Category: Sermon Texts

Greetings and welcome to Corona Sabbath.  This is one of the ways the church is endeavoring to offer spiritual support during these challenging days of COVID-19.    We appreciate your feedback and suggestions.

This post focuses on the process of change.  There is a scripture reading, a reflection, and music from Hilton Jones.  Colleen Coughenour reads Exodus 32:1-14.  This is the story of the golden calf.  While Moses is away praying to God on the mountain, the people take matters into their own hands and, Moses’ brother, Aaron, left in charge, is quite willing to placate his base.  A golden calf.  Sure.  No problem.  

Video from Colleen

Exodus 32:1-14

Moses was an extremely long time in returning from the mountain, and when the people saw this, they turned to Aaron and said, “Come and make a god for us, someone who will lead us.  We don’t know what has happened to that Moses, who brought us up from the land of Egypt.”

Aaron replied, “Remove the gold earrings you are wearing – wives and husbands, sons and daughters alike – and bring them all to me.”  All the people brought their gold earrings to Aaron.  Aaron took the gold, melted it down and cast it in a mold, and made it into a calf, a young bull.

Then the people said, “Israel, here is your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!”

When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before the idol, proclaiming, “Tomorrow we will have a feast in honor of Yahweh!“

In the morning the people rose early, sacrificing burnt offerings and bringing communion offerings, and then they sat down to eat and drink, and lost themselves in debauchery.

Yahweh said to Moses, “Go down, now!  These people whom you led out of Egypt have corrupted themselves!  In such a short time, they have turned from the way that I have given them, and made themselves a molten calf.  Then they worshipped it and sacrificed to it saying, ‘Israel, here is your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’”

Yahweh then said to Moses, “I look at these people – how stubborn they are!  Now leave me to myself so that my anger may pour out on them, and destroy them!  But you I’ll make into a great nation.”

Then Moses soothed the face of Yahweh, his God.  “But why, my God, should you let your wrath pour out on these people whom you delivered from Egypt with great might, with a strong hand?  Why should the Egyptians say, ‘Their God intended to destroy them all along, to kill them in the mountains, to erase them from the earth?’  Turn your back on your rage; reconsider the disaster you intended for your people.  Do not forget Sarah and Abraham, Rebecca and Isaac, and Leah and Rachel and Jacob, your chosen ones, to whom you promised, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky; I will give to you all this land which I have promised – I will give it to your descendants, and they will enjoy its inheritance forever.’”

So Yahweh relented, and the disaster that threatened the Israelites was forestalled.

Reflection from Kim

Ok.   This reflection is not going to be about the election.  From what I hear, people are so saturated and inundated with election news that it would not be of spiritual succor to talk about the election.  I get it.  

What I am going to talk about is change.  Transformation.  The emergence of social values and norms.  

We are in a time of major transition in human history/human emergence.  And accelerating climate change is a big component of this time of transition.  We’re in a radical turning – like the transition to settled agriculture, or the use of fire as a tool, or the invention of the wheel.  This transformation is technological, biological, and social/spiritual.  Things are changing.  Maybe not in the way we would like sometimes.  Maybe not fast enough at times.  But things are changing.

And as with previous major human transitions, we don’t know just where we are going or how long it will take to get there.  That will only be known from hindsight.  

And here we turn to the Hebrews wandering in the wilderness.  This grand Biblical epic.  The Hebrews migrated to Egypt during a drought to find food.  Then they become enslaved.  The story tells us that God hears their cries under the burden of their oppression and liberates them from slavery in Egypt.  Then there are 40 years of wandering in the wilderness before settling in the land of milk and honey.  

There are many chapters in the Hebrew scriptures devoted to those years of wandering.  The group is led by a cloud in the day and fire at night.  There are stories about needing water.   Stories of hunger and manna and quail.  

There are stories of the giving of the law – the 10 commandments.  Twice.  And many other directives regarding daily life, religious observance, a judicial system, a priestly system.  Extensive directives on many, many matters.   All aimed toward creating a model society of justice and peace.  

In Exodus 23, we find these directives:

“When you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden and you would hold back from setting it free, you must help to set it free.” 

We could see this as a statement about animal rights.

And, “You shall not oppress a resident alien; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.”

That is certainly a message that still needs to be heard by all church-going Americans today.  You were once an alien, an immigrant, a transplant.   

And, “You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in their lawsuits.”  

