Category: Sermon Texts

LAKEWOOD UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
2601 54th Avenue South  St. Petersburg, FL  33712
On land originally inhabited by the Tocabaga
727-867-7961
lakewooducc.org
lakewooducc@gmail.com

Date: August 6, 2023
Scripture Lesson: Genesis 2:15-3:28
Sermon: Origins
Pastor:  Rev. Kim P. Wells

School starts this week.  I don’t know about the students and teachers, but I know many parents are happy about this!  This church has always had several teachers among the members and this is helpful for giving insight into what is going on in schools and the education process.  And one thing a teacher will tell you is that if you let a student know that you think that they are not capable, that they are slower, that they are not competent, that they are dumb, it’s very likely that the student will fulfill those low expectations.  If a teacher expects a student to behave badly, or to do badly on their assignments, they probably will.  Teachers have a lot of power over student achievement through how they message their expectations.

Expect people, in general, to act badly and they are more likely to do just that. 

And it turns out, that is kind of how it works out with the doctrine of original sin.  This concept, largely based on the story we heard this morning from Genesis, posits that people were born to perfection in Eden.  But the serpent enticing Eve to eat the forbidden fruit and to give it to Adam ended all that.  And now humanity lives in a state of original sin, sin that is part and parcel of our inescapable human identity.  This doctrine holds that original sin defines us.  We are essentially disobedient to the will and way of God.  And our only way to redemption, salvation, to reconciliation with God, is through the death of Jesus on the cross.  He paid for our sins so that we may receive the grace and forgiveness of God. 

This doctrine expects the worst from humans.  And establishes a transactional framework for the relationship between humanity and God with Jesus paying the debt for humanity.  The doctrine of original sin posits a fundamentally depraved humanity and a score-keeping God.  And as a teacher can tell you, you are probably going to get what you expect from people. 
Expect people, in general, to act badly and they are more likely to do just that. 

Original sin basically expects people to be bad.  It creates a victim mentality.  And that leads to acting out – through violence, greed, abuse on an individual level as well as on a societal level from the Crusades to the Holocaust and beyond. 

And with this doctrine rooted in the story of Adam and Eve and the serpent, we see the ravages that it has wrought in terms of sexism, patriarchy, the denigration of women.  If people are miserable worms, fallen, fundamentally sinful by nature, then until they are ennobled through the blood of Jesus, they can be treated in a demeaning and degrading manner, especially women since it was Eve, a woman, who brought this whole mess upon us.   

The whole system of original sin sets up hierarchies and power dynamics that invite, not surprisingly, abuse and domination.  And when it happens, it is justified by the doctrine of original sin.  What can you expect?  Humanity is fallen, after all. 

Some years ago, I went on a spiritual pilgrimage to Scotland with Sue Sherwood, a retired UCC pastor and a member of this congregation, currently serving Trinity UCC here in St. Petersburg.  While we were in Edinburgh, we went to visit Philip and Ali Newell, well known theologians of the Celtic tradition.  Some of you may have read some of Newell’s books.  Sue knew the Newells from attending a retreat that they had led at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico.  In the course of the conversation with the Newells, Philip, an ordained pastor in the Church of Scotland, who has been the executive director of the Iona Community, told us that he would not take his son to a church were right up front in the beginning of the service they started by telling him he was, to put it more delicately, a pile of defecation.  This was Newell’s take on having a prayer of confession at the beginning of worship every Sunday.  Maybe you’ve noticed, we don’t do that here at Lakewood Church.

So how did the church come to embrace this damaging doctrine which continues to pervade Christianity? The concept originated not with Genesis but is associated with St. Augustine of Hippo, a bishop of Africa who lived from 345-430 CE. This doctrine was appealing to church leaders and political/governmental leaders because it created a path for control, punishment, domination, and dependence on the church.  The message:  You are essentially bad.  You need the church, mediating the grace of God through Jesus Christ, to save you from suffering for eternity in hell.  This gave power to the church.

We want to be aware that the story of Adam and Eve and the apple was part of Jewish scripture for centuries before the emergence of the Jesus movement.  And this was not the way it was used or interpreted.  There is no doctrine of original sin in Judaism.  In good Jewish fashion, the story was expected to have multiple meanings and it did.  It was seen as a myth, a formation story, that helps to explain why things are as they are for humanity in general, and for the Jewish people in particular in a specific historical context.  And in the Jewish tradition, in ancient times as well as today, this story is not used to project a doctrine like the Christian concept of original sin.  For Jews the story is used to explain free will, choice, curiosity, our proclivity for testing limits, and then in the aftermath of the story, it is used to explain social roles and the human condition. 

There have been theologians and mystics throughout the Christian tradition who have also found many messages in this story of Adam and Eve and the serpent and the tree beyond the doctrine of original sin.  Among other things, it can be seen as a coming of age story helping humans to understand their free will and its implications.

In his book, Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality, Catholic theologian and teacher Matthew Fox makes a case for the fundamental goodness of creation and the human species.  He draws on the Bible and theologians throughout church history that have kept alive the essential message that creation and people are good.  Yes, people have the capacity for sin.  For hurting ourselves.  Others.  And creation.  Absolutely.  But the whole enterprise of creation and life is essentially an expression of goodness and love.  He posits that a faith rooted in the goodness of people encourages self acceptance, care for others and the earth, creativity, and mutuality.  Yes, there is sin.  People are not perfect, but they are good.  And Fox makes the case that this kind of foundational theology creates a path to beloved community. 

