God's Still Speaking, Y'all,

Walking from the Omni Hotel, through the food court of the CNN Center & around the outside of the buildings, we found our way (the long way) to the Georgia World Congress Center where the 25th General Synod of the United Church...of Christ begins tomorrow. Remembering that our information sheets said we would be in Hall A, we headed that way. Coming around the corner was a man in a red "still speaking" T-shirt & we knew we were in the right place! Registration wasn't even open yet, but people were already milling around and Jill and I both found someone we knew almost immediately.

The Southeast Conference volunteers have pumpkin-pie-colored t-shirts that say VOLUNTEER in big black letters on the back and have the Synod logo "Come Listen, Go Serve, God is Still Speaking" on the front. They have a table with a display telling about their Conference and free, individually-wrapped Georgia peach candies that are delicious and truly peachy!

But the best thing of all is what the Southeast Conference is selling... sterling silver comma earrings and lapel pins, UCC symbol silver lapel pins and large and small necklaces, a black t-shirt with the Synod logo, and a logo baseball cap.... And the kicker of the bunch (yes, it's my personal favorite!) is a black T-shirt with a big red comma on it followed by white lettering that reads, "God is still speaking, y'all," (the comma & the apostrophe are red) and underneath is the Gracie Allen quote "Never place a period where God has placed a comma"

And I'm NOT placing a period in that sentence!

The UCC has begun arriving in Atlanta and you'd better believe it, God IS still speaking, y'all !!!!!

Both Sides Now

The billowinig clouds outside the plane window reminded me of beaten eggwhites or ice sculptures. They look so soft, yet the plane flies right through them as if they were just a bump in the road. I could see faces and angels and towers and animals in the shapes of their fluffy-ness. From below, the clouds look smoother and wispier. From above you can see them surging upward and forming magnificent creations. Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now" was running through my head.... "I've looked at clouds from both sides now..." It's a treat to look down on them from the plane. The rest of the song is about love... "I've looked at love from both sides now, from up and down, and still somehow, it's love's illusions I recall, I really don't know love...at all." (that's my memory, I didn't look up the words.)

Does any of us really know love? We think we do, but pure love is elusive. It's important to look at love -- and anything else, for that matter -- from both sides; from up and down. Some of the resolutions to be brought before the UCC General Synod will require us to do just that... to look at issues from both sides, to love one another, and to make sure everyone is heard.

Old Turtle 2

I received a gift today of the second Old Turtle book, Old Turtle and the Broken Truth, by Douglas Wood. Like the first book, this one is a beautiful, timely and timeless story with exquisite watercolors by Jon J. Muth. I won't spoil the story for you, but the gist is that nobody has the whole truth, but if we look for it, it can be found.

And it might be a surprise to some....

Good theology can be found in many places and forms. This is definitely one of them.

Synod Bound!

The twenty-fifth General Synod of the United Church of Christ is meeting in Atlanta July 1-5th. My colleague and I take off on Thursday morning -- on the NEW JET that flies in and out of the Falls once a day from June through August! I've been told we'll love it - especially compared to the prop planes we usually get.

This year I am a delegate again -- for the Minnesota Conference. It's more fun to be a visitor because you can do what you want when you want, but being a delegate is exciting too because then you're in the thick of it. There are "hot" issues being put forth in resolutions, and important issues, as well as regular business. But the best part is catching up with old friends, meeting people I've only known before on Ecunet, networking, and just "catching up" on all that's going on in the UCC.

There's lots to do to get ready -- too much, really, but that's always how it is before going away for a week. Somehow it'll get done and we'll be ready to... "Come Listen, Go Serve, God is Still Speaking."

www.ucc.org
www.stillspeaking.com

Catch the Beat!

I was ready to relax and enjoy myself at the Minnesota Conference Annual Meeting (UCC) a few weeks ago after I had preached at the Saturday evening worship service. On Friday night I had told a couple people that I was going to want a beer after the experience of preaching to that auspicious gathering! The College of St. Benedict, where our meetings are held, has a pub and an ice cold beer was waiting for me, along with friends to celebrate the honor and the accomplishment with me.

When we were leaving the pub, my colleague & friend, Jill, could hear that the drum circle was still going on downstairs. So we joined them! This was a first for me and I was hooked immediately! I sat down, picked up a drum and began to feel the rhythm. It was better than meditation! I could experiment or settle into a repetition or just go with the flow. My mind emptied itself of all the junk... stress... clutter... I was catching the beat! And I was hooked! Wouldn't it be wonderful to get drums for Faith United for Sunday worship services?!

