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26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”
30 Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”
33 With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. 34 He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.
The word of God for the People of God
Brian Suntken shares a story …“The bus dropped us off at the southeast corner of the Temple Mount and our guide, John, led us down a path to the ruins of the ancient City of David. Along the way, we came across a mustard plant. John stopped the group to show us what a mustard seed plant actually looked like. He pulled a pod off of the plant, opened it up and passed it around for all to see. The seeds where so small you could hardly make out the individual kernels. There were hundreds of seeds! And then John quoted Jesus: ‘With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.’
Naturally, in a group of clergy, we all got hot and bothered about finding a mustard plant and by the time the group had passed by this particular plant, there were very few pods left on the bush! I still carry my pod with me every day, after eleven years, in my computer bag. The pod has long ago disintegrated but many of the seeds remain in a small plastic bag: a reminder of my time in the holy city of Jerusalem.
The parable of the Mustard Seed is a very dangerous lesson if we know anything about the mustard plant. Pliny the Elder was a Roman author who lived in the first century of the Common Era, He wrote about his experience with the mustard plant in his encyclopedic Natural History[1]: “Mustard… with its pungent taste and fiery effect is extremely beneficial for the health. It grows entirely wild, though it is improved by being transplanted: but on the other hand, when it is sown it is scarcely possible to get the place free of it, as the seed when it falls germinates at once.[2]
Mark doesn’t have that many parables but the few he has are truly impactful.
This passage concludes an extended string of parables that start in Mark 3:23. When we look at all of Jesus parables in mark together, we can see a way of experiencing Jesus’ continuing ministry as the proclaimer and originator of the, though we do not know when or where, of the reign or “kingdom” of God. One commentator states “In the parables Jesus divulges enough to keep us from throwing up our hands in dismay later in Mark each time we encounter a disciple’s blunder or a command to keep Jesus’ identity secret.”[3]
So, what are Parables? Parables are stories used to compare two things alongside one another to provide metaphor, contrast, or reflection –”usually a reflection similar to the distortions that appear in a funhouse mirror”[4] Jesus’ parables, no matter how long or how short have a way of making his audience re-evaluate their beliefs and their assumptions.
The parables do not tell anyone definitively what heaven is or what the reign of God is supposed to look like, but they do make us want to seek new ways of looking at the world. Then they encourage us to see those glimpses of the kin-dom around us.
Here mark introduces two parables where Jesus is saying the reign of God is like this. Yet just to make all things clear he puts forth two separate images. Jesus speaks about seeds (a common metaphor for formation and education in ancient contexts). He uses these images to illustrate God’s kin-dom is coming and it will come whether you like it or not.
The first parable is of the growing seed.
“No other Gospel contains this parable. Probably because it’s boring. Its plot has all the suspenseful drama of an ordinary elementary-school life sciences textbook. There are no surprises. Everything proceeds according to plan. Jesus simply speaks about seeds and what they are supposed to do. They grow and produce. Moreover, they grow and produce without your help or your intricate knowledge of germination or photosynthesis or palea, thank you very much.”[5]
In other words, the reign of God is coming, it is taking root, it is growing. It will grow with your knowledge of it or without. It will grow among you to whom Jesus is speaking, it will grow among the poor and the outcast, it will grow in the empire despite the empire. The kingdom of God is a natural thing as natural as a seed growing.
I always think of our little mustard flower that can be found just about anywhere in America. However, the one Jesus is addressing is a different variety. The mustard plant can grow into a shrub especially the south African variety which is often what is found in the area of Jerusalem. There is a picture of the shrub shared in our story on the cover of your bulletin. It can get to be quite a healthy and pervasive plant.
John Dominic Crossan, in his book Jesus A Revolutionary Biography states that “the mustard plant is dangerous even when domesticated in the garden, and is deadly when growing wild in the grain fields. And those nesting birds, which may strike us as charming, represented to ancient farmers a permanent danger to the seed and to the grain. The point, in other words, is not just that the mustard plant starts as a proverbially small seed and grows into a shrub of three, four, or five feet in height. It is that it tends to take over where it is not wanted, that it tends to get out of control, and that it tends to attract birds within cultivated areas, where they are not particularly desired. And that, said Jesus, is what the Kingdom of God was like. Like a pungent shrub with dangerous take-over properties.[6]
In other words, the reign of God will take root — whether in the world, in imperial society, or in someone’s heart, Jesus does not specify. It will grow gradually and automatically (the New Revised Standard Version renders automate in Mark 4:26 as what the earth does “on its own”). It will grow perhaps so subtly that you won’t even notice, until at last it produces its intended fruit.
But Jesus goes on to describe two things that are well actually funny. The whole point of the mustard seed and the way it grows… Some of Jesus’ listeners must have groaned or chuckled. Imagine him speaking today of thistles or ground-ivy or better yet dandelions, but bigger, and more useful, since mustard has a range of medicinal qualities. In any case, the reign of God apparently isn’t much of a cash crop. Yet it grows. It is not easily eradicated. Good luck keeping it out of your well-manicured garden or your farmland. Better be careful what you pray for when you say, “Your kingdom come…”
The second point Jesus describes it as the greatest of shrubs well…. It can grow dense, but it is hardly magnificent. Jesus must be grinning as he speaks. He is not aiming to impart insights about the relative worth of shrubberies but to shock people into a new way of perceiving greatness.
And once the seed is planted there will be no control over it. It will grow naturally, it will grow willfully, and it will grow with the help of humans or without. Perhaps that was the sin of Rome trying to control where the spirit leads. Trying to benefit from kingdom of God as opposed to being servants within the kin-dom of God.
This parable contradicts the other parable of the seed where it falls on different soils and hardly survives in this message mark is saying it is the nature of God’s reign to grow and to manifest itself. That’s what it does. As a lamp belongs on a lampstand (Mark 4:21-22), God’s reign, like a seed, must grow, even if untended and even if its gradual expansion is nearly impossible to detect.
At first glance this story seems to bring comfort and well assumptions one already knows of the kin-dom of God. This points out that something very small will eventually morph into something much larger; also, something that appears obscure and insignificant will turn into something public and grand. Yet there is more: the reign of God won’t just grow for the sake of looking pretty, but creatures will find that it provides them shelter and security.
Not a majestic home or a pretty home but a secure home. Those flocks of birds those are not what one wants near their farm or gardens because they will eat and pick at the crops and plants. The landowner would be shoeing them away trying to protect his crop. Protect his world as he knows it. Not wanting to share with the uninvited guest and yet…
“so too it promises to upend a society’s ways of enforcing stability and relegating everyone to their “proper” places. The reign of God will mess with established boundaries and conventional values. Like a fast-replicating plant, it will get into everything. It will bring life and color to desolate places. It will crowd out other concerns. It will resist our manipulations. Its humble appearance will expose and mock pride and pretentiousness like a good burlesque show.”
