I pray you are enjoying the beautiful gift of sunshine which God has created for everyone throughout Creation. This prayer, though, reminds me of the power of love. Reminds me that by rejoicing in the loving gifts of God and the Love we feel for God, we can make it through the struggles in our lives. When we recall the blessings, we can – in fact – be encouraged to make it through one more month of a pandemic, one more day of a disease, one more moment of whatever… With this truth in mind, Merri and I challenge you, each of you, to share what helps you make it through the troubling times of life. For, this sharing will not only encourage you and each of us, but I also believe it will be a gift to our Creator – God.
It is the very reason for our Love Challenge number three: Love Letters to God. The very reason why we would like you to share your “Love Letter” with the congregation: because we all need a little encouragement to make it through those struggles of life. Don’t we? We all need to see the beautiful ways God is revealed in each other’s lives everyday – to see the way through our struggles. Of course, we do; for, we all need each other and this way, beloved, is one way we can be there for each other.
So, I pray that you, each of you, will take up this challenge and write a “Love Letter” to God. Then bring it or send it to the church. Now Beloved, the letter does not have to be signed or in words. It can be a picture, a song, or a fuzzy bunny slipper. Any way that you wish to share how thankful you are for God’s Love and an expression of the Love you feel for God is a blessing that we are challenging you to share. It can be many letters or just a few words, as long as, it has meaning for you as a reflection of the love you feel for our God.
Imagine how powerful and encouraging this gift will be – for all of us, when we share our love for God in our own particular – way. Please know, we will share one each week in our God Moments and in our Newsletter until the end of Lent; so, we may all be encouraged by the Love of God surrounding us every day in our fellowship.
Many joyous blessings of God’s Love be with you all
your pastor and teacher, Brian
Please consider these thoughts and the teachings of Jesus during Epiphany. Next week, I am on vacation but, please call if it you have an emergency. My number is (207-350-9561). Many blessings and Love to you all.
Many blessings on this beautiful day that God has created for all of us – for all people and all of creation. I pray that you are each able to enjoy the moments of today before they slip away. Yet, I was thinking, is not this the very blessing that we hope and pray for throughout life? To enjoy every moment, especially those moments we are able to spend with the people we love. Is not this the truth that God teaches us as we wander through life?
I believe it is. I believe every moment of life is a gift that God has created for you. And every moment you spend with the people you love is something even better. It is a reflection of the kin-dom which Christ is preparing for everyone. So, if my belief is true, what are we saying when we let grudges, hurt feelings, old wounds get in the way of the joy we could be experiencing? Are we saying God’s gift of that moment is not important? Are we saying the person in front of us is not important? Or are we simply saying that our pain is more important than living in the loving moments God is revealing to us every day? Personally, I am not sure, nor would I make that judgment on anyone.
For me though, I can say that every moment I spend fixated on the bitter cold pain of life are moments that I am not spending cuddling under the blanket of love. This point is not a call to ignore the negative moments of life. No, we must be aware of them; but I pray you do not let them consume your every waking hour. For, if you do then you may just miss out on the beautiful day which we are experiencing right now.
Happy Valentine’s Day, Beloved
I pray you enjoy each and every moment with the people you love; for, this gift is a reflection of God’s kin-dom here on Earth.
Your pastor and teacher, Brian
Please consider these thoughts and the teachings of Jesus during Epiphany. If you would like, you may text, call, or email me always to talk. As I am here to support you and your relationship with God wherever you are on the journey. My number is (207-350-9561) if you need anything or simply want to talk. Next week, my pastoral care hours are Mon. 9-4, Tues. 12-5, Wed. 9-4, Thurs. 10-2 to provide some time for visiting. Many blessings and Love to you all.
I pray you are each having a beautiful day and are “at one with God.” I share this blessing because too often we humans are not “at one with God,” or as other pastors might explain “right relationship with God.” However, for me this latter term of right relationship beckons that there is also a wrong relationship – a human judgment of right and wrong – or some clear-cut answer of how we must be in a relationship with God. Wouldn’t that be nice if everything were that simple. It’s not though, is it?
