August 2006 Archives

Strengthened for Love

Ephesians 3:14-21 (The Message)

August 27, 2006 - Rally Day

Rev. Nancy Pfaltzgraf

Have you ever stopped to think about what an amazing gift flowers are? Have you ever noticed how they brighten a room, bring a smile to your face, turn a barren piece of land into a place of beauty and grace? And have you ever stopped to wonder at the lavishness of the Creator who gifted us with such a rich and astonishing variety of flowers? Snapdragons, daisies -of several varieties-, asters, carnations, roses, petunias, marigolds, iris, tulips, daffodils, zinnias, morning glories,... the list could go on and on and on. Curious about just how many different varieties of flowers there might be, I did what 21^st century seekers do, I googled my question. While I didn't find a site that listed a definitive number of flowers, I did discover that in a place called the Valley of Flowers nestled in the Himalayan mountains and discovered in 1931 by mountaineer and explorer Frank Smythe there are "Well over a thousand varieties of flowers, shrubs, orchids and plants in myriad hues, differing textures and colors ...." While I'm sure a valley of any one kind of flower in the midst of the Himalayan mountains would be lovely, it would not have become a national treasure, a place of breathtaking beauty, or such a testament to the wonder of creation that people would make the arduous journey just to see it.

As I was thinking about the mind boggling variety of flowers the thought came to me, "A rose never asks, 'why am I here?' It just grows and shares its beauty with everyone who passes by. A daisy never says 'I wish I was an orchid, orchids are better than daisies!' A snapdragon never says to a tulip, 'I'm better than you!' Daffodils never put up fences to keep petunias from growing in their neighborhood and carnations are never excluded because they are different." Flowers simply are what they are, each growing and offering its own unique beauty and fragrance, each blooming in its own season; some attracting butterflies; some serving as a source of pollen for bees; some containing ingredients that calm the mind or bring healing to some aspect of the body; some providing food as well as beauty; some living a long time -reproducing year after year; some lasting only a brief moment in time; but together more beautiful than any one would be alone.

Like the flowers Paul encourages us to, "Live full lives, full in the fullness of God." Now to grasp the depth of what Paul's is saying, we need to remember that the letter to the Ephesians was written to those who -because of their lifestyle- were considered outsiders, unclean, and unworthy of a place in the family of God. Paul spends the first part of this letter reminding them that Jesus brought a message of love and grace for all people calling all people back into right relationship with their own truest, highest nature and with the fullness of the Divine will for their lives. Because in a world where there are insiders and outsiders, a world where there are haves and have nots, a world where people fear one another, a world where differences are considered deficiencies, everyone is in need of such healing and reconciliation.

God is love! And this God, who is love, this God who pours love out on every part of creation in equal measure, this God loves variety. No one kind of flower, no one kind of person, no one life-style or way of being family, no one way to worship will do the trick. To be the people we are created to become, to be the community of faith God desires that we grow to be, to be the world God dreams we can be each of us must open our own hearts to the love of God, we must sink the roots of our plant into the soil of love, we must be nourished by love so that we will be strengthened for love, together.

A number of years ago I was involved with the Ulster Project, working with Catholic and Protestant 14-15 year olds from Belfast and their American host teens. I remember one of the first Discovery Sessions I led. I introduced an exercise where I had the 36 youth and their ten young adult discovery leaders sit in a big circle and close their eyes. Then I placed a very large box in the center of the circle. Each side of the box had a variety of different pictures from many different magazines. When they opened their eyes, I said, "Without moving from your seats. write a description of what you see in the center of the circle."

Now my expectation in creating this exercise was that each person's description of the box would be different because there were different pictures on each side. I hoped to make the point that differences are not deficiencies, they are just --- well - differences! What I got was something so far beyond my expectation that I could never have imagined it. For even those who saw the same pictures and viewed the box from nearly the same angle had descriptions that were amazingly different. Some simply listed what they saw -a box with pictures; some added details about the box itself and what the box was sitting on; some described the pictures themselves in intricate detail; some told stories they imagined about what was happening in the pictures; some added feelings they saw expressed in faces of the people the pictures, on and on more than 40 people experiencing the same reality but each adding a unique perspective. We were so much richer because of the sharing than if we had each just seen the box and kept our observations and experience to ourselves. Throughout the month then, as we listened and learned from one another, we became more than we could have ever been alone and in our sharing we were strengthened for love.

