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01/29/2023 ~ Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany ~ Micah 6:1-8; Psalm 15; 1 Corinthians 1:18-31; Matthew 5:1-12 ~ VIDEO OF THE FULL SERVICE: https://vimeo.com/showcase/7960701/video/794195954

Searching

“Where are the wise? Where are the scribes? Where are the scholars? Where are the debaters? Where are the philosophers of this age?” — 1 Corinthians 1:20a

The Rev. Roger Wolsey is an ordained United Methodist Elder who directs the Wesley Foundation at the University of Colorado in Boulder. He is also the author of Kissing Fish: Christianity for People Who Don’t Like Christianity.

An article Wolsey offered said this: the word Religion comes to us from the Latin religare. The word means “to bind together.”

Biologists, anthropologists and sociologists all contend humans are social creatures. Practitioners of these varied disciplines insist we are at our best when we associate and interact with others people. Granted, some of us are introverted. Introverts need space and time— a friend of mine likes to call it cave time— introverts need space and time away from others more so than extroverts.

Extroverts are, of course, those who tend to not just enjoy crowds and noise but revel in it. Fun fact— the majority of Americans are extroverts. Did you know that? (Slight pause.)

I got into talking about sports events a little last week. One reason sports events are popular is not just the competition or amusement they provide but the chance to interact with a crowd of people. Extroverts enjoy crowds and introverts know they can get lost in a crowd and no one will notice them.

Even the most introverted among us would probably admit they enjoy other people and perhaps even thrive because of them. Introverts just don’t want an overwhelming diet of crowds, minute to minute, hour to hour, day to day.

Which is to say if you do not at all enjoy others, you always want to be alone, you probably need be living deep in the woods of Maine. But if you crave total isolation you are very, very, very rare. We humans really do need other people.

Here’s another way of looking at that: we humans are social creatures. We know there is strength in numbers. Religare— we bind together.

To use an example, Rosa Parks could not have helped end racial segregation in the South by herself. It required the combined, organized efforts of many kindred spirits joined together.

And how was that effort organized? The record shows the movement frequently relied on workshops, on trainings and on town forums for those who were directly involved but also for the whole community, even those not directly involved.

The whole community needed to understand what was happening and, hence, to be involved in some way. And it does seems like the understanding of the whole community was a necessary piece for the movement to progress.

Additionally, the record shows there was a great reliance on prayer and on worship. At least in part, what was that prayer and worship about?

There is no doubt about this. Prayer and worship involves social contact. Prayer and worship involves feeling mutual support from others. Prayer and worship involves people relying on people relying on people relying on people.

My take is the Civil Rights movement was not just an example of Christianity at its best, although it was that. The Civil Rights movement was an example of what we humans do at our best. We are social creatures. We rely on one another. We are neighbors. We bind together— religare. [1] (Slight pause.)

These words are recorded in the work known as First Corinthians: “Where are the wise? Where are the scribes? Where are the scholars? Where are the debaters? Where are the philosophers of this age?” (Slight pause.)

Today’s Scriptures turn the social norms of society upside down. The Gospel says blessed are those who are gentle. Blessed are those whose hearts are clean. The race is not always to the swift. The powerful don’t always win.

But, as was suggested when the Corinthians reading was introduced, this is not really about social norms, human norms. After all, as much as we might like to think the races we run do not always belong to the strong and the swift— the powerful, the swift and the strong do often win. So this is not about social norms.

Put another way, many of us would take the world we know and break it into a series of social norms. The two social norms with which we are most familiar is called winners and losers. And yes, there are winners and losers. But church, church, is not about winning and losing, a normal state of things for the world.

You see, those to whom Paul writes in Corinth are a polarized group. They must have been astounded by these words about the swift and the powerful.

When I say the Corinthians are polarized, we know Paul writes to the Corinthians because they are a church having battles among its members. And battles, all battles, have winners and losers. And conflict in a church— that never happens, right? O.K.

Further, I would suggest that the battles at the Church in Corinth were not as much about the particulars of theology or even ecclesiology— how a church runs itself. I think it’s much more likely the Corinthians were divided by their own self centered win/lose points of view. In short, they placed victory ahead of the well-being of their brothers and sisters in Christ.

And so Paul counsels them, strives to direct them to a theological perspective. And what is that theological perspective? How should you treat brothers and sisters in Christ? Who are your brothers and sisters in Christ?

Let me put the words ‘brothers and sisters in Christ’ in a slightly different way— a community of Christ. A community of Christ is not about wining and losing. And even more importantly, a community of Christ is not about who wins and who loses. A community of Christ is about loving God and loving neighbor. (Slight pause.)

And so, “Where are the wise? Where are the scribes? Where are the scholars? Where are the debaters? Where are the philosophers of this age?” (Slight pause.)

Cornel West is a professor who currently holds the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Chair at the Union Theological Seminary. He says this (quote): “Never forget… justice… justice is what love looks like in public.” Justice is what love looks like in public.

And what did Jesus say? Blessed are those who are poor in spirit, those who are mourning, those who are gentle, those who hunger and thirst for justice, those who show mercy to others, those whose hearts are clean, those who work for peace.

In short, the wise, the scribes, the scholars, the debaters, the philosophers of this age are not those who seek to separate winners and losers into groups and thereby label them as deserving and undeserving. The wise, the scribes, the scholars, the debaters, the philosophers of this age need to be those who seek to live out the reality of community, those who seek to be the community of Christ.

And what is the community of Christ? The community of Christ is where loving God and loving neighbor is our only guide— the community of Christ— religare. Amen.

01/29/2023
Elijah Kellogg Church, Harpswell, Maine

ENDPIECE— It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Congregational Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “Miroslav Volf is a Professor of Theology at Yale Divinity School and the Director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture. He says this (quote): ‘Theology is not only about understanding the world (analysing it); it is about mending the world.’ I might add that’s what a sound theology does— strives mend the world. Of course we can’t do that unless we start here.”

BENEDICTION: Through God’s grace, by being attentive to God’s will, our deeds and our words will change our world for we will discover ways to proclaim release from the bondage of narrowness. Let us seek the God of Joy. Let us go in peace to love and serve God. Amen.

[1] Note: the words of Wolsey are paraphrased. Any alteration of meaning is the fault of the writer of this piece, not of Wolsey.

7 Ways to find a Progressive Christian Church

01/22/2023 ~ Third Sunday after the Epiphany ~ Isaiah 9:1-4; Psalm 27:1, 4-9; 1 Corinthians 1:10-18; Matthew 4:12-23 VIDEO OF FULL SERVICE: https://vimeo.com/showcase/7960701/video/792693196

Fishing

“And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.’” — Matthew 4:19.

Whatever teams are involved in the Super Bowl— which teams play will be determined by the games played this week and next— whichever teams are involved it is likely most of the country will be watching the Super Bowl on February 12. In the hope most of the country is watching this year advertisers will pay 14 million dollars for a just thirty second commercial in the course of the game.

I assure you if only a few people watched the game the price for air time would not be that exorbitant. So, why do we watch?

The phenomena of our ability to be entertained by sports is what sociologists and academics have started to label as “whooshing up.” Whooshing— that’s w-h-o-o-s-h-i-g— whooshing up.

Whooshing up is defined as the sensation we enjoy at a sporting event when the crowd rises to its feet as one to register a communal sense of awe and/or admiration. This whooshing up is communal. It is public. It is shared. (Slight pause.)

Let me offer a quote often attributed to G. K. Chesterton: ‘When a person stops believing in God it doesn’t then mean believing in nothing. It means that person believes in everything.’ [1] Theologian Martin Marty used that saying in an article to illustrate the modern world may have come full circle and is now just like the ancient world.

Marty maintained that just like the ancients we seek excitement and because of that we do not, any longer, believe in one God. We believe in many gods: polytheism.

He said we create these gods to satisfy our need for a whoosh and then listed some of those numerous gods we have created. God #1 for our race today probably remains Mars, a god of conflict, still much beloved in society and sometimes even in churches.

God #2 is Venus, a god of desire, one who clearly rules much of culture but also does maintain a subtle presence within our houses of worship. God #3 is Mammon, the god of consumerism, a god found in the gospel of prosperity so often heard these days. Then there is god #4, Hermes, the God of athletic contests.

These are ancient gods. These are not modern gods, even though they still seem to be with us. There are more, but naming those four will suffice to establish the idea that polytheism lives.

Marty also says ‘there is probably not much point trying to deny the human hunger for a good whoosh and then he offered Biblical examples. He said when the memories of crossing the Sea of Reeds faded, the Israelites worried about losing their direction. They sought a quick fix, some kind of artificial whoosh. So they pressed Aaron into fashioning a golden calf.’

In fact, says Marty, ‘scripture, in part because of our inadequacy in describing how God acts, records some of the greatest whooshes of history. There is the creation— the big whoosh instead of the big bang.

‘There is flood, fire, brimstone, plagues and bread from heaven. We get a boy who conquers a giant, angels conquer invaders, and a prophet who rises to the sky in a chariot of fire.’ And we are still in pursuit ‘whooshes today.’ [2] But should we in that pursuit? (Slight pause.)

