Author: lakewooducc

For Moses, it was the burning bush.  He was out, hiding out, really, with the flocks of his father in law.  Glad to be away from people, politics, and danger since he had left Egypt a wanted man after killing an overseer who had beaten a Hebrew slave.  It was safe in the wilderness with the sheep.  Here, Moses could stay out of trouble and make a positive contribution to his family by helping with the livestock.   He had a community and a purpose.  

And then there was the burning bush.  And the call to free the slaves in Egypt.  And Moses resisted.  He protested.  He tried to get out of it.  But God would have none of it.  And, we know the story.  Moses, along with his brother Aaron, and sister Miriam, were instrumental in helping the slaves escape from Egypt through the Red Sea.  This was followed by 40 years in the wilderness, and then into the promised land.  Moses had a calling.  A purpose.

And so did many significant figures in the stories in the Bible.  Abraham was called, late in life, in his very old age, to relocate with his wife Sarah.  And they were told they would be the progenitors of many nations.  Which did not happen until they were elderly.  You just never know.  Then there was Samuel, who was called into God’s service as a child.  Awakened by God in the night.  And given his purpose.  And we know the calling of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the story of the visitation by the angel Gabriel telling her of her purpose. And Paul being knocked off his horse, struck blind, and being told of his calling.   So many stories of calling in the Bible!

And though its no longer Bible times, many of us today have a calling; we have a purpose revealed to us in some way.  For me, I was walking home from church one Sunday when I was in college, and I was overcome with the feeling that if I made one person feel like this, in my whole life, then I would have fulfilled my purpose.  So I became a pastor.  

This is work we associate with a calling.  Our daughter, Angela, was contemplating becoming a lawyer, until she attended her grandfather’s memorial service.  He had been a pastor.  She heard the stories about him and got her calling.  She wanted to do what he did.  Have that kind of an impact on people.  

And our son, Sterling, in high school, he told me, “I can’t not paint.  You should understand that, Mom.”  And, of course, I do.  And so he went to art school and is a painter living in Los Angeles.  

And there is Robert Reich, the professor, who immediately resonated with teaching and knew that is what he was to do with his life.  The story of his career is beautifully presented in the movie, “The Last Class.”

In the book, The Women, by Kristin Hannah, the main character, Frankie McGrath, finds that she wants to make a difference.  She is from a well to do family in Southern California.  It’s the 60’s.  She decided to become a nurse.  Until she got married.  But after encountering an injured soldier in a San Diego hospital, she decided that she, like her brother who is serving in the Navy in Vietnam, she too, can serve her country.  “‘I could serve my country,’ she said to the man [patient] whose hand she held.  It was a revolutionary, frightening, exhilarating thought.”  [The Women, Kristin Hannah, p. 14.]  Frankie enlists in the army to serve as a nurse in Vietnam.  She finds her purpose.  Which, it turns out, is not validated by her family or by society.  Because she is a woman and the service of women in wartime was not acknowledged or respected.  But she listened to her heart and saved lives.  

This is manifestation of Divine Love, at the heart of reality.  God so loved the world, that not only was Jesus given to the world, but each and every person is given to the world to be a vessel of love.  Of compassion.  Of caring. Everyone one is needed.  Each one of us is here for a purpose. In our Christian tradition we see that purpose as love, of self, love of God, love of neighbor, and love of enemy.  We are here to love. This life.  This earth.  And the people of this earth, whoever they may be.  Our purpose is LOVE.  

Now, because we live in a culture of extractive capitalism, the society around us wants to convince us that we are here to be consumers, to buy things, to spend money, to make money for other people.  We are here to work, so that we have the money to spend to make a profit for others.  We’ll get more into that next week for Labor Day Sunday.  But we are indoctrinated, brainwashed, to see ourselves not as moral beings or as beings of compassion.  We are indoctrinated to see ourselves as economic beings.   Our purpose is to engage with the economy.  To buy, sell, spend, invest.  Where does love fit into that picture?

We are also bound up in a society that is addicted to measuring and counting.  Anything that is worth doing must have a measurable outcome.  We are obsessed with quantifying what we do to justify our actions.  What difference does something make?  How do we know it is a worthy purpose?  Well, there is a measurement to back it up.  

That is not Biblical.  We are never told how many slaves were freed from Egypt.  We aren’t told of the economic implications or the measurable outcomes of most of what happens in the Bible.  Because love, well, it really can’t be measured.  

So as our lives unfold and we are thinking about why we are here and what our purpose is, we are programmed to think in terms of measurability.  And love just doesn’t work like that.  

In my mother’s last months in the nursing home at Westminster Suncoast, she really couldn’t talk much at all and she couldn’t walk.  She couldn’t dress herself.  She couldn’t feed herself.   What was her purpose?  To provide a job for an aide?  Maybe.  But there is one thing she did do.  And she was known for it.  And people used to stop and greet her in the hall way of the nursing facility.  Because she would always smile.  And they loved to see her smile.  They knew that if they greeted Gertie, she would brighten their day with a smile.  So, even in her reduced, compromised condition, she had a purpose.  She could still love with a smile.  How many lives did she brighten a day?  Who knows?  That’s not the point of love.  Of purpose.  

