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Devotion 21 – Lent 2016

“When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, ‘Why do you keep looking at one another? I have heard,’ he said, ‘that there is grain in Egypt; go down and buy grain for us there, that we may live and not die.’ . . . Thus the sons of Israel were among the other people who came to buy grain, for the famine had reached the land of Canaan.” Genesis 42: 1-3, 5, NRSV

And so we learn that through the drought Joseph and his family are going to intersect again. They are going to encounter one another. The brothers who sold Joseph into slavery are going to see that very brother.

Going to Egypt, the brothers are probably worrying about the drought. They are stressed about the lack of food. Do they have the money needed to buy grain? Are they in danger of being robbed on the way there or on the way back? Will the Egyptians sell to them as foreigners or will they keep all of their grain to sustain their own people? We can imagine the many concerns and worries that the brothers talk about on their way to Egypt. Chances are they are NOT thinking or talking about Joseph, unless they pass the pit that they put him in on their way to Egypt. Even so, we would imagine that Joseph was but a dim memory to his brothers.

It is the drought, a devastating lack of rain, a killing cataclysm, that leads to the encounter between Joseph and his brothers. It is often tragedy or hardship that brings people together. A death in the family may bring many relatives together. People who have not seen each other in years. Perhaps people who have not spoken in decades. Maybe family members who have parted company in a hostile manner will be thrown together. A natural disaster can bring unlikely parties together. Maybe the homes of rich and poor alike have been devastated by a tornado and the people are thrown together to work on the clean up. Maybe white police officers and black citizens alike are killed in a mass shooting and the families and community are all brought together in their grief.

The question remains: How to respond? Take the opportunity to reconcile? Seek common ground? Share the pain? Allow our common humanity to bring us together? Or maintain hostilities. Keep the wall up. Perpetuate the alienation. These are the choices that may face us when we encounter those from whom we are estranged.

As we will see, Joseph seems to need some time to think the whole thing through. He is so taken aback at the sight of his brothers. The tables have turned. He holds their lives in his hands. What will he do?

Prayer
All people suffer. All people experience alienation from others and from their true selves. Sometimes extreme circumstances can provide the opportunity for us to pursue reconciliation and wholeness. Sometimes a broken heart lets the love out. Sometimes pain exposes our vulnerability and healing can ensue. May our eyes be open to see possibilities for reconciliation. Amen.

Devotion 20 – Lent 2016

“And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went through all the land of Egypt. During the seven plenteous years the earth produced abundantly. He gathered up all the food of the seven years when there was plenty in the land of Egypt, and stored up food in the cities; he stored up in every city the food from the fields around it. So Joseph stored up grain in such abundance – like the sand of the sea – that he stopped measuring it; it was beyond measure. . . The seven years of plenty that prevailed in the land of Egypt came to an end; and the seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in every country, but throughout the land of Egypt there was bread. When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread, Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, ‘Go to Joseph; what he says to you, do.’ And since the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. Moreover, all the world came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine became severe throughout the world.” Genesis 41: 46-49, 53-57, NRSV

What is the proper role of government? In this season of presidential primaries, we are hearing a lot about that. One of the things I liked about early candidate Rand Paul was that he was consistently for small government. Other candidates seem to want small or no government on some things, but then they want to insert the government into people’s lives in other ways that many think should be private, personal matters. So we think about what is the appropriate role of government? In viewing many of the films at the Eckerd College Environmental Film Festival this week, this issue came up repeatedly relative to global climate change. What is the proper role of government?

In the story of Joseph, we see the government of Egypt very much in control of the food situation in the time of fertility and drought. If the people were left to themselves, even with warning about the drought, would they have stored the grain they would need? Would they take the situation seriously? Would they have the wherewithal as individuals to make provision for seven years of drought? Could they stock pile so much grain? It’s hard to know. And what about people who were poor or underfed during the time of plenty. You know they are going to be in an even worse situation during the drought.