We find these words in the Gospel we commonly call Matthew: “And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.’” (Slight pause.)

This reading, the story telling here, as action filled as it is, is crammed with whooshes. And so I think this was true in ancient times and still is true today. We like whooshes, seek out whooshes, create whooshes even when they are not there.

After all, why else would a stadium full of people start a wave at a football game when the score is forty-eight to nothing. Well, there’s nothing interesting or whoosh worthy happening on that field. Let’s create a whoosh of our own.

Indeed, this passage from Matthew may seem like whoosh after whoosh after whoosh. But is it? Are the whooshes the intent of the passage or do we simply read our own sensibilities, our desire for whoosh into this series of events?

What is the intent of Scripture? Is the intent of the writing an effort to create a series of whooshes or is there something else going on? (Slight pause.)

As stated earlier, there is an immediate rush, a shot of adrenaline, a sense excitement with a whoosh. But we need to remember whoosh is also a very short term experience. (Slight pause.) Is that what life with God is about— the short term? (Slight pause.)

I want to suggest there are two key phrases in this passage. The first one is (quote): “…the dominion of heaven has come near.” This is, in fact, one of the central messages Jesus offers.

Indeed, the very advent of the Christ, the presence of the Messiah, the reason we celebrate the Season of Epiphany is the reality of Jesus, the immanence of Jesus. The existence of Jesus is a sign to us that God is with us not just in the moment, but now and forever. In short, we believe the Spirit of God lives among us. God walks with us.

The second key phrase is (quote): “…I will make you fish for people.” So, what is fishing for people? Surely it’s not anything like a game. Surely it’s not what you do in order to get an adrenaline rush, a whoosh. (Slight pause.)

Fishing for people is long term. Fishing for people means getting to know someone well enough that you can share your innermost thoughts.

Fishing for people is getting to know someone well enough that you feel safe when you tell them not what you think but how you feel. Fishing for people means that among the things you might share is your love for God.

Why? A relationship with God, you see, is not about what you think, what you believe. A relationship with God is about how you love— how you love God and how you love your neighbor. A relationship with God is about how you feel. (Slight pause.)

Author, pastor and theologian Andrea La Sonde Anastos has said (quote): “I suspect most of us wake up with a self-referenced agenda, a list of tasks that may further our personal desires but that has almost nothing to do with spending our life on behalf of God. When I look at my own date book I am startled by how few hours are given to work on behalf of the dominion of God and how many are spent spinning my wheels,” said this theologian.

She continues, “Do I live wildly and abundantly as if I am truly ‘enriched in Christ,’ or as if I am simply marking time until my death? How do I hold myself accountable to a deeper discipleship? How do I help the community …[of which I am a member] develop ways to reflect on ‘deep living’ and engage in accountability to God?” [3] (Slight pause.)

Fishing for people is not a game, though some clearly treat it that way. Fishing for people means striving to live one’s life in the community of the people of God to its fullest potential. Fishing for people is not something that’s flash in the pan, here and gone.

Fishing for people means a life-long commitment to walk side by side with one’s brothers and sisters in Christ, recognizing that we are all flawed, recognizing that life is not a game, recognizing that life is a journey. Is that hard? Yes.

Will you get an adrenaline rush by embarking on this journey? (Slight pause.) Well, maybe once in a while— each time you hold the hand of a friend or neighbor when they are in need and a comforting word is a necessary, each time you engage a child who needs help, each time you offer support and love simply with silent presence. Any of these might offer just a little bit of adrenaline rush.

But that kind of work, my friends, takes not moments filled with whooshes. That kind of work takes a lifetime filled with caring. And perhaps that… that is what is meant by fishing for people— caring. Amen.

01/22/2023
Elijah Kellogg Church, Harpswell, Maine

ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Choral Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “I hope I did not give you an inaccurate impression: there is nothing wrong with a whoosh. It is simply not central. Indeed, in the article I mentioned Martin Marty expresses concern that too many churches concentrate on offering whooshes in a service of worship rather than a place for our relationship with God to be expressed and deepened. Whooshes are sometimes or at least can be at least a small part of a service, but a small part.”

BENEDICTION: Through God’s grace, by being attentive to God’s will, our deeds and our words will change our world for we will discover ways to proclaim release from the bondage of narrowness. Let us seek the God of Joy whose wisdom is our God. Let us go in peace to love and serve God. Amen.

[1] This is attributed to Chesterton, but it is unlikely to really be his. The source is unclear.

[2] The Christian Century; Thinking Critically. Living Faithfully; On the Shelf; Still whooshing; 01/20/2011; by Martin E. Marty;

http://www.christiancentury.org/blogs/archive/2011-01/still-whooshing

Marty was, in turn, picking up on this article: NY Times ~ 12/30/2010 ~ The Arena Culture ~ by David Brooks
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/31/opinion/31brooks.html?ref=davidbrooks

And this one:
The Wall Street Journal – Books & Ideas – The Gods Return; A solution to the ‘lostness’ of the modern world— and a guide to reading literature; By ERIC ORMSBY; 12/31/2010

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704278404576038040647824156.html?KEYWORDS=ERIC+ORMSBY

[3] Andrea La Sonde Anastos, Awaken: The Art of Imaginative Preaching, ACE 2010-2011, January 16, 2001 (Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota: Logos Productions, Inc.) 2010, p. 38.

01/15/2023 ~ Second Sunday after the Epiphany ~ Isaiah 49:1-7; Psalm 40:1-11; 1 Corinthians 1:1-9; John 1:29-42 ~ Weekend of the MLK Holiday ~ VIDEO OF THE FULL SERVICE: https://vimeo.com/showcase/7960701/video/790487056

The Church

“To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified, consecrated, in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, a people set apart for the work of God…” — 1 Corinthians 1:2.

A disclaimer: you may have already heard me say some of the basic facts about Scripture I am about relate. However and additionally, a good chunk of what I’m about to offer would be included in a Bible As Literature undergraduate course. (Slight pause.)

Scholars believe Paul wrote only seven of the thirteen letters attributed to the Apostle. The earliest Epistle was probably to the church— the word ‘church’ here means people, not an institution— the earliest was written about the year 52 of the Common Era to the people in the Greek city of Thessalonika. It is commonly called First Thessalonians.

The date most often assigned to the writing we heard today, First Corinthians, is 54 of the Common Era. We are fairly confident Paul died about the year 64. Hence, none of the seven letters authored by the Apostle could have been written at a later date.

We think Jesus was raised from death in what we would call the year 30 of the Common Era. Scholars also think it’s unlikely any of the Gospels were came together until around the year 70 of the Common Era and the years after that, the first one being Mark. John, the last Gospel written, probably reached its final form about the year 100.

What should be, therefore, obvious is twofold. First, the true Letters of Paul were composed before any of the Gospels. Second, the Gospels were recorded at least 40 years after Jesus had been raised from death, one some 70 years later.

Except for Philemon, a personal letter to a friend, the other letters of Paul are written to communities of faith, gatherings of people in towns located in what we today call Greece and Turkey. Knowing he is headed there, Paul’s last letter is one to a community of faith, to people, in the capital city of the Empire— Rome.

Some of these towns, like Rome, are quite large. Those who study these things believe the City of Rome had as many as 1,000,000 residents. The Roman Empire, essentially the Mediterranean Basin, probably had better than 70,000,000 people.

Historians believe that by the year 100 of the Common Era— 70 years after the resurrection of Jesus, 36 years after the death of Paul— the Christian population of the entire Mediterranean Basin totaled less than 10,000. The bottom line is this: when Paul is writing to these churches, each one probably had about 50 people.

They meet in people’s houses, not in buildings designated only for worship. These churches are what we in today’s society call small churches. (Slight pause.)

This is what we hear in First Corinthians: “To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified, consecrated, in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, a people set apart for the work of God…” (Slight pause.)

You may have noticed these words in First Corinthians sound formal. That’s because they follow a standard form for writing a letter in the ancient Greek world. There are a lot of formalities in this era.

But there is a short, I think funny outline of Paul’s letters, just words long, going around among clergy. This outline both does away with the formality and accurately reduces all the letters of Paul to a very simple formula.

(Quote:) “Grace. I thank God for you. For the love of everything holy… stop… being… stupid. Timothy says ‘hi.’” (Slight pause.)

I’ve also heard many clergy say this: we have a very formal template of the church in the 1950s stuck in our heads. Therefore, we fail to realize the church numbers we saw in the 1950s were a total anomaly, a large deviation from what was historically normal.

How different was it? Well, we probably think that at the time of the American Revolution everyone was God fearing. And yes, everyone might have been God fearing.

But very few were in churches. Records indicate the percentage of church membership in 1776 was about 17% of the population. Attendance was probably lower than that. Today the percentage of people who claim church membership is just under 50%.

So what is (pardon the expression) ‘normal?’ (Slight pause.) I admit, the numbers I’m about to quote are probably a little out of date but not terribly so. And they do offer a realistic picture of what the church actually looks like today.

The percentage of churches with a weekly attendance of 2,000 or more— your big Joel Osteen type churches— are less that one half of one percent of all the churches in America. Churches with a membership of 100 or less— that’s membership not attendance— are just over 50 percent of all the churches in America. (Slight pause.) So, what is normal? How should church be defined? (Slight pause.)

