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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: July 23, 2023
Scripture Lesson: Mark 1:21-39
Sermon: What Can We Do?
Pastor:  Rev. Kim P. Wells

I’m not much of a movie person.  And I rarely pay any attention to something like the Academy Awards.  But this year, I was thrilled when “Everything Everywhere All At Once” won best picture.  I actually did see this movie – 2 times at home and 3 times in the theater.  As much as some people, many people, including people in my own family, thought this movie was horrible, a complete waste of time, I thought it was fantastic.  I have no desire to change your opinion of the movie, if you even saw it, which I assume most of you did not.  And I certainly doubt any of you saw it 5 times.  But to me, it was filled with the themes of our faith, of Christianity:  good overpowering evil, redemption, reconciliation, loving your enemy, being kind.  There are many messages in the movie that echo the themes of Christianity. 

Today, I am going to tell you about one scene in the movie that I absolutely love. 

To give you a bit of background, the story involves a Chinese American family that owns a laundromat.  The owners, a couple, are being audited by the IRS.  They go to the intimidating IRS office to meet with an auditor.  In the course of things, the husband and wife find themselves in a utility closet, think brooms and mops, and he tells her a ludicrous story about an evil villain trying to take over the worlds, and how he has come from another metaverse to tell her that after searching the universes, they landed on her as the one who needs to defeat the evil villain.  They have chosen Evelyn, this unremarkable wife, mother, business owner, daughter, to vanquish the evil villain. 

Evelyn is having none of this story.  She thinks the man, who appears to be her husband, is crazy.  She is worrying about the IRS audit.  And the Chinese new year party that night at the laundromat.  And her father who is visiting from China.  And her daughter who has a girlfriend, and making sure the Chinese grandfather does not find out about that.  And she is thinking about the laundry of the woman with the little dog in a stroller.  An evil villain threatening the metaverses and she is to vanquish this evil character, who, by the way, turns out to be her daughter?  She is having none of this.

After this preposterous situation has been revealed to Evelyn, in the broom closet at the IRS office building, the messenger from another metaverse, presenting as her husband, Waymond, pleads with her, begs her, implores her, WE NEED YOU!   And she replies, “Very busy today.  No time to help you.”  And she dismisses him.  I love that scene.

Even when presented with a far smaller mission, how many of us have thought, “Very busy today.  No time to help you.” 

We know about being busy.   Time on hold calling a utility company.  Time logging in and finding out about this and that.  Time getting the car fixed at the garage.  Time for the doctor’s appointments.  What happened to all the leisure time we were supposed to have due to the many labor saving devices we have access to and the increased productivity of our work which would mean less time on the job?  What happened to all that time we were supposed to have to pursue hobbies and re-creation?  Many of us are barely staying afloat . . . trying to manage everyday life.  We can sympathize with, “Very busy today.  No time to help you.”

And while we may not get squirreled away into a broom closet and have the hard sell put on us to save the world, we are certainly inundated daily with the sufferings of the world.  The trials and tribulations of people here in our own community, in our country, and all around the globe.  Thanks to the marvels of technology, it’s sort of like living in the utility closet of the movie – we are constantly being confronted with the needs of the world, brought home to our screens large and small, ubiquitous, showing us in glaring visuals the ravages of suffering around us.  Between the busyness that assaults us and the problems of the world that assault us, we can feel that we are under siege. 

As followers of Jesus, we want to be good people.  We want to serve others.  We want to help to make the world a better place – on Earth as it is in heaven.  We want to be compassionate.  We want to be kind and loving, even to our enemies.  We want to be generous.  These things are important to us.  We know that this is fundamentally who we are, created in the image of God.  We know that our highest good and our deepest joy is found in following Jesus and living for others.  But given our time constraints, our financial situations, our health issues, we face limitations. 

The person who requested a sermon on this topic wrote:  “I want to know that I’m fully living my personal ‘ministry’ to love and serve.  That’s hard to know when surrounded by so much need.”  Yes, it is!