At one point in this seminal theological book of the 20th century, Fox tells a story about his dog which helps to shine light on the problems with the doctrine of original sin and the positives of the concept of original blessing.  Here’s the story:

“Thomas Aquinas [a 13th century Catholic theologian and philosopher] also taught that people are changed more by pleasure than by anything else.  I have often found this to be the case.  Take my spiritual director, who is my dog, for example.  If he wants to chase a squirrel in the backyard and I don’t want him to, what are my options?  Well, there is, because I live in America, the military option:  I can shoot him, or the squirrel, or both.  I could lock him in a closet; I could reason with him, though I would be sure to lose.  My best option is to know him well enough to know a pleasure (blessing) greater to him than chasing a squirrel in the backyard.  It happens that I do.  To be invited out the front door for a walk is a greater pleasure.  The result?  He forgets the squirrel in the backyard.  Yes, pleasure and blessing will indeed change people and structures.  I believe that one price the West has paid for ignoring blessing theology is that Christianity has very few tactics for social change. . .” [Original Blessing:  A Primer in Creation Spirituality, Matthew Fox, p. 55.]

I believe the task of the church is to help us understand that we are fundamentally good and that we are eternally loved.  Yes, we are imperfect.  Yes, we screw things up.  Yes, we make mistakes.  Individually and as a society.  And as a culture.  And as a species.  We have the capacity for incredible harm and evil.  But we are inherently good.  And we are created in the image of God, a God that is forgiving, loving, and imaginative.  And the church needs to be cultivating that kind of image of humanity.  Expecting goodness, compassion, and creativity.  And creating a world that encourages that.  A reliance on the doctrine of original sin seems to have made a mess of things.  Like Matthew Fox, I believe that the church can help to bring the world to health and wholeness through an emphasis on original blessing and not original sin. 

We close with inspiring words from the cellist Pablo Casals:

“When will we teach our children in school what they are?  We should say to each of them:  Do you know what you are?  You are a marvel.  You are unique.  In all of the world there is no other child exactly like you.  In the millions of years that have passed there has never been another child like you.  And look at your body — what a wonder it is! Your legs, your arms, your stunning fingers, the way you move!  You may become a Shakespeare, a Michelangelo, a Beethoven.  You have the capacity for anything.  Yes, you are a marvel.  And when you grow up, can you then harm another who is, like you, a marvel?”

May we teach that not only to students in school but to adults in church.  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.

LAKEWOOD UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
2601 54th Avenue South  St. Petersburg, FL  33712
On land originally inhabited by the Tocabaga
727-867-7961
lakewooducc.org
lakewooducc@gmail.com

Date: August 27, 2023
Scripture Lessons: Isaiah 43:18-19 and Mark 12:1-12, 38-44
Sermon: Talkin’ ‘Bout Evolution
Pastor: Rev. Kim P. Wells

In 1859 Charles Darwin published, On the Origin of Species.  He had worked on his theories for many years following up on the work of Alexander von Humboldt among others.  And thus we have the theory of evolution, an explanation of what is readily observable in the natural world.  And it is so beautiful to think that Creation has built in adaptability eternally perpetuating life.  The power of the life force and the genius of nature are astounding and the theory of evolution helps us to see and appreciate that. 

But the theory of evolution has also been controversial, in some measure among scientists but more often in the realm of religion.  Just after On the Origin of Species was published, there was a debate in Oxford between the prestigious biologist Thomas Huxley and Bishop Samuel Wilberforce of the Church of England.  Apparently, Wilberforce provocatively asked Huxley if he was related to an ape on his grandmother’s side or his grandfather’s side.  Huxley replied that he would rather be descended from an ape than a bishop. 

The theory of evolution was radical and hotly debated.  But the theory of evolution is not in conflict with the Bible or Christian teachings.  In fact, it reinforces much of our Christian belief system – the eternal love of God constantly being made manifest in new ways, a constantly renewing and regenerating web of life.  An echo of the words from the prophet Isaiah, “Look, I am doing something new.”  Beautiful!

Someone recently emailed me and included in the email, as an aside, was the question:  “Why can’t Christianity evolve faster?”  I found the use of the word ‘evolve’ interesting.  Surely religion is always adapting and adjusting to new circumstances.  Evolving. 

But the person who sent the email admitted to not believing most of what is said in church even though she is a regular attender and she thinks most people in the pew with her share her views. 

So, we give some thought to what keeps Christianity entrenched in beliefs, creeds, dogma, tenets, language, and practices that many people don’t really adhere to, even many who go to church. 

Let’s start with the scripture lesson from Mark that we heard today.  Here is Jesus, teaching and manifesting the core values and teachings of Judaism, and the religious leaders and authorities are out to get him.  The church, like any institution or organization, has a power structure.  And that power structure is maintained by perpetuating certain beliefs and practices which benefit the leaders of the religion, as well as, hopefully, the people.  And the leaders are trained to maintain that structure and to keep benefitting from it.  So, part of why Christianity does not evolve faster is because there are people, educational institutions, buildings, gorgeous buildings, property, money, schools, books, traditions, language, music, and so much more dedicated to indoctrinating people in a certain belief system.  Christianity, the church, has a huge investment in the way things are and have been.  Like those religious authorities in Jesus day, the power structure of the church, in its many forms, does not want the boat rocked. 