So I think measurability is one thing that can be an obstacle when we think about purpose.  And here’s another thing.  We are in a culture that values being busy.  And there are many tasks we need to do to keep our everyday lives on track that take time.  When we are younger, it’s work, relationships, parenting, keeping up house and yard, helping elderly parents, so many things demanding our time.  And as we get older, there are medical appointments, helping with grandchildren, loss of energy, physical ability and mental acuity slowing us down.  These things fill our days.  So, where is our capacity for love and service?  We are so busy!  Do we even notice where we are needed?

We don’t see Jesus consulting his calendar all the time – two healings this morning, followed by an exorcism.  Lunch with the lepers.  Then in the afternoon, walk to the next town, have dinner with a religious leader.  Then offer some teachings lakeside before turning in at the home of a random local.  Oh, next week, we’ll be in Capernaum.  We’re scheduled to give a talk there and to cast out demons. Then we’ll cross the Sea of Galilee by boat.  That night I will calm the storm.  I mean, it just doesn’t work like that with Jesus.  He has space and time in his life, and the inclination, to spend his days fulfilling his purpose which is to show people how to love, God, Creation, themselves, and others.  That is his purpose.

For God to get in and give us a message about what we are needed to be doing to love, well, there has to be some space, some emptiness, some readiness.  Moses was out in the scrub with the sheep.  Plenty of time and room for God to get a word in edgewise.  

We also live in a time where we are trained to expect immediate results.  We click.  We tap.  We post.  We email.  No waiting days or weeks for a response.  We are used to getting the response now.  Instantly.  It’s like feeding the beast.  I want it now.  The likes.  The thumbs up.  But so much that has to do with purpose, well, we may never get a response.  Or the outcome may be a long time coming.  Sharing love and compassion, working for justice, creating a society that honors human rights for all, these things take time.  Twentieth century theologian, Reinhold Niebuhr, once said, “Nothing worth doing can be achieved in a lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope.”  When it comes to purpose, to channeling the love of God, we must realize that we may never see the results.  It’s not something that we do so that we get immediate gratification though there are studies that show that helping others does actually improve physical health outcomes.  But we may never see our efforts come to full fruition.  Any teacher can tell you that.  Teachers pour themselves into their students and who knows what becomes of them?  Maybe a few stay in touch but most go on with their lives and the teachers never know what impact they have had.  

Another thing that I think influences our sense of purpose today is that we know so much about what is going on in the world around us and that can make the problems seem overwhelming.  We don’t think we can make a difference.  There’s too much.  And it’s too big.  And what can we do?  

Yet we are here, we are put here, we are intended to be here, to channel Divine Love.  We are here, like Jesus, to make the love of God manifest to the world around us. 

This week I read about a camp for old people and young people combined that took place in California last month. The older people taught the younger people things they don’t necessarily learn today like how to sew, or embroider, or play a musical instrument, or cook.  The camp was started by a high schooler who lives with her grandmother.  The intent was to help teens learn from their elders, and help address the loneliness and isolation experienced by many seniors.  The younger people were thrilled to benefit from these interactions with their elders which included doing things like card making, embroidery, clay, jewelry making, Instant Pot cooking, and fruit bouquet making.  And the elders learned about life today for younger people.  [“Seniors Teach “Lost” Life Skills to Students at Intergenerational Summer Camp,” Nice News, Daily Edition August 22, 2025.]

So, what is our purpose?  To love.  To express love.  If you like to cook, then cook a meal for someone, and better yet, enjoy it with them.  That’s purpose.  Listen to someone’s troubles.  Just listen.  Pay attention.  That’s purpose.  If you have money, share it.  Where it is needed.  To help someone.  Or to make the world a better place.  Give it away.  That’s purpose.  If you like to write, post things that offer insight and encouragement.  Share joy.  Expose injustice.  Write.  Write.  Write.  That’s purpose.   If your are a musician, make beautiful music.  To move others.  To bring joy.  That’s purpose.   Call someone you know who is lonely.  And maybe down.  That’s purpose.  Helping someone carry in their grocery bags.  That’s purpose.  Giving someone a ride to the doctor.  That’s purpose.  Taking care of someone’s children when needed, that’s purpose.  Purpose is an orientation of the heart.  

When we were in Kentucky recently, we did a lot of hiking.  There was a lot of up and down,  uneven paths, rocks and roots and boulders to traverse.  With my arthritic knees that don’t like to bend, it could be a challenge.  I was down on all fours.  Or going up backwards on my butt.  Whatever it took.  In one spot, I was down on all fours, climbing over a rocky formation, and a young man and woman came up behind me.   The man, maybe in his thirties, he kind of hovered near by as I proceeded.  My family had gone on ahead.  I encouraged this couple to go past me and continue on.  I told them I’m slow. Go ahead.  But his man just couldn’t do it. He finally said, “It’s just not in my blood to walk away when I could help someone. . .”  Well, I affirmed that!  And I let him know that my husband, son, daughter, son in law, and soon to be daughter in law were here with me, so it was ok for him to head on.  And then he did.    