Every relationship we have with every individual person in our life is different and also changes throughout time. The relationship we have with each of our children is different as are the relationships we have with each and every one of our friends, parents, and fellow parishioners. Relationships, I hope will grow stronger as you spend more time together learning about each other. Yet, those understandings and desires of the other person may change over time. I know mine have. What I understood at five years old when all girls had “cooties” has definitely changed over the years. Why then would our understanding of God not change, grow, evolve. And, why would God have the same relationship with each of us throughout our entire life?
This point is not to say God has favorites or treats some people better than others. Rather, the point is that our relationship with God is more individual than a clear-cut human understanding of right and wrong. It is about being at one with God – at peace with the Divine – in relationship with the one who loves us into Creation. It is a relationship we are called to nurture and respect in a kind and loving way. Not with the ego of, this way is “RIGHT” and that way is “WRONG”; but with, ‘this way of our relationship’ right now is comforting to me and brings me peace. At one with God at this point on my journey to the kin-dom.
That said, being at one with God is only one part of the journey – a layover – that is good; but does not take us any closer to our destination. For us to continue on the Way, we must be challenged and challenge our understanding against others. Not in violence, but in the love that Christ has for us all. Worship, Christian Education, even the ONA learning Sessions are amazing ways for you to challenge others and your understanding while nurturing your relationship with God. Not because I say so; but because this place is your home – your safe place – your church where you have many relationships with many people. People who love and care for you always. One of the places where you are at one with all of us in fellowship.
I pray you continue to nurture your own relationship with God and all of us as we learn, grow and nurture our relationships together in this Beloved fellowship.
your Pastor and Teacher, Brian
Please consider these thoughts and the teachings of Jesus during Epiphany. If you would like, you may text, call, or email me always to talk. As I am here to support you and your relationship with God wherever you are on the journey. My number is (207-350-9561) if you need anything or simply want to talk. Next week, my pastoral care hours are Mon. 9-4, Tues. 12-5, Wed. 9-4, Thurs. 10-2 to provide some time for visiting. Many blessings and Love to you all.
May God’s love always find and guide you through the storms of our lives. For, storms will come and there is only so much we can do to prepare for these events ahead of time. Yes, we can go to the grocery stores, pull out the snow shovels, cover our windshields with snow shields; but, in the end, the snow will come. And we as individuals have to face the pile of white fluffy stuff falling from the sky eventually. So, how do we face the storm?
In truth Beloved, there are a lot of theories about how we accomplish this eventuality and many ideas about motivation. Many of these ideas speak on the difference between an external motivation like we have to go to work and an internal one like when we want to go visit someone. Both get us out into the cold. Yet, most theories believe that the internal source is a longer lasting and more healthy way to endure the storm. If you had not guessed, I am speaking about more than just the weather. I am also speaking about the storms in our life where no motivation will get us out from under the covers. Storms of health, depression, loss, etc. What motivates us then to get up, breathe deep, and face the eventual storm?
Now as your pastor and teacher, it would be lovely to think everyone is going to say God; but, let us be human as well and realize what actually does get us up in the middle of the storm. What sends us out in the middle of the night when our child is sick with a whooping cough and needs medicine. What is it that causes us to drive halfway across the country in the middle of a blizzard when our grandmother gets in a car accident? What motivates us to hold and care for our husbands as the storm of sickness carries away their personality? Any ideas? How about love, beloved? The simple and powerful gift of love. Yes, I believe love is the great motivator which sends each of us into the white flurries of the storm, every time. Thank be to God; for, God is Love. Hmm, maybe everyone can say – God gets us through.
In all seriousness, Beloved, this truth is the very reality of our faith; God is not an external or internal source motivating us through the storms. But the One who provides meaning to our lives by inspiring us with love as they traverse the storms with us. The storms that will eventually come and the storms which will eventually end. This love, which is from God, will allow us to face the white stuff falling from the sky – every time.