Today we are coming back together after summer vacations. We had our Sunday School kick-off; registration for all of the youth groups is this Wednesday; new SALT Groups such as the 4 x 4's are beginning and continuing ones are getting back into their regular schedules. Ideas are in the works for new classes, all church retreats, and outreach experiences. My challenge to each and every one of you is to seek out opportunities to be together. If we aren't offering something that interests you, let us know what you'd like. But make the commitment to gather together in small groups, share the fullness of who you are then listen and discover the unique beauty of the companions who are sharing that particular experience with you. It takes more than sitting in the sanctuary for one hour on Sunday morning to become the community of faith God dreams that we can be. It takes more than a casual hello during fellowship time to get to know one another and experience the blessings that God wants to pour out through the person standing beside you. If we dare to reach out and experience the breadth of God's love, if we test its length, plumb its depths, and rise to its heights we will discover that together we are more beautiful than any one of us would be alone and we will be strengthened for love and God working within us will do far more than we could ever imagine or guess or request in our wildest dreams!

Mine is a church where everybody's welcome

I know its true cause I got in the door

A dazzling bouquet of every kind of flower

Jump in the vase there's always room for more!

Why We Do What We Do
Wendy Harmon
8.20.06
Are you going to hell? Is that something you've even thought about today? This week? This year? It is certainly not something we talk about very often here at Plainfield UCC. In fact, I can't think of a single sermon Nancy or anyone else has delivered about hell in the 7 years that I've been here. But according to a recent "Beliefnet" poll, 54% of Americans believe that hell is an actual place where people go if they don't get in to heaven. So we should be worrying about it and talking about it a lot, right?
So, I did some research into what hell was all about. I went to my favorite website, Wikipedia, and looked up the history of Hades, sheol, and hell. In the Christian faith, it is thought to be a pretty scary place. Lots of fire and horribleness. And it lasts for an eternity. Once you go, you don't get to come back. Some people think you go because of what you believe (or don't believe) and some think you go because of what you do.
This was something I was thinking of a few months back when I asked my husband, Jeff, at dinner one night, "Why do the people at our church do what they do?" The people in this church are the kindest, most generous, most proactive group of people that I have EVER been around, but I don't think any of them do it to escape hell. So maybe it is the other way around, maybe they are simply making sure that they get in to heaven. For example, at Vacation Bible School one night, I heard a gentleman tell Pat Herman that she was "building bricks in heaven" with all of the work she did for VBS. Hmmm, maybe, but I just don't think that's why she did it, do you?
Well, as Jeff and I talked that night, I thought of some people that for me epitomized what I think is amazing about the spirit that fills our church: those people that do the right things because they are the right thing to do, not to try to please the gods. So I emailed them and asked them to tell me why they do what they do. I've already mentioned the first one, Pat Herman. Pat is the busiest person I know but if you want something done, she's the one to go to. She volunteers her time for our financial light team and memorial light team. She's in the choir and heads up our FRB drive with her equally amazing husband. And for the last 3 years, she has taken on the role of director for vacation bible school - and has even said she's going to do it again next year! Yes, her grandchildren attend, but I have a feeling she'd do it even if they weren't. And never once have I heard her say what I know several of the rest of us have thought - why aren't their parents here helping??? But she doesn't look at things like the rest of us do. She is not there to receive anything else in return. Here's some of what she said in response to my question:
"I don't really think about what others think and it always surprises me when I hear such nice things. That's part of why I do what I do. It's not Hell and it's not what
others think - it's about how I feel when I do good things. It's a joyous feeling that is hard to get any other time.
I feel blessed my whole life - with wonderful people around me and great energy and great teachings. Being raised in the UCC always has made me aware of the world around me and how I can impact that world. I had parents that allowed me to excel and gave me many opportunities to do so. Much pleasure comes from working hard and accomplishing much and touching people's lives - that probably forged my actions. I like to make people happy and that feeds my spirit. It's a beautiful cycle of life."
Wow!!
Another person that came to mind was Allen Winter. For me, it is not so much what Allen does, but how he does it that impacts me. I mean, he does a ton. He has built or rebuilt half of the stuff in this building - even building sets for a vacation bible school that he has never had a child or grandchild involved in. He, too, sits on several light teams and helps out with all kinds of stuff. But there is just something about Allen: a calmness, a spirit. Just being in his presence can soothe me. Here is what Allen had to say:
"Perhaps I do what I do because I need to feel useful. I do not do things for others because I subscribe to some religion or philosophy. I just do things for others because I want to. I get irritated when some people don't volunteer to help someone because "we don't owe them anything" or "what have they ever done for me?" I don't do things because I want to be a good Christian. Some might say I'm a good Christian because I do what I do. Actually, I consider myself a heretic as far as Christian dogma is concerned. In my later years I have become acquainted with so many people that I love, I love to help out whenever I can."
And we are so blessed for all of his help.
This next person may come as a bit of a surprise to some, because he does not have that "calmness" or "serenity" that Allen does. Actually, he's like the poster boy for anti-calmness. John Perona. To be honest, Jeff when he mentioned John as someone who had a "spirit about them", I was surprised as well, but the more I thought about him and what he does, the more I had to agree. For those of you that don't know, John is one of the volunteers that helps out at the weekly youth meetings. He's the one that has been selling those t-shirts all summer. But what you also may not know is that John is a Joliet police officer. John has seen the very worst that society has to offer and yet hasn't given up on it. He's here trying to help our youth find a place in their worlds so that they won't have to live in the hell that is the city streets. I've known several police officers, and every single one of them have been jaded and prejudiced because of the people they've come into contact with, but not John. When I first contacted John, here's some of what he said:
"...one, and only one, repeated thought keeps coming to my mind: I do what I do because; I sincerely believe that it is the right thing to do. I know some people may not be able to understand what I mean by "the right thing to do", and unfortunately I can't really explain it except to say that, somewhere deep within me it just feels right. I think it may be something that has been ingrained within my person since birth and continues to be reinforced everyday by those around me. I've been fortunate to be surrounded by people who have shown me, through their giving nature, the positive things about life and, without me knowing have taught me to be a "giver. I'm sure this doesn't make sense because I'm even more confused now than when I first received your email. It sounds simple enough to me "it's the right thing to do", it just feels right!"
But I asked him to dig a little deeper based on his police experience. He was quite honest in saying that yes, there were times when he became quite jaded and could have gone to the dark side (my words, not John's) had it not been for his wife, Kimberly. Actually, in his second response to me, he mentioned Kimberly no less than 5 times. Hmmm...
Finally, I asked Eileen Diercks why she does what she does. You know Eileen. She sang her first solo EVER this morning. And that just perfectly illustrates that strong, special lady that Eileen is. Even though she was scared to death, I don't think she would mind me telling you, it was important for her to share this song with all of us. You see, Eileen is a breast cancer survivor, and that song helped her get through chemotherapy. Strength, strength, strength. That's what I see when I look at her. She has done so much for this church, but her priority, I think, right now is the Stephen ministry. She has taken it under her wing and made it take flight so that we in the church might have someone to turn to in case of difficulty or grief. She wants to make sure that we survive the hell of losing a loved one or whatever else that may happen. Here's part of what Eileen wrote to me:
"Life can be difficult at times and all of us have problems in this life - some more difficult and severe than others. We all need help at one time or another. My philosophy of life is that we should help and support each other as best we can. If I can make things a little easier for someone going through a difficult time or is less fortunate than I am, I will try to do what I can to ease their burden. As an "extra bonus" there is a certain feeling of satisfaction and pleasure in helping others through a difficult time, although that is not my primary motivation. My parents were good examples for helping others whenever they could, so I learned compassion, empathy and love from them. As a member of Rotary International, our motto is "Service above self." I try to follow that as best I can.
Eileen mentioned her parents and so did Pat, John spoke repeatedly of Kimberly, Allen ended by citing "all of the people that he loves". To me, it seemed that each of them was speaking of being blessed by those around them. Pat actually said, "I feel blessed
my whole life - with wonderful people around me and great energy and great teachings." That calls to mind the saying "Blessed to be a blessing." That makes sense to me! A whole lot more sense then doing something good so that I don't get punished by an eternal hell that may or may not be there.
