Author: lakewooducc

As was described in lakewooducc.org/2011/06/05/angela-wells-installed-as-pastor-at-venice-ucc/, Angela Wells is pastor for the next three months at Venice UCC, in Venice, Florida. Since so many of us know her and follow her candidacy, Angela has agreed to having her sermons posted on the Lakewood website. They will all be posted under the “Sermon” category and the titles will begin with her name for easy identification. Here is the first of these sermons.

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Sermon June 1, 2011 Venice UCC
Angela V. Wells
Master of Divinity Candidate
Union Theological Seminary

And 40 days after Easter, he ascended into Heaven, leaving this mortal world and entering the Heavenly one, to sit at the right hand of God, so says the Apostles Creed. The disciples were lost and confused, as was often the case during their journeys. Just before Jesus “was lifted up in a cloud before their eyes,” they asked, him, “Are you going to restore sovereignty to Israel?” They are reverting to what they know, to their previous reality. They long for the restoration of David’s monarchy and the restoration of ancient Israel, before the Roman empire.They think the glory days are back! In a season of unrest and change, we turn to what we know, we turn to our past experiences to inform our future decision and to help us cope. I am continually surprised and refreshed by the disciples’ honesty, their inquiry and their modern relevance. Sure, they lived over 2,000 years ago, but they were still so human, just like us. They asked questions just as we would ask, they experienced similar confounding emotions. They were regular men with average jobs, most were fishermen, and Matthew was a tax collector. They were working men that had to support their families, although they took a great risk by leaving their jobs and following Jesus. I find their innocence very comforting. They fell asleep so many times when Jesus asked them to stay awake. Many times I have been tempted to fall asleep in class, when I was supposed to be paying attention, but not in seminary, of course!

Now this passage does show a more pious side of the disciples, they returned to Jerusalem and it tells us that they “devoted themselves to constant prayer.” We might be tempted to think of someone who does this as being more devout than ourselves, but we must remember that they just saw two people dressed in white appear to them after their teacher ascended to heaven in a cloud of smoke. If I saw something so visually stimulating, I would probably go and devote myself to constant prayer as well. I might even be terrified.

The disciples were entering a season of change. After the crucifixion, Jesus appeared to his disciples in various ways for 40 days. Then, on the 40th day after the resurrection, he ascended into Heaven, and the disciples had no idea when he was to return. We still have no idea when he is to return, although as we know from the most recent example of May 21st, many people try to predict when Jesus will come back to us. The two messengers promised them that one day Jesus would return in the same way that he left them, but here we are, still anxiously waiting. Which is why we must always be prepared. Jesus promised his followers a new comforter, as we heard last week, but right now they are in a state of flux, or transition, existing in a liminal place. Their teacher has left them, they have not yet received their new guide. Surely, we can relate to this sense of the unknown. Churches are losing members and closing their doors, we no longer have the denominational devotion that we once had, and yet according to the Pew Forum, 88% of the U.S. population says that they still believe in God. Christianity has been co-opted and become a hybrid of Jesus’ original message. Those of us that attend church have to justify and defend our position, saying that we aren’t all hypocrites. Somehow, to be open-minded and non-judgmental has become mutually exclusive with the label Christianity. Our pastors and leaders are in sex scandals, accused of abusing their power through behaving inappropriately with parishioners. And this isn’t just in the Catholic church. Other churches are accused of having unethical finances, pastors use church funds for personal reasons. How come so many people call themselves “spiritual” but not “religious”? How has organized religion, specifically Christianity, become associated with endless meetings, inefficiency and power struggles?

If Christianity is a brand, then we are doing a poor job at maintaining our image. If the modern church was ever in an era of transition, it is now. The 18th century enlightenment taught us that religion and rational thought are not mutually exclusive, but why do so many secular people believe that one must suspend reason in order to have faith? On the one hand, we are in an era promoting critical thinking and independent thought. People have alternative news sources, technological advancements have allowed for the rapid exchange of information. It is no longer taboo to question what we are taught or why we are even taught it. We even analyze what we aren’t learning and what it means that such information is excluded from the curriculum or even the lectionary. In the age of questioning everything, why are the conservative churches that essentially “tell” people what to believe the ones that are proliferating?