Purpose does not mean that you have a grand calling, part of a big scheme, to transform the world, or make a lot of money.  Purpose means that you are trying to be open to letting love flow through you into the world, some way, some how, whatever your situation, abilities, or circumstances.  Purpose means that it’s in your blood to help.  To give.  To contribute.  To speak up.  To listen.  To smile.  To love.  

We may not all get marching orders like Moses.  But the presence and power of Divine Love infuses our world and our reality and calls us to channel love.  As long as there is breath in our bodies, our purpose is to love.  That’s is what we are here to be and to do.  Writing in 1856, poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning picks up on the burning bush and reminds us:  

“Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God,
But only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round and pluck blackberries.” 

[Poem:  Aurora Leigh.]

You are welcome to take off your shoes!    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.

A legend tells how, at the beginning of time, God resolved to hide within Creation.  

As God was wondering how best to do this, the angels gathered round to be part of the conversation.  

“I want to hide myself in my Creation,” God told them.  “I need to find a place that is not too easily discovered, for it is in their search for me that my creatures will grow in spirit and in understanding.”

“Why don’t you hide yourself deep in their earth?” the first angel suggested.

God pondered this for a while, then replied, “No.  It will not be long before they learn how to mine the earth and discover all the treasures that it contains.  They will discover me too quickly, and they will not have had enough time to do their growing.”

“Why don’t you hide yourself on their moon?” a second angel suggested.  

God thought about this idea for a while, and then replied, “No.  It will take a little longer, but before too long they will learn how to fly through space.  They will arrive on the moon and explore its secrets, and they will discover me too soon, before they have had enough time to do their growing.”

The angels were at a loss to know what hiding places to suggest.  There was a long silence.

“I know,” piped up one angel, finally.  “Why don’t you hide yourself within their own hearts?  They will never think of looking there!”

“That’s it!” said God, delighted to have found the perfect hiding place.  And so it is that God hides secretly deep within the heart of every person, until that person has grown enough in spirit and in understanding to risk the great journey into the secret core of their own being.  And there, the human discovers its creator, and is rejoined to God for all eternity.  (“God In Hiding,” retelling of a traditional story, from One Hundred Wisdom Stories from Around the World, Margaret Silf, pp. 32-33, adapted.) 

The request this week was for a sermon about Christ consciousness and to me this idea of being aware of the Divine is something that I think we can associate with Christ consciousness.  

Before we go much further, let me say that Christ is not Jesus’ last name.  If he were referred to with a last name, it might be something like ben Joseph, son of Joseph.  It would not be Christ.  The word Christ is descriptive; it is a title.  We might say that Jesus was the Christ.  We might even say that he was a Christ.  

One way to think about the Christ consciousness is using the symbol of light. We listened to the story of the creation of light from Genesis.  And we think of the Divine creative presence as part of that story.  And we associate that presence with the figure of Wisdom that we discussed last week, the Divine Feminine.  And we also associate that symbolic moment of the creation of light with Christ, as we heard in the prologue from the gospel of John.  In the beginning was the Word, and the word was with God.  The word was in the world, the word was the light of the world.  This we hear as a reference to Jesus.  And we can associate that symbol of the light with the Christ consciousness.  Then in the gospel of Matthew, we are told of Jesus teaching his followers that they are the light of the world.  So light, this symbol of Divine presence and power, that we associate with Jesus, is also manifest in his followers.  

Now we are used to thinking about Jesus as the Christ.  Fully God.  Fully human.  Jesus, a new being, a one and only.  Exceptional.  Unique.  

But in the first century, the categories of divine and human were not separate and isolated.  The concepts of human and divine were on a continuum.  And there was overlap.  And there were divine beings that were thought to take on human forms.  And there were human beings who were thought to take on divine forms.  And this was the reality that was accepted in that context.  So the idea of Jesus, a human, and Divine, and being alive after death, this was not a story of a one and only occurrence.  [See Bart Ehrman, How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee.]

Yes, it was thought that in Jesus people experienced the unconditional love of God, the power of God, the abundance of God, the mercy of God, the liberation of God, the compassion of God.  And they experienced connection to one another, to all of humanity, and all of creation.  All connected.  A single, diverse, whole.

And this kind of experience has historically been associated with the Christ consciousness.  There is the story of Paul in the book of Acts, being knocked off his horse and struck blind and hearing the voice of Christ.  He goes from persecuting followers of Jesus to recruiting them.  This can be seen as an experience of the Christ consciousness.  We can think of Thomas Merton, a 20th century mystic, standing on a busy urban sidewalk and being overcome with a feeling of connection and love for everyone he saw.   We think of Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity through prayer, discipline, and devotion, cultivating love for the most unlovely in the world around them.  The way of Jesus is a portal to Christ consciousness.  We can think of the centuries’ old practices of seeking transcendence and mystical oneness through ingesting psilocybin and other organic substances and drugs.  People report a feeling of oneness with the universe and being overcome with love.  