Here we turn to the story we heard today of a typical day in the life of Jesus.  Let’s review his itinerary for that Sabbath day:

Go to weekly services and teach
Deal with the person with an unclean spirit who shows up at the service
Head to Simon and Andrew’s house
Heal Simon’s mother-in-law
Eat dinner, prepared by Simon’s mother-in-law
Cure all the people from the city who show up in the evening 
In the morning, while it is still dark, go to a deserted place and pray
Be interrupted by the disciples who say, “Everyone is searching for you.”
Head to neighboring towns to teach and heal  Repeat.  Repeat.  Repeat. 

That’s quite a schedule!  and Jesus didn’t have a day timer or a calendar app to keep him organized!  He was truly busy.  Did he manage to brush his teeth?  Walk the dog?  Call his mother?  Do his PT exercises?  We don’t know.

What insights do we get from this story about how we can figure out what we are to be doing as followers of Jesus, in the face of limited resources and unlimited needs and suffering?

One thing we see in this story is Jesus going to the synagogue and going off alone to pray.  These are religious observances.  By participating in the ritual of weekly gathering for worship, Jesus stays grounded in the Jewish tradition, in the stories, and prayers, and readings and teachings that root his identity and his ministry.  So one part of being in touch with our ministry, who we are, and how we are called to serve, involves rooting ourselves in a faith community and engaging regularly in worship. 

Another dimension of this connection to tradition which informs our identity and our activity is spending time in prayer.  In quiet.  Being.  Not doing.  Maybe this is a time of Bible reading and devotional reading followed by reflection each day.  Maybe it is a walk in silence around the neighborhood.  Maybe it is sitting quietly for a few moments each day in your car during your lunch hour.  With the devices off.   And books closed.  Maybe the eyes closed, too.  Creating space – for reflection.  For things to settle.  To become clear.  To appear.  To resolve.  This can be a time to connect with reality beyond the minutiae of every day life which can be consuming.  And with the twenty four hour news cycle, we can be constantly made aware of all the suffering, pain, tragedy, injustice, and loss that goes on around us, yes 24/7.  Jesus shows us that we need take some time, each day, to step off the treadmill of life.  To reground and reset ourselves. 

Jesus routinely goes off alone to pray, to maintain his connection with God, with his true self, with his calling, so that he does not get derailed and detoured and distracted.  Another example of this is the story of Jesus going to pray in the garden of Gethsemane the night before the crucifixion.  He needs to center his spirit, shore up his purpose, ground his identity, so that he can face that ignominious death.

So we are shown that regular participation in our faith community and daily time in silence can help to keep us aligned with our ministry and purpose in life. 
After Jesus heals Simon’s mother-in-law, we are told, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons.  And the whole city was gathered around the door.  This sounds overwhelming.  Everyone.  That word is used on purpose, I believe.  It is supposed to sound like an onslaught.  The need is so great. 

We, too, have the world and its troubles lined up at the doors of our awareness each and every day.  And it is not just the village or city that we are in.  With the advances of technology, it is literally the needs of the whole world.  Well, if we are told the truth. . .  And, yes, it is overwhelming. 

Just this week, the cluster bombs, the heat, the fires. I finished reading the novel Demon Copperhead and that was an eye opener to suffering in our midst.  And surely there was another mass shooting. Somewhere. This week.

It can make you just want to crawl under a rock.  What can I do?  How can I make a difference?  How can I love and serve when the needs are so great?  What is my drop of water in this ocean of despair going to do? 

Again, let’s turn to Jesus to help us see how we can be making a difference, not only for others, but for our own lives because when we have purpose, we find our lives abundant and filled with joy.  When we look at the tradition we have of the ministry of Jesus, we see Jesus over and over again dealing with the people that he encounters in the course of his day to day life.  Someone comes up to him.  They line up at the door of the house where he is staying.  They appear where he is teaching like in the synagogue.   And Jesus stops and responds to them.  Regardless of his strategic plan, of his agenda, his schedule, he responds to those whom he encounters in the moment.  This can help us in our discernment about fulfilling our ministry.  Are we paying attention and responding to those who come across our path, literally, who are in need? 