Question: how did Paul define normal? Paul’s definition of normal was an assembly of people, no matter how many, who are called to be saints. Saints— these are people called to do the work of God and the will of God. (Slight pause.)

We humans have an interesting trait. We like to organize and we like to be organized. I think somewhere along the line church as Paul describes it, people called to be saints, stopped being how we did church.

What took over? What replaced Christianity? Church-i-anity. We got organized. And church became about being organized instead of doing the work of God, the will of God, listening for the call of God.

Perhaps you’ve noticed after the resurrection the description of church structure in the New Testament say there are only two offices. There are Deacons and there are Apostles.

Further, deacon is not an elected office. Everyone is a Deacon. Everyone is called to feed the hungry, clothe those in tatters, shelter the homeless— the work of God.

The only reason the Apostles are split out is this work of the people of the church— this feeding, clothing, sheltering— is so time consuming the Apostles need to be set apart so they can spend time teaching. If there are only two offices in the church Paul knew, that’s not a lot of structure, not a lot of organization. (Slight pause.)

Next month as I mentioned earlier we will have an Annual Meeting of this church, this organization. There’s that word again— organization.

I fully appreciate organization. Indeed, when I landed at the church I served for twenty three years the first thing that happened was a re-write the by-laws. Because I had a large hand in that I was invited (invited as I just used it here is a euphuism) to participate in re-working the by-laws of both the Association and the Conference, the larger structures in New York.

I am an organization person. I helped rewrite three sets of by-laws. I am the first to say organization is very important, very necessary. But it is not church. Church is doing the work of God, the will of God, listening for the call of God.

Indeed, this weekend we celebrate the birth of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Why do we celebrate? Many will tell you it’s because in offering leadership to the Civil Rights movement King organized it, made it work as a body.

I would maintain we celebrate King not because of any organizing skills, and he was very good at that, but because he brought a real understanding of the work of the church to the mix. King understood doing the work of God, the will of God, listening for the call of God is vital. (Slight pause.)

So, what is church? How do we define church? Defining church with numbers in membership, with attendance, with buildings, with budgets, with by-laws, with rules— all these are very important. But these do not define church.

Church is people. Church is we the people. Church is we the people who are, in the words of Paul (quote:) “…called to be saints, a people set apart for the work of God,…” Amen.

01/15/2023
Elijah Kellogg Church, Harpswell, Maine

ENDPIECE— It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Congregational Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “What is church? Please consider this from Barbara Brown Taylor: ‘The Desert Fathers and Mothers say the hardest spiritual work is to love the neighbor as the self— to encounter another not as someone you can use, change, fix, help, save, enroll, convince or control but as someone who can spring you from the prison of yourself, if you allow it…. And this can be as frightening as it is liberating as anything and may be the only real spiritual discipline.’”

BENEDICTION: Let us learn as faithful disciples of Christ. Let us know that God is available to us at any time and in any place. Let us give thanks for the grace of God in Christ, Jesus. Let us trust in God for all time and for all eternity. Amen.

01/08/2023 ~ First Sunday after the Epiphany ~ A.K.A. the Baptism of Jesus ~ Isaiah 42:1-9; Psalm 29; Acts 10:34-43; Matthew 3:13-17 ~ ALSO ~ 01/06/2023 ~ Epiphany of the Lord ~ Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12 ~ VIDEO OF THE SERVICE; PLEASE SEE THE NOTE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE VIDEO CONCERNING THE RECORDING: https://vimeo.com/showcase/7960701/video/787979174

No Partiality

“Peter began to speak to [those gathered at the home of the Roman Centurion, Cornelius]: ‘Now I begin to see that God shows no partiality. I truly understand, that in any nation anyone who is in awe of God and does what is right is acceptable to God.’” — Acts 10:34.

When it comes to my reading list— my personal, general reading, and you mach. have figured this out from the Time for All Ages earlier— I am and have always been fond of biographies. I think one reason that’s true is no one, no individual, can be reduced to several words, several dozen words or even several dozen paragraphs.

To use today’s slang, no one can be or should be reduced to a sound bite. Indeed, I like biographies because most of the time you need at least a book length treatment of a person to do justice to, to delve into the personality, the complexities, the ambiguities of anyone’s life.

Let me use myself as an example. My wife, Bonnie— sometimes, and rightfully so— says I’m a geek. She thinks I can fix any computer problem. She’s wrong on that count but I am happy to let her think that.

So am I a geek? Well, she once got me a pocket protector as a present because I had the bad habit of carrying a number of pens of multiple colors in my shirt pocket. Occasionally, they leaked. Leaky pens in a shirt pocket— how geek-y is that?

Just so everyone knows— I have graduated from that. I now carry a set of pens in my pants pocket but they are always in a ZIPLOC bag (the pastor pulls out the bag)— no leaks this way.

On the other hand, there is a distinctly non-geek side of me. In my younger years I played second base on a softball team in a parks league in Queens, New York. That team finished in second place for the whole county. Mind you, we lost the championship game by a score of 19 to 1. But we did come in second.

Further, I was 35 before I had my first sit down, behind a desk, kind of job. Before that I was always on my feet. Even when I started to work at a Wall Street brokerage, part of my job was walking back and forth all over a floor of the 5 World Trade Center building.

That floor was the equivalent of a full square city block. I always wore a pedometer back then and most days I would log about seven or eight miles. That doesn’t sound too ‘geek-y’ to me. As I said, it is impossible to define anyone in a couple of words. We are all by far too complex for that.

That leads me to a story about something which happened to me when I was in High School. From the history about myself just outlined, you might be thinking— “Well, Joe only got geek-y, bookish when he got older.” And that would be wrong.

Again and as would be true of anyone, my story, my history is by far more complex and textured than that. The first two years of my High School career were spent in a parochial school under the tutelage of the Christian Brothers.

In a history class one of the teachers, a cleric, pointed out that the book of Luke and the Book of Acts were two volumes of one book written by the same author at the same time. The Gospel of John somehow got stuck in between.

Having heard that information, the geek-y, bookish side of this very active teen went home, pulled the Bible off the bookshelf and read through Luke and Acts as if they were one book. I have often said this. For me, reading Luke and Acts as one book was a conversion experience. (Slight pause.)

These words are from Luke/Acts in the section commonly called Acts: “Peter began to speak to [those gathered at the home of the Roman Centurion, Cornelius]: ‘Now I begin to see that God shows no partiality, I truly understand, that in any nation anyone who is in awe of God and does what is right is acceptable to God.’” (Slight pause.)

The lectionary readings we hear on Sunday often tell only a part of the story. So the full story can be more complex than the snippet we hear. More of the story in any assigned reading relates usually comes before and after the reading. So it can be wise to look at a passage in its broader context.

The story we heard really today starts at the beginning of Chapter 10. This is what we did not hear. Cornelius has a vision of an angel who instructs this Roman Centurion to seek out Peter.

Cornelius and all of the household of this Roman official are described as being (quote:) “God fearing.” In short, they are Gentiles who are probably attending a local Jewish Synagogue and believe the God the Jews proclaim is the One True God.

But, as Gentiles— uncircumcised people— even if they go to the Synagogue and believe, they do not conform to the law so they cannot be Jews. Hence, they can never be real, full members of the community.

About the same time Peter also has a vision. In the vision the Apostle sees a sheet lowered from the sky which has all kinds of animals in it. In terms of Jewish law, the animals Peter sees should not be together because some are considered clean and some unclean— animals fit for consumption and not fit for consumption.

An angel tells Peter to kill all the animals and to eat them all, an action which does not conform to Jewish law. Yet this action is contained in a message from an angel of God.

Peter is confused by all this. And that is when the people Cornelius has sent to fetch Peter show up and ask the Apostle to return with them.

Peter travels to the house of Cornelius and enters the house of Cornelius. The Centurion is a Gentile. This action, Peter entering the house, would have been against Jewish law. And this is where today’s reading picks up, with the response of Peter in the form of a sermon. (Slight pause.)

That brings me back to what I have labeled as my conversion, to my taking the Bible off the shelf and reading the Book known as Luke and the Book known as Acts as if they were one book. If you do that— and, indeed, I suggest you do that sometime— sit down and read these books as one— I think you will find this story becomes pivotal. It sums up much of what the writer of Luke/Acts has to say.

And what is it the writer of Luke/Acts says throughout this writing? God is a God of all people, not just some.

Let me be more exacting and expansive than that. These are some of the things which can be drawn out of this writing. God is a God of the poor. God is a God of the rich. God is a God of the socially acceptable. God is a God of the outcast.

Further, God is not a God of retribution. Indeed, God is a God of mercy. God is a God of hope. God is a God of peace. God is a God of relationship. God is a God of freedom. God is a God of joy. God is a God of justice. God is a God of love. (Slight pause.)

I want you to notice something about what I just said. First, if someone pictures God as a God of mercy, hope, peace, relationship, freedom, joy, justice, love— that pictures God as having many attributes. God cannot be summed up one way. God is not one dimensional. God is not a sound bite.

