“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.”
Romans 12:9 ESV
Cloud heart in the sky in the clouds and sunshine
Good afternoon Beloved,
I bring this prayer from the Apostle Paul to us as authenticity seems lost, hidden, replaced behind a veil of hypocrisy or good intentions in our world today. None of which is helpful in loving one another. For the genuine Love of God can only be achieved by witnessing people, authentically, as who they are and remaining in fellowship with them, afterwards.
To explain, this week is the UCC NH Conference annual meeting. As with many of these meetings, I have seen very few people speak up about their feelings and thoughts. They may have concerns about a decision or a Witness being presented, but that concern lays dormant in their heart. “No reason to tip the boat,” “what will other people think of me,” and “is it worth the energy to fight this decision” are just some of the reasons I have heard or thought about not confronting a decision. Yes, my heart has also questioned how much of my authentic self I wish to share with the conference and with other people. I have gauged whether it was worth the risk or whether it was that important. And, Beloved, I will say that there is no perfect answer. Each of us must discern for ourselves how much we will share.
Yet, the truth that I can express with you right now is that without authenticity, God’s true love does not exist. Personally, I never experienced love – true love – before becoming vulnerable to another person. Oh yes, I have been in love before but it was not the same. It was not until I revealed my deep authentic self to Angel that I felt the love which poets hint at and the birds sing about. I finally witnessed the glimmer of God’s Love given to all humankind when we debated quite passionately about different issues and found each other’s loving arms holding us afterwards. It is a love built on trust and caring for one another. A love built on each person seeing the authentic self of the other and remaining in fellowship through the conflicts and debates.
That said, this type of authentic genuine love can be scary at times as there are people who will use our vulnerabilities against us; but, here in this Beloved fellowship where love and forgiveness is what we seek, I believe that we will always be safe to share and discover God’s genuine love in all functions of our faith. Therefore, I pray you will be your authentic self and share your truth in your relationships. Reveal yourself to our Conference. And accept the differing views of others in our everyday lives as we seek the Love of God – together. May we find the Genuine Love we all seek in God, The Church, and in the Other.
Many beautiful blessings in your journey
Your pastor, Brian
As always please call (207-350-9561) if you need anything. Next week, my pastoral care hours are Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday 8:00– 4:00; Tuesday 10:30 – 6:30. I will be writing from home on Friday. If I am in the office, please feel free to stop in to talk. Many blessings and Love to you all, always.
May God guide and care for you today and all the days of your life. In the joys and the burdens – the anxiety and the peace – the strengths and especially in our weaknesses. God, hold us in our imperfect beauty which you witness in love. Amen.
This prayer came to me today as I was thinking about my youth. For, I grew up in a world which said, ‘focus on your strengths.’ ‘Focus only on the things you are good at and then you can excel to be the best.’ Now, I have been 6’4” since the age of thirteen. Can you imagine what everyone in my high school considered to be my strength, in the late eighties? Yes, you guessed it – football. But even though that could have been my strength as everyone else on the team was 5’8” or less, it was not the goal of my life. I knew, even then, that winning football games would not help people. It would not help the greater good.
In fact, it was not until I became aware of my weakness – reading, that I began to see the possibilities open up. The possibilities of how to help the greater good, and God. The possibilities which came through thoughts, philosophers and yes even a good science fiction novel, or two.
But, this awareness, beloved, is sometimes very difficult as we do not always want to admit where we are weak, even to ourselves. Sometimes, we can be so blind to our weaknesses that we simply do not see them or the solution He has prepared for all of us. And sometimes, we also get so lost in our strengths that we forget that the goal of all humans is the greater good of God. For, life is not about winning the football game, making money, or even promoting a particular identity. It is about God and the Love we feel when come together through the Divine – regardless of our weaknesses or strengths in this world. I pray you will always remember this Truth as Christ does see your weakness and still loves you. I imagine She is sitting there in the bleachers of life, cheering you on in hopes that you will witness and love who you are as well; so, we may all come together in the kin-dom to come.
May your week be a blessing of self-discovery and love
Your pastor, Brian
As always please call (207-350-9561) if you need anything. Next week, my pastoral care hours are Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday 8:00– 4:00; Tuesday 10:30 – 6:30. I may be writing from home on Friday but may be at church. If I am in the office, please feel free to stop in to talk. Many blessings and Love to you all, always.
In God’s Loving care and support I pray you are each well. Recently, I was considering this idea of support while watching a fascinating video on new building materials. The walls were being built from these two-foot-wide light weight blocks which almost looked like Legos. The amazing thing is that it only took two people to build a 10’ high wall. One on one side – one on the other. However, this same size wall would have required four people to build and lift into place using standard stick framed construction, back in the day.