Now as I look around this room, I see a whole bunch of people that I should have asked why they do what they do. In every pew there are amazing individuals who do great things for the people of this church. Jeff has no less than 7 volunteers for the youth program that are there every week even though they have NO children in the program. Most of them have NEVER had a child in the program; it just makes them feel good to do it. I know a bunch of people like Doreen, Pat Mitchell, Kay Kreftmeyer and more, helped out at vacation bible school - again, with none of their own kids involved. All of our Stephen ministers have put in HOURS and HOURS of training just to help out the rest of us. Our Reiki and healing teams spends countless hours helping people find healing and wholeness. We have not one but two accountants who volunteer their time to keep our church paying its bills. We have incredibly talented pianists who volunteer their time to play for choir and Inspiration! We have skilled bobcat drivers who give up their Friday nights to help prepare for the new carport. And so many of you have helped sponsor acres for FRB and so many other things.
But, as I look around, I also see a whole lot of blessed people. That is not to say that anyone in this room has had a particularly rosy life. I know many of you have had more than your share of heartache and difficulties, but you've made it through. Perhaps by having a "Kimberly" of your own. But are we doing enough to be blessings to other people? Jeff and Emma and I went on vacation to Williamsburg, VA this summer. For those of you that are unfamiliar with it, it is a town that has been restored to the way it was in 1776 when Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry lived there. It had all but disappeared in 1924 when a Reverend Goodwin invited John D Rockefeller, Jr. to come tour the town. Rockefeller did come and decided to invest. Before it was all done he had paid about 50 million dollars to make Rev. Goodwin's dream become a reality. Besides restoring the town, he also paid for a new school for the African Americans that lived in the area. When Rockefeller was being honored in Williamsburg, he insisted that African Americans be allowed to come in to the ceremony. That says more to me than his 50 million dollars as to what kind of a person he was. Surely, that was not the act of a man trying to stay out of hell; he had done many good works before that.
As we walked out of the colonial Williamsburg area, I told my family how amazing I thought it was that someone could make such a profound impact and change the world. Jeff said, "Yeah, it's easy when you have 48 million dollars to spend." A thought, I'm sure many of you might echo. But, NO, that is NOT the point. It is not about how much you spend, but why you spend it and how. Just last week, I was listening to the radio and heard of a 12 year old girl in Geneva. 3 years ago, she visited a homeless shelter and was so shaken by what she had seen that she immediately went home and
cleaned out her closets. She had a garage sale and raised $1000 which she donated to the shelter. The next year, she raised $2000, and this year, over $5000. All of it given to Lazarus House Homeless Shelter. Most of us have had yard sales, what did we do with the money? But what could we have done? There are so many people out there who are not blessed. I don't know why. Maybe they did something bad in a former life, maybe they are being punished for the sins of their fathers, maybe there is no grand scheme of things at all, I don't know, but I do know that there are babies and children in the streets of Chicago whose fathers are gone, mothers are crack addicts, brothers are in gangs, sisters are pregnant, and on and on. Those babies are not blessed. There is a line in a Disney movie called "Newsies" that I've never forgotten. It is about orphans on the streets of New York in 1899. One of them looks at the other and says, "We was beat before we was born." That is so true for too many children around the world in our own back yards. Could we be blessings to them in anyway? I don't have 48 million dollars, but I do bring my hotel soaps and shampoos to give to the homeless shelter. I do give a little each month to Habitat for Humanity, I do drop a quarter in the Salvation Army bucket each time I go to Wal-Mart during the Christmas season, but I'm sure there's more than I could do. Do you bring food to the food pantry buckets that Otto and Ati faithfully deliver each month? We go to Aldi's every once in a while and just buy a case of green beans or corn or whatever. It's less than $5 but it could mean a lot to a hungry family, and it just feels so darn good to be helping.
At the end of Eileen's "essay" she quotes the valedictory address from her graduating class, not surprisingly, she gave it! She used the following poem by Edward Everett Hale:
I am only one,
But still I am one.
I cannot do everything,
But still I can do something;
And because I cannot do everything
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.
What an incredible world this would be if we all lived by that! Remember what our scripture said, Give away your life; you'll find life given back, but not merely given back--given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity. Not long ago I, quite by accident, found a song that answers why I think most of us do what we do. It is called "Not So You Will Love Me." One of the lines states: There's no way to impress You. Well, duh! God's seen it all! We could each do tremendous things until the day we die and not match someone like Mother Theresa, but I don't think God is keeping track. But whether that's the case or not, I can't be Mother Theresa. But I'll do whatever I can to be a help here at my church, or at my job, or in my world. Because, I feel inspired by the love I feel all around me. And that's why I do what I do. Not so that you will love me, but because you do.