On the other hand, when God is pictured simply as a God of retribution, that is a one dimensional God. God gets put in a box. God becomes a sound bite.

Biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann has said the God of Scripture is drawn with intentional, artistic illusiveness. Intentional, artistic illusiveness— you cannot and should not put God in a box. You cannot and should not make God a sound bite.

And the box in which we humans seem to try to place God most often says God is not a God of all people. God is only a God of my group, my tribe, my race, etc., etc., etc.

If there is any lesson to be learned, if there is any conversion which might happen when we read Luke/Acts, it is summed up in the words of Peter. (Quote:) “…God shows no partiality,….” (Slight pause.)

In part because we humans so often put God in a box, I think when we understand God accepts all people and can truly and faithfully embrace, live out the concept that God accepts all people, then we have had a conversion experience. Amen.

01/08/2023
Elijah Kellogg Church, Harpswell, Maine

ENDPIECE— It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Congregational Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “Let me end with this quote from theologian Richard Rhor: ‘Most of us were trained to think of Christianity not as a prophetic path, but as a contest, which immediately frames reality in terms of win-lose, winners and losers. The prophetic path says there’s no way of moving toward winning that includes losing. It doesn’t exclude it.’”

BENEDICTION: May the Spirit of the God of light and love, the God of truth and justice, the God of song and joy, the God of all, be with you this day and forever more. Amen.

01/01/2023 ~ First Sunday after Christmas Day ~ Isaiah 63:7-9; Psalm 148; Hebrews 2:10-18; Matthew 2:13-23. ~ A.K.A. (01/01/2023) The Holy Name of Jesus, A.K.A. Mary, Mother of God ~ Numbers 6:22-27; Psalm 8; Galatians 4:4-7 or Philippians 2:5-11; Luke 2:15-21 ~ A.K.A. (01/01/2023) New Year’s Day ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1-13; Psalm 8; Revelation 21:1-6a; Matthew 25:31-46 ~ COMMUNION SUNDAY ~ VIDEO OF FULL SERVICE: https://vimeo.com/showcase/7960701/video/786349262

Christmas Every Day

“I will recount the gracious deeds, the steadfast love of God, the praiseworthy acts of the Sovereign, because of all that God has done for us, and the great favor to the house of Israel which God has shown to them in mercy, according to an abundance of steadfast love.” — Isaiah 63:7.

There is no question about this: different families have different seasonal traditions at this time of year. Even different individuals in specific families have different ways of offering these expressions of bonding at Christmastide.

Outward signs of the emotional involvements in these rituals can be deceiving. Many would assume, for instance, my late uncle was not one for delving deeply into emotions, that he was cold, distant. His practice, having purposefully missed the family gathering on Christmas Eve was to, on Christmas morning, whip out his money clip, peel off of a bill with a significantly high number on it and grumble, “Merry Christmas.”

I’m happy to get that kind of gift. But this is not about the receiver. This is about the giver. Some might think the behavior my uncle displayed was detached.

However, if you knew my uncle, you knew A) he had a love affair with money and, hence, his giving was very heartfelt but B), perhaps more problematic, he was as tight with a buck as anyone you’d ever met. It was said he could squeeze a penny so tight it made Lincoln cry. So for him giving a gift of money was an emotionally, difficult experience. So the gift was also a sign of sincerity. (Slight pause.)

There are three life lessons there. First: never assume anything about another person’s emotional state based simply on outward signs or reactions. Second: emotions are real, no matter how misdirected, poorly used, ill advised or dysfunctional.

Last, emotional expressions, most of the time, do not contain a lot of logic. But that lack in logic does not negate the reality of emotional experiences.

Indeed, some might feel embarrassed about giving the wrong or a less than adequate gift. This issue can send some givers into fits of fretting while others let any sentiment about that simply roll off their back. But most of the time the expressions we offer one another through the elaborate giving of gifts or simply cooking a meal for others are often very personal and often very filled with emotion.

Here’s a reality: especially at this time of year when it comes to gift giving, some are more reserved and some tend toward exuberant emotional outbursts. But whether it’s about gifts or simply about what we do with and in the rituals we practice, this is a truth: we all have familial traditions during Christmastide we hold sacrosanct.

Here’s an interesting quandary around traditions, rites, rituals held sacred in families at Christmas. New family units, two people getting together to form a deep relationship, an emotional union, that happens constantly. So this question might arise: ‘how can two separate, different family Christmas histories get melded into a new tradition?’

You see, it’s likely two people engaged in building a new relationship had very different traditions when it came to seasonal rituals in their families of origin. It’s equally likely they will then explore ways to make themselves into a new family unit.

When Bonnie and I got together, the tradition in her family was to do stockings on Christmas morning (the stockings in question being her father’s old army socks) and to open presents after breakfast. My family, on the other hand, was never into stockings. And our tradition was to open presents right after we attended the Christmas Eve service.

The solution here was easy. Bonnie liked the sound of finding out what she was getting for Christmas twelve hours before she used to find out. So she just went with it.

Traditions also change as families mature. I have friends with children whose tradition was to visit their Moms and Dads, the grandparents. Two years ago the last of those grandparents passed away. The familial tradition has now changed. (Slight pause.)

Traditions grow; traditions change. Our emotional life does get wrapped up in traditions. But treasured traditions do change over time. (Slight pause.)

For a moment I want to come back to the issue of emotional involvement around gift giving and receiving. It is often said that it is better to give than to receive.

But we do need to be wary that giving is not bred out of any sense of seeking superiority, dominance. We also need to be wary that giving is not something bred out of wanting to have another person indebted to us.

Indeed, gift giving means just that: giving. Giving, in order to be true giving, needs to be an unconditional act (dare I say an act of unconditional love) or it’s not a gift. It’s more like a trade. So yes, one’s emotions may well be all over the map at this time of year. But when gift giving is approached with an appropriate spirit, real giving means a surrendering of self. (Pause.)

These words are from the Scroll of the Prophet Isaiah: “I will recount the gracious deeds, the steadfast love of God, the praiseworthy acts of the Sovereign, because of all that God has done for us, and the great favor to the house of Israel which God has shown to them in mercy, according to an abundance of steadfast love.” (Pause.)

The words from Isaiah are clear. God is steadfast, always present and always giving, surrendering self. (Slight pause.)

I think we often feel our own lives are like a roller coaster, in turmoil. Indeed, look at the story from Matthew’s Gospel today. The family moves from Israel to Egypt to escape violence, then back to Judea but, hearing about an unfriendly Monarch still on the throne, they go to Nazareth in Galilee. (Slight pause.) Believe me, they weren’t able to simply pick up the phone and call a moving van. Turmoil was the order of the day.

There is a twofold point here. Even when things are tumultuous, God is with us. And perhaps the emotionally healthy response to God’s act of unconditional love, unconditional giving, is faithfulness. (Slight pause.)

To come back to that gift giving motif, what would it be like for us to have Christmas every day? What would it be like to give our emotions, our full emotional life unconditionally, daily? (Slight pause.)

I think the message Isaiah has for us is no matter what happens, that is how God relates to human life. God offers us unconditional love, daily. In short, God says no matter who you are or where you are on you life’s journey, no matter who you are or where you are on your faith journey you are loved, unconditionally.

You see, we Christians believe that Christmas does happen every day. Why? We believe God is with us always, through times of trial and times of tribulation, through times of joy and times of jubilation.

How? We believe God sent Jesus to be the Messiah. Jesus was raised from death, lives with us and among us, to more deeply inform us about the fulness of God’s love, to more deeply inform us about unconditional love.

Indeed, we celebrate the feast of Christmas in commemoration of the fact that, in this act of unconditional love, the reality of the incarnation which we call Christmas, in this act God sent the Messiah. (Slight pause.) So, how can we form our own traditions, the traditions we develop, to be an expression of our own emotions about God’s love?

Perhaps we can express our own emotions about God’s love when we remember that for Christians Christmas does happen every day. After all, this is what we believe: God offers unconditional love each and every day. Hence, the gift of Christmas happens each and every day. So perhaps our response needs to be to strive to share the love of God with everyone we encounter each and every day. Amen.

01/01/2023
Elijah Kellogg Church, Harpswell, Maine

ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Choral Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “Walter Brueggemann is well known and respected Biblical scholar. He published this poem on December 8 of 2022, just three weeks ago.

What Child Is This by the Rev. Dr. Walter Brueggemann

“‘What child is this who laid to rest on Mary’s lap is sleeping?”
We ask in awe and wonder.
But wait!
We know who this child is:
We know: this is the child who will grow in authority to cast out demons,
while we are beset by the demonic force of racism and nationalism.
We know: this is the child who will grow in capacity to feed the hungry multitudes,
while we casually permit children all around the world to die in starvation.
We know: this is the child who will grow in power to heal the sick,
while we are overrun with drug ads
and quibble about deductions and co-payments.
We know: this is the child who will gain his life (and ours) by losing it.
This child, born to occupy center space in our lives, our energy, and our imagination,
is the one who will dwell among us, full of grace and truth.
We know his name; we receive him as gift; we answer to his call to obedience.
This child, in his authority, capacity, and power, is the way of God among us.
His governance shall have no end.