May you always be blessed by the Love of God as we traverse the storms together
Your pastor and teacher, Brian
Please consider these thoughts and the teachings of Jesus during Epiphany. If you would like, you may text, call, or email me always to talk. As I am here to support you and would be happy to hear how you are surviving the storms of your life. My number is (207-350-9561) if you need anything or simply want to talk. Next week, my pastoral care hours are Mon. 9-4, Tues. 12-5, Wed. 9-4, Thurs. 10-2 to provide some time for visiting. Many blessings and Love to you all.
I pray the day finds you well and free from the pretzel-like troubles of this world. These troubles that we are enduring so often today, though, are only intensified because we cannot find a solution. At least not one which seems acceptable due to the lines being drawn in the sand and people flocking to one tribe or another. We have seen this time and time again. The conflicts created by doing anything in the old familiar way as compared to the new changes being innovated in an ever-changing world.
Now, I believe we can see these conflicts happen in generational differences, political differences, and yes even in religious differences. We even see this reality creep out over small things like mask use: should they be required for the greater good or should they be avoided due to their inefficiency and propensity to cause health problems for people. The problem is that somewhere along the line people stopped listening with an open heart to the opposing perspectives. And decided the arguments were either / or. I am right and moral and you are wrong and immoral. Why would we do anything else as there is so little time in our world to hear the voices of our friends, let alone those others who do not believe as we do.
Why? Because, Beloved, God calls to all people – all genders – all identities – all of Creation. And if we cannot find a solution amongst our perspective then maybe…just maybe, we need to learn from another source to discover the middle ground in a world of divisions. For our reopening team that place in the middle was and is the individual discernment and choice of mask use for each person. A decision, I believe, was the most faithful choice they could make. Well done.
Perhaps this gift we give ourselves to learn though will also allow us to follow the faithful call to teach one another – another tribe – another Beloved child; so, we call all be held by God together. With this thought in mind, I offer these words from another source about the teachings of Christ and how we deal with the changing church of today.
Lest We Burst
By John Engleton
Jesus told them this parable: “No one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.’” – Luke 5:37-39
Between 2008 and 2019 I led worship approximately twelve hundred times, give or take a hundred. Leading services three times a week for almost eight years really ran up the numbers. I went from wobbly and nervous to loose and confident. I’m not boasting, just pointing out that practicing something a thousand times really helps.
Since the pandemic began, I’ve led worship maybe a hundred times. And those one hundred times have been in at least four or five formats that were new to me: live on Zoom, pre-recorded on YouTube, livestreamed in the sanctuary, outdoors on the lawn, a hybrid of all the above. I’m back to wobbly and nervous, and I don’t like it. I miss the old wine of well-known ways of worship. I’ve tasted the new and I would say, “The old is better!”
It’s okay if the time of worship during Covid isn’t your favorite. It’s okay if it doesn’t measure up to what used to be. No one should expect it to. This is a time of new wine. This time has to be given room to breathe and expand, to become whatever it will become. Our job as the church is to learn new lessons and strengthen new muscles. Our job as the church is to stretch and flex.
Because we aren’t the wine. We are the wineskins.
Prayer
God, this time is hard for us. Help us to worship you in beauty and truth, in new ways.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
John Edgerton is Lead Pastor at First United Church of Oak Park, Illinois.
May all of these thoughts help guide you to find the place God is calling you too, not on one side or another; but in the loving place which encompasses all of Creation together.
Your pastor and teacher, Brian
Please consider these thoughts during Epiphany. If you would like, you may text, call, or email me always. As I would enjoy hearing how you feel are stretching and growing in these times. My number is (207-350-9561) if you need anything or simply want to talk. Next week, My pastoral care hours are Mon. 9-4, Tues. 12-5, Wed. 9-4, Thurs. 10-2 to provide some time for visiting. Many blessings and Love to you all.
“you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Mark 12:30-31(NRSV)
Good afternoon Beloved,
I pray that you are all well and experiencing ALL the Love God has to offer in this blessed season of Advent. Love though, as we all know, has so many different ways that it can be experienced. It is the feeling that we have for our significant others. The feeling that we have for our children and for our friends. It can even be the feeling that we have for things like ice cream or a Baconator. Yet in all these ways, we are only describing the feeling of love in our heart, or maybe that which lies in the mind and soul. But none of these various ways truly describe the depth of love we are called to exhibit in “all (of our) strength.” To Love God “with all your strength” includes our bodies. We can understand this idea as the love we reveal through our actions and service to God’s Mission. It is like when our friends gather to help the SonShine Soup kitchen or the Beloved who are learning about Open and Affirming. Basically, it is the idea of showing God’s Love in everything we do, think, and feel.
