A Sermon by Reverend Dr. Joseph David Stinson

Glen Ridge Congregational Church, Glen Ridge, New Jersey,

Preached on the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, (13July), 2008.

“The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break is it not communion in the body of Christ?” ~St. Paul, 1Cor. 10:16

The second in a series of four sermons on the Lord’s Supper: ‘Come Stay with Us.’

This is my second sermon in the July series, “Come Stay with Us.” The title comes from the first Easter, the story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. You remember they asked the stranger who had walked and talked with them on the way from Jerusalem to “stay with us” when they reached the inn. That evening, in the breaking of the bread, coupled with the stranger’s teaching from scripture on the road, their eyes were opened and they recognized the stranger was Jesus. “Come Stay with Us,” is the prayer of every generation, and the place we encounter him is at this intersection of word and sacrament, pulpit and table. I began reading to you part of a free verse poem-prayer written by the late Pope John Paul II, for the Easter just before his death. Let me read you a few more verses of that same poem sharing the title of our series:

The Word and the Bread of the Eucharist
… we, too, repeat those words:
Jesus, crucified and risen, stay with us!
Stay with us faithful friend and
sure support for humanity
on its journey through history!
Living Word of the Father,
give hope and trust to all who are searching
for the true meaning of their lives.
Bread of Life, nourish those who hunger
for truth, freedom, justice and peace.
Stay with us, Living Word of the Father,
and teach us words and deeds of peace:
Peace for our world consecrated by your Blood
and drenched in the blood of so many innocent victims:
Peace for the countries of the Middle East and Africa,
Where so much blood continues to be shed;
Peace for all humanity still threatened by fratricidal wars.
Stay with us, Bread of eternal life,
broken and distributed to those at table:
Give us also the strength to show generous solidarity
Toward the multitudes … suffering and dying ….
By the power of your resurrection,
May they too become sharers in new life.
… Stay with us now and until the end of time.

+ + +

There was a peculiar idea in the religious mind of St. Paul’s age. Part of it might be reflected in a saying we use today, “You are what you eat.”

In Asia Minor in the First Century, animal sacrifice was a primary means of worshipping the gods. The Jewish people also participated in this at their Temple in Jerusalem. Often the meat from sacrifices to the gods was eaten later by the worshipper, the priest or sold to someone in the market that day. Paul drew on this belief when he wrote these words in 1Corinthians 10:16. It remained a vexing problem for Christians in cities like Corinth where so much of the meat available at the agora came from temple sacrifices. Was it safe for Christians to eat food sacrificed to idols? Moreover, early Christians were frequently invited by Pagan business associates and neighbors to participate in feasts featuring meat from sacrifices.

Suppose you were a Pagan and wanted a special favor from the gods. If you were able to afford it, you purchased a sacrificial animal—a calf, a goat or a lamb—and took it to your temple. After the sacrifice a portion of the animal was returned to you and you held a feast at your house. Common belief was that the god himself (or goddess) was a guest at your feast. Moreover, the god was ‘in’ the food itself. When the meat was eaten the god entered the bodies of those invited to your feast. When any two people in the ancient world ate together, a close bond was established between them. When a sacrificial meal was consumed, a bond was similarly forged between the worshippers and the god. Consequently, the Apostle cautioned, Christians must take care about which table, which altar they frequent.

Of course, the Lord’s Supper for Christians is also a sacrificial meal. However, in our communion meal we remember the sacrifice Jesus offered once and for all to gain for us the grace of God. We remember his death, resurrection and promise to come again by participating in the Lord’s Supper. Paul was clear that by eating at this table we gain oneness with Christ. That is, Jesus, the unseen guest now enters our lives at the supper. He is in what we eat, and when consumed, he goes into us—spiritually and physically. The many who eat at this table become the body of Christ, his church. Christ comes and stays with us. He comes into us and becomes our companion and guest from then on. But more: when we return to our homes he is still our unseen guest at family meals. He is the unseen guest at our lunches, at work or school. He is our unseen guest at parties and social outings. Being at each of these other tables of our lives, we must welcome and honor him. Paul went on to caution the early Christians:

You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.

Now let us not get bogged down with the demons Paul spoke of. Let us just say that more often than we care to admit, we allow demonic unseen guests into our family meals, our business lunches, our nights out—sometimes more often than we allow the Lord. Paul’s obvious point is that when we participate in the communion meal of the church, Christ becomes a traveling companion. If we take him to our homes where he is not welcome, if we take him to parties where he is not desired, if we take him to a job scene antithetical to his values, well, obviously we ask for trouble, certainly a kind of schizophrenic hypocrisy. To Paul’s way of thinking, we will have betrayed the sacred bond which Christ forged between us and him at the cross and at the supper. Sometimes, it is good that we cannot see our guest because upon leaving some of our regular haunts and pursuits, I would hate to see the expression on his face! I know when he hears our conversations with friends, especially the many which invoke his name, he must wear a look of anguish.

Paul says, “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.” Now if this sounds melodramatic and over exaggerated to you, I suggest you begin to think about your life a little more carefully. Paul’s table of demons referred to the sacrificial table at the Temple of Aphrodite on Acrocorinth. In our day, we may be tempted to think it refers to a rival church, but it is rather something more subtle, more insidious, more ‘everyday.’ If ‘table of demons’ sounds terribly old fashioned and out of step with your philosophy, then you are probably a prime candidate for Paul’s reprimand.

