« God Is Good All The Time! | Main | An Irenic Spirit »
Reflecting on Reflections
By Riviera UCC | April 19, 2009
Reflecting on Reflections
a sermon based on John 20:19-31
given at Palm Bay, FL April 19, 2009, 2009
by Rev. Scott Elliott
Most Christians of the world celebrated Easter last Sunday, as we did here at Riviera United Church of Christ.
Actually I thought that our Easter services were very nice, with lots of visitors and friendly faces and the joy of the day here was uplifting!
While last week we observed our annual Easter services and celebration, did you know that we actually celebrate Easter every week?
Sabbath means “to cease,” and originally was celebrated as the last day of the week, the day God rested and ceased work. The Sabbath is the day we are commanded in the Bible to ourselves cease and rest and keep holy.
Some Christian traditions still celebrate the Sabbath on the last day of the week –usually from dusk on Friday to dusk on Saturday, but most churches have their day of rest and holiness on Sunday the first day of the week. Why? Because that is the day of the week the first Easter occurred and so the Sabbath was moved to Sunday as a weekly commemoration of Easter.
Every week, then, in a sense we honor Jesus’s resurrection by celebrating the day of the week he arose. In other words, in a very real sense every Sunday is an Easter Sunday at most churches.
Of course the truth is a lot of people do not go to church any more, so a lot of folks are missing out on those weekly Easter celebrations.
One of the reasons folks are shying away from churches seems to be that much of what is touted about Christianity by religious leaders – in the media, at least– seems irrational or unreasonable, or worse unloving and in contradiction to Jesus’ teachings.
Like it or not those versions of Christianity that push notions like prejudice and exclusion are what a number of people end up thinking the church is about, and that is a lot of what they are trying to avoid by not coming to church on Sundays. Who can blame them?
Through no real fault of their own, people often think of Christians as for oppression, and that we can be hateful and mean. Christianity in the media is more and more portrayed by religious leaders in a way that is seen as distasteful, disquieting, disingenuous and even despicable. So more and more people have left the church or have never even stepped into one.
In case you don’t think we live in a time where church and the Gospels are having less and less influence listen to this story from Leadership magazine which reported:
A Denver woman told her pastor of a recent experience that she felt was indicative of the times in which we live. She was in a jewelry store looking for a necklace and said to the clerk. “I’d like a gold cross.” The man behind the counter looked over the stock in the display case and said “Do you want a plain one or one with a little man on it?” (from Hodgin, Michael, 1002 Humorous Illustrations, (2004), 112 ).
It’s not the man behind the counter’s fault if he did not know the man on the cross was Jesus. Nor is it any other non-churched person’s fault they’ve steered clear of church, and missed out on the stories in the Gospels about Jesus, the little man on the cross.
By and large powerful segments of Christianity have failed to bring the good news to the world so that Jesus’ name and his loving Way often go unknown or are intentionally avoided these days.
Powerful religious leaders words – and deeds– have scared or kept people away with bad news. Bad news for those who do not think like them.
Bad news that their God is violent to those who reject their version of Christianity.
Bad news that their God rejects people they reject.
Bad news that those who do not accept their way face hell by way of the judgment by their angry God.
How can any of that bad news, be the good news of the Gospels of Jesus Christ? Well, it can’t. I know, I was one of those who ran from the church based on the bad news touted by religious leaders.
It took me twenty years to find my way back and only then because I happened upon a denomination who’s words and deeds were not about bad news at all, but about good news, the Good News of the gospels that God is love, that God’s reign of Love can be brought to earth as it is heaven. That Jesus, Jesus (the little man on the cross) taught us a Way to do this.
I walked into a United Church of Christ one day in 1996 and my life was marvelously transformed; not by bad news, but by good news. The good news that God calls us to Love, not through coercion, but through persuasion; not through threats; but through steadfast love; not through acts done for personal salvation from an angry God and hell, but through acts done for salvation from a lesser world, through to God of steadfast love.
Our capital campaign is called “Reflections and Visions.” Reflecting on what Riviera United Church of Christ is, and has been, and promises to be, evidences that this church is a transforming place.
Like the UCC church I walked into one day in Oregon you all – this church– does not peddle bad news of condemnation. Riviera United Church of Christ is all about the good news; that God calls us to Love, not through coercion, but through persuasion; not through threats, but through steadfast love; not through acts done for personal salvation from hell, but through acts done for salvation for all from a lesser world and our lesser selves.
At Riviera United Church of Christ we strive to follow Jesus’ way to a better world and a better self.
One way to reflect on how we do this as church is by considering again our vision statement which reads: “Thinking Openly. Believing Passionately. Serving Boldly.”
We are called to think openly. Here you can challenge and question doctrine and tradition, the Bible, and, yes, even the pastor.
The United Church of Christ’s nation-wide motto is “God is Still Speaking.” And we want to be open at Riviera UCC to hearing what God is saying today. Who is God speaking through? Me? The lady down the block? You? The person sitting next to you?