Yup.  It actually says that in the Bible.  Don’t screw the poor in the legal system.

I wonder if the president has ever read the Bible he waved around outside the church in Washington, DC?

And there is this instruction in Deuteronomy:

“If you come on a bird’s nest, in any tree or on the ground, with fledglings or eggs, with the mother sitting on the fledglings or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young.  Let the mother go, taking only the young for yourself, in order that it may go well with you and you may live long.”  [22:6]

There’s surely a conservation message there.

And there is the specific directive: “You shall not make gods of silver alongside me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold.”  [Ex. 20:23]

Ah.  That was one of the rules that was forgotten as we heard in the story of the golden calf.  The ideal is set forth, but it takes a long time to get there.  With many fits and starts along the way.  

We are told of the Israelites wandering in the wilderness for forty years.  That’s a long time for a society to be nomadic immigrants.  But change takes time.  Re-creation can be a slow process.  The people leave Egypt and must adjust to being out from under the Egyptian boot.  They must learn to let go of fear.  They must heal from the internalized oppression.  They must regain their agency.   They must figure out how to organize themselves.  Set up social structures to embody their commitment to justice and compassion.   Create a system of religious observance that keeps their life together focussed on this ideal community that is the expression of the dreams of God.  It takes time.  It takes the passing of generations.  Moses sees the promised land but does not enter it.  His life ends and Joshua takes over leading the people into their new forever home.  

The process of transitioning from slavery to a model community takes time and it is by no means a smooth, well-marked path.  The story of the golden calf is only one of the many hurdles to be overcome.  Challenges that required Moses to de-escalate God’s wrath and mobilize the re-commitment of the people.  Change is not easy.  

And in a sense we are still wandering in the wilderness, trying to make our way to a social order that is characterized by peace, justice, and well-being for all.  As Americans we say, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.  It is a long process.  Significant change takes time.  There is stumbling along the way.  There is back sliding.  And there are glorious leaps forward.  Like the Civil Rights legislation of the 1960’s.  We must continue the journey.  We must band together and recommit again and again and make our way toward Shalom, the beloved community, the commonwealth of God.  

We are part of a long process in our faith tradition and in the emergence of human history.  And right now we are in the midst of a significant transition in the human drama.  And yes, there is an election.  And yes, it matters.  But there is still a long road ahead and I am glad to be on that journey with the Lakewood UCC community!  Amen.  

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Greetings and welcome to Corona Sabbath. This is one of the ways the church is endeavoring to offer spiritual support during these challenging days of COVID-19. We appreciate your feedback and suggestions.

This post focuses on the Christian call to love self and neighbor.

I want to share with you a scene from Toni Morrison’s incomparable novel, Beloved. If you haven’t read it, download it or order a copy as soon as you finish this post. If you have read it, consider reading it or listening to it again. The story takes place in the United States when there was legalized slavery:

“When warm weather came, Baby Suggs, holy, followed by every black man, woman, and child who could make it through, took her great heart to the Clearing–a wide-open place cut deep in the woods nobody knew for what at the end of the path known only to deer and whoever cleared the land in the first place. In the heat of every Saturday afternoon, she sat in the clearing while the people waited among the trees.

“After situating herself on a huge flat-sided rock, Baby Suggs bowed her head and prayed silently. The company watched her from the trees. They knew she was ready when she put her stick down. Then she shouted, ‘Let the children come!’ and they ran from the trees toward her.

“Let your mothers hear you laugh,’ she told them, and the woods rang. The adults looked on and could not help smiling.

“Then ‘Let the grown men come,’ she shouted. They stepped out one by one from among the ringing trees.

“Let your wives and your children see you dance,’ she told them, and groundlife shuddered under their feet.

“Finally she called the women to her. ‘Cry,’ she told them. ‘For the living and the dead. Just cry.’ And without covering their eyes the women let loose.

“It started that way: laughing children, dancing men, crying women and then it got mixed up. Women stopped crying and danced; men sat down and cried; children danced, women laughed, children cried until, exhausted and riven, all and each lay about the Clearing damp and gasping for breath. In the silence that followed, Baby Suggs, holy, offered up to them her great big heart.

“She did not tell them to clean up their lives or go and sin no more. She did not tell them they were the blessed of the earth, its inheriting meek or its glorybound pure.

“She told them that the only grace they could have was the grace they could imagine. That if they could not see it, they would not have it.