Paul believed that to partake of this supper is to allow the body and blood of Christ to enter us and our lives. Obviously, the supper is not to be taken by those who do not share the Christian faith. For Christians to take the supper is to ‘participate,’ to ‘commune,’ to have ‘koinonia’ in Christ’s life, his loves, his hopes, his sacrifice for us. To be invited to such a communion is tantamount to becoming Christ’s partner. Now we may at times forget he is with us, and at times we may wish he were not with us, but for the person who regularly communes at this table, who is part of the church—his body—we do not even have to invite him. He will be here, over our shoulders, supporting us when we need support, befriending us when lonely, correcting us when we need correction, and, of course, loving us always.

The cup of blessing which we drink, is it not communion in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break is it not communion in the body of Christ?

To partake of this supper is to receive Christ not just in a religious sense, but also into the everyday world of living. He comes to us an unseen guest here but always with us. He is not just in church, but also in our everyday relationships and events, like eating bread with friends, like having a cup of coffee at work. Christ is just so ‘unreligious’ as to become a guest of our families with all their inner friction, a guest at our workplaces, boredom or excitement, a guest in our conversations with friend and foe. “Because there is one loaf, we who were many are now one.”

Next Sunday I will speak about “Hidden in Christ.” I will look at Colossians 3 for clues about what it means to say Christ is actually present in the supper.

End

A Sermon by Reverend Dr. Joseph David Stinson

Glen Ridge Congregational Church, Glen Ridge, New Jersey,

Preached on the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, (7July), 2008.

The first in a series of four sermons on the Lord’s Supper: ‘Come Stay with Us.’

Pope John Paul II in the last days of his life wrote a poem about the Lord’s Supper, quoting the two on the road to Emmaus who asked Jesus upon arriving at their inn, “Come stay with us.” He penned the poem on Easter Sunday, March 7th, 2005, less than a month before his death. I begin this series of July sermons with a portion of his poem:

Mane nobiscum, Domine!
Stay with us, Lord!
With these words, the disciples on the road to
Emmaus invited the mysterious Wayfarer
to stay with them, as the sun was setting
on that first day of the week
when the incredible had occurred.
According to his promise, Christ had risen;
but they did not yet know this.
Nevertheless, the words spoken by the Wayfarer
along the road made their hearts burn within them.
So they said to him: “Stay with us.”
Seated around the supper table,
they recognized him in the ‘breaking of bread’
—and suddenly he vanished.
There remained in front of them the broken bread,
there echoed in their heart the
gentle sound of his words

Dear brothers and sisters,
the Word and the Bread of the Eucharist,
the mystery and gift of Easter,
remain down the centuries as a constant memorial
of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ!
On this Easter Day,
together with all Christians throughout the world,
we, too, repeat these words:
Jesus, crucified and risen, stay with us!

The Pope saw in the words from Luke the prayer of the church in every generation—or, rather, what should be the prayer of the church. This morning I begin a series of sermons on the Lord’s Supper and take that prayer as our theme: Come stay with us. Whatever else we think this rite means, it always is about asking the Lord to come again into our midst. Over the next four weeks, I will preach four Sundays on the Lord’s Supper. This week I will address our unity at the table. Next week I will speak of the unseen guest at this table. In succeeding weeks I will address the symbolism, the ritual, and other important facets of the sacrament. Each week we will also have communion as part of our service. We will listen to each account of the supper in the New Testament and gather around the table together. Lord, come stay with us!

There is a church I know in another state which was embroiled in a fight. It seemed the town’s garden club asked permission to use the church parlor for a meeting place. The wife of the chairman of the church trustees, being a member of the garden club, prevailed upon her husband to get the trustee’s approval. The vote was favorable but there was considerable discussion. Before next month’s meeting, the majority shifted against letting the garden club in. Now another vote was taken. The minster got in the fight, too. The rest of the church members picked sides and within a month so many hurt feelings existed that the chair of the trustees and his wife left the church. I am tempted to pun that the church made a decision by trowel and error!

The issue to those of us outside that congregation is comical. However, as we know, most church fights I know are not fought over grounds of doctrinal purity. More often it is a case of egos, personalities, money and short-sightedness. Within a year or two no one will remember the burning issues that caused a church fight. Sometimes the issues seem trivial within two months. History has a way of paling our passions. Were it just a tempest in a teapot, no one would care. But there is more at stake in these fights. No, I’m not talking about principals and compromises and orthodoxy at stake. The real problem with these brawls we get into is succinctly put in this morning’s text:

See to it that no one fail to obtain the grace of God; that no ‘root of bitterness’ spring up and cause trouble, and by it many become defiled.

Were it not that inevitably some one or two or ten or twenty Christian souls separate themselves from God’s church as a result of such petty infighting, the whole thing would be funny. But when anyone separates from the ‘grace of God’ over a garden-club-like issue, we are all to blame and should be ashamed of ourselves.

W.E. Garrison, a theologian of two generations ago taught at the University of Chicago, wrote: “As long as it’s ‘we,’ there is a way.” The problem is that churches like nations want to split and become ‘we-s’ and ‘they-s,’ and in such division there is no way.

Now around this table we gather regularly. At my own table at home there are frequently disputes. We tussle and grouch at times, but that is expected in families and we still sit around that table together. I do find it difficult to invite people I dislike to share a meal with me. The Lord’s Table is no different. But it is not our table—it is his. If we do not think of it as we think of tables in our homes, it is because we have made this rite so unlike a meal. We do not gather around this table to share its food. Rather we stay apart from it and from each other. We isolate ourselves in this ritual, and so few understand it anymore as the Lord’s Supper. We bring out special vessels that we never use at any other meal. We ‘ritualize’ it in the bad sense, until there is no family or fellowship aspect to it at all.