Sermon

Mark Hipp

August 13, 2006

"Why Me?"

Have you ever heard someone say "Why Me?" Have you uttered these words yourself? Why were they spoken? Were you distraught? Did something wrong happen?

Car accident? "bad" children? IRS audit?

Traffic Ticket? Health issues A broken glass or treasure?

Many of us use this "woe is me" attitude more than we realize.

"Why Me?" Why did those 'less than gifted' musicians move next door?

Let's look at some of the things I mentioned:

Car accident. What happens when you tell someone about your car accident? Is the first thing said "are you or anyone hurt?" or is it "how bad did you damage your car?"

Most instances you can be thankful that nothing worse happened. So, saying "why me?" is kind of selfish (in most cases).

In most cases, it is actually feeling sorry for yourself.

In researching some ideas for today's sermon, I 'googled' "why me?"

Can you guess how many hits for this subject? Over 3 Million!!!

Two really stood out...."Why Me?" and Sherry's House... "love and support for families with childhood cancer.

And "Y-Me" a national breast cancer support organization.

These organizations are support groups for people that are trying to understand why we get sick or come down with life-threatening diseases like cancer.

We all have our own stories of "Why Me?" and they seem to be categorized in life cycles.

In early childhood, "Why Me?" is extremely selfish and self-centered and usually involves bedtime, TV or other rules or restrictions.

In the teenage years (most of us parents said "why me?")

In those teen years, the why me's were very simple to us, but to the teenager, it was surely life or death!

I can remember my daughter wanting to stay home from school because of a skin blemish.....of course I, being a supportive dad.....when I saw her at breakfast I said something like ..."Holy Mackerel" "You should name that sucker!" Of course, she ran upstairs crying "why me?" Why did I get this 'atomic zit' today? It all seems so silly now, but then, in 8^th grade, it was a true disaster!

In the late teens, it was "why me?" in another level:

Why Me? Why can't I stay out later?

Why Me? Why can't I have my own car?

Christy's Blue car story

When we get into adulthood, our "why me's?", although still selfish in nature, become more spiritual or philosophical.

In Jesus' last days on Earth, he spent his final time with his disciples. The last command he gave to them was this: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." That was from Mathew 28: 19-20

If these are the last words that Jesus gave his disciples, we must consider that they are of the utmost importance to Him, and to ourselves.

Jesus commands us to tell others about him. You may ask why me? Aren't there others more equipped to do that? I am not a preacher, I don't know what to say!

But....You are the only person who can tell your story. No one can adequately describe the wonderful blessings God has bestowed! The greatest part of telling others is that you have the opportunity to affect the lives of others for good!

"Why Me?".......Because God knows you! Like the words from the scripture Pat read a few minutes ago:

"Lord, you have searched me and known me!"

When you say "Why Me?" ...Jesus already knows why.... We need to think of the "Why Me's?" as blessings, instead of selfish, woe is me sentiments.

I would like to read a letter by Randall Methany entitled "Why Me, Lord?"

Letter........

This letter should really inspire us to write our own "Why Me? Letter. Just a few short "why me?" paragraphs to remind us that Jesus knows "Why Us" I am sure the blessings will outweigh the self-pity.