“‘Here,’ she said, ‘in this here place, we flesh; flesh that weeps, laughs; flesh that dances on bare feet in grass. Love it. Love it hard…’” [From Beloved by Toni Morrison]

To me this scene expresses the essence of Christianity and of Jesus. Love. Loving our full humanity. Our flesh. Our blood. Our being. Right here. Right now. We see this kind of love demonstrated over and over again in the life of Jesus. Jesus loves everyone. Those who are distasteful. Those who are considered disreputable. Those who are cheats and scoundrels. Those who are manipulative and violent. Those who are abused and abusers. Those who are lost and forgotten. Those who are puffed up with privilege. Those who are debased and devalued. Those who are afraid and ashamed. Those who crave power. Those who are confused. Those found by trouble. It doesn’t matter. Jesus sees everyone as a child of God, created in the Divine image. Holy. Sacred. Beloved.

In the gospel story when Jesus is asked about the greatest commandment, we are told that he replies, “‘You must love the Most High God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all you mind.’ That is the greatest and first commandment. The second is like it: ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’” [Matthew 22:37-38]. So Jesus tells us, love your neighbor as yourself. As yourself. He calls us to love ourselves. We hear that echoed by Baby Suggs. Love yourself. You. A beautiful, unique, enfleshed holy sacred being. Called to life.

In these Covid days, when we cannot meet together safely for worship, when we cannot dance and laugh, and sing, and cry together, we can think about loving ourselves. Embracing our humanity in all of its richness. And how we can love our neighbors near and far as ourselves.

When we take a look at the world around us, at the news, and the rancor of the political campaigns this election season, and the divisions over the response to the pandemic, and the racism endorsed and incited from the highest office in the land, it is clear that we are not doing a very good job of loving our neighbors or ourselves.

Well, I’m a pastor, so one of my responses is, ‘If only more people would go to church. . .’ Because the church is intended to be a community in which we experience the love of Jesus and learn how to live in that love and live from that love. Love for ourselves and for every single precious child of God. Church is the school where we are taught to love ourselves and our neighbors. As we are. Beloved. Holy. All recipients of Divine grace. Committed to the common good.

Sadly, sometimes the church is known more for judgment, punishment, and exclusion than for all embracing love, acceptance and mercy. Well, it’s easier to control people through intimidation and fear. It’s easier to maintain power through dependency. All of the judging makes people afraid, insecure, hostile, and greedy.

And this punishing, judging distortion of Christianity encourages dishonesty. It encourages half truths and lies. It obstructs us from loving fully and freely, as we are. Accepting who we are. Engaging with others in sincerity and empathy. Jesus loves us as we are. He accepts us with our strengths, short-comings, achievements, mistakes, character flaws, personality traits, proclivities, patterns, biases, talents, tastes, weaknesses, beauty, imperfections – all of it. He loves us because we are who we are as we are. Jesus teaches us to love with a healthy sense of honesty. Not a facade of goodness or perfection or false righteousness. And he teaches us to love ourselves and others with that same honesty and authenticity.

Each individual precious; no two alike. We’re not like mass produced products from a factory assembly line subject to quality control that are all supposed to come out exactly the same and meet a specified criteria. The way of Jesus teaches us to love and respect ourselves and others just as we are. And through that love and acceptance, we find ourselves drawn toward who we might be, our more loving selves. We learn to treat ourselves and others as sacred, holy, amazing, unique, invaluable, beloved.

In recent weeks, I had minor surgery for bone spurs on my heel. Then an infection developed at the incision site and this has turned into a much more extensive ordeal complete with IV antibiotics for two hours twice a day for two weeks. Understandably, I find myself thinking about how my body developed a staff infection from my own skin. The threat posed by that infection. And the drug, dripping in the IV that is killing the infection. Driving out the danger.

I’m thinking about the church like the IV. Infusing us with love, self love, love for others, love for the world, love for God, driving out the infection of judgmentalism, hatred, insecurity, fear, deception, distraction, and numbness. The church bringing us to the health of our full humanity as beings created to love. I think of the church driving out what kills us, what diminishes our lives, what takes us down, and filling us with the power of love, acceptance, empathy, honesty, and community.

This World Communion Sunday, as we seek to be in communion with ourselves, our communities, the human community, and the community of nature, we are invited to cultivate the capacity to love, including loving ourselves, with the unconditional love of Jesus. And accepting others with that same kind of love.