The last time I went to visit someone in Bayfront Hospital,  I went out to the parking garage to drive back to church.  I had the windows open on the car to let the heat out.  When I got to the exit of the garage, I stopped for a pedestrian walking down the sidewalk in front of the garage.  As she walked in front of the car, she called out to me and asked if I was going past the McDonald’s on 4th St.  I said I was, and she proceeded to open the passenger door and get into the car telling me that it was hot and she needed a ride.  To be honest, she really didn’t give me an opportunity to reflect on whether I wanted to do this or not, so there really wasn’t much discernment on my part.  She was in the car.  I really couldn’t ask her to get out.  So I introduced myself and told her I was the pastor of Lakewood United Church of Christ on 54th Ave. S.   She had heard of our church.  She told me her cousin was a pastor and she went to his church.  When we got to McDonald’s she told me where to go, a few blocks into the neighborhood, and she asked me to stop, and she thanked me and got out.  Well, that was interesting.

But we can become so caught up in our plans and schemes and schedules that we neglect the need that is right in front of us.  Maybe is it a need that we have ourselves, that we aren’t paying attention to.  So, one thing I would say is look at the example of Jesus, and deal with what is in front of you.  Train your eyes, ears, and heart, to notice and respond to what comes your way, literally, in the course of your day.

Now, there is much that comes our way via the media and technology.  How are we to deal with that?  We can simply turn off our device.  Power down.  Shut out the need, the pain, the suffering.  One way to navigate the media onslaught of need and trouble is to notice, what makes you want to cry?  When you hear about something and it brings tears to your eyes, pay attention.  Maybe that is something that you need to think about responding to or helping with.  Maybe that is an issue that you could get involved with. 

Last week after church someone came up to me and told me about something on National Public Radio about the earth entering a new era, the Anthropocene.  And it is demarcated by the destructive impact of humans on the environment of the planet.  When the person told me about this, the person had glassy eyes.  Almost teary.  That to me is an indicator that this is an issue that person may want to get involved with, making a difference. 

So think about, what makes you cry?  What breaks your heart?  That may lead you to the ministry that is needed from you, and that you need to pursue for your highest good.

In the story we heard today, Jesus tells his disciples they are going to neighboring villages, to proclaim the Good News.  “For that is what I came out to do.” That is what Jesus needed to do.  This reminds us that we are to do what we are needed to do.  To do our part.   Which no one else can do.  Fulfill our calling, make our contribution.  And it is not to end suffering in the world.  It is not to defeat evil for all time.  It is not to stop all the pain and injustice in the world.  It’s not to be everything to everyone everywhere all at once. No one can do that alone.  Even Jesus needed disciples, followers, us, today, to work on all of that.  So no one of us is here to do it all.  We are here to do what we can do.  In this moment.  In this place.

At the United Church of Christ General Synod earlier this month in Indianapolis, the Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson was elected General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ, our highest office. Karen Georgia was a member of this church when she lived in St. Petersburg.  At one point during the meeting there was a 2 hour long Q and A with Karen Georgia in a jam packed convention center meeting room.  In response to one question she replied, First of all, I’m not interested in how big your church is, tell me about what you are doing. I LOVE that.  We don’t have to make excuses or try to be everything to everyone everywhere all at once.  Here.  Now.  Where we are.  Who we are.  What are we doing?  Remember Jesus called a rag tag group of disciples with full confidence in what they would do even though they continually try to undermine his selection process with their density.

At the end of the movie, “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” after all the transporting to other realities, and other versions of herself, after confronting evil in its many guises, including her daughter, the main character, the mother, Evelyn, comes back to this life, to the parking lot at the laundromat, and a conversation with her daughter with whom she has a very strained relationship.  She is there with her daughter.  And after all the metaverses, and powers, and glory, and fame, she tells her daughter, “No matter what I still want to be here with you.  I will always, always want to be here with you.”  She has found what she needs to do, what will bring her life meaning and joy, (the daughter’s name is Joy), and it is enough. 

We started with the question, Am I am fully living my personal ministry to love and serve?  First, remember – No one is expected to be everything to everyone everywhere all at once.  Then engage in discernment.  You’ve come to church.  That’s a good start right there.  How can you know what you are supposed to be doing?   Spend some time in quiet every day.  Notice the needs around you and respond.  Pay attention to what moves you, makes you cry, and find a way to make a difference.  Then you will know that you are doing what you have been put on this precious beautiful Earth to do.  And it is enough.  Amen. 