The very formulation of the question "Why Me?" presupposes the capacity of self-awareness. Dr Abraham Twerski, in "The Spritual Self" reminds us that this capacity is unique to humans. He asks, "Do Giraffes ever think about themselves? Does an alligator ever reflect, 'I wonder if I am as good an alligator as I can be?'

But humans....we begin to learn who we are as we learn to respond and relate to those who love us; that process ultimately allows us to discover who we human beings are in the universe.

The capacity to ask questions is built into human beings but the answers can only be explored in relationship with the right teachers. It is they who nurture the complex questions of spiritual awareness.

What are the gifts with which I am blessed?

What obligations do these gifts impose upon me?

What are my particular challenges in the World?

What might be my unique contribution?

How do I know which tasks belong to me and which to others?

"Why Me?" must be used as a reminder of blessings, not as a reminder of our short-falls!

We can choose how we look at "why me's?"

Because we are spiritual creatures,

Because we have the capacity for self-awareness,

Because we possess free will,

Because we can subsume our own impulses for the good of others,

Because we can learn from the past, we have a greater obligation to use our gifts to influence a world sorely in need of help.

"Why Me?".................... "Why Me? Indeed!!!"

I will close my thoughts with a remembrance of a song. I am not sure who the original author was, but Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson both recorded it, among others, but the words are the most important.

