July 24 Sermon

I had a great time at Camp Washington, got home in the heat. Wow! 100 degrees! Then I heard the news about the attack in Norway. Norway? A terrible tragedy. As more and more details about the attacker come forth, I have begun to wonder about the seeds that were sown in his soul.

From what I have seen from the news, the seeds were filled with much hate, against the immigrants coming to his country, against Muslims, but why he attacked Norway in the way he did, we still don’t know. Sadly, we have seen the fruit of his hate. What are the seeds that we plant? What are the seeds planted in us? Jesus used a parable about a seed to talk about the kingdom of God…

"The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches."

Mustard seed – tiny! From this tiny seed – the greatest of shrubs… That bursting forth, from nearly nothing to something that gives life is what the Kingdom of God is all about. I think of a story I first learned three years ago…

In 1992, the beautiful city of Sarajevo was being torn apart in the ethnic strife of the Bosnian civil war. On the afternoon of May 27, a bomb was dropped on one of the last functioning bakeries in the city - 22 people who were waiting patiently to buy bread were killed. Vedran Smajlović witnessed the bombing from his apartment window. He was horrified and enraged at the massacre. But what could he do? He was not a politician or soldier. He was a musician, an accomplished cellist. All he knew was music.

So that is what he did for 22 days ­- one day for each of those killed - Smajlović played at the same spot. Every evening after that, at 4 P.M., the time of the fatal explosion, the 37-year-old cellist, dressed formally as if for a concert performance, took his cello to the site of the crater created by the bomb. And there he would play one of his favorite pieces, Albinoni's "Adagio in G minor." All around him mortar shells and bullets would fly, but he would continue to play. He played for the sake of human dignity that is the first casualty of war. He played for life, for peace, for hope. He was also known for playing for free at different funerals during the siege, even though such funerals would often be targeted by enemy fire.

Today, Vedran Smajlović is revered as a hero by the people of Sarajevo. A statue of a musician, sitting on a chair and playing a cello, was erected on the spot where Smajlović first played. But Smajlović says in all humility, "I am nothing special. I am a musician, I am part of the town. Like everyone else, I do what I can."

He could have been swallowed by hate, instead, seeds of life and hope were planted by Smajlovic, using his God given talent, to a weary and worn torn city. What happened at Camp Washington this past week was planting such seeds.

And I am not just talking about my role. As chaplain I did lead the worship, both the morning formation period and the Compline that ended each night. And seeds were planted there. But the staff, through the love and compassion they shared with each camper, the fun times and the free play they engaged in. To the activities that each child signed up for, led by a staff member whose gifts helped them enjoy their activity. All that went on, even the space of Camp Washington helped them enjoy themselves in the beauty of God’s creation. Many seeds of life were planted this week, seeds of God’s love and understanding one’s self in God’s creation.

The tragedy in Norway gives me pause to think about the seeds we plant in our children, and those seeds of faith that we have in our lives. But it isn’t about the past or the future. It is about the Kingdom of God right now…

I have seen the sun break through
to illuminate a small field for
a while, and gone my way and forgotten it.
But that was the pearl of great price, the one field
that had treasure in it. I realize now
that I must give all that I have to possess it.
Life is not hurrying on to a receding future,
nor hankering after an imagined past.
It is the turning aside like Moses
to the miracle of the lit bush,
to a brightness that seemed as transitory as your youth
once, but is the eternity that awaits you.

~ The Bright Field by R. S. Thomas ~

Sermon: "To Delight in each Other" (July 27)

This sermon was given at a joint worship service with Monroe Congregational Church.

“Wee must entertaine each other in brotherly affection. Wee must be willing to abridge ourselves of our superfluities, for the supply of other's necessities. Wee must uphold a familiar commerce together in all meekeness, gentlenes, patience and liberality. Wee must delight in eache other; make other's conditions our oune; rejoice together, mourne together, labour and suffer together, allwayes haueving before our eyes our commission and community in the worke, as members of the same body.” ("A Modell of Christian Charity," by John Winthrop (1630) - written on board the Arbella, on the Atlantic ocean.)