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

NOTE:  This sermon was preached at Naples United Church of Christ on Sunday June 4, 2023.   Rev. Kim Wells was invited to be a guest preacher.  Kim’s daughter, Rev. Angela Wells-Bean, is the Minister for Congregational Care at Naples UCC. 

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: June 4, 2023
Scripture Lesson: I Corinthians 12:3b-13
Sermon:  Still Smoking
Pastor:  Rev. Kim P. Wells

We moved to Florida in 1990 when Angela’s father was called to serve Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ in St. Petersburg.  We moved at Thanksgiving and then it was on to the Christmas season.  The congregation of Pilgrim Church was largely made up of retirees and they liked to get together for social events especially during the holidays.   So we were invited to numerous gatherings and it was a good way to get to know people.  I remember a conversation at a party in which one of the church members, John Bucklin, known as Bucky, a retiree, laughingly told me about how busy he was.  He told me that he and his spouse jokingly refer to December as their season of 3-event days.  They routinely have three scheduled events to attend most days in December.  I tried to appreciate this good natured poke at being retired.  But as a mother of 2 young children and used to working full time, I thought a three event day sounded like a vacation!

Yes, we are used to being busy in the Christmas season.  And then after the holiday, we put the tree and the decorations away and resume ‘normal’ life – many fewer three event days for some of us! 


In the early centuries of the Christian movement, there were three great holy day seasons each year.  Christmas, of course.  Easter.  Yes.  And, Pentecost.  These three festivals anchored the church year.  We celebrated Pentecost last week.  It’s the festival of red and flames and wind and speaking in various languages.  You probably had red paraments on the altar and pulpit and lectern last Sunday.  The pastor probably wore a red stole.  At our church we had windmakers which the congregation uses to make sound effects during the reading of the scripture referring to the wind. 

But it is the week after Pentecost, and like the week after Christmas when the tree and wreaths are put away, we have likely put Pentecost away for another year.

In the Pentecost story in the book of Acts, we are told that over 3,000 people were baptized that day.  What a success!  But their mission did not end when everyone went home from Jerusalem at the end of the Festival of Pentecost.  Those disciples went on to carry their message of love far and wide over many years.  And it is because of their efforts, those simple country people, who were not sophisticated or well educated, that we are here today.  And the compelling message that galvanized their mission was spreading the universal, unconditional love of God.

Dr. Stephen Patterson, once a professor at Eden Seminary where your former interim minister, David Greehaw, was president, is now a professor at Willamette University in Oregon.  He is a scholar of religion, early Christianities, the historical Jesus, and the New Testament.  He has written a book that outlines a reconstruction of an early Christian creed, the good news that the followers of Jesus repeated as a statement of their core beliefs and their mission.  This creed has echoes in the verses that were read today from 1 Corinthians.  Here is how Patterson translates what he calls the ‘forgotten creed’:


You are all children of God:
There is no Jew or Greek;
There is no slave or free;
There is no male and female;
For you are all one.

[See The Forgotten Creed: Christianity’s Original Struggle against Bigotry, Slavery, and Sexism by Stephen J. Patterson.]

This is the essence of the teachings of the earliest followers of Jesus.  To me, this forgotten creed expresses the kind of community that the church is still called to be today.  Community that is egalitarian, not patriarchal, not sexist, not stratified, not biased or prejudiced in any way.  If this seems dreamy now, it was even more visionary in the early centuries of the Christian movement in the context of the Roman Empire which was founded on patriarchy and class division and in which people owned slaves and women were considered property as well.

Yet even in that context, Christians embraced this creed:

You are all children of God:
There is no Jew or Greek;
There is no slave or free;
There is no male and female;
For you are all one.

This creed remains an expression of the core mission of the church today.  And we know that there is still a lot of work for our churches to be doing to create this kind of radical egalitarian community.  And Naples UCC is blessed to have the expertise of associate pastor Angela Wells-Bean who was well-trained in diversity, equity, and inclusion as a


sociology major at New College  — back when Florida still had DEI.  Angela is a wonderful resource for pursuing this egalitarian vision for the church.  

