13 24 1045 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e09e4e4a60225c60ca213a4e7f308fa0.pdf d6031288dd8aa742a973ed012a0ec473 PDF Text Text The Threat and Promise of One’s Mind Being Changed From the Summer 1999 Lecture Series How My Mind Has Changed Richard A. Rhem Minister of Preaching and Theological Inquiry Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan July 6, 1999 Transcript of the spoken lecture I begin with an acknowledgment of feeling some ambiguity about offering four lectures on how my mind has changed. A haunting, taunting voice in my mind asks, "Who cares?" "So what?" and "Why is it a matter of note that your mind has changed?" Good questions, those. Even as I begin, they remain with me and I feel the need to address them. Let me be very clear: I do not suspect the world is holding its breath either for my answers or for the tracing of my mind change. Why engage in this exercise, then? I suspect I am doing it first of all for myself. I have traversed a good distance on the theological spectrum from a very conservative evangelical orthodox position to a very liberal, open-ended, progressive posture. We all move in our theological understanding, our faith understanding, even if we never really stop to think about it, but my move has been more than the natural drift that comes with living, with experience, with age. My moves have been self-conscious, deliberate, intentional. They have come in the wake of lifelong, serious study of the faith, reflection on the faith and endeavor to proclaim and teach the faith in the midst of the community of faith engaged in the practice of the faith - a worshiping community intent on living out the implications of the faith in society. For me, study and reflection have always had the background of the Church, thus necessitating the translation of academic pursuit into concrete action, and that in intimate connection, for the end of my study has been the ongoing need to preach; the sermon has driven the study and reflection, ever and anew demanding expression - having something to say. Early in his ministry after the publication of his Epistle to the Romans had caused such a stir, Karl Barth was asked to speak to a ministers' meeting in his native Switzerland (Schulpforta, July, 1922) to discuss his theology. He was somewhat embarrassed to hear the words "my theology" spoken of so seriously not that he was not doing theology- “plain and honest theology.” But, he went on to discuss "his theology," claiming, © Grand Valley State University   �Threat & Promise of One’s Mind Being Changed Richard A. Rhem Page 2   "my theology" becomes, when I look at it closely, a single point, and that not, as one might demand as the least qualification of a true theology, a standpoint, but rather a mathematical point upon which one cannot stand - a viewpoint merely. (Barth, The Word of God and the Word of Man, p. 97f) Yet, one must stand somewhere, Barth acknowledged, and thus he went on, If then I have not only a viewpoint, but something also of a standpoint, it is simply the familiar standpoint of the man in the pulpit. Before him lies the Bible full of mystery: and before him are seated his more or less numerous hearers, also full of mystery - and what indeed is more so? “What now?” asks the minister. If I could succeed in bringing acutely to your minds the whole content of that "What now?" I should have won you not only to my standpoint... but also to my viewpoint, no matter what you might think of my theology, (p. 104) Barth raised the question, Would it not be for theology's own good if it attempted, as I have said, to be nothing more than this knowledge of the quest and questioning of the Christian preacher, full of need and promise? (p. 102) I cannot emphasize too strongly how I thrilled to be introduced to Karl Barth and to read these words, for they expressed for me everything I believed most strongly and that to which my life was committed. The moves of my theological pilgrimage have come, not through academic endeavor apart from the Church, but very concretely in my passion to have something significant to say in preaching - and that for the well-being of the congregation and for the best possible expression of the biblical faith. Of this purpose for my ministry of preaching, teaching and pastoral care, I have all along been aware. But, that the result should be the traversing of the theological spectrum from far right to far left is to me a very great surprise, for I began as a champion of orthodox Christian tradition and evangelical faith expression. As I said above, I do this exercise first of all for myself, to review the way I have come, the better to understand where I am and where I am going. So to quiet the questions, "Who cares?" "So what? etc., I simply say, "I care; it matters to me, " and I invite any who are interested in the evolution of my theological understanding and the emergence of my present faith perspective to listen in as I tell my story and then to interact with me as the story unfolds. © Grand Valley State University �Threat & Promise of One’s Mind Being Changed Richard A. Rhem Page 3   Still by way of introduction, let me note the passive mood of the title of this series - "How My Mind Has Changed.” I state the series thus intentionally rather than How I Changed My Mind, because I want to point to a process of growing awareness, epiphany-type experience in which truth dawns upon one. To be sure, this does not happen in a vacuum; I have worked intentionally at seeking knowledge, at serious investigation, persistent pursuit of understanding through intensive reading and reflection. Nonetheless, there is a gift quality to new insight and deeper comprehension. Furthermore, I did not start out to arrive where I am. No one is more surprised than I am that I stand at the far left of the theological spectrum, judged beyond the pale of Reformed confessionalism. My mind has been changed in face of the knowledge available in the respective disciplines of human inquiry; biblical study and study of the development of dogma to be sure, but also the findings of the natural sciences, behavioral and social sciences, history and comparative religions. Before the veritable explosion of knowledge, my understanding of religion and, specifically the Christian faith, has changed. In a word, my mind has been changed. The journal of liberal Christianity, The Christian Century, on three occasions asked Karl Barth to write an article on how his mind had changed over the previous decade. He complied with their request, covering the decades 19281938,1938-1948, and 1948-1958. The journal has continued the practice, occasionally asking scholars to indicate how their mind had changed. It is from the series in The Century that I take the idea for these lectures. I have entitled this first lecture "The Threat and Promise of One's Mind Being Changed." That title signals what I have experienced in the movement of my understanding of Christian reality. The experience is threatening because one's personal faith, one's identity, and in my case, one's professional life is called into question. But with the ongoing movement over the years there has been great promise of intellectual freedom and deeper humanity. Let me begin with the threat - the fear of losing one's faith or salvation. This is especially critical for one in the Protestant, Reformed tradition where saving faith has been identified with believing certain things to be true. In the Lutheran confessional family one speaks of "right doctrine." In the definition of faith in the Heidelberg Catechism, Q & A 21, the Question is "What is true faith?” The Answer: “It is not only a certain knowledge by which I accept as true all that God has revealed to us in his Word, but also a wholehearted trust which the Holy Spirit creates in me through the gospel, that, not only to others, but to me also God has given the forgiveness of sins, everlasting righteousness and salvation, out of sheer grace solely for the sake of Christ's saving work.” © Grand Valley State University �Threat & Promise of One’s Mind Being Changed Richard A. Rhem Page 4   One can see here two elements: a certain knowledge of biblical revelation and wholehearted trust. The second element is often pointed to when the warmly personal aspect of the Catechism is spoken of. But the first element points to the content of faith's knowledge and the assent to what is revealed in Scripture has had heavy emphasis. In his growing up, "package version of Christian Faith," Marcus Borg defines faith as he was taught in his Lutheran tradition: Faith meant strong and correct belief. It meant believing what God wanted us to believe, as disclosed in the Bible. Faith as strong belief meant that doubt was the opposite of faith. Faith as correct belief meant believing the right things. For me, that meant believing as we Lutherans believed. In a footnote, Borg notes that such an understanding of faith left a lot of people out. One wasn't sure of Presbyterians, Congregationalists, and Methodists - they were marginal. He can't remember speaking of Episcopalians but certainly Roman Catholics were out. I grew up in the Reformed tradition in its most conservative expression and the definition of the knowledge God revealed in the Scriptures was very definite and clear. The faith paradigm, I now know, derived from the 17th century, the period of Protestant scholasticism in which the fresh discovery of the Gospel of the Grace of God as it erupted in the 16th century was carefully systematized. More of that in a subsequent lecture. My point here is that, if one has been nurtured deeply in such a conception of saving faith, one has a whole system of belief to which one must assent, and to tinker with the respective articles of belief is to call the whole structure into question - and that can be very threatening because one risks losing everything, including, of course, one's salvation. By way of contrast to make this point sharper, one deeply formed in Roman Catholicism would find challenge to the institution more threatening than challenge to any particular article of faith, for there exists in the religious experience of such a person an implicit faith in the Church through which grace is mediated in the Sacraments. Catholic religious experience is more intuitive, less intellectual as a belief system. Thus, one might say that for one nurtured as I was, a challenge to the belief structure would be comparable to a challenge to the Church for a Catholic Christian. One doesn't leave the Church easily if one has been deeply formed in the Catholic tradition. As I reflect on this, I discover an interesting fact that, while it is a belief system that must be assented to intellectually, once that assent has been made and one is deeply formed in a particular belief system, one tends to shut down the intellectual pursuit of religious truth. One becomes emotionally engaged; correct © Grand Valley State University �Threat & Promise of One’s Mind Being Changed Richard A. Rhem Page 5   belief is no longer an intellectual matter but one in which one's being, one's identity is involved. And so my very identity is at stake – who I am, how I perceive myself. To pursue this further would take us into the psychology of the person, an area in which I am not schooled to speak. But it is obvious, as one sees the reaction of persons whose faith structure is challenged, that there is much more going on than an intellectual discussion of alternative expressions of faith. Again, the greater seriousness with which one's religious commitment is lived out, the greater the threat to one’s personhood when a faith structure is called in question. I have experienced the fear of free fall and the pain that wrenches one when one’s faith system is called in question and, even more, as a pastor, I have witnessed it over and over again in my people. My religious faith and life are so centered in the core of my being that to threaten them is to threaten me. A mind change is threatening and can be costly to one whose professional life is in the Church and the field of religion. Here I speak, as well, from personal experience, both my own struggle and, even more, the struggle I see in colleagues in ministry. If there is one overriding reason why the Church is the most conservative of all social institutions and why it continues adherence to faith structures and social positions out of touch with modern knowledge and human experience, I would claim it is the threat felt by persons in leadership if they acknowledge that their mind has changed. Since these lectures are about how my mind has changed, I will speak first of my own experience over the past three decades. My four years in the Netherlands at the University of Leiden under the mentorship of Hendrikus Berkhof were simply invaluable. I had graduated from seminary with my orthodox conservative Reformed faith intact. I had sought in my education to buttress the faith of my childhood nurture. I believed it all. I believed it strongly. I believed it passionately and I was determined to proclaim it in its conservative evangelical expression. I was also defensive, although I did not recognize that. I regret that I did not question more, read more broadly, quest more openly. Finally, four years of pastoral experience here in Spring Lake forced on me for the first time questions and wonderings I could not put away. And a new curriculum, Covenant Life, produced by the Presbyterian and Reformed Churches opened new directions, which I pursued during my three years in New Jersey. For the first time in my life, I began to think, desiring to know the truth. My pilgrimage to Europe and post-graduate study was not a flight from the pastorate, not first of all to attain a degree; it was an existential quest to test the truth of the Christian faith as I had learned it. I am a late bloomer. I was 32 years old when I began my search and I had the time of my life. © Grand Valley State University �Threat & Promise of One’s Mind Being Changed Richard A. Rhem Page 6   When this congregation invited me to return to be their pastor, I had gone through a thorough transformation. My personal life in shambles through the breakup of my marriage, I had come to a core conviction about the Christian faith and I knew I had one sermon at least to preach. I said, "Give me Jesus and the resurrection and the rest is negotiable." I provide this background sketch because it reveals how fortunate I have been in having the post-graduate experience in Europe after enough time in concrete ministry to have begun to sense the limitations of my understanding and my knowledge, and then to have the opportunity to come to a congregation where there was already an affectional and trusting relationship so that I could begin to bring the knowledge and insight I had gained into coherent expression. For the first two decades after my return, I literally preached and I taught out of that European reservoir of learning. I had a place to preach and teach that allowed my four years of reading, reflection and writing to come to expression, to be assimilated and to mature. And, while the responsibilities of an exploding parish were demanding, I never stopped reading and thinking, the congregation being my laboratory for the exploration of new knowledge and fresh insight. The relationship with the congregation was solid and healthy. The growing insight into the development of the Christian faith shared with the people was gradual. I was aware of movement in my understanding and I was aware that I was endeavoring to broaden and deepen the faith knowledge and experience of the congregation. I was conscious of being on a journey of growing understanding and I was intentional about bringing the people along. We were all clear that we were in life, together as a faith community seeking understanding. The ideal of those early years - an ideal never lost - was the union of intellectual integrity and evangelical passion. The next significant happening in my own development occurred in 1985 when I was invited to become one of the editors of a theological journal founded by the Reformed Church in America. The Editorial Board of ten met twice yearly for three days. I was already heavily engaged in denominational work, having at the time four responsibilities, one of which was the chairing of the Board of Theological Education that was responsible for the seminaries. But, the Consistory gave me their blessing and I accepted the invitation and profited greatly from the discussions in which we determined the themes for the respective issues. Even more, it now became my responsibility to write and publish. The journal, Perspectives, was founded by the Reformed Church for the express purpose of addressing the leadership of the RCA and beyond with the intention of stimulating discussion of the pressing issues of Church and society - a hope to initiate theological awareness and conversation in the Church. There was an inner core of the Editorial Board that was especially committed to dealing with © Grand Valley State University �Threat & Promise of One’s Mind Being Changed Richard A. Rhem Page 7   what we felt were theological positions that needed to be examined if the Church was to be a factor in the broader cultural conversation that shapes the future. I was one of only two pastors on the Editorial Board and I soon learned that I would be the one to handle the topics that were most likely to meet with resistance from the conservative part of the Church. Why? Because my pastoral position was safe. This congregation by that time had had fifteen years of theological probing in sermon and teaching. This congregation had given me the freedom to study, to think, to bring to expression new ideas and fresh statement of the faith. The scholars who made up the rest of the board from RCA colleges and seminaries had to take into account their position in an institution accountable to the whole Church and therefore, there were some topics better left untouched. From the safety of my position in this congregation, I had a freedom they did not have. I had occasion to experience first hand why the academic contingent of the board was cautious. In 1987,I was invited to become the Professor of Preaching at Western Theological Seminary. I declined a full-time position, not being willing to give up my pastorate here, but accepted the position halftime. About that same time I was assigned responsibility by the Editorial Board, in the midst of a full board discussion, to write a piece on the extent of God's grace. The article, entitled 'The Habit of God's Heart," appeared in the September 1988 issue, just as I was about to begin the second year of teaching. I wrote the article as I have always preached and taught here at Christ Community. I was cautious in my claim, but it was, nonetheless, evident that I was sensing a broader sweep of God's saving grace than was the rule in the RCA and the Reformed Confessional documents. And further, it was clear I hoped that to be the case. Having called Hell into question, all hell broke loose in the Church. I could see on the ashen face of the seminary president that there was trouble afoot. At a faculty meeting, one of the professors who was on the Editorial Board and who had read the manuscript before the issue went to print asked, “Why did you feel you had to raise this issue?” The rest of the faculty, with whom I had good relations and from whom I received respect, were strangely silent. The Professor of Systematic Theology said not a word on this burning theological issue. The one who raised the earlier question had been teaching at the seminary for over two decades and was known to hold essentially the same position I espoused in the article. What was going on? Obviously, fear reigned: fear for professional position, fear for institutional support. I saw it all very clearly. I said to the President, "I will resign; I have no need to bring the school into a battle." An Executive Committee meeting was called in October and I was asked to appear. Surveying the room, I sensed the group was pretty evenly divided between those who would have supported me and those © Grand Valley State University �Threat & Promise of One’s Mind Being Changed Richard A. Rhem Page 8   who would have demanded retraction or resignation. I offered to complete the second year and leave. The following fall I would have been installed in the newly endowed Chair of Preaching which was the fruition of an idea I initiated while serving on the Board of Theological Education. But, instead, I simply came home here - again giving my full time and energy to this congregation. I relate this experience because through it I learned first hand how threatening it is in the Church and its institutions to challenge the accepted paradigm of faith and traditional practice. Once again, I am one of the fortunate ones. I have a marvelous faith community that has always been totally supportive and has extended to me the freedom to think, to probe, to challenge and to attempt the translation of the tradition into new expression. I did not seek out the seminary position and I did not suffer loss when I left it. But, I have been in a rather rare position with which not many are blessed. I think the seminary administration and faculty lost an opportunity to affirm the critical importance of academic freedom. But, I was not the president, I was not a faculty member well settled in with no place to go. I think they all might have better stood together, not in support of me personally, but in support of the freedom necessary to wrestle with the biblical and confessional tradition. But, there is a cost involved; they chose not to risk. My experience convinced me that an academic institution with close ties to the Church, which looks to the Church for its financial support, will be very slow to challenge the tradition and to be creative and innovative in the articulation of the faith. The deck is stacked against change in society's institutional structures. Not change, but continuity is the goal. In sum, the Church's academic centers are severely proscribed in the degree to which they can engage in the kind of theological reflection that potentially issues in a paradigm shift. One comes not to expect theological renewal from the Church's academies. If this is the case with the academic institutions, it is surely even more the case with the Church's bureaucratic structure. Management with a pinch of inspiration and some resourcing is all one can expect from denominational centers. Keeping the machinery in good order and the structures in place is a difficult task in a denominational institution with a broad spectrum of theological understanding. I need not belabor the obvious: theological renewal will not emerge from denominational headquarters. Those who carry out the task of denominational leadership are vulnerable to criticism from all sides and can lead only from the middle unless they are willing to risk their professional position. © Grand Valley State University �Threat & Promise of One’s Mind Being Changed Richard A. Rhem Page 9   Let me underscore a statement made earlier - the deck is stacked against change in society's institutional structures. I became so deeply impressed with this reality. I will go into the specific changes that I underwent in subsequent lectures but, when I was called to account for positions I espoused, for example, on the extent of God's grace, I was criticized for not bringing my doubt about the traditional salvation paradigm first to the Classis, and, to be sure, this is the way the order of the Church conceived of the proper process for dealing with a change in one's biblical/theological understanding. Such a procedure would have eventuated in no public statement of my belief and I would have been given the option of being re-convinced of the tradition or being silent about my change of understanding, or being adjudged - as I was - as beyond the pale of the Reformed confession. It would have been a fruitless exercise and I knew it. I assumed writing as I was in a theological journal, founded