There is story after story in the gospel of how Jesus walks and acts and does what this vision of the kin-dom of God is. In and through parables we get glimpses of this wild, out of control, kin-dom that is always seeking out new ways. Gods reign is upon us and yet often we choose to look the other way, or worse yet we tend to look backwards.
We are all guilty of it. When the spirit starts moving, we panic. We pull out all the old excuses …we have always done it this way…well we did this in the past and it worked then so let’s focus on what we did …do not move forward…do not change. We do this as individuals, as congregations, as associations, as conferences, and even as denominations.
Heck they even do it the old testament. “You may remember the story of the Hebrew nation escaping from slavery in Egypt. Moses led them out, God parted the Red Sea to get them to safety, and they began to cross the wilderness into the Promised Land.
The problem that occurred really began when the folks began to miss what they had in Egypt. According to the complainers, they had it made in the shade when they were slaves. They had pots full of meat, cucumbers, melons, garlic, leeks, and onions (and some good mouthwash, I hope).” [7]
We can find resistance in that other famous movement known as NIMBY. Not in my back yard. It is fine if as a church you want to feed the hungry, shoe the children, clothe the poor. But do not do it at your church it will attract the wrong kind of people.
You can hear the concern expressed and the wild kin-dom of god moving in this short article from the los Angeles daily news.
“On the second night after his church opened its parking lot to people living out of their cars, vans and other vehicles, Glenn Nishibayashi noticed a mother and daughter using one of the spaces.
He was interested in knowing how the previous evening worked out for them and went over to inquire.
“This was the first good night’s sleep I’ve had in weeks,” the woman told him.
She explained that she was more accustomed to fitful nights parked on the street, staying half-awake so she could be alert to potentially being approached by strangers or rousted by police officers.
Members of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church were initially concerned about the possible risks of opening up their parking lot to down-and-out strangers. But talking to the mother and daughter reassured Nishibayashi that their congregation had made the right decision to give the program a try.
“This is exactly what this program is for,” said the 61-year-old Nishibayashi, whose grandparents helped found the historically Japanese American church located in what is now Los Angeles’ Koreatown.
“It gets rid of that worry, so you can function so much better,” he said. “This told me we were doing exactly the right thing.”[8] There are always new and better ways of being church.
“For many, church time is a sobering time. But for a growing number of American Christians, it’s the best time to crack open a beer.
Just ask the so-called “Church-in-a-pub” gathering in Fort Worth, Texas, which worships at the Zio Carlo brewpub and toasts with craft beer. These Sunday evening services are meant to offer “salvation and everlasting life with really good beer,” according to a recent broadcast by NPR. The creative approach appears to be working: The event attracts about 30-40 congregants weekly, and the group is looking to expand to more locations.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America recently deemed Church-in-a-pub a Synodically Authorized Worshipping Community.”[9]
The face of Christianity is always changing and the ways we serve those around us in need is evolving. The way people come together to worship is getting radical. The way sanctuary is expressed is always on the move.
“Twice a week, every Sunday and Monday night, around a dozen New Yorkers gather in long, candle-lit studio apartment nestled between a hair salon and some warehouses in one of Brooklyn’s latest hip neighborhoods. They’re actors, singers, seminarians and new parents, and they sit in groups of six around tables in one of the simplest and most untraditional Christian worship spaces the city has to offer.
St. Lydia’s Church has no pews, no altar, no vestments, no band or choir, and little formality of any kind. Instead, church means drums and chanting, with frequent references to Jesus; breaking bread and drinking communion grape juice; and a long, three-hour homemade vegetarian dinner punctuated by Bible readings, a sermon and frequent talk of what it means to be a young spiritual seeker in Brooklyn. The pastor is ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, but the members themselves range from atheist and agnostic to evangelical, Catholic and Episcopalian.”[10]
In San Francisco ministers walk the street at night. They stop by bars and social events to check on their congregation. They offer counseling and a friendly face to the indigent and the affluent alike. But their church has no walls.
“San Francisco Night Ministry, now at 54 years, is often referred to as the Church’s “Night Shift.” We are engaged in over 21,000 significant conversations, and serve over 9,500 meals each year, becoming an important bridge and steady support for many people as they face the darkness of the night, but not alone. We provide compassionate, non-judgmental pastoral care, care of the soul, counseling, referrals, and crisis intervention to anyone in any kind of distress, every night of the year between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.m. … the Night Ministry sponsors two Open Cathedrals. They are outdoor worship services — one in the Tenderloin and one in the Mission. They are weekly worship services followed by a time of sharing food. We provide meals and we also offer an opportunity for conversation and prayer and crisis intervention. We have a wellness program, a community-building program to extend our outreach to many more people in need. We believe that our work helps to make San Francisco a city that is healthier, safer, and more stable for all who live and work here.”[11]
The kin-dom of God is uncontrollable. It is as wild as the mustard seed and it thrives in the wild places, In parking lots and small apartments, in pubs and on the streets. For us this is a place a nourishment and soul enrichment but then…then what. You have to let the spirit move, let it take control if you have a vision or a concept that seems to far out there…well form what we just heard how far out can it be?
It is never too soon to start something new. There is no rule that says you must wait for a new settled pastor to start something. I truly believe there is great ministry opportunity in this community you just need to follow your heart to find it. Let some of that mustard seed wildness go and let it grow into a vison of the Uncontrollable Kingdom of God here and now. Amen!
[1] http://john13verse34.blogspot.com/2012/03/lent-2-thursday-mustard-seed.html
[2] Pliny, H. Rackham, W. H. S. Jones, and D. E. Eichholz. Natural History. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1991, 170-171
[3] https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-11-2/commentary-on-mark-426-34-4
[4] Ditto
[5] https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-11-2/commentary-on-mark-426-34-4
[6] Crossan, John Dominic. Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography. New York: HarperOne, 1995, page 65.
[7] http://davezuchelli.com/2016/10/back-egypt-committee/
[8] https://www.dailynews.com/2018/04/30/for-homeless-people-living-in-their-cars-southern-california-churches-temples-open-their-parking-lots/
[9] https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/04/church-beer_n_4212545.html
[10] https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/11/future-of-sacred-space_n_7228650.html
[11] http://www.sfnightministry.org/joomla/index.php/about/what-we-do
Who is in and who is out? We are family!