If the ‘we-s’ are the in crowd, then the ‘they-s’ are the out crowd. If the ‘we-s’ are the old group, the ‘they-s’ are the new group. Perhaps one group is afraid the other will take over the church. Or perhaps the new group is afraid that ‘they’ will not let them work in their church. It’s simple to see that the problem is that ‘we and they’ have both failed to see that the church is not ours or theirs, but rather it is the church of Jesus Christ. His church and we are all members of him! There is a need for us to gather but not as we and they. God does not invite enemies to this table and if all of us are invited we must be allies. If we are all allies and friends of God how can we be enemies to each other? I am not the leader, nor is the president of the congregation. God is the leader and we are guests at his table. There is no ‘we’ group and ‘they’ group when we gather at his table.

‘Roots of bitterness’ in the church existed long before our time. They must have been a problem in the church of the New Testament. Otherwise, why would the writer of Hebrews have cautioned Christians against the problem? We all know that issues and roots of bitterness arise. We want to end them as quickly and as lovingly as possible. But it is the root that we need to remove, not the people who fertilize them! The Lord must be the one and only leader we have, not me or him or her. “See that no one fail to obtain the grace of God because of you!”

Today’s account of the supper in Luke is unique because according to Luke Judas received this first Lord’s Supper with the other eleven and Jesus before he betrayed Jesus, even though the plan was already hatched. This means that the root of bitterness has existed always at the table. Christ knows about it, we know about it. What we do with it is the key.

It is worth pondering all our temptation to schism and argument in light of the garden club fight. Is it really worth the bloodshed? The end will come, it says in the Bible, when we least expect it. In a moment, in the twinkle of an eye, like a thief in the night. Two men will be in church together and one will be taken and the other left. Some will be called sheep and inherit the Kingdom of Heaven and others will be called goats and sent to hell. The church is the Body of Christ. Shall we crucify him again for the sake of the garden club?

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

As we gather today, let us draw close to Christ, but also close to one another. As long as there is a we, there is a way.

End Communion We and They #1.DOC

A Sermon by Reverend Cynthia F. Reynolds

Glen Ridge Congregational Church, Glen Ridge, New Jersey,

Preached on the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time, (29June), 2008.

On Friday morning it was a real delight to be in Robinson Hall when the campers, youth counselors, and adults had their program for parents at the conclusion of our wonderful Bible Day Camp. There were probably 10 high schoolers, about 30 counselors from grades 5 to 7, and another 30 campers from age 4 up. They’d spent the week learning about God’s creation – making appropriate craft items to take home, running under the sprinkler on sprinkler day – and singing. Marty reminded me to especially come down to hear this group sing. A group of 9th graders took over the music for the day camp and I couldn’t really tell who was having more fun – imagine a creation story sung to the tune of the 12 Days of Christmas. But the one that really got me was the song they sang at full voice both at the beginning and of the program – sorry I can’t remember all the words – but to hear 70 kids singing loudly “we love the Lord” brought tears to my eyes.

Now, here’s the stunning part: most of the high schoolers were members of this church – but any were not. They came on the invitation of our kids. Most of the counselors were not members of our church – also here on invitation of our own kids. Think about this too: the first week of school vacation and here they came promptly at 8:30 each morning to be a part of camp. And for the first time, there were more campers from families not members here than there were members. Marty told me on Friday that one mom was so impressed by the experience that she asked for information about our Sunday School for the fall. She thinks this seems to be a good place for her family and she wants to be part of it.
Then on Wednesday night I met with the mission team who will be leaving in just a month for 12 days in South Africa with Jon and Dawn Barnes – they have a work project at a primary school – it has over 600 children through the 9th grade – they will attend worship at 2 local churches on the Sundays they are there. They’ll tour the Samaritan Care Center – a hospice filled with AIDS patients. And they will stay overnight, not in a B & B – Dawn calls them homestays – our friends from this church will be left off in villages to stay with local families in their homes – Dawn says some of them have electricity, most do not have indoor plumbing – they’ll eat what the families eat and get an idea of life in 21st century South Africa that no tourist will ever see. They’ll visit sites that will put the horrors of apartheid in front of them – Steven Bikko’s home, the Bhisho massacre site, just one of many such places, where 29 people were killed, many more injured during the struggle to abolish apartheid. They’ll tour the Nelson Mandela museum – what a trip this will be!

The excitement at the meeting was palpable – lots of details to be attended to for sure – and they talked about what they were taking – the stuff you all have donated – the stuff they purchased because of your generous financial donations – medical supplies, musical instruments, microscopes, books, craft items – and the gifts for the families with whom they would stay – each family will receive a lap blanket lovingly made by ladies of this church over the years – stuffed animals for the children a family here in the church donated – believe me, part of each of us will be in South Africa this summer. And each of the travelers goes with a devotional booklet – there are copies on the Clark Street table if you’d like one to follow along their journey. If we run out, we’ll make more. This is one way we can join together across the world in prayer and share in this awesome opportunity to be part of the global church.
But the most important thing they will take with them is not the stuff, the presents, the gifts, but their own presence. You all know something about apartheid I’m sure – blacks and coloreds, deeply segregated, moved into townships, required to carry passes, sometimes killed just because they went somewhere they weren’t supposed to go. The homestays will take them into the townships – imagine this: white people coming to stay in a black township, to walk with our brothers and sisters in Christ without regard to color – apartheid was outlawed only in 1994 – and we know it takes generations to change deeply seeded attitudes, behaviors. Pretty amazing, isn’t it – that this trip is happening – and the ministry of presence that will be both given and received. Life changing – for everyone involved.

What do these two events have in common? They’re both about hospitality. They both tie in to our short scripture passage this morning: whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. And whoever gives even a cup of cool water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple – truly, I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.

