St. John's UCC

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.”
(Psalm 51:10 – Watchword for the Week of Sunday 22 March 2015)

Me, me, and me! Unapologetically me! The Psalmist is not afraid in just one verse to three times refer to himself. He doesn’t care about the interconncetedness of all beings. He’s not worried about the state of the church or the state of the nation. He doesn’t want to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, or to care for the widow, or the alien or the orphan. He prays for his own benefit. He doesn’t ask for kingdom come and thy will be done, no, it’s all about me, myself, and I!

That’s where religion takes place: In an individual’s heart. It’s a place where God has spoken from the beginning. Individualism is not a bad thing. God calls prophets and apostles, not committees and representatives. No corporation, no institution, no state, no church, can live if it does not have individuals that take care of the logs in their own eyes before getting into everybody else’s business. “Create in me a clean heart, O God” also means: I am in desperate need of cleaning because it’s not pretty in there. Give me a fresh start this Lent – like a spiritual spring cleaning.

Sometimes the shortest word in a verse has the biggest impact. Here it is certainly the humble a: “put a new and right spirit within me.” It implies that there is a multitude of new and right spirits to be had. For me, I need only one of those for myself. My way is not the highway and if I think my path is the straight and narrow I can be certain that the God of hosts has a host of other paths that are just as viable. The me right next to me, the me across the street or on the other side of the globe has their own journey just as I do.

The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted. (Mother Teresa)

A Sermon for the Third Sunday in Lent 2015 based on Exodus 20:1-17 and John 2:13-22.

A conversation based on John 3:16-17 and written by Rosemary Broadstock and Ann Scull.

A: ‘For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everybody who believes in him may not die but have eternal life’.
B: But that’s not fair!!! What about the likes of Hitler and Stalin – the people who start terrible wars and cause the death of millions of innocent people and cause the destruction of whole countries which take decades to rebuild.
A: But God has shown us how much he loves us – it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us.
B: But that’s not fair either!!! Does that include the people who dominate powerless people? What about those who rip off the system and make us all pay more? What about people who are cruel?
A: This is what love is: it is not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the means by which our sins are forgiven.
B: Hey, come on, this really isn’t fair!! That can’t possibly include the thieves and the murderers, the people in our jails, the criminals, the liars and the cheats, the ones who abandon and mistreat their children and families, the ones who fight and drink too much.
A: Absolutely nothing will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord.
B: But its still not fair!!!! What about the people who are self satisfied and thoughtless? What about those who gossip and are jealous, the ones who are selfish and lack compassion, the ones who break promises, the ones who are always critical, the ones who carelessly hurt other people’s feelings….. Come to think of it – it’s all of us really, isn’t it?
A: This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.

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God walks behind us and charges ahead at the same time. God is all around us and transforms us from within. That will show in how we live and talk and how we call ourselves. There will be outward signs of that transformation.

A Sermon for the Second Sunday in Lent 2015 based on Genesis 17:1-16 and Mark 8:31-38.

“For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,
but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
(1 Corinthians 1:18 – Watchword for the Week of Sunday 8 March 2015)

There are so many spots in my life that are marked with the sign of the cross.
Let me share with y’all what some of them are about:

When she first saw me in the uniform of an Army Chaplain my mother started crying. Yes, of course there was this whole “my son is a Soldier” thing but what disturbed her most was the cross on my chest. The love of God and a combat uniform do not naturally go together. The Army Chaplain Branch Cross is one of five insignia besides the Jewish tabloids, the Muslim crescent, the Buddhist wheel of life and the Hindu ”Om” syllable. They tell Soldiers where their Chaplains are coming from not where they are taking them. Luckily my mom understands that the love of God is greater than all religious distinctions and Christ has called me to be a servant to all.

Whenever our family has moved we have posted a cross over our front-door. You may call it a talisman or good luck charm. I think of it as a blessing of our home and everybody who lives and visits in it. A symbol of Christ’s presence. Maybe not so much through the symbol of the cross itself but very much so by the spirit which we strive to live. The crosses we have used over our doorposts over the years have always been very modest you may even say tiny. That way they have also been great reminders of humility. I wish the cross were used that way more often. Around Houston highways crosses are being abused as symbols of power and dominance towering up to 200 feet tall. The “emblem of suffering and shame” should not be used as a phallic symbol that strives to be bigger and stronger than everybody else.

The roadside crosses that I respect are the ones that remind us of our mortality. After the deadly crash of a loved one family and friends sometimes try to keep the memory alive at the scene of death – with a cross and candles or flowers. By that not only do they support their own grief process but they also help others in a similar situation. Driving past such a memorial site can work like a support group: I am not alone in my mourning. And on a pragmatic note it warns all motorists: A deadly crash happened here. This spot may require more attention and lower speeds. The cross gets that across more powerfully to me than any speed limit sign could.

In the parish hall at St. John’s United Church of Christ we have close to one hundred crosses on the wall. No, this is not bragging by numbers. This is a sign of diversity. Not two are the same. They are kids crafts, cowboy scenes, crucifixes, clothespins, artsy, rustic, kitsch and ancient, you name it, we got it. The blessing here is in the variety of the multitude. There is not the one correct cross. Our journeys are all different, our approaches to Jesus’ suffering and the season of Lent are all different. What is your cross style?