I remember years ago, a colleague, the pastor of an African American church here in St. Petersburg, who, whenever there was some kind a gathering, had us do what he said they did at his church every Sunday morning: Turn and greet one another saying, “I love you and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Well, we’re not having church so we can’t turn to each other and use that greeting. But today I encourage you to look in a mirror and say, “I love you and there’s nothing you can do about it.” I invite you to look at an enemy, even an image of an enemy, and you may even find yourself looking in the mirror again, and say, “I love you and there’s nothing you can do about it.” Take a look out of the window or step outside and say to our dear Mother Earth, “I love you and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

I love you and there’s nothing you can do about it. Isn’t that Jesus’ message in the giving of his life for the good of others? Isn’t that what we celebrate with bread and cup? A God of love “and there’s nothing we can do about it.” Amen.

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Greetings and welcome to Corona Sabbath. This is one of the ways the church is endeavoring to offer spiritual support during these challenging days of COVID-19. We appreciate your feedback and suggestions.

This post focuses on a story associated with Jesus that may speak to us about voting in this contentious election season.

Sue Sherwood reads Matthew 21:23-32.

Video from Sue.

Jesus entered the Temple precincts and began teaching. The chief priests and the elders of the people came to him and said, “By what authority are you doing what you do? Who gave you this authority?”

“And I,” replied Jesus, “will ask you a single question; if you give me the answer, I will tell you my authority for these actions. What was the origin of John’s right to baptize? Was it divine or was it human?”

They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘divine,’ he will respond, ‘Then why did you refuse to believe him?’ But if we say ‘human,’ we have the people to fear, for they regard John as a prophet.” So they replied to Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Jesus said in reply, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

Jesus continued, “What do you think? There was a landowner who had two children. The landowner approached the elder and said, ‘My child, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ The first child replied, ‘No, I won’t,’ but afterwards regretted it and went. The landowner then came to the second child and said the same thing. The second child said in reply, ‘I’m, on my way,’ burt never went. Which of the two did what was wanted?”

They said, “The first.”

Jesus said to them, “The truth is, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kin-dom of God before you. When John came walking on the road of justice, you didn’t believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. Yet even when you saw that, you didn’t repent and believe.”

Reflection from Kim on video

It’s an election year. A presidential election year. Have you noticed? When the COVID pandemic started back in March, I thought, Well, at least now we don’t have to hear about the election constantly. But as the date draws nearer, we are hearing about the election all the time.

And while I may bash the campaigning, make no mistake. Elections matter. I hope everyone seeing this post will VOTE, and encourage everyone they know and come in contact with that has breath and blood in their bodies to vote!

But, oh this electioneering! All of these claims and counter claims. Boasting and bashing. And worst of all, fearmongering.

Today we heard a story in which Jesus addresses the issue of authority. Who has authority? To whom should authority be given? Whom should we trust? How do we decide? These are the concerns swirling among the religious leaders, Jesus, his followers, and the community for whom the gospel was written. And these kinds of questions continue to confront us, especially in a presidential election year.

In this context, we are told of Jesus telling a story about two brothers. This is a story that is supposed to be enigmatic and have multiple meanings. That’s how teaching was done in that setting.

So there are these two brothers. And the father wants them to go work in the field. One brother says, Yes, of course, no problem, and then doesn’t do it. The other brother says No, I don’t feel like it, got other plans, and then rethinks things and heads out to the fields to work.

So, Jesus says, who is the better one? Whom do you trust? Who deserves authority? Well, the religious leaders stand with the brother who went out to work. The determination is made not by the promises spoken but by the action taken. So behavior, action, deeds, are the determinant. Actions speak louder than words, as we say.

So in this election season, filled with lots and lots and lots of messaging, words, words, and more words, we can think about voting for, giving authority to, placing our trust in, people who have done things for the common good. Taken action, been involved in making a difference for the betterment of all. People who have a track record of self giving service to the community. The ones who have been working in the fields.

In choosing who to vote for, we can base our decisions not on what the campaigns are saying but on the actual actions of the candidates. And, thanks to the internet we have access to that kind of information. What has the candidate actually, factually, done?

And there is something else about this story that relates to elections and voting. These two brothers. One says he will go work in the fields and then doesn’t do it. Maybe he says it just to placate the parent, get the old man off his back, look like a good son. But he doesn’t do it. That is certainly is not what we would call good character.