Now, this innovation was easily more efficient in the best of circumstances; however, it lacked something very important in those times of difficulty. It lacked teamwork, partnership, and comradery. For each person went about building their part of the wall without any help from the other person. There was no need to rely on the other person because one person could do it alone. Yet, we know that no matter how strong or independent we are individually, people cannot always do things alone. We need partners in life to help us through the burdens and struggles. Partners who we have already come to trust and rely on in the good times, in order to have faith that they will be a partner for us in the difficult times of life. Partners who share in our life – work – and play.
Therefore, I wonder if the innovations of today, like these building blocks, are always helpful. I wonder if they sometimes do more long-term damage to us socially and our ability to create long lasting meaningful relationships. Do they? I am not sure, nor would I wish us to stop looking for the innovative ways to make life more efficient. I definitely prefer the computer over the old typewriters.
Rather, I believe what needs to said is that no matter what ways we innovate, we still need one another to be present and help build our fellowship together. We need to pass each other the bricks and see the structure we build together; so we know how to support one another when or if times become difficult. For, God created the majority of us as a people who need a partner, a team, a fellowship. Let us always consider this truth and never let go of one another in the difficult or the good times, regardless of the innovations which come our way.
May God’s love be with each of you as we live – work – and play together as partners throughout our lives and our faith.
your pastor, Brian
As always please call (207-350-9561) if you need anything. Next week, my pastoral care hours are Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday 8:00– 4:00; Tuesday 10:30 – 6:30. I may be writing from home on Friday but may be at church. If I am in the office, please feel free to stop in to talk. Many blessings and Love to you all, always.
Presented to the First Congregational Church of Salem on September 26, 2021
When we are young, we learn the difference between right and wrong. The simple idea that some actions are good, and some actions are bad. Along with this idea comes the concept that we are a good person if we are doing good actions – thinking right thoughts – believing in the correct way. From this concept comes the logical conclusion that the person who does the bad thing – thinks wrong thoughts – believes in a different way must be a bad person. Yet as we get older, we realize the world is not so simple. That is until recently.
Until recent years, I believed that most people understood that this conclusion was a logical fallacy. That just because someone is different in belief, thought, or action does not make them a bad person. I cannot say that is true, now. For, people are and have been vilifying anyone who acts – thinks – believes differently for quite some time. It is a plague of brokenness which can be witnessed in ancient Jewish and Christian discourses, in religious dogma throughout the centuries, and in our political arguments within this country. Yet today, it is worse. It is seeping into our everyday lives. Worse because this logical fallacy is the root cause of people being silenced and ignoring the views of anyone else. It is a cause which has led people to no longer discuss the best way to teach our children but instead waste time degrading the other side’s character and values; no longer discuss matters on the environment civilly but instead spend time characterizing the other side as snowflakes or Nazis; no longer looking at one another as people but instead spending time attacking them as some villain, bad person, or faceless nameless Other that must be destroyed to protect “the good.”
However, what if I were to share that there is no bad person – no human villain in most of our issues today? What would happen if we stopped placing this false conclusion in our way to a unified world? Would you then be able to speak your truth – hear their truth – and love the Other once again as one of the Creator’s children? I pray you can, Beloved; for in most cases there is no villain amongst the issues of our world, just a different way to achieve the same goal. Before we continue would you pray with me:
Holy God of Love, invoke within us all of your Love. Teach us the way to Love the Other amongst differences, guide us to be the example of Love for the whole of Your beloved Creation. May the words spoken today and the meditations on all of our hearts be pleasing to You, God.
Now Beloved, I bring this to our attention as it does not matter if we are vilifying all men as oppressors in the abortion issue or vilifying all democrats as anti-American in the immigration issue, we are creating barriers to solve the very real issues of our world. We are distracting ourselves away from the basic issues to denigrate those who we perceive as the Other – the enemy – the villain. In fact, I believe this issue has become so problematic that when a perceived Other makes a statement today, whether it is for or against an issue, the statement is received as another attack. An attack which must then be met with more and more assaults from physical violence to a simple accusatory glare. Fear of these repercussions has effectively ended most conversations which could lead to a solution together as one unified people.
Yet as I mentioned, this issue is not something new. Jesus in our reading from the Gospel according to Mark is confronting John and the disciples with this very conflict. For, John comes to Jesus seeking praise for vilifying the Other – the outsider – who would dare to cast out demons – the issues of our world – in Jesus’ name even though this Other is not one of the disciples. This Other believes – thinks – acts differently and therefore John I imagine felt very empowered to tell this person they were wrong. Empowered because, as the theologian Pheme Perkins reminds us, the Jewish people were culturally opposed to the unauthorized prophet which can be seen both in the Book of Numbers (11:28) and when the scribes vilify Jesus as being possessed earlier in the Gospel according to Mark (3:22). Instead of praise though, Jesus offers John the Good News.
