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GATHERING MUSIC

WELCOME and ANNOUNCEMENTS

LIGHTING THE PEACE CANDLE                Colleen Coughenour, liturgist

Whatever God does, the first outburst is always compassion.

Meister Eckhart, c. 1260-1328

PRELUDE                   

CALL TO WORSHIP                                                              

Earth teach me stillness

As the grasses are stilled with light.

Earth teach me suffering

As old stones suffer with memory.

Earth teach me humility

As blossoms are humble with beginning.

Earth teach me caring

As the mother who secures her young.

Earth teach me courage

As the tree which stands alone.

Earth teach me limitation

As the ant which crawls on the ground.

Earth teach me freedom

As the eagle which soars in the sky.

Earth teach me resignation

As the leaves which die in the autumn.

Earth teach me regeneration

As the seed which rises in the spring.

Earth teach me to forget myself

As melted snow forgets its life.

Earth teach me to remember kindness

As dry fields weep in the rain.

MUSICAL REFLECTION            

SCRIPTURE READING

Let us prepare ourselves for the word of God as it comes to us in the reading of Holy Scripture. Our hearts and minds are open.

Mark 4:1-9, 26-29, and 30-32

For the word of God in scripture, for the word of God  among us, for the word of God within us. Thanks be to God.

MODERN READING                April Oursler Armstrong, 1928-2006

SERMON                         Gone to Seed                  Rev. Kim P. Wells

We live in a day of strategic planning. An organization or endeavor that has any kind of serious aim has a mission statement, a vision and values statement, a capacity building plan, an environmental scan and analysis, short term and long term objectives, a time line, financial targets, and more. We are masters of the Plan. The business plan. The strategic plan. The life plan.

We plan for a college education. We plan for retirement. We have a career plan. We have a fitness plan. We do family planning. We have charts and forms and calendars and apps to keep us on track with our plans. And I am by nature a planner, so I appreciate this approach.

But I remember wise words shared with me by Lloyd Conover who was part of our LUCC church family before he died. Lloyd is credited with inventing tetracycline, the first humanly engineered antibiotic. He worked in research and development for Pfizer. I asked Lloyd about what went into developing the drug. Well, one thing I remember him saying is that he worked on this largely on his own with help from only a few others because most of the people he worked did not think it would amount to anything. So they did not want to be associated with a failure — the project or the person who was spearheading it. But Lloyd wanted to see the thing through.

There is something else that I remember from the conversation with Lloyd about the developing of tetracycline. He told me that they did all the research, made all the calculations, did all the tests and trials, plotted all of the possible outcomes. They had a plan. But this involved chemicals and interactions, and so Lloyd said that when they had done all that they could do and were ready to run the final procedure to see if it all worked, they couldn’t be sure of what would happen because it involved Mother Nature. And for all that we do know, we don’t always know what nature will do. There was a reverence and a respect for nature in Lloyd’s comment.

For all of our planning, nature reminds us that we don’t know it all. There is still an element of mystery and surprise that is beyond our control.

So, Jesus is known for using nature imagery in his teachings because he is teaching about the realm of God, about life in God, the love of God, and there is always the unknown, mystery, things that we cannot account for. And people, always, and forever, remain a mystery. The person you would least suspect – commits a murder. A lowlife, ne’er do well – donates a kidney and saves a life. You. Just. Never. Know.

In the stories we heard today, Jesus uses seeds to talk about the ways of God and the commonwealth of God. And anyone who has been involved with gardening or farming knows we can do all that we know how to do but even that does not assure a certain outcome when it comes to seeds and plants. Despite all of our capabilities and our ways of controlling conditions, things happen – there is drought, or flooding, or some kind of pest infestation, or some other unexpected occurrence. And this effects the hoped for outcome.

John Reed, son of LUCC’s Wilbur and JoAnne Reed, is a farmer. And he uses all kinds of technology and science to inform his farming. He has an iPad on the tractor that analyzes the soil as he goes along and controls the amounts of seed and fertilizer that are dispersed according to the conditions of the soil, inch by inch, row by row. And still, there is no guarantee of the yield because of the many factors beyond John’s control. So Jesus tells stories involving seeds to show us the nature of faith and the nature of the spiritual life. These seed stories remind us for one thing that we don’t control things. We don’t have complete say so over everything. We can plot and plan and scan but we still don’t really know how things will go in life.

In the story about the seeds that are scattered on the rocky ground, the shallow soil, among the thorns, and on the fertile soil, we might think, why waste the seed on ground where it won’t grow? Here we see the generosity and really the profligacy of the word of God. Strewn far and wide, in all places, conditions, and circumstances. Abundance. Even waste. Plenty of seed. Not needing to be spared. That is the gospel. The good news is available for everyone. Not meted out. Not allotted. No. It is shared with abandon. That’s how it is with God’s love. With grace. With the way of Jesus. And what will come of it? In some cases, it will wither and die. But the end result, will be an amazingly abundant harvest. Far beyond the calculations of any farmer or gardener. The seed is not to be spared and the harvest will be stunning. That’s what we need to know. It very well may not go according to our plan. But the harvest will still be plentiful.