This Beloved is actually easier said than done. Yet, sometimes an opportunity comes along to show our love for all humankind with all of our strength. An opportunity which we did not know existed. An opportunity to be the very light of love for another human being in the midst of darkness. Our own beloved Amy Chartrain has brought this opportunity to us this week which I feel exemplifies what it means to be a Christian who loves God with all our strength.
For come to find out, there is a foster home in Lawrence for young girls (ages 13-18). These girls come from troubled homes. Many of their parents are either incarcerated or are formerly incarcerated. Rather than risk going back and forth into many foster homes, the children have chosen to live here. This location alone is a gift of care and love to the least among us as the directors are working at making this place even better. Some improvements include a home gym space so the girls can incorporate activity into their daily routine. However, their upbringing and situations have also made them vulnerable to the worst kind of predators. Those who prey on the children.
As such, these young women have been lured to parties and the subsequent sex trafficking of their bodies through the offer of a new pair of sneakers. Yes, sneakers – predators in our neighboring Lawrence are using sneakers to force children into a life of human trafficking. These horrible crimes must stop and I pray the police find everyone who is guilty. Yet, beloved this darkness also reveals the very way we – you and I – can reveal the love of God with our strength. We can help in this Advent season by taking away the lure. By making one child’s life a little safer from these predators with one 20-dollar gift card to Foot Locker.
Therefore, I hope you will join me in procuring some gift cards and bringing them to worship on December 12th where these gifts of our love will be offered and received. If you have any questions, please ask either me or Amy.
This said, revealing our love can be that easy at times . It can be that easy to give a card but it requires beloved disciples like Amy to reveal the need, to love God and people with all her strength, to bring the darkness into the light of Christ. It requires a discerning mind and the strength to step forward and lead the way. The strength to say, “NO,” when injustices are happening. So, we may end the darkness together. This is part of the love we are all called to do and one way we fulfill the Mission of God.
I feel blessed to witness a beloved disciple loving with all of her strength, thank you Amy. For, you are an example of loving God, our neighbors, and ourselves. I pray we all witness this example and seek with all of our strength to love God by loving one another throughout the season of Advent.
May your week be full of all the Love God has to offer
your pastor, Brian
As always please call (207-350-9561) if you need anything or simply want to talk. Next week, My pastoral care hours are Mon. 8-12, Tues. 12-5, Wed. 8-4 to provide some time for visiting. However, if I am at the church please come in . Many blessings and Love to you all.
I pray everyone is well and feeling all the love God offers freely to our Beloved church. Church though is an interesting word. Is church a building, the people, both. I seem to lean towards the idea of both. But even more, church is a relationship. The relationship we have with one another through God. The one we create with one another. It is also the ability to forgive and grow with one another. The joy to celebrate through work and fellowship in all we do, together. Basically, I believe that church is the blessing of being in fellowship with one another while we worship God – together.
We are reminded of this in the Bible: “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). Here we are reminded that worship happens when at least two or three are gathered; but, beloved, this is the minimum requirement. It is the beginning of what church can be. What happens when three or four, fifty and sixty, etc. gather in relationship – in community – in fellowship to worship God in love – forgiveness, and all we do together?
Might I suggest, we then have a beloved church. What do you think?
This week as we prepare for the installation service, I would like to invite everyone to consider what church means to them. I pray it is the same and that we continue to grow in our faith in God as we deepen our relationships of love with one another.
May your week be a blessing of God’s church, born out of the relationships with one another.
Your pastor, Brian
As always please call (207-350-9561) if you need anything. Next week, I will be on vacation visiting more of our beloved family and building those relationships of God’s love. Many blessings and Love to you all.
“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.
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.
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.
John Edgerton is Lead Pastor at First United Church of Oak Park, Illinois.