This creed expresses the mission the disciples were given on Pentecost.  They were able to speak to everyone; to reach out to all.  The church is called to create community where all are beloved — where it doesn’t matter where you are from, whether you are a citizen or an immigrant, where it doesn’t matter if you are a CEO of a Fortune 500 company or a janitor, where it doesn’t matter how you vote, where gender does not matter and all loving relationships are affirmed and there are bathrooms for everyone.  And where there is a safe, clean natural environment to support human and other than human life.  One beloved human community created in the Divine Image.  The body of Christ.  One body with different parts, yet an organic whole.

We may have put away the red paraments, and the windmakers, and the red candles, but the work of the church is not done.  And the power of the Spirit being given to the church has not diminished. 

I am not a movie person and I seldom watch TV.  My spouse loves movies.  At least once a week he asks me, Wanna watch a movie?  I politely suggest he to go ahead — without me.  Once in a while someone suggests a movie and I make it a point to watch it especially if recommended by a parishioner.  But generally speaking movies are not on my menu.

So, several months ago, our son Malcolm and partner, Samantha, mentioned there was a movie they wanted to watch with us.  We scheduled it.  I don’t say no to our kids!  They told us the name but not much else.  I looked into it a bit so that I would have some context that might help me to appreciate it more. Instead of being illuminated I was confused by what I read.  So I thought I’ll just watch politely and see what’s what.

So, we watched the movie.  And I found myself thinking about it.  Like every day.  And I thought I would like to see it again.  Maybe on the big screen so that I could see better what was going on. 

Then, months later, lo and behold, the movie was in the theaters and I went to see it  —  three times.   By now you’re probably wondering what the heck the movie was!  Well, here goes.  Everything Everywhere All At Once.  How many of you have seen it?  Now, in our family, there seem to be very strong feelings about this movie.  Love it. Me.  Or hate it.  Angela.  Not much in between.  And that seems to be the case in the wider culture.  Either you think it is great or you think it’s garbage, a waste of time.  If you have any opinions about this movie, don’t look to me to change your mind. 

To give you a bit of background, the story involves a Chinese American family that owns a laundromat.  The owners, a couple, are being audited by the IRS.  They go to the IRS office to meet with an auditor.  In the course of things, the husband and wife find themselves in a utility closet, think brooms and mops, and he tells her a ludicrous story about an evil villain trying to take over the worlds, and how he has come from another metaverse to tell her that after searching the universes, they landed on her as the one who needs to defeat the evil villain.  They have chosen Evelyn, this unremarkable wife, mother, business owner, daughter, to vanquish the evil villain. 

Evelyn is having none of this story.  She thinks the man, who appears to be her husband, is crazy.  She is worrying about the IRS audit.  And the Chinese new year party that night at the laundromat.  And her father who is visiting from China.  And her daughter who has a girlfriend, and making sure the Chinese grandfather does not find out about that.  And she is thinking about the laundry of the woman with the little dog in a stroller.  An evil villain threatening the metaverses and she is to vanquish this evil character, who, by the way, turns out to be her daughter?  She is having none of this.

After this preposterous situation has been revealed to Evelyn, the messenger from another metaverse, presenting as her husband, Waymond, pleads with her, begs her, implores her, WE NEED YOU!   And she replies, “Very busy today.  No time to help you.”  And she dismisses him.  I love that scene. 

So, Pentecost the third big festival of the church year is over.  We have celebrated the birthday of the church.  And the power of the Holy Spirit.  And the monumental calling of the church to create egalitarian community.  And ‘the season’ is over.

But the Spirit still has work for us to do.  We are all in the church because we have been called, we have received the Spirit, we are needed to fulfill the mission of Jesus and spread the message of the forgotten creed year in and year out.  There is still evil to be vanquished in the world, and we are called to confront evil by creating communities where everyone is welcome and loved and all are equally valued.  We are to include people of all ethnic backgrounds, all gender and sexual identities, and people of all financial means or lack there of, yes, even the houseless, with everyone valued, respected, and treated with dignity.  We have been given work that needs to go on all year, not just at the holy days.  The Spirit is still smoking with power, revving up, blasting us, for this mission even though the red banners have been put away.  “Very busy today.  No time to help you.”  Never.  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.