Category: Sermon Texts

Scripture: Ephesians 1:15-23
Pastor: Rev. Kim P. Wells

If you listen to “Science Friday” on National Public Radio, you know that they have been talking about the sun. The Science Club has a project going inviting people to explain the sun. They have been broadcasting some of the responses.

Dean Regas of the Cincinnati Observatory tells us: “The repetition of the sun rising, setting, and rising again became the primary cycle to life on Earth. Call that a ‘day.’ Our prehistoric ancestors imprinted this pattern into our very nature.”

So the sun is responsible for the rhythm of time and seasons.

Richard Friedman, Psychiatry Professor at Cornell Medical College describes how the sun brings joy: “There is a reason why the sun makes us happy, why we are drawn towards people with sunny dispositions, and why so many of us are deeply affected by the seasons: sunlight has a biologically profound effect on our mood.”

The sun influences our mood, our productivity, our outlook.

Someone who raises chickens tells us: “More sun = more eggs from my hens They stop in winter because of less daylight and resume as days lengthen”

Thanks to the sun, we have more eggs!

A backyard gardener offers this explanation of the sun: “Thanks to the sun, something amazing happens in every back yard garden each summer. I understand the science in a very basic way — the biology, photosynthesis, and chemistry at work — but there’s something more. Words fail me. Is it magic? A miracle? Those are nice words but they carry too much baggage. Let’s consider the humble garden variety tomato plant.
I love watching what happens in the garden every day. Pretty little yellow blossoms set fruit in an intricate dance with pollinators, evolved over millions of years. The pea-size green fruit grows fast — sometimes doubling its size every day. In a few quick weeks, the fruit is ready. There’s nothing better than eating a ripe tomato from a back yard garden. It’s all possible because we live on a speck of dust, 93 million miles from our sun; a typical star in a typical galaxy in a stunning Universe. Bon appetit!”

Because of the sun, we have food to eat. If this gardener lived in Florida, he could witness this miracle year ‘round as I do in my garden.

And, from the United States Secretary of Energy, Ernest Moniz, we learn: “What does the sun do? Let’s talk sun and energy. First, the sun’s surface temperature—you know, it’s about 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit, so it’s a big energy source, driven by fusing together hydrogen. We’re trying to harness that fusion process on Earth, but it’s very hard and expensive. In the meantime, we use the light from the sun here on Earth to make energy directly. In one hour, the solar energy hitting Earth is enough to meet the world’s energy needs for about a year. Solar energy technology is making great strides, and we think it will be a major source of carbon-free electricity in the years ahead as the costs keep falling, and energy storage allows us to use the electricity even when the sun is not shining.” [The quotations come from: http://www.sciencefriday.com/blogs/05/07/2015/what-does-the-sun-do-solar-experts-respond.html?series=34%5D

As these explanations show, the sun has incredible power. Power to control mood, life, time, and much more. Plants, life, light and darkness it is all possible because of the sun. It would be hard to overestimate the power of the sun. It is not surprising, then, that the sun has been an important religious/spiritual symbol throughout human history. People don’t just worship the sun at beaches today. People have been worshipping the sun for eons. The sun is an important part of ancient Egyptian religions, Aztec religion, African religions, and Asian religions. Religions today still honor the sun. The sun has an important role in Buddhism, Hinduism, and, yes, Christianity. Just one instance of the influence of the sun on Christianity involves Christmas. In the Roman Empire, the Festival of the Unconquered Sun was held on Dec. 25. It was the date for celebrating the rebirth of the sun. This image was then given Christian connotations. Jesus was seen as the light which does not go out, the sun which still shines. So his birth date was established as December 25. Because of the sun. In many expressions of Christian spirituality, Jesus is imaged as the sun. He is imaged as light, as a life force, as illuminating and enlightening, as a source of power and energy, all like the sun.

In the scripture that we heard this morning, there is much talk of power. The power of God. The power of God made know in Jesus. The power of God which overcomes death. And the power of God which is now channeled into the church, the faith community.

This passage is assigned for this Ascension Sunday, the marking of when the risen Jesus stopped appearing to his friends and rose into heaven. His physical presence is gone. But the power that was working in him is still a force, and now, since he is gone, it is at work in Christ’s new body, the church. This amazing power of God is now energizing the communities of people gathered in response to the ministry of Jesus. They are given the same power that he accessed to love as he loved – their neighbor, those who are naked, hungry, homeless, forgotten. They have the same power of God working in them that was at work in Jesus making it possible for them to lay down their lives for others. They have the same divine power to resist, to persevere, and to confront the powers of domination and exploitation, that Jesus did. That’s incredible. These small groups, of diverse, ordinary people, now possess the greatest power imaginable working through them to heal and sustain the world in peace and harmony. And we are those people today. It’s astounding!

We are heirs of incredible, amazing power. All the power that was at work in Jesus. All the power made manifest in creation. In us. Today. Whew! But I think, that as it is with the power of the sun, the power is there, but we are not taking full advantage of it. We are not availing ourselves of what is being given to us.

While solar power could meet all of our energy needs and do so in a way that is not destructive to Earth and its atmosphere, we are really using very little solar power today. For a host of reasons, power, money, money, money, and money, we have continued to choose to use energy sources that damage Earth, the atmosphere, and are jeopardizing the future of the human species. And all the while, here is that power. The sun. Shining down on us in sunny Florida, each and every day, and we spend more energy trying to protect ourselves from the negative effects of the sun than harnessing its benefits.