And that is emphasized in the story of the poor widow.  Jesus challenges the assumptions of his day around money and worth.  He cites the widow as a model and casts dispersions on the gifts of the wealthy people.  Well, you can’t run a temple like that – alienating your biggest donors, scraping by on pennies.  How will they pay for the sacrifices (from which they eat) and for their fancy robes and vestments, and the golden candlesticks, and all the rest?  As Matthew Fox, Creation theologian puts is, “A particular work of transformation that Jesus undertook was the task of transforming religion itself.  He was not pleased with the way things were going in the religion of his time.  He did not approve of the privileges of its leaders and the insensitivity to the poor that certain religious leaders and structures exhibited.” [Original Blessing:  A Primer in Creation Spirituality, Matthew Fox, p. 304.]  We see that in the reading we heard from the gospel of Mark, and this confrontation with the religious authorities of his day is what lead to Jesus’ death. 

So one reason that Christianity doesn’t evolve faster is because of the leadership, power, and resources invested in the way things are.

Another reason that Christianity does not evolve faster is that many things are changing.  There is more change in our lives than ever before in the history of humanity.  The pace of the increase of new knowledge is exponential.  There are constantly new things to deal with and adapt to.  In this whirlwind of change, people can become desperate for something to hold on to that is not changing.  Like the church.  You can go to church and they are doing things the way they have always done them.  OK some churches added drums, screens, and chairs instead of pews, a facelift, but the essential message is the same.  And that gives people comfort in the face of the battering pace of change.

In 1993 our church led a delegation of local UCC folks to St. Petersburg, Russia to visit our sister church.  We brought donations of medical supplies and other things.  We did a lot of sightseeing and visiting churches.  We went to many services of the Russian Orthodox church where the people stand for the service, except when they kneel or lay down prostrating themselves on the floor of the church.  One special festival service we attended involved standing for 3 hours, in a very crowded, hot sanctuary.  I started to feel light-headed and had to go outside and sit down.  When we had an opportunity, we asked a priest why the churches did not have seats.  It is tradition.  Not theology.  Just tradition.  And he told us that there were a lot of changes happening in the society at that time and that the church had to stay the same to give people a sense of comfort and stability in the face of all the change. 

I believe that is part of what is holding back the evolution of the church today.  People like to have something familiar and comfortable that they can count on in the face of exponential change.

A third reason that I believe the church in America does not change is that here we have a particularly individualistic expression of Christianity.  Believing that Jesus died for my sins, and Jesus will get me into heaven, is very popular here.  We like our individualism.  So we like a Christianity where Jesus saves  –  me.  People are holding on to that.  While things around us go askew, people can feel like they are going to be ok because Jesus is taking care of it for us.  And as far as eternal salvation is concerned, I only have to worry about myself.  So the individualistic version of Christianity that is popular in America is another reason why I think Christianity is so slow to evolve here.  It’s me and Jesus.  We like a religion that is anthropocentric – focussed on humanity – with humanity taking priority over other life forms and Creation itself.  It’s about me.  And we like a religion that is anthropomorphic with a God that is like a super hero, who comes to save us.  This all feeds into our cultural assumptions and makes the version of Christianity that is prevalent in the US comfortable and familiar.  It ties into our cultural sensibilities.  This I think is another part of what is slowing the evolution of Christianity in our context.

And here is a fourth thing that I think is slowing the evolution of Christianity.  We’re too darned busy trying to keep our lives together.  This was mentioned by a preacher at the UCC General Synod that I attended in June in Indianapolis.  The preacher was the head of Council for Health and Human Service Ministries of the United Church of Christ, Jamar Doyle.   The theme for the event, was ‘Making All Things New,’  an echo of the verses we heard today from Isaiah.  Here is one of the ideas shared in the sermon: Tradition is listening to the instruction of dead people.  And why do we do this?  Because we are so overwhelmed with every day life that we just go on auto pilot with church.  We go through the motions.  We’ve always done it this way.  Doyle labeled this being ‘cruise control Christians.’  Exactly.  We’re too overwhelmed and busy and battered by life to discern, examine, and reflect.  We just go on auto pilot. 

So these are four responses to the question, Why doesn’t the church evolve faster?  There are many more things that could be said, but this is a good beginning.

Having said all of this, let’s remind ourselves of a couple of things.  Our faith tradition is set up to be always evolving and changing. 

The beauty of the Bible, of our faith tradition, is that it tells the stories of how people in many different times and places have experienced Divine Love, the presence and power of God.  We have inherited many different stories and many different teachings, with many layers, that are intended to show how truth has been made manifest in all ages and all times.  And it is up to each generation to adapt religious beliefs and practices so that the way of Divine Love speaks to that time and to the needs of that age and to those circumstances.  That’s how it works with a living God.  Religion should be constantly changing and adapting to be always freshly meeting the needs of the current population.  That is how evolution is built into our sacred texts and our tradition.

And the church, the faith community, has always had a variety of expressions, many different streams, and it has been constantly changing, as it should.

At the General Synod, the newly elected General Minister and President, Karen Georgia Thompson, who was a member of this church when she lived in St. Petersburg, challenged the church to change.  She told us that what we are doing on Sunday morning is fine for those of us who are in church.  But we are living among a population of people who are seeking spiritual sustenance, meaning, practice, and guidance, who are never going to find their way into a service on Sunday morning.  So, what will we do to reach out to these people?