Walter Brueggemann — that, my friends is what Christmas is about, this unconditional love of God.

BENEDICTION: Let us treat all God’s children as our next of kin. Let us praise God for the people all around us. Let us praise God for the fulness of time. And may the peace of Christ which surpasses our understanding keep our hearts and minds in the companionship of the Holy Spirit and the love of God this day and evermore. Amen.

READINGS:12/24/2022 ~ 12/25/2022 ~ Nativity of the Christ – Proper I ~ Isaiah 9:2-7; Psalm 96; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-14, (15-20) ~ Proper II ~ Isaiah 62:6-12; Psalm 97; Titus 3:4-7; Luke 2:(1-7), 8-20 ~ Proper III ~ Isaiah 52:7-10; Psalm 98; Hebrews 1:1-4, (5-12); John 1:1-14 ~ VIDEO OF FULL SERVICE: https://vimeo.com/showcase/7960701/video/784605050

The Word

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” — John 1:1.

Both historically and in our current time three sets of readings are assigned in the lectionary for Christmas. That’s because there are three appropriate, separate and related but in some ways different services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

In ancient times— ancient meaning as recently as 50 years ago— in ancient times at many churches the first of those services would have been on Christmas Eve at midnight. That tradition has largely ended.

The second service with a similar but different set of readings would have been offered at a dawn service on Christmas day. Then there would be a high service, filled with pomp— in high church traditions that meant things like incense— a high service, filled with pomp which would usually held sometime around mid-day on Christmas day. (This is the high service in case you’re interested.)

The services at midnight and dawn would have both had different portions of the Nativity reading from Luke. At the mid-day service we get the Gospel we heard today, the reading from John.

Just this last week the New York Times ran a long article about how in many churches all this is changing, from having the Christmas Eve services earlier to there being no service on Christmas Day even if it’s a Sunday. As has often been true in church things change in response to cultural change and this change is an American cultural trend.

In terms of the readings for Christmas Eve and dawn, the nativity story as Luke has it— the decree from Caesar, the inn, the stable, etc., etc., etc.— these depictions are meant, to a certain extent, to be realistic. But are they realistic or do they just feel that way?

After all, you have angels, shepherds, an unwed mother along with what appears to be an amazingly compliant father who has not yet actually wed the virgin. Further, the birth of the Messiah is announced to the poor and the outcast. Again, is that realistic?

In fact, that the poor and the outcast are favored by God is a major theme of Luke which continues throughout the entire work. And in the New Testament world, a world with so much poverty and so many outcasts, a world in which privilege begets privilege, how realistic is it that the poor and the outcast would really be favored? So, once you look at the Luke version carefully, you realize it contains some serious theological ideas within what is only the trappings of realism.

John on the other hand does not offer or even bother with the trappings of realism. The first section of John, often called “The Prologue,” consists of four parts. And if you followed the reading in the bulletin you could see that much of this reading is poetry. [1]

The first part this passage says the eternal Word is the Light, clearly a section meant to be mystical. Next, John the Baptizer is introduced as a witnesses to this Word, this Light— that’s the only place this narrative comes even close to conveying realism.

In the third part we hear the proclamation that “The Light,” that is “The Word” has come into the world. Then the section ends with the concept that this (quote) “Word” became flesh and dwells among us.

And yes, the writer or writers— scholars think there may have been multiple writersof John — stresses the eternal existence of the Word with God, an existence outside the bounds of time, the bounds of space, the bounds of history. Further, the clearly mystical opening words of the Gospel (quote:) “At the beginning…,” are meant to recall Genesis 1:1.

I need to note in a good translation of the opening words of Genesis passage says: “At the beginning of God’s creating of the heavens and the earth….” This effectively states what John is stating, that God lives outside the boundaries of the creation, both before and beyond our understanding of all time and space.

Hence, what is often not understood by many is that Genesis and therefore John never points to the time of the creation but to a time before the creation of the world. Hence, these words point to a time and a place totally beyond our comprehension.

However, John goes one step further and insists that this eternal Word does not stay outside of time and history but enters into our time-bound world. And even though the Word enters into our time bound world, this Word continues to live beyond the time of life on earth of any individual. Therefore, the Word lives before, though and beyond all existence and lives in our lives now.

In short, this way of looking at the Nativity is blatantly mythical, philosophical, mystical and other-worldly. Nearly all trappings of realism are forgotten. (Slight pause.)

It is also clear the term “Word” is used to mean Jesus, Jesus Who is the Christ, the Messiah. But by insisting on the pre-existence of the Christ, John now offers a new perspective about God which might have shocked those who first heard or read this Gospel.

John’s vision suggests that God, through Jesus, reveals aspects of God’s own self which have never before been revealed. This gospel claims that God and the Spirit of God dwells with us, walks with us.

John thus says the signs of the presence of God Luke so gracefully and gently weaves into the nativity story are blatantly and boldly present in the person of Jesus. Indeed, all the “I am” statements of Jesus are found only in the Gospel of John.

The important parts of the “I am” statements are not the objects of the statements such as the way, the truth, the life. The important part of the “I am” statements are the words “I am.” In Hebrew the name of God is Yahweh which is a form of the verb “to be”— I am.

So yes, this language is mystical and despite the mystical language employed throughout the work, John is, at the same time, the one evangelist who is blunt. The effect of what John says is this: God is One and God is Trinity; take it or leave it.

And can Trinity be explained? No. Not really. Trinity is not just mystical. Trinity is a mystery.

Therefore, John is also saying, “skip the birth; the story of the birth is only a metaphor.” Indeed, with this Gospel John invites us to concentrate on what is beyond our comprehension— the fact that God so loves the world and is present beyond eternity, has been present beyond eternity forever and is, amazingly, is present to us right here, right now.

And God is present to do what? To love us. Can the love of God be readily explained? The love of God can no more readily be explained than Trinity can be explained. The love of God is a mystery.

Hence and in short, here’s the blunt two part message the Gospel of John offers: God loves us. And God does not demand anything in response to that love. God simply loves. Amen.

12/25/2022 — Christmas Day
Elijah Kellogg Church, Harpswell, Maine

ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Choral Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “We live in a very secular world. Hence, when possible I try to avoid wishing people a ‘Merry Christmas.’ You see, that is a secular term. You see, at Eastertide when possible I try to avoid wishing people ‘Happy Easter’ and instead I say ‘Christ is Risen.’ And so, at Christmastide, if somebody says ‘Merry Christmas,’ I say ‘Christ is with us.’ Of course, is the real Christian sentiment expressed in and by the Feast of the Incarnation— indeed, Christ is with us.”

BENEDICTION: The sun shall no longer be / your light by day, / nor for brightness shall the moon / give you light by night; / for Yahweh, God, / will be your everlasting light, / and your glory. — Isaiah 60:19-20a.

[1]
. This is the reading from the Gospel of John as it appeared in the bulletin.

A READING FROM A READING FROM THE GOSPELS — John 1:1-14

[1] In the beginning
was the Word;
the Word was with God,
in the presence of God
and the Word was God.
[2] Indeed, the Word
was present to God.
[3] All things came into being
through the Word,
and apart from the Word
not one thing came into being.
The Word was life and
[4] and that life was the light
of all humanity.
[5] The light shines
in the deepest night,
and the night has never been able
to overtake it, to conquer it.
[6] Then came one named John [7] sent as an envoy, a witness to testify about the Light, so that through this testimony all might believe. [8] Indeed, John was not the Light, but did come only to testify about the light.
[9] For the true light,
the Word, which enlightens everyone,
was coming into the world.
[10] The Word was in the world,
and the world came into being
through the Word;
yet the world did not know,
did not recognize this one.
[11] Though the Word
came into its own realm,
the Word’s own people did not recognize
or accept the Word.
[12] Yet anyone who accepted the Word,
who believed in that name,
were empowered to become children of God,
[13] children not born, of natural descent
or urge of the flesh or of human will,
but born of God.
[14] And the Word became flesh
and stayed a little while among us;
we have seen the Word’s glory,
the glory as of a parent’s only child,
full of grace and truth.

READINGS:12/24/2022 ~ 12/25/2022 ~ Nativity of the Christ – Proper I ~ Isaiah 9:2-7; Psalm 96; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-14, (15-20) ~ Proper II ~ Isaiah 62:6-12; Psalm 97; Titus 3:4-7; Luke 2:(1-7), 8-20 ~ Proper III ~ Isaiah 52:7-10; Psalm 98; Hebrews 1:1-4, (5-12); John 1:1-14 ~ VIDEO OF FULL SERVICE: https://vimeo.com/showcase/7960701/video/784577962

God Whispers

“Mary treasured all these things and reflected on them in her heart.” — Luke 2:19.

The journey from Nazareth had been long and hard— eight days. The two of them and a pack animal had traveled over the hills and winding roads of Roman Palestine. Mostly they walked.

Mary was pregnant so occasionally— when fatigue or simply when surges of pain happened— walking was out of the question. But they could not stop. They needed to get to the City of David to register, to be in compliance.