In order to see a comma instead of a period – a full stop to the Word of God – we need open minds that think and question, ponder and take risks. So we do not check our brains at the door here, suspend rationality or our questions. We bring the world of thought in with us and it is welcome.
Open minds – thinking openly– allow us to hear what comes after the comma, to hear that God is still speaking – and listening to God now leads us to where God is calling.
Hearing God’s call – by thinking openly– has led us to be a church that helps feed the poor; a church that provides for those in need; a church that offers mental health counseling; a church that connects youth and community with the performing arts; a church with a Stephen Ministry; a church that helps at Daily Bread, Heifer International, Habitat for Humanity and Back Bay Mission; a church that makes sure communion is open to everyone, just as our doors are open to everyone.
Thinking openly allows us to reject religious notions that are oppressive or non-loving in favor of those that are justice and love oriented. Thinking openly lets us hear God’s call and be receptive to respond to it.
Our vision statement states that we also believe passionately. Believing passionately gives us the desire to act on God’s call. Our belief is in a Way and God of love. The Way of Jesus. The God of Jesus. Our passion is the same as Jesus:’ love of God and love of neighbor. We believe passionately in God, in Jesus, and in Love; and in doing something about it.
With such a passionate belief we cannot help but serve boldly. So many in this church give of time, money and other gifts and serve God boldly through Riviera United Church of Christ.
Hours are spent administering the non-profit corporate functions of the church as council members and officers and committee members. We have meetings here all the time and many of you work lots of hours carefully considering and deciding all manner of things to keep the church running, to keep us serving boldly.
And it is not just administration of the church that gets served by volunteers. People in the hospital and their families are tended to, as are those who are ill at home.
Monthly we staff a day at Daily Bread to help others eat. We help buy fair trade coffee to support those in need abroad. We are looking into trying to raise money for Heifer International to do the same thing. Here at home we are growing food in a huge beautiful garden to help feed our hungry neighbors. We send folks to work at Back Bay Mission to help rebuild homes damaged by Katrina.
We also provide to our neighbors a kind and competent mental health counselor who offers services on the premises.
We have Stephen Ministers at the ready to provide loving care too.
A compassion team is also ready to rush to the aid of those struck by illness or injury or stuck at home.
Youth leaders and cooks prepare food and lessons and games for teens.
Caring teachers prepare and teach Sunday school for children and adults
Vacation Bible School in the past has been planned and staffed by loving volunteers working hard for any and all children who attend, many of whom are from the neighborhood.
People show up every Wednesday to have fellowship, learn new things and share in open thinking at two different Bible studies.
Musicians donate many precious hours singing, playing instruments and preparing for choir and band and solo offerings during our services.
Sound booth folks set up and run the lights and sound for church and other gatherings.
Chairs and tables are moved for services and events with the precision of a marching band.
Repairs and modifications are provided to this building and our grounds.
The place is cleaned up, and the essentials for the services are brought in and arranged, and put in place.
Young ones are cared for in the nursery.
We share our space with Mateh Chaim, a Jewish Synagogue, and Renewed Hope Christian Fellowship, a new church.
We are in the midst of considering how to better use the Sacred Land we sit on to further house and develop an interfaith community right here on this Holy ground that God has provided to us – through no less than the offerings given in the capital campaign.
Week in and week out members of this community bring more than gifts of action to this place. There are many Spirit-filled folks here whose very presence provides peace and love. We bring much needed gifts in the form of offerings, spending hard earned resources not on ourselves, but gladly on God.
Serving boldly is how we touch others; it is how we act as God’s agents in the world. And it is not just in Palm Bay either that we serve and touch others and act for God, our offerings also go to help the Florida Conference and the National United Church Christ offices to do work in the nation and out in the world.
Our very important capital campaigns – like the one we are presently in– give us a place to do all these marvelous things. It’s not so much about paying our mortgage, as it is reflecting who we are, investing in this work and play and worship and love we do with God, and for God.
We boldly follow Jesus’s Way of Love by honoring and respecting other religions and creating a community that embraces all regardless of disability, color, gender, economic status, sexual orientation or past–wherever anyone is on life’s journey they are truly welcome and honored here just as they are.
Reflecting can mean to look at what specific activities we have done and are doing as church, but reflection can also be understood as looking at the image that is reflected in a mirror to us, and to the world.
In today’s reading Jesus remarks that those who believe without seeing Jesus in the flesh are blessed. We certainly believe (and passionately)! We are, then, certainly blessed.
And our blessings come in the form of our becoming Christ’s presence, Christ’s new enfleshment in the world today, through us.
You see we are made in the image of God. We are, as I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, called in the words of the Old Testament to be holy as God as holy.
The New Testament puts it a little differently, calling us to walk as Jesus walked. To do as he would do. To be Christ’s very image in the world today.
We are not a flawless church. But we are a great church. We may be looking in a mirror dimly, with a reflection that is not perfect, you can see in the reflection an image of Christ.
Jesus thought openly.
Jesus believed passionately.
Jesus served boldly.
Reflecting on our past and present we have done so too, and are doing so now.
AMEN!
COPYRIGHT Scott Elliott © 2009 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Comments
You must be logged in to post a comment.