A similar situation may be occurring when it comes to faith as well. The church has been given this amazing power source, the love of God, and yet how much to we really tap into it. Do we power up? Do we offer ourselves as conductors? Like the sun, the energy is there, but it has to be harnessed and channeled to be most effective.

What impedes this? What mitigates against our fully accessing the power of our faith, the power of love, the power of good that was fully evident in Jesus?

One perspective is that we associate power with evil and violence. We think of the power of weaponry and guns. We think of the abuse of power by people who can inflict their will through intimidation and violence. We talk about when ISIS came to power, when Assad came to power, when Hitler came to power. We don’t talk about when Bill Clinton came to power in the US. We are more likely to use the word “power” with regimes or people that we think of as bad. Randomly ask someone who they think of as a powerful person, and I think you will hear the name Hitler more often than the name Mandela or Gandhi. We tend to associate the concept of power with evil and violence so we are afraid of power.

In religion, this means that we are talking more about subduing the power of evil, and keeping the power of evil at bay in our lives, than about wielding power in the service of good. We are more concentrated on the harm power can do than the good it can do.

Here’s another reason I think we down play the role of power and faith. A lot of people who make a point about connecting power and faith are doing things we find abhorrent. And this happens not only in Christianity, but in Judaism, Islam, and other religions. Look at ISIS; the Lord’s Resistance Army in Africa; the rabid Zionists in Israel; and extremist Christians in this country who bomb abortion clinics, and protest against gays at military funerals, and burn the Qur’an. Yikes! We don’t want to be associated with that kind of religious expression. So we stay away from talking about the power of our religion.

Here is another perspective about power that I think holds us back from being more assertive in expressing the power of our faith. In the US, power has been largely relegated to complaining. People feel they have exerted their power when they have complained. About how they have been treated. About the government. About the economy. About the lover who dumped them. Whatever. We feel we have exerted our power when we have complained. Got that off my chest! On facebook, in a letter to the editor, in an email, Tweet, or phone call. That’s that. We have become weak kneed, entitled, whiners who are satisfied with spouting off, a few pats on the back or “likes” and that’s over and done. Complaining and whining is not necessarily constructive engagement. It is not necessarily trending toward transformation. It is not necessarily manifesting justice. We accept that by complaining we have done what we can do. Our obligation is fulfilled. Our work is done. We satisfy ourselves with self expression instead of working for meaningful transformation and change.

Another side to this concept of power is that we are afraid of power. It is convenient to think that we are powerless, that we can’t do anything. The problems are just too big. Then we are off the hook. There is an important explanation of this fear in Marianne Williamson’s A Course in Miracles, that has become associated with Nelson Mandela. Williamson is a spiritual activist working to get the US government to establish a Department of Peace. She writes:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
[A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of “A Course in Miracles”, Ch. 7, Section 3 (1992), p. 190.]

Yes, we can be afraid of power. Because we have seen it misused and abused. The power of the sun can burn and blind, as well as foster life and growth. Power can be dangerous. And we have seen where the power of love leads – for Jesus it led his to death on a cross. Who wants that? Better to steer clear of excessive use of force, even when the force is love!

So how do we deal with this cognitive dissonance? We want to celebrate the power of God, the power of faith, the triumph of love over death that can change the world and overcome evil within us and around us. But we are hesitant and afraid.

Here the verses from Ephesians help us. The writer tells the faith community that he is praying for them. And what does he pray? That they will have a spirit of wisdom. That God will reveal what they need to know. That the eyes of their hearts will be enlightened. These petitions deal with discernment. The writer is telling this community that he is praying that they will be discerning; that they will see the will of God and know hope. And then employ their power in the cause of divine love as Jesus did. We are being reminded that we are to address ourselves very carefully to the spiritual discipline of discernment. We are to think and pray carefully about how we are being called to exercise our power. We are to empty ourselves of our agendas and allow the spirit of divine love to fill us and work in us. In the second century of the Common Era, the Essenes, a Christian community in the wilderness of Palestine, referred to baptism as “enlightenment.” [New Interpreter’s Bible, Ephesians, p. 381] It was the opening of the eyes of the heart. With baptism came the clarity to discern, to know, and to take action and live based on that knowledge.

In today’s world how do we know? How do we know where we should be exerting our power? We look at the life of Jesus. We are thinking about the things that he addressed himself to: Abundant life for all. No one goes hungry. The right ordering of relationships with self, God, neighbor, and creation. Compassion. Equality. Freedom.

There are over 3,000 references to oppression in the Bible. The choice is whether we use our power to support and endorse oppression, or whether we use our power to transform oppression into justice and peace. Do we just want to complain, “Ain’t it awful.” Or do we want to serve, offer compassion, give hope to others, and be witnesses to the realm of God?

Our faith, as we heard from Ephesians, liberates us from powerlessness and fear. It saves us from intimidation and victimhood. Our faith gives us the tools for discernment. What is to stop us from using the power we are being given for the good of the world?

We have all the power needed to infuse the world with the love of God. We have all the power needed to embody universal love and compassion. We have all the power needed to nurture justice and peace. This power is so great that the first Christians could only talk about it in terms of a power strong enough to overcome death – the most final, incontrovertible irreversible situation known to humanity. And the power of God experienced through Jesus was more powerful and compelling than death itself.