Several years ago our daughter Angela and I, went to a church conference sponsored by the Center for Progressive Christianity.  One workshop was being given by Bruce Sanguin.  I have his book, If Darwin Prayed: Prayers for Evolutionary Mystics.  At the opening of the workshop, he told us he was not going to talk about the published topic.  Instead he was going to tell us about going to South America and participating in a ritual involving ayahuasca and how it changed his life.  This is something we can associate with experiencing Christ consciousness.  

I can never forget a visit to the Grand Canyon as an adult.  We stood on the rim, overwhelmed with the beauty before us, and wept.  Nature has always been a doorway to Christ consciousness, along with meditation, prayer, devotion, worship, and service.  So many ways for our lives to be illumined and shaped by the incredible power of love.  To experience a sense of oneness and connection through the power of love.  It’s like our opening story suggests, God within us, just awaiting discovery.  And we are never the same.  

Albert Einstein is remembered for saying:  “There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.”  To live as if everything is a miracle, this is what we see in Jesus.  But it was not intended to be limited to Jesus alone.  Jesus was about helping people to become aware of that consciousness in themselves and in each other.  So Jesus is remember for saying, You are the light of the world.  And, You will do greater things than I.  YOU.  Those who come to know the Christ consciousness within themselves.  Because that is what Jesus was trying to give to people, to manifest to people, to share with people.  This is who I am.  And this is who you are, too.  

There’s a story about a mother at home with her kids and trying to keep them entertained on a wet Saturday afternoon.  The children were getting bored and they were starting to get on each other nerves, and on the mother’s nerves, with their restlessness and complaining.

But the mother was inventive, and suddenly had an idea.  She took down a magazine from the shelf and opened it up, looking through it until she found a map of the world printed on one page.  She tore this page out of the magazine, and proceeded to cut it up with scissors into small pieces.  Then she jumbled up all the pieces and placed them in a pile on the floor, like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

Then she set the two children the task of putting the map together again.  Thinking that this would keep them quiet and busy for a good long time, she left the room and went off to make herself a cup of coffee.  

Imagine her amazement when, about five minutes later she came back to find the map neatly and accurately put back together again.  

“How did you manage to put it back together again so quickly?” she asked them, taken aback by their accomplishment.

“Oh, it was easy,” the younger child replied.  “You told us it was a map of the world, and when we looked at the pieces, at first we didn’t know where to begin to sort it all out.  It seemed impossible.  But then we realized that there was a picture of a person on the other side of the page, so we just put the person back together again.  When we turned it over, the world had come back together again as well!”

“Yes, Mom,” chimed the other child. “It was so easy.  If you get the person right, the world is OK.”  [“The Map,” source unknown, Silf, pp. 194-195, adapted.]

Yes, if we get the person right, things will be all right with the world.  And part of getting the person right is getting the person to be aware of the connection to the Divine, to something beyond ourselves, yet within us.  The sacred.  The holy.  This is the power and connection that we associate with love and that we might name as the Christ consciousness.  When we experience that connection, when we tap into that power, we manifest love the way Jesus did.  Our light shines as his did.  We live from our connection with all forms of life and our connection with the planet and the universe in ways that are life-giving and life-sharing, not in ways that are abusive and oppressive and self-serving.    

Now let’s remember that Jesus, whom I would describe as the most compete manifestation of the Christ consciousness in human form, was crucified.  He wasn’t accepted as all ‘peace love dove.’  He wasn’t given the Volunteer of the Year award.  Or even a Good Samaritan medal.  Again and again in the gospels we see how Jesus was embroiled in conflict.  And he finally died by capital punishment.  

You see, to fully embody and manifest Divine love, the Christ consciousness, is about being at one with all of Creation.  All life.  It is about living fully and freely from a core of unconditional love.  And the power of that witness is a threat to power structures that seek to divide and conquer.  It is a threat to leaders who control people through fear.  It is a direct affront to the tactic of separating people and creating animosity between them to maintain power and control.  The Christ consciousness is a direct threat to arrogance and oppression and domination and greed.  It is not about who will get there first but how can we get there together.  

So, it is easier for us to leave the heavy lifting to Jesus.  He was the Christ.  Jesus Christ.  Only Jesus.  He’s the one who was crucified for love.  He did it.  For us.  So, we don’t have to do it, is the insinuation.  But we are told that WE are the light of the world.  Jesus was never keeping anything to himself.  He was never positioning himself above his followers.  He was always sharing power, love, access to the Divine.  It was about our growing in our Christ consciousness.  This is not just about Jesus this is about us.  