When I think about this parable, I think about how sometimes I am that rocky soil. I don’t want to let that unconditional love sink in and take root and grow. I want to harbor my control and my hostilities and my resentments. And there are times or areas of our lives where we get all enthusiastic about how we are going to do the right thing, until something comes along and derails us. Our plans are snatched up and destroyed. And there are those times when despite our good intentions, the allure of money or power or status, or the mirage of consumer happiness, brainwash us and we abandon the gospel values of simplicity and generosity and sacrifice. The good news gets crowded out by the messages of the society around us, delivered in so many ways now – including through insidious advertising – that infect our psyches like an undetected poison.

But we can also be fertile ground, where the seeds of the gospel grow, and the harvest is a shocking surprise even to us as we find ourselves responding with generosity and compassion to the needs of the people and the world around us. Who knew we could bear such fruit? Jesus knew.

Then we heard the story of the sower who plants the seeds. Then leaves things alone and comes back into play when the harvest is ready. For all we can do, there is so much that we can’t do. That happens without us. That happens through Divine Love present and powerful in our lives and in our world. Beyond our control. Working for good. Sure we have our plans. But this story reminds us that, well, it’s not about us. The purposes and intentions of Divine Love are proceeding apace. We are needed. We have a role. But it doesn’t all depend on us.

Dr. Vandana Shiva, called the Gandhi of grain, has been a proponent of seed collectives in India. This involves village women planting their seeds and then at the end of the season, sharing their seeds with others. Through this effort, many more people in rural villages are able to have a sustainable source of food. The seed banks support an agricultural system that is not dependent on expensive seeds and additives from multinational corporations. Through relatively minimal effort, planting, harvesting, creating collectives and sharing seed, these women are significantly impacting the food supply of the country. They put in their small efforts. And the outcome far outpaces the effort. Because there are other forces at work. The earth, the life force, the incredible power within seeds, Mother Nature, the Creator, Divine Love, water, air, sun, however you want to imagine it, but added to the actions of the women is the power of grace. And the yield astounds.

Again, we make our plans, but we are not fully responsible for the result. We are all beneficiaries of grace, of Divine Love, of the sustaining power of the life force, of God. We cannot take full credit for what we enjoy or what we accomplish. There is much that is involved that we do not control or deserve. And the harvest awaits us.

Then we heard that third seed story in this fourth chapter of Mark. The image of the mustard seed. So well known. Just have faith the size of a mustard seed, a tiny seed. Which grows into a great bush. That does so much good – providing shade and a home for the birds, and flavoring for food. Just from the smallest of seeds.

Those who heard this story in Jesus’ day would have been accustomed to having the power of God associated with the cedars of Lebanon. Tall, majestic, trees. Impressive and imposing. That is the kind of tree typically associated with the presence and power of the Divine. And here is Jesus talking about the tiniest of seeds, the mustard seed, and a bush. This is an image meant to challenge the perception of power made manifest through imperialism. It is meant to challenge the idea that bigger is better. How would that image of the mustard seed have captured the attention of those early followers of Jesus? Oh, you mean God can be like a, well, shrub? A bush? Something common? Something modest? Something accessible to common people? Like us? Yes. The incredible power of Divine Love wants to be present and work in the lives of everyday people, not just prestigious figures and prominent leaders. The power of Divine Love is working in all of us including the least and the lost. There is hope for all of us. It only takes an inkling, a tiny opening, the faintest softening, and the love of God can work in us, on us, through us, whoever we are.

There was a cache of date palm seeds found in the excavation of the palace of Herod the Great at Masada. The seeds were about 2,000 years old. And in 2005 some of these seeds were germinated and they continue to grow today after all of those years, dormant. And there are seeds from an arctic flower, native to Siberia, that were found in the permafrost. About 31,800 years old. Some had viable embryos and were germinated in vitro and they have continued to grow.

Seeds. A perfect image for the possibilities of Divine Love in our lives. Present, waiting to be awakened. The power is always there. Small. Dormant, maybe. But still with the capacity to live and grow in us. So that we might bear fruit in our lives.

This image of the seed is common in the teachings of ancient near eastern religions and it is not surprising that Jesus draws upon this image. It is rich with meaning and possibility. We plan and plot and measure, but like a seed, there is so much more power that is within us, to grow, to provide, to sustain, to shelter, so comfort, to feed, to flourish. There is the seed. And there is the abundant harvest. That is what we can be sure of. What we can bank on.

People from all over the world are contributing to a seed vault in Spitsbergen, Norway, in an icy mountain above the arctic circle. There are now something like 930,000 different varieties of seeds for food crops in the vault. The idea is that as the environment unravels and implodes due to climate change associated with human activity the time may come when the seeds can be used to help sustain and regenerate human life on earth. And given the power of seeds, biologically and metaphorically, there is wisdom to this investment scheme.