To me, that is the crux of the evolution of the church today.  We have this desperately needed message of love, justice, hope, community, purpose, and meaning.   We have a spiritual message about the goodness and sacredness of life, and about caring for one another and Earth as one community.  We have the Gospel,  Good News, that we have received from the tradition and teachings of Jesus.  And it is a message desperately needed in our context today.

And a lot of the traditional messaging of the church is hampering Christianity from evolving and meeting the needs of people today.  In fact, there is a mass exodus from church.  And for good reason.  A lot of what the church focusses on is not meeting the spiritual needs of people in today’s world.  It is not conveying the transforming power of universal, unconditional Divine Love. 

I met someone this week who told me that he used to go to church.  But he noticed that the people in the church would gossip, were petty, were selfish, and actually mean.  They sang all the songs and said all the prayers and felt there was a place waiting for them in heaven.  But this new friend felt that the church was hypocritical.  All that talk of love, etc. but the people weren’t all that loving.  He also mentioned all the harm that the church has done, excluding people, etc.  So, he made the decision to leave the church.  And this, by the way, was a Presbyterian church.

In response, first I told him that I could spend hours telling him about all the harm the church has done and what’s wrong with the church.  I get it. 

But then I told him, in our church, we try to be Jesus followers.  Believe what you will, but we try to follow the teachings of Jesus about how to live, how to treat other people, and how to work for justice and good in the world.  Love your neighbor.  Love your enemy. 

To me, beliefs about heaven, Jesus’ bodily resurrection, the miracles in the New Testament, Jesus being God, all of that, that’s up to the individual to sort out in a way that makes sense for them, but embracing the sacred and living out love for ourselves, for others, for Creation, and working for peace, like Jesus did, that’s what we try to focus on.  My new friend who has left the church gave me a hug.  It was sweet. 

The church has so much to offer the world, the people of our community, in terms of helping us ground ourselves in love, and offering support in keeping our spirits centered while we are buffeted by the gales of greed, violence, and self centeredness that assault us.  The church helps us to find a sense of purpose and hope that give life meaning and help to get us through difficult times.  The church offers community in which to share joy and pain.  The church has so much that people today are looking for.  But offering those gifts to the wider world is being hampered in part by the traditional language and tenets and practices that the church is holding on to.

Here’s what I know.  Evolution is real.  I’ve got apes on my grandmother’s side and my grandfather’s side.  Things change and adapt to perpetuate life.  Humanity needs to adapt to a more loving and just and peaceful way of inhabiting this Earth to stay alive as a species.  And humanity is going to evolve in this direction to perpetuate life, human and other than human.  The stories of the Bible tell of a God that foments life, that supports life, that perpetuates life, that renews life.  As we heard from Isaiah, “Forget the events of the past, ignore the things of long ago!  Look, I am doing something new!  Now it springs forth — can’t you see it?  I’m making a road in the desert and setting rivers to flow in the wasteland.”  So, I believe that the message of love and compassion that is at the heart of way of Jesus, is going to evolve to promote the thriving and flourishing of life.  This may or may not happen through Christianity and the church as we know it. 

At Lakewood Church we are trying to be part of this evolution, trying to promote it, trying to fan the flames of transition to a new version of Christianity.  And we are excited about having the congregation of Trinity UCC as partners in this ministry. 

Evolution is happening.  All around us.  All the time.  In nature, and in our nature.  And Love will prevail.  Life will flourish and thrive.  That is the essence of our faith.  It’s the message of the resurrection whether or not Jesus’ body came out of a tomb.  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.

LAKEWOOD UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
2601 54th Avenue South  St. Petersburg, FL  33712
On land originally inhabited by the Tocabaga
727-867-7961
lakewooducc.org
lakewooducc@gmail.com

Date: September 3, 2023
Scripture Lessons: Ecclesiastes 9:1b-4 & Zechariah 9:12
Sermon: Prisoners of Hope
Pastor: Rev. Kim P. Wells

I would like to share a recent obituary with you: 

“Agnes Abuom, the influential ecumenical leader and peacemaker, died May 31 after a short illness.  She was 73.

“An Anglican layperson born in northwest Kenya in 1949, Abuom’s ecumenical roots ran deep.  She had Anglican, Catholic, and Pentecostal family members.  Her political engagement also emerged early, during her student days at the University of Nairobi.

“In 1976, Abuom’s political involvement forced her to flee Kenya for Sweden.  She returned to Kenya in 1989 and was imprisoned for her opposition to President Daniel arap Moi.  In 1997, she launched her own agency, TAABCO Research and Development Consultants, which coordinated social action programs in the Horn of Africa.

“Abuom was president of the World Council of Churches from 1999-2006.  In 2013, she became the first woman and the first African to serve as moderator of the World Council of Churches’ Central Committee.  Abuom was also closely associated with the All Africa  Conference of Churches, the National Council of Churches of Kenya, and Religions for Peace.

“Abuom’s wholehearted commitment to justice was infectious.  ‘When Dr. Agnes Abuom is done talking to you,’ wrote an interviewer in 2021, ‘you want to do either of two things; punch the air and scream, ‘We shall rise!’ Or sit in a quiet corner and ask yourself, ‘What’s my contribution to humanity?’’” [The Christian Century, August 2023, p. 22.]
As long as we are a live dog and not a dead lion, as Ecclesiastes puts it, we have power, and what are we going to do with that power?  To me, just from this obituary, Abuom seems to be using her power to spread hope.  As long as we are alive, we have the power to make a difference, and she wanted everyone to know that. 