Our missionaries travel to South Africa because Jesus has told them to – they are each responding to a call. And our children and youth come to Bible Day Camp, not just because it’s fun, because it is – but also because they are excited about the hospitality, the welcome they feel there. And isn’t that God’s work! At home and on the other side of the world.

I believe we need to hear the Bible’s message about hospitality, now more than ever, because it seems that we live in a remarkably inhospitable world – poverty right around the corner from exclusive country clubs, gated communities in view of tenement buildings, a real isolation sometimes from each other, even though we yearn for, need, human contact. There’s a me-first attitude that is all too prevalent – the question so often is, what’s in it for me – what will I get out of it. And “me first” is the opposite of hospitality, isn’t it.

We live in a world that needs hospitality. And hospitality has two dimensions. First of all, the Bible commands hospitality because of the vulnerability of the stranger. In the ancient world, the stranger was just as vulnerable and marginalized as the widow or orphan. I can’t help but wonder who is vulnerable and marginalized today in our culture. Perhaps the names are changed, but too often the behavior is not.
Back to those ancient times: travelers who were miles away from their homes were so very vulnerable as strangers – there were no hotels, no restaurants, no police forces, no means of easy communication in times of crisis. The Bible’s command to show hospitality to strangers is part of the imperative of justice: to care for those who have no right to claim our kindness and hospitality. We are to behave toward others as God has behaved toward us: compassionate toward those who have no claim on our compassion. We are to behave toward others as we want others to behave toward us.

The second dimension of hospitality is how it affects those who show hospitality. Why is it, do you think, that our world is so inhospitable. I think the answer often is really pretty simple: fear.
To be hospitable makes us vulnerable. To open our homes to others, especially strangers but even friends, opens us to criticism and the judgment of others; it may even open us to crime. So we isolate ourselves behind the walls of our houses, behind fences and security systems, behind police forces and deadly weapons. We isolate ourselves in front of our televisions and computer screens, not letting in anyone – not the stranger on the corner, not the friend down the street, not even God. Perhaps the failure to be hospitable is a failure of faith. We don’t admit the stranger into our homes and lives because we are not sure that we can really depend on the God who mandates hospitality.
And let’s go a step further with this whole notion of hospitality – let’s consider the implications on us as church. We’ve talked often in church council and ministry meetings about falling church attendance, the fact that the youngest grades in our Sunday School have fewer children – our new members classes have been smaller in recent years and we’ve talked for 4 years about how to define ourselves as a welcoming church, to become a vibrant church, full of the joy that Christ brings to us. And we wonder how this can happen and what to do.

One of the concerns is, of course, financial, but it seems like that isn’t the main question. It may well be that this is a failure of hospitality – a loss of our focus - how welcoming are we really to strangers – even to each other in our midst? How do we nurture current members, attract new members, how do we welcome all of us into the life of our church, how do we reach out to the community, the wider church. It’s about hospitality, isn’t it. It’s about making ourselves vulnerable, it’s about recognizing the fear we all have about change. It’s about trusting God who demands of us hospitality.

The question isn’t about integrating new members – that implies new members can do things our way. The question is about embracing new members, strangers, and giving and receiving the gifts we all have for ministry. It’s about increasing our efforts to welcome strangers and not just strangers but the person sitting next to us every week here in worship: it’s about wearing our name tags, it’s about signing the welcome pads in the pews so we can get to know the names of the people who sit near us on Sunday morning, it’s about our signage to coffee hour, to the nursery room, to the rest rooms – it’s about greeting the stranger, the visitor and walking with them to lemonade on the lawn. We all want to be connected.

I’ve been struck this year about the number of people who stay here in the sanctuary after worship and visit – sometimes it seems that there are as many here as are downstairs in Robinson Hall – what’s that about? Are we missing an opportunity to offer hospitality to each other in our community? Or are there new ways of offering hospitality that we need to consider? It’s interesting that many churches are renovating their narthex area to accommodate such gatherings. Seems to me that we need to look at how we welcome each other, not only the strangers in our midst. How are we offering that cup of cold water to each other? To our neighbors? To the strangers in our midst? Let’s not isolate ourselves.
We have two wonderful examples to reflect on right now – the missionaries we send to South Africa are stepping out in faith, both giving and receiving a cup of cold water in a whole new way. There’s an excitement along with a bit of nervousness about doing this for sure but watching the joy in their anticipation of this trip – it’s truly a blessing. And as I watched the faces of those children and youth on Friday morning, I was so struck by the joy in them. Kids don’t get up early on summer mornings easily – but they were here, laughing, singing, learning, playing together, working together on projects – their excitement was contagious to all who were there. Maybe that’s what we’re missing – some of the joy, the delight in being together – inviting our friends to join us in a place, in activities, in worship because of the nurture, the joy we both give and receive. One woman who came told Marty that she didn’t have much use for organized religion – that the day camp was fun, but she wasn’t really interested in participating in what you and I would consider “church.”

Made me really stop and think about our life together. What is God calling us to as church? What can these two ministries teach us?
It’s summer – the pace is slower – the rate of activity has decreased dramatically. We look around on this hot and sticky morning and it’s clear that people are away or choosing not to come to worship for any number of reasons. I know I’m tired, looking forward to the refreshment of vacation that starts this week.

But let’s use some of this Sabbath time to think about who we are and who we want to be as church. You’re all here – you made a choice to come. Think about why – and then how does this translate into the hospitality you feel here and the hospitality you extend here. Maybe we’re being called more into the “being” of our faith these slower summer days. Then when the pace picks up again in the fall, we work harder at the “doing”. We’re nourished by the being that empowers the doing. That cool cup of water is essential for us too in order for us to share it.