We do our planning. We have our charts and timelines. And this may facilitate our accomplishing what we believe is important. But these seed stories along with the other teachings of Jesus remind us that the gospel is not a self help book. It is not a quick fix. Seven steps to a happier, healthier you. Ten things to do to maximize the love in your life. The gospel is not a guarantee of comfort. It is not about the immediate success of our plans but about the ultimate yield of the purposes of God: The realm of God in which every person has the opportunity to live, grow, thrive and make a contribution. And creation is healthy and thriving as well. The seeds are sown. And the harvest will come. We close with a folktale:

Once upon a time, a pilgrim set out on a long journey in search of peace, joy and love. The pilgrim walked for many weary miles, and time passed. Gradually, the young lively steps became slower and more laboured. The pilgrim’s journey passed through landscapes that were not always happy ones. Through wars. Through sickness. Through quarrels and rejections and separations. A land where, it seemed, the more people possessed the more warlike they became – the more they had to defend, the more they needed to attack each other. Longing for peace, they prepared for war. Longing for love, they surrounded themselves with walls of distrust and barriers of fear. Longing for life, they were walking deeper into death.

But one morning, the pilgrim came to a little cottage at the wayside. Something about this little cottage attracted the pilgrim. It was as though it was lit up from the inside. Full of curiosity, the pilgrim went inside. And inside the cottage was a little shop, and behind the counter stood a shopkeeper. It was hard to judge the age. There was an air of timelessness about the place.

“What would you like?” asked the shopkeeper in a kindly voice.

“What do you stock here?” asked the pilgrim.

“Oh, we have all the things here that you most long for,” replied the shopkeeper. “Just tell me what you desire.” The pilgrim hardly knew where to begin. So many desires came rushing to mind.

“I want peace — in my own family, in my native land, in the whole world.

“I want to make something good of my life.

“I want those who are sick to be well again and those who are lonely to have friends.

“I want those who are hungry to have enough to eat.

“I want every child born on this planet today to have a chance to be educated.

“I want everyone on earth to live in freedom.

“I want this world to be a kingdom of love.”

There was a pause while the pilgrim reviewed this shopping list. Gently, the shopkeeper broke in. “I’m sorry,” came the quiet reply. “I should have explained. We don’t supply the fruits here. We only supply the seed.” [In One Hundred Wisdom Stories from Around the World by Margaret Silf, pp. 157-158]

The seeds. Strewn on the rocks. The shallow soil. Among the thorns. On the fertile ground. The seeds. Offered to the earth which grow because of the water and sunshine from above. The seeds. Which even when tiny grow to provide shelter and comfort and food. The seeds are enough. We are enough. God is enough. More than enough. 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.

UNISON READING                  

Charles Singer and Albert Hari, 20th c., adapted

Sower of living hearts,

sower of tenderness,

sower of courage,

sower of service,

sower of prayer,

sower of light.

Jesus,

sow within us!

Sower of gifts,

sower of forgiveness,

sower of faith,

sower of joy,

sower of life,

sower of the Beatitudes,

Jesus, sow

in the hearts of all people!

Even if we are hard

as stones,

be patient with us!

Your Good News

will manage to slip

between the tight cracks

in our rock and will

grow into giant sheaves

of Good News!

MUSICAL INTERLUDE               

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of Lakewood United Church of Christ, as part of the Church Universal is to:

• Celebrate the presence and power of God in our lives & in our world.
• Offer the hospitality and inclusive love of Christ to all people.
• Work for God’s peace and justice throughout creation.

MORNING OFFERING

Morning offerings may be brought forward and placed in the plates on the altar.

Offertory                

Prayer of Dedication                    Dorothy Stewart, adapted

God of yesterday, today and tomorrow,

God of seedtime and harvest,

bless us and strengthen us

to live and blossom and bear good fruit

to your praise and glory. Amen.

PREPARATION FOR PRAYER

You are invited to write your prayer requests on the sheets provided in the bulletin and bring them forward and place them in the basket on the altar.  Please observe physical distancing.

MORNING PRAYER-SAVIOR’S PRAYER

Eternal Spirit, Earth Maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,

Source of all that is and that ever shall be,

Father and Mother of all people, Loving God in whom is heaven:

The hallowing of your name echo through the universe!

The way of your justice be followed by all peoples of the world!

Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!

Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope and

come on earth!

With the bread that we need for today, feed us.

In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.

In times of temptation and testing, strengthen us.

From trials too great to endure, spare us.

From the grip of all that is evil, free us.

For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, now and forever.

Amen.

*BENEDICTION                                          

*POSTLUDE       

For the safety and comfort of all, please wear a mask. Thank you!

Circle of Concern:  Earl Waters, Mae Wiggins, Sherry Santana, William Owen-Cowan, Jen Degroot, Carolyn Moore, Ann Quinn, Maggie Brizendine, Janet Hall

Announcements

Facebook Live The 9:30 a.m. service is being streamed on Facebook Live.

New Members The church would like to officially welcome as members those who are finding a spiritual ‘home’ at LUCC.  For those who are interested in considering church membership, please be in contact with Rev. Wells

The Labyrinth For those who walk the labyrinth at the church, please know that the labyrinth has been raked and weeded this week.  Also, the readings and prayers used on Wednesdays at the guided walk are put in the mailbox by the labyrinth each week for use during the week.

The guided walk is held weekly on Wednesdays at 9:00 a.m.  This provides an opportunity to be aware and deepen your spiritual journey.  If it is raining, the walk is held on Thursday at 9:00 a.m.

Drivers Needed Neighborly Services is now providing Meals on Wheels from the church. Additional drivers are needed. Please call Angela at 727-612-1791 for more information

GATHERING MUSIC

WELCOME and ANNOUNCEMENTS

LIGHTING THE PEACE CANDLE               Sherry Santana, liturgist

No revolution will come in time to alter this person’s life except the one surprise of being loved.