The message of the gospel of Jesus, the core of our faith tradition, is that the realm of God is within us and among us.  Right here.  Right now.  And we are to bear witness to that.  That is how we know that things should be better than they are – for humanity, for other than human life, for the planet and for Creation. We get a glimpse, an inkling, or like Abuom, an IMAX vision, of the reality of God, within us and among us.  And that gives us hope that things can be better for all of us. 

Who was most impacted by the hurricane this past week?  Those who are made poor, who are sidelined, and marginalized.  Who don’t have the money to go to a hotel or a shelter.  Or to afford insurance for their home.  I talked with a friend of the church who is houseless, and it was a severe strain for him that the buses were not operating on Wednesday.  He told me that he had to walk all day to take care of his affairs.  And he wore his best shoes.  But they were worn out by all the walking.  And how will he get another pair of good shoes? 

There are many around us, among us, who struggle – in so many ways.  Trying, trying, trying and never feeling like they are in a stable situation let alone getting ahead.   It can be hard to remain hopeful that things will get better. 
But that is part of how our society is set up:  There are leaders and people in positions of power who want the population to be in a constant condition of struggle and despair.  Who want people to be afraid and anxious.  Who promote dualistic thinking – us and them.  Because then people are easier to control.   Divide and conquer.  Keep people distracted with fighting amongst themselves.  Keep people focussed on the perceived threat from their neighbors, so they don’t figure out what the people on the tippy top are doing to take advantage of those underneath.  It’s an age old story. 

So, for these summer sermons, we were given the prompt: ‘I would like to hear a sermon about.’  There was this response:  “How to remain hopeful when nothing is going your way, when it seems the tables are turned against you.” 

Here is my response:  Come to church.  I know it sounds simplistic.  But come to church to be reminded that the realm of God is within you and among us.  Come to hear that you are precious and sacred.  Your life matters.  Come to be reminded that you are alive and powerful.  Come here to hear the truth:  That there are those who are actually turning the tables against you.  And that, in spite of that, we have the power to make this world a better place for all.  Love is more powerful than greed or hate.

Here in church we celebrate stories of people who have overcome.  And those stories are powerful and subversive.  The Bible is filled with those stories.  From the slaves of Egypt to the followers of Jesus.  And here in church we continue to bear witness to stories of liberation and transformation.  From the slaves of African descent, to the farmworkers, to the houseless people of the neighborhood, to the every day people of our congregation who have overcome so many challenges and struggles like lack of access to healthcare, and tragic grief, and demeaning discrimination.  Here in church, we are empowered by those stories.

Some years ago, the LUCC congregation made the decision to open the facilities of the church as a shelter to those who were houseless for 3 months.  We had 20-30 people stay here on the church premises.  And, yes, we heard their stories.  What they were dealing with.  But in the midst of that experience, several people from the church family, from the congregation, shared that they had been houseless.  They had experienced being shelterless.  While we had known those people for years, this had never come up.  Now we heard something new about them.  How they had overcome.  And those stories inspired compassion and hope for our houseless guests. 

Church is a place to celebrate hope.  If you want to stay in a state of despair and apathy and resignation, don’t come to church.   Because here at church we tell the truth about who we are and how things are and how we’ve overcome.   We celebrate the presence of the sacred within us and among us.  We infect one another with hope.  It’s contagious here.  When your hope is running low, there is someone here who will give you some of their hope to help you persist.  We rekindle hope in those whose hope is fading.  Here we rejoice that ‘We shall rise!’  And we ask ourselves what we can be doing to make things better.  There is power in church!

We’ll close with a story from India about a dog. 

“There was once a perfectly normal little dog  — neither fierce nor timid.  One day, this little dog wandered off to a nearby fairground, and found itself inside the hall of mirrors.

“The little dog took one look around, and saw hundreds of dogs staring back at it.  Terrified at being so surrounded, it began to bark and to bare its teeth.  To its horror, every one of the hundreds of other dogs did the same.  Suddenly the ordinary little dog was in the midst of a hostile army of strange and fearsome looking animals.  Its barking grew even more frantic and its growl more vicious.  It tried to bite the other dogs, but as soon as it got near to them, they too growled and tried to bite. 

“This might have gone on all night, but the little dog’s owner came looking for it.  As soon as the little dog caught sight of its owner and heard the familiar call, it began to wag its tail and jump up and down for joy.

“And yes, all the other dogs did the same.  And the little dog went home thinking that perhaps the big, wide world wasn’t quite as terrifying as it had first thought.”  [“The Ferocious Dog,” retelling of a traditional Indian story in One Hundred Wisdom Stories from Around the World by Margaret Silf, p. 108.]

At church, we see someone like Agnes Alboum in the mirror, or the person sitting next to you, or across the sanctuary, showing us the capacity for hope that is within us.  And the big, wide world isn’t quite as terrifying.  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.

LAKEWOOD UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
2601 54th Avenue South  St. Petersburg, FL  33712
On land originally inhabited by the Tocabaga
727-867-7961
lakewooducc.org
lakewooducc@gmail.com

Date: August 13, 2023
Scripture Lesson: Luke 15:11-32
Sermon: Transaction Cancelled
Pastor:  Rev. Kim P. Wells

The novel entitled The Colony by Audrey Magee takes place on an island off of the coast of Ireland in 1979.  The island is about 3 miles long and one mile wide so the residents form a very close knit community.  One character has lost her husband, her father, and her brother in a tragic storm as they were fishing and their boat went down.  Several times in the novel, which was recommended at an LUCC monthly Book Talk gathering, there is reference to waiting for the three men to return.  Though months, even years have passed, there is still this lingering faint hope? expectation? possibility? that one day, one of the men will wash back up out of the sea.  Their presence is still part of the fabric of the community and so is their absence.