The religious landscape is changing, but religion certainly isn’t going anywhere. The mainline protestant churches had carved out a niche for themselves in modern society, but somehow we have lost our grip. The church needs to reinvent itself so that it is relevant in the 21st century and is welcoming of people who are “unchurched”. We can no longer assume that a visitor that walks in our doors knows any books of the Bible or has ever been to church before. Churches need to move themselves away from bureaucracy and politics towards social justice work. People will be involved with a group if it gives them a sense of belonging, and they feel like they are making a difference. I believe that this church as well as my home church in St. Petersburg, Florida , are both committed to making this change. Both of these congregations have recently restructured so that not so much power is concentrated in the hands of a few, and that most peoples’ energy goes towards outreach, missions or enrichment, instead of energy-zapping meetings. I do not believe that the church is dying, otherwise I wouldn’t be entering the ministry. I do believe that the church is experiencing growing pains and it is now more than ever that we have to stay committed to our mission. In previous eras, you could take it for granted that people were going to become members of the church because there was denominational loyalty. It was the status quo to belong to a church and attend services every Sunday. Now, this is no longer the case. We can no longer just trust that people will go to church because its what they’ve always done, because it isn’t what the younger generation has always done. It is no longer a social faux pas to say that one doesn’t belong to a church.

I believe that we exist to meet a need in society that no other social club can fill. However, if we let ourselves become a social club, then we have a lot of competition. People can join the bowling league, the bingo league, the lawn bowling club, become members at the local golf course. But those places are not trying to spiritually enrich people. Those places are not where you go to worship something that is so much greater than anything we ever try to conceptualize. Those places are not reminding people that they are a beloved child of God and that they are never alone. Just this past week I was giving pastoral care to someone who experienced a family crisis. Those places don’t have people that want sit with you, mourn with you and be with you `as long as you need. Those places don’t have the Called to Care ministry, or Stephen Ministers. Churches are absolutely needed in this era, but we have to keep reminding ourselves and others of why we are here, because nobody else will. Nobody else is going to give us our place in society, we have to carve it out. We have to give the media good reasons to report about what’s going on in our local churches. We must show people that Christianity is not about burning the Qur’an, even though that’s what they see on the 6 o’clock news.

Some churches are trying to stay relevant by using contemporary music or moving away from traditional liturgies. These churches are updating their worship style, but are they updating their theology? Are they allowing for people with questions, critiques and criticisms to have a safe place to express themselves? I believe that the United Church of Christ and other mainline Protestant churches are still needed here. Religious attendance might be declining, but people are still yearning, still searching. We are in a time of transition, just like the disciples, but we have been given the power of the Holy Spirit and each of us has the ability to affect change for the Christian church in the new century. It is easy to become disheartened, but we need to keep supporting each other, reminding each other of why we are here and then carry that message outwards. While the national UCC is putting a lot of work into re-branding ourselves and getting our name in public on a macro level, I still believe that work needs to be done on a one-to-one basis. People are more likely to come to church if they have a personal invitation, and a personal connection with the church before they ever set foot in the door. Yes, you can advertise through the newspaper or other media outlets, but it is that personal connection that gets people involved. Perhaps you know someone who seems isolated, or someone who is suffering. Maybe someone is not fulfilled in their life and is looking for meaning. Maybe it’s just a friend that you go out to eat with (you seem to do that a lot around here). Maybe next time you see them, tell them that you would like them to come to church with you before you meet up on Sunday afternoon.

The disciples were anxious, did not know what lay ahead. All they knew was that it would be different from what they had known. I am anxious, because I do not know what lies ahead. I am entering a profession that needs a new job description, although we are not sure what that is yet. Yes, the church is changing, but we have no idea what form that will take. All I know is that people need what we have to offer. Just as the disciples devoted themselves to prayer and reflection, so we must rededicate ourselves to our cause and then share our light, we must not hide it under a bushel, but share what we offer. One on one, person to person, we must show the world that we are a different voice from what they know of Christianity. Bring your questions, bring your hang-ups, bring your concerns, unlike the airlines, we don’t charge for extra baggage.

LAKEWOOD UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
2601 54th Avenue South St. Petersburg, FL 33712
727-867-7961
lakewooducc.org
LakewoodUCC@gmail.com

Date: May 29, 2011
Scripture Lesson: Acts 17:22-31
Sermon: Groping for God
Pastor: Rev. Kim P. Wells

On a trail in the mountains, a hiker stopped near the edge of a drop off to take in the vista. As he went to get out his camera, his foot slipped on the steep incline which ended a few feet away at the edge of a precipice. In trying to regain his balance and manage his camera and day pack, the hiker slid to the edge of the cliff and grabbed on to a scrubby bush nearby as his feet dangled over the edge and his pack and camera tumbled through the air landing hundreds of feet below on the jagged rock. The hiker was alone and hadn’t seen anyone else on the isolated trail all day. Hanging between life and death he prayed, “God, save me.” He heard a faint voice. “Let go.” Again he petitioned, “God, save me!” He heard the same response. Louder this time. “Let go.” He glanced to each side, and even hazarded a fleeting look downward. Again he begged, “God, save me.” And again, he heard the response, “Let go!” Finally, the man shouted, “Hey, is there anyone else up there?”