Whatever problems face us, whatever suffering we are experiencing, whatever is breaking our hearts, whatever drains us of life and hope – the power of God is greater and it is within us and among us. Seeking expression. Seeking release. We see this divine power evident in creation. And in Jesus, we are shown that it is also in us.
The greatest source of power and energy in our solar system is the sun. The temperature of the surface of the sun is 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit and at the core over 27 million degrees Fahrenheit. The sun puts out 386 billion billion megawatts of energy. It takes the light from the sun a mere 8 minutes to travel 93 million miles from the surface of the sun to Earth. It would take 100 billion tons of dynamite exploded every second to match the energy of the sun.

On “Science Friday,” they are asking, “What does the sun do? Explain the sun. ” Well, here’s another response: It gives us a fitting image and metaphor for the power of the divine love of God; a power that makes life possible and is at work in you, in me, in the world, in the solar system, in the galaxy, in the cosmos and beyond! 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.

Scripture: Psalm 24:1-2
Pastor: Rev. Kim P. Wells

In the news recently, we have not been able to escape hearing about Baltimore, and Ferguson, and other cities, in which there have been racial incidents with the police.

Another thing we have heard much about in the news is gay marriage since the Supreme Court took up the matter last week.

Gay marriage. Police brutality and racism. Over and over and over. Two very different issues. Yet with the same roots. Privilege, discrimination, injustice. And in both conversations, what comes up? The family.

In discussions about race we hear about systematic policies enacted to shred the black family like giving AFDC only to single mothers.

And in the gay marriage conversation, we learn that marriage was instituted for the raising of children. I don’t agree, but this is what some experts seem to think. Personally I think marriage has roots as a property transaction linked to the legalities of inheritance. But, that’s not the issue today though it really is an issue in the marriage conversation. But today some people cling to a certain definition of a couple and a family. Can a couple in which the two adults are of the same gender form a legitimate family? What is the effect of that kind of family arrangement upon society as a whole? Family is part of culture so it is not just an individual, personal matter. And children are involved. So, many are weighing in on this issue.

So we are hearing a lot about family this days. What is a family? What makes a strong family? Why is the family deteriorating? Why are families breaking apart with the divorce rate up, more single parent households, etc.? Where do same gender couples, with and without children, fit in? And inevitably this conversation about family, relative to race or sexual orientation, veers from sociology, psychology, economics, government policy, and anthropology, into religion. We’re told that the family is ordained by God. And that family is a religious institution.

First I wonder about just what kind of family God ordained? One like Adam and Eve and their murderous son? One like Jacob and Leah and Rachel, where the groom is duped at the altar and gets the wrong sister? A family like the most wise of the wise, Solomon, who, we are told, had some 700 wives and 300 concubines? Or to move to the New Testament, a family like Ananias and Sapphira, who lie and betray and end up being struck dead? Or a family like Lazarus, Mary, and Martha? Since when do three adult siblings make a family? Is that the kind of family that is God – ordained? Or is the God ordained family a single, celibate adult, which is how we think of Jesus? That won’t do much for perpetuating the species.

So, just what is a Christian family? What does our religious tradition teach us about family? One image we have been given by society and the church in recent decades is the image of the family as mom, dad, the kids, the pets, all living in their suburban bubble where the boys play soccer and the girls are cheer leaders and they order pizza and play videos games and go on vacation together in an SUV. Oh, and yes, they go to church together every week in their Sunday best. It’s kind of the white bread, middle America version of family. This is touted as the ideal. And dubbed the Christian family ideal.

Yet what is really Christian about this? Or ideal? Except maybe the going to church every Sunday? It’s a stereotypic view of family that suits the American milieu, the American economy, and American sensibilities. There doesn’t seem to be much that is explicitly Christian about it.

What is Christian? When we look at Jesus, we see that he shows us that we are to give our lives away. We are to spend ourselves in service. We are to reach out to meet the needs of others. Forgive and work for reconciliation. In this self giving kind of life, we find our highest good. When we think of this Christian lifestyle, we can see that none of this directly relates to the idealized family that we described earlier.

What makes a Christian family is a family in which the concern is for others, for the wider community, for neighbors near and far, all families, and all children. The Christian family is a family committed to the well-being of all people; a group dedicated to making the world a welcoming home for all. There is story in the gospels in which Jesus is asked about family. He says that those who do the will of God are his family. What is the will of God? Self giving. Generosity. Unconditional, universal love. The Christian family, then, is not an isolated self serving group in a bubble, but a locus for care of one another and the world.

I grew up in what was in many ways a typical white upper middle class family. We took music lessons and were in after school clubs and scouts. My brother played little league and I took up ice skating. We went to church and youth group. Our family ate breakfast and dinner together most days. We played card games or board games several nights a week. We watched “The Wonderful World of Disney” and “Wild Kingdom” on TV. We went on family vacations every year. The one thing that I knew was different about our family then was that my mother as well as my father worked outside the home. In those days, most mothers in our economic stratum did not work outside the home.