In the story we heard today from Luke, there is also a lost loved one.  The father knows nothing about what has happened to his son.  He only knows that the son has left turning his back on his family and faith. The request for the inheritance was essentially wishing the father dead.  So this son is not only gone, but lost – to the community, family, morals, values, and culture that he was part of.
We are told of the father catching sight of the returning son from a long way off.  This father figure, who has been abandoned, has not given up on the son, on the son’s return.  We can imagine the father looking for the son, maybe even every day.  One day in one direction.  Maybe the next day in another direction.  The father has no information to go on.  Still, it seems the father looks, with hope?  expectation?  possibility?  for the son to return.

We are told that the father saw the son from far away.  How did he know the son?  Was the gait still the same?  The hair color?  The demeanor?  The height?  But a parent knows such things about a child.  A parent has the intimate knowledge needed to recognize the one coming, even from far off.

Then we are told that the father runs to greet the son.  Embraces him.  Kisses him.  It was unseemly for an elder land holder to run.  A landowner waited for people to come to him.  Seek him out.  Yet we are told of this father running to meet the son.  The son barely begins his prepared speech and the father cuts him off.  You’re home!  We must celebrate!  The best clothes are placed upon the son.  And a ring.  This is no hired hand, this is an heir. 

And the father in the story also goes to his other son who is resentful and angry.  The father  seeks him out.  Listens to him.  Affirms him and his place in the father’s heart and household. 

It seems that the love and joy of this father for both of his sons is irrepressible. 

In the Gospel of Luke, this story is presented as being told to a group of religious officials who are complaining that Jesus eats with tax collectors and sinners.  Tax collectors were rich and powerful people who were not accepted in the faith community, and sinners were outcasts, usually poor or sick, who were not accepted in the faith community.  Jesus had a reputation for socializing with the wrong people on both ends of the economic spectrum.

And here we are given an allegory that seems to portray a God who eagerly accepts all.  Wherever they are on the spectrum.  The wayward son and the steady, loyal son.  This is a portrait of a God who is a both/and God not an either/or God.  A God with open arms, awaiting all.  Not a transactional God opening a gate only for those who qualify, who can pay, who have earned their way, through their religious observance perhaps.  This is a story in which every person is beloved.  And there is nothing you can do about it. 

This God figure doesn’t make the younger son grovel, offering bread and water, sackcloth, ashes, kneeling, and tears.  This God responds with exuberance:  a fatted calf, a new robe, jewelry, dancing, merriment.  This is an irrepressibly joyful God eager to welcome all, especially those who have been lost. 

We get the New York Times each Sunday, and my spouse, Jeff, reads it all week, often while we are sitting together at the dining room table.  I am probably doing the crossword.  And he gives me a curated version of the weekly paper; telling me about the things he thinks I will find interesting.  A couple of weeks ago, he was telling me that apparently about 80% of Americans say that they believe in God.  Frankly that surprised me.  A little more investigation shows that only 56% believe in God as described in the Bible. [https://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-do-80-americans-believe-god-1782664]

Well, who is the God described in the Bible?  Do those 56% believe in God as portrayed in this story from Luke?  This prodigal father figure?  Or do they believe in the punitive God of other stories in the Bible?  Is it the creator God they believe in?  Or is it the God who raises Jesus from the dead?  What are the attributes of the God of the Bible that people believe in?  

I will tell you this.  If 56% of the people in this country believed in the God portrayed in this story from Luke, this would be a very different society.  We would be a people of lavish generosity and hope.  The government would be looking out for the wellbeing of all residents.  There would be no prison industrial complex, no school to prison pipeline.  Prejudice and bias would be much lower.  There would not be a group of one kind of people attacking another kind for asking them to move their boat as we saw recently.  We would not be in bondage to selfishness, greed, and individualism.   Because we would see that it is all grace not accounting. 

The God figure in the story from Luke, this is the God of Jesus.  This is the kind of God Jesus wants us to worship.  This is the sort of God Jesus wants us to see, know, and recognize.  This is the God Jesus teaches us to expect and to find – in ourselves.  And in each other.  A God of prodigal love.

Meister Eckhart, a Christian mystic who lived from 1260-1328, said, “God is at home; it is we who have gone out for a walk.”  [See Matthew Fox, Original Blessing, p. 161.]

May we make our way home to the God of this story, joyfully awaiting us, eager to welcome us.  Home.   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.

LAKEWOOD UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
2601 54th Avenue South  St. Petersburg, FL  33712
On land originally inhabited by the Tocabaga
727-867-7961
lakewooducc.org
lakewooducc@gmail.com

Date: August 20, 2023
Scripture Lesson: Luke 19:1-10
Sermon: Reconciliation and Forgiveness
Pastor: Rev. Kim P. Wells

“Today salvation has come to this house.”  These are the words proclaimed by Jesus in the story of Zacchaeus that we heard this morning.  This is the essence of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  This is the Good News.  Salvation has come to this house.  To us. To humanity.  To the world.  The word in the New Testament for salvation implies healing, restoration of well-being,  wholeness.   When we are told of Jesus declaring that salvation has come to Zaccheaus’ house, Jesus is declaring that the Gospel, the Good News, has come and has been received.  Zaccheaus is restored to right relationship – with himself, with the community, with God, and with Creation.  Yes, all is right with the world!