The Good News that “Whoever is not against us is for us.” In other words, if someone’s goal is not opposing Christ, then they are in fact working with us no matter how the Other believes – thinks – or acts. Jesus goes further to state that when we place barriers in the way of people doing good like when John tries to stop the outsider, that person is actually the one who is wrong; for, they have placed a “stumbling block” in the person’s way of doing – thinking – believing in the goodness of God which will come to all people who do good. Jesus, at the risk of belaboring the point, shares the proverbs about salt which his disciples would understand. They would understand that salt here is a metaphor for the purity of faith. And much like salt cannot really lose its saltiness, our faith cannot be lost. But both can become impure. Therefore, Jesus reminds us of the Good News to have salt – that purity of faith – in yourself and be at peace with one another.
Beloved, this Good News is important for us today as people have strayed from the salt and peace of the Good News. People are placing the “stumbling blocks” of vilification in front of the Other. We feel it every time we hear the coded language of today like those Trumpers, those Social Justice Warriors, or those whatever. And with that vilification – the conversation ends – the good ends – the solutions end because no one side can do it alone. Republicans cannot solve the border crisis without Democrat ideology. Women cannot solve the abortion issue without the support of men. And no one can solve the environmental collapse without working together to save our planet. Moreover, the conversation does not just end – we turn people into the villains we say they are – we turn them away from the good. Think about it, if all we tell people is they are supremacists because of their skin color then they will turn away from the good of racial equality and become an actual racist. We are called to be something more for the Other.
We are called to love the Other by following the Good News. Have salt in yourself. Keep the purity of faith in both God and the good which needs to be done. Speak your Truth in ways not to place stumbling blocks in the path of the Other but so you may be an example of God’s good working in the world. Also, have peace in one another. Hear the Other’s Truth without vileness from your eye or poison from your tongue. Be at peace with them and assume that they too are working for God’s goodness, even if they call it something different. By conversing instead of confronting – by speaking our Truth and Hearing their Truth – by following the Good News of God, I believe we will find only one result: we will Love the Other until they are no longer something different but rather, we are all God’s Beloved together.
This Good News, though, is not only needed in our world; it is needed right here in our fellowship. For, we are something very special. We have Republicans and Democrats; feminists and men’s rights activists, cis gender heterosexual individuals and members of the LGBT+ community. We have beloved people of every generation alive from a variety of religious backgrounds. We even have a few different ethnic groups represented amongst our fellowship. Any of these differences can cause conflict – old wounds can tear open – emotional cuts can return to exacerbate any new conflict. Furthermore, when a new conflict does happen it is easy to either attack or walk away and find a community which is just like you. However, Beloved, I assure you that is not the Way of Christ. We cannot learn, grow, heal in a vacuum of like mindedness or the stumbling blocks of vilification. Rather, we need our differences to be loved by one another; so, we may witness all the ways God’s goodness is revealed through us in this fellowship. For, we do already know that the goodness of God is in the people of this fellowship. Therefore, I pray we each follow the Good News: this call to have salt in ourselves and be at peace with one another. To speak our Truth, to Hear their Truth, and to love the Other so we can truly be the Beloved Fellowship You, God, are calling us to become together. In Jesus’ name who revealed the Way, Amen.
“Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track.”
-Proverbs 3:6 (MSG)
Good afternoon Beloved,
Recently, I saw this cartoon of two people facing each other. In between them was a number on the ground and in speech bubbles they were both expressing their truth. One of them saw a “six” and the other saw a “nine.” Now, the caption underneath was something along the lines of “just because you are right does not mean I am wrong” and I received a little laugh from this common sense truth. But then the reality of the moment set in. The reality of the cartoon faces which were grimacing in anger. The reality of our world which seems to be yelling their truths without listening to other perspectives. And it all became very real for me.
It became a reflection of so many of our conflicts throughout history. A reflection of all the times that people have been arguing over the same point, yet unable to witness the perception of the other.
“In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
– Proverbs 3:6 (NRSV)
And this cartoon argument was only about a number, what if it was about something important. Or more to the point, something important to you or me, like the Bible. What if the words in the text were either the inerrant word of God or a group of stories written by some ancient authors? Would the argument become more real, visceral, dangerous? Would the two cartoons start fighting to prove their perspective was right?
Sadly, we do not have to imagine the answer as this reality has happened many times. It is what has caused division after division in the church. People witness the truth of God as they see it and are so sure they are right that proving this truth seems worthy of fighting and sometimes killing over.
“Become intimate with him in whatever you do, and he will lead you wherever you go.”
– Proverbs 3:6 (TPT)
This passion over our truth being right though does not mean another must be wrong. To explain, I have enclosed three different translations of the same Bible verse. Three different ways to interpret God’s word with a bit of time in-between so you could read them freely. Are any of these interpretations wrong? I do not believe so for they each reveal a glimmer of God’s voice – a smidge of truth – a bit of the whole just like each of us individually only reflect a bit – a smidge – a glimmer of God. To fully hear the voice of God we have to both speak and listen to one another. Just like if we were going to fully understand this proverb, we would need to hear all the ways it is translated to understand the fullness of what God is saying through our scripture.