Then there is the other brother. He says he won’t help. Maybe he doesn’t feel like it. He’s busy. He’s mad at the dad about something else. Who knows. But then he goes out and helps in the field. Yes, he does do the right thing, but he isn’t exactly exemplary either.

So, in this story, really neither son is perfect. The ideal. A pie in the sky version of virtue. And that is something very important to keep in mind relating to voting. Despite what is said, about the candidates, boasting and bashing, they are all human. And that means none of them are perfect. None are the virtuous ideal. All are a mixture. They are all capable of doing good things as well as capable of messing things up. All are fallible. All are imperfect. All have made mistakes. They are all human. No more. No less.

I got campaign email this week from someone who is in office and would like to remain in office. And in the email, he says, “they IMPEACHED me earlier this year for being a PERFECT PRESIDENT.” [sic] Remember that story attributed to Jesus about the two brothers. No one is a perfect president. Period.

I like this story of the two brothers. While it sheds some light on voting, this story is also about the authority that we give to religion and religious leaders. The situation was a challenge to the authority of Jesus. And what comes out of it is look at what is happening. Look at what is being done. Look at the actions. In another gospel story, Jesus is asked about his standing, and in the story he says look at what you see, then decide. In the story of Jesus recruiting some fisherman to join him, he says, come and see. With Jesus, it is about looking at what he does. It is about actions, behavior, treatment of others. It’s about incarnating unconditional, universal love.

With Jesus, it is not about presenting a theological treatise or a set of rules. There is no self promoting speech to entice adherents. It’s not about a slick, packaged image and a promised pay off. Jesus simply says, look at what I am doing. See for yourself. Then decide. Decide if this is a way of life and love and joy for you and for the world.

Jesus teaches us to decide who to trust and who to give authority to based on behavior and actions not promises and propaganda. Jesus knew that who we trust matters. The consequences can mean life or death for us and for others.

So make sure to vote.

Amen.

(Click HERE if you wish to see the post containing the video of this text.)

Greetings and welcome to Corona Sabbath. This is one of the ways the church is endeavoring to offer spiritual support during these challenging days of COVID-19. We appreciate your feedback and suggestions.

This post focuses on the founding of Lakewood United Church of Christ in St. Petersburg, FL in 1967. Each year the start of this congregation is celebrated on Charter Sunday in September.

We listen to two oft read Bible stories. From the Hebrew scriptures, we listen to a story of the Israelites wandering in the wilderness after escaping from slavery in Egypt. We also listen to a story associated with Jesus about a questionable boss.

Jim Andrews reads Exodus 16:1-15 and Matthew 20:1-16.

Audio from Jim Andrews.

From Elim they set out again, and the whole community of the Israelites reached the wilderness of Syn, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they left Egypt.

They began to complain against Moses and Aaron there in the wilderness. The people of Israel said to them, “If only we had died by Yahweh’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat next to pots of meat and ate our bread till we were filled! But now you have brought the whole community out into this wilderness to die of hunger!”
Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Look, I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people will go out and gather a day’s portion every day, so that I can test them to see if they will follow my instructions. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they brought in, it will be twice as much as the daily gathering.”

So Moses and Aaron said to the Israelites, “In the evening you will know that it was Yahweh who brought you up out of Egypt, and in the morning you will witness the glory of God, the One to whom you directed your complaints – for who are we, that you should complain to us?”

Moses continued, “It is Yahweh who will give you meat in the evening for your meal, and all the bread you want in the morning, because Yahweh has heard your complaints. For it is not to us that you are complaining – who are we? – but to Yahweh.”

Then Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole Israelite community, ‘Present yourselves before Yahweh, who has heard your complaints.’”

As Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of Yahweh appearing in the form of a cloud. Then Yahweh spoke to Moses and said, “I have heard the complaining of the people of Israel. Say this to them: ‘In the evening you will eat meat, and in the morning you will have your fill of bread. Then you will know that I, Yahweh, am your God.’”

So it come about that in the evening quail flew in and all around the camp. And in the morning there was a layer of dew all around the camp; when the layer of dew evaporated, there on the surface of the desert were flakes of something: delicate, powdery, fine as frost.

When they saw this, the people of Israel said to each other, “What is it?” – not knowing what it was. But Moses told them, “This is the bread Yahweh has given you to eat.”

Now we turn to the gospel of Matthew 20:1-16 and listen to a teaching of Jesus.