Government stepping in on behalf of the welfare of the population regarding something as basic as food seems to be a proper role for the government. Our Constitution protects our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. You can’t enjoy those rights if you are starving to death and there is no food to be obtained. Seeing that all citizens have access to safe shelter, food, healthcare, and the other basic necessities of life seems a reasonable expectation of government. Overseeing a safe and plentiful food supply seems a proper role for government. Ensuring access to safe potable water seems to be a proper activity of government. Making sure there is clean air to breathe also appears to be a reasonable function for government. These are basic needs for life and people should expect their government to protect these life sustaining rights.

Given the state of global climate change, a case can be made that our government is falling severely short on these responsibilities. There are issues with food additives and pesticides, land usage, subsidies, and consumption of meat that are contributing to agricultural problems and an unhealthy food supply. There are already water wars and water shortage issues in the US, which again relates to agriculture and food supply as well as to drinking water. Sea level rise is also continuing apace and will wipe out many coastal cities potentially within our lifetime. And air quality, while it is better here than in, say, China, is deteriorating as the significant rise in asthma and other respiratory ailments shows.

In this election season, we must ask ourselves, what is the proper role of government and is our government really protecting our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?

Prayer
Separation of church and state in America has led to a rich and thriving religious landscape in this country. We are grateful for our freedom to worship as we choose. As people of faith, we pray for our government and our leaders that they may protect not only our freedom of religious expression but also our freedom to breathe clean air, drink safe water, eat healthy food, and live safely in these beautiful United States. Amen.

Statement about Separation of Church and State and Proposed LUCC Policy

Separation of Church and State and Political Campaigns
According to the American United for Separation of Church and State website (https://au.org/issues/churches-and-politics), religious groups have the right to speak out on political and social issues. Federal law, however, prohibits most tax-exempt bodies, including houses of worship, from intervening in elections by endorsing or opposing candidates for public office. Churches are not political action committees and should not act like them. Religious leaders should abide by the law and refrain from turning their congregations into cogs in a political machine.

Under the link to the Project Fair Play webpage and Get the Facts section of this website, an educational outreach effort of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, more detailed information is available about the law and how to be in compliance with it (http://projectfairplay.org/facts/). Specifically churches are not allowed to act as political organizations and advocate for a specific candidate.

Federal tax law is clear: Houses of worship and other non-profit groups may not endorse or oppose candidates for public office. The Internal Revenue Service vigorously enforces this provision of the IRS Code.

Under the Frequently Asked Questions section of this website we find even more specific information: (http://projectfairplay.org/facts/faq/)

Q. What types of activities are prohibited under the IRS Code?
A. Church endorsements of candidates and statements of opposition to candidates are strictly forbidden and can result in revocation of a church’s tax-exempt status. (However, clergy may endorse candidates as individuals in forums outside the church or work on behalf of candidates during their personal time.)
In addition, churches may not contribute money to candidates, solicit contributions on their behalf or donate to candidates’ political action committees. Churches may not set up their own PACs.

Q. What constitutes an endorsement or opposition to a candidate?
A. Prohibited activities may include letters of endorsement or opposition printed on church letterhead, church-sponsored distribution of campaign literature, pastors advising congregants to vote for or against candidates from the pulpit, the display of campaign signs on church property and other activities that could be construed as endorsing or opposing a candidate.

Many types of political activities are however allowable and are also listed on this website to include:
Voter registration drives
Driving people to the polls
Sponsor non-partisan candidate forums
Taking stands on political and social issues
Non-biased voter guides

Proposed LUCC Position and Guidelines
To support and act in accord with the law and the AU Separation of Church and State position, LUCC leadership will refrain from any and all illegal partisan political activities as described on their webpage and summarized here. In addition out of respect for the law , in support of the ethics of respect, fairness, and care for others, and in accord with the values of our church and faith (Mission statement here?), we ask that when on the LUCC property, engaged in LUCC activities, or when representing LUCC at any function on or off the property, the leadership and members of LUCC refrain from overtly endorsing or opposing a political candidate.

Of course as individual and independent citizens and voters, we are all free to communicate and advocate for any political candidate or party of our choice.

Discussion and feedback from congregation is requested.