But in addition to being a pretty typical family, I can now see how we were also very different. When we think about a Christian family as a group of people committed to the greater good, I now know that I, like many of you, saw this kind of Christian orientation to family embodied in our home growing up especially in my mother. She was always looking outward, helping others individually and collectively. There was a colleague that needed to have an abortion and my mom lent her the money. There was the gay man in the 70’s who wanted to be ordained. My mom was his gifts for ministry and she worked with him and the church so that he could be ordained. Also in the 70’s, there was a member of a youth group from years past who discovered that he was transgendered and wanted to go to Morocco for surgery because that is what you did in those days. He needed money and, yes, my mother lent it to him. In the mean time, my mom was busy arranging housing and meals for the scores of people from churches all over the country that were coming to Washington in the 60’s to protest. When we moved to Minneapolis, there was serving on the Minnehaha Parkway redesign commission. There was leading the PTSA during integration. Later, in Pennsylvania, there was starting a soup kitchen. And all along the way, there were the peace committees and justice task forces. My mom worked on many political campaigns at phone banks and literature drops and other volunteering. There was political advocacy and involvement as well as lots of social action work in the church day in and day out. And my mom worked outside the home, sometimes full time, sometimes part time.

It was clear to me growing up that my mom loved us and was completely devoted to our family, but her devotion did not stop there. Maybe it started there, but she exhibited that same commitment to others and the world, especially those who were being treated unfairly. That she could not abide. It was as if every person who was being discriminated against or given the short end of the stick, here in the US or around the world, was her child, her sister, her brother. And she would take their part.

We hear that the family is falling apart and there are many factors. There is an economic component – capitalism making us want so much that we must all work all the time. And the commoditization of everything, including spouses, so that we think we can return them for a refund when they don’t perform up to snuff. And wanting our children to turn out like perfect little products.

But from a religious view point, I think the family is falling apart not because of the composition of the families but because of the incurved nature of the idealized family today. Family first. It is self serving, it is tribal, it is looking in and caring only for immediate self interest. In addition, the ideal family has become an idol. How many times do I hear people say they can’t do this, they can’t do that, in terms of service, because of family? Instead of commitment to the world that God has made, and the fullness thereof, people are committed to those who live under their roof. Amen. Mother’s Day is a perfect example. People will tell me, “I won’t be at church. We are taking mom out to brunch.” One of the churches that rents our building will not have services today because it is Mother’s Day. Go figure? I’m a mom, and I would much rather my children go to church on Mother’s Day than go to brunch because church fosters looking at the world from a broad perspective. The church helps us to see the bigger picture. The church helps us focus on seeing beyond our immediate self interest to the well being of the human family and all of creation. It is that kind of orientation that makes a strong, supportive family. That kind of vision helps us to see that we are here to give. And we see the needs beyond our own kin. And we realize that our immediate family is the context in which we strengthen and support one another in our service and generosity to others.

One of my favorite books is Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath. I know that many of you came to that classic when you were younger. I only read it for the first time in my 50’s and I was stunned. The level of generosity exhibited by these dirt poor okies was astounding. Sure this family had problems. Huge problems. But any time they can help someone, they do. And the ending is a an unforgettable tribute to self-giving love. I am not surprised that the book is not often taught in school any more because it is ultra-subversive and a full and complete condemnation of the injustice sanctioned under American capitalism. If you haven’t read Grapes of Wrath, or haven’t read it recently, stop at the library on your way home from church.

What Christianity has to offer the world is a vision of family that looks out, that is concerned for other families, and for the family of humanity as a whole. That’s the Christian family. And the world desperately needs to hear that from the church not only in the cause of liberating LBGT families, but in the cause of strengthening all families and being a force for well-being and peace in the world.

As we heard in the Psalm, the Judeo Christian view is that the world is God’s and everything in it. As people of God, we are called to take care of God’s world, the big whole thing, not just our corner, our yard, our household but every corner, every yard, and every household, so that all people may live together sustainably and in peace.

I recently heard an interview on the radio with an astronaut. I think it was Colonel Chris Hadfield. He talked about coming up in the military with the Soviet Union as enemy number one. And then later being part of a space program in which the US partnered with Russia. The astronaut described one particularly perilous descent from space in which the astronauts’ lives were in jeopardy. When the capsule landed, what he could see out the window was grass and a rock. And he was elated. And he was filled with a sense of “home.” While kissing the ground and overwhelmed with the feeling of being home, he realized that the actual dirt under his feet was Kazakhstan. It was then that the astronaut realized that our home is Earth, the whole planet. All of it.

As Christians, may we share that view, that Earth is our home. The home provided for us by a God of infinite, universal love. And on this Mother’s Day and Festival of the Christian home, we celebrate our family, the human family, and teach our children to look out and love the world. Our home. Amen.

Scriptures: I John 4:16b-21 and Acts 8:26-40
Pastor: Rev. Kim P. Wells

The musical “Hairspray,” opens with a tribute to Baltimore, where “every day’s like an open door, every night is a fantasy, and every sound is like a symphony.” [Lyrics, “Good Morning, Baltimore” by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman] For some. And that some does not include a short, fat, low income white girl who wants to sing and dance on TV. It also does not include black people. They are all living in Baltimore but are not all welcome to partake of its delights. Yet.

While the musical is set in the ’60’s, the sentiment still applies today. There is a wonderful reality, a beautiful city, but only certain people have access to it. Only some are welcome. Only some are treated with dignity and respect.

We can imagine Baltimore today. There is world class medical care available at Johns Hopkins Hospital. For some. There is the National Institutes of Health doing research from which some will benefit. There are cultural and historic landmarks celebrating freedom in this country. For some. There are stellar institutions of higher learning. For some. There is police protection. For some.