Depending on our circumstances and situation, we can be very willing to adapt our image and conception of God! This applies not only to our individual circumstances as humans, but also to the human species throughout history. Primitive humans millennia ago had very different conceptions of God than we do today, based on their experience and understanding and development. When you don’t know how lightening is formed, it is easy to conceive of a spirit being who throws bolts of fire. Confronted with an erupting volcano, we can see how people could imagine a divine spirit hollering below the surface of the earth to create such a disruption. As we look back, we see different manifestations of humans groping for God, for the divine. As humans have evolved, we have attributed occurrences in nature as well as human behavior to divine beings. Yes, many cultures have gods of rain and sun but we also see gods of war. We see the god of war in the Old Testament. The Hebrew people believed that God led them into battle and was responsible for the outcome. To slight God in any way was to jeopardize the outcome of the conflict. When they won, they attributed the victory to God. When they lost, they attributed the failure to their lack of devotion to God.

By the time of Jesus, we don’t see Jesus referring to this warrior god. The conception of God we see from Jesus is more focused on God as creator of the cosmos, and of the human community which is intended to reflect divine creativity by creating communities of compassion, justice, loving relationships, and spiritual devotion . So Jesus teaches about the realm of God, the beloved community; human relationships and communities that reflect divine caring, support, and grace. He talks about giving devotion and reverence to the God of love for the whole world. This is a far cry from thinking about gods as individual divine beings that put stars in the sky and make fire burn. As humanity has developed and evolved, the conception of God has changed and adapted to new understandings and situations. We see a continual groping for God.

Human conceptions of God are also contextual. In a tropical context 2000 years ago, the people would not have imagined a god of snow. Talking about God in one context may be quite different from talking about God in another context. We might very well say something very different about God in a village in Africa where most of the people are dying of AIDS than we would in an MIT classroom. Context comes into play in our imaging of God. We see this with Paul, the New Testament apostle, in the reading we heard this morning. Just a few verses earlier in the book of Acts, Paul has been accused of being a hayseed, a simple rural person. He is seen as naive and ignorant. Now, here he is in the big cosmopolitan, sophisticated capital of Athens, home of democracy and Socrates, speaking in the areopagus, the center for philosophical discourse. In this speech, a portion of which we heard this morning, Paul conveys his thoughts with intellectual insight appropriate to the setting. He talks about all the shrines and temples he has seen. He quotes an inscription he has read. He includes quotations from two prominent Greek philosophers in his discourse. He meets the Athenians on their own terms. He adapts himself to his context. He puts across his message in a way that the intellectuals of Athens will be able to hear and consider given their frame of reference. Paul takes his context into consideration. He meets the challenge of the groping for God of the intellectually elite Athenians.

This is the challenge and the opportunity facing each new generation of every culture and context. Paul tells us that humans of every era are innately spiritual beings created with a groping for God. The ongoing challenge of the spiritual life and the religious community is to address this inherent spiritual need, this groping for God, in ways that make sense for the time and the context.

In Paul’s situation, not only is he in the hotbed of erudition in the ancient world, but he is also part of a spiritual community that anticipated the return of Jesus Christ in their life time. They are looking for Jesus to come back and begin the apocalyptic end times during their time on earth. Paul would have been shocked to hear that there were Christians who expected Christ to return on May 21, 2011. Impossible. Paul knew that would all be over and done with before the year 100 CE. He would have thought it was ludicrous to expect the beginning of the end 2000 years hence. When we take Paul’s assumptions and context into consideration, it sheds new light on how we see some of the teachings of the New Testament. Some things weren’t meant to be long term directives to apply for thousands of years, but were meant to apply to the understanding of the immediate circumstances. The end is at hand. But – Jesus did not come back as those early Christians expected. So the continuing Christian community had to evolve and develop in new directions, given the unanticipated circumstances. They had to grope for God in new ways and find new ways to express their spiritual devotion and faithfulness that were not based on a presumed imminent second coming of Christ.

Today, in many ways our context and circumstances are unlike anything that could have been anticipated by biblical writers. And we find ourselves facing the challenge of all previous generations. We grope for God in our day and time. Given our experience. Given our stage of development and circumstances. And people around the world in differing contexts grope for God in the ways that they feel led to do so as well.

Just think about this Memorial Day in the context of the Christian church in the United States. Our church sees this as an opportunity to be reminded of the cost of war and renew our commitment to seeking peace through non violent conflict resolution. There are other churches that will reflect on this day as we do. There are also churches that will take this secular holiday as an opportunity to emphasize the importance of supporting the United States of America, its war efforts, and its aspirations to be the leader of the world. For those churches, this day is an opportunity to observe a civil holiday in a religious context giving religious credence to America’s agenda of dominance and pre-eminence.