Therefore, I pray you will take the time every day to both speak your truth for without it, we cannot hear that part of God in you; and, listen to the truth of others for without it, we cannot hear that part of God in them. Beloved, these are the tools of healing created when we love one another. Tools which begin with our lips and ears.
May your week be blessed by all the love God has to offer to everyone.
Your pastor, Brian
As always please call (207-350-9561) if you need anything. Next week, my pastoral care hours are Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday 8:00– 4:00; Tuesday 10:30 – 6:30. I may be writing from home on Friday but may be at church. If I am in the office, please feel free to stop in to talk. Many blessings and Love to you all, always.
Presented to the First Congregational Church of Salem on September 19, 2021
Words matter! I have shared this truth many times from the pulpit. Words matter; for, they are powerful, clear ways to define and express ourselves every day. They help us communicate our thoughts and feelings. They share the Truth of God as completely as we are able. But that reality is also the point, the words we speak only go so far because words alone are broken. Words Alone are but faulty expressions which can only provide a minute taste of the kin-dom to come. They can only share a fraction of Divine Love. They are simply not enough to fully express anything in this world to the fullest extent, let alone the Divine Welcoming Love of God.
So, what do we do? Because words do matter, and we need those words to begin the conversation. Words matter like our welcoming statement which says you are welcome here no matter who you are – what place you call home – or where you are on life’s journey. This statement is bold – clear – definitive. It is our statement of Welcoming Love that is so beautiful that I enjoy sharing it every week. But words alone are broken – and I wonder. I wonder if our statement feels true to others in Salem. For that matter, do all of you feel welcome here in this place – amongst our fellowship – in our meetings and Christian education? Are we? Now, I will not say one way or another. For, I do not know. After fourteen months, I have still not met every one of you. That alone may be a clue; then again, we have been in a pandemic, and I am not here to judge anyone.
Rather, the point is I have not seen how we interact amongst everyone and especially around new people. Do we welcome them as they are or do, we try to change them into who we are? Do we accept even the least with the Welcoming Love of God – each person no matter who they are, or do we judge their ideas, life, being as something bad? Only you can answer that for yourself; but as you consider this question. Picture a perceived biological man walking in here right now with a swastika on their neck – or wearing a dress; and ask yourself, what would you do? What about if a trans woman, an Antifa activist or any number of people with non-traditional identities walked in here today. What if Joe Biden or Donald Trump walked in the door and sat down next to you – what would you do? Would your actions back up your words? Would your actions also be of Welcoming Love?
Before we continue would you pray with me
Holy God, who makes us all whole and reveals a wholeness in everything we do. Open our hearts today to Your Holy Welcoming Love. Reveal the places we need to grow so we may come one step closer to Your Beloved kin-dom. May the words spoken this day and the meditations on all our hearts be a reflection of the Welcoming Love You have for ALL of Creation.
Now beloved all of this matters because words matter – because words backed up with actions matter – even more. They are the next step to become a church of Welcoming Love. We must live into our words because if we do not, if we only say the words without the Welcoming actions then people will see this hypocrisy and our lack of action will be the truth people listen too. I am sure each of us have witnessed this truth many times. For me, I have seen this truth when men’s groups met at nine am, causing anyone who was working to feel unwelcome; when meetings were scheduled at seven pm, causing anyone who does not drive at night to feel unwelcome; when people avoid, stare blankly, or disregard someone’s thoughts because the individual is different, young, or new, causing anyone who is not a church elder to feel unwelcome. And, let me assure you that these are issues in almost every church. I have personally witnessed these unwelcoming actions and hypocrisy many times in a variety of ways. In fact, I had assumed it was just part of humanity until I saw my very first Open and Affirming statement in a church. Then, I realized there is hope and people are still trying to live into the Welcoming Love of God’s kin-dom. Yet, we are not there for sometimes our words of Welcome do not always match our actions.
Much like the first disciples’ words did not match their actions in our reading from the Gospel according to Mark. Specifically, I am speaking of their argument about who is the greatest amongst them. In fact, the theologian Pheme Perkins interprets their “silence” as the disciple’s recognition of the inappropriateness of their dispute. An estimation, I must agree with for they are arguing over greatness right after Jesus teaches them about the Passion when he will die. However, we must also understand that their inappropriate discussion or words are not the problem here. Neither is their desire to be great according to Jesus. I may even say it is very normal for human beings to want to be the best. Rather, this argument helps us understand where the disciples are revealing their hypocrisy.