The recent events in Baltimore are a replay of what we see over and over and over again, going on for century after century. In recent decades, we may have thought that we were making progress as a society, becoming more fair, inclusive, and tolerant and things have improved to some degree. But all of these high tech recording devices in the hands of the masses have shown us there is more work to be done. Whatever goes on today you can be sure there is someone there with a phone that records and takes pictures which are immediately uploaded to social media or the cloud. No more confiscating the recording device or camera and containing the images as in days of yore. So we have glaringly portrayed for us, in living color, certain kinds of treatment for some people. And a different kind of treatment for others. Haves and have nots. The 99% and the 1%. The dominant class and the under class. The majority and the minority. The first class citizens and the second, and third, and fourth class citizens.

The story that we heard from Acts today speaks to the divisions and fears that surround us. In this story, we are given a crystal clear glimpse of the heart of Christianity. This story is an embodiment of God’s universal love. For all people. No exceptions. This story conveys the gospel, and we must decide whether we will accept it or reject it.

As the story opens, this Ethiopian eunuch is in his chariot. We are told that he is rich, rich, rich. He’s in charge of the treasury for his country. Definitely the 1%. We are told that he is devout. He is on his way home from Jerusalem where he had gone to worship. He had made a pilgrimage to the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. He had dedicated significant time and effort and money to express his religious devotion to the God of Judaism, a foreign god for an Ethiopian. But this eunuch, despite his heartfelt commitment, can only stand outside the Temple precincts in Jerusalem to worship. He is not allowed in the Temple because of his physical alteration. He is not whole. So he is not clean. So he may not enter the Temple. He may only listen from the outside. He is most definitely an outsider. He can never be a full member and participant of the Jewish faith. Because of what has been done to his body by others, he is forbidden from full inclusion. There is no ritual, or prayer, or rite that can remove the stigma of his removed parts.

But even at that, this person is still so attracted to the God of the Jews, that he has gone to Jerusalem to worship. On his way home, he is reading the scriptures of the Jews. Isaiah. About the suffering servant. The sheep led to the slaughter. The lamb silent before its shearer. Humiliation. Justice denied. We can only imagine his connection to these words and images. And then Philip is sent to help the eunuch understand God’s word. Philip tells the Ethiopian about Jesus. The crucified one. The suffering servant. The lamb led to slaughter. The sheep silent before his accusers. The victim of humiliation. Justice denied. Of course the Ethiopian is attracted to a religion where the main figure has endured even worse than he has. This is a religion where maybe he can fit in. Where just maybe his condition will not exclude him. He wants to be part of this community. He wants to give his devotion to this spiritual path.

As they go along in the chariot, they pass some water. “What is to prevent me from being baptized?” This is no rhetorical question. There were a host of things preventing him from being allowed to go into the Temple. There were things that could not be changed that prevented him from being able to be Jewish. But this suffering servant? How could he be prevented from being a follower of this suffering servant? Surely he will not be prevented from receiving this saving grace, will he? Will he truly be welcomed into the Jesus community? Will they allow him to join? Will he be offered new life in Christ? It is all hanging in the balance. And Philip, a Jew, what will he do? Will he baptize a Gentile? Will he baptize one who is not allowed into the Temple? Can this eunuch be a temple for the holy spirit? “What is to prevent me from being baptized?” This is a moment of high suspense. The tension is great. Everything hangs in the balance. Maybe even the future of Christianity. What will Philip do? He conducts the baptism and is then spirited away so that he can continue to spread the gospel. And the Ethiopian? He goes on his way rejoicing. For the first time, in probably a very long time, he is accepted, wanted, loved just as he is. He is no longer a second class citizen. He is freed and made whole.

This story tells of the inclusive, universal love of God which is made known through a crucified, humiliated figure – the lamb led to the slaughter, the lowest of the low – showing that there is no one who is too lowly to be loved by God. There is no one beneath deserving dignity and justice. Everyone falls within the circle of divine love. Nothing we do, nothing done to us, can change that.

I don’t think anyone wakes up in the morning and decides, “Today, I am going to oppress someone.” “Today, I am going to be prejudiced and deprive someone of their rights.” “Today, I am going to take advantage of someone unfairly.” “Today, I am going to be part of building up a social and economic system that keeps people down.” In fact, in the US, we take pride in the opposite message: Land of the free. Liberty and justice for all. Equal opportunity.

What stands between the image and the reality? In the passage from the first letter of John, we are given the contrast between love and fear. Love and fear cannot coexist. Love is about reconciliation. Fear is about punishment. Love is about freedom. Fear is about control. Violence, injustice, abuse, degradation, it’s all about fear. People today are afraid, and that is why we get case after case like Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, and Freddie Gray, and the multitudes of people subjected everyday to economic, physical, and psychological violence and intimidation. Because people are afraid. Afraid of: not having enough money, not having a job, getting mugged or robbed, being raped or assaulted, being killed, suffering, health issues, and social problems like education and healthcare. People are afraid of a terrorist attack, global ecocide, failure – at school, in relationships, work, and life. We’re afraid of betrayal, loss, and misplaced trust. We are afraid of losing perceived power. Why do people want guns, guns, and more guns? Because we are afraid. We live in a culture of fear. Everyday, we are being indoctrinated to fear. We are being filled with messages of fear. Every time we go through security at the airport. Fear. Every time we pass through as security gate at a housing complex. Fear. Every time we see a police car. Fear. Every time we deploy our security system. Fear. Every time we have to be fingerprinted or screened to volunteer. Fear. Every time we turn on the news. Fear. Fear. Fear.