Sermon Sunday Feb. 28, 2016

Sunday Feb. 28, 2016
Scriptures: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 and Genesis 39:1-6a
Rev. Kim P. Wells

On the night before he was assassinated, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. ended his sermon to the congregation at Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee saying:

“Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land. And I’m happy, tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have see the glory of the coming of the Lord.” [A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings of Martin Luther King, Jr, edited by James M. Washington, p. 286]

Don’t you wonder how people can have such faith? To put their lives on the line for what they believe?

There are other examples of people who just seem to have so much faith. Millard Fuller, founder of Habitat for Humanity, was a self made millionaire by the time he was 29. And he gave away his wealth to start an organization building homes for poor people the world over. Wow!

And Nelson Mandela reconciling and serving with his white captors in South Africa. That’s really living out your faith! Or one of the women from Cleveland who was kidnapped by Ariel Castro and kept captive for 10 years who forgave her captor: The man who kept her and two other women imprisoned, regularly raping them. Forgiven. That’s amazing grace!

When we think of the story of Joseph, we think of him forgiving his brothers, the very ones who sold him into slavery. And he not only forgives them, he eventually saves their lives by giving them food and providing them with a new life in Egypt. The very people that wanted to do him in and get rid of him. That’s impressive faith.

And, of course, most impressive, is Jesus who lays down his life for his friends. He stays so true to God and to God’s intentions for humanity, that he endures the suffering and death that ensue. Even, we’re told, forgiving his own killers from the cross.

Most of us, carrying on our every day lives, don’t face these kinds of
circumstances. Most of the time, we are not facing peril for our beliefs. Death is not knocking on the door as a consequence of our activism. Most of us aren’t filthy rich, so we don’t have to worry about giving away all of our wealth for the poor. Most of us will not be so wronged that our forgiveness appears otherworldly.

For most of us, life is pretty ordinary. We go to school. We go to work. Every day. Maybe we deal with our children, changing diapers, chauffeuring them around. Later letting them take care of us. Maybe we mow the grass. Clean the house. Pay the bills. Do the laundry. We might enjoy a hobby. Read books. We might travel. We might have fun with friends. We deal with medical issues and the challenges of aging. We do our best as caregivers to loved ones.

For many of us, we live ordinary lives. Mundane, really. Nothing spectacular or heroic. So what about our faith? In every day life? For those of us who are not sustaining freedom movements or forgiving murderers or funding global charities? What can we expect from our faith?

It’s interesting that in the passage we heard from the New Testament, Jesus is saying don’t make a show of your faith. Don’t use your piety as a way to gain status or respect. This teaching is in the middle of what is known as the Sermon on the Mount. It’s sandwiched in between the teaching about loving your enemies and the teaching about not storing up treasure on earth. These are some of the most important teachings of Jesus. And here amidst them are these words about faith practice and religious observance. Jesus is letting us know that faith is not self aggrandizing. It is not about moving you up the social ladder. It is not something that you use to gain status and privilege. In fact, just the opposite. Pray, give alms, fast, yes, but in private. Do it for yourself and God, not to impress others.

But Jesus is not saying don’t bother with religion or religious observance for he knows that it is in the regular discipline of prayer, reading of scripture, attending services, giving of money, singing of hymns, and helping others that our faith shapes our character and gives us life. It’s kind of like watering a plant- you do it again and again and again and it keeps growing. Our daily faith practices feed us. They keep us mindful of our faith. They give us strength for the challenges we face. They help us to know what is right and true. They form us as people who are grateful and giving. Faith practices are the way that we stay connected to God, to Divine Love, to our heart’s center. And that is critical for navigating the course of life. The practices are what give us the strength and will to love our enemies, eschew materialism, and keep greed at bay.

Every day or so, I hear of someone and I think, “They need church.” Now, what does that mean? It doesn’t mean that I think the person is going to hell because they don’t go to church. It doesn’t mean that I think the person is morally bad because they don’t go to church. It’s just that sometimes people seem lost, confused, or maybe bitter. They don’t seem to have a moral compass. They don’t seem to have a sense of how to navigate life. They don’t see the conflicts in their behavior. Maybe the person is spending a lot of money on something frivolous when don’t have money for basics like utilities and rent. Maybe a person is laying into their child in the store instead of respecting the child’s needs. Maybe someone is dropping trash from their car. Maybe someone is working in finance and getting people to borrow more money than they can handle and at high interest rates. Maybe we see people letting their friends have a bad influence on them. There are all kinds of ways people just seem to be lacking a sense of the connections between values and behavior, between morals and actions, between what they say and what they do. And so, I think, they need church.