Sidney Carter, 1905-2004

PRELUDE                   

CALL TO WORSHIP                                        Iona Abbey

Come now all who thirst

And drink the water of life.

Come now all who hunger

And be filled with good things.

Come now all who seek

And be warmed by the fire of love.

MUSICAL REFLECTION            

SCRIPTURE LESSON

Let us prepare ourselves for the word of God as it comes to us in the reading of Holy Scripture. Our hearts and minds are open.

Luke 19:1-10

For the word of God in scripture, for the word of God  among us, for the word of God within us. Thanks be to God.

MODERN READING            Evelyn Underhill, 1875-1941, Mysticism

SERMON                                                          Rev. Kim P. Wells

A writer arrived at the monastery to write a book about the Enlightened One. “People say you are a genius. Are you?” the writer asked.

“You might say so,” said the Enlightened One.

The writer continued, “And what makes one a genius?”

“The ability to recognize,” answered the Enlightened One.

“Recognize what?” the writer asked.

“A genius,” the Enlightened One responded, “is one who can recognize the butterfly in a caterpillar; the eagle in an egg; the saint in a selfish human being.” [In 25 Windows into the Soul: Praying with the Psalms, Joan Chittister, adapted, p. 83]

We are here today because of an Enlightened One, a genius, who went up a tree. To see. And be seen. Offering the power of transformational love to all. We are here because we have been drawn to the one who went up a tree, the cross, so that we could see him, know him, and experience the saving love of God that he came to bring to the world. A genius who recognizes the saint in the selfish, hurting human being.

In the story we heard today, Jesus is on the way to that tree, to the cross. He is passing through Jericho on the way to Jerusalem. This is his final journey to the city and he knows it. Accused of fraternizing with tax collectors and sinners, Jesus has stirred the rancor of the religious officials and some of their followers. But Jesus is clear. Tax collectors and sinners, yes, that is exactly why he is here. To engage with those who are outcasts and hated. Those who are forgotten and on the fringes. He has come, he tells us in the story, to seek and to save the lost. At any cost. Even his own life.

And while passing through Jericho, we are told of Jesus encountering just such a one that he is accused of befriending. A tax collector. A sinner. Up a tree. Zacchaeus has climbed the tree to get a glimpse of Jesus not knowing that Jesus is looking for him. And in this story we see two drastically different responses to the Divine Love manifest in Jesus, the one who is about seeking and saving the lost. There is the response of Zacchaeus. And the response of the crowd.

What do we see from Zacchaeus? In the story, when Jesus stops and addresses Zacchaeus, Zacchaeus immediately clambers down out of the tree. Jesus is coming to stay with Zacchaeus. To dwell with him. Eternal, unconditional love is entering his life, perhaps for the first time that he is aware of. And this is transformational. Zacchaeus welcomes Jesus. He promises not only reparations for any injury he has caused, but he also commits to giving half of his wealth to help those who are made poor. His pledge exceeds what is required by the law for those who have been dishonest in their dealings.

The telling of the encounter is filled with excitement and joy and delight. There is urgency and happiness in this meeting between Jesus and Zacchaeus. We hear it in the words, hurry, ran, quickly, here and now, hurry up, today. The saving love that Jesus offers is made real right away. In the moment.

And it is evidenced in the immediate, extraordinary generosity of Zacchaeus. Jesus doesn’t just come into Zacchaeus’ heart through some kind of individualistic piety. Jesus welcomes Zacchaeus into the fold, into the community, as a child of Abraham and Sarah. Who were also very rich and very generous. Zacchaeus is so thrilled to have a place, to belong, to lose his persona non grata status, that he can’t stop himself from responding with joy and exceeding generosity. This encounter with the one who seeks and saves the lost has social and economic implications.

Accepting Jesus’ invitational love means attaching to Jesus, to Divine Love, and detaching from money, wealth, possessions, and behaviors that separate us from that love. Something the rich young man in the previous chapter of Luke was not able to do – yet. But Zacchaeus is ready. Perhaps so tormented by being vilified and ostracized, he is overcome by just the smallest gesture of good will. Zacchaeus gladly welcomes this Jesus who has come to seek and save the lost.

But there is also another response to this encounter in the story. The response of the crowd. Does the crowd share in the joy of Zacchaeus’ redemption? Are they filled with delight and thanksgiving? Do they celebrate Zacchaeus’ pledge to reparations and donations? Do they welcome him with open arms?

We are told: “When everyone saw this, they began to grumble, ‘Jesus has gone to a sinner’s house as a guest.’” Grumble. Here is this joyous manifestation of the transforming power of Divine Love, and the crowd grumbles. No excitement, joy, or delight. They grumble. They, too, have come to see Jesus. They see themselves as devout and faithful. And have come to see this holy person. And when they see the manifestation of the power of love – they grumble.