What would happen if we really hear and heed the Biblical message of hospitality? It would be awfully good news for all of us and our neighbors. We have the opportunity every day – if we’ll take the time to pay attention. A small but important thing: the food donation box in the narthex is empty. Let’s remember that during the summer especially the need is greater than we can imagine – no more school breakfasts or lunches – children living only a few miles from us are hungry – can we provide that cup of cool water to our brothers and sisters. Just one small example, isn’t it.

The outrageous promise that Jesus makes to those who show hospitality is that if they open themselves to those with no claim on their compassion and kindness, they will be opening themselves to God. “Whoever receives me, receives the one who sent me….” And, after all, who really needs, yearns for hospitality? Is it the bag lady rooting through the dumpster? Is it the hungry child living in a steamy hot apartment in the city? Of course they need our hospitality.
But so do we. Every single one of us.
That smile and offered hand is a cup of cool water to the person who has come here to worship for the first or maybe second time or to the person who has been coming here for years and years. We don’t know the struggles, the pains, the anxieties our neighbors are facing at any given time, do we. Our reaching out may be just what that person needs right then – and we need to be connected too.

Showing hospitality is discipleship. Showing hospitality is done face to face, hand to hand, person to person, requiring risk and vulnerability, courage and sacrifice. And hospitality is offered through sometimes small and seemingly unspectacular ways. Opening the door to a stranger breaks down a barrier of protection in a world of walls and loneliness. A smile requires eye contact. A handshake means unclenching fists. A piece of bread breaks down hunger and offers new life. A cup of cold water to a thirsty soul is as refreshing to the giver as to the barren throat of the recipient. These are all acts of basic everyday kindness and generosity. But these are acts that form us into the Body of Christ. And as we give, we also receive the overflowing hospitality of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So may it be for each of us, and for us as church. Amen.

Let us pray:
Lord, help us to open ourselves to your grace so that we might offer ourselves to be used as tools in your hand. The world is full of so much division, so much hurt, so much pain. Too often we and your struggling church are terrified at the enormity of it all and held captive by the chaos. Still, you do not withhold your love from us, but lavish your grace and mercy throughout our lives. Give us the courage to seek new life, to reach out to the lost, to comfort the sick and dying, to commune with the un-loveable, for in this way we are given life. Even if our attempts are small, producing only the smallest acts of compassion, we know you will use us to bring about your new creation. As you found us, help us to find others. As you welcomed us, help us to welcome others, and so find our salvation, in community, by your grace. Amen.

A Sermon by Reverend Dr. Joseph David Stinson

Glen Ridge Congregational Church, Glen Ridge, New Jersey,

Preached on the 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time, (15June), 2008.

There is much in this reading in Matthew, but I will concentrate on 10:7. What did Jesus mean, telling his disciples to proclaim, “The kingdom of heaven has come near”? Was he speaking about their proximity in time to the end of the world and the beginning of God’s eschatological kingdom?

If so, Jesus must have misunderstood the timing of his kingdom, because over 2000 years later, we are still in a kingdoms-of-this-world age. At the beginning of the gospel, Matthew said, “From that time Jesus began to proclaim, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’” The kingdom of God was a frequent element in Jesus’ teaching and he used this concept to teach a truth about the end times. But there must be another dimension to it if the kingdom was coming near during Jesus’ lifetime, and we are still waiting all this time later. Since we assume Jesus knew what he was talking about, it is, then, unlikely that the phrase is to be taken temporally, to teach that the kingdom of heaven was about to be inaugurated in time.

There is another meaning of near, and I think this reveals Jesus’ meaning as he taught the nearness of the kingdom. Near does not always refer to a time approaching, but also to a person or thing coming into close proximity. Whatever else we mean by this kingdom, it is clearly associated with the person, rule and teachings of Jesus. I believe Jesus meant that we draw near to the kingdom of heaven when he comes near to us.

Here is something else: In the first use of the phrase, right after his baptism and temptation, it was Jesus who said the kingdom had come near. In this reading today, it is the disciples who proclaim the nearness of the kingdom. There is no distinction between an ambassador who represents a king and the king himself. When you are in the presence of Jesus’ disciples, you are also in the presence of their Lord as well. Because they speak the word of Jesus and teach his message, it is as if Jesus himself is present in their ministry. We draw near to his kingdom (and to him) when we join his disciples and attend to their teaching the word of God.

Here is another truth hidden in this idea of the kingdom coming near in Jesus. The kingdom clearly is a future event. Though it may yet be off in the future, we know kingdom values now. Because of our confidence in Jesus and the certainty of his sovereignty, the values of his realm may become our values today, even if they are not everyone’s values in the present world. We believe these things will come to pass in the future, so we know they are the values by which our lives and efforts will be judged. Hence, we live by them today. Again, when Jesus draws you near to him, you begin immediately to participate in life in his kingdom. Here is an example.

For the last few weeks the gospel lessons were all from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. In many ways this set of teachings is the most naïve the world has ever known. Just listen to some of the things Jesus taught us disciples in that sermon:

But I say to you, do not resist an evil doer. If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give him your cloak as well.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.

Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be yours as well. So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own.

You know these behaviors Jesus prescribed in that Sermon. There may have been one or two people in history who lived up to the code, but among modern disciples it is generally thought to be impossible for a person of this world to live up to it. But I wonder. Doesn’t it depend on who our neighbor is? It all hinges upon whom we are asked to walk a second mile or turn the other cheek. For example, many of us practice this ethic in our families. Who says it is impossible? What is missing from our ethical thinking is the notion of just how large our family is. If all are brothers and sisters with God as our Father, that does change perspectives.