“The kin-dom of heaven is like the owner of an estate who went out at dawn to hire workers for the vineyard. After reaching an agreement with them for the usual daily wage, the owner sent them out to the vineyard.

“About mid-morning, the owner came out and saw others standing around the marketplace without work, and said to them, ‘You go along to my vineyard and I will pay you whatever is fair.’ At that they left.

“Around noon and again in the mid-afternoon, the owner came out and did the same. Finally, going out late in the afternoon, the owner found still others standing around and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’

“‘No one has hired us,’ they replied.

“The owner said, ‘You go to my vineyard, too.’

“When evening came, the owner said to the overseer, ‘Call the workers and give them their pay, but begin with the last group and end with the first.’ When those hired late in the afternoon came up, they received a full day’s pay, and when the first group appeared they assumed they would get more. Yet they all received the same daily wage.

“Thereupon they complained to the owner, ‘This last group did only an hour’s work, but you’ve put them on the same basis as those who worked a full day in the scorching heat.’

“‘My friends,’ said the owner to those who voiced this complaint, ‘I do you no injustice. You agreed on the usual wage, didn’t you? Take your pay and go home. I intend to give this worker who was hired last the same pay as you. I’m free to do as I please with my money, aren’t I? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

“Thus the last will be first and the first will be last.”

Reflection from Kim on audio

1967. On a Sunday in September of 1967, a small group of people who had been part of the congregation of All Saints Lutheran Church decided to reconstitute themselves as Lakewood United Church of Christ. And so, instead of folding as a church, this group of some thirty souls decided to recommit themselves to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Those were interesting times. There was the Vietnam War and the growing anti war movement. There was the Civil Rights movement. There was Muhammad Ali refusing to do military service. There were race riots around the nation including riots in Tampa in response to the police shooting of Martin Chambers. The gay rights movement and the women’s movement were gaining steam. There were countries all over the world casting off the shackles of colonialism and declaring independence. It was a time of incredible social and political upheaval.

In the eyes of some, things were falling apart. To others, things were being brought down that should be brought down. There was fear. There was idealism. There was division. There was activism. 1967 was a time of foment and passion.

Now, why found a church in those times? What could the church do in the face of such large societal forces? Maybe it was a time to found an anti nuke group or an anti racism group. But a church?

And we look at things today. Certainly it is once again a time of major upheaval and transformation in our society. There is the economic crisis. There is the environmental crisis. There is the COVID crisis. There is the racism crisis. There is the political crisis. With things falling apart at the seams, why bother with church?

The founders of LUCC in 1967 can probably explain it. Here’s how I see it. When things are turbulent, unsettled, in a state of upheaval, in your personal life or in society, or both, that is when you really NEED the church.

The church provides a vision of how things can be. Of the lion and the lamb. Love your enemies. Diverse people living together in mutually supportive communities. The church gives us Divine dreams for life on Earth and beyond. The church gives a vision of Eden – harmony in the web of life, a garden of peace and plenty. Church is about a comprehensive vision for the well-being of all of creation. When life in society is upsetting and disturbing, church gives us a vision of a future worth hoping for and working for.

Why church in troubled times? Church also gives us teachings and stories that lead toward reconciliation and transformation. We can move forward together toward something new through listening, sharing, understanding, and forgiving. The church gives us tools for pursuing right relationships with others, even those who have been wronged and those who have perpetrated wrong. This is important in our social context as well as in our personal relationships. Things happen that are bad. There can be a way forward. In times of upheaval, a spirit of reconciliation and compassion goes a long way. So when things are turbulent, it is very important for us to remember that church helps us navigate the changes in ways that are creative and constructive, not destructive.

Why church when things are stressful and uncertain? Our religious heritage is rich with the complaints, laments, and grieving of those who have gone before us. Church gives us a place to express our sadness, our loss, our anger, our frustration, in ways that are appropriate and that do not hurt others. Church provides a context for the healthy unburdening of the spirit. We heard about that in the story from Exodus. The people complain. Church is a place to complain, to let it out, and know that it’s ok. In church, we free the soul from what is negative and hurtful in a space where there is love and grace to renew us.