Evidently, this is not what they came to see. Maybe they expected a pat on the back. Maybe they wanted Jesus to tell them how deserving they are because of their piety. Maybe they wanted Jesus to condemn sin and vilify sinners with Zacchaeus being at the top of the list because he was cheating his own people to fund the Roman occupation that was strangling them. Maybe they had a transactional mentality – and wanted to be rewarded for their good behavior and see sinners punished not privileged. Maybe they wanted Jesus to endorse their status quo. Not upset it. I can see myself in that crowd. Maybe you resonate with the crowd, too. They grumble. And it is this grumbling that will gain steam, that will grow, and that will ultimately drive Jesus to the tree.

So, this story shows us two different responses to the encounter between Jesus and Zacchaeus.

This invites reflection: When faced with the transformational power of redeeming love, where do we stand? It is clear what Jesus is about. Yup, tax collectors and sinners. Seeking and saving the lost. Not punishment or condemnation. Not crowd appeal or approval. Instead, welcome. Acceptance. Conversion and transformation. Joy and delight in the heart of God.

Now, clearly, we are here in the sanctuary this morning because Jesus has sought us and found us. Jesus has come to our house of worship. With eagerness, joy, and delight, he is inviting us into the community and belonging and generosity of Divine Love. He is here to save what is lost: people. And our values, institutions, social and economic systems, religion, dignity, and our capacity for unconditional love. He is here to take hold of us and give us life, full and free. Quickly. Here and now. Today. Jesus is not here to endorse our status quo, and our excuses, and our defenses, and our facades of goodness and happiness. He is here to give us the real thing. Deep, honest, true unshakeable LOVE. Connection to our real selves, to each other, to the earth, and to God. Love that is healing and forgiving and life-giving.

We will see it in our hearts opened and generous. Our acceptance of others. Our eagerness to make reparations not only for the legacy of slavery, but for the legacy of the climate crisis, and capitalism which thrives on a perpetual, disposable under class. We will see it as we become who we are meant to be.

Here’s a beautiful example of unconditional generosity in our day:

During the pandemic, some restaurant owners in small towns in northeast Oklahoma creating ‘giving walls.’ Customers could prepay for meals and hang their receipt on the wall so that anyone hungry and lacking cash could come and take a receipt and eat, no questions asked.

One restaurant owner said her customers had contributed more that 300 meals. Sometimes, a person who received a free meal would come back and purchase one to hang on the wall when they were able. “I want people in my community to be fed whether they have money for a meal or not,” said restaurant owner Jennifer White. [Cited in The Christian Century, 6.2.21, p. 9]

What a beautiful expression of generosity and compassion! We will know how we are responding to Jesus by looking at our choices, our behavior, our attitudes, and maybe foremost, what we are doing with our money and resources.

Like the crowd in the Zacchaeus story, we can decide whether to share the joy of the transforming power of Divine Love or to grumble. Whether to let ourselves be enmeshed in the values and ways of the reality around us, where condemnation begets condemnation, and judgment begets judgment, and violence begets violence. Or accept the new reality of the commonwealth of God where goodness begets goodness, and generosity begets generosity, and love begets love.

This Sufi story helps to illumine our choice:

Once a Dervish holy man and his student were walking down a long, quiet road. Suddenly they saw dust rising in the distance. A fine carriage pulled by six horses approached at full gallop. The men soon realized that this carriage was not going to slow down or veer to avoid them. In fact it was coming upon them at such speed that they had to throw themselves from the road, landing quite unceremoniously in a ditch. The two men got up as quickly as they could and looked back at the carriage as it sped by.

The student thought to curse, but not before the teacher ran after them calling: “May all of your deepest desires be satisfied!”

“Why would you wish something so good for those men?” the student asked. “They just forced us into the ditch, we could have been hurt.”

“Do you really think,” replied the teacher, “that if their deepest desires were satisfied, they would go around treating others as they treated us?” [Doorways to the Soul, edited by Elisa Davy Pearmain, p. 16]

Jesus went up the tree, for us. Seeking us. Inviting us to new life filled with joy and eagerness and delight. Marked by acceptance, belonging, community, and generosity. Satisfying our deepest desires. That is why the church is here. So that Jesus can live here. In this house. In us. Seeking and saving the lost. Amen.

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.

UNISON READING- Lifted High                    Iona Community

A little kid ran across the street,

runny-nosed, a bit scruffy,

tripping over almost.

She ran toward a man whose

arms were opened wide to

welcome her.

“Give us a swing, Jesus,” she said,

and she felt herself lifted high,

and she saw the street and the sky whirling

around her, ablaze with color,

like a mixed-up rainbow.

She was laughing then —

excited, free,

gasping for breath.

“Enough,” she said,

and she felt herself slowing down,

relaxing, safe, as Jesus

held her in his arms

and smiled. . .

Unless we become like little children,

Unless we risk that joy and abandonment,

Unless we run and ask and let ourselves

be lifted high,

We are never going to enter the kin-dom of God.

MUSICAL INTERLUDE               

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of Lakewood United Church of Christ, as part of the Church Universal is to:

• Celebrate the presence and power of God in our lives & in our world.
• Offer the hospitality and inclusive love of Christ to all people.
• Work for God’s peace and justice throughout creation.

MORNING OFFERING

Morning offerings may be brought forward and placed in the plates on the altar.

Offertory                

Acts of Dedication                    Clarissa Pinkola Estes, 1945-

Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach. Amen.