And so at those times when Mary needed to ride, her husband found a good sized bolder on the side of the road, helped her up and nudged mule— for reasons beyond him this was an incredibly patient beast— nudged it next to the stone. Using a rock as a platform Mary would then carefully climb on the animal’s back.

As they traveled, there seemed to be noise along the road— a lot of it. They had not expected much company on the journey. They were wrong. Roman soldiers, both marching and riding in chariots, were also navigating these treacherous paths.

If the soldiers did not actually have the right of way, they took it. They were, after all, an occupying army.

And so commanders barked orders, chariots creaked, hooves pounded, soldiers cursed, horses snorted, pack animals brayed constantly. These all made noise, a lot of it.

Then there were the people, hundreds of them, people with families, people in wagons, people riding, people walking, people making noise who, like Mary and Joseph, were headed to Bethlehem.

The decree from the Roman Emperor declared everyone had to return to the place, the town, from which they claimed lineage. Joseph was a descendant of the house, the lineage of David. David was, of course, the great ruler of Israel, the one from whose linage the prophets predicted the Messiah would be born.

Joseph had a suspicion as to why so many people were going to Bethlehem. They wanted to claim they were of David’s lineage so they were making the trip. Claim was the key word.

People wanted to claim a relationship with David. But were all these people really of David’s lineage? It seemed unlikely.

However, once that relationship to David was registered with the Roman government, who would question it? Having that credential made the claim real even if it was not.

So yes, the road was crowded. And when Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem they discovered the town was packed. There was no place for them to stay.

And by chance and by necessity they wound up in a stable, a barn. And that was noisy. There were all kinds of animal noises… and smells, animal smells; it was… uncomfortable. Joseph gathered hay in a pile to make a place for Mary to lie down.

Just when she had settled into the improvised mattress the time arrived. Now it was she who made noise. And it was loud. She was loud. But the labor was short.

It was then the turn of the infant to make noise. This was Mary’s firstborn. She had not realized how loud a child could be. The noise hurt her ears. But it was her child. So she loved the noise.

Nearly right away there was even more noise— shepherds, boys— all very young— excited as only young boys can be, burst into the barn. She did not understand what they were talking about.

They said things about the glory of God and angels and good news. They went on and on and on. They shouted, pointed to the sky and pointed at the child. It did not make any sense. And then they ran away as quickly as they had come. (Slight pause.)

So finally, it was just Mary and her husband and the child alone in the barn. Joseph offered a knowing smile and sat next to Mary and the infant. At least her husband was not noisy, she thought. He was, most of the time, taciturn.

Just as quickly as Joseph sat, he suddenly stood. “We are both hungry. I should go talk to the innkeeper. I probably can get some food.”

Mary smiled, nodded ascent and he was gone. Mary sighed and held the child next to her breast. The child stopped crying. In a short time she could feel the steady tempo of slumber, the warmth of breath against her skin.

She suddenly realized noise had been a constant companion for her for days. But now there was no noise. It was strangely quiet.

The quiet surrounded her, enfolded her, embraced her. She felt warmed by it, comforted by it, blessed by it.

The silence gave her time to think. She reflected on the events of the last months, the tumult, the excitement. Of course, there was that… vision. Then there was the trip to see Elizabeth, the betrothal to Joseph, the pregnancy, the hard journey to Bethlehem.

As was her habit, she tried to understand the place to which God might be calling her. Perhaps because of that vision of a messenger from God she experienced, she had recently spoken with her Rabbi and asked what the voice of God might sound like.

“The voice of God has nothing to do with noise,” said the Rabbi. “We humans seem to like like noise. Noise is what humans make, not God.”

“The prophet Elijah,” he continued, “stood on a mountain before God. God was not in the earthquake, the wind, the fire. God… was in the sheer silence.” (Slight pause.)

Mary lifted the cover under which she and the child rested and looked down. The child opened its eyes and looked at her. (Slight pause.)

Mary heard the voice of God. The voice of God was not loud. The voice of God spoke softly, gently, quietly… in a whisper.

Mary heard the voice of God whisper in the eyes of a child. One word was spoken softly, gently, quietly… in a whisper— love— love. (Slight pause.)

Mary pondered this in her heart, wondered what it meant that the voice of God could be heard in eyes of a child. She wondered what it meant— that the voice of God said, whispered only one word: love. Amen.

12/24/2022 ~ Christmas Eve
Elijah Kellogg Church, Harpswell, Maine

ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Choral Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “When possible I try to avoid wishing people a ‘Merry Christmas.’ That is a secular term. You see, at Eastertide when possible I try to avoid wishing people ‘Happy Easter’ and instead I say ‘Christ is Risen.’ And so, at Christmastide, if somebody says ‘Merry Christmas,’ I say ‘Christ is with us.’ That is the real Christian sentiment expressed in and by the Feast of the Incarnation— Christ is with us.”

BENEDICTION: The sun shall no longer be / your light by day, / nor for brightness shall the moon / give you light by night; / for Yahweh, God, / will be your everlasting light, / and your glory. — Isaiah 60:19-20a.

12/18/2022 ~ Fourth Sunday of Advent ~ The Sunday on Which We Commemorate Joy ~ Which Isaiah 7:10-16; Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-25 ~ https://vimeo.com/showcase/7960701/video/782600090

Called to Be Saints

“To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God and Jesus, the Christ.” — Romans 1:7

I need to start my comments today with two caveats. First, at Bible study on Mondays we usually examine the passage on which I will preach the following Sunday. But since Music Sunday should have been today and the choir would preach, instead we looked at the complete Nativity stories in Matthew and Luke.

Rumor to the contrary, the Nativity stories in those Gospels are each two chapters long. Since we looked at those passages before I return to the Romans reading I’m going to do some compare and contrast work about the Nativity stories.

So, do me a favor— no, do yourself a favor— sometime in the next week sit down and read the first two chapters of Matthew and Luke. I assume you have read them but rereading them, especially at this time of year, may be helpful in understanding the Nativity.

My second caveat: if the themes you hear me address today sound similar to what I said last week— guilty as charged. To a certain extent that’s because of the Bible study session but that’s also where the lectionary leads us, or at least where it leads me, in Advent and Christmas. (Slight pause.)

Today’s reading from Matthew had but a small portion of the Nativity story in that Gospel. It’s likely you noticed how drastically different it is from what I loosely refer to as the Charlie Brown version, the one we find in Luke.

In Matthew there is no census, no trip to Bethlehem, no shepherds. In Luke an angel speaks first to Mary, then to shepherds. In Matthew only Joseph gets angelic visits.

Clearly the infant the reading mentions has two different names— ‘Emmanuel’ and ‘Jesus.’ These names are not a naming of the child but illustrate deeper meanings. The name Emmanuel is explained in the text— “God is with us.”

The name ‘Jesus’ is the Greek version of the name Yeshuah. Yeshuah means God with us or God saves or God offers healing or deliverer.

Hence, these meanings— God with us, God saves, God offers healing, deliverer— tells us the story is not simply about the birth of a child. This is about the birth of the Christ, the one Whom God has entrusted with the office of Messiah.

To be clear, the story from Luke, though very different, when given an equally careful reading, would offer similar insights. My point is there are many meanings here not readily evident to us perhaps because our cultural views about these stories tend to obscure them. Therefore, we often ignore some vital details, details actually told in a very straightforward way.

Now, had we read a few verses further on in Matthew, we would have encountered the Magi or as our society calls them, the three kings. It’s evident they are nobility or well educated members of a ruling class who look for this one who will be the ruler of Israel.

As we know, in the story of the Magi a star or some sign in the sky plays a central role. But in our cultural iconography the star is placed with the angels and shepherds. Another fact we tend to confuse in our culture is it’s likely by the time the Magi arrive Jesus is at least a toddler, not a baby.

But in our culture year after year churches have pageants which imply the Magi come and offer gifts to an infant. However, Matthew 2:16 says (quote): “Herod was infuriated when tricked by the Magi and gave orders to kill all children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or younger.”

If Herod kills the children two or under because the child might be a pretender to the throne, it is unlikely Jesus is still an infant. Again, these facts are plainly set out. But the account does not fit into our culturally accepted version of the story, so we just ignore it even though it’s right there in front of us.

It is unquestionably evident the writer is using this story to ask questions about the relationship of God with humanity. Given these facts and analysis, are we in any way prodded to ask these questions?

‘Why are we so subsumed by the cultural reading which is common today but might be more than a little off center, since the accurate information presented is so evident? Another obvious question is: ‘On what should we be concentrating?’ (Pause.)

Well, takes me back to the Romans reading. And these words are in Romans: “To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God and Jesus, the Christ.” (Pause.)

I really have nothing against how Christmas is celebrated. I am not a Grinch. I am happy to have sheep and angels and shepherds and Magi cavort in church pageants and be present in symbolic representations such as a crèche. These are all enjoyable.

But what I am trying to help us focus just a little— trying to help us focus just a little on the meanings present in these stories, rather than on our cultural trappings. Further, these significant, even emotionally serious meanings, are not particularly hidden. They are simply meanings our cultural iconography too readily overwhelms, misses and/or dismisses.

The same is true of the words I’ve just mentioned from the Letter to the Church in Rome. Our culture overwhelms, misses or dismisses what these words mean.