It’s a great thing to be in a covenant with God. Over thousands of years biblical authors have painted the most wonderful pictures of what that means: blessing, wealth, love, health, peace, power, forgiveness, eternal life, whatever you may hope for in heaven and on earth, it has probably been spelled out as part of God’s covenant with us somewhere. Like when God promised to Abram:
“I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.”
(Genesis 17:7 – Watchword for the Week of Sunday 1 March 2015)

Sunday’s Watchword adds an important twist though: God’s covenant is not only with you in the present generation but also “your offspring after you throughout their generations”. That is a challenge because it means that it is our responsibility to preserve the blessings that God provided us with for future generations. And we have to look at this in all aspects of our lives. All to often grown-ups say: “Children are the future” where in reality that is a distraction from our responsibility today. There are also passages where curses are handed down from generation to generation: “You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me,” (Exodus 20:5)

How can we live here today and make sure that our children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and their children inherit a world that is full of more blessings than ours has ever been? What can we do to preserve our social programs in a way that they are funded for generations to come? Are we making sure that we don’t leave our kids with generational debt that they need to pay on our behalf? Do we leave behind a world that is fun to live in with a sea to swim in, woods and fields to play in, air to breath and water to drink? Do we create a thriving church that inspires generation after generation? God’s covenant is for all generations. We need to keep our end of the bargain.

I grew up in a largely Catholic area in Germany. Cologne Cathedral has served the area since the 4th century. So as the Reformation came around in the 16th century Protestants needed to be different. We have gone along with the carnival season from November 11th to Ash Wednesday because we like a good mardi gras celebration with parades and floats and a lot of partying. But then when Ash Wednesday comes around you can still tell Catholics from Protestants because overwhelmingly we will stay away from that fasting thing.

For me that changed somewhat when we moved to Utah. In a community where 93% of the population are Mormon the liturgical roots of our tradition helped me to retain and strengthen my identity. My UCC congregation worked regularly with the Episcopal Church across the street to keep ourselves rooted in the desert. And I got my Catholic fix out of our joint Ash Wednesday services. Now in Rosenberg, Texas, at St. John’s UCC we have our own Ash Wednesday service – no Episcopal priest to impose the Ashes but it will be my turn tomorrow. That to me is a double-edged sword since the most disturbing thing about Catholicism for me is the role of the priesthood. The guy imposing the ashes seems so removed from the sinners who receive it. That just feels so wrong since our tradition puts a big emphasis on the priesthood of all believers. So I am very excited that I get to juggle that tension tomorrow.

The good news is that the whole ash thing at its core uses a scriptural foundation that fits well into the Protestant spirit:
“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19)
God is quoted saying that to Adam and Eve after the scene with the forbidden fruit. Basically they are reminded of their limitations. That applies to all of us who were born to a human mother: Protestants, Catholics, Mormons, Priests, All Believers, oh yes, we are all sinners alike!

Going back and remembering presidents past is a good thing: It keeps us rooted. We do that within our families all the time: Remember the hero that grandpa was, take grandma’s sacrifice as an example. But also: Don’t be a drunk like auntie Paige or a playboy like uncle Bob. We remember presidents for their greatest and their worst hours:

George Washington as the founder of the nation and first president will obviously get a lot of credit for all he did. And when we worship heroes like that we tend to overlook their human weaknesses: George Washington was known to complain that his pay was not sufficient to cover the expenses of his household and at times he even had to pay expenses out of pocket. His $25,000 in 1789 equal $650,000 in today’s dollars after inflation. Since 2001 presidents have only made $400,000. Looks like the father of the nation did not have his personal budget under control.

Many stories that we tell about ourselves tie us to heroes of the past: How we grow up to imitate all the great things our parents have done for us or how we start a family tradition totally opposite of our upbringing. We have to connect to the past one way or the other. The same thing is true for Jesus. The Gospels would not just have him show up and do his preaching-teaching-healing thing. They have to explain his authority, to give him a rightful place in the life and faith of God’s people. That’s what Transfiguration Sunday is all about:
“Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.” (Mark 9:2-8)

Jesus is nobody unless he has the authority of a prophet like Moses. No presidential candidate can make it to the White House without tipping their hat to one who has gone before them. None of us can live happy lives without an understanding of how our family tradition and history have affected us for better and worse. None of us are perfect, ancestors and presidents included.

Imagine you were to live in the neighborhood around our church. Quite some folks actually do. You have seen the neighbor change over the past decades. Now imagine you need to go grocery shopping. Most likely you will hop into your car and head towards Brazos Town Center because that is where most shopping in Rosenberg is done these days.

But now imagine you were a one car family. I met this courtesy-driver at a car dealer ship. Him, his wife and two kids just had that one car. He drove it to work in the morning and at 6 pm he would switch shirts. His black pants and boots are also okay with the fast food chain shirt he had to wear at his second job where the shift started at 6pm – with no turn-around time. Now, all the panaderias along 1st Street can certainly keep his wife and kids from starving but if you were in their shoes where are you going to get your fresh produce? The simple reality is that you would have to ask somebody for a ride or you would walk to Fiesta. That is two miles each way, hauling bags of fresh apples and heads of lettuce. According to Google Maps that would take you about 40 minutes times two and you could only buy as much you could carry with two little kids in tow. In this sense our neighborhood is a food desert and there is nobody there to change that.

One thing we have changed since 1985: As a covenant church of Rosenberg-Richmond Helping Hands we support their mission to feed and clothe people in West Fort Bend County on a short term basis. They served 6400 families in 2013. Food was distributed to 22,047 people. We were able to supply 832 babies with diapers and 131 were provided with formula. We give 9% of our church’s budget to Helping Hands and we do two month-long food-drives each year in February and August.

February is big because it coincides with the Souper Bowl of Caring. All month long we will gather food and monetary donations so we can support Helping Hands even more. Scout Sunday is coming up and they also help with collecting canned goods. Last Sunday we had great fun at our soup extravaganza after church with silent and live auctions. I love the energy that goes into that and all the good that can be done because of it. Only thing is: According to Google Maps Helping Hands is 4.3 miles away from the church. That is a 90 minute walk one way. Can you think of other ways to help the courtesy-driver’s family?