What if a consequence of Jesus’ drawing near to us is that we recognize in him a broader dimension of love of neighbor and the demands he will make on us in his kingdom? What if a side effect of his drawing near to us is that we want to live by his values in the present, not just in the future? Would such a life style not be a kingdom-of-heaven way of living? I do not find such serious Christianity any easier to live than you do, but where did we get the idea that being a disciple of Jesus is supposed to be easy?

Jesus told them, “As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘the kingdom of heaven has come near.’” Are we close enough to it and to him?

A Sermon by Will Younger

Glen Ridge Congregational Church, Glen Ridge, New Jersey,

Preached at the Sanctuary service on the 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time, (15June), 2008.

Good Morning everyone. Before I begin, I would just like to say thank you to Sherry Brabham and Phoebe Stinson of the YPS, who planned this service and to all of you for giving me the opportunity to speak today. It is really wonderful that, nervous as I am, I feel welcome up here in the spotlight. For that, I have all of you to thank. This leads me to the point of my speech today, the theme that we worked with throughout the year with the YPS.

This year, our theme was “WELCOME IN GOD’S HOUSE,” so we spent much of our time together discussing the implications of our hospitality as church members, as well as outside of the church in our daily lives. As a group, we recognized that God’s House is not defined by a physical structure – but is a metaphorical, spiritual house, so YPS projects to extend our welcome to others have taken us beyond GRCC. We used fair trade coffee sales to show our solidarity with farmers in South America, Africa, and Asia; spent a weekend at the Youth Service Opportunities Project to show our love to the homeless and hungry in New York City; and participated in the Darfur Walk to demonstrate our compassion and concern for those who are starving and outcast in North Africa. Through these volunteer opportunities, we were able to extend a helping hand to complete strangers, offering them our help regardless of who they were or what they had done.

Today’s scripture from the book of Genesis explains, to some extent, our motivations throughout the year.

Genesis 18 v. 1-8
1And the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. 2He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth 3and said, "O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. 4Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, 5while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on since you have come to your servant." So they said, "Do as you have said." 6And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, "Quick! Three seahs of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes." 7And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly. 8Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate.

This story shows the importance of hospitality as a part of the roots of our faith. The passage goes on to reveal that these men are servants of God and that Sarah, Abraham’s very old wife, will soon bear him a son. While we may never know whether or not we were serving and dining with Angels when we worked in those New York soup kitchens, we were certainly blessed to be there. We made it our goal to do all we could to serve our customers to the best of our abilities in an attempt to emulate Abraham’s actions. Though we had no lamb to slaughter, we did our best to give people who came looking for a little food to tide them over for a few hours not just food, but company, conversation and, most importantly, our welcoming, smiling faces.

While we have been especially focused on being welcoming this year in the YPS, the idea is by no means original. Our own connections to this concept reach back to the founding of the early church. After millennia of Judaism being associated with a specific ethnic and racial identity, early Christians had to begin proselytizing in order to ensure that their new faith would endure. The new converts viewed their faith as a unifying force that transcended all barriers. In order to build the faith and spread the word of God, the practice continued through the generations to today.

Through the intervening years, different cultures developed their own ways to welcome people, both friends and strangers. The handshake developed in medieval Europe as a way for knights to show their peaceful intentions by revealing an open hand that could easily be concealing a dagger when closed. Early Christians would draw the sign of the fish in the sand to greet fellow believers. In India, one of the most interesting concepts of welcoming developed. This idea, known as Namaste, is a salutation that recognizes that we are all embodiments of the divine essence. The subtle gesture of pressing one’s palms together and bowing to a friend or stranger is very powerful and beautiful in its simplicity. To relate this to Christian ideology, this gesture is equivalent to telling someone you meet that not only is God all around us, but that you are one of God’s creations and should be treated with utmost respect. In this way, the greeting of namaste is a way of recognizing the spark of the divine in each of us. Just as Abraham treated the strangers at his door like kings, this greeting is fit for a God.

This is really the essence of hospitality and welcome. We should always treat newcomers and strangers with utmost respect regardless of who they are or what we have heard about them. As is said in the book of Hebrews, we must “not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” No matter what race, creed, nationality or background, everyone deserves to be treated with respect and to be welcomed as a brother.

I would like to conclude with a more modern example from an older family friend, Reverend Bill Webber. Reverend Webber was a pioneer of prison ministry, who worked with rapists, murderers, armed robbers and other dangerous criminals at Sing Sing Prison in New York. Many of us would be afraid to go into the situations he submitted himself to on a regular basis. By extending God’s hospitality to those who were at the lowest point of their lives, however, he was able to accomplish great things. Reverend Webber followed Abraham’s model, not only talking to the lonely inmates, but bringing them gifts of food and comfort. Through his welcoming attitude, he was truly able to take the “spark of the divine” that he recognized in many of the inmates and turn it into a blazing fire, leading them to a more spiritually fulfilling life. In this maximum security prison, he taught these street-hardened men to change their ways and helped many become registered ministers! Through working with these inmates, the little bit of extra effort he put in to extend an open hand to these men changed the lives of the prisoners, their future congregations, and all those whom they went on to help. Because he remembered that judgment is God’s job and not ours, Reverend Webber was able to find the angel in each of the men he worked with and let him free.

By remaining open and welcoming to all people, we can open up new worlds and bring out the good in everyone and, best of all, increase the impact of our own positive actions on the world.