The letter is addressed to those who are (quote): “called to be saints.” Who are these saints? Are saints, as our culture suggests, only very holy people? (Slight pause.)

‘Saint’ is a term commonly used by Paul. The Apostle to the gentiles often indicates the people of the church are called to be saints. So, here’s the Christian definition: a saint is someone set apart, called to do the work of God. (Slight pause.)

I would suggest even a cursory reading of Scripture tells us we are all called, set apart, to do the work of God. All this is to say much of what we commonly do in our cultural context is not bad or wrong. It simply says as Christians we constantly need to look beyond and go beyond what our culture says.

As Christians we need to be aware of the true and serious meanings in Scripture and the how that applies to what we say and what we do. We need to be careful to not simply accept the meanings imposed or approved by our culture. And so from a Christian perspective, we do need to understand we are all set apart to do the work of God.

Indeed, one of the messages offered by the stories of the incarnation is we are called by this in-breaking of God into our lives to be participants in the work of the Dominion of God. We are called to feed those who have no food, called to clothe those who have only tatters to wear, called to shelter those who are without sanctuary, called to visit the imprisoned, called to visit and to see to the needs of those who are sick or are infirm, called to stand in solidarity with the marginalized and the outcast.

In short, let us see beyond practices which we might enjoy and are very enjoyable but are merely cultural trappings. Let us be saints by participating in the work set aside by God for us. And let us understand when we participate in that work, God’s work, we are not just called to be saints. And we are saints when we are doing God’s work. The work of the saints— that is the real work of Christmas. Amen.

Elijah Kellogg Church, Harpswell, Maine
12/18/2022

ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Benediction. This, then, is an précis of what the pastor said before the blessing: “Coming back to cultural practices, December the 23rd would have been the last day of feast known as Saturnalia, were we living in ancient Rome. The Romans marked this solstice celebration of the god Saturn who the Romans thought was destined to establish a time of perfect peace and harmony by decorating their homes with holly, ropes of garland, wreaths of evergreen and exchanged presents. So, what is it we really need to both celebrate and recognize despite our strikingly similar rituals? We need to celebrate and recognize the work of the Dominion of God, the work of the saints— saints— that would be us.”

BENEDICTION: Go in joy. Be led forth in the peace which surpasses understanding. Embrace the love God offers. The covenant promises offered by the God of hope shall endure, for God is eternal, steadfast, faithful and loving. Amen.

12/11/2022 ~ Third Sunday of Advent ~ Isaiah 35:1-10; Psalm 146:5-10 or Luke 1:46b-55; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11 ~ The Sunday in Advent on Which We Commemorate Love ~
VIDEO OF FULL SERVICE: https://vimeo.com/showcase/7960701/video/780765920

The Messiah

“John was in prison and heard about the works the Messiah was performing. At that point the Baptizer sent word through a disciple to ask the Rabbi, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ In reply Jesus said, ‘Go back and report to John what you hear and what you see:….’” — Matthew 11:2-4.

A couple years ago at a Big Box Store I was confronted with a sign of the season: a volunteer ringing a bell. This particular volunteer clearly also thought, besides ringing a bell, a part of this gig was to sing seasonal ditties a capella.

This person did have the vocal ability to pull that off, which both surprised and impressed me. What did not impress me was the ditty chosen— Baby It’s Cold Outside by Frank Loesser. This is not, I think, a particularly appropriate choice for someone trying to raise money for those in need, no matter how entertaining the rendition might be.

Why is it less than appropriate? Loesser wrote Baby It’s Cold Outside to be sung only at private parties because he, the person who wrote it, thought it to be quite risqué, vulgar. And if you listen carefully to the lyric, it is more than a tad risqué, vulgar.

In fact, the song came to public attention only after Loesser sold the rights to MGM, the studio inserted it in a film and it became a hit. All this raises for me what are, a song writer, an occasional a writer of hymns and a theologian, serious questions.

What is so called seasonal music, really? What is the season about, really? What should we be addressing, what are we addressing and what do we address in the seasons known as Advent and Christmas, really? (Slight pause.)

Eleven years ago the composer Tom Rasely and I wrote a Christmas Carol. The title of the work is One Angel Sings. For reference, a copy is in the bulletin. I won’t ask you to sing it. The lyric, in part, reads, “One angel sings, both silent and plain.”

In terms of logic, that lyric poses another question: what does it mean when someone sings, but yet is silent? Is that not a paradox?

Since I wrote the lyric I have an explanation. The truth is you can look at the famous passage from Luke 2, the one with shepherds and angels and never find any angel who sings. The text does say one angel speaks.

The text does say a multitude of angels praise God. But the text specifically says in offering praise to God the angels speak that praise rather than sing that praise.

To be fair, is it possible the angels sing? Why yes it is. But the text doesn’t specifically say angels sing.

It does say there is a choir of angels but by definition a choir can simply be a group which does not sing. Hence, in terms of what the text says, singing angels are a figment of the imagination of artists throughout the centuries.

I put it that way because that’s likely the place from where images of angels singing emerge. So as a theologian and since Scripture does not mention angels singing, I came up with this solution (quote:): “One angel sings, both silent and plain.” (Slight pause.)

All that re-opens what is for me those same key questions: what is the season about? What should we be addressing, what are we addressing and what do we, as church— as church— in the seasons known as Advent and Christmas? Indeed, is the season about singing angels or are these seasons about something else? (Slight pause.)

We find these words in the work known as Matthew: “John was in prison and heard about the works the Messiah was performing. At that point the Baptizer sent word through a disciple to ask the Rabbi, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ In reply Jesus said, ‘Go back and report to John what you hear and what you see:….’” (Slight pause.)

John is in prison— Merry Christmas. That sounds like a real Christmas tale, warm and fuzzy, a good image for the season, does it not? (Slight pause.) Here’s a peculiar but effective precept for reading Scripture: ignore the details. The details of a story in Scripture are often interesting, can be very helpful as we try to understand it and can illustrate many important points.

On the other hand, Scripture can be said to be about one thing and one thing only and it’s not the details of the stories. Scripture is about theology.

Further, the theology we find in Scripture is fairly straightforward. When we do pay attention to the theology in the text rather than the details, it can be illuminating. How? The theology we find in all of Scripture can be described in two short sentences.

Here they are: God loves us. God loves all humanity and wants to be in covenant with humanity. These simple and central themes can be found throughout Scripture. But one key to finding, to discovering these themes is you sometimes need to ignore the details.

When I say “ignore the details” please do not mis-understand me. Details enrich and enhance what we read. But if we concentrate only on the details— singing angels or jailbird John— and ignore the theological basis of Scripture, that God loves us and wants to be in covenant with humanity, we’ve missed the central message of the Bible.

Of course, we Christians believe there is one additional New Testament theme and it is found in the reading from Matthew we heard today. God loves humanity so much that what was promised by God, this office known as the Messiah, would be eventually fulfilled and that reality embodied by Jesus.

Jesus is the Messiah. The Greek word for Messiah is Christ. And because Jesus holds the office of the Christ, the very presence of Jesus reenforces the idea that God loves us and wants to be in covenant with us.

Please note: if you ignore the details of this reading— from the imprisonment of John to the praise of John offered by Jesus— this statement, that Jesus is the Christ sent because God loves and wants to be in covenant with humanity, contains the totality of the theology we hear, the totality of what this reading means. (Slight pause.)

Well, the day I heard the volunteer bell ringer who was singing at that Big Box Store I bumped into an acquaintance as I exited. We chatted for a couple of minutes.

Unfortunately, that extra time standing outside the store enabled me to hear yet two more so called seasonal selections offered by that person ringing a bell. One was Frosty the Snowman. The second was Here Comes Santa Claus. (Slight pause.)

And yes, that leads me back to the questions: what is so called seasonal music, really? And what is the season about, really?

I think Scripture is clear on that count. In our lives— daily— we need to be addressing, as does this lectionary reading, that God loves humanity and wants to be in covenant with humanity. In our lives— daily— need to be addressing, as does this lectionary reading, that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, a reality which reenforces the fact that God loves us and wants to be in covenant with humanity. (Slight pause.)

I think Frosty the Snowman and Here Comes Santa Claus are fun songs but they do not speak to me about Advent or Christmas. They speak to me about our culture, nothing more, nothing less. And frankly I think most of the time our culture is not up to grappling with the covenant love found in Scripture.

So last and to reiterate something I said last week, what we commemorate in Advent— hope, peace, love and joy— are about the future, our future. We Christians always need to prepare for what will be, look toward the future.

So Christmas is not about the past. Our claim as Christians is that Christ lives, Christmas— this celebration of the birth of the Messiah— is more about the place to which God calls us now and as we move into the future than it is about what happened 2,000 years ago.

Also as Christians we are invited to know that what we celebrate in Advent and Christmastide— hope, peace, love, joy and the birth of the Messiah— are signposts meant to direct us toward both how we live our life with God now, and how we are to live our life with God in the days to come.

And how are we called to live our lives with each other? We are called to live our lives with care, with respect, with understanding and with love. Amen.