Saturday next, found Rowland and me riding the twists and turns of the road to Ely - with the top down, of course! After lunch, we found our way to Music Outfitters where I was adopted by a djembe drum! I had no choice! It told me it was the drum for me!

And you know what? You can't be in the presence of a drum without touching it -- drumming your fingers on it, tapping it, encouraging it to make its deep, rich, booming sounds! Drumming as a form of meditation. It's a new concept! A new activity. A summer project.

I'm eagerly awaiting the formation of a local coummunity drum circle!
"Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth." (Psalm 100:1)

To Be A Servant

I was asked to preach at the Saturday evening worship service at the annual meeting of the Minnesota Conference, United Church of Christ. The annual meeting was held at The College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, MN June 10-12. The theme was "Come Listen, Go Serve, God is Still Speaking" and my focus was to be the go serve part. It was a real honor to be asked and I had to compete with a real Minnesota downpour, but I outlasted the storm. :-)

To Be a Servant
a sermon preached by the Rev. Sue Judson Hamly
on Saturday, June 11, 2005
at the Annual Meeting of the Minnesota Conference, UCC
College of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, MN
Scripture: Matthew 9:35—10:20

How many of you remember Jonathan Livingston Seagull? I think he might be alive and well and spending summers in our back yard. At least the gull I’m referring to deserves a name like Jonathan Livingston because he certainly has personality!
My husband, Rowland, makes peanut butter sandwiches for raccoons, and feeds all the other animals and birds that frequent our yard on the bank of the Rainy River, and he has discovered that Canada geese and woodchucks like to eat the dandelions we have in profusion. Two summers ago he tossed a piece of bread out the kitchen window to some gulls and life has never been the same since!
We didn’t think much of it that first summer, but last year when the gulls returned and one of them walked right up beside the house and stood there staring at the kitchen window, we were amazed that he remembered and quick to respond by cranking out the window and tossing him some bread. It became a ritual. The gull stood there and stared at the window and we fed him. We even went to the store and bought special loaves of inexpensive bread for them!
This year we eagerly waited to see if our gray and white friend would return, and we weren’t disappointed. He stands in front of the kitchen window 2 or 3 times a day waiting for his meal. And we’ve been treated to part of the mating ritual – he starts working on the bread, while his mate sits quietly by watching and waiting for him to call her. When he does, she comes closer and he feeds her part of what he has in his beak.
But the real clincher happened on one of those rare sunny days about a week ago. Rowland was out mowing the lawn. The woodchuck was in hiding under the deck and the birds had left the feeder, but Mr. Jonathan Gull was sitting on the lawn demanding his bread! He wasn’t bothered at all by the noise of the mower, he wanted his food NOW! So Rowland had to stop and turn off the mower, walk into the house and fetch Mr. Gull a treat.
We have become servants to a seagull! Talk about giving without payment!
What does it mean to be a servant?
We might have many different answers to that question, but according to our text from Matthew’s gospel, I think it means to go serve as laborers in God’s harvest.
Jesus calls his disciples, who are also called apostles or “sent ones,” and tells them that “the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” He has seen that there are crowds of people who are like lost sheep without a shepherd, so he tells the disciples to “ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into God’s harvest.”
That is, as it turns out, a rather dangerous prayer to pray. No sooner has he given them this instruction, than Jesus gives the disciples the authority to cure every disease and sickness and to proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is near – the same things that Jesus has been doing himself!
It’s kind of ironic. These people are told to pray for workers for the harvest and they can hardly finish doing so before Jesus is sending THEM out to do the work! Sometimes the answer to your prayer is “You go!” Sometimes a prayer is a prod. God seems to be saying, “I’ve already prepared the harvest, but you have to go and bring it in!”
We are all included. We, too, are apostles, sent with a message. That message is that God is still speaking and no matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you ARE welcome here – in the Minnesota Conference… in the United Church… of Christ!
We are called to go serve, just as we have received – without payment. No expectations. No strings attached. Simply share God’s love, and remember actions speak louder than words. True service is doing or giving for the JOY of it! Jesus gave his disciples the authority to heal and to exorcise – pretty powerful stuff! But it is really only God who has this power. Human beings who share in it must recognize that it is God’s and not their own possession. It’s a gift to be shared; no payment, no strings. What a concept! In Jesus’ day, people would have been amazed, I’m sure, because in actuality, “in the Middle Eastern world there never was and still is no free gift. Every gift has strings attached. It expects repayment.”[1] But that’s not the case for followers of Jesus. We are called to give love out of our own love and generosity.
It’s a challenge, and that’s why coming and listening is so important before we go out to serve. We must remember where our power comes from. In order to be a servant, we must nurture our connection to the divine. We must fill up our spiritual center. We need to stay connected – to God; to our family of faith; to our spiritual energy core. This is true for individuals and congregations. If we revitalize our center, then we can let the spiritual energy radiate out to those around us. Oftentimes, the harvest is in our own back yard, but it’s essential to fill our center so our energy – and our love – doesn’t run out.
Where do we go to serve? Of course we can go all over the world, but we don’t all have to. Some of us are called to go to other countries, and some of us are called to do our ministry right here at home. God says “you go!” but the harvest may be in our own neighborhood.
Culturally, Jesus’ sending of the twelve was well-planned, even clever. People didn’t travel much in the ancient Middle East – they mostly stayed put, fairly close to home. Travel was also only possible during the dry season. That was the time when the roads were manageable, and it was when the most people were out and about. They were tending their flocks, waiting for their crops to mature or watching the vineyards. So Jesus sends his fishers of people out where the fishing is best! [2]
But even under the best of circumstances the big fish can get away, or the harvest withers from too much sun, or rots from an excess of rain. Not everyone wants to hear the message. Not everyone wants to be served.
So Jesus says, “As you enter the house, greet it. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.” We can share the good news of God’s love, but if it is not received, we should move on. Sometimes that’s one of the hardest things to do. We feel as if we’re giving up, or that we failed. But all we can do is our best. Some seeds don’t fall on fertile soil. Jesus says “be wise as serpents, innocent as doves.” You may not always be appreciated. But by the living of your life, you can still be a servant and a witness.
Jesus is sending us out to do the work that springs from a heart filled with compassion, with empathy, with doing our best to experience another's pain. We can never reach this ideal, of course; each person's pain is unique. But the heart of the compassionate Christ, which is and must be our own corporate heart, has no place for criticism, for judgment, even for merit. We help those who need help, not those we deem worthy of our help. It is not our own help we offer, of course; we are merely the vehicles for Christ's healing touch, saving grace, and word of hope. [3]
What does it mean to be a servant? What emotions do you feel when you’re called to “go serve”?
It can be like wandering in the desert. It can be frightening. It can give you a sense of excitement and exhilaration. Sometimes you feel incredibly connected to God and to all that is spiritual and good. Sometimes you may feel abandoned. But none of us is ever alone. That God has promised us!
We are called and blessed and sent. We come to listen, and go to serve, trusting God’s presence and this wonderful thing we have to share, called love. That’s what it’s all about – a journey of love. And in order to give love, we have to be able to receive it. Let me be your servant, and I’ll let you be mine as well. Together we are pilgrims on a journey – travelers on the road.[4] To be a servant of God is to walk the journey in faith, whether we have a clue where we’re going or not!
David Bartlett has written a poem that I think wraps it up. It’s even called ‘The Journey” …