PREPARATION FOR PRAYER

You are invited to write your prayer requests on the sheets provided in the bulletin and bring them forward and place them in the basket on the altar.  Please observe physical distancing.

MORNING PRAYER-SAVIOR’S PRAYER

Holy One, our only Home, hallowed be Your name.

May your day dawn, your will be done,

Here, as in heaven. Feed us today, and forgive us

As we forgive each other. Do not forsake us at the test,

But deliver us from evil. For the glory, the power,

And the mercy are yours, now and forever. Amen.

*BENEDICTION                           Harriet Tubman, 1822-1913

Every great dream beings with a dreamer. Always remember,

you have within you the strength,

the patience,

and the passion

to reach for the stars to change the world.

*POSTLUDE       

GATHERING MUSIC

WELCOME and ANNOUNCEMENTS

LIGHTING THE PEACE CANDLE                         Claire Stiles, liturgist

Peace and friendship with all mankind is our wisest policy, and I wish we may be permitted to pursue it.

Thomas Jefferson, 1743-1826 Third President of the United States

PRELUDE          Bridge Over Troubled Water        Simon/Garfunkel

CALL TO WORSHIP

We gather here in the ever-presence of God,

In our need and bringing with us the needs of the world.

We come with our faith and with our doubts;

We come with our hopes and our fears.

We come because we trust the eternal Love

that has come to us in Christ Jesus.

MUSICAL REFLECTION      America, the Beautiful      Ward

SCRIPTURE LESSON

Let us prepare ourselves for the word of God as it comes to us in the reading of Holy Scripture. Our hearts and minds are open.

Mark 2:1-12

For the word of God in scripture, for the word of God  among us, for the word of God within us. Thanks be to God.

CONTEMPORARY READING           from Frederick Buechne

MUSIC                               You’ve Got a Friend                               King

SERMON                    Through the Roof              Rev. Kim P. Wells

“It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known.” So ends the Dickens classic A Tale of Two Cities. I read it for the first time as an adult when our kids were reading it for school. As I read those final words, I teared up. What a beautiful ending! What a beautiful testimony to the power of friendship. I am not going to ruin the ending for anyone that has not yet read the book, but there is a yellow post-it note in the back of the book used by our kids. It says: “Everybody is happy now and living good lives because of the courage of Sydney Carton.”

I also remember crying at the end of the book The Cricket in Times Square which I read when I was a child. It was so sad to see the friendships end and the cricket return home to Connecticut, though that was best for the cricket and the friends all helped to make it happen.

But such beautiful friendships are not only the stuff of literature, they are the stuff of life. Friends help us to navigate the path of life. They help to show us the way. They help us to know ourselves better. They add fun to the journey. Friends offer honesty and consolation. Friends help us see what we need to see. They enrich our lives. They cushion the blows of life. They shine light on the path. We are not made to journey through life alone. Yes, family and significant others are important, but we also need friends to help us find healing, wholeness, and joy in life. Many marriages end because the people are looking to have all of their needs met from that one relationship. That is not realistic. And that is not how we are made. We are made to be social. To be part of groups, not just dyads. Jesus calls 12 disciples. A group. Because he knows that they all need each other.

The story we heard today is a beautiful story of friendship. We are told of four people who bring their paralyzed friend to Jesus for healing. It’s interesting that this paralyzed person has these four friends. Remember, in those times, when someone had a disability or ailment, it was thought to be a punishment of some kind from God. So someone who was incapacitated must have done something very wrong or bad to end up in that situation. So generally sick people or people with disabilities were shunned as outcasts. They were considered bad people. Remember the story about the man by the pool of Siloam. He wants to take advantage of the healing powers of the waters of the pool, but he can’t get anyone to lower him into the water. No one wants anything to do with someone who is morally bad, a sinner.

But in the story we heard today, the four friends take their invalid companion to Jesus. These friends are remarkable in their compassion for someone who would be considered unclean, bad. They go through the great effort of carrying their friend on a pallet, who knows how far. They have so much love for their friend and trust in the healing power of Jesus that they make this effort.

And when they arrive and can’t get close to Jesus, who is thronged by the crowd, they get themselves and the invalid on to the roof. They dismantle the roof. A big no-no, as any roofer will tell you. Don’t EVER put a hole in the roof! Not for solar. Not for a skylight. Not for a vent. That’s what a roofer will say! But these friends are so concerned for their disabled companion, that they go right through the roof and deliver their friend to Jesus for healing.

Did these friends take the day off from work – forgoing income in a subsistence economy? What was the distance they traveled and the physical exertion that was required not just to get to the house but to get on to the roof? There was the fury of the home owner that would come with the damage to the roof. And there was always the possibility that this would all be for naught.

But none of this deters these friends. They are so devoted to the well-being of their companion. They so want healing for him, they will go to any ends. Try anything. This coupled with their evident confidence in the power of Jesus combine into an unstoppable force that can only result in the restoration of their beloved friend. It is a beautiful manifestation of friendship. Of the compassion and commitment that is part of the responsibility and mutuality of friendship.

Somehow this story of personal compassion and involvement seems to have so much more sincere devotion than, say, setting up a Go Fund Me page for someone to get their medical bills paid, though that can definitely be helpful and do a lot of good.

But friendship involves a bond and a commitment, to honesty, to energy, to attention, to vulnerability, to sacrifice, that is, well, seemingly rare these days.

