sub human. And treated them as such. Yet what was going on here when the Spanish came? There were communities up and down the coast of the Gulf with a population of perhaps 350,000. [Jack Davis, The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea, p. 57] These inhabitants had a network of communication and cooperation. They made a
system of canals to facilitate travel and transportation. They lived off of the abundance in and around the Gulf shores. And they were thriving. The records of the first European visitors talk about the giants that lived here. The people were taller than the Spanish. And they were strong. Healthy.

In addition, they were not tied down by agriculture and the labors of working the land. Instead, they fed off of the sea and the life along the coast. And they thrived.

Apparently when Ponce De Leon, one of the first Spanish to land here, encountered the Calusa Indians, who lived further south on the Gulf coast, he was greeted in Spanish. [Davis, p.52] These primitive people already knew the language of empire.

And we are told of their living conditions by Jack Davis in the Pulitzer prize- winning book The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea. Here’s how Davis describes the life of the Calusa:

“For a people to be permanently settled without the requirement of food crops was rare in North America and across the globe — a luxury, in a way. There was no imperative, either, for the Calusa to migrate from hunting ground to hunting ground stalking food, because it came to them. Big fish, little fish, shrimp, sea turtles, crabs, lobsters, manatees, and even sharks, whales, and West Indian seals — it was all easy gathering with spear, net or quick hand. Waterfowl, deer, and plants contributed only slightly to the local diet; all told, marine life supplied more than ninety percent. The Calusa were tall in stature because they were rich in food.” [p. 36]

The indigenous peoples on these Gulf shores were thriving. And while the Spanish accused the native peoples of being primitive and of practicing cannibalism, no evidence has been found by archeologists to support this. In fact, it was the Spanish who ate their shipmates because they were starving and did not realize that the Gulf was a ready banquet. They also ate their horses. When Narvarez came to the shores of Florida, the expedition was fraught with problems including lack of food. One of the crew who kept a record of the expedition “reported that the natives were appalled by the desperate appetite of the cannibalizing strangers.” [Davis, p. 63] The Europeans didn’t seem to associate the robust physique of the Indians with the delicacies and riches provided by the Gulf. So, who was really primitive and uncivilized?

The Spanish, so well ensconced in Christendom, did not seem to grasp the simple message of Jesus – to do no harm, and to provide aid to those who are in need. The way of Jesus is not about personal gain, of power, status, reputation, or wealth. There is no exploitation in the way of Jesus. And even those disciples who were actually with Jesus had a hard time with this as we heard today. The Jesus way is about welcoming those who are least. It is about serving those who are suffering. It is about including those who have been debased and discarded. It’s is not about judging others but about examining yourself and making sure that you are free of offense to the lowly and that you are intentionally reaching out to share the grace and gifts of God to make life better for others. The Spanish Christians who came to these shores did not get this either.

The attitude of the disciples, to judge and exclude the one who was doing an exorcism, also shows us the opportunities missed when we demean and discount others. Earlier in the chapter, we are told that the disciples weren’t able to perform an exorcism. Maybe instead of judging this person who does a successful exorcism, they could have learned something helpful and constructive from the man. The Spanish, instead of treating the Tocabaga Indians who lived in this area and the other native peoples of the coast with hostility, could have learned things from them that would have saved many European lives.

We also can see that the Europeans could have learned something about living in harmony and balance with nature instead of seeking to exploit it.

The Indians were also known for incorporating their spiritual beliefs into all of their daily activities. The Europeans could have learned something about how to integrate faith into all aspects of life. How to live with reverence and gratitude instead of using religion as a tool of empire and colonization – which is in direct conflict with the message of Jesus.

The whole concept of using religion for personal gain is at odds with the way of Jesus. The designation of insiders and outsiders, we and they, the acceptable and the unacceptable – that may serve a political agenda or an economic agenda but not a spiritual agenda. Not a love agenda. Not a grace agenda. And we see this dynamic in many religions of the world and among many people of the world. It happens over and over and over again. And it is still happening today.

So Jesus’ teaching that we heard today is something we still need to hear. Worry about what you are doing. Be self critical. Assess what you are doing to make sure that you are serving, helping others, showing respect and consideration for the least and the lost. It’s always going to be about an inversion. Learning when you thought you would be teaching. Receiving when you thought you would be giving. Being helped when you thought you would be the helper. Being led when you
thought you were leading. Always being open, receptive, to the inversions of Divine love and grace.

There is a horrific legacy of what has happened on this land in the name of Christianity. Not just in this Gulf region but throughout North America. And it did not involve just the Spanish but many European cultures. Portuguese. English. French. Dutch. And others. And as we know, the pursuit of resources and riches led to the decimation of cultures and communities and the killing of millions of people. In a gesture to acknowledge this horror, largely done in the name of Christianity, there is a new trend among churches to regularly acknowledge the native peoples who inhabited the land where the church sits. In our case, that includes the Tocabaga Indians. So we would identify our church as Lakewood United Church of Christ in St. Petersburg, FL on land that was originally inhabited by the Tocabaga. It is a way of attempting to tell more of the truth.

And I think we have another opportunity here. We have the street names of all of the Spanish exploiters to remind us of the harm that has been done in the name of our religion. Narvarez was known for being a hollow voiced bully, with a vindictive streak. [Davis, p. 53] He lopped off the nose of a Tocabaga boy and siced dogs on the boy’s mother. Columbus did not discover America. There were people living here and thriving, thank you very much. Hernando De Soto was another bloody tyrant enslaving the indigenous people, spreading hostility, and commandeering land and food all in the garb of civilization – ‘salutes, and banners, music, Masses served by priests in gold vestments, and with proclamations to the Indians,” according to Marjorie Stoneman Douglas. [Davis, p. 69]

Those street names can be a constant reminder of the harm that has been caused in the name of Jesus. They can be like that hand that has been cut off to prevent it from sinning. They can be a reminder of what not to do. How not to let our faith tradition be hijacked for power and gain. How not to take advantage of others.

The names of the streets can remind us of the wrong that has been done and can remind us to follow the true way of Jesus: Treating each and every life with dignity. Honoring the image of God in every person not just the ones who look or talk or dress like we do.

These street names can remind us to pursue making amends for the harm caused by those who have gone before us. And those names can be a reminder to be vigilant in creating justice that honors and respects all people as well as the Earth. They can remind us of this history and all we have to learn from it.

In the name of Jesus, may our church truly hallow this sacred ground with remembrance, respect, and reconciliation. May this be our path to redemption and new life as followers of Jesus. 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.