We must delight in each other, so says John Winthrop, from his famous sermon on board the ship Arbella as it traveled from Great Britain to New England in 1630, of which you got a short taste of his sermon this morning. He was speaking to his fellow puritans on board that ship as they fled the evils of the tyrannical Church of England. And here we are almost 400 years later, the religious descendents from those puritans aboard that ship and the Church of England gathered here with our two churches from two denominations. I don’t think John Winthrop or anyone from that age could have guessed that we could worship together. And here we are the great, great, great, great, great children of our ancestors doing just that!

I believe his words spoken long ago, are for all of us today, gathered as Christ’s body, to delight in each other, make other's conditions our own; rejoice together, mourn together, labor and suffer together. It is a wonderful way for us to consider how we live out Christian charity toward one another, do we delight in each other? In our churches? Amongst each other?

We are diverse. We come from many places, many cultures. Some of you grew up here in New England, even in Monroe. Others have come in from other places, like the Midwest, (yeah!), some grew up as Congregationalists or Episcopalians, others from other faith journeys, other denominations. Today, we even have two candidates for President, Barak Obama who is a member of the UCC, and John McCain who was raised an Episcopalian.

And here we are on this fine Sunday morning, to worship together, offer prayers, to delight in God and each other and to hear the words of scripture.

Jesus put before the crowds another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like…

is like a mustard seed
is like yeast in the flour
is like treasure hidden in a field
is like a pearl of great value
is like a fish net

It is as if to answer the question, What is the Kingdom of heaven like? Jesus didn’t want to settle for one parable, so he gave us a few short little parables, each giving us a glimpse into what the kingdom of heaven is like. Each is a very hopeful message with images drawn from the daily life of people that Jesus encountered. It seems that Jesus did not want to just give us one image, but like holding a prism up to the light, he helped us catch different glimpses of what the kingdom is like. A diversity of images to help us all catch and delight in what the kingdom of God is like.

It reminds me of a poem by the welsh priest and poet, R. S. Thomas (The Bright Field):

I have seen the sun break through
to illuminate a small field
for a while, and gone my way
and forgotten it. But that was the pearl
of great price, the one field that had
treasure in it. I realize now
that I must give all that I have
to possess it.

Life is not hurrying
on to a receding future, nor hankering after
an imagined past. It is the turning
aside like Moses to the miracle
of the lit bush, to a brightness
that seemed as transitory as your youth
once, but is the eternity that awaits you.

For me, Thomas captures what Jesus was saying to his disciples long ago. To understand the kingdom of God, is not to look to the past nor the future, but to the present now, where we are and to be aware of things around us. And it is then we notice the pearl of great price, the field with the treasure. It is as if Jesus says, the Kingdom of God is right here, waiting to be discovered, it may be hidden, it may be the leaven in the lump, but it is there. Do you see?

As Lane Denson III, put it, “Parables are not to be explained, they are to be understood, and like most of the important things in life, they are understood only by our opening ourselves to them and listening with wonder and imagination, participating in them in a way.”

And when we do open ourselves to the parables that Jesus gives us, they we can be open to discover the Kingdom of Heaven in our midst and in our lives.

Many years ago, a young Maori girl in New Zealand was captivated by the teaching and good works of missionaries who came to her village. She became a fixture at prayer with the fledgling community. One Sunday, as she was leaving the small church, the girl was struck by a potato thrown by a man who resented the presence of the missionaries in his village and those who embraced this strange new religion.

The girl retrieved the potato and brought it home, She cut up the potato, planted it and harvested it. She then sought out the man who had thrown the potato at her and presented him with the bushel basket of new potatoes she had harvested. [from Connections, July 2005]

That young girl understood the parables that Jesus has given us, she found that pearl of great price in a potato thrown, and she made sure to share the abundance with him after the harvest as she had experienced with God’s love.

The kingdom of heaven is like so many things, do we have faith enough to see? To plant? to go looking for it? Faith enough to share it with one another?

As we celebrate together today, and continue on our way, we are called to go forth in faith together. As God has delighted in us, so we delight in one another, upholding one another and go searching for the kingdom of God together. It is on this journey together that we will find the kingdom that God has placed in our very midst.

Let me end with some more words from John Winthrop:

"Wee must delight in eache other... Soe shall wee keepe the unitie of the spirit in the bond of peace. The Lord will be our God, and delight to dwell among us, as his oune people, and will command a blessing upon us in all our wayes. Soe that wee shall see much more of his wisdome, power, goodness and truthe, than formerly wee haue been acquainted with. "

May his words be true for us today. Amen.