I open this reflection with a direct quote from sermon seeds, a ucc online resource because it sums up all that is happening so well…
“This scene from the early part of Jesus’ ministry, right after he has chosen his twelve apostles, feels almost as chaotic to read about as it must have seemed to those gathered around Jesus. It might be helpful to get a sense of how the Gospel of Mark itself feels–it’s no leisurely story with nice, long sermons and extended conversations (think the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, and the woman at the well, or Nicodemus, in John). The Marcan Jesus is on the move constantly, like a man on a mission with little time to spare and even less patience with people who like to criticize everything he does.
We’re only in the third chapter of Mark now, but a quick read of those first chapters is exhausting: Jesus has gone from his hometown to the wilderness to Galilee to the sea to Capernaum to a house to a deserted place and back out to the towns of Galilee (in just the first chapter) and then back to Capernaum and home, and then to the sea, and to Levi’s house, through the grain fields and to the synagogue, and then back to the sea, into a boat, before heading up the mountain where he gathers those twelve apostles around him, and then, finally, he goes home.
Imagine all this travel with desperate crowds around him (people “from every quarter,” 1:45), clinging to him, begging for healing, begging to be released from the demons that had hold of them, and then picture a group of carping critics picking at everything he did–breaking the rules about healing on the Sabbath, eating with tax collectors and sinners, and not fasting as they should. In other words, finding it more lawful to meet human need than to let human suffering go on unnecessarily: Jesus understood the heart of God’s Law.
Of course, we can understand that the crowds couldn’t help themselves: who among us would not do whatever it took to get our sick child, for example, to a healer who was doing the amazing things being attributed to Jesus? Still, it’s poignant to see how Jesus couldn’t even go home and have a meal in peace (a practice with much greater significance in that culture than we allow in our own).
In chapter two, people dig through his roof and drop a paralyzed person right next to him, hoping for a cure, and after admiring their faith and handling the criticism of the scribes when he forgives the man’s sins, Jesus tells the man to get up and walk. That healing amazes the crowd, of course, and makes Jesus even more sought-after, but it really gets the attention of the powers that be, which explains why they’re back again, all the way from Jerusalem, here in the third chapter, as Jesus tries once more to go into a house for a break from all this activity.
The problems with crowd control persist, so much so that Jesus can’t even have supper with his friends, his disciples. But he isn’t surrounded only by people who were willing to admit their brokenness and their need, along with those institutional critics who, we suspect by this time, are looking to find fault with Jesus rather than to affirm the wonderful thing God is doing in him. The growing crowd also includes, of all people, the family of Jesus: his mother and his brothers, who can’t even get inside the house and talk to him face to face.”[1]
That brings the next part of the text…Jesus’ family. We do not know exactly what prompted Jesus’ mother and brothers to come and well, give him a talking too…but it may have been the stirring up of the crowds…it may have been the exorcisms… Jesus was changing the conversation around sin and heaven and well it scared some people and his family might have been just scared for him too. It may have been they felt he needed a break…we just don’t know.
But here in the midst of bickering and crowds and confusion and family trying to push in and other people probably yelling hey we were here first. Your wrong about Jesus no your wrong about Jesus …Jesus heal me. Jesus teach me …in the middle of that confusion some one pauses and says hey Jesus your family is here…Jesus paused looked around him and said you are my family. Right here, right now, you are my family ….” whoever does the will of God is my brother and my sister and mother.”
“the text reveals the startling truth that even Jesus had family problems. The dynamics that happen within familial relationships are part of the human condition. Evidence of this can even be found within the gospel passage highlighted this week. Family may be defined by blood lines of ancestry, secured by formal and informal adoption, or expanded to include ties voluntarily bound to be like family. “You can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family” as an expression gets disproven by groups of people in small and large units as well as the biblical witness.”
“The family of Jesus–his mother and brothers–make their way through much of the crowd to reach the outside door of the house where Jesus was sitting. Scholars note that even such a small detail is significant: Judith Hoch Wray says that “house” is the “key word” here, and the understanding of who is on the inside and who is on the outside is central to the meaning of this passage .”[2]
Who is inside and who is outside of the “house?” Who is inside or outside of the church. That is a question that comes at me from so many ways. It stirs me up. It upsets me. It brings pain and joy and understanding and confusion all at once.
I recall a time when I was paying a bit more attention to this.. Maybe because it is Pride month…I don’t know…I think it started on face book someone asked what is cis gender? They wanted to know what it meant.
“Ryan Ashley Caldwell It’s when the gender you were assigned at birth actually matches the cultural gender expectations for presentation once older. It’s as if you’re saying “yes!” To your assigned at birth gender. (All this assumes a binary system and not a queer identity)”[3]
That is a great description it’s all very scientific…. until…one-person claims “labels used to divide and separate!” I pointed out that here are more terms to help understand and lift up and celebrate our glorious differences. He didn’t like that too much, the conversation went on until this
“The less united we are as a population (through divisive labels), the more manipulation can occur by the media and the more control can occur by the government. We can no longer be ______Insert name here (identified by those that know me with my quirks, foibles, etc.), we now have to be known by our labels… race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, pregnancy, citizenship, familial status, disability, veteran, genetic information… and yes, all the above are protected with the only class of people remaining without protection are white males 19-39 years of age unless they’re a religion other than Christian, are married, are disabled, or are a veteran.”[4]
Well I am assuming, from this post, this young man is white between the ages of 18-39 single, and considers himself Christian. Yikes …. who is in and who is out? Who is my family?
June 4th was the Pride flag raising from Hart plaza in Detroit, my hometown…When I was young and in Detroit we could barely have a pride rally for fear of retaliation and now they wave the pride flag with the mayor present and council people present. It really is amazing to see how far some communities have come and yet…the ACLU is tracking 515 anti LGBTIQQ pieces of legislation across this country..
A few years ago a minister who is serving in a UCC church shared some pain. “This last Sunday during my sermon, I revealed that I was transgender and transitioning. (I should begin by saying we are an ONA congregation, and the leadership of the church already knew I was transgender.)
The initial response from the congregation was either positive and supportive, or neutral. I heard nothing that was negative to my face. All day Monday I was in the office and not a word was said to me about my revelation. There was a great deal more silence in my presence than normal from the church staff who are also on council (I know, you bad idea, small congregation, old practices die hard.)
I found out last night that our Council President had called in our Association General Minister to attend our Council Meeting this evening (and did so without consulting with other folks on Council.) Please pray that tonight’s meeting will be civil, that love will prevail, and God’s will be done.”
I reached out to her and she basically said I am treading water right now…It did work out fine but. No one…no one should have to tread water in the United Church of Christ, or any Church for that matter! This is unacceptable and yet it goes on day after day. Sometimes in more subtle ways…If we hire a gay pastor, they will turn us into a gay church! It’s okay to be a gay Pastor just don’t talk about it. Here is one I got from the LAPD before being approved as a chaplain …please do not evangelize your openly gay agenda??? I am not sure what that would even mean.