For, there is a “child” amongst them. Now, the Greek word here for child does mean youth; but, the same word was also used to mean “suffering servant” in Isaiah 53 according to the theologian Lamar Williamson. In truth, he also interprets “child” as “little one” referring to anyone who is seen as the least in society like a child was in the Greco Roman world. Moreover, he believes the “child” here is a symbol for all the new followers of Christ amongst the group of disciples. With these interpretations in mind, we can see the conflict in the Bible passage. The hypocrisy of arguing over who is greatest in the midst of many, many new disciples who are all equally following Jesus. I imagine, the newest of disciples – the little ones – the children would feel unwelcome by the twelve disciples and their actions. I imagine these newer followers would find it difficult to believe the teachings that all are equal under Christ when someone is raised above them by force – indifference – or longevity. I imagine the new disciples would easily lose faith in our Christ’s Welcoming Love for all.
But is this conflict not one of the reasons why we have lost so many faithful people in our churches today. For, people still do believe in God. Yet, many individuals struggle with the hypocrisy when God’s teachings do not meet human actions; when the voices of longevity are more honored than younger voices; when the sole Creator creates a person Gay, and they are treated like a pariah by a community unless they act straight – unless they too become a hypocrite. But where there is life – there is hope and the Good News which Christ offers to all.
Good News in Jesus’ teachings to the twelve disciples. Good News in the call of all of us who are the beloved disciples of Christ. The call for us to welcome the child in Jesus’ name. The most intriguing thing about this teaching though is that Jesus is not just telling us with words. He calls over that child and places them amongst the twelve then takes the child into his arms as he shares his lesson. It is not just the words that Jesus uses to teach us within this passage, but he also uses his actions. Thus, he provides us a very real non-hypocritical understanding of the Good News that all are welcome no matter who they are or where they are on life’s journey even those who would be considered the least amongst us in our society.
What are we revealing in our actions? When we say, “we do not do it that way.” When we have not reached out to welcome any of the seven new people in our church? When we do not welcome the souls who live in other states but join us each week? When we say all are welcome but do not openly accept the LGBT+ community as they present themselves? When we have not welcomed someone new to visit the church service? Are we really welcoming all or are we simply saying the words? Where are our actions with the words like in the Good News of Jesus’ call to all disciples?
Now Beloved, please know this Good News is a call to action – a call to follow the Welcoming Love of God outside our doors – a call to live into the welcoming of all people in everything we do as a Beloved community. But it is also one of the hardest things we can do as human beings. For, to be welcoming means that you must sometimes put yourself out there and reveal who you are first to someone else. It means sometimes you have to step back and let go of your privilege so another person may have some space to feel the welcoming love. It means sometimes we must raise up the least amongst us, so they feel the Welcoming Love of Christ; for, we already do. Our faith is secure; but the child amongst us in Salem may not have as much faith. The little one who is lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans gender, queer or non-binary also needs to feel the love of a welcoming community who accepts them as God created them. The new disciples with a new faith also need to feel the love of a welcoming community who accepts them as God made them. We all need to feel the love of a welcoming community who accepts us as God made us – unique and special, just like everyone else. May each of us engage the world with both our words and actions in Ways which will reveal God’s Welcoming Love is available to all whoever they are or wherever they are on life’s journey. In the name of Christ who showed us the way. Amen.
I pray you are well and feel all the Love God has to offer. Love though is not simply a solo activity. Yes, we can love people or things without that thing or person loving us back. It happens all the time. In effect, our Love Challenge is an example of this personal reality. You love someone and have placed their picture on a heart – done. On a side note, I would like to share my deepest appreciation for everyone who has begun placing up your hearts throughout the church; for, it truly is a blessing to witness who and what you each love. I hope everyone will continue to do so throughout the year. Still, this wonderful gift is really only for each other here in our beloved fellowship.
Beyond the doors of our sanctuary, the town of Salem may not know how much we love and care for people. The person walking down the street may have no idea that they are loved and welcomed – here – no matter who they are or where they are on life’s journey. The poor or hungry may not know they have a refuge within our walls; for, we have not always revealed our love of one another beyond us.
Yet, Divine Love – the love we are called to give and receive requires mutual participation to achieve even a glimmer of the depth and breadth of God’s Love for us. Anyone who has ever been in love – loved a child – or had a pet knows a fraction of this truth. I believe God is calling us to this type of Love. Calling us to be Her hands and feet in the world. Calling us to reveal how much we love all people; so, all people may feel welcomed here in His Beloved Fellowship. Therefore, as we continue to consider what and who we love, let us also consider how we can reveal that love to another person and live into the Beloved Fellowship we are called to become.
May your week be full of God’s Divine Love, always
Your Pastor, Brian
As always please call (207-350-9561) if you need anything. Next week, my pastoral care hours are Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday 8:00– 4:00; Tuesday 10:30 – 6:30. I may be writing from home on Friday but may be at church. If I am in the office, please feel free to stop in to talk. Many blessings and Love to you all, always.