We are being force fed fear. And if we let it, it controls us. Christianity is about love. Love that is stronger than fear. Love that is powerful enough to overcome divisions. Love that has the might to vanquish oppression and injustice and war and hatred.

We are part of a movement with a central figure who was a poor, brown skinned male who was crucified unjustly for his egalitarian ideals. Despised and rejected. To redeem the despised and rejected. Suffered to redeem those who suffer. Unfairly convicted exposing the folly of our fears.

If this is what happens to our leader, what do we need to fear? If this is what happens to our teacher, than whom do we dare exclude? If this is what happens to the main figure in our faith, then how can we not work for justice in the world powered by that love which knows no fear?

So our faith is about a love that extends to everyone. There is no one beneath the love of God. There is no one beyond the scope of God’s care.

The message of Christianity is one world. Every person equally worthy of human rights and dignity. Universal love which has no room for the fear that fuels injustice and abuse and exclusivism. A love that casts out all fear. In you. In me. In St. Petersburg. In New York. In Ferguson. In Sanford. In Palestine. In Israel. In Nigeria. In Syria. In Baltimore.

So that for everyone –
“Everyday’s like an open door,”
“Every night is a fantasy,”
and,
“Every sound is like a symphony.”
Amen.

Scripture: Acts 4:32-35
Pastor: Rev. Kim P. Wells

In the novel, True Believers, Kurt Anderson of public radio’s “Studio 360,” tells the story of a group of college students in the 1960’s. They are passionately against the Vietnam War. Frustrated with protesting and trying to exert political influence while thousands of people are being killed, the group develops a plan to end the war immediately. Yes, they come up with an approach that they are sure will successfully put an end to the Vietnam War. The plan will likely cost the students their futures and very possibly their lives. But they are willing to take the risk to end the killing in Vietnam. In their minds, they are absolutely committed to their principles which call for drastic action. They are true believers and will stop at nothing.

We are in the season of Easter in which we continue to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus the Christ. The crucifixion and resurrection are the defining images of the Christian religion. The resurrection story is associated with key theological concepts that have come to define traditional Christianity: That Jesus is the divine son of God. That humanity is reconciled with God. That there is life after death with God and the promise of heaven for those who believe. These have been defining concepts for Christianity. This is what the resurrection has come to mean for much of the history of the Christian church.

Easter celebrations of the resurrection typically focus on eternal life after our physical death and the promise of heaven. These themes are accompanied by images of new life – eggs, rabbits, the prolific procreators, flowers – life overcoming death.

For the Sundays after Easter, the scripture lessons of the lectionary highlight the resurrection appearances of Jesus: Jesus feeding his friends. Jesus forgiving Peter. Jesus meeting his friends on the road to Emmaus. Jesus’ encounter with doubting Thomas. Jesus sending his disciples out into the world to teach and baptize in his name. Jesus breathing peace upon his frightened friends. These are all stories that encourage us to have faith and be true believers.

Christianity has taken the content of that belief to be that Jesus is God, and that he has opened the door for believers to go to heaven to be with God after they die.

The scripture that we heard this morning from Acts is also assigned for the Sunday after Easter, but I am sure that the majority of preachers choose to preach on doubting Thomas and Jesus breathing peace onto his disciples rather than this iconoclastic story from Acts. Well, we got the peace last week. Now, we are delving into this more controversial story.

We are told about the life of a community of followers of Jesus that has formed after his death. These are true believers. We are told that, “With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.” How inspiring. Except, they held all of their belongings and property in common. There was no private ownership of any possessions. There was not a needy person among them because they shared all they had. This communal economic arrangement was a result of their belief in the resurrection. It was evidence of their testimony. It was the manifestation of the great grace that was upon them all. The abandonment of private property and individual ownership. Hm. That’s not our typical image or symbol of the resurrection. You probably didn’t know the money bag on the front of the bulletin was a symbol of the resurrection!

There are many reasons that preachers will avoid preaching on this text especially after Easter. This is a season for spiritual matters: Heaven and the next life. Doubt and faith. Matters that are theoretical and theological. This Acts text is very material and practical. And it is much more comfortable to keep the discussion to abstractions and not get down to the nitty gritty like what you do with your money. This Acts story is too messy for the ethereal resurrection season.

Another reason preachers avoid this text is because we live in a time of great greed. We are surrounded by the message that we should be rich. Being rich is good. We idolize wealth and the wealthy. The message from Acts is completely contrary to the culture around us and who wants to stir that up especially when churches need money to function? The last thing you would want to do as a pastor is read this bit from Acts and alienate your wealthy members.

And, there is no avoiding that this Acts passage smacks of Communism. It is an echo of, “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need,” a phrase of Louis Blanc made popular by Karl Marx. Most agree that communism has failed so no one wants to associate Christianity and the church with that failed economic system. This is a season to celebrate the success and triumph of the church and not get mixed up in the failings of communism.

I asked a fundamentalist friend about this Acts passage. She is always quoting the Bible and taking it literally. So, I asked if all the people in her church sold all their possessions and held everything in common. She explained to me that that was what God wanted for that particular congregation at that time. That was intended for them. It didn’t apply to the rest of us today. Her response left me wondering why the admonition to the Corinthians that women keep their heads covered in church applies to her church today, but not the communal ownership teaching from Acts? Why one thing but not another?