A Sermon by the Rev. Cynthia F. Reynolds

Glen Ridge Congregational Church, Glen Ridge, New Jersey,

Preached at the Chapel service on the 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time, (15June), 2008.

Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26

“Birds of a feather stick together” – remember that old saying? It speaks the truth that people tend to share the same values as those they spend time with – that’s our tendency as humans, isn’t it. We tend to reflect and adopt the character and values of those around us – we are all affected by peer pressure, don’t we. Maybe we are drawn toward people whose characteristics we admire, hoping that their qualities will rub off on us. An elementary school child who wants to be popular may become friends with a child who is already popular, hoping she will become popular too. A high school athlete who dreams of making the varsity team might work out with those who share the same goal. And college students may choose to join a fraternity or sorority not only because they’re looking for housing, but also because they want to be involved in a community of like minded people. And I often wonder of that’s not part of the dynamic of street gangs as well – having a place in a community is so important to each of us. And this is no less true for those who live in desperate poverty, for those whose only escape from the desperation is numbing themselves with drugs or what seems to be senseless and brutal violence. We all yearn to belong to something, don’t we.

And don’t we tend to judge people on the basis of their friends – parents, you worry when your children start hanging around with the “wrong crowd”, not only because of the “bad influence” your child might experience, but also maybe because parents are afraid of what that says about who their kid really is. We’re afraid that the “bad” will rub off on the good, instead of the other way around. But it isn’t only children who struggle with this, is it. Knowing that people tend to adopt and reflect the character of those with whom they associate, we have a keen, if unspoken, awareness that other people form opinions about us based on who we hang out with. We may feel the pressure to distance ourselves from certain groups of individuals because we don’t want to be lumped together with them.

So it isn’t too hard to imagine the Pharisees’ disappointment when they discover who Jesus’ friends are. Jesus has been associating with all the “wrong” people – criminals, prostitutes, the partying crowd, folks with highly contagious and dangerous diseases, the social outcasts, and those on the fringe of society. The Pharisees are thinking, “How can this Jesus have the nerve to talk to us about God, about holiness, about goodness and truth and religious faith? If he really were the Messiah, he’d be associating with us – the good, upstanding citizens, not them. If he’s spending time with the sinners, then he must be one too. Why should we bother with him or trust what he has to say. In a critical tone, they ask his disciples, why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners? Because eating with someone was and still is, a sign of acceptance, the Pharisees are scandalized by Jesus’ behavior.
I don’t think the Pharisees were necessarily trying to be cruel here – pharisaic Judiasm in the first century was about walking the tightrope of faith in a dangerous world, trying to accommodate the demands of scripture and tradition on the one hand with the realities of living in a non-Jewish world on the other. They struggled with the questions of how to live faithfully in a sea of customs that contradicted their practices and their ideals, sometimes resulting in compromise, sometimes resulting in complex rituals, sometimes resulting in firm restrictions against certain behaviors. We too have those same conflicts in our lives too – I know that’s true.

By eating with tax collectors and sinners, Jesus sends a clear signal that he doesn’t see things in the same way that the Pharisees do. Jesus doesn’t see the world the same way we do. Jesus doesn’t worry about the bad reputations of the people he hangs out with rubbing off on him. He doesn’t avoid the tax collectors and sinners out of fear of what the neighbors might think or what conventional wisdom of the day calls for. Jesus radiates love and acceptance, even and especially to those the world deems unacceptable and untrustworthy. Jesus hasn’t come to call the righteous, but the sinners. Jesus doesn’t size people up to see whether they are worthy of his time and attention.

Jesus extends love and acceptance to all people – sinners, outcasts, those on the fringes of society, his sincere but inept disciples, and to you and me as well. Jesus offers love and acceptance to all people, without regard to their reputation, their social standing, their personal history, or who their friends are. Jesus calls Matthew, a man who held the unpopular job of being a tax collector, to join his small group of disciples. It didn’t matter to Jesus what kind of reputation tax collectors had – it didn’t matter that tax collectors were considered to be cheats and collaborators with the despised Roman government. By inviting Matthew into the life of discipleship, Jesus signals that there is room among the community of his followers for all – sinners and righteous alike. “Follow me” Jesus says. Jesus invites us into a life-transforming relationship with him. How will we respond?

Where would we find Jesus today? Maybe at the rundown tavern near the railroad tracks, sitting on a barstool between the town drunk and the village atheist? Maybe on a street corner befriending the kids who don’t seem to fit in anywhere? Maybe at the homeless shelter, listening with compassion to the stories of those who come seeking help? Maybe in the grocery stores when we push our heavy carts along, asking us to remember our hungry neighbors too? And maybe even right here as we gather to worship. Where will you find Jesus today?

Jesus invites the outsider, Matthew into fellowship.
But Jesus also invites the “insider” – the leader of the synagogue as well. We’re told suddenly this leader bursts in where Jesus is sitting and eating with all of these outcasts – he’s desperate. And Jesus goes with him to the house of this leader to restore the daughter back to life. And on the way there, Jesus heals that woman who suffered from a hemorrhage that lasted 12 years. Please remember – this woman’s hemorrhage made her unclean – an outcast, an outsider in her society. And the daughter at home – they feared she lay there dead – also unclean, an outcast, an outsider. It didn’t matter who her father was. The laws of unclean applied to all.