Presented to the First Congregational Church of Salem on September 12, 2021
The other day, I received a new book in the mail from an author I love. And as I tore open the brown paper packaging, I saw a piece of paper attached to the shrink wrap covering the novel. The paper was from the distributor asking for a good review and assurance that they would make things right if there were any problems. Now, this request seemed odd at first. Odd until I realized, what we all know is true – that negative feedback is far more powerful than positive reviews.
But this truth is not just in the selling of books; it is throughout every part of our life. In fact, the research psychologists, “John Gottman and Robert Levenson who closely studied the effects of negativity with couples, (suggested a) ratio (of five to one), meaning that for every negative encounter, there should be a minimum of five positive ones to counterbalance the effects of the first.” A truth, we can all recognize as most times the negative things in our world seem to outweigh the positive.
Yet, I wonder what is the toll of this negativity on you, on any of us, on society in general. If people only focus on the negative emotions like fear and hate, what will become of them and their relationship with God? Sadly, I expect it will separate us more; make our traumas last longer; and intensify our everyday concerns. I expect our societal focus on negativity will make us only see the worst in people and turn our hearts to stone. I expect it will become harder and harder to love one another when we can only see the negative in the people around us.
However, it is not too late to be recreated – to shift – to exercise the positive muscle of love. We can counterbalance the ick of negativity by revealing our love in the world – or at least in our world. So, beloved – what or who do you love?
Before we continue, would you pray with me?
Holy Loving Creator, invoke in us the breath of Your Love once more; recreate us with the ability to reveal your love to one another; help us learn how to love all of Creation. May these words and meditations be pleasing to You, God, the one we Love – first.
Now beloved, I bring these thoughts to you as the world does seem to be in a perpetual slide of negativity. We only hear about the bad things happening in the world like the 1,436 people who have died in New Hampshire from Covid-19; but not the 106,264 people who recovered, or a vaccine which was created many times faster than any other vaccine in human history, or the considerable healing of our environment during the last year and a half, or the yearning reminder of what and who we love while we were apart all this time, or all of us coming back together on this Rally Sunday to worship God -together. Rather, people tend to focus on what we have lost, even though the blessings are far greater. Perhaps it is because all that we have heard – read – seen on the news is a never-ending slew of negativity being poured out for all of us to consume. Negative stories which propagate more and more fear and hate; stories which particularly affect us as we are aware of the world and feel called to make it better. Yet, hearing these stories is not making the world better, it’s making us want to fight or flee. I am actually surprised to see anyone leave their home after a year and a half of this never-ending onslaught of negativity which we cannot seem to avoid in our world.
And perhaps we do need to avoid the negative; but counterbalance it with positivity; so, we can re-engage the world in a healthy way.
I believe our scripture from the Wisdom of Solomon reveals this teaching. For, the bulk of this book speaks against the negative influences in the author’s world, like the injustices in Egypt which led Moses to lead the people into the wilderness. It is even estimated by the theologian Michael Kolarcik that this text was written around thirty to forty BC when the Jewish people were being oppressed by the Roman Emperor Caligula. Yet, today’s scripture only hints at these conflicts most notably in the phrase “but against wisdom evil does not prevail.” Therefore, we know these influences are inspiring this scripture. However, the passage does not feel like an expulsion of negativity. In all honesty, I read this text over and over knowing that these negative influences were there; but feeling – experiencing – believing in the glorification of God. The breath of positivity seemed to exude from the passage.
Beloved, what I am explaining is an experience which I hope you all have from time to time. For, it is not only the words within the Bible that matter; but also, the way they are expressed. To explain, wisdom, which you may have guessed, has a double meaning. Wisdom can and should be seen as the wisdom we know as humans. The quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment as defined by the dictionary. But also, wisdom in our scripture is revealing the divine aspects of God in five different metaphors expressed as the power, glory, light, working, and goodness of God. In other words, wisdom for the author is both part of God and a divine personified gift given to humankind to guide us in our discernments. More to the point, the author uses these five different positive aspects of God to actually alter the reading of this passage by counterbalancing the one negative aspect of injustice.
This way of expressing oneself opposes the way our society is engaging the world right now, like when people focus only on the negative and forget the positives of life or when news broadcasts only share stories of suffering. Although we cannot force everyone to share only the positive things in the world, there is Good News.
The Good News which is found when we counterbalance the negatives of this world with a minimum of five positive things much like our scripture did in today’s reading. Yet, I wonder what could be so positive to reshape our world – even our personal world – even our world right here in the First Congregational Church of Salem. What positive emotion could allow our friends to set aside their fears and return to worship – once more. What could be so positive that the negative conflicts of the past are forgotten? Beloved, what of God’s greatest gifts could be so positive that we lose track of the negative emotions of hate and fear? Does anyone know? I pray that you do; for it is right there in our scripture reading from the Gospel according to Matthew? Right there in the teachings of Jesus. Right there in our first and greatest commandment – LOVE.