The Journey
by David Bartlett (used with permission)

I send you forth to the land which has been promised
that is has been promised is all I know.
I do not know the shape of the land
the route which you must go
the dangers certain to befall.
My small experience leads me to suggest
you should expect your share of desert places
where oases vanish upon close inspection
and water springs up from unlikely places.
Also you should beware the Golden Calf
or any beast pretending to be God
the likely candidates will have immense appeal
and an unpleasant aftertaste.
The great advantage of the Promised Land
is that it will wait for you
if on the road a man waylaid by thieves
or startling beauty should distract you
there is time.
You will know when you have reached the land
by the sudden fear you feel
at the edge of grace
and the strong pull of familiar Egypt on your soul
and the knowledge that there is no turning back.
Farewell, beloved
put on the whole armor of God
but leave your heart exposed
since life, like death, demands a certain vulnerability.
And learn a song or two to sing in a strange land.
Be wise as serpents, innocent as doves
accepting the worst from people, expecting the best
You are less what you have learned than what you have learned to love.
Love is your journey's name
and your final rest. [AMEN]

Notes:
[1] John J. Pilch, The Cultural World of Jesus, Sunday by Sunday, Cycle A. 1995, The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN, p. 98.
[2] Ibid. p. 99.
[3] From the Rev. Katherine Merrell Glenn, “Sermons that Work” http://arc.episcopalchurch.org/sermons-that-work/020616sr.html
[4] from the hymn “Won’t You Let me Be Your Servant?” #539 in The New Century Hymnal, 1995, Pilgrim Press, Cleveland, OH

Confessions of a Techno-Junkie

This sermon was preached first at the church I serve -- Faith United Church of Christ, International Falls, MN -- in the fall of 2004. It was then revised for the Ecumenical Lenten Soup Suppers and worship services sponsored by 5 churches in our community each year during Lent. It was preached that time at First Lutheran Church, Int'l. Falls, on March 2, 2005.