And this is the intent of the Good News.  To bring healing, wholeness, and restoration to what has gotten out of balance, to what has been distorted, to what has been violated.  The love and grace of God seeks to work in our lives and in our world in ways that foster reconciliation and restoration of relationships. 

We see this focus in many of the teachings of the gospels related to forgiveness.  Forgiveness is part of the path to the restoration of relationships.  In the teachings associated with Jesus, the disciples want to know how many times they must forgive and Jesus tells them 70 time 7.  That still sounds overwhelming.  Yet it shows the importance of forgiveness.  It is necessary for right human relationships.  There is a gospel story about a group of men ready to stone a woman caught in adultery.  There is no mention of the man who was also part of the infraction.  And in the story, Jesus tells the gathered would-be slayers, let the one without sin cast the first stone.  They slowly depart.  And Jesus tells the woman that he does not condemn her either.   A compelling portrayal of forgiveness and restoration.  The woman’s life is quite literally saved.  In another story, Jesus tells his followers, if you come to the altar with a gift and have an unresolved issue with someone in the community, put down your gift and go seek out the person and pursue reconciliation.  Then come back to the altar and make your gift.  Forgiveness and reconciliation are core teachings of Jesus.  And of course, there is the story of Jesus, declaring from the cross, “Forgiven them Abba, for they don’t know what they are doing.”  Perhaps something that could be said by every victim of the death penalty? 

The Gospel is about restoration and reconciliation; the pursuit of right relationships.  This has implications for our relationship with ourselves, with others, with society, with the Earth, and with God.  The Good News is about aligning ourselves to be in harmony with all of Creation.  And given our free will, our selfishness and greed, our fear, there is a lot of need for us to put the Gospel message to work healing and repairing relationships on many fronts. 

 I read something recently about how when people play video games with others and their faces are blurred so others don’t see them for who they are, when their identities are masked, they are more selfish.  [The Christian Century, August 2023, p. 10.]  There is less sense of being in relationship.

A similar dynamic comes into play on social media.  People say harmful things because they can do so relatively anonymously.  They don’t have to worry about having to see the person the next day at school or at work.  In the flesh.  So, the hurtful venom is spewed.  But there are few repercussions to real life relationships.  Today, we can do so much with our identities blurred.  And it can lead to damage in relationships.

Related to this, in December someone from the community, known to the church, broke into the church office and stole some checks from the check book.  The person has tried to cash some of those checks but the credit union has prevented it.  The person has been arrested and is out on bail.  There was a pretrial hearing in the case this past week.  Three of us from church went:  Mark Gibson, our church treasurer who has borne the brunt of the consequences in hours of time spent working with our financial institution and with the police and court system, Barbara Donohue, an advisor, and I.  I thought it was important for the person involved to see that we are people, that what he did had an impact on people who know him and are in relationship with him.  This isn’t just about a wooden door and some pieces of paper.  It isn’t even just about money and time.  It is about his relationship with people in the community.  We are not anonymous entities on line.  We are flesh and blood people.  And he has violated our trust and damaged our relationship with him.  We are staying involved to help to repair and restore that relationship. 

At the recent UCC General Synod in Indianapolis last month, the Rev. Dr. Carmen Lansdowne preached at the large Sunday afternoon service.  She is the moderator of the United Church of Canada.  She is the first indigenous woman to lead a denomination in Canada.   Her sermon was magnificent.   There is one thing she told us that I have not stopped thinking about.  She is descended from indigenous people who lived for 15,000 years on the land in her region of Canada.  She told us that 25-30,000 people lived in community on that land for all those years and in their language, in their culture, they don’t have the word ‘forgiveness.’   They don’t have a word like that.  There is no saying ‘I’m sorry’ or ‘I forgive you’. The implication is that when there was a problem, it was made right.  There was some kind of action taken to restore community and justice and right relationship.  They didn’t need to say something about forgiveness because they did something about forgiveness.

Think about how easy it is to say, ‘I’m sorry.’  Or to text:  ‘My bad.’  And that’s it.  Took care of it.  Did my part.  Problem over.  If it lingers, that’s on the other person. 

Friends, that’s just too easy.  True reconciliation and restoration especially after something significant, it takes more.  Look at Zacchaeus.  Jesus says – I’m coming over.  Zacchaeus is filled with delight.  He feels redeemed.  Welcomed back into the community.  Touched by Divine grace.  That is restoration between Zacchaeus and God.  But what about the community?  The people Zacchaeus has betrayed and extorted?  His victims?  They grumble.  So in his new state of reconciliation and restoration with God, Zacchaeus addresses himself to seeking right relationship with his community, his neighbors, his victims.   Zacchaeus commits to giving away half of all he has to poor people.  Ok.  Now you’re talking.  He is doing something.  Taking action.  Not just spewing a little air on a few words.  Then he mentions paying back anyone who has been cheated four fold.  This man has been truly touched by Divine Love.  He wants to make things right.  He wants to be restored to the community.  To himself.  He wants reconciliation.   And in joy he exudes generosity not just of words or of spirit but of restitution. That is true conversion of heart. 