Why start a church in times of turbulence? The church is a community of sustenance. It feeds us. The faith community provides support and nurture. We support one another with the strength and perseverance needed to face uncertain times. The church helps us to persist in our work of creating a world of peace. We are supported and sustained when our voices of compassion and justice and truth are needed in the wider society. We can persist in our witness thanks to the support of our faith community. A church provides the spiritual sustenance necessary for envisioning a different world and having the emotional, psychological, spiritual and physical fortitude and persistence for doing the work. So that’s why you found a church in the middle of a social revolution and that’s why you found a church now.

Why do we need the church in times of upheaval and turbulence? Even in times of struggle, we need the church to remind us to celebrate. To find joy. To give thanks. For all that we are being given. For all that is provided for us. For the grace of each and every breath. The church helps us to celebrate the abundance of life and the goodness of creation in spite of the problems we are facing. Simply appreciating beauty can be an act of resistance. We need the church to invite us to celebration and joy.

Why found a church in a time when things are falling apart? The gospel gives us a way of looking at reality that is non transactional. The love of God is non transactional. You can’t earn it, merit it, buy it, or sell it. It is given. To everyone. Period. The story of the laborers in the vineyard makes it plain. We live by grace, constantly given to us and everyone else regardless of situation or condition, and whether or not we realize it. Every day in our world we are confronted with a reality that uses an economic system to assess value. And this value system is not only applied to things, material objects, products. It is also applied to people. The church gives us an alternative reality to be part of that values all of life in its glorious interdependence and diversity. Every life sacred. Every life beloved. Every life cherished. The church invites us to be part of a different reality. The church helps us to navigate the times with values that are timeless.

A time of struggle, turbulence, upheaval, and change is the perfect time to start a church. It’s the right time to plant, nurture and foster hopes and dreams of a new reality of peace. The church helps us to live into that kind of reality. When times are tough; that’s when people need spiritual support. That’s is when you found a church.

And our beloved Lakewood United Church of Christ was founded in 1967 so that it would help people through those difficult times. And so that it would be here for us today in these times of struggle and change. Supporting us. Helping us to navigate our circumstances.

At a doctor’s appointment recently, we spoke of Covid 19 and the toll it is taking on people. The doctor told me flat out that the patients who are most steady in this storm are the ones who are part of a faith community, who have religious ties.

May we be grateful to those who have nurtured and supported Lakewood United Church of Christ since 1967 to provide for this and every time of need. Amen.

As you listen to the music which follows, you are invited to notice the thoughts and feelings that arise for you.

(Click HERE if you wish to see the post containing the video of this text.)

Greetings and welcome to Corona Sabbath.  This is one of the ways the church is endeavoring to offer spiritual support during these challenging days of COVID-19.    We appreciate your feedback and suggestions.

This post focuses on freedom.  We listen to the story well known from Sunday School about the Hebrews escaping slavery in Egypt by crossing the Red Sea. 

We listen to Exodus 14:19-31.

Earl Waters recording

Then the angel of God, who was leading the Israelites, moved to their rear – the pillar of cloud left the front of their number and took up position behind them, between the Israelites and the Egyptians.  All during the night the cloud provided light to one side and darkness to the other side, so that there was no contact between them.

Then Moses stretched his hand over the sea, and Yahweh swept the sea with a strong east wind throughout the night and so turned it into dry land.  When the water was thus divided, the Israelites marched into the midst of the sea on dry land, with the water walled up on their right and on their left. 

The Egyptians followed in pursuit; all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and charioteers went after them into the midst of the sea.  At dawn, Yahweh looked down upon the Egyptian forces from the column of fiery cloud, and threw the army into confusion and panic, clogging their chariot wheels so that they could hardly turn.  The Egyptians turned to flee from the Israelites, saying “Their God fights for them against us!”

Then Yahweh told Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, and let the water flow back upon the Egyptians, over their chariots and their charioteers.”  So at sunrise, Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and the waters rolled back in.  As the Egyptians fled, Yahweh hurled them into its midst.  As the water flowed back, covering the chariots and the charioteers – Pharaoh’s whole army, who had followed the Israelites into the sea – not one of them survived.  But the Israelites passed through, walking dry-shod in the sea, with the water like a wall, on their right and on their left.  Thus Yahweh saved Israel on that day from the power of Egypt.  When Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore and beheld the great power that Yahweh had shown against them, the people held Yahweh in awe; and put their faith in Yahweh and in Moses, God’s trusted servant. 