So in the same house, we have insider and outsider – remarkable. And Jesus’ response to the rich, powerful, and righteous synagogue leader is the same response as he makes to the long suffering woman. He responds with mercy and compassion: offering healing, life, salvation.
Jesus embraces everyone – everyone – with mercy and love and draws each and every one of us into the freedom that his love offers, to live in the freedom that God’s acceptance gives us – and we are all called to accept others in Jesus’ name. Jesus simply loves and accepts us, no matter our reputation, no matter our sins, imperfections, and shortcomings. And don’t we all have some of these!
Jesus eats with tax collectors and sinners. The one who challenged the Pharisees to recognize God’s acceptance of others, who called Matthew to a life of discipleship, who responded with compassion to the pain of the synagogue leader, and who reached out with mercy to heal a long suffering woman: that same Jesus reaches out to us with that same acceptance and challenge to love.

Jesus loves and accepts us, forgiving us and inviting us into a living relationship with God. Jesus challenges us to live in a new way, to see the world through his eyes, to accept and even associate with others as he does. Jesus invites us to look at others as he does: through God’s eyes of love.

So may it be. Amen.

Let us pray: loving God, help us to leave aside our goodness and rightness to receive the stranger as one forgiven as we; help us to put aside our fears of contagion to offer healing of mind, body, and spirit. Help us to put aside what we think to be true that you might surprise us again with renewal of life. Amen.

A Sermon by the Rev. Cynthia F. Reynolds

Glen Ridge Congregational Church, Glen Ridge, New Jersey,

Preached at the Sanctuary service on the 9th Sunday in Ordinary Time, (01June), 2008.

Text: Matthew 7:21-29

The journey of faith is a journey through life.
We are pilgrims, travelers, making our way.
We sojourn on the pathway of the saints.
We walk the same highway
and follow the same landmarks which lead them.
But for each generation, in each place and time,
and for each seeker who travels this way
the road seems different.
Today we celebrate tomorrow’s leaders,
the heroes of a history yet to be made.
We hold our hands to them
and beckon them to join us on the journey.
As they walk beside us,
we may tell them our stories.
But we may not tell them the way.
It is a quest they must follow by themselves.
We can tell them of our questions,
but the answers must come from within their own hearts.
We celebrate a new generation of faith,
a new branch, with its leaves about to blossom.
Let us all make a place for them
and let them know that the family of Christ
is their family too,
as we all worship God together.

We expect a lot of our confirmands here – they attend Sunday School classes each week and then, on top of that, they attend the confirmation class on Tuesday afternoons. They attend early morning chapel services about 4 times a year and then spend time with their sponsors in an activity. They are required to attend the annual meeting and report on it – those of you who attended this year’s meeting will remember it was about the longest we’ve ever had here. Our class meeting after that was especially interesting – Gordon Hunziker attended that session and the confirmands did not hesitate to ask lots of questions and were not shy about expressing their opinions. And each confirmand does at least 3 service projects – ranging from childcare to working the dishwasher after one of our many events – from helping at the rummage sale or the antique show to baking brownies for Bread for the Journey. We take attendance at each class and do some followup if their attendance seems to fall off.
We expect a great deal of our confirmands indeed. Many of them are actively involved in sports – they’ve had to make decisions about their participation all year – and some of them have done extra service projects to make up the time, they’ve completed the work assignments and handed them in if they’ve had to miss class. We expect a lot and the joy of it is, we get a lot from them. And hopefully they’ve gotten a lot out of their participation in this program.
Our Sunday School program is a fabulous foundation for them – I’m always impressed by the depth of their knowledge about the Bible stories - and then the goal of the confirmation class is to build on that knowledge: to use that knowledge, to apply that knowledge to daily living, to help them understand that indeed, all this does make a difference, hopefully a lasting difference in their lives. I’m convinced that we’re planting seeds in these young people that will grow and mature at different rates but the ultimate goal is for each of them to take their place as responsible members of the church and more importantly, to see themselves as lifelong disciples of Christ.
And this isn’t easy – for them or for us. Our passage from Matthew this morning is anything but soft. It’s incredibly demanding. It’s incredibly challenging. It’s incredibly harsh at times.
This gospel reading reminds us that Jesus is not only welcoming, affirming, and loving, but he is also very demanding. To be a follower of Jesus is to be willing to be confronted, challenged, to be made uncomfortable with the status quo of our lives and then to act on that. It’s not enough to know the lessons of Sunday School. It’s not enough to hear the words. We’re called to live the lessons. To do the words. Every day of our lives – no matter where we are spending our time, no matter our age. On the sports fields. In business. In our families. Every moment of every day.
It’s not enough to hear Jesus’ teachings, even to agree with them, affirm them. There must also be action.
This is hard, isn’t it. And you’ve all made your decision to be confirmed – you’ve all been through the rite of confirmation this morning and have become members of the universal church, this church. Are you wondering, what have I done? Are you thinking, well, I’ve been confirmed – now I don’t have to come to Sunday School any more, I don’t have to get up on Sunday morning to come to worship any more. Maybe there is some truth to that for some of you at one time or another. And I’d guess that there is some truth to that for the rest of us sometimes too.
Well, this is sounding pretty grim on this day of celebration of the rite of confirmation, isn’t it. But here’s the deal: you’ve already started! You’re already on this challenging, hard, wonderful journey. When we asked you if you wanted to be confirmed, you all said yes. And when we asked you why, you said things like, it’s important to be in community with other believers; you said you want a stronger relationship with God; you want to enter into the life of this church using the talents you have been given. Many of you spoke of wanting to help in the Sunday School classes. A couple of you spoke of the importance of worshipping together – that the sacraments really meant something to you.
And for many of you, that wasn’t enough: you want to be involved. You want to continue doing the work that Jesus calls us to do. Our confirmation program here models the Christian life: emphasis on the three reasons for the church to be in existence: worship, teaching, service. We expect your attendance at worship and you’ve done it. We’ve talked about what worship means – all the parts of worship –