To this day there are 64 countries that Criminalize same sex relations. Ther are 40 countries that countries criminalize private, consensual sexual activity between women. There are 12 countries have jurisdictions in which the death penalty is imposed or at least a possibility for private, consensual same-sex sexual activity. At least 6 of these implement the death penalty – Iran, Northern Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen – and the death penalty is a legal possibility in Afghanistan, Brunei, Mauritania, Pakistan, Qatar, UAE and Uganda. 14 countries criminalise the gender identity and/or expression of transgender people, using so-called ‘cross-dressing’, ‘impersonation’ and ‘disguise’ laws.
One other note about this week this Sunday they are celebrating Pride in Los Angeles, which incidentally was founded by Christian ministers, Rev. Bob Humphries (founder of the United States Mission), Morris Kight (a founder of the Gay Liberation Front), and Rev. Troy Perry (founder of the Metropolitan Community Church) they came up with the idea as a way to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall uprisings. but before all the festivities today thousands of people on Bikes rode in after riding all week, 545 miles from San Francisco to los Angeles raising over 11 million dollars for the San Francisco Aids foundation and los Angeles LGBT Center both supplying life saving service.
On the opposite end of that the house republicans passed a bill fr funding vet services and attached to it were bills deny gender affirming care for veterans and a rule saying vet services cannot fly a rainbow flag anywhere on government property.
For generations the LGBTQ community and many others have sought out their own kind, like-minded people and declared them their family, a family of choice, a family of necessity, just as Jesus did in this gospel reading today.
I saw a wonderful meme yesterday which answers a question so often heard; “when is straight Pride?” The meme says straight Pride would be equivalent to having soup kitchens for the Poor.
This is why we are an open and affirming congregation and why the ONA movement is crucial. To this day only about a third of UCC churches are intentionally proclaiming to be ONA.
The Gay community is a family! We are a family! A family of loving and supporting Christians. We Live in a community that needs healing and safe places for all families. I pray we continue to reach out and let everyone know that is just who we are! Amen
[1] http://www.ucc.org/worship_samuel_sermon_seeds_june_10_2018
[2] http://www.ucc.org/worship_samuel_sermon_seeds_june_10_2018
[3] https://www.facebook.com
[4] https://www.facebook.com
Today’s Gospel reading has us again abiding with, remaining in God. Living out the Great commandment to love one another “that our Joy may be complete!” Jesus is lifting up his followers claiming and proclaiming; I no longer call you servants but “I call you friends”. So Lovely, what a beautiful concept it calls to mind the old hymn Oh what a friend we have in Jesus… A friend of Jesus a friend in God….
Let me share this Fred Craddock story….
Fred explains that for some reason he had never preached on this verse before and he found himself a little nervous;
“From servant to friend – do you welcome, will you accept this promotion?…
I must acknowledge that my trembling before john 15:15 has an antecedent in a sermon heard almost twenty years ago on a kindred theme: Abraham was called a friend of God James 2:23 The preacher, a large man, made painfully awkward by a number of maladies, including poor eyesight, moved to the pulpit and read in crippled speech his sermon text James 2:23.
His opening words were, “Abraham was a friend of God. I’m sure glad I am not a friend of God.” His sermon was an explanation of why he was pleased not to be a friend of God…. (Fred goes on to explain)
I cannot recall being so engaged in a sermon… He recalled the story of Abraham, pilgrim and wanderer, who, after years of homelessness, died and was buried in a land not his own. “Abraham was a friend of God,” He said; “I’m glad I’m not. “He then spoke of others who had been called friends of God, faithful in spite of dungeon, fire, and sword. He concluded with Teresa of Avila, remembered by the church as a friend of God. He recalled her begging in public to raise funds for an orphanage. After a series of setbacks- flood, storm and fire repeatedly destroying the orphanage- Teresa in her evening prayers said to God, “So this is how you treat your friends; no wonder you have so few.” The sermon closed with Counsel: if you find yourself being drawn into the inner circle of the friends of God, blessed are you. But pray for strength to bear the burden of it.”[1]
Oh what a friend we have in Jesus… Cradock’s story does make one pause
One way this Easter season can be described is “trekking through John’s Gospel!” This passage is more of the same of last weeks passage it is a continuation of Jesus’ farewell speech. So, we are still on the move, called to remain in Christ’s love. To make our Home in Christ and allow Christ to make a home in us.
This part of Jesus’ teaching opens with as the father has loved me so I have loved you and ends with I am giving you these commandments so that you can love one another. A Nice pair of Book ends. But the opening verse does make me ask or ponder and wonder: how has Jesus loved us as God loves Jesus? What is this mirror image supposed to tell us about Jesus’ love for his people, the love in which we are to remain?
Well, there are some things we learn as we have walk with Jesus through the Gospels… “God’s love towards Jesus is demanding, full of presence and promise, rich in public displays of God’s power. It prunes, cleanses, molds, forms, challenges, and supports Jesus in his ministry. This is the love of Jesus Christ in which we are invited to abide.”[2] or remain.
This is the Love we are called to live into, a love fully and completely around us at all times, Challenging us to do better, to be better. This love we are called into is full of the promise of being welcomed home into the eternal love that is God.
Jesus emphatically says this road of remaining in me consists in keeping his commandments (John 15:10). So, what is Jesus’ commandments he is requiring us to keep? This is the little trick in John…John assumes his readers and his community know the stories of Christ including the great Commandment. Jesus again urges his disciples to do this since he has kept God’s commandments, and the results of such remaining, the results of that love were observable in all he did, and we can still live into that presence today!
One commentator reflects that in the first two versus of this reading we can imaging “a parent leaning over a young baby, with smiles, trying to elicit smiles, and with gestures encouraging the baby to do the same as the parent.” Of course, how many parents recall trying to get their baby to smile and they get everything other than a smile? Jesus knows we are human. Yet, Jesus’ use of himself as the model for love, and for commandment keeping, is anchored in daily life. One imagines his encouragement: “You can do this! You can do this because I have done it, and I am here to show you how to do it.”
“Verse 11; “I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” This, this is an odd outcome, this is not one would expect to hear…the result of keeping Christs commandments is Joy–joy. And not just any joy, but the joy of Jesus the Christ, a complete joy. I would even venture to say an incomprehensible joy. But what does this mean? What does this Joy look like? I believe it means an exuberance of faith that nothing can destroy. It means a deep-seated sense of happiness that is not merely emotion alone, but also a lively pleasure in the things of God. It is such a deep-rooted joy that even in the most challenging of times we can find a comfort or even a bit of holy sarcasm…remember Teresa’s prayer…in the face of extreme adversity she can comfortably come to God and say so this is how you treat your friends…
This passage gives a view of what we are truly called to as Christians.