I remember going to an Ecclesiastical Council some years ago.  This is a gathering of people from nearby churches within the United Church of Christ to examine someone who wants to enter the ministry.  The candidate shares a paper about their beliefs, call, and preparation for ministry.  And then the gathered clergy and congregants of the area churches are invited to ask questions.  I remember someone asking the candidate at this particular gathering, Is Jesus God?  To be honest, I can’t remember the person’s response.  I was too busy being stunned by the question.  Was Jesus God?  My first thought, I’m glad no one asked me that at my Ecclesiastical Council in 1985.  Yikes!  Then I thought about what I might answer if that question was put to me now.  Was Jesus God?  Our creeds have something to say about that.  Fully God.  Fully human.  The Trinity.  What would I say?  This lingered with me for some time.   This is the best I could come up with, since I could not bring myself to lie or deceive.  Is Jesus God?  I don’t know.  But I think Jesus was the fullest manifestation of Divine Love in a human being that we know of.  And I think he came to show us that whatever he was, that is who we are, too.

I don’t think the Christ consciousness is just about Jesus.  I think it is about the capacity of human beings to love, fully and freely.  And I think this impulse, to love and to live from our oneness with all that is, is demonstrated not just through Jesus and the Christ consciousness of the Christian tradition, but in different ways in different religious expressions around the world and across time.  When you go to a yoga class and bow saying namaste, you are saying the holy in me greets the holy in you.  To me, this is the Christ consciousness of the Christian tradition.  Manifest in another form.  Our way is only one way of understanding the cross- cultural longing for oneness with Creation and one another.  

Meister Eckhart, a mystic of the Christian tradition who died in 1328 explains what we might call the Christ consciousness this way:  

God gives birth to the Child as you, as me, as each one of us.  As many beings, as many gods in God.

In my soul, God not only gives birth to me as a child, God gives birth to me as Godself, and Godself as me.  I find in this divine birth that God and I are the same.  I am what I was and what I shall always remain, now and forever.  I am transported above the highest angels; I neither decrease nor increase, for in this birth I have become the motionless cause of all that moves.  I have won back what has always been mine.  Here, in my own soul, the greatest of all miracles has taken place – God has returned to God!  [“The Divine Birth,” from Meister Eckhart, in Son of Man: The Mystical Path to Christ, Andrew Harvey, p. 282, adapted.]

May our life’s journey reveal to us our truest selves and what we have always deeply known.  Amen.

Resources used in this sermon:

Ehrman, Bart, How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee.

Harvey, Andrew, Son of Man: The Mystical Path to Christ.

Fredriksen, Paula, From Jesus to Christ, second edition. 

Rohr, Richard, The Universal Christ:  How a Forgotten Reality Can Change Everything We See, Hope for, and Believe.

A reasonable effort has been made to appropriately cite materials referenced in this sermon. For additional information, please contact Lakewood United Church of Christ.

At least as early as 7,000 BCE, the culture of the human species included expressions of the feminine divine.  The New Book of Goddesses and Heroines tells us that, “The horned goddess – whom the Pyramid Texts called The Great She, and who later was called Hathor or Isis – is the oldest divine being in ancient Egypt.  Her image appears on the rock face of a now nearly inaccessible plateau in the Sahara Desert.”  (The New Book of Goddesses and Heroines, Patricia Monaghan, p. 3).   A glance at the religious landscape of America today, and a view of the feminine divine is also hard to discern.  But in Egypt, some 9,000 years ago, there were feminine gods.  Later, there were male deities as well in Egypt. There are countless examples of female deity figures that were important to our ancestors around the globe in all cultures and settings.  These deities were perceived as influencing daily life as well as the life of the natural world.  There is absolutely nothing new to the idea of the feminine divine.  This is hardly some new liberal conspiracy.  

When we take a glance back at the history, the legacy, of the our own religious tradition, Judaism followed by Christianity, we also see strands of the feminine divine woven throughout our storied past.  We can begin with the story of Creation and the Spirit brooding over the waters.  That Spirit was a feminine concept in Hebrew.  Ruah.  Already.  The feminine divine at the beginning of the Bible in the story of the birthing of Creation.   

There is also the imagery of the dove, the bird, the hen, symbols of female deities in ancient Near East religions.  And in Greek mythology, the dove is the emblem of the goddess of Love, Aphrodite.  So it is no surprise that we see the inclusion of the divine feminine in Hebrew as well as Christian scriptures from the dove in the story of Noah’s ark, and the soaring on eagle’s wings, to the dove descending in the story of Jesus’ baptism and the hen protecting its chicks in Jesus’ teachings.  Many times, the bird is used as a metaphor for God, a symbol of a female deity.   

And there is the Hebrew appellation for God, El Shaddai.  It’s meaning implies many breasted one.   Feeding, succoring, all.  The idea is a God providing for all of creation, and all of humanity.   Clearly a reference to the feminine divine.  I wonder if all the people who sing the Amy Grant song know they are praising a feminine version of God? 

The figure of Wisdom in the Hebrew scriptures is also noted as a feminine portrayal of the divine.  Hokmah in Hebrew.  The figure whom we heard about today from Proverbs, later known by her Greek name, Sophia.  This is the aspect of the divine present at Creation, instituting a complex, diverse world where everything functions together and is interrelated.  In the chapter we read from Proverbs, we heard the voice of Wisdom laying out a solid foundation for human life.  She shares a template for the human world to live in mutuality and justice and creativity.  Her words are about right living.  All that is needed for a full life is shared in her words.   As she says, “there is nothing twisted or crooked in them.”  (v.8)   And she is at the city gates where all can encounter her.   There are no hidden secrets.