The Good News of love – the Commandment to love God, to love your neighbor and, yes, to love yourself. For, love is the ultimate positive emotion and this commandment, I believe, is taught to us by Jesus as a way to counter all those negative emotions and feelings in our world. All those negative emotions which lead to one eventual series of outcomes: violence, a separation from one another and thereby a separation from God. The negative emotions like fear and hate which keep us from coming together as one Beloved fellowship under God.
But how do we love anyone or anything else when we have been inundated with fear and hate for so long? When the world is on the edge of violence? When we are already full of that negative ick making each day a confrontation on Facebook, at work, in your home. How do we come back after so long away? Love – simply begin with love. Rally your love once more. Tell yourself and all of us what and who you love because it has been a year and a half. And we need to witness you revealed through that love; so, we can all love who you are now. Begin there, begin by loving yourself – every time one negative thing happens, remember five things you love; every time you feel fear, remember five people you love; every time you start to feel hate, tell God about five loves you have at that moment.
Start there and then I pray you will join us in our Love Challenge from my Pastor’s Letter this week by coming home – to the FCC – to tell us all what and who you love. Write, draw, share in some way what or who you love on a heart (much like these) and then place your hearts throughout the church. Imagine how wonderful it will be to actually witness all of our love revealed throughout our home – here? If you are not ready to be in the church, send your hearts to me and I will place them wherever you would like. For, I do know not everyone can come back yet for safety reasons; but I pray you never let fear or any other negative emotion keep you away. Instead, I pray you will always let the love you have and give to one another be greater as we follow God together as one Beloved community. In the name of that divine love, we will always pray. Amen.
I pray all are well and in the loving hands of God. Love though, much like any other muscle is one which needs exercise. So, this year as we live into our theme of “Love One Another,” Merri and I would like to introduce a new challenge, the Love Challenge.
Much like the El Paso Challenge we did a few years back, our Love Challenge will be a series of wonderful challenges we invite all people in our fellowship to engage in throughout the year. The only difference is this challenge is for everyone – all ages. These challenges are, and will be, ways that we can all live into our faith of loving God, loving yourself, and loving one another. In other words, they are ways to exercise the muscle of love in our community. We pray you will join us on this wonderful challenge of love.
Our first challenge, begins this Rally Sunday on September 12 when we come back to worship within our sanctuary. When you arrive and receive you bulletin, there will be a heart inside. We invite you to write the name – draw a picture – add a photo of something or someone you love on the heart, however you wish. Remind us of who you are, by sharing what or who you love; but only one love per heart, please. Do not worry. If you cannot decide on which love you want to share, there will be more hearts present. You can also make your own hearts and bring them in to the church. After preparing these declarations, please hang them in the church; so, we may all see the things and people we, as a fellowship, love.
One last hint, the hearts we prepared in the church each have two holes so we can hang them from each other with ribbon. Many blessings to you all and I pray you will take up this challenge to exercise one of the most important muscles we have – our Love for one another.
Many prayers as you consider the people and things you love, (You know the reflections of God working in this world)
your pastor, Brain
As always please call (207-350-9561) if you need anything. Next week, my pastoral care hours are Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday 8:00– 4:00; Tuesday 10:30 – 6:30. I may be writing from home on Friday but may be at church. If I am in the office, please feel free to stop in to talk. This Wednesday is our last service for the summer and we are, God willing, reopening fully on September 12 for Rally Sunday. Many blessings and Love to you all, always.
Presented to the First Congregation of Salem September 1, 2021
It is no secret that the last two years have been very hard for many of us in this fellowship. We miss our friends and loved ones. We miss our freedom to go out to dinner without fear. We have missed funerals – weddings – and graduations. These changes have been hard. But change is always hard. We feel this truth, regularly. No matter what happens next, times of change are hard, painful, and may even feel like the end of the world. This reality is true whether the change is something sad like the loss of life, something joyous like the birth of a child, or something neutral like going back to school, the office, or church. The actual change is hard; for, we have grown accustomed to a “new normal” and we find it difficult to let go of the practices – policies – people we have accepted as part of our life.
Yet maybe we are not living through a time of change; but rather, the apocalypse in Greek understanding. Which is not the end; instead, the apocalypse is literally translated as “from cover.” In other words, maybe we are finally living in a time which is bringing the world out from under the cover of the darkness – the tragedies – the injustices which we have lived under for years. Maybe and then again – maybe not, maybe we are only one step closer to the apocalypse after this pandemic. Either way, I do believe it is time for us to discover together what New Creation is being created by God through us in this beloved fellowship.
