08/11/2024 ~ Proper 14 ~ Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost ~ 2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33; Psalm 130; 1 Kings 19:4-8; Psalm 34:1-8; Ephesians 4:25-5:2; John 6:35, 41-51 ~ VIDEO OF FULL SERVICE: https://vimeo.com/showcase/7960701/video/997784126

Membership

“Get rid of all bitterness and wrath and rage and anger and wrangling and slander, malice of every kind. In place of these be kind to one another, tenderhearted, compassionate, mutually forgiving— forgiving one another— as God, in Christ, has forgiven you.” — Ephesians 4:31-32.

In my comments today I’d like to take a trip down memory lane— or is it those thrilling days of yesteryear? I need to be clear: some of us will be too young to remember the names I will reference on this journey. If you are too young rest assured you can GOOGLE and even see things on YOUTUBE about these people I’m going to mention. (Slight pause.)

Who here remembers the comedian Jack Benny? He started on the radio on 1932 and moved to TV in 1949. I will say more about Mr. Benny and that program but I need to first talk about my late father. Dad was a graduate of Manhattan College, in New York City.

Now, a fellow by the name of Owen Patrick Eugene McNulty was a Senior at Manhattan College the year my father was a Freshman. I am relatively sure even if you remember Jack Benny you don’t know the name McNulty. But you may know the stage name he used.

Starting in 1939 McNulty performed on both Jack Benny’s radio program and then on the television show. He was better known by the stage name Dennis Day. Yeah— I’m sure many of you remember him.

Now, my parents always watched the Benny program and it seemed to me the presence of McNulty, this Mr. Day, on the program made it special for my father. You see, every time Dennis Day came on the screen, my father invariable said (and I’m quoting here), “Dennis Day— he’s a Manhattan graduate, you know.” (Slight pause.)

Even though or perhaps because I was a child, I often wondered why my Father said that. The questions which came to my mind ran along these lines— Manhattan College graduate— did that make Dennis Day a special kind of human being, place him above any kind of reproach, put this fellow in a special category, some level of sainthood of which I was as of yet blissfully unaware?

Only when I got older did I realize the place to which my father was pointing. He was saying Dennis Day is a member of my club, my tribe. I am a member of Dennis Day’s club, tribe. That’s what was special for my Dad. They were members of the same club, the same tribe. (Slight pause.)

This is what we hear in the work known as Ephesians: “Get rid of all bitterness and wrath and rage and anger and wrangling and slander, malice of every kind. In place of these be kind to one another, tenderhearted, compassionate, mutually forgiving— forgiving one another— as God, in Christ, has forgiven you.” (Slight pause.)

You may or may not know this. Different churches, different denominations have different ways of counting membership. But most put some kind of limit or structure on how one is counted as a member or becomes a member.

Some churches say the Sacrament of Baptism is the only requirement for membership. However, there are churches which say this Sacrament needs to be administered only in and by that church or that denomination to be counted. Baptized in another church or denomination? That just won’t do. It’s inadequate.

Other churches say if you are a communicant, if you receive the Sacrament of the Table, the Eucharist, you are a member. Still other churches say you need to be Confirmed, go through the process of Confirmation to be counted as a member.

But churches cannot even agree on what Confirmation is. In Roman Catholicism Confirmation is a sacrament. In the Protestant tradition it’s not a sacrament. It’s a rite of the church.

Some churches insist you have to take membership classes before you can join. Some churches say you merely have to meet with the pastor and/or the deacons. Many churches do say you also need to experience some kind of ritual, some ceremony at a service of worship in which a person formally joins a church.

Given all of those ways to be counted as a member of a church— and I did not even cover them all; there are more— given all those ways to be counted as a member of a church I always have a little private laugh when I hear that a polling company like Gallup makes a definitive claim that they have counted overall church membership. Given what I know, any company trying to count church membership is a questionable endeavor at best.

How can they possibly know what they are talking about? The churches have so many rules and categories for counting members that the churches, themselves, sometimes don’t know who is a member and who isn’t. (Slight pause.)

So, how should church membership be counted? (Slight pause.) I want to suggest asking how church membership is the wrong question. And I want to suggest that the author of Ephesians got it right.

You see, my Dad was right about membership in the sense that he and Dennis Day were in the same club, both Manhattan College graduates. But church membership is not or at least should not be any kind of club, with a determining accomplishment or requirement. Church membership is not and should not be like a club.

Churches are not and should not be a place for special human beings or a place put someone above reproach or special category, at some level of sainthood. Churches is for real people. Churches is for flawed people. Churches are for all people.

Church is also a place, as the writer of Ephesians suggests, where we can (quote): “Get rid of all bitterness and wrath and rage and anger and wrangling and slander, malice of every kind.” Church is also a place where we need to (quote): “…be kind to one another, tenderhearted, compassionate, mutually forgiving— forgiving one another— as God, in Christ, has forgiven you.” (Slight pause.)

What makes us all members of the club called church is this club is the club of God. God accepts us as members. God accepts us when no one else will.

So when we, ourselves, do not know it or even want to admit it, we are all members of church— not a church but church. We are all members of God’s club.

Indeed, it is this acceptance on the part of God which empowers us to (quote): “…be kind to one another, tenderhearted, compassionate, mutually forgiving— forgiving one another— as God, in Christ, has forgiven you.” Amen.

Elijah Kellogg Church, Harpswell, Maine
08/11/2024

ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Choral Response and Benediction. This is a précis of what was said: “Last week I quoted the lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II who said a song is what happens when the emotion expressed becomes too intense for mere words. I also quoted a lyric for an anthem I wrote based on Psalm 55. That was an intense emotional response on my part. In fact, I wrote a lyric, also an intense emotional response, based on the last verse we heard from Ephesians. (Quote:) ‘Walk in love and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave of self, offered of self, for us, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice to God.’ Perhaps what we too often miss is the love, the intense emotional response, God has for us. And guess what? That intense emotional response God has for us is on every page of Scripture. We may miss it. But it’s there.”

BENEDICTION: The loving kindness of God, the steadfast love of God, is always present to us. Therefore, may we love God so much, that we love nothing else too much. May we be so in awe of God, that we are in awe of no one else and nothing else. Amen.