For each service there were many "gadgets" on the chancel, such as laptop, cell phone, digital cameras, PDA with keyboard, GPS, "boombox", cordless phone, CDs, DVDs, "walkman".... For some sermons visuals are important too.

Confessions of a Techno-Junkie
sermon preached by the Rev. Sue Judson Hamly, pastor
Faith United Church of Christ
International Falls, Minnesota
Scriptures: Luke 12:13-21 and Colossians 3:1-11

Okay, I admit it! I’m a technology junkie! I also admit that not all of these gadgets up here belong to me personally, but that’s beside the point. Another thing I’ll admit is that I came by this techno-junkie thing naturally – it’s genetic! My grandfather thought the telephone was the most wonderful invention of his lifetime. In an era when people made few long-distance calls, he never complained about the telephone bill because it was so amazing to him to be able to pick up the phone and talk to someone on the other side of the country!

My dad was a camera buff and loved taking pictures wherever he went. After he died, my mom discovered that one day while she was out, he practiced his portrait techniques on her teddy-bear collection! And my mom doesn’t know a lot about computers, but once I introduced her to e-mail, she was hooked on that method of communication!

Technology has added to our “stuff.” It has made our lives simpler, but it has also added to the junk we collect. Not that I consider any of this [indicate items on table] junk…. but you know what I mean.

One of the biggest problems with the wonderful world of technology is that it’s always being improved – so you’re always behind! I remember not long after we got married, we purchased a sewing machine. It was pretty exciting because we got a really good deal at the end of the year before the new models came out. But you know what happened when the new models arrived? They were the first free-arm sewing machines, and mine wasn’t.

Do you remember your first microwave oven? I do! For a few days we stood around with our noses glued to the glass door watching a cake or brownies bake – truly amazing! Now we take them for granted and I’m back to baking cakes & brownies in the regular oven – not as fun to watch, but I think they taste better.

But what do you do with all that technology when you decide you want the newer version? Do you junk it? Do you give it to someone who can’t afford the latest version? Or do you stick it in the garage for the next 20 years?

It’s always a shock to realize how much stuff you have when you move. When we moved next door a couple years ago, I unpacked a box of family pictures that were wrapped in newspapers dated 1991 – the box hadn’t been opened since we left California! It still hasn’t been unpacked, but it did make it into the house.

One of the worst things is that no one’s really going to want our stuff when we’re gone because they all have too much of their own. But it’s still hard to let go of our possessions.

So what do the scriptures have to say to us? Jesus doesn’t say it in so many words, but “you can’t take it with you.”

The man in the parable has enough grain and other goods to feed the entire neighborhood. He has so much that he needs to tear down his barn & build a bigger one. Only then, he tells himself, can he relax, eat, drink & be merry because he’ll be set for many years. The irony is, of course, that he hasn’t got many years left to enjoy his riches. His time is up now. And then what?

One of the things we don’t notice, but the people hearing Jesus tell this story would have immediately realized is that there was a glaring omission. This man had completely ignored the tithe. In the Hebrew Scriptures, people were called upon to give the first fruits to God. That was the original tithe. But this man in the parable left no grain for the gleaners or the widows and orphans. Nope, the only tithe he offered was a sigh of contentment.

The Apostle Paul tells us that we need better priorities. We who have been baptized and who claim to be Christians, have (symbolically in baptism) died and been raised with Christ. We’re supposed to focus on “things that are above” rather than on earthly things, according to Paul.[1] Now, I must tell you that I rarely agree with Paul 100%. He got pretty hung up on the separation of the physical and the spiritual. I’m not sure that was wise. In order to be whole and complete (which is something God wants for us), we need to find a balance between the physical and spiritual. But that balance should lead us toward giving and away from hoarding.

I’m not saying that we shouldn’t have techno-gadgets and other modern conveniences. Take hearing-aids for example – they make it possible for me to be a minister. God gave us the brains to figure out how to create all these wonderful things. But do we use them selfishly, or do we try to also use them for the good of others?

In his parable, Jesus is speaking to everyone – the widow with her mite as well as the rich and the middle class. And what he said in that parable speaks to us not only personally, but as a group, a community, and a nation as well.