Are we so preoccupied with staying afloat, getting the latest, working, working, working at our jobs, spoiling our kids, idolizing family, that we don’t feel we have the bandwidth for deep friendship? Is there so much information about the suffering of others that we keep our distance for self protection and self preservation? Does the inundation from social media overload our compassion circuits and shut them down? I don’t know.

But professionals do say that friendship is declining these days in the US and it’s not just about the pandemic. A recent survey shows people have fewer close friends than in previous years. Increased mobility, work demands, and childcare demands are cited as the reasons for fewer friendships. People just feel too busy to have friends. Friends seem like a luxury. [https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/health- wellness/2021/06/24/friendships-declining-but- pandemic-isnt-fully-blame/7770454002/ ]

And this is a problem because friends are not an extravagance or an indulgence like getting your nails done. As the story shows us, friends are necessary to our well-being, to our life, to our wholeness, to our abundant joy.

There is a scene in the book The Overstory by Richard Powers that speaks of friendship on several levels. One of the characters, Nicholas, is staying on the down low in a remote cabin in the woods in the mountains of the American west. He goes out for a walk in the aftermath of a rain storm:

There’s a tearing in the air. Nicholas looks up, where the mountainside begins to liquify. Last night’s rains have loosened the earth, and, stripped of the covering that held it in place for a hundred thousand years, the mountain slides down with a roar. Trees taller than lighthouses snap like twigs and plunge into one another, slamming down the slope in a swollen wave. Nick turns to run. Above him, a wall of rock and wood twenty feet high heads home. He scrambles down a footpath, wheeling to look back as a river of trees hits the cabin head-on. His living room fills with stump and rock. The building lifts off its foundation and bobs on the flow.

He runs toward the neighbors, screaming, ‘Get out! Now!’ Then his neighbors are running, too, with their two little boys, down the drive to the family truck. But debris reaches the truck first and blocks it in. Trees wash up against the ranch house, bulging like woody lava.

‘This way,’ Nick shouts, and the neighbors follow. He leads them down another gully along a shallower slope. And there, the tide of landslide comes to rest behind a thin line of redwoods. Mud and rubble ooze against the final barrier, but the trees hold. The mother breaks down. She sobs and grabs her children. The father and Nick stare upward at the denuded mountainside, a ridge, wildly lowered. The man whispers, ‘Jesus.’ Nick jerks at the word. He looks where his neighbor points. On each of the trunks in the standing barricade that just saved their lives is a bright blue painted X. Next week’s harvest. [p. 362]

Yes, there is friendship between earth and humanity in this story, friendship that has been neglected by humans. But there is that image of the thin line of redwoods that saves the lives of the mother, the father, their two little boys, and Nick. Those few trees, marked for demolition, cutting, save their lives. Friends are like that line of trees. They are the bulwark, saving our lives, protecting us, taking care of us, shielding us from danger, making it possible for us to thrive.

And friendship, too, is endangered. Ravaged by the compulsion to work, and consume, and acquire, and isolate to limit our exposure to pain as we are brain washed into thinking a good life is one without cares or troubles. But what has this diminishing of friendship gotten us? Surely it exacerbates the negative effects of bullying. Surely it contributes to increased mental illness and instability. Surely it is part of the culture that creates mass shootings. Surely it is part of the increase in people taking their own lives. Friendship can be that wall of trees, that anchor in a storm, that shelter of protection in times of trouble and stress and cataclysm. Friends are needed to see us through when everything is crashing down around us. Friends are necessary for life. They meet our human needs, not our human wants.

Were friends a luxury for that person on the pallet lowered through the roof? No! Those friends got him back his mobility, his life. They weren’t just entertainment or a hobby. They were his life support and his life line.

Jesus recognized the role played by these friends. The man is not healed because of his faith or his devotion, but because of the faith and devotion of his friends. Jesus was so impressed with the friends that he healed the man.

Jesus knew the importance of friendships. For support and nurture. But also for personal growth, for helping birth our best selves, our truest identity. Jesus knew that we need friends for inspiration and motivation. To set us straight. To let us vent. To offer encouragement. To have fun. To share food and ideas and experiences. To dream with. There is a beautiful passage in the gospel of John where Jesus tells the disciples in his last discourse, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my God.” [John15:12-15]

Friends. People need us, need friends, to help them through the roof. To enrich their lives and help them to find healing and wholeness. And we need friends. To let us down through the roof. So that we do not stay stuck in our paralysis, so that we do not languish in our isolation, so that we have a broader context for recognizing the presence and work of Divine Love in our lives. We need friends to live fully and to know abundant joy. We are needed to be friends to find our highest good and our fullest joy. Where would that paralyzed person be without the friends who put him through the roof? And since this is the fourth of July, I want to extend this concept of friendship to a societal scale. This is a day to celebrate the founding of our country. It is a day to fly a flag and give thanks for the many freedoms we enjoy. It is a time to celebrate the beauty of our country and the abundance that we enjoy.