On Easter, if you preach, “Jesus is risen. Sell all that you have and give your money to the church and trust that you will be taken care of by the faith community,” the church will be empty or the pastor will be Baker-acted. Preach, “Jesus is risen, and you, too, will have eternal life in heaven,” the pews are filled. It’s a belief that doesn’t really require us to have much skin in the game. If it doesn’t happen, oh well. We’ll be dead anyway. Basically, we accept the view that you can have my afterlife, but not my house and my car.

In an individualistic, capitalist culture based on the ownership of private property, this story from Acts just doesn’t register. That was for “them.” Maybe we think those people were all poor and it is easy for someone poor to go along with selling everything because they aren’t giving up much and they actually may stand to gain. But not all the people in the Jerusalem Christian community were poor. Were they all so altruistic? No. We are told there was arguing over who will serve the meals to the widows, etc. Were they so egalitarian? No. There was competition between those who were Jewish and those who were Hellenists. They had their pecking order and status ladder just as we do today. This is why this story from Acts speaks with such great power. The story is clear that the power of the resurrection is what makes the people take these drastic economic measures. The power of the resurrection leads them to sell everything, something they would never have voluntarily done in the past. The power of the resurrection causes them to abandon all previously held notions about money and ownership. The resurrection twists them around, turns them inside out, and swings them upside down, in their everyday, very material lives. Here and now in this world.

Yes, we may associate the power of the resurrection with getting us into heaven. We’ll see. But this story tells us that the power of the resurrection does not stop there.

The power of the resurrection is not only stronger than death, it is stronger than free enterprise. It is stronger than capitalism. It is stronger than greed. It is stronger than individualism. It is stronger than consumerism. It is stronger than private ownership. It is stronger than selfishness.

Acts gives us an image of the resurrection that has the power to completely transform us in the context of our flesh and blood lives today.

The transformation that is portrayed in Acts is a testimony to the resurrection. The resurrection has compelled the true believers to take action that they never would have dreamed of. It has caused them to behave in entirely new, unexpected ways.

So what might the resurrection look like today?

A living wage for all, world wide?
Clean air, water, and reverence for the environment?
Universal access to healthcare?
Interdependence?
No homelessness, poverty, or hunger?
An end to racism and prejudice of all kinds?

The truth is that ideals always have economic implications. If we think we are true believers and it doesn’t involve our money, we are deceived, because money symbolizes power, status, trust, and loyalty. If the resurrection doesn’t mess with our bank account then we probably believe in a resurrection that is relatively small and remote, and not the cataclysmic transformation portrayed in the New Testament.

For those first true believers, the resurrection was a community-evoking experience that completely changed the way they lived, including their economic assumptions and identity. They were transformed right to the core. Inside and out. Here and now.

The resurrection is about much more than heaven in the next life. It’s about heaven on earth. May we be true believers. Amen.

Scripture: Mark 14:1-50
Pastor: Rev. Kim P. Wells

Judas. You know who I am talking about. The one who betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. The one who gave Jesus the kiss of death. The one who hanged himself. Yes. We know Judas. He is one of the most well-known figures in all of scripture.

We know that Judas betrayed Jesus. It is because of him that the authorities knew where to find Jesus and who Jesus was so that he could be arrested, tried, and killed by crucifixion. Why did Judas, one of the twelve, the inside circle, betray Jesus? There are multiple motivations that are hinted at in the New Testament. The earliest gospel, Mark, does not really intimate a reason why Judas betrayed Jesus. But later gospels allude to Judas’ motivations. Going chronologically, Matthew tells us that Judas is motivated by greed. Luke and John say it was the devil, Satan, that caused Judas to betray Jesus. Was Judas disillusioned that Jesus was not taking over as king as was expected of the Messiah? Was Jesus proceeding too slowly for Judas? We can’t know the motivations, but we definitely know that Judas betrayed Jesus.

Judas has been remembered in Christian literature for centuries as the embodiment of evil. He is portrayed as everything that Jesus taught people not to be. He is the supreme negative example; the person who is not good and true and dedicated to God.

A poem from the 4th century characterizes Judas this way:

You bloody, savage, rash, insane, rebellious,
faithless, cruel, deceitful, bribable, unjust,
cruel betrayer, vicious traitor, merciless thief –
[Meyer, p. 121]

That about sums it up for Judas in the New Testament, early Christian writings, and beyond. And that continues to be Judas’ legacy in literature throughout the ages.

There are several traditions about the death of Judas. The most familiar, that he hanged himself. Also, from the New Testament, we are told that he falls and explodes and his guts spill out. There is an early Christian tradition that he was stoned to death by the other eleven disciples. However he died, no death could be too awful for him. He is the quintessential betrayer, setting the standard ever since.

That is how the church wants to remember Judas. It gives a place to put the blame. There is someone to hold accountable for the whole heartbreaking travesty of the death of Jesus. Judas. It was his fault.