These words of Jesus effectively combine human action, the fulfilling of his commandments, love God with your whole heart and love your neighbor, with a radical human emotion as their effect, Joy! remaining in Jesus the risen Lord is not a matter of grim-faced respectability or dour commandment keeping −it is a joy, a holy hilarity!
Right here is the great commandment, as Jesus reminds us is “that you love one another, as I have loved you” (John 15:12). love one another. Jesus extends the depths and extent of this love by saying the greatest expression of love is dying for one’s friends.
Let me say this… there are many ways of dying that do not require a cross.
Giving up time or a want, so that another may be happy, sacrificing a meal so another may eat, walking a little further down a road so one does not have to be alone. These are all little deaths, deaths of one’s own ego. Sacrificing of our time, talent and giving up our many ways of being self-serving and becoming self-sacrificing truly this is laying down one’s life for their friends.
Biblical commentators have pointed out some interesting issues of which to be aware of in verses 12 and 13. In these verses, Jesus is speaking of love between and among friends. What about the enemies? The strangers? Would one die for love of these as well? Well, well, well, what about that…if we love our neighbor no matter who that is…how can they be an enemy. Often one is heard to ask who is my neighbor? Who am I called to love, who is my friend that I am called to love? Well…mm mm…ok who is my enemy, who, I mean really who is your enemy? Who is so excluded from our world view that we can truly claim them as an enemy. In Mathew we are reminded you have heard love your neighbor, but I say love your enemies.
In this day and age, we may feel we have enemies at times, but do we really? Aren’t our true enemies empire? Perhaps our enemies are attitudes of what mine is mine and what yours is mine, or attitudes of superiority which can easily be seen in white privilege and male dominance or the way society may scapegoat a particular ethnic population. The list could go on and on. But we do not, as Christians, have people as enemies. I believe we have behaviors, attitudes and egos to resist and hearts and minds to change!
Jesus reminds us “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”, Jesus then clarifies how he regards his disciples. They are not strangers, nor merely disciples, and certainly not just servants: they are friends.
Jesus notes the reason he calls them “friends” is he has shared the riches of all he has with them, in terms of his relationship with God. “I have made known to you everything…” (John 15:15). Here Jesus’ offer of the intimacy of friendship is overwhelming. To live in the love of Jesus, Jesus the Risen Lord, is to be invited into friendship with God. There it is, we are invited. Through the Gospels Jesus has made known to us everything as well and so we are called to be friends of God.
Friends of God. The reality of the friendship with Jesus that is offered, in full disclosure is this; To know the Risen Christ is to know the heart of God. Then Jesus reminds us we did not choose Christ but Christ chose us…We are chosen just as the disciples are chosen John 15:16 and then we are reminded of what it means to be a disciple, a follower of Christ…Go and bear fruit …fruit that will last.
We are receiving something we did not create, go searching for, or earn on our own. This is pure grace…the gifted-ness of God.
But there is responsibility attached to the work of fruit bearing. Not only are we to do it, but we are to bear “fruit that will last.”
Bearing fruit means making wise choices and decisions for the work of and on behalf of God. It means acting thoughtfully over a life time; discerning what thoughts, words, and actions best serve the intentions of a loving God in this world.
Let us Pray as we continue to grow in God that we be that loving presence of Christ, just as Christ is that loving presence in us. So that all around us one by one hearts and minds may be changed, bent towards the arch of love. That truly is fruit that will last!
[1] The collected sermons of Fred B Craddock189-190
[2] Sermon seeds
Abide in Love
“by the word I have spoken to you.
4 “Abide in me,
as I abide in you.
Just as a branch cannot bear fruit by itself
unless it abides in the vine,
so you cannot bear fruit
unless you abide in me.
5 “I am the vine,
you are the branches.
Whoever abides in me, and I in him,
will bear much fruit.”
Abide is a word hardly used anymore. Most modern translations have moved away from that as in the translation I used in today’s proclamation of the Bible. I will get into that in a bit.
The Gospel of John often provides the image of a good shepherd to describe the close, caring relationship between God and Jesus, and between Jesus and us. Perhaps we’re not herders of sheep, or at least not all of us, but we get the idea of what John is talking about.
First of all, the shepherd image is familiar to us from the much-loved and often-memorized Psalm 23; “The Lord is my shepherd.” And, from childhood, we’ve seen many paintings of Jesus with a little lamb over his shoulders, the flock grazing peacefully around him. Ok it was a little white Jesus with the perfectly clean cloak tending to sheep and children. How come Jesus never appears disheveled or dirty and yet he worked with mud, traveled all over the countryside, got on his hands and knees to wash feet. This is the miracle that is never spoken of.
Of course, Understanding ourselves as little lambs, enfolded in God’s care, is reassuring, and reassurance was what the disciples and the early Christian community needed, especially John’s community. Just as the disciples must have been bewildered by some of the things Jesus was saying, and anxious about the negative response of religious and political leaders, so the early Christians a generation later, kicked out of the temple which was their religious and spiritual home, they also needed a word of tender reassurance from the risen Christ, telling them that they weren’t alone or abandoned.
In this week’s reading, John uses the image of a vine and its branches, to help–and challenge–that early community, and ours today, in order to claim our close relationship with Jesus. In Jesus’ time, people would have been familiar with the vine metaphor; it appears in the Hebrew Scriptures several times to describe Israel. Around here the image is not all that vivid (unlike when we lived in Sonoma county), yet even if contemporary Christians in other parts have never tended a vineyard, most of us have seen a grapevine at one time or another even if just a photo.
Looking closely, we see the many entwined branches, winding their way around one another in intricate patterns of tight curls that make it impossible to tell where one branch starts or another one ends. This image is replicated in earthen ware, stained glass windows, on wine glasses …we have seen this image of vine and branch and grapes everywhere. This is not just intricate; it’s intimate, and the vine shares with its branches the nutrients that sustain it, the life force of the whole plant. Even closer than the shepherd there on the hillside, this vine is one with its branches.
Father Nicholas King points out that “This passage starts off with the powerful image of Jesus as the Vine; the image has a double point to it. First, the believer is invited to belong to Jesus but, second, the pruning associated with this belonging is an uncomfortable activity, although we may reflect that it is more comfortable than ‘being thrown into the fire and burnt’.” (page 2046)
This reminded me of something I saw on Facebook from Bishop Yvette Flunder
First I guess I should fill you in on who she is…Bishop Yvette Flunder, Rev. Dr. Yvette A. Flunder is an unapologetic disciple and proponent of the radically inclusive love of Jesus Christ, who has raised her voice for justice from the church house to the White House and to the steps of the Supreme Court.