Does this mean that people who go to church never make mistakes, don’t do stupid things, don’t bow to peer pressure, don’t cave in to social and economic pressure? Do people who go to church never make a scene? Of course not! In fact, it might be that weaker people go to church because we need more help!

To me, what “church” means is being part of a community that celebrates and reinforces values that honor creation, see all of life as sacred, and respect the dignity of the whole human family. Church represents a life oriented toward giving not taking. It is about seeing a bigger picture and your part in it. And, a big part of church is accepting yourself and others with all of our wonder and all of our warts. We will make mistakes and screw up. But we know that is human and we try again. And we want to offer the same grace to others. Church is about seeing our best selves and summoning them to the surface, aligning our beliefs with our actions.

In church we are striving toward healing and wholeness for ourselves and for the world. We are trying to get our behavior in line with our hopes, dreams, and beliefs. We are seeking integration. That is the quest of our full humanity. Coke Coughenour, a friend of LUCC, wrote a beautiful essay about this for the last Westminster Shores newsletter. I recommend it to you.

Church brings us together in solidarity with others who have been drawn to the way of Jesus, the path of justice, love, compassion and forgiveness. Church is about living in God’s realm, living Love’s way, here and now. And becoming more and more complete in that identity and that community.

Without “church” and that could be mosque, synagogue, or another faith community, people are more prone to being fragmented. Pulled apart. Buffeted by the winds of society and culture around them. With little sense of home, acceptance, and a way back. Without community and solidarity. Ruled by the tyrant “me.” Selfish. Self absorbed. A small life enslaved.

Church is an antidote to all of that. Faith practices day in and day out, week in and week out, shape our worldview, our sense of self, and help us figure out where we fit in to the whole. Our faith becomes our home, our grounding. Nurturing and fostering our growth and healing.

Our faith teaches us that we find our truest selves in service. Day in and day out. Not necessarily the one heroic episode, say, rescuing someone from drowning. But the day to day kindness, the smile, the practical help here and there, the caring, attentive presence, the every day efforts to make the world a better place. This daily mode of being is how divine love comes into the world and spreads. Most of the good that happens in this world is done by everyday people, doing for others, where they are needed. It’s not rocket science. You don’t have to be “special” or “gifted” or in Mensa. It’s the everyday dedication to service and the wellbeing of others that God uses to bless the world.

Our faith also teaches us to live our everyday ordinary lives with a sense of joy, delight, and gratitude. Instead of just being a daily grind, we feel graced by a good meal or a good laugh or a good friend. We treasure another dawn. We see the miracle of each and every breath. We are stunned over and over and over again by the magnificence and beauty of nature. Miracle after miracle after miracle! Wow!

Our faith, nurtured through regular faith practices shapes our character and our life style. It informs our choices. It provides a compass to navigate through life. We are shaped and formed by God/Spirit/the Holy/Love.

Now, we started by talking about some giants of the faith. People who have made an extraordinary witness to the realm of God and the power of love to transform lives and the world. And each one of them was rooted in a faith tradition. Each one was part of a community of faith practice, formation, and solidarity. Their faith led and guided them. It gave them strength and insight for their life’s calling.

But this leaves me wondering, is it that regular habit of faith that led them to do those extraordinary things? Sometimes, I think it happens like that. We go about our business, going to church, praying, reflecting on scripture, sharing with the poor, and out of that emerges some grand and noble aim that we must devote our lives to. I think this is the case with Dr. King. If he had not been a person of faith, he may very well have never been a Civil Rights leader. His involvement in the movement came directly from his experience with church and the Bible. Sometimes our engagement with our faith compels us to be involved in things we never could have expected. So, our ordinary lives and faith practice may lead to quite extraordinary service.