When we think of Memorial Day at the Cadet Chapel at the United States Military Academy at West Point, what might we imagine there? How might groping for God look in that context on Memorial Day weekend? Might we expect an emphasis on peace? Or on patriotism? Or something else? In the book, Sundays in America: A Yearlong Road Trip in Search of Christian Faith, the author, Suzanne Strempek Shea, offers reviews of visits to different churches, one each Sunday, for a year. On the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, Shea chose to visit the Chapel at West Point. She wanted to be sure to attend a service that would pay respects to the fallen soldiers that we remember on Memorial Day weekend. Shea quotes the sermon given in the generic Protestant service at the Cadet Chapel: “Sometimes we get distracted, draw away, get caught at work, at home, have physical struggles and the lowest lows, and we go, ‘I’m lost, I can’t find Him.’ I tell you: God has never taken his eyes off his children. God says, ‘Acknowledge that you walked away. Acknowledge, repent, return, and you can enjoy and embrace again – we’ll walk together.’ If we don’t walk with God, this life is as good as it gets. If we do, the best is yet to come.” Shea goes on to describe the service: The sermon is over. . . “Chaplain Darrell’s friendly and matter-of-fact delivery delivered goods that were another appreciated reminder – as simple as the nudge to ask for help. To remember that we’re never alone.”

Shea continues, “But I’m still waiting for some mention of Memorial Day. This is the United States Military Academy, statues to deceased war heroes at every turn. The program states that some of the flowers on the altar have been donated in memory of First Lieutenant Laura Walker, USMA Class of 2003. She’d hardly left this place. Why not mention her?”

“. . . She was buried in the cemetery past which she used to run, and down the hill from the Cadet Chapel at West Point. Where, on this Memorial Day weekend Sunday, at the Cadet Chapel’s Protestant service, not a word about the dead was uttered.” [Sundays in America: A Yearlong Road Trip in Search of Christian Faith, Suzanne Strempek Shea, pp. 50, 52] This surprised Shea, and it surprises me, it may surprise you, as well, but then we are all groping for God in differing ways in different circumstances and in diverse contexts. And this chaplain felt that this was the way to grope for God on that Memorial Day Sunday.

There are many ways of groping for God. Paul tells us, “From one ancestor God made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and God allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for God and find God – though indeed God is not far from each one of us.” [Acts 17:26-27] Our job is to grope for God, given our experience and our context. This is an invitation to invest ourselves in this quest. And to expect the results to be different in differing contexts. And as Paul shows us with his intellectual, erudite presentation to the Athenians, it is completely appropriate for us to bring our intellect to our spiritual quest. Indeed, our intellectual abilities are a gift of God intended to be fully engaged in our groping for God. There is no assumption that the groping for God necessitates adopting superstitious beliefs or magical thinking that is not integrated with our intellectual knowledge. We must also incorporate into our groping for God an awareness of the limits of our intellectual development and the acceptance of mystery as part of the spiritual quest.

The invitation to grope for God is a celebration of the spiritual journey of the human species, which takes place in different ways in different times and differing contexts and circumstances. We should expect that people have conceived of God in different ways throughout the ages. We should expect our groping for God to yield surprising results in the eons ahead. We should anticipate experiencing God in different ways as we make our journey through our individual lives. I know that my conception and experience of God is far different now than it was ten years ago or twenty years ago or forty years ago. To grope for God is to expect to have a changing, emerging view of God in light of our specific experiences and as the experience of the human species continues to unfold. There is always mystery. We will never fully know. It is always groping. Searching, reaching, reflecting, guessing, missing, and holding on. All of it.

While the spiritual quest may be very much a journey into the unknown, the only thing that truly scares me about religion is when I hear a conception of God that is fixed, certain, inflexible, absolute, and assumed to be unquestioningly correct. For me this is not the result of groping, but of idolatry. As Paul says, “. . we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals.” [Acts 17:29] God is meant to groped for, ever accessible, ever elusive: never fully known. We should strap ourselves down for the journey, and expect an exciting adventure, but we should never encumber God.

The native mountaineering guides in the Himalayas, known as sherpas, are intimately acquainted with the face of Mount Everest. They live in its shadow. As guides, they know the where the crevasses are and where to find the ropes for the climbers. They know the weather patterns and avalanche dangers. However, the sherpas know Everest only from one side – the view from their home valley. When they have been shown images of Everest from other sides, they do not recognize the mountain. They do not believe that it is Everest. Their disbelief changes to amazement when they realize that something with which they are so familiar can have other sides to it. This is how it is as we as a human species grope for God. There are new vistas and differing perspectives yielding new insights and images. [The Christian Century, 5/17/11, p.8]

May we expect to see God in new ways as we continue the human quest of groping for God. Amen.

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