As we transition to the time of Jesus and following, we continue to see the feminine divine in evidence.  The teaching of Jesus uses many feminine images to convey the nature of God.  A woman searching for a lost coin.  A woman baking bread.  And there is the mother of Jesus certainly cast in divine terms, as the mother of God.  

In the cultural and geographical contexts of the Bible, the surrounding peoples had female divinities and Judaism and Christianity were impacted by those cultural influences.  Including feminine expressions as part of the concept of the monotheistic God was a way to make the Judeo-Christian tradition more accessible and maybe more appealing to the people of the day.  Everyone else has female gods, why can’t we?  Judaism was the first major monotheistic religion.  Did the one God have to have just one gender?  No.  This multifaceted God of mystery could be known and imagined and experienced in many ways, including many genders, and beyond gender.  

As Christianity emerged, the feminine was submerged.  There were many contributing factors.  Once Christianity embraced the Trinity, with the son, Jesus, a male human being, as part of the godhead, there was more emphasis on a male God overall.  One God.  One male God.  This also served the interests of perpetuating patriarchy which became a goal of Christianity despite that this is at odds with the teachings of Jesus.  It served the expansionist, colonialist goals of the Roman Empire, and later the European conquest.  The legacy of the feminine divine dimmed.    

The importance of Mary was maintained, even extended in the church, but she was seen as obedient, passive, compassionate.  All characteristics befitting a woman under patriarchy.  Her legacy in the Magnificat, casting down the mighty and lifting up the lowly, was not emphasized.  And remember, for most of Christian history, people could not read the Bible for themselves.  So they had no idea what was being left out or overlooked.  

So Christianity veered away from the divine feminine and away from the core teachings of Jesus  – including self-giving love, compassion, peacemaking, mutuality, humility, liberation for all, community, generosity, and joy.  Instead, the word G-O-D, the most powerful symbol of the Christian faith, was used to undergird a system of subjugation, colonization, degradation, oppression, abuse of power, and ultimately decimation of the ecology of the planet.  

In the 1970’s there was a movement toward using inclusive language for God and for humanity in the church.  This was a nod toward inclusion of the feminine divine.  Or at least expanding beyond a solely male portrayal of God.  The United Church of Christ was a leader in this movement.  Many said, What difference do words make?  It’s actions, right?  Don’t bother with changing the words.  But words create the culture that leads to the actions.  Using inclusive language for God, and using expansive language for God, incorporating feminine as well as nonbinary language in imaging God, was/is so controversial not because people are used to the old words, but because they are used to the old power arrangements and don’t want them changed.  The arrangements that favor some over others  which is decidedly in direct conflict with the teachings of Jesus and the God of universal, unconditional love that we see in Jesus.  

I have to admit that I was among those who didn’t think words made that much of a difference, though I was all for equal rights in society and the liberation of all.  I grew up in a liberated family.  My parents were passionate advocates for social justice and radical equality for everyone.  Period.  Yes, I grew up with lots of male language for God.  And I grew up knowing that ‘man’ really meant humanity.  Remember Neil Armstrong from the moon:  “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”  I knew that meant humanity.  And I knew that ‘he’ means women, too.  It was too cumbersome to say ‘he or she’ all the time.  Or ‘his and her.’  Or ‘men and women.’  You know. 

When I went to college, all the pronouns were ‘she.’  And ‘her.’  And everything was ‘women’ not men or man or he or his.  Because it was a women’s college.  There were no male students so there was no need on any notices, letters, articles, posters, syllabi, tests, or anything else to use anything but female references and pronouns.  At first it seemed odd.  But it made sense.  Then I realized that I felt different somehow.  Like I was being taken into consideration.  Like this included me.  I wasn’t just assumed or an add on.  This is what it was like to be fully acknowledged.  And then I knew that public language and church language had made me feel second class, even though my family never had.  There was no going back.  

Using language that intentionally includes feminine aspects of God and women restores the fullness of our faith heritage and fortifies the gospel of Jesus.  Drawing on the tradition of the feminine divine in Christianity and Judaism restores the radical teachings of our faith.  It liberates the symbol of the word G-O-D which is intended to liberate humanity as well as Creation.   

When I dream of the church of the future, I dream of a time when most of the imagery for God is non anthropomorphic.  In other words, we don’t make God in our image.  We don’t talk about God like a super human.  We use ideas like light, and force, and gravity, and beauty to express our limited understanding of the eternal mystery of Divine Love.  But between here and there, I believe we need to repair the damage that has been caused by ignoring and burying our rich heritage of the divine feminine.  We need to honor and celebrate the feminine aspects of the legacy of the concept of God to liberate our imaginings of God and to liberate human beings, men and women, created in the image of Divine Love.  As we restore a more holistic understanding of the Divine, we will move toward reclaiming the fuller reality of God especially as it has come to us through the life and teachings of Jesus.  We must address ourselves to redeeming Jesus from the clutches of the human love of power and wealth and control and domination.  Our world is crying out like a woman in labor from the pain of poverty, war, violence, greed, injustice, and abuse.  And so much more.  We must reclaim the tradition of the feminine divine to heal ourselves, our communities, and our world.