Yvette is a native San Franciscan and third generation preacher with roots in the Church of God in Christ. Bishop Flunder is an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ and holds both masters and doctorate degrees in Ministry from the Pacific School of Religion and the San Francisco Theological Seminary, respectively. In 2003, she was appointed Presiding Bishop of The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries, a multi-denominational coalition of over 56 churches and faith-based organizations from all over the world.
Bishop Flunder is an active voice for the Religion Council of the Human Rights Campaign, as well as for the National Black Justice Coalition. Bishop Flunder is a highly sought after preacher and religious educator as evidenced by her having spoken at divinity schools nationwide including those at Duke, Yale, Drew, and the New York Theological Seminary. She is the author of Where the Edge Gathers: A Theology of Homiletic Radical Inclusion, published by Pilgrim Press. In addition to her memorable sermons, Bishop Flunder is also known for her beautiful singing voice, made famous through her gospel recordings with Walter Hawkins and the Family, the City of Refuge Choir and Chanticleer.
That said she asked this; “I have 2 questions that I would love to hear honest answers to…
Would you love or serve God differently were you to find hell non-existent?
Could you welcome people into a deeper relationship with God without the threat of hell?
You know the whole concept of being thrown into the fire and burnt… this question had over 168 commenters and shares so far the very first response was “NO” plain and simple…ok
The next response came; “Leilani Webb Bishop, I would still serve God if hell was nonexistent. Honestly, I chose God because He chose me, I didn’t choose Him because of hell, I chose Him because I could live with Him! I serve a master who isn’t petty, who doesn’t pose harm or the thought of harm, but a master, who loved me enough long before I made it here to this planet to die for me! He loves me and that means life to me, my life! I would still witness God to the masses! Blessings”
“Darrell Ferrell Melton 1) No 2) I already do! My journey to salvation had more to do with a personal hell. God saved me from my self-destruction. When seeking salvation as an adult, hell wasn’t my reason….”
“Rebecca Voelkel This is one of those moments when I am keenly aware of the differences within Christian tradition. I have simply never believed in Hell, nor the threat of damnation. I know it is a weapon used by many in our tradition, but it has never been part of my theology, my worship practice, nor how I was raised. I am so deeply grateful to you, Bishop Pearson and others who are able to speak into the parts of our community who have been so wounded by the threats of hellfire. But my motivation and hope in the gospel is all about the extravagant love of God and call to authenticity and liberation- personally and in transforming systems of oppression. Love you, Bishop!”
And I will share one final quote from Rev. Dr. “Durrell Watkins If someone were to convince me that hell was real (especially for not holding certain opinions/beliefs), I would STOP worshipping God. 1. How good could that God’s heaven be? 2. If ppl are excluded from heaven for any reason then the overwhelming grief of those who made it would keep it from being heavenly. 3. If belief is required for eternal security then grace is a lie…belief just becomes the currency with which we purchase salvation. 4. If god created a hell and doomed ppl to it for any reason such a god would be tyrannical, and tyrants must be resisted at all costs.
I don’t need the threat of hell to be a person of faith. In fact, such a threat would hinder belief in a truly loving, good god (for me)”[1]
I enjoyed the dynamics of this discussion and I think it points to an important part of todays Gospel reading. In the United church of Christ, we proclaim that we don’t take the bible literally, but we do take it seriously. This is one of those moments.
I do not believe for one moment that there is anyone burning in hell…that said I do believe that when we get to heaven our hearts and minds (so to speak) are so open to understanding all that we have done and haven’t done through the Lense of the great I am, the greatest of all love, pure love that the only thing that could be possibly more profound than our own remorse would be the grace , the abundant love and all loving forgiveness of God.
That is not a free pass. I pray my missed marks; my transgressions are few and small enough that the grief of full divine comprehension is surpassed by the joy of reunion with the source of all love. The key here is Love. Johns whole Gospel is about how to love. This passage is about Love.
You see this little passage is about the community. The community working together shall bear much fruit. It is not I am divine and single, individual you are de branch… Gail R. O’Day finds the “anonymity” in this metaphor “stark.” John isn’t interested, she says, in “distinctions in appearance, character, or gifts.”
O’Day contrasts John and Paul’s writings, with Paul using the differences between the members of the body to define “what it means to be a body.” On the other hand, John, instead of highlighting our individual gifts and roles, “challenges contemporary Western understandings of personality, individualism, and self-expression.” For John, O’Day writes, “The mark of the faithful community is how it loves, not who are its members” (John, The New Interpreter’s Bible).
We often hear that word, “love,” in John’s writings. Love is at the heart of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Love is the way we live in community and the way we relate to each other. Readings from John has us tread in the warm waters of love. “Love” can be a state of being, a way one operates in the world by living through and living out love. This is the word abide as it appears in other translations of today’s Gospel. Fred Craddock understandably calls it “the central verb” in the passage and emphasizes its importance in the entire Gospel of John (Preaching through the Christian Year B).
Sometimes hearing this from another translation allows it to land more fully on the heart …
The Vine and the Branches
15 1-3 “I am the Real Vine and my Father is the Farmer. He cuts off every branch of me that doesn’t bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing he prunes back so it will bear even more. You are already pruned back by the message I have spoken.
4 “Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me.
5-8 “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant.
Eugene Peterson, the Author of the message, renders “abide” in verse 4 a little differently, but with the same meaning, as Jesus teaches his followers, “Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you” (The Message). Just as we need the air to breathe, so we need food and nourishment to live. We need shelter and community; we need a home. Christ is that home. The home that is a safe place, a warm place, a place that every home should be…The early Christians, who had in a very real sense lost their spiritual homes and perhaps, along with them, their family ties and their physical homes, were undoubtedly comforted by this thought.
Now what do we do with this love we are living into? That we are making our home? What is it we are called to do? It would be good to just sit here and abide in Christ’s love. Wouldn’t it be good to be stagnant on a branch and just let love grow and do nothing with it. Wouldn’t it be just SOOO comfortable sort of like staying in a warm bed on a cool foggy morning?
Yet the fruit of the vine must be used otherwise it withers and dies on the vine.
So here is an interesting note; this discourse is part of a long farewell speech. Jesus has just finished supper. Judas has left, and Jesus has predicted Peter will deny him and then this speech starts. He explains the comforter to come. It’s a good two paragraphs and then the last sentence answers the question I asked. Just before Jesus starts this discussion of abiding in love he says;
“Arise let us go from here…”
The I am the vine you are the branch is given on the move. The speech is not given in a stagnant moment but a vibrant active moment. We are learning of the love we are called to abide in, but we are on the move.