"Why Me, Lord?"........Amen

August 6 2006
Agreeing and Disagreeing in Love
Ephesians 4:1-6 & 14-16
As you know I have been at Pilgrim Park Camp for the past week with our five confirmation youth and 39 other seventh and eighth graders from throughout the Illinois conference. It was a wonderful, exciting, challenging, exhausting experience as we came together, studied together, played together, learned together and grew into a community -a microcosm of the whole body of Christ.
As part of the camp experience the youth have classes in Bible, Church History, Worship and Christian Living. In many and various ways in each of those classes they explored the way in which people of faith are called to celebrate their own uniqueness and be willing to take a stand for what they believe. We talked a lot about our individual uniqueness and the gifts we each bring to the table as the body of Christ both in the church and in the world. A line in the closing song we sang each night captures this: "Don't be afraid to know who you are and don't be afraid to show it." Now, those of you who hear me preach on a regular basis know that these are concepts that I absolutely believe and about which I talk a great deal.
Each evening as we gathered in our church groups to process the day, I asked our girls to share one or two things they learned that day. One night one of the girls talked about an exercise they did in their Christian Living class called "Here I Stand." In this experience the leader read various statements and then invited the youth to place themselves someplace on a continuum anywhere based on whether they strongly agreed, strongly disagreed or something in between. They were then asked to say why they were standing where they were standing. They were not to try to convince others to change their minds; they were simply to state why they were standing where they were. People were, however, given the chance to move if they choose to do so after hearing with honesty and humility what others had to say. These were not simple easy questions the youth were given to discuss, but questions that pushed the youth to think about some moral and ethical dilemmas we face on a regular basis. It was a powerful time. Then she said, "I was upset when learned that I'm about the only Republican in my tribe. Everybody else seems to be a Democrat." Then she turned directly to me and said, "Are you a Republican or a Democrat?"
Caught completely off guard and having been completely indoctrinated with a taboo against talking about politics in church, I said, "That's not a question I usually answer."
To which she responded, "O, you must be a democrat then."
We went on to talk about the right and responsibility for everyone to be who they are and form their ideas and identities according to their best understanding of the gospel message and the spirit's leading. But, I never did answer her question!
As I thought about it later, I thought, isn't it interesting that I plan to preach about the absolute necessity of being willing to disagree in love, if we are to become the whole people of God we are created to be and I can't even honestly respond to the question, "Are you a Republican or a Democrat?"
As I thought about my response, I it occurred to me that throughout the years at least some parts of the church have heard words such as those in today's reading from Ephesians which say, "make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace," and have concluded that the best way to do that is to simply avoid talking about the places where
C:\Documents and Settings\ROBERT TAYLOR\CHURCH\Sermons\08-06-06 eph 4-1-7-11-17.docLast printed 9/10/2006 8:24:00
AM - 2 -
we might disagree. It doesn't, of course mean that we agree, we just avoid being honest about what we think or feel or believe because we don't want to offend someone else. We don't want them to get mad and leave the church. We don't want to break our relationship with them, if we happen to have strong feelings that are different than theirs. And if disagreement or conflict do emerge, we somehow think we have failed and we try to fix it but getting everyone to agree or sweep it back under the carpet as quickly as possible so that we can "maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."
But unity is not uniformity. Let me say that again: unity is not uniformity! Just as we need eyes and ears and mouths and hands and feet and hearts and lungs and all the other DIFFERENT parts of the body to make one healthy body, so too there must be many different points of view, ideas, and ways to do things if we are to have a healthy body of Christ. A hand is connected to the head just as much as an eye. But they function differently. So it is possible for us to all still be very much connected to Christ, open to the Spirit, and faithful to God's vision for our lives and have radically different points of view on any given topic.
As I was thinking about all of this, I remembered a powerful book written by M. Scott Peck, titled Different Drum: Peacemaking and Community. In it he talks about what he has identified as four stages that are part of becoming a true and authentic community. He names these:
Pseudocommunity
Chaos
Emptiness
Community
Talking about Pseudocommunity, Peck writes:
[Pseudocommunity] is an unconscious, gentle process whereby people who want to be loving attempt to be so by telling little white lies, by withholding some of the truth about themselves and their feelings in order to avoid conflict.
Now it's not too surprising that groups of people who want to be a community seek to stay at this stage of conflict avoidance, because, according to Peck,
"Once individual differences are not only allowed but encouraged to surface in some way, the group almost always moves into the second stage.... Chaos. ... [here] individual differences are ... right out in the open. Only now instead of trying to hide or ignore them, the group is attempting to obliterate them."
This happens as people try to heal, convert or change one another. But to quote another of Paul's letters "If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?" [I Corinthians 12:17]
If it is to become a true authentic community -one that reflects the love and healing power of God in all we do and say- then each one must stop trying to heal, convert, change and transform others into their own way of being, thinking, believing, and acting. Each one must speak their own truth "with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love" [Ephesians 4:2] But equally as important, each one must listen to others with the same humility and gentleness, the same patience and the same intention to carry one another in love. This is what Peck calls the stage of Emptiness, because in order to enter this stage each person must empty themselves of those things that make honest communication impossible; things like our expectations and preconceptions as well as our prejudices, ideologies, theologies and solutions to the problem. We must also let go of the need to heal, convert, and fix other people as well as the need to be in control. In other words we must be able to honestly and reverently accept one another in all our amazing differences, sometimes living with ambiguity and tension, but always bearing each other in love. It is only when such emptiness exists that
C:\Documents and Settings\ROBERT TAYLOR\CHURCH\Sermons\08-06-06 eph 4-1-7-11-17.docLast printed 9/10/2006 8:24:00
AM - 3 -
people come to know and express their true and authentic selves with both their beauty and their brokenness.
Then and only then will we live our way into true life-giving, life-enhancing, life-affirming community. It will be a safe place, because we know that whether we happen to agree or disagree, we will be treated with genuine love and respect. It will be a safe place because we know that each part of the body is committed to hang in there through thick and thin, learning together and growing together and discovering truth beyond our individual points of view as each listens deeply to others and to the Spirit. It is no wonder that such community is such a rare and precious gift.
Each week as we close our worship celebration we affirm our belief that Christ calls us to be a community "where all are welcome to join together to grow in faith and love." So whether it is a conversation about politics or what color to paint the fellowship hall, it is my prayer that we will live into that call by speaking, with love, what is true for us and then listening with an equal measure of love to honestly hear the ideas and concerns of the other parts of this body. Then perhaps instead of dodging the question, I will dare to say, "Yes, I'm a democrat," and then proceed to explain why I make that choice, even as I proceed to say, "So, tell me why you choose to be a republican."
May we each dare to agree and disagree in love and take one more step toward becoming the true community Christ calls us to become. Amen.