This story of Zacchaeus has always been one of my favorites in the Bible.  Since I was a small child.  I have often thought about that.  Why this story?  Is it because of the Singing Nuns’ song about Zacchaeus that I heard a hundred times and loved to sing when I was small?  Is it because as a kid I loved to climb trees?  We would spend hours at the top of the willow trees in my best friend’s back yard.  But in reflecting on this story this week, I think one of the things I really love is that Zacchaeus takes direct action in response to the love of God he receives from Jesus.  He immediately sets about making things right.  I love that.  The taking action.  The doing something to make change, to implement justice, right relationship.  It’s not all head and heart, it’s the bank account, too.  Not just words, which can be powerful, but also behavior and action.  Not just theory but practice.  I love that. 

This month some 60 years ago, 250,000 people marched on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.  It was the largest demonstration for human rights in our nation’s history.  People were spell bound by what have become Dr. King’s iconic words painting the possibility of hope for the future for the people of this country and the world.  In the wake of the march, the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act were passed. 

In an editorial in the latest issue of the journal The Christian Century, editor Peter Marty,  talks about the  aftermath of the march:  “According to the American National Election Studies for 1956, 65 percent of White people believed the government should guarantee a job to anyone who wanted one and provide a minimum standard of living.  Heather McGhee, who has studied the ANES surveys extensively, notes that White support for these ideas cratered between 1960 and 1964, from nearly 70 percent to 35 percent.”  [The Christian Century, August 2023, p. 1.]  This was a back lash against civil rights legislation and federal programs benefitting African Americans. 

Doing something, taking action, to address race related inequity was not popular with the majority of Whites.  And that spirit continues today.  White people might be ok about talking an anti racist game, or the theory of equity, but when it comes to actually doing something, making restitution, redistributing resources, etc. that is when the controversy erupts.  Here in Florida, the government not only doesn’t want to do anything about creating right relationships among the diverse racial groups of our state but it also wants to mask, bury, and hide the truth about the wrongs that have been done to create the harm that is impacting all of our lives right now.

The Gospel of Jesus teaches us to tell the truth because the truth is what will set us free.  Set us free to say and do the things that can lead to forgiveness, reconciliation, and right relationship.  Zacchaeus knew what he had done was wrong and immediately took steps to make things right.  We need to know what we have been part of as a society and we need to be part of making things right on many fronts, not just race relations, otherwise the wounds just fester and poison the whole enterprise.  As we well know. 

In a country with our wealth and our resources, there is no reason, no reason, why every single person does not have a safe place to live and food to eat and needed health care.  Period.   We do not have this because laws in this country protect the amassing of wealth and limit the paying of taxes to fund the common good.  The reason we do not have housing, food, quality education and healthcare for all is not lack of resources.  It is lack of desire.  Lack of will.  Lack of moral vision. 

The gospel is Good News telling us that we have the power to make things right.  We are capable of pursing reconciliation and of making things right, no matter what has happened to cause harm and damage.  The Gospel is a message of ultimate healing and well being for everyone.  Reconciliation and forgiveness are powerful paths for bringing us to wholeness and joy.

Yes, this involves spiritual work, prayer, and interpersonal relations.  It involves our forgiving of ourselves, each other, and those who have gone before us.  It involves living into right relationship with God, however we conceive of God, and Creation.  And this work involves more than just how we feel or what we might say.  It also involves taking action.  Making things right.  Zacchaeus makes bold declarations of his intentions:  He gives half of his wealth to the poor.  And pledges to repay those cheated four fold.  And we know there were those who were extorted; that is how the system was set up.  Zacchaeus does this out of joy and delight.  In response to the Good News of the Gospel.  He does not have to remain an outcast.  He can be restored to the community.  And he wants to do his part to pursue reconciliation with the community.

Forgiveness and reconciliation.  This is not only something between us and God in our hearts.  It is not only something that Jesus does for our souls.  It is not only about making peace with yourself in your spirit and forgiving yourself or your family member or friend, with words.  Forgiveness and reconciliation are also about setting things right.  And making recompense for the damage that has been caused.  It is about making things right not just saying the right thing. 

In May at an ecumenical conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, leaders joined together to call for a global tax and economic system that restores the extensive resources appropriated from the African continent by global corporations.  The initiative emphasizes that global corporations have robbed Africa of millions of dollars through evasive tax practices while low income Africans, especially women, pay exorbitant consumption taxes.    “Our resources need to start working for us,” said Francis Kairu, a policy adviser at Tax Justice Network Africa.  “We need to ensure that tax is addressing inequality issues, including gender.”  And what is the inspiration for this tax reparations initiative in Africa?  Zacchaeus.  It is called the Zacchaeus Tax Campaign or ZacTax.  Those who have exploited the tax system are being called to repent and make reparations like Zacchaeus did.  [The Christian Century, August 2023, p. 17.]

The Gospel promises us the joy of living in right relationship even when we find ourselves up a tree like dear Zacchaeus.

May Zaccheaus continue to inspire us to take action – radical, drastic, profligate action – toward being in right relationship with ourselves, our God, our families and friends, the Earth, our society, and the entire human community.  There is much work to do.  And we have much to contribute!  What a glorious future we can create!  Yes, pray.  Yes, say things that show contrition and understanding.  Yes, ask for and offer forgiveness freely.  But also, take action.  Reach out.  Open your wallet.  Go out on a limb. That’s where the best fruit is.  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.