Charles Cousar doesn’t skip over the significance of that last verse in chapter 14 or its connection to what follows: “Jesus’ words are a call to get moving.” Jesus is speaking to his followers, a community whose witness and service (perhaps it would be better to say “witness of service”) expresses a “distinctiveness from the world” that provokes “distrust and hatred (15:18-19)” (Texts for Preaching Year B).
In a way, there’s a tension here: the word “abide” could suggest “planted” (like a vine, perhaps?), in place, rooted, fixed. But Jesus’ command to “rise up” puts us in motion, in mission, in works that bear witness and bear fruit at the same time. Sarah Henrich is helpful here: “Bearing fruit does not create disciples,” she writes; “bearing fruit reveals disciples. Both of these activities are dependent on abiding in Jesus, the real vine” (Feasting on the Word Year B, Vol. 2).
This is a call to each of us as individuals but more importantly to the church as a community. This is written to a community in exile seeking revitalization. This is written to us today as we seek out our own revitalization. we find words that are front and center for a church that seeks new life: connectedness, permanency, vitality. I love the image of green plants for church vitality, and we can associate the image of bearing fruit with growth, usefulness, and nourishment.
This calls for us putting aside our own individuality and to work for the community. Work as a congregation to stand against the powers that be at play in the world today. One commentator asks “What would happen if our congregations spent less time talking and worrying and working on our survival and more time on putting ourselves in the line of fire, as Paul, Anthony, Francis (and Martin Luther King, Jr., Dorothy Day, Archbishop Romero and the four American churchwomen murdered in El Salvador, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer) and the rest did?[2]
There is a little video on you tube call the UCC’s to do list…It says
Do all the Good you can…
By all the means that you can…
In all the ways that you can…
In all the places that you can…
At all the times that you can…
To all the people that you can…
As long as ever you can…
Rinse and repeat….[3]
What does this mean to us? How do we abide in love? As a congregation that loves and cares for each other you are good…You got that down now…. How do we renew or make new connections out in the community? Are their non-profits that we can partner with more boldly? Are their places where we used to be visible that we feel called to be visible again? Or is there something new you may feel called too?
Arise let us go form here abiding in Christs love and take that out into the world.
[1] yvette flunder, Yvette Flunder facebook page, accessed April 25, 2018, https://www.facebook.com/yflunder.
[2] Kathryn Matthews, Sermon Seeds, accessed April 25, 2018, http://www.ucc.org/worship_samuel_sermon_seeds_april_29_2018.
[3] United Church of Christ, The UCC Lesson for today, March 1, 2018, accessed April 25, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvG5ENQMOuk.
“Wrapped in Plastic, its fantastic…Maybe not!”
Steve Witney an Anglican preacher shares this story. “So I think I’ll begin with a true story. Last Tuesday afternoon, I took some time off, and knowing these remarks would require a little thought, I gathered up a Bible and some other materials and walked down the street to our local pub for a cool micro-brew and a sandwich. Needless to say, the waitress was a little surprised at my choice of reading materials, so I explained what I was doing and then I asked her if she thought it was improper to write a sermon while sitting in a tavern. She replied by asking where I went to church. When I said “St. Stephen’s Episcopal” she chuckled and said “Oh, don’t worry about it, they’ve all been here.”
And she may be right, and that’s OK. Because, unlike some other religious traditions, those of us in the Anglican tradition openly celebrate God’s creation in all of its manifestations. (I would place the UCC in that realm as well) The forests that blanket the landscape, the clear water that flows from the mountains, the bald eagles and killer whales, the flowering shrubs that paint our neighborhoods with flashes of pink and yellow, the diversity of human life, and yes, even the hops for my beer last Tuesday afternoon. For all that we have, and all that we are, we owe thanks to God.”[i]
Everything is good in moderation even celebrating the gifts of hops and or grapes or rice or potatoes or sugar cane…whatever your favorite beverage is made from. God has called us to live abundantly and live fully. But on this earth day Sunday we must ask what have we done? How did our lives become so detrimental to Gods creation.
“Abundant Life? “I came that you may have life and have it abundantly,” Jesus tells his followers. Unfortunately, we seem to have confused “abundance” with “excess,” and nowhere is that more obvious than in the ways we produce, use and discard plastics. The pervasiveness of single-use plastics has trained us to believe that the things around us are disposable and not to be cherished or preserved. The use of plastics to make things more portable, convenient, and comfortable obscures the ways in which those same plastics have made the world less inhabitable. Can an abundant life be one where we continue to extract fossil fuels from the planet’s heart? Should our abundance lead to waters that are impossible for fish and dolphins to safely navigate? Do the plastics we create give us a better appreciation for the abundance that exists in God’s creation, or do they feed into the compulsion for more, bigger and better?”[ii]
Our hunger as a species has become a ravenous hunger for the quick and easy without any thought to the consequences. The plastic manufactures started this simply with Tupper ware and saran wrap. This led me to the question
“How Long Does It Take For Cling Wrap To Decompose?
“Posted on April 08 2022
Cling wrap, also known as plastic wrap in other parts of the world, is a thin plastic fabric that clings to itself or other smooth surfaces, allowing it to cover food without any additional devices or fasteners. Unfortunately, the convenience they provide pales in comparison to the environmental harm that cling wrap causes.
Why is cling wrap such a threat to the environment? Plastic pollutes the environment, and even when recycled, it is more expensive than using virgin resources. According to The World Health Organization, both PVC and PVDC can release a very dangerous chemical called dioxin when they wind up in landfills or incinerators.
So, how many years does it take for cling wrap to decompose?
Many types of garbage, particularly plastic waste, take far too long to decompose. Some plastic goods can take up to 1000 years to decompose in landfills. On the other hand, ordinary plastic bags take 10-20 years to disintegrate, whereas plastic bottles take 450 years. Cling wrap is no different to most plastics and can take anywhere from 10 years or hundreds of years to decompose.”[iii]
I can’t help but wonder what Jesus thinks of all of this waste and ravaging of the land. It says that Jesus was mistaken for the gardener outside of the tomb. But is it truly a mistake or just a true vision.
“Jesus’ parables indicate “an inward affinity between the natural order and the spiritual order.”192 There is “the sense of the divineness of the natural order is the major premise of the parables.”[iv]” Sean Freyne commented that Jesus’ parables “are the products of a religious imagination that is deeply grounded in the world of nature and the human struggle with it, and at the same time deeply rooted in the traditions of Israel which speak of God as creator of heaven and earth and that is in them.”[v] These quotes are from God is Green: An Eco-Spirituality of Incarnate Compassion .
But I believe they answer my question Jesus can not be happy with how as a species we have treated the garden and all within it.