Phyllis Trible is probably the foremost scholar of the Hebrew Bible of our time.  She has written powerful books that have rocked the world of theology and the church.  We heard her give a lecture once at Union Seminary in New York when we were students there circa 1984.  And I am going to tell you about it.  The lecture was about Miriam, Moses and Aaron’s sister.  Trible delved into every reference to Miriam in the Hebrew scriptures and there is more than just the dancing with the tambourine after crossing the Red Sea.  Trible analyzed every little glancing mention of Miriam.  She shared all that we have been able to learn about the culture of that time to fill in the background and the implications of those few fleeting mentions of Miriam.  And she presented a solid case for the out and out equality of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam as leaders in the eyes of the community in that historical context.  It was one of the most stunning presentations I have heard in my life.  

Now, let’s turn to what Dr. Phyllis Trible has to say about the Hebrew word ‘womb.’  This word is used many times in the Hebrew Scriptures. 

Trible tells us that the Hebrew word for ‘womb’ and the word for ‘compassion’ are cognates, they are related, and they are related to the verb ‘to show mercy’ and the adjective ‘merciful.’  Trible explains:

In its singular form the noun rehem means ‘womb’ or ‘uterus.’  In the plural, rahamim, this concrete meaning expands to the abstractions of compassion, mercy, and love. . . Accordingly, our metaphor lies in the semantic movement from a physical organ of the female body to a psychic mode of being.  [She Who Is: The Mystery of God in Feminist Theological Discourse, Elizabeth A. Johnson, p. 101.]

So when we hear of God’s mercy and love and compassion, we are hearing of a God concerned about a child of the God’s womb.  This feminine image for God gives us needed inspiration for our caring for one another, each one a child of God’s womb, a beloved child.  And it implies caring for each other as though each were a child of our own womb.  

And one glance at the news today makes it clear that we need to return to the roots of not only our religion but of our species and reclaim the healing power of the feminine divine.   We need to draw upon what will lead us to mercy, compassion and love.  Concern for the common good.  Ways of resolving our differences without weapons.  This is all offered to us by Ruah, El Shaddai, Hokmah, Sophia, Wisdom.  The dove.  The hen.  The eagle.  The baker woman.  All these images of the divine feminine and more can inspire us to imagine God in new ways that move us to truly care for one another as God does.  The fullness of God can redeem what is ‘twisted and crooked’ in our lives and in our world.   Amen.

Resources used in this sermon:

View this email in your browser This Sunday This Sunday:  One of the sermon topics requested for Summer Sundays was:  The Divine Feminine, Mother, Holy Spirit Sophia.  Specifically as woman.  That will be the inspiration for Sunday!  Rev. Wells will be back.  Take a look at Proverbs 8.  You might be surprised.   The service is at 10:30 a.m. and Childcare is provided. Outreach We will be collecting period pads (AKA sanitary napkins) for the students at Lakewood High School who cannot afford to buy period hygiene products. Please place the packs of pads in the box in the sanctuary. The high school only accepts pads, so please do not bring any tampons, period underwear, or menstrual cups. The new school year starts August 11, so we will be collecting through July so that we can deliver to Lakewood High the first week of August.   Demonstrating Our Values As part of the 50501 Movement, there will be a national day of protest on Saturday August 2. Pinellas Now will be hosting the St. Pete protest at the intersection of 34th St. N and 22nd Ave N from 10:30 AM-12:00 PM.Event Info Page: https://tinyurl.com/StPeteAugust2  Voicing Their ValuesJim Andrews, Janet Blair, and Lexi Green  Volunteer Opportunity at Missio Dei.Missio Dei, a local church and organization that feeds the unhoused community in Downtown St. Pete, will need volunteers for two upcoming Sundays (July 27 and August 3). They will need 3-5 people each Sunday to assist with setting up, serving, and cleaning up their evening meal from 3:30-7:00 PM at 161716th St. S. A sign-up sheet will be available at church on Sunday for shifts, feel free to sign up for one or more.   Florida Conference Gathering AheadThe Florida UCC is doing things a little differently this year!  In order to avoid hurricane season, they will be having the next Annual gathering in February 2026.  So this year they are having three Geographical Area Gatherings. The closest one to St. Petersburg will be in Venice on August 9th from 10-3, Venice UCC, 620 Shamrock Blvd., Venice, FL 34293.  There is no charge, lunch will be provided, but reservations are requested.  Kim and Dyanne will be driving, and we would like to have a great showing from our church.  The information is also outlined in the weekly Sunshine Connection.  If you would like help in registering, please contact Dyanne Edds 321-890-7708.   WEEKLY LABYRINTH UPDATEWeekly guided walks resume Wednesday August 6 at 9:30.  Pastor AwayFor the first week, Kim will be attending the biennial General Synod of the United Church of Christ in Kansas City, MO with her daughter, Angela. This is a national gathering of the UCC with workshops and speakers, etc. Then there will be vacation time spent with family in the Red River Gorge of Kentucky. Rev. Wells will be away from Wednesday July 9 until Saturday Aug. 2. If pastoral care is needed, please contact Patti Cooksey at cooksepa@eckerd.edu.  SPECIAL MUSIC IN THE SUMMERAfter Pentecost, the choir goes on hiatus over the summer and resumes rehearsals and singing in service the Sunday after Labor Day. In place of their anthems, it’d be great of there were solo or duets or even small groups during the summer months. Vocals are, of course, okay, but they don’t need to be a vocals. instrumentalists are very welcome: guitar, balalaika, flute, cello, ocarina, harmonica, tuba? It doesn’t need to be anything fancy: it can be just a hymn or a simple song and it doesn’t even need to be particularly “religious.” Many secular/pop songs from any decade have positive messages that align with the values of Lakewood. You definitely don’t need to be perfect. Just be you. Any age, too: kids, young adults, old folks, middle aged. If you’d like to perform something during the summer, please let me know. I’d truly love for that to happen! If you have a selection you’d like to do, great; if not, I can help you find one. – Hilton Care Closet Needed for Refugee and Migrant Women’s Initiative, Inc. This is a local group that assists migrants and refugees.  The following brand new items are needed: full-sized hygiene items, soap (laundry, dishes, hand), bedding, utensils (cups, plates, baking and cooking supplies), trash cans, laundry baskets, cleaning products, towels, toys, babycare items, school supplies for K-12. Good Samaritan Food Pantry The food pantry has requested pet food and breakfast cereal.  Donations may be placed in The Caring Closet here at the church. Plastic Bags for Missio Dei Missio Dei is in need of plastic grocery bags for the homeless and needy. Please place bags in The Caring Closet at church. Operation Attack in Need of Volunteers O.A. is an ecumenical food pantry at Lakeview Presbyterian Church. LUCC was a founding partner in this ministry in the 1960’s. Volunteers are needed and nonperishable food is always in demand. Contributions can go in The Caring Closet at church. Toiletries for Celebrate Outreach Celebrate Outreach is a local ministry with people who are living without shelter in St. Petersburg.  An average of 135 people are served each week.  Here is a list of donations needed: towlettes travel size, socks and underwear.  Please leave your donation in The Caring Closet at church. Clothes for Those Released from Jail Along with Pilgrim UCC, we are collecting clothing for Pinellas County jail inmates to wear upon release from the jail. T-shirts, shorts, sweat pants, socks & underwear M/F. Please no suits, dresses, or dressy clothes. Just comfortable used clean clothing placed in The Caring Closet at church. USEFUL LAKEWOOD LINKSLakewood UCC YouTube ChannelLakewood UCC Bluesky accountYou can listen to Hilton’s music and videos for free at https://hiltonkeanjones.com/.View  August Birthdays!4- Barbara Donohue7- Mardie Chapman11- Claire Stiles13- Kay Rencken14- Vita Uth22-Dana Cosper27- Dave Ogdie28- Barbara Walburn 28- JoAnne Reid Circle of Concern Susan GilbertMarti HafnerJosette GreenJason RiddellCathy GieseyVictoria LongMichelle Cloutier Ann Cloutier, Michelle’s mother JoAnne Reid Shelly Wilson Rick Carr Paula and Tony Pelletier Deb Kenneda Barbara Walburn Yvonne Riesen Leslee and Holly Van Ranst Sorenson Denise Williams Vita Uth Dot Thrush Chip and Dana Cosper Cate Colgan & Marty Seyler’s dog, Trinity Jackie Shewmaker All school students, families & staff Caregivers The 280 women and men on Florida’s Death Row Weekly Update If you are involved with an activity or event that you would like to share with the LUCC family, please send the information to the Church Office by Wednesday. Please provide the information in paragraph form with pertinent details and links. THANK YOU!  RECENT WEBSITE POSTS Sermon video 7.27.25 Rev. Ann Wynne-Phillips  July 27, 2025 Sermon video 7.20.25 Rev. Ann Wynne-Phillips July 20, 2025 Sermon video 6.22.2025 “Dealing with Demons” June 22, 2025 Sermon Text 6.15.25 “A Trinity for Father’s Day”June 15, 2025 Sermon video for 6.15.25 “A Trinity for Father’s Day”  June 15, 2025 Come, O Spirit, with Your Sound (for organ with no pedals) June 3, 2025 Sermon video 6.1.25 “Oh, Freedom!”June 3, 2025 Sermon video 5.25.25 “The Power of the Past”May 27, 2025 Credits: Images of birthday cake and books from Freepik.comOur mailing address is:Lakewood United Church of Christ2601 54th Ave S St Petersburg, FL 33712-4709On land originally inhabited by the Tocabaga on the Gulf of Mexico Copyright (C) 2025 Lakewood United Church of Christ. All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. 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