Before we continue, would you pray with me:
Holy Creator who created each and every one of us in Your eternal Love, Invoke in us Your love once more – invoke your love and allow us to witness the next step of the kin-dom You are creating within Your beloved fellowship – here. May the words we speak today and the meditations on each of our hearts be forever pleasing to You God.
Now beloved, this calling to discover the New Creation – though unsettling at times – painful once in a while – and always hard is not something new. We are called to do this every day – if not in every moment of our life. For no two moments are alike. Think about that concept – no two moments are exactly the same even if we are doing the same thing we do every day, every month, every year. Even if we maintain strict routines in our life no two moments are ever the same. For, the sun is not always the same – the world is different each time we look out and witness Creation. So, I wonder why we get stuck rejecting change and the world which is constantly made new from the cover of darkness. Why do so many of these changes create anxiety and stress in our lives? I am guessing it is because we do not know what the New Creation will become.
However, even when my son was being born – which was one of the happiest days of my life – it caused me anxiety and stress. For, my world was changing. My family was going from three people to four. I had never been a father to a newborn. I wondered if Nate would be accepted by his stepbrother. And then there was the whole pregnancy as I helplessly watched my former wife struggle with her changing body. And even though these changes were and are beautiful, the world I knew – the normal I was used to – the life we lived before was no longer; and, we had to discover what the new creation of our family would become – together.
Although our reading from the Book of Revelation is referring to the New Creation of the kin-dom of Heaven, I feel this scripture will help us understand anytime we are called to discover new creations in our life. For, the prophet John has already engaged in the changes. The powers that work against people and the beast who is out to destroy all Christians. And today we witness in the first few lines of our scripture this depiction fully realized. For the author says, “and the sea was no more.” Now for those of us who love the ocean, this phrase seems a little disturbing. But the sea for the ancient people of Asia Minor is not wonderful as it represents the watery dragon of chaos who fought against the Babylonian God of Creation according to the theologian William Barclay. Furthermore, it is believed that the ancient people actually despised the sea, in general, until after the invention of tools like the compass. This dislike of the sea, I imagine, came about because the sea is very symbolic of change – never the same and ultimately dangerous. One could even say it is chaos incarnate. Therefore, as the prophet John begins to share the Good News of how we find the New Creation he is also saying that change – the very source of change – the sea, is no more when we finally reach the kin-dom of God.
And although there are still changes in society and the pandemic, I believe the conflict of change much like the sea can go away. We can step away from it as easily as we walk away from the seashore. But to do so, we must alter our focus onto something like the New Creation being created. In literature terms, we must pass the climax of the story and witness the resolution of the new creation of peace being revealed. In the story of my son’s birth, this point was when he was finally born, joy abounded, and the concerns over changes became more distant by the moment. Still how do we here in this community get past the chaotic changes and focus on the new creation, which is not fully present – yet.
Well Beloved the Good News of how – lies in the phrase from God who sits on the throne in our scripture. He says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.” And although these phrases seem clear, I believe a different translation of beginning and end will shed light on the Good News of how we discover the New Creation in a world still changing. The other translation for the Greek word arche, or “beginning,” is source. Whereas the other translation for telos, or “end,” is goal. So, let me ask, how do these translations alter our thinking about the New Creation being built – today. How does your mind shift when we consider God as the source and the goal of everything we do, say, or consider? I expect the answer is that these translations alter our view quite a bit.
Alter our view, even though we are still dealing with the changing world around us. Changes which may seem scary as we approach a post – isolation era. But just because we are still dealing with changes – sometimes by the minute, it does not mean we cannot remember the one constant: God, who is the source and the goal. God is the source of all – including you, our neighbor, and all of Creation. Moreover, God’s Love is constant and accepts you for you were created by her in Love. For me, this constant is a powerful reminder. For, it allows me to witness all people as equally valuable in God’s eyes – even amongst changes and the conflicts of change pulling at our lives. It reminds me, we are all equally loved by God. Yet, what does this mean when we also say God is the goal. Are we saying the way of God is to accept all who God has created as equal brothers, sisters, people throughout creation? Yes, it does. That is exactly what this constant means to me. It is the Good News of how God is building the new creation – together with us. A creation where all people are loved, accepted, and welcomed, no matter who they are or where they are on life’s journey for God is our goal – to love as God loves – to accept as God accepts – to be as God is revealed.
Here, in this congregation as we deal with the chaotic unknown and changing world, it means we remember the people beside us, behind us, in front of us are also equally loved and welcomed here by God. It means that sometimes we have to turn away from the changing sea and focus on the goal – God. It means we consider God’s loving, accepting, welcome as the goal in each and every discernment we make; for God is the only true constant we have within our world. When we come together with God as our source and our goal, we cannot be wrong even if we disagree; for, our love is building this New Creation and is bringing us one step closer to the kin-dom to come. May everything you discern – every day – be guided by the truth that God is both our source and our goal throughout our life. In the name of Jesus who showed us the way. Amen.