It could be said that our own country is the rich man in the parable. As a minister in Michigan has pointed out in a recent issue of The Christian Century magazine, the United Nations asked the wealthiest nations to give 7/10 of a percent of their Gross National Product to foreign aid. Among them, the giving of the United States ranks dead last. The U.S. gives 1/10 of one percent. (Of course that doesn’t count military aid…) Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Luxemburg and Sweden lead the world in generosity. In fact, in 2001, the Netherlands – with a population of 5.3 million people – less than the population of greater Chicago – gave $3.2 billion![2] That was 1/3 of the amount our country gave to foreign aid that year and the U.S. is a heck of a lot bigger than greater Chicago!

This is a difficult parable for us to listen to. Every one of us has more stuff than we need. Most of us can afford to get a fancier model when our 10-year-old TV quits working. Plus we’ve been told over and over that we need to save for the future. Take care of our own security – provide for our children – don’t be a burden to society. Sometimes it’s even hard to resist “keeping up with the Joneses.”

And I don’t think Jesus is saying possessions are bad. Or that we don’t need all this new technology. I think selfishness is the point of this parable. Hoarding turns us inward upon ourselves. It makes us afraid of community. We forget how to care and share. If we put God first, and remember that we really can’t take the stuff with us, maybe our priorities will become healthier, and we’ll be more willing to give and to share.

In his latest book, Peace is the Way, Deepak Chopra touches on this issue. He says the problem with money is that it distracts us! It gets our minds focused on business and commerce and “distorts the true values of spirit by replacing them with pleasures and possessions.” He writes, “To me, this doesn’t say that money is evil or nonspiritual. It says that money is a distraction, and sometimes so powerful a distraction that people fail to go beyond it.”[3]

I suspect Jesus would have agreed with Chopra. The uniting of spiritual and material values is a positive thing because they both have much good to offer, and in combination they should bring out the best in Christian loving and generosity.

After all, aren’t we seeking to follow the God who gave us the greatest gift of all – the God who gave us Jesus Christ to show us how to live and love in the best way possible?

The more we give, the more we’ll have. We used to sing a song at camp about a magic penny. The song reminded us that love is like that penny – if you give it away, you’ll end up having more.

There’s a joke about a man who was so greedy that he made his wife promise to put all his money in the casket with him when he died. On the day of the funeral, the widow went up to the front of the church, bent over the casket, and could be seen putting something inside before the funeral director closed the lid. After the burial everyone was back at the church for lunch and the woman’s best friend came up to her visibly upset. She asked, “How COULD you put all his money in the casket?! What about you? You need it to live on!” The widow smiled at her friend and replied, “Oh don’t worry, I wrote him a check.”

Being rich toward God means loving our neighbors and sharing the wealth with those who don’t have it. Go ahead and enjoy your gadgets, but remember how much more fun it is to share their benefits than to keep them a secret. AMEN.

Endnotes:
[1] Colossians 3:1-11.
[2] Lawrence Wood, Fremont UMC, Fremont, MI, in “A lot of junk” published in The Christian Century, July 27, 2004, p. 20.
[3] Peace is the Way, by Deepak Chopra. 2005, Harmony Books, New York, p. 76.

Dandelions

My mom was just here visiting from California. She was utterly amazed at the profusion of dandelions -- in our yard, in other peoples' yards, even in the fields. If she saw 2 dandelions in her front yard, she'd be right out there digging them up! My son said "the yellow wildflowers look pretty" and my mom said "Just LOOK at all those dandelions!" I guess it's all in your perspective.

We choose not to spray our yard, so we have dandelions. This morning the ones in front and to the northwest are knee-high to a large dog and going to seed, while on the east side of the house there's a budding new yellow crop. But we saw, the other day, that they DO have a purpose in God's creation! Mama and Daddy Canada Geese were supervising their four fluffy little ones on the grass at the corner of the yard where the crick flows into Rainy River ... and, guess what? The geese were eating the dandelions!

Learning Curve

Here I am, embarking on yet another techno-junkie adventure! It's taken quite a few hours to get to this point. The learning curve seems steep, but once things began to click I felt like "the little engine that could" getting over the top of the mountain and gathering speed down the other side.... "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!" became "I thought I could, I thought I could, I thought I could!!"

I haven't learned how to post pictures yet, but I trust it will come. That'll be another journey of searching the tutorials and manuals and maybe the helpdesk to find out where to even look for instructions. But I know it'll feel great, eventually, to be able to say "Yes! I did it!"