This is certainly the case with Jesus. His faith led him to make a bold witness that was threatening to others and engendered hostility and retaliation which resulted in his death. Sometimes faith practice gets us into trouble.

Other times, I think we are just thrown into circumstances that require our response. That’s what we see with Joseph. He ended up in Egypt, a slave, then a vizier, and finally a savior, really. But he did not create the circumstances that led to all of that. He dealt with what life handed him.

We see this in other situations of tragedy and disaster. What a compelling Christian witness we saw from the Amish community where the children were killed in the school house. They had nothing to do with creating that circumstance. And yet, it happened. And they had to respond. And they responded with forgiveness, love, and support for the shooter’s widow, Marie Roberts. In the aftermath of the shooting, she wrote an open letter to her Amish neighbors thanking them for their forgiveness, grace, and mercy. She wrote, “Your love for our family has helped to provide the healing we so desperately need. Gifts you’ve given have touched our hearts in a way no words can describe. Your compassion has reached beyond our family, beyond our community, and is changing our world, and for this we sincerely thank you.” It was a remarkable witness, that arose from the ordinary, steady practice of faith that shapes and forms.[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Nickel_Mines_School_shooting]

Sometimes life throws us into unexpected situations. And we do what we can. We try to do what is right. We try to live out our faith. And the result is something we never would have predicted or known we were capable of. But all that church and faith practice was preparing us, making us ready, and we had what we needed when the time came.

Who knows where going to church may lead? We know that through our practice, the world will be blessed and so will we, though we don’t know how. So, let us persist in our faith journey, trusting Love to make us who we need to be. 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.

Devotion 19 – Lent 2016

“Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, as his wife. Thus Joseph gained authority over the land of Egypt. Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt.” Genesis 41:45-46a, NRSV

What do you want to be when you grow up? This is a question we often ask kids. And the answers are fun. Ask a high school or college student and it can be more anxiety producing because they are worrying about what to do with themselves when they imminently enter the big wide world.

What did you think you wanted to be when you grew up? What kind of life did you expect to lead? Are you on the path you thought you would be on? Did things turn out pretty much as you expected? Or have things unfolded differently? Is your life going in an unexpected direction?

Joseph was from a large family of shepherds with huge flocks living a semi nomadic life in the land of Canaan. He could never have imagined living in Egypt letting alone being in charge of the farming and crops for an entire country, being the second in command after Pharaoh, and being married to an Egyptian woman.

Sometimes things just don’t turn out the way we expect them to. This may happen because we need to be doing things with our lives that we had not anticipated. New circumstances and directions appear and we know it is what we are supposed to do. Sometimes things don’t turn out as we expect because we make a mess of things. We make poor choices and get into trouble and find ourselves derailed from what we intended. Sometimes we may know what we are being called to but we simply say no or ignore what we know. Through the course of our lives, we may find ourselves in each of these situations, looking back.

Joseph did the best he could under the circumstances. He shows an adaptability, an acceptance of where his life takes him. And whatever state he is in, he finds God, trusts God, and lets his light shine so that others see God in him.

There are some who believe that Jesus knew what was in store for him from the beginning. They beleive that he knew he would face opposition, be betrayed, face an unfair trial, and suffer a humiliating, excruciating death through crucifixion. Some believe Jesus knew his whole life’s path from his birth, or certainly from his baptism on. For me, it makes Jesus stronger and more impressive in his moral imagination to think that he was choosing over and over and over again the way of love, healing, and reconciliation without specifically knowing what the outcome would be. For me, it makes Jesus more of a model I am challenged to follow to think that he did not know what the future would hold. He was like us, trying to discern God’s will and live by it. And he did it and got it right over and over again. He trusted God and did not falter. For me, that way of looking at Jesus is more inspiring and makes a deeper impression.

Lent is a time to think about how we may be resisting something or ignoring something. A tug, a pull in our lives. Maybe it’s a time to let go of something and free ourselves to take a new path. To trust and be surprised.

Prayer
Each day dawns with new possibilities. We may think we know what’s ahead. But changes come. Circumstances present themselves that were unanticipated. What does not change is Divine Love working in the world and in our lives for the good of all. May we release our imaginary control and trust. Amen.