This presentation of Judas has been going along consistently for 2,000 years. Until an ancient document was discovered in the late 1970’s but not investigated by scholars until the early 2,000’s. It is a text referred to in the writings of Irenaeus from 180 C.E. Irenaeus discredits and refutes the Gospel of Judas. But what was the Gospel of Judas? We did not know until these ancient writings came to light in the last few decades found by farmers in a burial cave in Egypt described this way:

The burial cave was located across the river from Maghagha, not far from the village of Qarara in what is known as Middle Egypt. The fellahin stumbled upon the cave hidden down in the rocks. Climbing down to it, they found the skeleton of a wealthy man in a shroud. Other human remains, probably members of the dead man’s family, were with him in the cave. His precious books were beside him, encased in a white limestone box.
[Meyers, p. 6, quoting Herbert Krosney, The Lost Gospel]

As it turns out, the Gospel of Judas was written in Greek in the mid second century. The text found in Egypt is a Coptic translation. The Gospel offers Judas’ perspective on the teachings of Jesus and Judas’ relationship with Jesus. Judas is Jesus’ beloved. He is the disciple closest to Jesus. He is the one who can be trusted with the special knowledge that Jesus has to share. Judas is portrayed as the most devoted, the most loyal. He is the disciple with the most courage and strength. Yes, he hands Jesus over, but he does this at Jesus’ request. In the Gospel of Judas, Jesus tells Judas, “You will exceed all of them. For you will sacrifice the man who bears me.” [Verses 118-119, Gospel of Judas, see Meyer, p. 65] By turning Jesus over, Jesus will be released from his body, liberated from the confines of this physical life. Freed to return to God from whence he came. Judas has the emotional strength and boldness to understand Jesus and fulfill his wishes.

For those of you who are familiar with Harry Potter, this is reminiscent of Professor Snape. He is always trusted by the Headmaster Dumbledore but everyone else is suspicious of Snape. In the end, Snape contributes to the death of Dumbledore, and we learn that it is at Dumbledore’s request so that good will triumph over evil in the end. Snape, the apparent betrayer, is actually the loyal and faithful servant.

The Gospel of Judas presents Judas in that kind of light. He is the appearing betrayer, but he is actually fulfilling Jesus’ desires.

In the immediate aftermath of Jesus’ death, there is a crisis. The Messiah, Savior has been killed. Tried as a traitor, a capital offense, he is sentenced to die by crucifixion, a humiliating, excruciating death. Definitely cruel and unusual punishment.

How do Jesus’ friends and followers deal with this reality? With this outcome? They have left home, family, and livelihood for Jesus. Was it all for naught? What are they to do?

They must have been filled with doubts and regrets. Why didn’t they stand up for Jesus. Defend him? At least verbally. They were silent. They deserted him. Peter even denied Jesus. Could they have prevented his death?

How are Jesus’ friends and followers going to redeem this situation? Maybe they were jealous of Judas and his special status. Well, in any case, the blame is pinned on Judas. Judas becomes a negative example of everything Jesus taught. Drawing heavily on images and references from the Hebrew Bible, like the 30 pieces of silver taken from Zechariah, Judas is condemned. He is the one held responsible. He is the scapegoat for the guilt and blame associated with the crucifixion of Jesus.
And it has stayed that way for centuries until this alternate view has arisen with the discovery of the Gospel of Judas. Now, the lyrics of the Dylan song of 1963 seem prescient:

In many a dark hour
I’ve been thinkin’ about this
that Jesus Christ
was betrayed by a kiss
But I can’t think for you
You’ll have to decide
whether Judas Iscariot
had God on his side.

And then there is also speculation by scholars that Judas Iscariot was not an historical person at all, but a literary figure. He is not mentioned in the earliest writings of the New Testament, the letters of Paul. Judas was a very common Jewish name in the first century, maybe like John today. Judas. Everyman. The name Judas is also related to the word for Jew. This goes with the agenda of some in the early church who wanted to pin the death of Jesus on the Jews. The name Judas is also reminiscent of the name Judah, the brother of Joseph in the book of Genesis. Judah is the one who comes up with the idea of selling his brother into slavery. Also the way Judas is presented in the gospels has many parallels with the archetype betrayer in ancient literature. So, there are those who make the case that there never was an actual person Judas Iscariot at all.

Of course, we cannot resolve all of this. We can’t really choose which tradition or version of events is historically accurate because we just don’t have the information we would need. For the ancients, tradition was truth. They were not burdened by a desire for factuality as we are today.

An examination of the legacy of Judas invites many interpretations and raises many questions. This makes it a fitting topic to consider as Holy Week begins. This week, we remember the last week of Jesus’ life. We reflect on the story of his crucifixion and death. It is a time to consider the many meanings, perspectives, and messages in this story. It is a time to consider the multiple interpretations associated with Jesus’ ministry, life, and death. It is a time to remember how close together goodness and evil may be. The legacy of Judas reminds us that life is not as simplistic as we may want to make it.

Between the contrasts of the crowds shouting, “Hosanna!” and “Crucify him!” we are invited to examine ourselves and our reality. Who are we, really? Where do we stand? How do we deceive ourselves and others? How do we betray our beliefs?

The stories of this week should unsettle us. They should make us uncomfortable. They should disturb us. They should make us suspicious. They should provoke questions in us. What do the teachings of Jesus and his death mean? What does it mean to be faithful? How is God’s love present in our lives and our world?

May the legacy of Judas lead us to wider visions of God and the power of love. Amen.

Books used for information about Judas and the Gospel of Judas:

Reading Judas: The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity, Elaine Pagels and Karen L. King
Judas: The Definitive Collection of Gospels and Legends about the Infamous Apostle of Jesus, Marvin Meyer
The Lost Gospel of Judas: A New Look at Betrayer and Betrayed, Bart D. Ehrman