12/11/2022
Elijah Kellogg Church, Harpswell, Maine

ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Choral Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “Let me put my hymn writer/theologian hat back on. The chorus of One Angel Sings says the angels praise God with the words, ‘Glory to God, the Peace of God reigns’ and ‘Glory to God Whose presence is here.’ When the word ‘peace’ crops up in the New Testament it is not addressing peace as in the absence of conflict. What peace addresses in the New Testament is the reality of the real presence of God. Or as Luke has the angels put it, ‘Glory to God and on earth, peace…’ I would say the message, both in that hymn and when angels are pictured as saying it, are similar: the real presence of God is with us in the Christ. And that is what Advent and Christmas proclaim.”

BENEDICTION: Let us go in hope and in joy and in peace, for we find love in the One who has made covenant with us. And may the face of God shine upon us; may the peace of Christ rule among us; may the fire of the Spirit burn within us this day and forevermore. Amen.

12/04/2022 ~ Second Sunday of Advent ~ The Sunday on Which We Commemorate Peace ~ Isaiah 11:1-10; Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19; Romans 15:4-13; Matthew 3:1-12 ~ VIDEO OF FULL SERVICE: https://vimeo.com/showcase/7960701/video/778191043

Joy and Peace and Believing


and Wilderness

“May the God of hope fill you with such joy and peace in believing, in your faith, that you may abound with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” — Romans 15:13

My late cousin, Roseanna Genevieve McCool, was technically a member of my grandfather’s generation, despite being closer to my father’s age, just nine years older. But in my family structure, perhaps because she was in that previous generation, she acted as more of a matriarch or grandmother figure than a cousin.

Rose— she was commonly called Rose, the daughter of Irish immigrants who themselves had traveled to these shores— was born in 1911. She grew up on South Third Street in Brooklyn, New York, near the waterfront on the East River.

Williamsburg, as this area of Brooklyn is called, both then and now, is well known as a Jewish enclave. But Rose lived at the Northern end of that area, an Irish enclave. The next neighborhood to the north, Greenpoint, was a German neighborhood— Brooklyn— both then and now a melting pot.

Before I was born, Rose and the rest of the clan had moved further East to the area known as Bushwick but still in Brooklyn. Now, the Catholic church to which Rose belonged in those early years, also on South Third Street, was the Church of Saints Peter and Paul. The parish still exists.

I have distinct, fond memories of Rose telling me about her childhood. Among those memories were the ones of life at that church. Her mother, to make extra money, took in laundry and also did the laundry for the priests at the church. That is to say Rose had deep personal ties at the church, one reason for all those memories.

By the time I came on the scene things at that church were not in good shape as far as Rose was concerned. Over the years she had been back, seen it and knew about the changes.

Inside the church building the worship space had been changed around. How dare they? They had taken out some of the stained glass windows. How dare they? They were using unfamiliar music. How dare they? The church hall and grammar school were being used in ways which were different than when she was a child. How dare they?

Besides, from her perspective both the church and the neighborhood had drastically changed, been overrun by immigrants… twice! That first wave was simply terrible. (Soto voce.) They were Italians. Then in the 1960s Hispanics moved in.

Being upset by Italians and then Hispanics as they became majorities in the neighborhood might sound like and even be a racist sentiment. But I think there is an additional perhaps more visceral explanation for the reaction Rose had. The key question for her was, ‘why can it not be like it was when I was a child?’ (Slight pause.)

These words are from the work known as Romans: “May the God of hope fill you with such joy and peace in believing, in your faith, that you may abound with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Slight pause.)

Perhaps what got me thinking about Rose and her feelings about changes at her childhood church was a statistic I came across. As I said, Rose was born in 1911 to English speaking immigrant parents. And as I am sure you know, the late 19th and early 20th Century was a time of intense immigration in America.

Now, in that era the prayers of Catholic Mass were recited in Latin. But whole sections of the service were conducted in the vernacular of those who attended. From the perspective of Rose the vernacular was English.

But the statistic I found from the United States Census Bureau said in 1906 there were 4,711 Catholic Parishes in America with 6.3 million people where the vernacular was not English. The language spoken at those churches depended on the parish. Take your choice: the language was Polish or Lithuanian or German or Italian, etc., etc., etc.

By 1916 that number had grown to 6,076 parishes or 57% of all Catholic churches in America. So at more than half of the Catholic parishes at that time a language other than English was the dominant tongue. [1] (Slight pause.)

All these immigrants had left their native land, left their roots. It’s likely they felt as if they were in a desert, in the wilderness. So they sought to find some assurance in familiar things— like a church where their native language was spoken. (Slight pause.)

Well, the vernacular in the 1970s at that church in Williamsburg was Spanish and only Spanish. But today that section of Brooklyn is becoming gentrified, going upscale.

So in this changing neighborhood, things have changed things yet again. The Masses are no longer just in Spanish. The Masses are now in both English and Spanish. (Slight pause.)

There are many reasons for people to feel disconnected. Certainly one is being disconnected from a heritage. But disconnect is most often imposed on us from the outside, imposed by change going on around us or migration, immigration or, as was true for Jews in Roman Palestine because of the presence of an occupying army— a daily reminder of the threat of change.

Indeed, we can readily picture the Baptizer in the wilderness eating Locust and grasshoppers as being disconnected. It is, perhaps, not as easy for us to understand that Paul is in the wilderness also. But that’s because we tend to view the era in which Paul lived as a time when somehow, magically, the entire Mediterranean Basin was converted to Christianity.

In fact, most historians believe by the year 100 of the Common Era, some thirty-five years after Paul died, there are still less than 10,000 Christians in the world. Historians also say in the year 315, when Christianity becomes the official religion of the Roman Empire, less than 10% of the population of the Roman Empire is Christian.

It is also believed the churches to whom Paul wrote were gatherings of 50 souls or less. Think about that: in writing the Letter to the Church in rome Paul was writing to maybe 50 people. So Paul faces reality: this small group will not get much bigger in the near term.

Still, despite the truth of small size and slow growth, the Apostle writes about… hope and joy and peace and believing the presence of the Holy Spirit. Paul is not self delusional. But Paul also knows something about the wilderness. (Slight pause.)

The words from this passage are not the final words of the letter we find in our Bibles today. There’s another whole chapter. But these are the final words of the letter found in the oldest manuscripts we know about. So it’s likely the passage we heard today was at one point meant to be the final words, meant to sum up, to recap this letter.

And Romans is said to be Paul’s masterpiece. So I think the letter and the passage can instruct us today on who we are and where we should be going.

Hence, if we are not self delusional perhaps we should ask if we are in the wilderness, in the desert, right now? I want to suggest if we are in the wilderness it is not because of changes to church buildings or the taking out of stained glass windows or use of unfamiliar music or even a changing population. These are things about which people might be nostalgic or even argue about but they are all quite temporary.

You see, the promise of the Dominion says we will live in a world where the hungry are fed always, the homeless find shelter always, the sick have access to care always. And the Dominion of God being near is a real world promise toward which we are invited by God to work. Paul understood that, because when read what Paul wrote carefully, Paul always looks forward not backward.

The Dominion of God, you see, is a promise. It is forward looking, filled with anticipation. Put differently, the Dominion of God is not about nostalgia.

And as a congregation I do think we are trying to head toward the Dominion. After all, look at the mission work of this church. It reflects working in the vineyard.

So I think we do know about joy and peace and believing in the wilderness— and joy and peace and believing in the wilderness does have everything to do with this Season of Advent. But it has nothing to do with things temporary or nostalgia.

It has to do with the work of the Dominion of God— the Dominion of God, where joy and peace and hope and love are both eternal and in the process of being fulfilled. And forward is the place toward which we are called as we do the work of the Dominion. Amen.

Elijah Kellogg Church, Harpswell, Maine
12/04/2022

ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Benediction. This, then, is an précis of what the pastor said before the blessing: “At the Bible Study on Monday— and by the way you are all invited to Bible Study— at the Bible Study I shared this quote from theologian Richard Rhor. The folks in attendance found it relevant so I’ll use it. (Quote:) ‘For centuries, Christianity has presented itself as an “organized religion”— a change-averse institution… that protects and promotes a timeless system of beliefs that were handed down fully formed in the past. Yet Christianity’s actual history is a story of change and adaptation. We Christians have repeatedly adapted our message, methods, and mission to the contours of our time. What might happen if we understand the core Christian ethos as creative, constructive, and forward-leaning— as an ‘organizing religion’ that challenges all institutions (including its own) to learn, grow, and mature toward a deepening, enduring vision of reconciliation with God, self, neighbor, enemy, and creation?’— a quote from Richard Rhor. As I said, Christianity looks forward.”

BLESSING: Let us be present to one another as we go from this place. Let us share our gifts, our hopes, our memories, our pain and our joy. Go in peace for God is with us. Go in joy for God knows every fiber of our being. Go in hope for God reveals to us, daily, that we are a part of God’s new creation. Go in love, for we rest assured, by Christ, Jesus, that God is steadfast. And may the peace of God which surpasses understanding be with us this day and forevermore. Amen.

[1] Page 297, American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us; by Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell; Simon and Schuster; New York 2010.