But while the potential to be robust may be there, our country is deeply divided. Rural and urban. Republican and Democrat. White and people of color. Citizen and alien. Vaccinated and anti vaxxers. There is the mainstream and the down stream, the underclass. Those who are not even factored into the public good. The expendables. There are so many broken threads that used to bind us together that there is not just fraying but a growing tear in the fabric of our country. This was said outwardly by our European allies at the recent G7 meeting. They are worried about the condition of American democracy, about the ability of our society to hold itself together.

Our country is suffering. It is diminished. Maybe debilitated in some ways. Maybe even becoming paralyzed. I heard this week from someone in the congregation who has been trying to contact the Florida unemployment system everyday for over a month. No response. Can’t get through. And I have gotten 4 letters in the past month from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity about my unemployment claim. What unemployment claim? Looks to me like I am working! I got an email from the Republican party dividing the country into two camps: The Americans. And the Democrats. And even after George Floyd, unarmed black people are still being killed by police. So many things in our society are just. So. Screwed. Up. This is extremely sad given the amazing resources and potential that we have. Our country has so much to share, to give, to contribute, so that all residents may experience “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

And since we are talking about a healing story, let’s give a shout out to the health care system. Maybe the most twisted sector of our society. There are so many amazing resources for healing in our country, but we seem completely deficient at universal equitable delivery of those resources. There are so many impediments and restrictions and exorbitant costs. How do we lower our healthcare system through the roof for healing so that all may benefit from its life giving power?

Sometimes it feels like we are all paralyzed and bound to the mat, unable to make a difference.

But this Fourth of July reminds us that we need to befriend our beloved country. We need to be the ones that lower our ailing democracy through the roof, that go to extreme measures, to seek the health and well-being of our political and social systems. Like with any friendship, this involves honesty, truth telling, support, and sacrifice. We need to take care of our country so that our country can take care of us. Friendship is mutual. There are seasons and ebbs and flows, but friendship involves giving receiving on both sides.

And we notice in the story from Mark that the paralyzed person is lowered through the roof and when he arrives in Jesus’ presence, he is forgiven. A conversation ensues about authority and blasphemy but that is a subject for another sermon. First, the man on the mat is forgiven. Subsequently Jesus heals the man and he takes up his mat and walks. Here we think about the need for forgiveness in our country. Forgiveness for the institution of slavery and its aftermath that continues to plaque our society today. We need forgiveness as part of the healing process. Forgiveness on all fronts regarding our national heritage of systemic racism. And for the things we have done to harm and disrupt life for people in this country and in other countries as well. Until we pursue this, we will never be able to get up on our feet and fully function as a nation.

And for all the people in this country who still do go to church, there should be plenty to take up the task of befriending our nation. Of bringing our nation to the way of Jesus for healing and wholeness. And we can do this because of the separation of church and state and our freedom of religion. We who are followers of Jesus can offer his way to our wider society to promote healing. We can foster: generosity, compassion, a second chance, respect and dignity for all, concern for children, justice, forgiveness, equity, love of enemy, including your political enemy. All of this we have to offer without insisting on religious indoctrination or imposing our doctrine on anyone. The way of Jesus can do much toward helping our country to rise up and fully function for everyone.

We need friendship for our healing and well being not just as individuals but as a society. And through our relationships we can learn to bridge the divides, we can learn to span the gulfs between us, with good will. Through friendship we can learn to understand those who are different from us. Through friendship, we can get to know ourselves better. Our horizons expand and our hearts open. We increase our capacity for compassion. So that we can be like those four beautiful friends that lowered their ailing friend through the roof.

We close with words appropriate for the day from the hymn America the Beautiful:

America! America!

God shed His grace on thee

And crown thy good with brotherhood [friendship]

From sea to shining sea!

Amen.

UNISON READING               From Avignon, France, adapted

All gifts I might receive from God today

         I offer to the heavens

         with this prayer:

May my friend from her sickbed see

         heartening new horizons roll back

         from her suffering

MUSICAL INTERLUDE          Lean on Me           Withers

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of Lakewood United Church of Christ, as part of the Church Universal is to:

• Celebrate the presence and power of God in our lives & in our world.
• Offer the hospitality and inclusive love of Christ to all people.
• Work for God’s peace and justice throughout creation.

MORNING OFFERING

Morning offerings may be brought forward and placed in the plates on the altar.

Offertory         The More We Get Together      German folk

song/arr. HKJ

Prayer of Dedication          Based on Christina Feldman

“There is not always a solution to suffering but there is always a possible response.”  May we seek that response within ourselves and within this faith community.   May we offer the healing love of Jesus to one another and to the world.  Amen. 

PREPARATION FOR COMMUNION

                         Come, My Way, My Truth, My Life

 Vaughan Williams

You are invited to write your prayer requests on the sheets provided in the bulletin and bring them forward and place them in the basket on the altar.  Please observe physical distancing.

CELEBRATION OF HOLY COMMUNION

         Invitation

Communion Prayer-Savior’s Prayer

Our Creator, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.  Thy kingdom come.  Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread.  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever.  Amen.

Blessing the Bread and Cup

Sharing the Meal  

Giving Thanks

*BENEDICTION               St. John of the Cross, 1542-1591

         I saw the river over which every soul must pass

                  to reach the kingdom of heaven,

         and the name of that river was suffering:

         and I saw the boat which carries souls across that river,

and the name of that boat was love.  

*POSTLUDE        For the Healing of the Nations             Purcell