Reflection from Rev. Kim Wells

This is one of the most famous scenes from the Bible:  Moses parting the Red Sea so that the Israelites can escape from slavery in Egypt.  After the river turning to blood, an infestation of frogs, the swarming of gnats, the cloud of flies, the death of the livestock, the devouring locusts, three days of total darkness, and finally the killing of every firstborn in the land of Egypt.  Finally, the Israelites escape across the desert and through the Red Sea. 

If you want to make a horror movie or tell a post apocalyptic dystopian tale, look no further than the Bible for inspiration! 

The Israelites escape the angel of death by putting lamb’s blood around the door frames of their homes.  While the Egyptians are mourning their dead, the Israelites make their exit into the wilderness.  Only to be pursued by the Egyptian army.  They get to the Red Sea and we hear of the parting of the waters that enables their escape. 

We know the image from pictures in Bibles, from Church School booklets, and of course, from the movie, ‘The Ten Commandments.’  The parting of the sea and the people crossing over on dry land is one of the most well-known images from the Bible. 

It tells of a god committed to freedom.  A god who stands up for those being abused and downtrodden.  It symbolizes the power of justice.  God is on the side of the oppressed.  God heard the cries of the Israelites being terrorized by their Egyptian task masters. 

But I don’t like this story.  Because in the story, God is responsible for seeing to it that the entire Egyptian army is killed.  We are told:  “. . . the Lord tossed the Egyptians into the sea.”  [Exodus 14:27]  And then the conclusion, “Israel saw the great work that the Lord did against the Egyptians.  So the people feared the Lord and believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.”  [Exodus 14:31]

Yes, I understand that the story was designed in a certain way to meet the spiritual needs of the people who wrote it centuries later.  In that time and place, the story was needed to fortify the Jewish people in a time of despair.  God had rescued them once, God would do it again.  It is also a projection of our very human desires for vengeance and retribution.  We create God in our image.   But, knowing all of this, I still don’t like this story.

In addition, as a Christian, this image of a vengeful God is not consistent with the teachings of Jesus.  We do not see Jesus promoting a god of vengeance.  I can’t imagine Jesus, remembered for forgiving his killers from the cross, touting a God of retribution and pay back.  Jesus seems to have taken the opposite approach – even those who do evil are beloved.

That said, Jesus is known for celebrating the Passover, the commemoration of the escape from Egypt, on the night before he was killed.  So he did not renounce his heritage.  He accepted this story and its important role in the history of the Jewish people. 

But we have no record of Jesus telling people to follow him to freedom with the expectation that God would take out the Romans.  Maybe after hundreds of years, it was time to see things in a different way.  And Jesus wanted to show us that way. 

While I do not like this story and the killing of the Egyptians, just like I don’t like the story of Noah and the killing of not only the humans but of the animals and plants, this story is important.  It helps us to see ourselves more clearly.  Our desire for vengeance and retribution.   It shows us the contrast with the way of Jesus which is about reconciliation and forgiveness not punishment.  It shows us our tendency to image God in a way that suits our purposes.  It shows how we prefer to hold God responsible, rather than taking responsibility ourselves.  God did this.  God did that.  Give God the glory.  Or the blame.  But this can be used to diminish human responsibility and accountability. 

There is also another consideration that is important in this story.  For something new to be born, something has to die.  To realize our ideals of justice and freedom, there are things that need to be laid to rest.  Drastic change means something new is accepted and former ways are released, or drowned, as the case may be. 

In these days we are addressing ourselves to creating an anti racist society.  This is a noble, divine goal.  But a lot has got to be washed away to achieve this valiant ideal.  To make this a free land, a lot of harmful attitudes and assumptions and lies need to be laid to rest.  There is a lot of truth to be uncovered and accepted.  And this is a painful healing process.  But it must be embraced. 

Think of a change you would like to see – in your life.  In the community.  In our country.  In the world.  Focus on that one change.  That moves your heart. Give it some thought.   Envision the reality you would like to see.  Imagine that world. 

To create that reality, to get there, something has to go down, something has to be given up.  Destroyed, even. 

In this autumn season, in a temperate climate, we think of the trees, giving up all of their leaves, so that they can survive the winter and come back to new life in the spring.  The process of death is incorporated into the process of growth.

So, this story of the parting of the Red Sea reminds us that we don’t get to the Promised Land on a tram from the parking lot to the theme park.  True transformation can be an arduous, painful, frightening, redeeming, worthwhile, life giving process.  Amen.

(Click HERE if you wish to see the post containing the video of this text.)