“Nature is the great teacher of how God works—the complexity and interconnectedness of life.
When Jesus talked about the kingdom of God, he spoke about it not just as heaven after we die but as something we can experience in this life. He often used things in nature to tell us what the kingdom of God is like describing it as a mustard seed, a bush, a vine, and a tree. He talked about being the living water and told us to consider the birds of the air and the lilies in the field. That is, nature points us to God, which is God’s realm.
Like nature, the kin-dom of God is made up of complex networks of interdependences and cycles of life and death and new beginnings. Jesus talked a lot about improving relationships, seeing the other as connected to us, and how essential interrelationships are. He said not only should we love our neighbor. That sounds good until we realize our neighbor is nosy George, who can’t mind his own beeswax. That’s why Jesus followed it up with the love of our enemy, too.
Inspired by the prophets, Jesus promotes a vision of a peaceable kingdom. Even if lions and lambs don’t share the same field in the animal kingdom, humans can learn to live peaceably together.”[vi]
Unfortunately, many of our brothers and sister push back against this concept of the peaceable kin-dom. “, one would think that Christians could at least agree on taking care of the planet. We would all share a common sense of stewardship about God’s creation. You would think that, but it is not the case. Maybe everyone cares about the environment until it conflicts with economic interests or gets framed as part of culture wars.”
Many denominations see this as a waste of time for the Rapture is coming and we are all going to be raised up and these earth loving, human rights caring, crazy people will all be left behind. A Christian artist popular in the 70’s and 80’s summed up this attitude;
“And everybody has to choose whether they will win or lose
Follow God or sing the blues, and who they’re gonna sin with
What a mess the world is in, I wonder who began it
Don’t ask me, I’m only visiting this planet
… This world is not my home
I’m just passing through”[vii]
Reverend Dr. David Clark of Bayshore UCC in Long beach states; “Somehow, we can trick ourselves into all kinds of justifications to side against God’s creation. The main three pernicious propositions promulgated by pious people are:
We have dominion to exploit the resources. That it was all created for us to use. This position sees humanity as the apex of God’s creation rather than a part of creation. I always figure that if you want to talk about dominion, you ought to model it on God’s dominion of us. That is, lovingly, caringly. Somehow, they forget the first story about humans is that we come from the earth—a mixture of dirt and water, mud. The first lesson is that we belong to the earth, not that we can abuse the planet to make our lives easier.
The apocalypse will be much worse (Do a search on the popular Christian website Got Questions about should Christians recycle it advises not to be too concerned because Jesus is coming back soon.
The emphasis on saving souls made concerns about our planet secondary. Many churches despise any sense of social justice issues. Don’t get political—keep it spiritual.
Unfortunately, all these positions skew us away from engaging and making this a high priority. Fr. Richard Rohr identifies the roots of our environmental crisis as a spiritual crisis. We have detached ourselves from what is good, and until we reestablish that sense of connectedness, we will continue to fail.”[viii]
I believe we are called to serve and be stewards, shepherds to this planet of which we as humans were given to care for. We are called to work to avert this spiritual crisis. One way of doing it is by considering becoming a zero-waste church. Allow me to share a story from our resources for this Sunday from Creation Justice Ministries…
“The Zero-Waste Church Church of the Nativity in Raleigh, North Carolina, historically prioritized creation care in its ministry, so the foundation for becoming a Zero-Waste Church was already laid.
“This is who we already were,” former Rector Stephanie Allen explained. “This was important to us, and so the question was ‘how do we take this further?’”
Allen and a small team began brainstorming. Inspired by composting and the concept of returning things to the earth, they came up with the concept of “Zero-Waste Church.”
Initially, Zero-Waste Church focused on combating food waste, but they later expanded to reducing single-use plastics. Their mentality is that ecological processes are spiritual practices, and they turn this message to action through communication, education and evangelism. (Now that is the good kind of evangelism)
They also do advocacy, post resources on their webpage zerowastechurch.org and teach about how our actions directly impact the environment.
Zero-Waste Church’s mission is heavily rooted in theology. Stephanie says, “Every person, every being has a use and has a purpose within the Kingdom of God.” The concept of single-use plastics is inherently unchristian, disregarding God’s intent for environmental preservation and contradicting God’s doctrine of eternal life.
The life cycle of plastics corresponds to the concept of life, death and resurrection — we shouldn’t simply throw things away because it is easy. “Plastic is a sacrament for our god of convenience,” says Stephanie, equating haphazard plastic use to false idols.
Churches and faith communities play a unique and important role in combating the climate crisis by tying together science and spirituality. With the increasing demand for congregations like Stephanie’s to go zerowaste, she offered some advice for any church or faith community looking to take the same steps she and her church took.
“Just start small,” she says. “Start where you are, with who you are … choose three things; we’ve got a list of suggestions on the Zero-Waste Church page.” Stephanie reminds us that any movement in the right direction is positive momentum. Nothing fancy or expensive is needed to move toward this type of lifestyle — just people who care. She adds that it’s okay to be imperfect: “Jesus still loves you, even if you drink out of a plastic water bottle.”[ix]
What can we do to take steps towards becoming a zero waste church? For one we could separate out our recycleables from the trash bin and make a run to the recycle bins as needed. So keep small bins for plastic glass and paper and recycle them ourselves.
We could start composting our grass clippings and even good compost waste that as it becomes done we can give it away or use it in some raised beds here. We could partner with the school so the kids can learn how to care for plants and grow food that they could in turn take home, or donate to a local food pantry.
We can slowly change out the fluorescents for led lights. Use the ceramic coffee cups and encourage the use of water bottles. Besides being radically inclusive we can be that zero waste church.
Some of these things one can implement in your own home as well. So the planet, the Garden can breathe easy and free and we will have left something better for our children and their children’s children.
For God so loved the world that they gave their only child…I think we can show a little love for the world considering the gift god gave us. Amen!
[i] https://earthministry.org/an-earth-day-sermon/
[ii] 110 Maryland Ave NE, Suite 203, Washington, DC 20002 creationjustice.org
[iii] https://urbanethos.co/blogs/journal/how-long-does-it-take-for-cling-wrap-to-decompose#
[iv] Shore-Goss, Robert E.. God is Green: An Eco-Spirituality of Incarnate Compassion . Cascade Books, an Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers. Kindle Edition.
[v] Ditto
[vi] https://bayshorechurch.org/sermons/earth-day-sermon/
[vii] Larry Norman Readers Digest 1972
[viii] Bayshorechurch
[ix] 110 Maryland Ave NE, Suite 203, Washington, DC 20002 creationjustice.org
POSTED BY REV. JOSEPH P. SHORE-GOSS AT 12:41 PM
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