for the purpose of stimulating theological discussion, was a new and better way of effecting change in the Church. But, the old system for all practical purposes guarantees there will be no significant change in the confessional stance of the institution. There are those both in the pastorate and in the academic and bureaucratic structures of the Church who were in essential agreement with me at critical points but, by their own admission, they dared not stand up and declare publicly that agreement. In the case of the seminary, in particular, but it holds true to some extent for the colleges as well, the strongest financial support often comes from the more conservative congregations and the institutions are economic prisoners of the most conservative elements in the Church. I suspect this has always been the case, but my experience vividly demonstrated to me that the very leaders whose responsibility it is to move the Church along with fresh insight and ongoing translation of the faith, as the human story unfolds and knowledge from the full spectrum of the respective disciplines of learning explodes, are not free to do so. To do so puts one's career in jeopardy and the institution at risk. This is the way traditions perpetuate themselves, preserve their originating vision, and insulate themselves from the threat of change. Finally, however, no person or institution can be insulated from change. In former ages and earlier times some measure of isolation was possible, but in a world marked by globalization and the information society, it is possible no longer. We are awash with knowledge of every conceivable subject under the sun and the Christian tradition must finally persuade of its truth and meaning in the market place of ideas and alternative religious visions. In a word, in the dizzying pace of historical development, the Church must change or die. © Grand Valley State University �Threat & Promise of One’s Mind Being Changed Richard A. Rhem Page10   The problem of deeply grounded, well-established institutional religion is precisely its clarity and completeness. It is a life map that gives a person, a community, an orientation in the world. It tells one who one is and how one should live. It creates a tribe, a community, perhaps a national identity. Life's questions are answered, confusions ordered and mysteries domesticated - not totally, but sufficiently to make life bearable, having some sense, meaning and purpose. But, the human experience in the cosmic drama is not static, but dynamic - ever changing, evolving, creating new realities to be negotiated and assimilated. Unless the conception of reality, the forms and the structures of the institution, are allowed to change and evolve with human knowledge and experience, the life map, the structural experience of the tradition will be more and more removed from real life, religion will be compartmentalized, no longer giving guidance and insight to live within the emerging human situation, rather becoming more and more irrelevant, an add-on to life rather than its generating center. The more I reflected on what I encountered in the hostile and fearful response to the essay I wrote on the extent of God's grace, the more I recognized how rigidly and uncritically the biblical/theological paradigm of my heritage was held. I came to an awareness of the parochial narrowness of my own tradition. As I think back on my own development, I realize my European study had opened up to me a whole new vista on Reformed theology simply by experiencing Church and society in the Netherlands from whence my forbears had come. There the Reformed faith had moved along with cultural development, whereas my experience and knowledge of my faith expression had been mediated through an immigrant mentality and piety- and that makes a world of difference. Dutch Reformed theology encountered the Enlightenment and was in conversation with the whole phenomenon of modernity, having to articulate the biblical faith in face of a wholly new cultural epoch. The immigrant community in this country, on the other hand, never really engaged the challenge of the modern period. In 1983, I was given a sabbatical which began in the fall, as I spent Monday and Tuesday in Ann Arbor at the University of Michigan where the Catholic theologian, Hans Küng, was giving public lectures on Monday evening and conducting a cross-discipline seminar for a three-hour period on Tuesday afternoon. The seminar was by invitation only and I was most fortunate to be invited, along with professors and students from the College of Arts and Sciences, the Law School, and the Medical School. Küng had just been disciplined for his bold theological probing by the Vatican. The courses he taught at the University of Tubingen in Germany were no longer accredited for those preparing for the priesthood. He had also just, along with David Tracy of the University of Chicago, gathered an international Ecumenical Symposium at Tubingen in 1983 to discuss "A New Paradigm of Theology." Papers delivered at the symposium are published in the volume Paradigm © Grand Valley State University �Threat & Promise of One’s Mind Being Changed Richard A. Rhem Page11   Change in Theology. At the symposium, Küng charted the epochal shifts in theology to test his scheme of periodization. Beginning with the primitive Christian apocalyptic paradigm, the historical progression moves through the ancient church Hellenistic, the medieval Roman Catholic, the Reformation Protestant with its two consequent paradigms of counter-reformation-Roman Catholic and Protestant Orthodox paradigms - the modern Enlightenment paradigm, and on to the present contemporary ecumenical paradigm. Küng came on the idea of paradigm shifts in Thomas S. Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, in which Kuhn portrayed scientific development as occurring, not as had been commonly assumed, in smooth cumulative progress, but rather in leaps triggered by paradigm shifts, the displacement of one model of understanding by another. Küng applied Kuhn's discovery to theological development and found points of significant shift there as well. Paradigm as Kuhn defined it and as Küng utilizes it means “an entire constellation of beliefs, values, techniques, and so one shared by the members of a given community.” Küng’s periodization marks off those points in the movement of history where a major shift in understanding took place, a shift from one constellation of beliefs to another - a change in the explanation model through which Christian faith was interpreted. The points of shift can be debated and the flow of history cannot be rigidly sectioned off. Nevertheless, the periodization Küng has suggested has been widely received. Insight into major paradigmatic shifts in the history of Christian dogmatic development was critically important for me. My major area of study at Leiden had been the History of Dogma, but the charting of the points of significant shift was very helpful to me in surveying the historical development. Having encountered the strong resistance to my probings of the traditional theological paradigm of my faith family, I began to realize that we had never faced the challenge of the modern world. In 1991, I published another piece in Perspectives entitled "Sleeping Through a Revolution,'' in which I set forth my growing awareness of the theological impasse of Reformed theology of Dutch origin in America. I wrote: Reformed theology in America, the roots of which lie in the Netherlands, has managed to sleep through the revolution of the modern world and survive. Through strong ethnic identity, internal growth, and a militant mind that maintained an adversarial attitude over against modern culture, a Reformed community of Dutch origin still exists. But the defensive posture that has largely characterized it has prevented it from translating the richness of its sixteenth-century legacy of Reformation theology into a proclamation of the gospel to engage modern thought. I stated my conclusion in straightforward fashion, contending: © Grand Valley State University �Threat & Promise of One’s Mind Being Changed Richard A. Rhem Page12   Theologically we are stuck, and the best and the brightest know it. Reformed orthodoxy has slept through the revolution of human understanding and knowledge created by the Enlightenment, never to this day having come to terms with the autonomy of the human person, the throwing off of all forms of authoritarianism, and the rise of historical thinking. These cultural assumptions are now being challenged. Many observers believe we are living at an epochal hinge point in history, experiencing the emergence of the post-modern age. But we will not be able to move directly from a seventeenth-century paradigm to the postmodern world without going through the baptism of the Enlightenment. While its assumptions are losing their self-evident status, what will not be lost is the value of critical rationality, and what will not be tolerated is any return to authoritarian claims, be they of church, of tradition, or of Bible. In theology old paradigms keep their adherents even when theological development has left them behind. But they can do so only by some form of authoritarian claim. In the case of Reformed orthodoxy the authoritarian claim of the Bible has held theological movement hostage, hindering meaningful dialogue with the sciences and philosophy. We are theologically stuck, and we will not become unstuck until we learn to value Scripture as authority, but break loose from its authoritarian use. Understandably, my contention was not received kindly. It was a serious charge and aroused a good deal of defensiveness and denial. But, I had supported my claim with a survey of developments on the broader cultural scene and specifically the philosophical/theological conversations that had marked continental theology. Recognizing the contemporary critique of Enlightenment thought, I pointed to developments in post-Modernism that held out possibilities for a fresh consideration of the 17th century paradigm that was still the ruling faith understanding. I concluded the essay pointing to the need to develop a new understanding of scripture, which I understood as the problem, the cause of the ideological impasse that marked my theological tradition. Of Reformed theology, I wrote: ... Its doctrine of Scripture has remained immune from the acids of criticism, and an authoritarian use of Scripture continues, making it impossible either to engage the cultural assumptions that remain as a legacy of the Enlightenment, or to capture the attention of an obviously spiritually destitute and groping present generation where the yearning for transcendence is pervasive. Perhaps the insights and breakthroughs in science and the spiritual bankruptcy of the West have created the moment that will compel us to move beyond both the theological impasse traced above and an authoritarian use of Scripture. In his biography of Karl Barth, Eberhard © Grand Valley State University �Threat & Promise of One’s Mind Being Changed Richard A. Rhem Page13   Busch records a conversation of Barth in which he referred to being dubbed orthodox. That was fine with Barth, if it pointed to a willingness “to learn from the Fathers.” But he rejected any restriction to the doctrinal position of any teacher school or confession… “Confessions” exist for us to go through them (not once but continually), not for us to return to them, take up our abode in them, and conduct our further thinking from their standpoint and in bondage to them. (Karl Barth. P. 375) That is the freedom we must discover in order to enter the contemporary discussion, bringing the richness of Reformed theology into engagement with a post-modern world. Having thrown out the challenge, I moved next to an essay on Scripture, "The Book That Binds Us" (December, 1992). It was here that I had long felt the problem of theological impasse was located. It was in a new understanding of the nature and function of scripture in the life of the Church that I discovered the freedom to think, to deal with the questions and issues that arise in the ongoing human story. And that freedom is the promise of the new insights that marked my mind change. I have lived through the sense of threat when faith formulations are challenged by new knowledge and ongoing human experience, but I have lived through it, emerging on the other side of the struggle with a larger vision, realizing that all along my God was too small. I have come to know a freedom and a joy in the human experience I had not earlier known. And I have found that the Mystery that is God, the cosmic reality that has been discovered through the sciences, and the wonder of being human can only fill one with awe. To live with awareness, wonder and gratitude is the deepest reverence, the highest devotion. This is what marks the religious quest in the emerging cosmic reality. References: Karl Barth. The Word of God and the Word of Man. Peter Smith Pub. Inc., 1958. Eberhard Busch. Karl Barth: His life from letters and autobiographical texts. SCM Press; First Edition edition, 2011. Hans Küng & David Tracy, editors. Paradigm Change in Theology. T. & T. Clark Publishers, 2000. Richard A. Rhem, “The Book That Binds Us,” Perspectives, December 1992. Richard A. Rhem, “The Habit of God’s Heart,” Perspectives, September 1988. Richard A. Rhem, “Sleeping Through a Revolution,” Perspectives, April 1991. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5d56bd8c292ec69651004b3e974183b7.mp3 372babea626dbde5de4964bdc5431cc0 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Series Summer Lecture Series: How My Mind Has Changed Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI References Karl Barth. The Word of God and the Word of Man, 1958, Eberhard Busch. Karl Barth: His Life from Letters and Autobiographical Texts, 2011, Hans Küng, David Tracy, Eds., Paradigm Change in Theology, 1983, 2000, Friedrich Schleiermacher. On Religion: Speeches to its Cultured Despisers, 1797 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RA-3-19990706 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-07-06 Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Title A name given to the resource The Threat and Promise of One's Mind Being Changed Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource eng Description An account of the resource Talk created, delivered, or published by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on July 6, 1999 entitled "The Threat and Promise of One’s Mind Being Changed", as part of the series "Summer Lecture Series: How My Mind Has Changed", at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Tags: Dogma, Reimagining the Faith, Inclusive Grace. Scripture references: Karl Barth. The Word of God and the Word of Man, 1958, Eberhard Busch. Karl Barth: His Life from Letters and Autobiographical Texts, 2011, Hans Küng, David Tracy, Eds., Paradigm Change in Theology, 1983, 2000, Friedrich Schleiermacher. On Religion: Speeches to its Cultured Despisers, 1797. Dogma Inclusive Grace Reimagining the Faith https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/564319e51c5731aff26a0a6d3ba9c66a.mp3 1d6a6e9bd83d61844766a8012dc9472c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Wed. Night Lecture Series Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RA-3-19920226 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1992-02-26 Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 Title A name given to the resource The Gender of God, Session 2 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource eng Description An account of the resource Talk created, delivered, or published by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on February 26, 1992 entitled "The Gender of God, Session 2", on the occasion of Wed. Night Lecture Series, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/18b365805ef3f033167c970275821251.mp3 c68f1e3a6088e0bee9f5f726c5800f41 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Wed. Night Lecture Series Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RA-3-19920219 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1992-02-19 Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 Title A name given to the resource The Gender of God, Session 1 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource eng Description An account of the resource Talk created, delivered, or published by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on February 19, 1992 entitled "The Gender of God, Session 1", on the occasion of Wed. Night Lecture Series, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e448efec1d046ba2e78ca10f62b97d7c.mp3 c6edcb173687e5651ec0738293d53c87 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Sunday Morning Talk Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI References Hans K Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RA-3-19901021 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1990-10-21 Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 Title A name given to the resource Talk on Hans Küng's Theology for the Third Millennium: An Ecumenical View Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource eng Description An account of the resource Talk created, delivered, or published by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on October 21, 1990 entitled "Talk on Hans Küng's Theology for the Third Millennium: An Ecumenical View", on the occasion of Sunday Morning Talk, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Hans Küng, Theology for the Third Millennium: An Ecumenical View. https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a433d6de91b47ab3c2e352f935014015.mp3 aef7fa22b06de15fbd8a335d66677929 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Tues. Night Talk/Discussion with Muskegon Classis Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RA-3-19890418 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1989-04-18 Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 Title A name given to the resource The Extent of God's Grace Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource eng Description An account of the resource Talk created, delivered, or published by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on April 18, 1989 entitled "The Extent of God's Grace", on the occasion of Tues. Night Talk/Discussion with Muskegon Classis. https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/0a5e74ab39ed767c9c2324ddc05eed25.pdf 5257a82ecff82ff95d205b4d527e54bc PDF Text Text On the Celebration of The Golden Wedding Anniversary Of Norm and Maureen Campbell Prayer offered by Richard A. Rhem September 2012 Oh God, Eternal One, in whom we live and move and have our being, in the midst of this happy celebration we pause consciously to experience and to acknowledge your Presence, present to us. We do so naturally at life’s critical junctures, life’s moments awash with meaning – those moments that cause our hearts to sing or to break, our minds to be radiant with light and illumination or numb in somber darkness. We pause; we are still. We are present to you who are present to us – the presence of Mystery in whom and before whom our lives are played out. In the quietness of this moment, we pause to give thanks for the fifty years of life together shared by Norm and Maureen – (two-thirds of their respective 75 years of life!) – for their love and faithfulness, for the richness of their experiences, for the model they are of strength and steadiness, of faith and devotion, of kindness and gentleness. We celebrate their years as lovers, partners, friends, and we give you thanks that, as children, grandchildren and a large circle of friends, we can share these moments with them. Memories wash over us of special times and seasons. The film of fifty years flashes through our minds – times when we laughed until the tears washed over our cheeks; �Anniversary Prayer Richard A. Rhem Page 2   times when the struggle was intense, and the goal far off; times when dreams came true, and times when dreams were shattered; times when joy burst the soul, and times when grief filled the heart; times of health and strength; times when health seemed threatened and the future put in question. Oh God, we remember with laughter and with tears, and we own it all, the whole long, wonderful, fragile, perilous, beautiful journey. For it is the tapestry of two lives lived well, lived fully, authentically, before your face – a tapestry with entwining threads of all the colors of the rainbow: brighter and more somber tones, light and shadow. And through it all your presence, your faithfulness, even your presence in absence. We give you thanks, O God, for your grace that has enabled them to be all they are, and we seek your benediction upon them as they move beyond this significant landmark. Fill their future years with the richness of harvest, enabling them to savor the fruits of their love and labor. Favor them with good health and even new adventure. Surround them with the loving care of their children, the happy exuberance of their grandchildren, and embrace of the circle of their friends. May your mercy be experienced with every breaking dawn and may peace mantle them with every golden sunset. And as they gaze on the grandeur of the night’s starry heaven, may they know themselves enwrapped together in the Mystery of the abyss of your steadfast love. With gratitude we gather around these tables, acknowledging the gifts of bread and wine. And in the midst of this joyous feast, we remember the one who broke bread and poured the cup, and has become for us the Bread of Life, the Wine of New Creation, Jesus Christ our Lord. �Anniversary Prayer Richard A. Rhem Page 3   It was my lucky day when Norm and Maureen showed up at CCC. Obviously they cared deeply about the church, about the faith, about compassion and justice. Intelligent, thoughtful, engaged, and just as nice as could be! With them we shared weddings, baptisms, funerals, and simply friendship. Nancy and I are blessed by them; to be their pastor a great privilege. Norm and Maureen, you have earned our respect and, more than that, our love. It is with great joy that we celebrate with you 75 years of life and 50 years of marriage. � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a9b7f30d7f2c7c615a316ef40295e1b8.wav 85525626d159b13a57dac6104b5b23da Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Family Gathering Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RA-1-20120901 Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf audio/wav Title A name given to the resource On the Celebration of the Golden Wedding Anniversary of the Campbells Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource eng Description An account of the resource Prayer created, delivered, or published by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on September 1, 2012 entitled "On the Celebration of the Golden Wedding Anniversary of the Campbells", on the occasion of Family Gathering. Tags: Family, Faith, Life Journey, Grace of God, Celebration of Life, Anniversary, Prayer. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2012-09-01 Anniversary Celebration of Life Faith Family Grace of God Life Journey Prayer https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a7517f7d56361154254e3731116e878b.pdf 011490e9050e0e06df7e39e1ac9a70d9 PDF Text Text Love, the Bridge between Now and Then A Service of Worship in Celebration of the Life of Mary June Packer, June 11, 1933 – January 5, 2015 Text: I Corinthians 13: 4-13, I John 4: 7-8, 12, 16 Richard A. Rhem The Lee Chapel, Sytsema Funeral Homes, Norton Shores, Michigan Monday, January 12, 2015 I have expressed to Bob and the family my deep sadness and shock at June’s sudden passing. I have been with them before in a time of tragic loss, felt bonded to them walking through the death of Mark less than thirteen months ago – and now, with no time to prepare to the extent that is possible – June’s death. From the moment I learned of her death I began to think of this moment, which is always the case with me. How can I bring her life to expression in the context of our Christian faith in which she was deeply nurtured? There was a time, perhaps two decades ago, when the Packers began to make a pilgrimage to Spring Lake on Sundays. That was quite a dynamic period for us at Christ Community Church. Without going into that whole experience, I suspect Bob and June were attracted by the ambience of grace and love that marked our community. There were open hearts and open arms to embrace any and all who longed for the smile of God’s favor as it came to expression in our midst. I may or may not be totally correct in my surmise, but what causes me to think thus is the person I came to know as June. She had a grace about her. She loved easily, deeply, broadly and, of course, Bob her willing accomplice. That is the context out of which my meditation arises as we celebrate her life. Love, the Bridge between Now and Then In the decade of my retirement I have continued to wrestle with the God Question, our whence and whither and the meaning of our being in the meantime. As I grow older, I suppose I grow more open to life’s deep questions – the ultimate questions. A few weeks ago one of Grand Rapids’ fine churches invited me to lead a discussion on heaven in an adult forum. I was to be the third of three guests. As © Grand Valley State University �Love, the Bridge between Now and Then Richard A. Rhem Page 2 the time drew near I received an email that told me how the session was being announced: The Rev. Richard A. Rhem will facilitate a discussion on faith, life, heaven and human experience. We will talk about classical interpretations of Scripture, the progressive perspective, and whatever else comes to mind. Well, needless to say, I knew that was way beyond my capacity. But, since the initial invitation mentioned heaven, following the first two presentations on books recording near death experiences, I focused on heaven or, more accurately – Is this all there is or is there more to come? Of course, no one knows; this is not a mystery that human rationality can solve with more intense research. Finally it is a matter of trust – fundamental trust – and, being within the Christian tradition, we hear the biblical witness. The more I ponder our human existence before the face of the ultimate Mystery, the more I am convinced that Love is the Source, Ground and Goal of Being and, thus, of our being. In the Scripture I read from I John 4, we have the claim that God is Love. This is a fascinating paragraph for, after that statement, the writer goes on to acknowledge that no one has ever seen God but, he continues, If we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. And later he declares, God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. This is a profound insight into Ultimate Being and our sharing in that ultimate reality to the extent that we love and are loved. Such human love is described nowhere more fully than in St. Paul’s Hymn of Love in I Corinthians 13. Verses 4 to 7 are a portrait of one who loves and, frankly, I suspect you will, with me, see in that description a portrait of June. But it is the next paragraph to which I would point for there we see referenced the fact that human being is immersed in mystery we cannot dissolve. Without explaining the context to which St. Paul addresses his claim, I would only say he acknowledges that in our present existence we live with questions and a dull and dim view of life’s mystery. …now we see in a mirror dimly. Questions plague us – all the whys, all the seemingly senseless suffering and tragedy. But that is not the last word – to the “now” there is a “then.” © Grand Valley State University �Love, the Bridge between Now and Then Richard A. Rhem Page 3 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. Love never ends. Loving here we gain a glimpse of something more. Losing those we love, we have a deep assurance that they have moved from love’s “now” to love’s “then,” lost in wonder, love and praise. I offer this hope and comfort to you, not because the Bible says so, but out of an ever-deepening experience, a human experience – of love now which the fundamental trust of my life assures me of love then – the perfection, completion, fullness of our deepest loves and fondest hopes. Our loves now are yet beset by pain, loss, deep grief. There is no denial of that – only the denial that that is the last word. Love is now saturated with tears; Love is then in fullness in the Sacred Presence who is Love. Now, Love – heaven’s foretaste; Then, Love – heaven’s fullness. With us, June knew the now; before us, she knows the then, which for her is the Eternal Now. Could we say, Heaven is here; Heaven is now; and the best is yet to be! Let us pray. O God, we would be still and know that You are God – Source of all being, Mysterious Mover of the ongoing cosmic drama, creatively breathing fresh surprises into the tapestry of our history, graciously present to us in those moments of awareness when we come to ourselves, when for at least a brief time, light dawns upon us and we are saturated with wonder – at the sight of setting sun or starry sky, or landscape bathed in brilliant winter sun glistening on newly fallen snow. Then in silence and solitude we know what is beyond knowing – © Grand Valley State University �Love, the Bridge between Now and Then Richard A. Rhem then a serenity sweeps over our souls and we know all is gift, for we did not create ourselves nor our world – not sun or moon, not the air we breathe, not the restless surf locked under miles of ice, unable to caress the sandy beach. Then we know we are part of something so much larger than the narrow parameters of our daily experience and limited understanding. Before the wonder of it all, we sense we are embraced, caught up in something the dimensions of which we cannot begin to take in – that Mystery that has addressed us, eliciting from us in turn the response of address, when from our depths we utter, “O God.” Then, knowing beyond knowing, we know we have been found by our Source and in turn have found our resting place. Source and resting place, present to us in mysterious and gracious Presence – it is enough. Only gratitude fills our being. O God, in moments of awareness when we are attentive, present to the awesome gift of life, the beauty, the marvel of it all, the potential of the human creature, whose consciousness is the consciousness of the cosmos, whose voice is the speech of Being, we are lost in wonder, love and praise. June lived with such deep awareness and wonder. June was one of those rare persons, embracing the world, feeling deep passion and able to bring truth and beauty to expression through her gift of artistry. And her love of bird and flower and earth’s grandeur brought to expression in her art was a faint sign of her deep love of those in her intimate circle of family and beyond. © Grand Valley State University Page 4 �Love, the Bridge between Now and Then Richard A. Rhem Deep lover she was, whose embrace gave assurance that all would be well and the best was yet to be. The grace and dignity with which she responded to tragedy and deep hurt evidenced one of great soul – and enabled those who lived in the ambience of her grace to move on without bitterness, with love and hope. All of this was the fruit of her deep rootedness in Your Love, O God. You uphold us with everlasting arms. You overshadow us with a gracious Presence. You bear us up on eagle’s wings; beneath your sheltering wings we find refuge and peace. Sacred Mystery of all being, of our being, consciously aware of our lives in your light, we worship. We know that all will be well, all will be well. All manner of things will be well. Now, while our hearts are open, our spirits tender, mantle us with Your gentle grace. Assuage deep grief. Heal us, O God; heal us now. And now, as Jesus taught us, we pray, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. © Grand Valley State University Page 5 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Funeral Service for Mary June Packer Scripture Text I Corinthians 13: 4-13, I John 4: 7-8, 12, 16 Location The location of the interview Grand Haven, Michigan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-20150112 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2015-01-12 Title A name given to the resource Love, the Bridge between Now and Then Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on January 12, 2015 entitled "Love, the Bridge between Now and Then", on the occasion of Funeral Service for Mary June Packer, at Grand Haven, Michigan. Scripture references: I Corinthians 13: 4-13, I John 4: 7-8, 12, 16. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/20acc594202a7c5ec574c0739a3e06f8.pdf bce79df8413e033880d65f270cec814d PDF Text Text An Old Question and Christian Hope A Service of Worship in Celebration of the Life of Harry F. “Bud” Wynne-Parry, December 16, 1924 – January 5, 2015 Richard A. Rhem VanZantwick Bartels Kammeraad Funeral Home Grand Haven, Michigan January 10, 2015 A few weeks ago I was invited to lead a discussion in one of Grand Rapids’ historic churches – Park Congregational – on the subject of heaven. I was to be the third of three speakers, the first two dealing with books on near-death experiences. When I read what they had advertised as my subject, I was somewhat taken aback. I was announced thus: Rev. Richard A. Rhem will facilitate a discussion on faith, life, heaven, and the human experience. We will talk about classical interpretations of scripture, the progressive perspective, and whatever else comes to mind. Who could fulfill such an assignment – “faith, life, heaven and the human experience”! While I certainly was not up to such an assignment, I realized how much the human family wonders about human being, meaning, destiny. We rush through life, our lives busy with so many obligations, responsibilities, distractions and then at times we are stopped in our tracks and questions of ultimate concern press themselves upon us. We wonder, we question, we long for some light to illumine our lives and answer our questions. Jeanne, when I called to inquire of Bud and determine when I might see him, he was nearing his end. Faithfully you watched and waited, cared and wondered. We set a time. But before that time arrived, he had breathed his last. You called to tell me and then after a pause, you said, “Dick, did he know? Is he okay”? Your voice was quiet; you were so intense. I was moved by your loving, caring, wondering question. Having just dealt with precisely your question so recently I realized anew that finally with those we love, indeed, for ourselves, we want to know everything is okay. It is an old question, maybe the oldest since the dawn of human consciousness, awareness, awareness of the other: Is this all there is? Is there more beyond death’s pale? © Grand Valley State University �An Old Question and Christian Hope Richard A. Rhem Page 2 We find this wondering in the ancient Hebrew poet, the author of Ecclesiastes, in the familiar third chapter. A time we are born and a time we die. …God has made everything beautiful in its own time and has put an eternal yearning in our hearts even as we live before the face of Mystery. The poet was skeptical about so much. I often wonder how his work got into the canon of Scripture. But he wondered and realized there was a sense of something more that, even in all his skepticism and agnosticism, he could not finally deny. That something more is strongly pointed to in the New Testament. St. Paul’s Hymn of Love, I Corinthians 13, points to that something more; he writes of the “now” and the “then,” acknowledging that now we wonder with a lack of clarity but he has no doubt that the clouds will part and shadows disappear “then.” For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And his major point is, of course, that Love is the greatest gift in human experience and Love abides – Love now with questions, Love finally revealing life’s mystery beyond death. That is our Christian hope. And so, when asked about life’s great mysteries and what lies beyond, I realize I have no carefully delineated answers. I have a fundamental trust that beyond the pale Love is, and thus light is and peace, and I trust All will be well. All will be well. All manner of things will be well. And those we’ve loved and lost awhile are finally home in Light Eternal. Let not our hearts be troubled. Let us be in the spirit of prayer in the presence of the Creative Source of all being, in whom we live and move and have our being – the Sacred Mystery hidden in a cloud of unknowing. Eternal God, Source, Guide and Goal of all that is, from You we receive life as a gift and to You our life returns. In the Psalmist’s poetic expression, You send forth your breath, your Spirit, and they are created. You take away their breath, they die. © Grand Valley State University �An Old Question and Christian Hope Richard A. Rhem We find our comfort in life and in death that we are not our own but belong to You, a faithful God whose steadfast love embraces us on this fascinating and fragile human pilgrimage. And thus we find it most natural at such a time as this, in such a place as this, to lift up our hearts in worship, to bow in Your presence before the mystery of life and the reality of death. We worship for we are aware of the wonder of creation, its beauty and its terror, its loveliness and its pain. We turn to You, O God; we rest in You; we trust where we do not know. In You we hope, and to You we commend those we’ve loved and lost awhile. Good and Gracious God, You breathe into us and we have the gift of life; we commend our breath to You, and thus our earthly pilgrimage is ended. You, O God, are the source and giver of life, and to You all life returns. In the beginning, in the end, You are God. And in the meantime, this in-between time, You uphold us with everlasting arms. You overshadow us with a gracious Presence. You bear us up on eagle’s wings; beneath your sheltering wings we find refuge and peace. Sacred Mystery of all being, of our being, consciously aware of our lives in your light, we worship. We know that all will be well, all will be well, all manner of things will be well. That was the trust of the one whose life we remember and celebrate today. Images tumble through our minds of the way he was – so alive, so sharp, so outgoing, © Grand Valley State University Page 3 �An Old Question and Christian Hope Richard A. Rhem a beacon of light, a bearer of joy. Loving husband, cared for so faithfully by his Jeanne, caring and conscientious father, friend of many, full of fun and constant in conversation, generous, meticulous, and organized to the T. And thus, O God, we celebrate Your grace in his life and remember him with affection and respect. Knowing he was resting on everlasting arms in the embrace of Grace, he was unafraid, knowing he was rested in God’s eternal love. And in such a time as this, in such a place as this, Gracious God, we are grateful above all that the end is not broken health and dreams unfulfilled, swallowed up in death, but rather the confidence that to live is to live unto the Lord, and to die is to die unto the Lord, so then whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. Receive our thanksgiving, O God. Grant the comfort of Your Spirit, renew our hope and lead us on in the confidence that nothing can ever separate us from Your love in Christ Jesus our Lord, who taught us to pray, saying, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. © Grand Valley State University Page 4 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Funeral Service for Harry F. "Bud" Wynne-Parry Location The location of the interview VanZantwick Bartels Kammeraad Funeral Home, Grand Haven, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-20150110 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2015-01-10 Title A name given to the resource An Old Question and Christian Hope Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on January 10, 2015 entitled "An Old Question and Christian Hope", on the occasion of Funeral Service for Harry F. "Bud" Wynne-Parry, at VanZantwick Bartels Kammeraad Funeral Home, Grand Haven, MI. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/42aad1dcc39756726ecb2fcb31f2ab5c.pdf 9a87548e65cc0b7da3540047fd1f0c4c PDF Text Text Rhem Family Christmas Service Richard A. Rhem 9407 Whispering Sands Drive West Olive MI Christmas Day, 2014 It may surprise you how much I think about this time together and how much I treasure these moments. Not the grandchildren so much but you, our children, I think have some sense of the way I have traveled, the distance I have come from the loving embrace of my beloved parents. I suspect they would be concerned about where I am in my faith journey. They were sincere, devout, faithful in faith and lip expression. I think of them – such truly good people. And, of course, coming along when I did, it was like growing up with four mothers – Esther, 13 years, Jo, 11 years, Lois, 9 years older than me. So I grew up in an adult household where there was a uniform faith and practice and in my mind and heart it was embraced without question. I was an “old soul” young man. And I fulfilled my father’s prayer – he gave me to the service of God. I have traveled a million miles from the faith understanding that was imprinted on my soul, the understanding I embraced as an adolescent, that I totally believed as I matriculated through college and seminary. My ministry began in Spring Lake and I was as conservative in my faith understanding as the day I made profession of my faith in Third Reformed, Kalamazoo, after a summer camp experience at Camp Geneva after my 9th grade graduation. From childhood to seminary graduation to ordination, I was a true believer in orthodox Reformed faith. The Christian faith in which I was nurtured, the faith with which I emerged from seminary, the faith I preached I truly believed was “the way, the truth, and the life” and outside of Jesus’ death and resurrection there was no salvation – and this was an eternal matter! I have written about the early Spring Lake years – the beginning of questions and wondering – the move to New Jersey where the questions only grew larger and, finally, the move to the Netherlands – Leiden, Professor Berkhof – four years of indepth study, wondering, evolving – the return to Spring Lake and the need to bring to expression that with which I had been engaged. It was my life situation that sparked the eruption of the congregation – from First Reformed to Christ Community – that deserves a chapter of its own. But let me skip to 1984, Palm Sunday – the sermon “Jesus, You are Really Somebody!” In that sermon I made the bold claim that “Jesus died because of our sin, not for our sins.” © Grand Valley State University �Rhem Family Christmas Service Richard A. Rhem Page 2 That was a watershed for me – a move away from atonement theology – Jesus paying the penalty for our sins/ we cleansed by Jesus’ blood as we confessed him Savior and Lord. The exclusivist theology claimed that through Jesus’ death alone could one be saved eternally. Apart from faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus, there was no salvation. That Palm Sunday, 1984, I moved away from absolutist, exclusive religion and opened the gate to a new understanding of God, of grace and salvation – and saw Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life – and all serious and sincere religious faith and practice as true and good – to be judged by the fruit found in the lives of those who practice a given religious way. We miss our faith community – the people, the gatherings, the music, the rituals, the celebration of the Seasons. All of that shapes and forms and creates life-shaping practice. It puts one in the milieu of the Sacred Mystery, the creative Source of all, the Love that is the Ground of Being, however imaged. For you, children, grandchildren, it is my hope, my prayer that you will find your way to a fundamental trust, a place to rest and hope and find joy and peace. I marvel at how far I have traveled from my childhood religious faith understanding and practice. But one thing has remained with me from my childhood and youth – its seriousness, its authenticity. That remains with me, and however you, my children and grandchildren, find and express a place to be, a place that gives hope and peace and calls you to the good life, I hope it will be serious, authentic and life-giving. Finally, the Way of Jesus is the way of love. Live in love and all will be well. Christmas Prayer with Family 12-25-2014 Eternal One, Sacred Mystery, in whom we live and move and have our being – we are gathered as family. Natural ties bind us but the love expands to those with whom we fall in love and share our lives. So here we are – a family core and those added in love, and somehow those additions meld into one so we are family – not in-laws as it were, but just one human grouping, a family bound by ties of love. Here we are – different in so many ways, yet bonded in the magic bond of love. © Grand Valley State University �Rhem Family Christmas Service Richard A. Rhem What a mystery, what a wonder – How wonderful! Ah, dear God, we celebrate that millennia-old story of one who came and so impacted his day, his age and ages to follow that we gather to celebrate his birth and again at Christmas, pledge to be like him, to follow in his steps. Easier said than done – He forgave those who crucified him – He acknowledged a sense of being forsaken. Finally, he entrusted himself to you, O God. Yet we know it is true – He was true – non-violent resistance is the only weapon of love. Violence begets violence; hate begets hate; war begets war; love begets love, the world’s only hope. Eternal God, Sacred Mystery, Creative Source of all that is, of our lives, we would follow him, be like him, for we believe it is not only the one hope for the world but it is to live life at its fullest and best: to be true, to be good, to live with compassion, finally, to love not just the lovable, but so to love that it changes, transforms those whose lives have never been touched with love. O God, that is the miracle, the mystery, our only hope – to love. So easy here in family, easy for those like us, but then the others, the strangers, those so differently shaped… Knowing as we do deep down that love transforms both the lover and the one loved. Love heals, binds, makes one – only love, a grace we possess in fits and starts, a love that itself must come from You, Oh loving God, whose face we have glimpsed in the face of Jesus. Thus we worship today; we remember his birth and Your gift – a way to live, the Way of Jesus, the way of love…. Amen. © Grand Valley State University Page 3 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Christmas Day Location The location of the interview Whispering Sands Drive, West Olive, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-20141225 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014-12-25 Title A name given to the resource Rhem Family Christmas Service Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on December 25, 2014 entitled "Rhem Family Christmas Service", on the occasion of Christmas Day, at Whispering Sands Drive, West Olive, MI. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e7ca3560e05a3241f0a4b24309029741.pdf 66162dd6e8ba24367b8ffee05df7d86c PDF Text Text The Old Story Ever New: Formation and Freedom Richard A. Rhem Park Church Grand Rapids, Michigan November 23, 2014 Transcription of the written talk I created this title, “The Old Story Ever New: Formation and Freedom,” from what Max wrote in the “advertisement” about my “talk:” Rev. Richard A. Rhem will facilitate a discussion on faith, life, heaven, and the human experience. We will talk about classical interpretations of scripture, the progressive perspective, and whatever else comes to mind. Please join us! I was greatly relieved to read that he promised that I would “facilitate a discussion” rather than promise that I would lay bare all the mysteries of our faith and human experience. I was further relieved when our facilitator this morning, Camille, who has long known me from our Spring Lake days, wrote me, “I don’t expect you to formally speechify.” You see, she knows me well; I’ve been known to “speechify” although I had not heard that term before. So I promise I won’t speechify! Camille gave me a brief account of the first two discussions in this series and I’m sure you have had a meaningful time together. From my assignment I sense, when the series was conceived, your leaders were thinking that after two discussions on near death experiences, you might be ready to step back and reflect on human experience in the larger picture – Is this all there is? Is there more beyond death’s pale? What do our classic creeds affirm? How do we interpret the biblical message? How do we reconcile ancient creeds and ever-emerging human knowledge? If I have sensed correctly that these are questions your leaders anticipated in the wake of the first two sessions, then it will not be so much answers we seek today but clarifying the questions with which we live, even as we rest in a fundamental trust. © Grand Valley State University   �The Old Story Ever New: Formation & Freedom Richard A. Rhem Page 2   As I invite you to reflect with me on these questions and the meaning of our human journey, let me say a word about how I approach these ultimate concerns. I see such questions as calling one to serious engagement with the meaning of life – not questions that have answers. That was not always the case for me for I was nurtured and formed within a strong orthodox Reformed dogmatic system. Dogma is such a familiar term in religious parlance that I can probably take for granted that everyone knows the meaning of the term. Yet precisely such familiarity sometimes misses a term’s nuance and depth. I went to the dictionary. Dogma comes from the Greek – “that which one thinks true, an opinion, decree, from dokein, to think, seem.” Meanings listed: 1. a doctrine; tenet; belief (also collectively); 2. a positive, arrogant assertion of opinion; dogmatic utterance; 3. in theology, a doctrine or body of doctrines formally and authoritatively affirmed. Under “dogmatic” – “asserted a priori or without proof; asserting opinion in a positive or arrogant manner.” Checking the synonyms sheds light on the danger of dogma: “imperious, dictatorial, authoritative, arrogant, magisterial, self-opinionated, positive.” While I hope I was not authoritative, magisterial, arrogant, etc., I did believe there were clear answers to ultimate questions and they were to be found in the inerrant, infallible Word of God. Although that may sound like I was confident, assured and certain of the Christian faith I professed and preached, as a matter of fact I was afraid, unsure and defensive. Every new emerging insight, from growing knowledge of historical development, from exploding data about biblical formation, from breakthroughs in the sciences, threatened my neatly formed faith structure. It has been a long and painful journey for me – so deeply formed, so seriously threatened. When the carefully crafted structure of orthodox Reformed faith collapsed in the pursuit of a faith I could rest in, I found there was something deeper than I had ever known – a fundamental trust that God is Love and Love is the grain of the universe. I found it to be true for me what the early 20th century German scholar Rudolph Otto wrote in his book The Holy, where he attempts to analyze “the feeling that remains when the concept fails.” I sense that is what you are about in this discussion group – plumbing the deep questions of meaning in our human pilgrimage. There was a time I would have felt compelled to have answers. Thank God I now know I can only help clarify the questions as together we wonder about this amazing human journey. © Grand Valley State University �The Old Story Ever New: Formation & Freedom Richard A. Rhem Page 3   On further reflection, that early deep formation I experienced was not in vain. The rational system, the dogma – that, I have learned, was a futile effort to define the Mystery of Reality – the Sacred, the Holy. But the community, the symbols, the rituals, the liturgy – the whole religious drama – in my case, the Christian story – moves me still and points me to the Sacred Mystery of the ongoing cosmic journey. In her beautiful book Physics and Faith: The Luminous Web, Barbara Brown Taylor writes, When I am dreaming quantum dreams, the picture I see is more like that web of relationships – an infinite web, flung across the vastness of space like a luminous net. It is made of energy, not thread. As I look, I can see light moving through it like a pulse moving through veins. I know the light is an illusion, since what I am seeing moves faster than light, but what I see out there is no different from what I feel inside. There is a living hum that might be coming from my neurons but might just as well be coming from the furnace of the stars. When I look up at them there is a small commotion in my bones, as the ashes of dead stars that house my marrow rise up like metal filings toward the magnet of their living kin. Where is God in this picture? All over the place. Up there. Inside my skin and out. God is the web, the energy, the space, the light – not captured in them, as if any of those concepts were more real than what unites them, but revealed in that singular, vast net of relationship that animates everything that is. Marvelous imagery! The whole of reality saturated with the Spirit, the Breath, that is the energy of the Sacred Mystery we call God, a Sacred Mystery we describe as Love because, at one moment in the luminous web that enlivens all that is, a face appeared – the Logos (Word) became flesh, and God, the X factor, that abstract Ground, Source and Goal of all there is, became concrete. Now there was a clue as to the nature of the originating, everything-permeating, infinite Mystery that takes our breath away and gives us breathing room. Resting there, I readily recognize I have not “proven” anything rationally. But, of course, that is what I have come to understand – the ultimate mystery of the cosmic web into which our lives are woven is not available to rational analysis but rather only to supra-rational or trans-rational, deeply intuitive fundamental trust before the presence of Mystery. Brilliant scholars in various fields deny this and conclude quite differently. For example, the Nobel Prize winning biologist Jacque Monod writes in his work Chance and Necessity: If he accepts this (negative) message in its full significance, man must at last wake out of his millenary dreams and discover his total solitude, his fundamental isolation. He must realize that like a gypsy, he lives on the © Grand Valley State University �The Old Story Ever New: Formation & Freedom Richard A. Rhem Page 4   boundary of an alien world; a world that is deaf to his music, and as indifferent to his hopes as it is to his suffering and his crimes. Similarly, Erich Fromm, one of the world’s leading psychoanalysts, wrote in Man for Himself, There is only one solution to his problem: to face the truth, to acknowledge his fundamental aloneness in a universe indifferent to his fate, to recognize that there is no power transcending him which can solve his problems for him. If we humans are defined by our reason alone and have to do only with rational argument – Monod and Fromm define our human situation with clarity – we are alone and this is all there is. But there are other thoughtful persons who deny our humanity can be delineated by reason alone. In his major early work, the Catholic scholar Hans Küng describes the advent and development of modern atheism in the thinking of Feuerbach, Marx, Freud and Nietzsche, ending with Nietzsche’s nihilism. A section on nihilism concludes: “Nihilism – possible, irrefutable, but unproved.” From that point, Küng’s next major heading is “Yes to Reality – Alternative to Nihilism.” Within this heading is a subsection he entitles “Fundamental Mistrust or Fundamental Trust? Küng obviously will build a case for religious faith building on fundamental trust. In another work he affirms, To believe in an eternal life means, in reasonable trust, in enlightened faith, in tried and tested hope – to rely on the fact that I shall one day be fully understood, freed from guilt and definitively accepted and can be myself without fear; that my impenetrable and ambivalent existence, like the profoundly discordant history of humanity as a whole, will one day become finally transparent and the question of the meaning of history one day be finally answered. (Eternal Life, p. 231) The late Dag Hammarskjold, a General Secretary of the United Nations, wrote in his spiritual diary, Markings, I don’t know who or what put the question. I don’t know when it was put. I don’t even remember answering, but at that moment I did answer “Yes” to someone or something and from that hour I was certain that existence is meaningful, and that, therefore, my life in self-surrender has had a goal. I love that expression – far beyond the limits of rational control – a deeply felt intuition of the Presence of the Sacred Mystery we call God. © Grand Valley State University �The Old Story Ever New: Formation & Freedom Richard A. Rhem Page 5   In his Opinion column in The New York Times, David Brooks cites the poet Christian Wiman who, in his My Bright Abyss, points to the contemporary sense of cosmic connectedness in reference to the movie “Interstellar”: But in the era of quantum entanglement and relativity, everything looks emergent and interconnected. Life looks less like a machine and more like endlessly complex patterns of waves and particles. Vast social engineering projects look less promising, because of the complexity, but webs of loving and meaningful relationships can do amazing good. As the poet Christian Wiman wrote in his masterpiece, My Bright Abyss, “If quantum entanglement is true, if related particles react in similar or opposite ways even when separated by tremendous distances, then it is obvious that the whole world is alive and communicating in ways we do not fully understand. And we are part of that life, part of that communication….” I suspect “Interstellar” will leave many people with a radical openness to strange truth just below and above the realm of the everyday. That makes it something of a cultural event. (David Brooks, NYT, 11/21/14) As one who began in a serious orthodox understanding of Christian faith which was defensively reacting to the overpowering movement of Enlightenment Rationality – thus entering an arena in which it could never prevail, I’ve come to rest deeply in the fundamental trust in which I was nurtured. With the contemporary sense of an interconnected cosmic dance of Being, I find great peace and rest in a conviction that Heaven is here, heaven is now and the best is yet to be! References: David Brooks, “Love and Gravity,” New York Times, Nov. 20, 2014 Hans Küng. Eternal Life: Life After Death as a Medical, Philosophical, and Theological Problem, p. 231. Wipf & Stock Pub., 2003 Barbara Brown Taylor. Physics and Faith: The Luminous Web. Cowley Publications, 2000. © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Park Street Discussion Group Location The location of the interview Park Church, Grand Rapids, MI References David Brooks, "Love and Gravity," NYT, Nov. 20, 2014, Hans K Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-20141123 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014-11-23 Title A name given to the resource The Old Story Ever New: Formation and Freedom Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on November 23, 2014 entitled "The Old Story Ever New: Formation and Freedom", on the occasion of Park Street Discussion Group, at Park Church, Grand Rapids, MI. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Dogma Enlightenment Faith Journey Love at Core of the Universe Sacred Mystery Trust https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/49c4f2edec6ef7d1a97ce7a3f640402a.pdf dd79361a24ed6b4c1a25ce0f08c8ce6d PDF Text Text Restless Mind and Quiet Heart Quest and Rest Text: Job 23: 1-10; Psalm 42: 1-5; John 3: 1-10; I John 4: 7-8, 12, 16 Richard A. Rhem Freedom Village Holland, Michigan September 28, 2014 Transcription of the written meditation Once in a while in the ministry of preaching I have discovered not only some fresh insight into the biblical faith as I worked on a passage, but some new insight into myself. Now on the threshold of my 80th birthday, it happened again. When I decided on my theme for today I was well aware that I would be probing the question of my life – the God Question. I have lived a “God-obsessed” life and that not surprisingly. On the day of my ordination to the ministry I received a letter from my father relating the fact that, when my mother was carrying me, he prayed that, should I be a boy (women’s ordination not yet in the picture), he would dedicate me to God’s service. Well aware that we don’t choose, God must call, one of my early memories as a child is his telling those who referenced me as a young lad that his prayer was that God would call me to the ministry. As a child I was a bit embarrassed but I got the message! Interestingly, I never considered doing anything else and I never rebelled against the pre-programmed vocational “choice.” However my ministry has been a journey of probing the God Question and the years of my retirement have only given me more time to continue the quest. I still read and wonder, question and probe. And, as I do that, I never doubt being held in the embrace of God’s love as I have come to experience it in the face of Jesus. When I decided on my theme – Restless Mind and Quiet Heart – Quest and Rest, I was well aware that I was describing my own spiritual journey – always wondering, questioning – always securely resting. However, as I began to gather materials and ideas for this meditation, I came to a realization that the God Question goes on and is alive and well to the present. I saw afresh, or for the first time, my own spiritual journey – a restless mind © Grand Valley State University   �Restless Mind and Quiet Heart: Quest and Rest Richard A. Rhem Page 2   seeking to come to a critical, intellectual understanding of the story of religion and, specifically, the Christian faith. But doing so with a quiet heart because of the fundamental trust in which I was spiritually formed. The insight into my own journey had to do with what was happening on the broader cultural scene. I was ordained in 1960 as a very conservative Reformed Christian minister. I’m sure you remember the 60s. Just for fun I googled the term and was reminded of that decade, so tumultuous, as much that had been taken for granted was put in question or simply overturned. The 1960s was a decade that began on I January 1960 and ended on 31 December 1969. The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends around the globe. This “cultural decade” is more loosely defined than the actual decade, beginning around 1963 and ending around 1974. “The Sixties”, as they are known in both scholarship and popular culture, is a term used by historians, journalists, and other objective academics; in some cases nostalgically to describe the counterculture and revolution in social norms about clothing, music, drugs, dress, sexuality, formalities, and schooling. Conservatives denounce the decade as one of irresponsible excess, flamboyance, and decay of social order. The decade was also labeled the Swinging Sixties because of the fall or relaxation of social taboos especially relating to racism and sexism that occurred during this time. From Wikipedia The world was changing around me. Time magazine for April 8, 1966, (the Easter Issue!) had a black cover with the question “Is God Dead? in red letters. The God is Dead theologians created quite a stir. The New Georgia Encyclopedia (August 6, 2013) reports: A popular debate over whether “God is dead” was occasioned by the socalled radical theology propounded in the 1960s by such theologians as William Hamilton, Gabriel Vahanian, and Paul van Buren. The best known of these proponents was Thomas J. J. Altizer, then a professor of religion at Emory University in Atlanta. The controversy reflected many of the broader cultural and political changes in American society often associated with that decade. “We must realize that the death of God is an historical event, that God has died in our cosmos, in our history, in our [existence],” Altizer claimed. His frequently provocative manner of speaking, which masked a more complex discussion taking place among academic theologians, for a brief time made him a minor celebrity in the popular media. Although the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche had asserted the “death of God” nearly a century earlier and a theological movement had already adopted the phrase to express the perceived incompatibility © Grand Valley State University �Restless Mind and Quiet Heart: Quest and Rest Richard A. Rhem Page 3   between a modern worldview and belief in a transcendent deity, the controversy did not fully erupt until 1965. For a decade before this, Altizer wrote, he “had been torn between an interior certainty of the death of God in modern history…and a largely mute but nevertheless unshakable conviction of the truth of the Christian faith.” It was in such a time that this very conservative, very traditional, rather insecure and somewhat defensive preacher began. I won’t bore you with the details but, after four years in Spring Lake and three in Midland Park, New Jersey, I had begun to realize that I needed help; I needed to go back to school! Again, without boring you with the details, I went to The Netherlands, the University of Leiden, being accepted as a graduate student by a great theologian and wonderful human being, Professor Hendrikus Berkhof. As I rose to leave his study after our initial meeting, I noticed a piece of paper pinned to a drape. On it in the blue ink of a ditto copy were the words of Tennyson: Our little systems have their day, They have their day and cease to be. They are but broken lights of Thee, And Thou, O Lord, art more than they. It was an epiphany moment. My little system was broken. I desperately needed a new understanding of the Christian Faith if ever I was again to bring the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But God was more than my little system that was broken. Four years of intensive study, reading, writing, conversation with my Professor followed. During those years I was not sure if I would preach again, but I was learning and getting the education I never had, not because I didn’t have good teachers but because I was not open to learn. Now with existential hunger I began at least to understand the questions. The Spring Lake congregation invited me to return and I did. And so I began again, this time quite a different person, now preaching and teaching out of my European experience, the restless mind now dealing with faith’s question but, saturated with Grace, a heart at rest. But it hasn’t gotten any easier. If the 60s were revolutionary in society as a whole and the Death of God theologians challenged the very existence of God, there was no possibility of returning to business as usual. The God Question was in play. As I came to my retirement in 2004, a new generation of scholars created the new atheism. New Atheism is a social and political movement in favour of atheism and secularism promoted by a collection of modern atheist writers who have advocated the view that “religion should not simply be tolerated but © Grand Valley State University �Restless Mind and Quiet Heart: Quest and Rest Richard A. Rhem Page 4   should be countered, criticized, and exposed by rational argument wherever its influence arises.” There is uncertainty about how much influence the movement has had on religious demographics, but the increase in atheist groups, student societies, publications and public appearances has coincided with the non-religious being the largest growing demographic, followed by Islam and evangelicalism in the US and UK. The 2004 publication of The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason by Sam Harris, a bestseller in the US, marked the first of a series of popular bestsellers. Harris was motivated by the events of September 11, 2001, which he laid directly at the feet of Islam, while also directly criticizing Christianity and Judaism. Two years later Harris followed up with Letter to a Christian Nation, which was also a severe criticism of Christianity. Also in 2006, following his television documentary The Root of All Evil?, Richard Dawkins published The God Delusion, which was on the New York Times bestseller list for 51 weeks. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Atheism) Recently I have been picking up some well-worn books on my shelves, which I remember were breakthrough books, writings that made a deep impact on me in my quest to understand the mysteries of God, cosmos and human being. The British New Testament scholar John Knox, in his The Humanity and Divinity of Christ, wrote a statement that spoke deeply to me – gave me, I suppose, some self-understanding in my spiritual journey. Knox wrote: For our hearts cannot finally find true what our minds find false. (p. 107) I have on occasion rephrased his claim: The heart cannot rest where the mind cannot follow. In either case Knox’s claim is that heart and mind, though with different functions, must be in harmony. Intellectual quest cannot issue in a heart at peace. A peaceful heart cannot be secured without the mind’s understanding. And such equilibrium is not static, for life is dynamic, on the way. Thus quest and rest – a restless mind and a quiet heart. Religion is the quest for God and the great religions of the world point to the Mystery beyond human comprehension, beyond the change and decay that marks our common experience, the shifting tides of human opinion and practices – the Mystery that is sought as the truly Real, the final resting place of the restless human quest, the source and ground of being and the goal toward which all presses. The human longing for God is well documented in our story, the biblical story. The story of Job in the Hebrew Scriptures is a powerful and eloquent witness to © Grand Valley State University �Restless Mind and Quiet Heart: Quest and Rest Richard A. Rhem Page 5   the struggle to find God in the midst of human suffering. Determined not to yield to the popular theology and conventional wisdom of his day, Job refuses to accept the idea that suffering is the punishment of God for sin and wrongdoing. In the midst of his debate with those miserable comforters who visited him, he cries out, “Oh, that I knew where I might find God; that I might come even to his dwelling! …I go forward, he is not there; or backward, I cannot perceive him. On the left he hides, and I cannot behold him.” “Oh, that I knew where I might find God.” Indeed! Or the Psalmist – again one whose soul is cast down, suggesting that it is most often at life’s extremity that the God Question obtrudes itself – writes: As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God? Job is a drama, not an historical account; the Psalmist is a poet writing a hymn. This is the stuff of poetry and theater because we are dealing with the depths of human experience, the longing for some clue or glimpse or token that our human existence has meaning, some significance, that it is not simply sound and fury, a tale told by an idiot. But it need not always be triggered by suffering or threat. Sometimes life experience itself simply raises the question – What is the meaning of it all? Nicodemus was a religious teacher, a rabbi, and in his own spiritual quest and questioning he came to Jesus to ask about the God Question, to which Jesus responded with the familiar, “You must be born again,” or “from above,” pointing, of course, to a spiritual illumination beyond the capacity of pure intellectual, rational thinking. And Nicodemus reflected what we must all feel at some time: “How can this be?” My soul longs for God. Oh, that I knew where I might find God. How can this be? Born from above? The God Question – the question that will not go away. What a fascinating quest is this quest for God, and this is a great time in which to be engaged in the quest and question. The God Question is alive and well. It will not go away ever for long, but it is my sense that there is more open discussion about God, about the spiritual life than has been true in my lifetime, and with the vast communication networks of our world, the God question flourishes as never before. © Grand Valley State University �Restless Mind and Quiet Heart: Quest and Rest Richard A. Rhem Page 6   In our human experience, as our minds remain open to new breakthroughs in the understanding of our cosmic journey, we know finally, intellectually we will not uncover the mystery that we call God. Are we then engaged as persons and as a human family in an eternal quest that knows no rest? No, for what we cannot discover intellectually we can experience as we love one another. In John’s Gospel, in The Prologue, we read, “The Word was make flesh and lived among us.” And the writer goes on to declare, “No one has ever seen God.” He then points to the Word become flesh. The writer of the First Letter of John repeats the statement of the Gospel writer – “No one has ever seen God!” But then, in a marvelous expansion of the Gospel’s focus on the Word made flesh as the place of revelation, the writer of the First Letter of John declares, No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and His love is perfected in us. Again he writes, God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. The quest goes on. The cosmic journey continues to amaze us as the mysteries of the universe are opened and the restless human mind will continue to lay bare those mysteries. But in the meantime, a quiet heart rests in the Love of God experienced in our human love. The dynamism of the quest keeps the mind open, alert, full of wonder with never ending questions. Loving another, thus experiencing God who is love, the heart finds rest. From my favorite musical drama, Les Miserables, the moving closing song says it all: “To love another person is to see the Face of God” – and experience a heart at rest! © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Freedom Village Service Scripture Text Job 23: 1-10, Psalm 42: 1-5, John 3: 1-10, I John 4: 7-8, 12, 16 Location The location of the interview Freedom Village Chapel, Holland, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-20140928 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014-09-28 Title A name given to the resource Restless Mind and Quiet Heart: Quest and Rest Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on September 28, 2014 entitled "Restless Mind and Quiet Heart: Quest and Rest", on the occasion of Freedom Village Service, at Freedom Village Chapel, Holland, MI. Scripture references: Job 23: 1-10, Psalm 42: 1-5, John 3: 1-10, I John 4: 7-8, 12, 16. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Change Faith Journey God is Love Spiritual Quest https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/83336fc2d67eab8ab2adf49e4efe77c7.pdf 1b6b94b679ac6405a5d33f9baa652423 PDF Text Text Reflections on a Life Remembering the Life of William A. Struck, March 17, 1920 – March 6, 2014 I Corinthians 13: 12 Richard A. Rhem Grand Haven, Michigan March 2014 Transcription of the handwritten sermon It is with fondness that I think of Bill Struck. When I learned of his death and the request that I give some reflections on his life, I immediately thought of what brought us together, resulting in a deep friendship. It centered around the theological journal, Perspectives, published by the Reformed Church in America, aimed at its leadership in order to stimulate theological conversation on issues before the church. For most of the nearly twenty years that I served as one of the Board of Editors, I was the only pastor. College and seminary professors and RCA executives made up the Board. What I did not realize going in was that the professors and executives were limited in what they could put in print. Great discussions took place at our stimulating bi-annual Board meetings in New York’s Greenwich Village but, when it was decided who should write on the issue at hand, I got the assignment. When, as could be expected, I wrote addressing the issue, Letters To the Editor came in response and the majority were negative, calling in question my positions. My wife, Nancy, protective of her husband, asked, “Why do you always have to write on themes that create controversy?” My answer was simple: “I’m the only editor that has a ‘safe’ position.” Blessed as I was with a congregation like Christ Community, I could wonder, question and think out loud about issues, questions, theological problems that the church was facing. It was one thing to do it in my safe community that gave me permission to think wonder and question. It was quite another when, by writing in Perspectives, I reached the broader church. I got a lot of negative Letters to the Editor. But worth it all was my meeting Bill Struck. Oh, my, what a bright and shining light he came to be for me! Among other things I wrote over the years of my membership on the Board of Editors, there were especially three pieces that stirred the “theological pot” of the Reformed Church in America. They really form a progress in my own theological © Grand Valley State University ! �Reflections on a Life Richard A. Rhem Page 2! understanding, an understanding stimulated by the criticism I received which caused me to re-visit and dig deeper. I won’t go more into detail here except to say that, at each step I took, Bill Struck was there to affirm, encourage and cheer me on. Thinking about this gathering to remember and celebrate his life, I went back to those old issues of Perspectives to read again – not my essays, but Bill’s responses in the Letters To the Editor column. In the first essays I wrote about the extent of God’s Grace, letting it be known that it was not limited – maybe even universal. Well. “All Hell broke loose,” as you can imagine. But overcoming all the negatives was a letter from Bill. Let me give you a taste of his letter, introduced by the Editor: In the wake of Richard Rhem’s and William Brownson’s articles last autumn on the efficiency of Christ’s atoning work, a substantial volume of comment arrived. Three letters were published in this column last month, and the discussion continues with these excerpts from other correspondents. Perspectives is pleased to be the vehicle for this continuing dialogue. John Stapert I think that Dr. Rhem has done us an important service by jarring our thinking. For too long our theology has been characterized by a comfortable security in tradition and an unwillingness to look honestly at the rapid changes that have occurred in the world, especially in the wake of World War II. To imagine that our religious schema is uninfluenced by experience and by the current historical setting is illusory. ... We, especially in the Reformed tradition, are not fond of ambiguity, so much so that we generally interpret Scripture to fit the premises and structure of our system of beliefs. ... We all crave certainty. But Scripture does not provide what we crave. Wars have been fought over scriptural uncertainties. It seems to me that our fondness for dividing the world into saved and lost is rooted more in historical parochialism and chauvinism than in the clear teaching of Scripture. ... He has called our attention to the possibility of a shift in our state of mind, an alteration in our perspective, a change in our attitude toward the “other,” that could be exciting. Instead of confronting the non-Christian with a demand for agreement, with rejection as the alternative, the relationship could be one of acceptance, leading to mutual growth. William Struck Kalamazoo, Michigan Letter, 02/1989 I!cite!this!letter,!not!because!of!what!Bill!says!of!me,!but!what!the!letter!says!of!Bill.! He!was!deeply!traditioned!–!I!served!a!Reformed!Church!in!that!New!Jersey!hotbed! of!Reformed!fundamentalism!from!which!he!stemmed!and!know!it!well.!That!gave! © Grand Valley State University �Reflections on a Life Richard A. Rhem Page 3! him!a!place!to!stand,!but!not!be!stuck.!Rather!he!was!alive!to!history’s!movement! and!the!evolving!human!situation.! And!more!–!he!was!aware!of!“the!other”!and!welcomed!“a!shift!in!our!state!of!mind”! that!would!enable!us!to!view!the!human!tapestry!with!grace!and!move!toward! inclusiveness.! In!light!of!the!strong!critique!I!received!for!that!initial!article,!I!came!to!see!how! stuck!we!were!in!the!Dutch!Reformed!Church’s!failing!to!engage!our!tradition!with! the!exploding!knowledge!of!the!modern!world.!I!wrote!a!piece!entitled!“Sleeping! Through!A!Revolution.”! Well,!that!article!really!spoke!to!Bill.!He!was!a!scientist!–!worldNclass!–!an! Enlightenment!scholar.!He!wrote!a!great!letter,!two!pages,!underlining!what!I!had! tried!to!say.!From!just!the!opening!lines!you!can!imagine!how!affirmed!I!felt!and,! from!such!a!person,!confirmed!in!what!I!was!attempting!to!say.!His!opening!lines! give!you!a!taste.! Dear!Dick,! Your!lead!paper,!“Sleeping!Through!A!Revolution”!in!the!April!Perspectives!left!me! almost!breathless.!It!is!indeed!a!blockbuster!–!a!paper!that!is!timely,!necessary,!hits! the!nail!on!the!head,!and!expresses!the!thought!of!many!of!the!“best!and!the! brightest,”!as!well!as!of!many!others!in!the!Christian!community!who!haven’t! organized!their!thoughts.! There!are!so!many!comments!that!occur!to!me!that!I!hardly!know!where!to!begin.! But!I’ll!try!by!first!acknowledging!that,!as!a!scientist,!I!am!a!product!of!the! Enlightenment,!in!that!I!take!for!granted!the!assumptions!that!you!delineate.! Letter:!05/20/1991! One!more.!Again,!the!serious!controversy!the!article!elicited!caused!me!to!go!deeper.! What!was!binding!our!Reformed!community!in!a!rigid!dogmatic!structure!that! disallowed!us!to!engage!the!ongoing!explosion!and!knowledge!and!the!dynamic!of! historical!development?!I!wrote!once!more,!sensing!that!a!failure!to!be!open!to!the! critical!study!of!Scripture!made!us!prisoners!of!our!dogmatic!system.!An!inerrant,! infallible!Bible!blocked!us!from!fresh!insight!and!growth!in!addressing!our!dynamic! world!in!process.!Once!again,!contrary!to!the!majority!opinion!of!the!Letters!To!the! Editor,!Bill!came!through!with!a!wonderful!affirmation.!The!opening!line!says!it!all!! Dec.!23,!1992! Dear!Dick,! Bravo!!Bravo!!Bravo!!“The!Book!That!Binds!Us”!in!the!December!Perspectives!finally! says!what!needs!to!be!said.!Some!time!ago,!reading!a!book!on!fundamentalism,!I! © Grand Valley State University �Reflections on a Life Richard A. Rhem Page 4! think!by!Barr,!I!noted!especially!his!recognition!that!fundamentalism!requires!more! of!the!believer!than!the!simple!faith!in!Christ!that!is!so!assiduously!promoted.! Without!it!being!stated,!the!believer!is!also!expected!to!accept!a!certain!view!of!the! Bible,!a!view!which!indeed!takes!the!Bible!to!be!“a!book!of!propositional!truths,! timeless!and!eternal,!covering!the!full!spectrum!of!cosmic!reality,!to!be!applied! objectively!to!questions!of!faith!and!practice.”! Sadly,!this!constricted!view!continues!to!permeate!even!that!segment!of!the! evangelical!community!that!cringes!at!being!called!“fundamentalist.”!This!includes,! of!course,!a!significant!portion!of!the!RCA,!especially!here!in!the!Midwest.!And!we!all! know!the!kinds!of!problems!that!this!view!creates!–!from!“scientific!(sic!)! creationism”!to!the!place!of!women!in!the!church,!not!to!mention!a!host!of!other! contemporary!issues!that!could!never!have!been!anticipated!by!the!Biblical!writers.! I!especially!enjoyed!your!recalling!Tillich’s!category!of!“reactive!literalism”!and!your! explication.!I!have!often!wondered!about!the!psychology!of!the!literalist,!and!find! your!comments!on!“reactive!literalism,”!“lust!for!certitude,”!and!the!fear!of!“looking! into!the!abyss”!to!be!extremely!helpful.! As!I!have!reviewed!again!these!letters!which!meant!so!much!to!me,!I!realize!what!a! rare!person!Bill!was!–!deeply!religious,!faithful,!serious!and!also!open,!desiring!to! grow!in!his!understanding,!bringing!his!Christian!faith!into!relationship!with!an! ongoing!intellectual!journey.! In!his!remarkable!professional!life!he!met!scientists!and!scholars!from!around!the! world!and!I!remember!how!much!it!meant!to!him!for!a!voice!from!his!church! community!to!confirm!his!gracious!openness!to!the!other.! From!my!encounters!with!him!relating!to!our!mutual!spiritual!quest,!I!have! attempted!to!paint!a!portrait!of!this!fine!man….!But!there!is!more!and!you,!dear! family,!know!that!well!–!he!was!a!gentle!man,!gracious,!kind,!of!good!humor.!As!I! thought!of!him,!Paul’s!familiar!hymn!of!love!came!to!mind!–!the!description!of!love! fits!Bill!well.! But!the!last!paragraph!of!the!chapter!reminds!me!of!Bill.!Paul!had!a!problem!with! the!Church!at!Corinth.!There!were!divisions!–!groups!and!individuals!vying!for!the! prize!of!having!the!finest!spiritual!gifts.!Paul!says!–!fine,!all!those!gifts!are!good!and! helpful.!But!let!me!show!you!a!more!excellent!way!–!the!way!of!love.! After!describing!love,!Paul!returns!to!the!problem!of!competing!spiritual!gifts.!He! reminds!the!people!of!that!community!that!in!our!present!historical!moment!we!are! limited.!In!light!of!the!cosmic!scene!we!are!but!children!in!our!understanding!and,! thus,!humility!befits!us!well.!Comparing!our!present!situation!rooted!in!history,!Paul! writes,! For-now-we-see-in-a-mirror-dimly,-but-then-we-will-see-face-to-face.-Now-I-know-only-inpart;-then-I-will-know-fully-even-as-I-have-been-fully-known.- © Grand Valley State University �Reflections on a Life Richard A. Rhem Page 5! Bill!understood!that!so!vividly.!The!reason!dogmatism!and!absolutism!have!no!place! in!our!present!human!situation!is!that!we!see!“dimly”!–!only!partially!do!we!grasp! the!wonders!of!the!cosmic!drama!in!which!we!are!enmeshed.!Thus,!the!best!way!to! live!was!with!humility,!honest!inquiry,!questioning,!wondering,!openness!to!new! insight!and!fresh!perspective.! And,!of!course,!on!this!amazing!human!journey,!there!is!one!ultimate!–!the!Way!of! Love!–! Faith/trust!–!in!the!Eternal!God.! Hope!–!the!best!is!yet!to!be.! Love!–!the!last!word.! ! Love!that!binds!us!together!in!family!and!community!as!we!move!toward!that! moment!when!we!shall!know!even!as!we!are!known!–!face!to!face!with!the!Love!that! loves!us!and!all!eternity!to!explore!the!wonder!of!that!Love.! Thanks!be!to!God!! Let!us!pray.! O!God,!we!would!be!still! and!know!that!You!are!God!!–!Source!of!all!being,! Mysterious!Mover!of!the!ongoing!cosmic!drama,! creatively!breathing!fresh!surprises! into!the!tapestry!of!our!history,! graciously!present!to!us!in!those!moments!of!awareness! when!we!come!to!ourselves,! when!for!at!least!a!brief!time,! light!dawns!upon!us!and!we!are!saturated!with!wonder!–! at!the!sight!of!setting!sun!or!starry!sky,! or!landscape!bathed!in!brilliant!winter!sun! glistening!on!newly!fallen!snow.! ! Then!in!silence!and!solitude! we!know!what!is!beyond!knowing!–! then!a!serenity!sweeps!over!our!souls! and!we!know!all!is!gift,! for!we!did!not!create!ourselves!nor!our!world!–! not!sun!or!moon,! not!the!air!we!breathe,! not!the!restless!surf!locked!under!miles!of!ice,! !unable!to!caress!the!sandy!beach.! Then!we!know!we!are!part!of!something!so!much!larger! than!the!narrow!parameters! © Grand Valley State University �Reflections on a Life Richard A. Rhem !of!our!daily!experience!and!limited!understanding.! ! Before!the!wonder!of!it!all,! we!sense!we!are!embraced,!caught!up! in!something!the!dimensions!of!which!we!cannot!begin!to!take!in!–! that!Mystery!that!has!addressed!us,! eliciting!from!us!in!turn!the!response!of!address,! when!from!our!depths!we!utter,!“O!God.”! Then,!knowing!beyond!knowing,! we!know!we!have!been!found!by!our!Source! and!in!turn!have!found!our!resting!place.! Source!and!resting!place,! present!to!us!in!mysterious!and!gracious!Presence!–! it!is!enough.! Only!gratitude!then!fills!our!being.! ! O!God,!in!moments!of!awareness! when!we!are!attentive,!present!to!the!awesome!gift!of!life,! the!beauty,!the!marvel!of!it!all,! the!potential!of!the!human!creature,! whose!consciousness!is!the!consciousness!of!the!cosmos,! whose!voice!is!the!speech!of!Being,! we!are!lost!in!wonder,!love!and!praise.! ! Such!was!the!way!of!life!of!your!servant,! our!loved!one,!whose!life!we!remember!and!celebrate!today.! This!was!no!ordinary!person!–! rather!extraordinary!in!so!many!ways!–! deeply!rooted!in!Christian!faith! learned!in!his!childhood!home,!church!and!school.! Traditioned!in!a!great!theological!vision,! he!walked!humbly!before!you,!O!God,! faithful!in!worship!and!service.! ! But!he!was!more.! His!brilliant!mind!restless,!desiring!to!broaden! !the!horizon!of!knowledge!and!understanding!–! not!to!escape!from!the!faith,! !but!rather!to!know!its!wonder!more!deeply,! to!stand!in!ever!greater!awe!before!you,!! Eternal!Mystery,!! in!whom!we!live!and!move!and!have!our!being.! Loving!husband,!father,!grandfather!and!friend,! a!gentle!man!of!good!humor!and!restless!mind! to!plumb!the!heights!and!depths!of!our!human!experience.! © Grand Valley State University Page 6! �Reflections on a Life Richard A. Rhem ! We!remember!him,!! images!flowing!through!our!minds,! and!we!give!thanks!that!he!graced!our!lives.! ! We!do!not!deny!our!loss!nor!the!grief!we!feel.! Where!love!looms!large,! loss!is!large!as!well,!and!painful.! We!lift!up!our!eyes!to!You,!O!Eternal!One.! You!uphold!us!with!everlasting!arms;! You!overshadow!us!with!a!gracious!Presence.! You!bear!us!up!on!eagle’s!wings;! beneath!your!sheltering!wings! !we!find!refuge!and!peace.! ! Sacred!Mystery!of!all!being,!of!our!being,! consciously!aware!of!our!lives!in!your!light,! we!worship.! We!know!that!all!will!be!well,! all!will!be!well.! All!manner!of!things!will!be!well.! ! Now,!while!our!hearts!are!open,! our!spirits!tender,! mantle!us!with!Your!gentle!grace.! Hear!our!prayer!through!Jesus!Christ!our!Lord.! Amen.! © Grand Valley State University Page 7! � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Funeral Meditation on the Liife of William A. Struck Scripture Text I Corinthians 13:12 Location The location of the interview Grand Haven, Michigan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-20140306 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014-03-06 Title A name given to the resource Reflections on a Life Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on March 6, 2014 entitled "Reflections on a Life", on the occasion of Funeral Meditation on the Liife of William A. Struck, at Grand Haven, Michigan. Scripture references: I Corinthians 13:12. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Funeral Love of God Reformed Tradition Spiritual Quest https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c3e890b804d15cee7e538af78c1bc8c0.pdf 3be9dd3ffcb8d8e6620a2f51c05f2e7c PDF Text Text The Grace to Let Go As Death Approaches I Corinthians 15: 42-44, 50, 53-58 Luke 23:32-34, 44-46 Richard A. Rhem Funeral Meditation and Prayer for Richard J. Westhoff VBK Chapel, Grand Haven, Michigan Thursday, February 27, 2014 If I have the timing right, it was three weeks ago today that Rich and family met with the Hospice nurse. Three days later I stopped by to be with Rich and Mary – Kathy was there as well. As always with Rich and Mary, it was very easy, warm, relaxed. We spoke about the doctor’s report, the recognition that the cancer was raging, that Hospice had been engaged. The full seriousness of his failing health was in full view. At one point he looked at me, put his hand on my arm – we were sitting at the dining room table – and he said, “Will you do my funeral?” Our eyes met and I responded, “Of course; I wouldn’t let anyone else do it!” He smiled and I smiled. I’ve been with my people on numerous occasions at their dying. I’ve marveled at the mystery – one minute alive, breathing. Then no more. I’ve thought much about the mystery of life and life moving into death. And, frankly, I guess I would have to say I’m really quite comfortable in those situations. But I must say those moments with Rich were so rich, so honest. I left with that sense so strongly felt. I had affirmed the decisions he made along the way. An awful course of chemo which did not fully free him of the awful disease and his decision: no more! Let me live being myself as well as I can as long as I can. And he did. He found a period of a good quality of life. And then when the cancer came on in full force he had no regrets. When the time came, Hospice was called in. And then it was time to go to the nursing home. Nancy and I went to him when we learned he was there. At the door the nurse said, “First room on the left. We just got him resting. Try not to waken him.” Well, I just smiled at her and we made our way to the room. He was quiet, eyes closed, but I had a little business to do with him…. I took his hand. He opened his eyes and we were in touch; he was with me. © Grand Valley State University   �The Grace to Let Go As Death Approaches Richard A. Rhem Page 2   “The Lord is my shepherd…. He responded at each phrase, affirming the beautiful expressions of trust in the Psalm. And the benediction “The Lord bless you and keep you,” my hand on his forehead and he fully receptive, aware, affirming. And then the words of Julian of Norwich, which have become a mantra for those of us who were Christ Community: All will be well, all will be well, All manner of things will be well. Those were very moving moments. As his pastor I knew I had had closure with this dear man – and there are no holier moments than when there is the grace to let go as death approaches. That is what struck me and I found so beautiful in Rich’s departing from all he loved and those who so dearly loved him. Next Wednesday is Ash Wednesday. I always loved that service. There was such honesty about it, such authenticity – The people came forward, knelt and, as I made the sign of the cross with the ashes on their foreheads, I would say, “Dust thou art and to dust thou shalt return.” Those words come from Genesis 3 and the context is God’s judgment on the first human couple for their disobedience in the Garden of Eden. This, of course, is biblical myth – our stories of origin which had profound truths but also much we have moved beyond. As much as I love those words, “Dust thou art and to dust thou shalt return,” I want to move them out of the context of death as the result of human disobedience. To do so, I must argue with St. Paul who was formed by that biblical story and perpetuated the idea that death was “the last enemy.” He states this in the context of his sense of history’s calendar. Paul thought he was living at the end of history. But, of course, two thousand years later we know he was wrong about history’s course and, I would maintain, about death as the last enemy. He believed death was God’s judgment on human transgression, believing as he did in the biblical story of “the Fall” of our first parents. Let me keep to the biblical story but go to Jesus. As I have said, we stand at the threshold of another Lent. We will follow Jesus to Calvary. Speaking truth to power, he is a threat to the Temple leadership and to Roman power. Condemned to die, he is crucified by the powers that be. How did he die in spite of injustice? Hear him on the Cross: Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” © Grand Valley State University �The Grace to Let Go As Death Approaches Richard A. Rhem Page 3   In Luke’s telling of the story, Jesus then is appealed to by one of the criminals at his side and he offers him deep assurance – in a word, “All will be well.” And, as life ebbed, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” In the horror of crucifixion, Luke pictures for us a Jesus, full of grace, forgiving those who are executing him, full of compassion for his fellow sufferer, full of trust as he commends his spirit to God whom he conceived of as Father. Grace, compassion, trust – what a way to go! I bring that to your attention because we witnessed in Rich the grace to let go as death approached. Obviously the circumstances were totally different – Rich having lived fully until his death, surrounded by loved ones at home until less than two days in the hospice unit waiting, still hovered over by those he loved and who loved him. How does that happen? Let me suggest it was no accident, neither for Jesus nor for Rich. One does not suddenly come to one’s end and decide to die well full of grace, compassion and trust. Such a death is the result of a lifetime – a lifetime of love and care, faithfulness and devotion, loving and caring for family and friends – and look at his beautiful family – positive living in community, giving oneself in service and generosity, trust in the God of Grace. God and faithful devotion and commitment to the community of faith. That was Rich’s way. With him it was a steady, quiet way. As I sat with him that day when he asked if I would do his funeral, he told me the story of the snowball that went awry and his “punishment” from his Christian School teacher – memorize the 91st Psalm. He was amused to tell me that the key verse for the teacher was verse 8: “You will only look with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.” I suspect having to recite the Psalm before the class gave his classmates the opportunity to see his punishment. But, humorous as that is, the teacher’s sentence forced him to memorize the Psalm and I’m quite certain that Psalm shaped him – Did he not live “in the shelter of the Most High”? Did he not “abide in the shadow of the Almighty”? Did he not live with deep assurance? “Under his wings” he found refuge. © Grand Valley State University �The Grace to Let Go As Death Approaches Richard A. Rhem Page 4   In a word, Psalm 91 formed him, shaped him. And being thus shaped and formed, he lived well, fully and, as death approached, he had the grace to let go. As I have indicated, our conversation at the dining room table was so easy. I said something about his obvious peace as he asked me to do his funeral. I can still see him look at me calmly and say, “I’ve been preparing for this all my life.” And he had and that’s why I entitle this meditation “The Grace To Let Go As Death Approaches” and insist it is not an end-of-life decision – it is a lifetime of preparation. I was moved by his quiet statement. He could let go not in futile resignation but in deep trust that the best is yet to be. Contrary to St. Paul’s contention that death is the last enemy, I sensed Rich entered into death’s shadow with full assurance and trust. St. Paul was really better than the “death is enemy” claim. He goes on in that 15th chapter of I Corinthians to speak of his resurrection faith and there, I sense, he too views death not as punishment, an enemy, but part of the natural process – birth, life, death – and death the gateway to life eternal: What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable… For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality…. Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. To live with such hope and trust is not to deny the reality of death, not to deny loss, grief, and pain. And such hope and trust does not mean we would not choose rather to live on in health and fullness. It is rather simply to recognize life has its natural end in death and the sting of death, the fear in the face of death, is removed for those whose lives have been marked by trust and grace, love and hope. For such, there is a grace to let go as death approaches, in the assurance that as they have lived to the Lord, they die to the Lord, as St. Paul affirms, concluding, So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. It is for us to deal with the grief of loss even as we thank God for the gift we’ve shared in his life – but Rich is just fine, experiencing wonders he never dreamed of. Thanks be to God! Let us pray. © Grand Valley State University �The Grace to Let Go As Death Approaches Richard A. Rhem Prayer For these few moments, O God, Sacred Mystery of our lives, Creative Source, Eternal Presence, and our Final Home, grace us with awareness that we are held in the embrace of Love as family and friends and the one we have loved and lost awhile. We remember him – larger than life – adored by family, loved and respected by a network of friends and a broad community. So much was he of Spring Lake, the Village, the school’s athletic association – a true Laker deep down. Quietly touching many lives with kindness and generosity, faithful in family, church and community – solid, one we could always count on. The stories that bring laughter and tears bespeak hidden humor, a delightful spirit. He loomed large in our lives, leaving an emptiness in our hearts. And yet, even in the pain of loss, remembering him, he brings us to laughter and delight. O God, we are grateful that he graced our lives, that he lived fully, choosing to live well until the end approached, which he met with deep assurance and grace. We are grateful, O great Mystery of life, that we have been graced with a fundamental trust, that this cosmic dance into which our lives are woven is not a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing, but a universe whose grain is Love, Whose end is Life and Light © Grand Valley State University Page 5   �The Grace to Let Go As Death Approaches Richard A. Rhem And in such a time as this, in such a place as this, Gracious God, we are grateful above all that the end is not broken health and dreams unfulfilled, swallowed up in death, but rather the confidence that to live is to live unto the Lord, and to die is to die unto the Lord, so then whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. You uphold us with everlasting arms. You overshadow us with a gracious Presence. You bear us up on eagle’s wings; beneath your sheltering wings we find refuge and peace. Sacred Mystery of all being, of our being, consciously aware of our lives in your light, we worship. We know that all will be well, all will be well, all manner of things will be well. Now, while our hearts are open, our spirits tender, mantle us with Your gentle grace. Assuage deep grief; cover our guilt; heal us, O God; heal us now. And now, as Jesus taught us, we pray, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. © Grand Valley State University Page 6   � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Funeral Meditation and Prayer for Richard J. Westhoff Scripture Text I Corinthians 15: 42-44, 50, 53-58, Luke 23:32-34, 44-46 Location The location of the interview VBK Chapel, Grand Haven, Michigan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-20140227 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014-02-27 Title A name given to the resource The Grace to Let Go As Death Approaches Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on February 27, 2014 entitled "The Grace to Let Go As Death Approaches", on the occasion of Funeral Meditation and Prayer for Richard J. Westhoff, at VBK Chapel, Grand Haven, Michigan. Scripture references: I Corinthians 15: 42-44, 50, 53-58, Luke 23:32-34, 44-46. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Community of Faith Funeral Grace Nature of Death https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d0bc9ca59dd2adf2dfa6fbadaeb752d9.pdf ea4c24f74cc086cfe9e800b20bc42720 PDF Text Text Face To Face, Now and Then A Service of Worship In Celebration of the Life of Norman J. Campbell (October 7, 1937 to January 20, 2014) Psalm 16: 5-8, 11; I Corinthians 13: 4-13 Richard A. Rhem First Congregational Church Muskegon, Michigan January 24, 2014 Transcription of the written sermon Let me begin by expressing my appreciation to First Congregational Church for giving the honor and privilege of sharing in this celebration of the life of Norman J. Campbell and to Pastor Tim Vander Haan for graciously allowing me to share in this service with him. It means a great deal to me to be able to be part of Norm’s funeral service; he was such a dear friend and for many years one of my faithful parishioners at Christ Community Church, with Maureen and their daughters. Over the past year we were in touch, hoping to go out to lunch. We even had a date but as the time came had to cancel; Norm’s health continued to deteriorate and treatments did not have a positive outcome. I think it was December 9 I sat with him and Maureen and Wendy. He had received the dreaded news – his body could not tolerate the only measure that might save him. It was a sober moment. For the first time we spoke of plans for where we are today – celebrating his life, he having gone on before us. Shortly before Christmas Nancy and I stopped in. In the course of our conversation, Maureen said, “Are you going to Florida?” I said, “Yes, only a short get-away, January 4 to 19.” Then I looked at Norm and said, “and you behave yourself!” That’s the way it was with us; even pointing to his end we shared a bit of humor. He was so easy to be with. Well, we went to Florida and returned last Sunday evening. At 8:00 am Monday, Maureen called. Norm had breathed his last at 4:52 am. Maureen said, “He knew you had returned and he could let go.” I found it remarkable. The last week was very difficult but he held on until he knew all would be in order, thinking not of himself but his loved ones. © Grand Valley State University   �Face to Face Now & Then Richard A. Rhem Page 2   Your presence here attests to what I think would be universally agreed on – This was a beautiful human being. Being human, he must have had an imperfection or two but I never detected it. I admired and respected Norm and held him in deep affection. He was so easy to be with, his wry sense of humor and lightness of being. And he was always the same – easy, comfortable, natural – even speaking of what he desired for this service. From the moment I hear of a death and know I will be bringing the funeral meditation, I begin to think of the person and the Scriptures. That’s probably a peculiar preacher’s thing, but I always desire to paint a portrait of the person in the framework of the biblical story that has shaped us. With someone like Norm one could go in many directions but finally one must choose the contours of the character one would paint. I have chosen two scriptural passages from which to reflect with you on the life of this one we loved and have lost awhile. From the Psalms, Psalm 16: 5-8, 11. Psalm 16 is one of my favorites. Beginning with verse 5, the Psalmist expresses a sense of deep wellbeing. The boundary lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage. He is full of gratitude for his human situation – referring to Israel’s coming into the land of Israel when the tribes divided the land by casting lots. The Psalmist is pleased with his human situation. But his wellbeing is rooted in something deeper. I keep the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand I shall not be moved. In the Hebrew “before me” is literally “before my face.” That being so, he is steadfast whatever human experience brings him. His heart is glad; His soul rejoices. So confident is he that he cannot conceive of being given up to Sheol – the realm of the dead. One commentator writes: It can be read as the general prayer of the faithful who, without any doctrine of resurrection or eternal life to explain just how, nonetheless trust the Lord to keep them with such total confidence that they cannot imagine a future apart from life in God’s presence. (James L. Mays, Interpretation: Psalms, p. 88) Again the Psalmist exclaims, © Grand Valley State University �Face to Face Now & Then Richard A. Rhem Page 3   You show me the path of life. In Your presence there is fullness of joy; in Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Were we to read this poem in the original Hebrew we would see a beautiful juxtaposition. In verse 8, as noted above, “before me” is literally “before my face.” In verse 11, “in Your presence” is literally “before Your face.” God before my face; I before God’s face. Further, God at my right hand keeps me secure. At God’s right hand are pleasures forevermore. The Psalmist lived with a vivid sense of God’s presence. That awareness kept him steady in all the vicissitudes of life. That sense of trust was so strong even the fear of death, of loss, was transcended. He lived with fullness of joy. He was present to the presence of God. You must sense why I would select such a scripture when thinking of Norm – He lived with God before his face – with a God-consciousness woven into his being from a child, and it made him steady, strong and confident. Like the Psalmist, God-consciousness made him a rock, gave him a place to stand and not be moved. My second text is Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians, chapter 13, verses 4-13. Often called Paul’s Hymn of Love, it is familiar and beloved. Verses 4 to 7 give love’s marks, its aspects – Kind, not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Comment is hardly needed; Love’s portrait is Norm’s portrait, is it not? That is simply who he was – Love embodied. But the passage goes on – Love never ends. And then St. Paul speaks of our human situation. What called forth this beautiful portrait of Love was the situation in the Corinthian congregation. There seemed to be a game going on regarding who possessed the greatest spiritual gifts. And Paul does not put those gifts down even though they are causing division in the congregation. Instead he says, © Grand Valley State University �Face to Face Now & Then Richard A. Rhem Page 4   …I will show you a still more excellent way. And that way is the way of Love, a way he contrasts with the various spiritual gifts that were competing with each other in Corinth. Paul writes, “Love never ends.” But that is not so for the other gifts – prophetic gifts, the gift of speaking in tongues, knowledge, prophecy – they are limited and will come to an end. But not Love. Paul compares the present state of the congregation at Corinth to that of childhood, using himself as an example. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. And then he comes to the point I want to make in regard to our beloved Norm. For now we see in a mirror dimly but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. There you have it – Face to Face Now and Then. Norm knew the Psalmist’s secret – The Lord before my face, rock solid, unmovable, steady, deep assurance. He knew as well that all he knew and experienced were partial, in process, a dim glimpse of the Ultimate Mystery. But for him all he glimpsed dimly has come into sharp focus – now he sees fully, clearly, for he sees “face to face.” Face to face – for us who grieve, in trust we see but only dimly – our “now” sees in faith. We long for the “Then” of full vision but, in the meantime, we are confident that our beloved Norm sees clearly and is lost in wonder, love and grace. Face to face in the Presence in fullness of joy. Well done, good and faithful servant! © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Funeral Service for Norman Campbell Scripture Text Psalm 16: 5-8, 11, I Corinthians 13: 4-13 Location The location of the interview First Congregational Church, Muskegon, Michigan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-20140124 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014-01-24 Title A name given to the resource Face to Face, Now and Then Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on January 24, 2014 entitled "Face to Face, Now and Then", on the occasion of Funeral Service for Norman Campbell, at First Congregational Church, Muskegon, Michigan. Scripture references: Psalm 16: 5-8, 11, I Corinthians 13: 4-13. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Funeral Love Presence of God Trust https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c2837192ee0376d99115a2b95a1c5149.pdf 57519ee30c733ca623c348bb13f62d81 PDF Text Text A Profile in Love Celebrating the Life of Dorothy Kruizenga Boelens Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, 11, 13; I Corinthians 13; John 14:1-3 Richard A. Rhem St. John’s Episcopal Church Grand Haven, Michigan August 1, 2013 We gather in worship to give God thanks for the life of Dorothy Kruizenga Boelens and to celebrate her life, lived so fully, so well. In preparation for the service I went to my Kruizenga file – Richard and Kathryn, Georgia, Stella, most recently Margaret. I am very much aware that the meditations I have offered all have in the beginning my own story, as my life has been impacted by the Kruizenga family. I am a bit self conscious about that but I cannot help myself – my life has been shaped by the Kruizenga clan and I am, at times like this, so acutely aware that I owe so much to the family and to no one more than Dorothy. Just two months ago I expressed at Margaret’s service how entwined my life has been with this family and I must do so once more for no one has been as responsible for all I have become and the community we shared for so many years as Dorothy Boelens. And making that claim, expressing my debt, my gratitude, my love, I include you, Gord. Without your complete support and full involvement and generous provision, it could not have happened. But on this occasion of the celebration of Dorothy’s life, I say without reservation, she saved my life, was responsible for the wellbeing of my children – for whom it was Aunt Dort and Uncle Gord – and made possible my ministry in Spring Lake and the renewal, rebirth and creation of Christ Community, in which we shared such rich community life. No one was more key than she. Her father, with great wisdom and finesse brought the congregation to the decision to invite me to return, risky decision that it was, given my personal circumstances, facing divorce and custody struggles. But it was Dort who made it work. So many were so gracious and helpful, but Dort filled in all the blanks. I could regale you with story after story but it would take the day. Just one accomplishment – she arranged for me to meet the love of my life – Nancy. She probably knew if her life was ever to return to normal, my life would have to find normalcy. What better way than to lead me to the beautiful lady who would become my wife and a mother to my children. On Christmas Day, 1972, Gord and Dort stood with us as we spoke our vows. But that was only Act I. In the days of explosive growth and renewal, Dorothy was front and center. © Grand Valley State University   �A Profile in Love Richard A. Rhem Page 2   Bob Schuller’s Institute for Church Growth in California was new. I think nine of us went out there, Gord and Dort among the nine. We came home and implemented a plan for renewal and growth. R.J. Kruizenga was our volunteer Business Manager. We went from one to two to three morning services and the congregation voted to change our name from The First Reformed Church to Christ Community Church and on the same evening extended a call to Gordon Van Hoeven whom the congregation had sent into the ministry in the early ‘60’s. The vote for the call was 124 yes, 7 no, and for the next eighteen years Gord tried to discover who the 7 were! And then the name change: Dort’s mother, Kathryn, a consistory wife responsible to cut the pies, wagered I wouldn’t get such a margin on the name change proposal but, wonder of wonders, the vote was 120 yes, 4 no. “Ladies in the kitchen” was the way it was. Consistory and Ministers were men only! It was Dort’s Aunt Stella who broke that threshold, our first woman elder, the first in the Muskegon Classis and one of the first in the RCA and there was no one finer anywhere. With growth in members and growing programs, no way Gordon and I could keep up. At that time the paraprofessional idea was blooming and we formed a paraprofessional team that worked wonders. Dorothy was on the first team and served faithfully and fruitfully for several years. Her Young Moms’ Group was a great success. One blizzardy winter day, school was canceled, roads weren’t plowed, the parking lot wasn’t plowed, but from my study in the parsonage I watched them arrive – young moms with babies in tow. They were not about to miss their weekly gathering. Such was the importance of that group for those young women and Dorothy was their Mother Superior. She was quite amazing in so many ways – very intelligent, with fine gifts of leadership, organization, and vision – and she brought her best gifts and full energy to our ministry at Christ Community. There is an Honor Roll of persons and families who have given their all and given well. That is always the way with social movement, community endeavors and especially congregations. It has been true for our congregation. Familiar names – many of you can list them as you look back on the history of the Spring Lake congregation. But, in terms of dedication, gifts of leadership and tireless service, Dorothy heads the Honor Roll, flanked by her father and Aunt Stella. Where does one go in Scripture to find a portrait of such a remarkable disciple? I begin with the Hebrew poet who penned Ecclesiastes. The familiar third chapter takes in the full scope of life in all of its varied experiences: For everything there is a season And a time for every activity under heaven. … God has made everything beautiful in its own time And has put an eternal yearning in our hearts Even as we live before the face of Mystery. © Grand Valley State University �A Profile in Love Richard A. Rhem Page 3   Like the poet, Dort was a realist; she faced every day and every new experience with a healthy perspective, well traditioned, spiritually open, unafraid. She was well grounded and open to what may be opening on the far horizon. The poet somehow got into the Hebrew Bible canon but sometimes that surprises me when I read some of his wonderings, some of his doubts, some of his questions. He dared to look at life in all its ambiguity and confess in many instances he just didn’t get it – even in the ultimate matter of life and death. He writes, …the fate of humans and the fate of animals is the same; as one dies so does the other. They all have the same breath and humans have no advantage over the animals; for all is vanity. All go to one place, all are from the dust and all turn to dust again. Who knows whether the human spirit goes upward and the spirit of animals goes downward to the earth? He had no doubt that God is and God rules but as for the human situation – he simply couldn’t figure it out and he was honest enough and healthy enough to live with his questions. Yet, he affirms, God has made everything beautiful in its own time And he senses as well that God Has put an eternal yearning in our hearts. Dort was a person of faith, curious, questioning, but not pious. Invite her to a theology class and she would be there. Don’t expect her to start a women’s prayer group. She lived a wholesome spirituality, loved to think, to wonder. She was a healthy model for me, enabling me to move beyond the pietism with which I arrived in Spring Lake in 1960. My primary focus in this reflection is St. Paul’s Love Chapter, I Corinthians 13. I point out the context of Paul’s Love Chapter, not because of the nature of the tensions and divisions in the Corinthian congregation, but rather just the fact that the congregation was in a troubled state and how that stands in contrast to our Christ Community experience. And why? Because of wise and competent lay leadership. Names of beloved friends and leaders come to mind but in the context of the celebration of Dorothy’s life, I think of R.J., her father, Stella, her aunt, to say nothing of her mother Kathryn who kept the consistory wives in order as well as the pizza makers. Dort had a keen sense of where the future lay, what we should be doing, where we should be moving. And she so loved the church community. She would not have been caught up in any proud and ostentatious display of piety; that was not Dort. But no matter what might become an issue in our community life, she was openminded, big-hearted, intelligent, and wise. Paul could have used her in Corinth; I’m thankful I had her here. © Grand Valley State University �A Profile in Love Richard A. Rhem Page 4   Addressing the turmoil in Corinth, Paul wrote a Profile in Love. As chapter 12 ends, Paul writes, But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. (Verse 31). In the first paragraph he declares no spiritual gift amounts to anything if love in its exercise is absent. Have we not all at some time or other witnessed a noisy gong and clanging cymbal Christian piety? We have witnessed ostentatious display of religious knowledge and boastful religious claims or proud offering of gifts. Not Dort. Paul could be describing her practical, caring, everyday living out of her following the way of Jesus as he writes, Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. That’s St. Paul’s Profile of Love. I submit to you it is a profile of Dorothy. Perhaps at this point you suspect I am making her some ethereal angel. Not really. Dort was a very remarkable person and in her practical, capable, caring ways she made love concrete. There were no limits to her caring, no hesitancy to her extending concrete care and aid. There was not a negative bone in her body, no pettiness, no jealousy, no negativity. Do I overstate the case? I don’t think so. I knew her intimately over many years in so many concrete situations, professional, personal, social. She was a rare human being. And thus I point you to Paul’s last paragraph – a beautiful expression of the now and the then – our present in the mists of history’s ongoing saga and the then of that future vision that awaits us, which in trust we await for ourselves and celebrate for our dear Dorothy. Remember again the context: St. Paul’s dealing with a congregation divided by rival claims to spiritual superiority. His antidote? Love – deep-down practical love expressed in personal and community relationships – common graces that are so uncommon – kindness, openness, forbearance, delight in the true, the good and the beautiful, never arrogant or rude or negative. And then he says, you know, we really don’t know so much. History is foggy; we see only dimly, in a mirror as it were. In fact, as we all once thought as a child and, thankfully, grew up, matured and put away childish things, so it is in life’s ultimate issues and questions. We who have grown up and put away childish ways remain, as a matter of fact, in our childhood when it comes to the grand scheme of things. We live before the face of Mystery. We do not know; we live by trust if we are wise, mature, aware. So there is no place for arrogant absolutism or too certain dogmatism. Humility befits us. © Grand Valley State University �A Profile in Love Richard A. Rhem Page 5   But that is not Paul’s last word. In terms of the cosmic drama in which we are caught up, we trust; we don’t see clearly – Now we see in a mirror, dimly, But he goes on with this marvelous affirmation: but then we will see face to face. And he continues, I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. In sum: Faith, hope, love abide…and the greatest of these is love. Our Dorothy knew that, lived that. She lived that. She lived with some questions unanswered and wasn’t ready to accept a preacher’s too easy answers without facing the depth of the issues, and to live with questions, not having all the answers, gave her no pause. She lived by faith! Her trust was in the good and gracious God; she rested there. But Love? Oh my, she loved without limit to one and all – generous to a fault! And as to life’s ultimate questions shrouded in mystery – St. Paul writes, …now dimly…but then face to face! While with us she loved us, living in faith and hope, living the questions. And now she knows! And I suspect it is more than she dared dream of! Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Funeral Service for Dorothy Kruizenga Boelens Scripture Text Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, 11, 13, I Corinthians 13, John 14:1-3 Location The location of the interview St. John's Episcopal Chruch, Grand Haven, Michigan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-20130801 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013-08-01 Title A name given to the resource A Profile in Love Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on August 1, 2013 entitled "A Profile in Love", on the occasion of Funeral Service for Dorothy Kruizenga Boelens, at St. John's Episcopal Chruch, Grand Haven, Michigan. Scripture references: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, 11, 13, I Corinthians 13, John 14:1-3. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Community of Faith Grace Profile in Love https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/6505688a405d511abb8ccd28dfd7ca7a.pdf 631ebabaf7e5f96faf555414fda32a10 PDF Text Text A Tribute to a Lady Full of Grace In Memory of Barbara Dee Timmer Richard A. Rhem Hope Church Holland, Michigan May 31, 2013 Thank you, Barbara and John, for an invitation to pay tribute to your mother, Barbara Dee. It brings closure for me to the warm and gracious relationship I was privileged to share with your parents. As I reflect back over the years, I’m reminded of so many wonderful moments and experiences. Norm and Barbara showed up at Christ Community one Sunday for worship. The trigger that moved them was their recognition that we needed affirmation and support for the position we took with regard to sexual orientation – not a moral issue, just a matter of the marvelously diverse patterns of creation. We did not decide one day to address the issue, although we should have long before. However, as so often happens, something occurred that put before us an occasion to do the right thing. It was the height of the AIDS epidemic. My pastoral team at Christ Community Church designed a workshop on a Saturday composed of physicians, health care workers, and clergy and invited the community to be present. With no responsibility – simply being present – I noticed a man with a clerical collar whom I did not know. I introduced myself and asked where he was from. He told me he was starting a Metropolitan Community Church in Muskegon. I asked where they met and he said in the basement of a bar on Sunday evening. I asked why such a setting. He said they had contacted a dozen churches in Muskegon but either did not get a response or were turned down. I was shocked. I told him I would bring the matter to our consistory. I remember vividly the meeting when I put forth the request. One of our young deacons said, “What would Jesus do?” Issue settled. The Metropolitan group was offered our chapel on Sunday evenings and a classroom for Bible study during the week. The Muskegon Chronicle learned of the group and wrote a story. They also published with the story a picture of the group in our chapel, telling how we offered them hospitality. That story appeared in the press about a week before the spring meeting of the Muskegon Classis and became the catalyst for an investigation of our ministry to homosexual persons. The rest is history. © Grand Valley State University   �Tribute to a Lady Full of Grace Richard A. Rhem Page 2   I tell you that story because – so typical of their spirit – Barbara and Norm showed up at CCC to encourage, affirm and support. I like to think we borrowed them for a few years as positive signs of grace in the face of some difficult times. On an All Saints’ Day Service in 2002, I preached a sermon that spoke especially meaningfully to Norm. He told Barbara, “I want that sermon preached at my funeral.” Norm’s health broke down. He was taken to The Inn at Freedom Village. Returning home from Florida, I saw I had received an email from John saying that his dad was failing. I called Barbara. She was on the way to The Inn. I met her there. Norm had not been communicating for a day or two. I came to his side and something happened. We had a wonderful conversation – he poured out his life story with the church – a pastor who asked his father, an elder, to tell Norm not to ask questions in catechism, and so on. It was a very meaningful time. I prayed with him and left. That evening a message from Barbara was on our answering machine. I wasn’t clear about what she was saying. In the morning I called her. As she began I interrupted – “Barbara, what are you telling me? Did Norm die?” Yes, Norm had died some time after I left. It was as though he made his last and good confession and passed into Light Eternal. He expressed his gratitude for the “Grace Note” that marked our worship over the past few years. And, of course, he would, for is there any word that describes this wonderful couple more than Grace? And to the end of her long and beautiful life Barbara Dee kept the Grace Note alive and well. My last really good conversation with her was at Rest Haven, in which she was very much herself. We talked about our past times together, about how fortunate we were to have lived in the ambience of Grace, to have found God all-embracing and all-inclusive. Thinking about what I would say today, I reviewed the great women of Scripture; none measured up! But then one of my favorite biblical characters came to mind and immediately I knew I had a match for Barbara – Barnabas! Have you ever taken a magic marker to your Bible as I have to Acts and traced the story of Barnabas? I find it quite amazing how his story in Acts reflects the qualities and character of Barbara Dee. In Acts 4 we read of that early Jesus-Jewish community which held everything in common. Enter a Levite from Cyprus named Joseph. But soon the community gave him a new name, Barnabas, which means “Son of Encouragement.” Obviously there was some magic about him – a bit like meeting Barbara, I suppose. They were taken with him. His first recorded deed was to sell a field and give the proceeds to the community. Those in the Temple leadership were not happy about the growing vitality of the Jesus Jewish group. Persecution ensued and we meet Saul, full of rage at the community. You know the story: he affirms the stoning of Stephen and then goes © Grand Valley State University �Tribute to a Lady Full of Grace Richard A. Rhem Page 3   on his way to Damascus to ravage the community. But he has a vision; he hears a voice and sees a light. Saul is converted and, instead of arresting the Followers of the Way, he preaches, proclaiming Jesus as the Son of God. For that he became the enemy and his life was in jeopardy. Back to Jerusalem he attempted to join the disciples but they were afraid of him. And we read of Barnabas’ first act of grace – he brought Saul/Paul to the apostles and told how Saul was transformed from persecutor to preacher of the Lord. As the story goes on, we will see this was characteristic of Barnabas – full of grace, sensitive, believing a person can change, trusting what he saw. The persecution of the Jesus People scattered them abroad. Antioch became a center and there an amazing thing happened – the Jesus Jews spoke the Good News to non-Jews! And, amazingly, the Gentiles believed! Now what to do? The General Synod leaders in Jerusalem got nervous. They decided to send an envoy to check out this new development. And, by the Grace of God, they sent Barnabas. He came to Antioch and the Acts account tells us, When he came and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced…for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. So Barbara-like! No big theological dilemma – he saw the Grace! Paul had returned to his home in Tarsus and Barnabas sought him out and together they ministered for a year to that community in Antioch where the disciples “were first called ‘Christians’”! After a year there, the Antioch Church commissioned Paul and Barnabas to go on the road telling the Good News, which they did with great success. They had taken a young believer, John Mark, with them. Half way through their journey he left them, we know not why. Their success created a major crisis for the Church leaders – the General Synod as it were. Could one come into the Grace of God through the Good News of Jesus without becoming a ritualized Jew? How about food laws? How about circumcision? They called a Council – church historians call it the first major church council. There Peter told his story about his Cornelius experience – how, while he was speaking, the Holy Spirit “fell” on the household of this Roman Cornelius. Then Paul and Barnabas told their story – “The signs and wonders that God had done through them among the Gentiles. The evidence was overwhelming – something of global significance was happening and challenging the deepest foundations of Jewish faith, now focused on Jesus. © Grand Valley State University �Tribute to a Lady Full of Grace Richard A. Rhem Page 4   The “General Secretary “of the “General Synod,” James, ruled in favor of recognizing God’s Grace among the Gentiles, who could come to God through Christ without going through Moses. Wouldn’t Barbara Dee have been clapping her hands, pumping her fist, saying, “Yes!” After the Council’s decision Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s retrace our steps and visit the communities we gathered on our first journey.” Barnabas said, “Great, I’ll invite John Mark.” Paul said, “No way. He deserted us!” Barnabas responded, “He was young. He has really grown up. He’s a great leader!” Paul said, “No way!” The argument was sharp. They parted ways, Barnabas taking John Mark. Who was right? Barnabas, full of grace, of course. He saw deeply into persons. He was sensitive, kind, compassionate, loving. (Don’t you see Barbara Dee in him?) And he was proven right. Check Paul’s letters – in the personal greetings at the end of the letters, Paul mentioned Mark in Colossians, Philemon, and in II Timothy 4:11 Paul writes, “Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful in my ministry.” Obviously John Mark lived into Barnabas’ intuitive sense of the quality of his person. Again, Barnabas, full of grace, hope, and sensitivity saw what Paul had missed. Barbara would not have missed what Paul missed and Barnabas saw. Scholars tell us Acts was written to smooth over the tensions and divisions of the early Jesus movement. There I find a portrait of Barnabas. The big names are Peter, James, and Paul but I sense Barnabas was the key. He trusted Paul’s conversion, he saw God’s Grace in Antioch, he made his witness at the Jerusalem Council and he gave John Mark a second chance. Barbara Dee loved deep issues of Bible, theology and issues before the church in the evolving of cultural expression. Would she not have loved to make her witness to St. James! Would she not have stood up to Paul and hugged Barnabas? She was our Barnabas – full of faith and the Holy Spirit, full of grace and sensitivity, full of compassion and love – and all with her beautiful smile. Barbara’s open mind, warm heart, loving presence – inclusive, embracing, enlivening, and enhancing the humanity of all she met… Can you imagine a world created in her image! I can! I do! And she makes me want to work to that end! © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Barbara Dee Timmer Memorial Service Location The location of the interview Hope Church, Holland, Michigan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-20130531 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013-05-31 Title A name given to the resource A Tribute to a Lady Full of Grace Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on May 31, 2013 entitled "A Tribute to a Lady Full of Grace", on the occasion of Barbara Dee Timmer Memorial Service, at Hope Church, Holland, Michigan. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Grace Inclusive https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a6bf36b4538b54149b42fd49f4298ad3.pdf 4d732d4dd1660be98b9df3fdcc22b20b PDF Text Text LOVE That Loves Us Margaret Feldmann Kruizenga Memorial Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8, 11, 13; I John 4: 7-8, 12, 16, 19; John 1:1-5, 14, 18 Richard A. Rhem Freedom Village, Holland, Michigan May 25, 2013 It is an honor and my privilege to conduct this service of worship and celebration of the life of Margaret Feldmann Kruizenga. I do so as family as much as pastor. When Margaret married Richard she married into a family of Mulders and Kruizengas who were, with a couple of other families, the core of the First Reformed Church of Spring Lake, Michigan. Dick’s parents were baptized on the same day in the First Reformed Church of Spring Lake and, I’m told, Dick’s father winked at his mother across the baptismal font and said, “She’s for me!” The tradition was also Margaret’s, coming, as she did, from Long Island and a Reformed congregation there which steered her to Hope College where she met her husband to be, a marriage of over 60 years. I mention my presence as family because, graduating from Western Seminary in 1960, I was extended a call to the Spring Lake congregation. In the first congregational meeting I ever conducted in the fall of 1960, Dick’s father, Richard J. Kruizenga, was elected once again an elder and proved an early formative influence on me. After a hiatus of seven years, having left for New Jersey and then Europe for post-graduate work, I returned for a visit with a very painful divorce ahead. Dick’s father, with consummate skill, succeeded in leading the congregation to extend a call to me even in the tenuous circumstances of my life at that time. In 1971 I began again in Spring Lake and from that time Dick’s father became a surrogate father to me. And in that almost impossible situation of assuming the pastorate of that fine congregation, divorcing with children 7, 9 and 11 for whom to care, it was primarily Dick’s sister Dorothy and her husband Gordon who “adopted” us and made it all possible. (Gordon is present with us; Dorothy died on the past New Year’s Day.) I relate this history because I want you to sense the personal meaning of this celebration to me. Over many years, Dick and Margaret would return to Spring Lake. I met them but didn’t really know them well until, in retirement, they were summer residents of Spring Lake and Grand Haven. Over these last years we have shared many happy occasions with them and were privileged to come to know their family. © Grand Valley State University   �LOVE That Loves Us Richard A. Rhem Page 2   From that history it is obvious that I did not know the Margaret Dick fell in love with, married and eventually traveled the world with. Even in retirement Margaret’s strength (She was no shrinking flower!), intelligence and acute engagement with current events were clear. She held strong opinions and was not reticent about expressing them. A time or two she straightened me out! But one comment in the Funeral Home Obituary Internet Site caught my eye and I determined I would share it with you because in brief, concise fashion I suspect Margaret could not receive a finer portrait. Her friend Nancy wrote: Margaret was a dear friend for many, many years – and remained so from all corners of the world. I met her when I was just out of college and she was a sophisticated New York wife, mother and world traveler. I always admired and looked up to her for her great taste, wit, intelligence and generosity. My love and thoughts are with her wonderful husband Dick and with Meg, Derek and families. Margaret will always have a special place in my heart. That is the one whose life we celebrate today – and yesterday – at the Ground Breaking for the Kruizenga Art Museum on Hope’s campus. My first serious encounter with Dick and Margaret was many years ago at the Spring Lake cemetery – a graveside service for their child Dwight, a special needs child. In her determined fashion, Margaret sought every possible means to give Dwight a normal childhood but ran into a wall; nothing in science, medicine or technology could bring her child to wholeness. I think it was at that critical juncture that she found in Christian Science spiritual resources that enabled her to cope with human impotence in face of deep human need. Her spiritual quest became her lifelong pursuit. She was serious, engaged and generous in her support of the Church of Christ, Scientist where she found a spiritual community. Through her leadership and support, the church in Irving, Texas, was transformed into a beautiful sacred space and she was very supportive of the church in Grand Haven as well. Margaret was seriously engaged in the spiritual quest for meaning, indeed, for the Sacred Mystery we call God. In the teaching of Christian Science she was pointed to God as Spirit, Mind, Love and the critical importance of prayer and meditation. The Scripture Lessons were chosen in light of Margaret’s spiritual quest. The familiar poetry of Ecclesiastes 3 moves to God has made everything suitable for its time; moreover he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. © Grand Valley State University �LOVE That Loves Us Richard A. Rhem Page 3   One whose knowledge of Hebrew far surpasses mine has rendered those lines thus: God has made everything beautiful in its own time and has put an eternal yearning in our hearts even as we live before the face of Mystery. An eternal yearning before the face of Mystery – my sense is that that might fit Margaret well. It is my sense that in her spiritual pursuit she came to rest in the God of Love – a central biblical teaching underscored in Christian Science – Divine Love come to expression in the life of Jesus. “No one has ever seen God,” declares the writer of the Fourth Gospel in his prologue to his story of Jesus decades after the event itself. But the eternal Word, Creation’s Agent, assumed flesh – humanity – and in that human face, the writer claims, God is revealed. Out of that Johannine Circle, also near the end of the first century as the early Christian community was trying to give expression to the Gospel, the writer of the First Letter of John picked up that statement from the Gospel – “No one has seen God.” For him as for the Gospel writer, the Mystery of God was revealed in Jesus. He opens his letter: We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life. But then later in the letter he calls the community to love one another for “God is love.” He then repeats the acknowledgement of the Gospel – No one has ever seen God.” But he goes on to make a startling claim – If we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. He moves beyond the Gospel’s claim that God is revealed in Jesus – the Word made flesh – to the amazing claim that God is revealed in our love one for another. If we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. God is Love, Love known and experienced in our human love. The Hebrew poet sensed an eternal yearning as he lived before the face of Mystery. The writer of the First Letter of John read off the story of Jesus that God is Love. But not only that; God/LOVE is known/experienced in the concreteness of human love – as we love one another. © Grand Valley State University �LOVE That Loves Us Richard A. Rhem Page 4   The human quest for meaning, for some understanding of the mystery of being human, our whence, our whither, and what it means in the meantime is both ancient and contemporary. One of the greatest film directors of our time is Terrence Malick. He produced The Thin Red Line and more recently a film entitled The Tree of Life – a deeply spiritual film starring Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain. But last month To the Wonder came out, a film in which Malick reveals the deep human hunger and quest for what ultimately grounds us, forms us, calls us to communion. A reviewer writes, Ultimately, for Malick, the experience of falling in love grants us a glimpse of the divine – of a ‘LOVE that loves us.’ Humanity was made for God. And He is present all around us – in the transfiguring, wondrous joy of romantic love, in self-giving sacrifice, in our suffering and the suffering of others, in the charity we offer to those in pain, in the resplendent beauty of the natural world – if only we open our eyes to see Him. That, it seems, is Terrence Malick’s scandalous message….an ecstatic tribute to God. (Damon Linker) The film’s title says it all – “To the Wonder.” I find it fascinating that one of our contemporary film directors should with such artistry cause us to wonder – wonder about the Wonder that is God. In a three-way e-mail conversation in which I engage and, in this instance, about Malick’s “To the Wonder,” one wrote: In this context it makes a lot of sense to me that in wanting to speak redemptively about what grounds us in all that we are Malick wrestles with love as Love. In being Loved I know God and in loving I walk with God (Hendrick Hart) I entitled my meditation the LOVE that Loves Us – loves us into being, undergirds, overshadows ‘til finally we move through death to Eternal Light dwelling in the LOVE that loved us into being! God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. Margaret believed that. In her final barely conscious moments she was bathed in it. I stood vigil with Dick. I witnessed his deep love in a final embrace and “I love you,” as well as the heavy grief he felt. Dick violated the Kruizenga canon against showing emotion! It was quite beautiful, moving. God is Love. LOVE loved her into being. Margaret believed that. Now she knows. © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Meditation for Margaret Feldmann Kruizenga Scripture Text Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, 11, 13, I John 4:7-8, 12, 16, 19, John 1:1-5, 14 & 18 Location The location of the interview Freedom Village, Holland, Michigan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-20130525 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013-05-25 Title A name given to the resource The LOVE That Loves Us Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on May 25, 2013 entitled "The LOVE That Loves Us", on the occasion of Meditation for Margaret Feldmann Kruizenga, at Freedom Village, Holland, Michigan. Scripture references: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, 11, 13, I John 4:7-8, 12, 16, 19, John 1:1-5, 14 & 18. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Family Funeral Love Sacred Mystery Spiritual Quest https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d7f159f9bc772149c653ef1c5f165beb.pdf 2e3554de0ca536024d8ae79b39df19ff PDF Text Text Rock Solid – Soft Center Meditation for Marvin Bottema Text: Psalm 16: 8; Romans 8: 31, 35-39 Richard A. Rhem Spring Lake, Michigan March 2, 2013 Prepared text of the meditation I suspect, to the extent that you know Marv Bottema well, you will understand why I have entitled my meditation “Rock Solid – Soft Center.” Does that not describe him? Was he not solid as a rock – settled, secure, unmovable when it came to his trust, his values, his commitments? He was the rock solid center of his family and, throughout his life, responsible, dependable faithful. Of course, it was in his genes. Son of Gerrit and Johanna could be no less. But it was more than that; his life was deeply rooted in God, the God of the Psalmist, the God revealed in Jesus Christ. As always, I chose the Scripture lessons that were reflected in his life. They happen to be among my favorite passages as well, but they were chosen because they were lived out concretely in Marvin’s life. Psalm 16:8 – I keep the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. The English translation misses the image of the Hebrew text which is, literally, “before my face” – I keep the Lord always before my face. What do you suppose the Psalmist is saying? God fully in his consciousness 24/7? Probably not. I don’t even know what that would be, what that would entail. This is poetry and don’t you suppose the poet is trying to bring to expression the fact that his whole being is shaped by his awareness at deep moments that, aware or not, he lives in a “God-shaped” reality? God is the source, ground and goal of all being. The poet believes that, trusts that. Paul on one occasion speaks of God in whom “we live and move and have our being.” God, the unspoken Presence, the backdrop, the foundation that gives us our being so that there is no secular and sacred. And we don’t have to signal in every situation, every conversation, that God fills our mind and heart. © Grand Valley State University   �Rock Solid – Soft Center Richard A. Rhem Page 2   In fact, I’m a bit allergic to those pious ones whose language is replete with God’s latest miracle in their lives. This was not my friend, Marvin. No, his deep-seated spiritual grounding did not need to be expressed; it was simply the constant center of his being. It informed the total experience of his life in labor and leisure, in the family or at Burger King. He got a head start; he chose his parents well. His traditioning, his spiritual formation, was deep; it started early. And, when it is deep and authentic, one never gets away from it. One doesn’t put it on like a Sunday suit (although Sunday suits are not put on so much either anymore!) I am perhaps belaboring the point but, as I too grow older and can see the end, I become acutely aware of the critical importance of early formation, being nurtured through a lifetime of worship in the community of God’s people. That was Marv’s story. A life of faith in family and church and community – in Sunday school, consistory, and keeping the spotlight on the church Bell Tower. He loved the church. He hung in there a long time. On day I was in Grand Haven and received a call on my cell phone. The Cross was coming down. Since I was close I drove over and parked at the edge of the parking lot as the bucket truck was getting into position. I thought of Marv whose scrapbooks were filled with local history of community and church. I called him – 842 2958 – one of the numbers in my mental file. In hardly any time his pickup drove up. He moved with more quickness than I had seen him move for some time. His camera at the ready, he documented the event – for him a cause for great sadness. In Marvin I saw how much so many had invested their lives in the church community. I saw how much he and so many cared. I felt his loss. This is just one vignette illustrative of the deep spiritual rootedness, commitment and devotion of this one whose life we celebrate today. I will think of him on Good Friday when I hear the cross will be placed again on the Bell Tower. He will be pleased – maybe even joining the angel choir for an anthem – Lift High the Cross! I have set the Lord always before me… Thus sang the poet; Marv’s life said an Amen to that. Rock solid he was, immersed as he was in a God-consciousness that needed not to be spoken about because it showed all over. And the story gets even better: He had a soft center. Was there anything he wouldn’t do for his children or grandchildren? Many the times I stopped by and one of you was borrowing or bringing back the pickup or the Pontiac. Or maybe buying a new washer and dryer for the farmhouse. And those are just a couple of © Grand Valley State University �Rock Solid – Soft Center Richard A. Rhem Page 3   instances I can remember, but it was a way of life. He never ceased caring, providing, aiding in any way he could because he was soft at the center – a pushover as it were – and that was no accident. By “Soft at the Center,” I mean there was Love at the Center. The Epistle lesson, Romans 8:31, 35-39, expresses beautifully exactly what we have been talking about from Psalm 16. For the Psalmist – The Lord always before my face – was described by St. Paul as the God who is “for us.” And further: Who will separate us from the love of Christ? And then he lists the possible assaults on our human condition and concludes, No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. And then one of the most beautiful acclamations from the apostle: For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord. Marvin was soft at the center for his whole universe was soft at the center. The center is Love; the last word is love. Love is the final reality – as the writer of the first letter of John affirmed – God is Love. And nothing will separate us from that love – nothing in life, nothing in death. With God always before one’s face, the God who is love, one grows rock solid in all life’s circumstances, while being soft at the center, emulating the God who keeps us in all life’s experience secure in Love Divine. One more thing: I must say to you – sons and daughters, grandchildren – you are a very beautiful family. When I would say to Marv, “You have wonderful kids,” he would say, “That was Thelma’s doing.” And I would suggest he was probably a little bit responsible as well. But my point is you have returned the love and care that you learned from your parents. It always warmed my heart to witness it. I will miss him and I will miss you. We have had some beautiful moments – around the kitchen table, on the deck, in the yard celebrating the sacraments of Baptism and The Lord’s Supper. You are a wonderful © Grand Valley State University �Rock Solid – Soft Center Richard A. Rhem Page 4   family. Stay close. Keep alive those meaningful traditions and celebrations we have shared. I have come to love you very much. And so we say farewell, good and faithful servant – Rock Solid/Soft Center. He has entered into light eternal, into the joy of the Lord, together again with all he loved and lost awhile. Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Meditation for Marvin Bottema Scripture Text Psalm 16:8, Romans 8:31, 35-39 Location The location of the interview Spring Lake, Michigan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-20130302 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013-03-02 Title A name given to the resource Rock Solid - Soft Center Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on March 2, 2013 entitled "Rock Solid - Soft Center", on the occasion of Meditation for Marvin Bottema, at Spring Lake, Michigan. Scripture references: Psalm 16:8, Romans 8:31, 35-39. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Community Faith Love https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f87585bf5b0e28fda0eadfcce942396a.pdf a4b633acf9c12a277af19d28dadcedac PDF Text Text Present to the Presence Living with Awareness of God in Whom We Trust Psalm 16: 5-11; Romans 8: 31, 35-39 Richard A. Rhem Lakeshore Interfaith Institute and Community, Mother’s Trust Ganges, Michigan July 29, 2012 Prepared text of Talk I am really not being morbid but, of late, when I am trying to determine what to speak about when fulfilling an assignment such as this, I think about what some professors are invited to do: to deliver a lecture they would deliver if they had but one last opportunity. What would one want to say if he or she knew all their learning, all their wisdom and insight, knowledge and passion were to be packed into their final lecture? That is really a great challenge: if this were your last time to address a group of students, what would you say to them? The concept was inspired by the “Last Lecture” delivered at Carnegie Mellon University by Dr. Randy Pausch on September 18, 2007. He had terminal pancreatic cancer – a fact known at the time that he spoke. His lecture was entitled “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams.” He died on July 25, 2008. So what would I want to say if I had one last time to bring to expression my deepest truth? I’ve entitled my presentation “Present to the Presence: Living With the Awareness of God in Whom We Trust.” As part of the process of coming to that decision I traveled back over my faith journey, trying to identify those critical moments that have shaped me and brought me to where I find myself at this advanced stage of my journey. And there is no question but I must point to the loving nurture of my childhood, the nurture received from deeply committed Christian parents. There was implanted in me an unquestioned trust in the good and gracious God of Christian faith. Growing up, there was never a question, never a doubt. At my ordination I received a letter from my father telling me when I was in my mother’s womb he dedicated me to God’s service should I turn out to be a boy. (Women’s ordination wasn’t even in the picture at that time.) Of course, that was not a surprise to me for he would often speak of his prayer that I would go into the ministry. Yet I did not know of the moment when he first brought it to expression on his knees. In a sense I never chose my vocation; it seemed as natural as breathing that I would pursue that course. I never questioned nor resisted. Thus, graduating from © Grand Valley State University   �Present to the Presence Richard A. Rhem Page 2   seminary in 1960, I assumed my first pastorate at the First Reformed Church of Spring Lake, Michigan. I came to that wonderful congregation with my childhood faith and piety. Having gone through twenty years of education including the four at college and three at seminary, my childhood faith remained intact; I really had not been educated but remained with the faith and piety I imbibed with my mother’s milk. I began my ministry with an unexamined faith understanding, believing not only that it was true but that it was absolute truth. I was not only very conservative in my Reformed and evangelical faith, I was militantly so. In retrospect I realize that that militancy was the consequence of a deep insecurity. I was defensive but without being really aware of it. A statement put out by the Theological Commission of the Reformed Church on the authority of Scripture stated the Bible was “infallible in what it intended to teach.” I considered that statement was intended to allow that Scripture might be in error in things that were not what it “intended to teach” regarding our salvation. I objected; I insisted that the Bible was inerrant and infallible, period! That is not really important except to indicate where I was as I began my ministry – very conservative and threatened by any challenge to my fervently held orthodox Reformed faith. That is the setting for detailing the long journey that brings me to where I am at present – very comfortable giving expression to my faith understanding in this fine interfaith community. I suspect the long unwinding of that exclusive, absolutist faith was triggered by what may seem a rather trivial occurrence. One of my young people made her Christian confession of faith. The next summer she went away to work with a friend whose mother was a Mormon. She returned to tell me she was going to become a Mormon. I was heartbroken. I gave her Scripture texts. She came back with texts from the Book of Mormon. It was then that I realized if all I had was a text against another text, I was deadlocked. (I shudder to think of my ignorance.) About this time the Reformed Church came out with a new curriculum in conjunction with the Presbyterian Church – The Covenant Life Curriculum. The curriculum was introduced with Foundation Papers. I began to study them, especially regarding the view of Scripture. For the first time I began to open up to a larger view. I taught the opening adult course at Spring Lake and then moved to a congregation in New Jersey that was very conservative. When I brought in that curriculum there, there was resistance. The resistance made me dig deeper. I began to see the closed orthodoxy, from which I stemmed, from the other side. After a brief three-year pastorate there it was time to go back to school. I left for post-graduate study in the Netherlands. © Grand Valley State University �Present to the Presence Richard A. Rhem Page 3   Without going into the details, I made an appointment with Professor Hendrikus Berkhof at the University of Leiden. His study was in his home and I met him there. A most inviting and cordial person. I was impressed though not yet committed to Leiden. But as I arose to leave I noticed a mimeographed paper penned to the drape that separated his study from the rest of his house. I went to read what was written; what was written changed my life. The lines were those of Alfred Lord Tennyson: Our little systems have their day; They have their day and cease to be; They are but broken lights of Thee, And Thou, O Lord, art more than they. I remember the moment vividly. I had found my professor! For those who have been with me for some time, this is a familiar account but I must, in this retrospective, underline it here because I was at a critical point in my life and ministry. My “little system” had hit a wall. My whole “system” was based on the absolute authority of the Bible as the God-breathed, inerrant, infallible truth. I was devoid of any sense of how the critical studies of Scripture had revealed it as a very human product that was a witness to revelation – that is, the report of an experience of unveiling, not the unveiling itself. As mentioned above, my first hint of a critical view of Scripture came in the Foundation Papers of the Covenant Life Curriculum. The first assignment from my new mentor, Professor Berkhof, also my professor of Dogmatics, was to read Karl Barth. I went to my set of Karl Barth’s Church Dogmatics, Vol. I, Part 2 – The Doctrine of the Word of God, and 45 years later I could turn to the page heavily underlined that struck me as I first encountered it: If we take Luther and Calvin together, we can say that the way to that universal and moving view of inspiration which answers to the majesty of God, and as we find it in Scripture itself, was again opened up by the Reformation. The Reformers’ doctrine of inspiration is an honouring of God, and of the free grace of God. The statement that the Bible is the Word of God is on this view no limitation, but an unfolding of the perception of the sovereignty in which the Word of God condescended to become flesh for us in Jesus Christ, and a human word in the witness of the prophets and apostles as witnesses to His incarnation. On their lips and understanding this is the true statement concerning the Bible which is always indispensable to the Church. But the post-Reformation period first of all failed really to take the newly opened road to the meaning and understanding of the statement. And then it obviously took a different and mistaken way: mistaken, because it destroyed the mystery of this statement, because it necessarily resulted in © Grand Valley State University �Present to the Presence Richard A. Rhem Page 4   a denial of the sovereignty of the Word of God and therefore of the Word of God itself. In this connection we cannot pay too much attention to a remarkable parallelism: the development of the original Reformed Protestantism into the newer Protestantism which began in the so-called orthodoxy and became visible about 1700 was admittedly characterised by a gradual growth of uncertainty in the knowledge of the sin and justification of man and the judgment and grace of God. This uncertainty, as it concerned the question of revelation, was followed first by a quiet, then by an increasingly open and direct inflow of natural theology. To this development there corresponded, curiously enough, a stiffening in the understanding of the inspiration of the Bible which also began quietly but then developed no less definitely. The strictly supranaturalistic character of the statements which were the outcome of this stiffening tends to create an optical illusion. We first think that we are faced by a contradiction when we see orthodoxy becoming laxer and laxer in relation to natural theology and in secret to the doctrine of grace, but stricter and stricter in relation to the doctrine of the inspiration of the Bible. In reality the two belong intimately together. The gradually extending new understanding of biblical inspiration was simply one way and, in view of its highly supranaturalistic character, perhaps the most important way in which the great process of secularisation on which post-Reformation protestantism entered was carried through. This new understanding of biblical inspiration meant simply that the statement that the Bible is the Word of God was now transformed (following the doubtful tendencies we have already met in the Early Church) from a statement about the free grace of God into a statement about the nature of the Bible as exposed to human inquiry brought under human control. The Bible as the Word of God surreptitiously became a part of natural knowledge of God, i.e., of that knowledge of God which man can have without the free grace of God, by his own power, and with direct insight and assurance. That the highly supranaturalistic form in which this step was made was only a form used because no better was available is proved by the haste with which it was abandoned almost as soon as it was adopted. It was followed by the enlightenment and the ensuing “historical” investigation and treatment of the Bible, i.e., the character of the Bible as the Word of God was now transformed into that of a highly relevant historical record. And this merely revealed what high orthodoxy had really sought and attained under this apparently supranaturalistic form: the understanding and use of the Bible as an instrument separated from the free grace of God and put into the hands of man. If it should be our aim © Grand Valley State University �Present to the Presence Richard A. Rhem Page 5   today to go back to the better understanding of the Bible which we find in the Reformers and above all in the Bible itself, then it is not a question of renewing the doctrine of inspiration of high orthodoxy in opposition to the Enlightenment and the development which followed it. Rather, we must carefully and consistently avoid the mistake of that orthodoxy – which is all the more dangerous because its supranaturalistic trend can make it appear advantageous. It is only at this root that the evil which broke out later can really be tackled. (Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics, Vol. I.1,p. 522f) Barth’s essential insight was that revelation must be a present experience as the Holy Spirit takes what once was revealed and recorded in Scripture so that it becomes, by God’s grace, a present revelation by the same Holy Spirit that inspired prophets and apostles. God’s revelation is not to be contained between the covers of a book that one can slip in one’s pocket, as it were, carrying around the Word of God. Revelation happened; revelation happens; but it is always a contemporary event by the grace of God’s Spirit. I was fascinated by Barth’s historical analysis that revealed how, as reason’s dominance evolved as the Enlightenment emerged, exalting human rationality, challenging the Bible as the supernaturally inspired Word of God, the orthodox Protestant church increasingly affirmed the Bible as inerrant and infallible. As reason rose in ascendancy, Barth claimed, rather than trusting the Bible as the product of God’s revelation which, by the grace of God, would become ever anew revelation by the same grace of God, the post Reformation Scholastics now set up the Bible as itself the depository of revelation, utilizing the same human reason that Enlightenment thinkers were using to discredit the Bible. I found that movement fascinating and very enlightening. I understood Barth saying the whole approach to “saving” the Bible from its Enlightenment critics by means of counter-reasoned argument was doomed to failure. Now the Bible was in human hands; rather than seeing it as a record of revelations past that may by God’s grace be again a place of revelation, orthodoxy attempted to prove the Bible itself was the revelation – a futile endeavor. I became a convinced Barthian at that point, no longer afraid that turning over the next stone might bring to light some data that would undercut biblical authority. The authority did not reside in “the book” which was a fallible human witness to revelatory experience of the respective writers. With that a huge burden was lifted from my shoulders. Now I had room to think, to question, to wonder. With the wise and gracious guidance of my mentor, Hendrikus Berkhof, I plunged into my study with a voracious hunger. I would read and read, one volume leading to five more and from time to time would call my Professor for an appointment to discuss my progress. Eventually, after a couple years, he would say, “Mr. Rhem, now you must begin to write.” But the next volume lead me to investigate more footnotes and delve further into the bibliography. I was so “hungry” and I could not stop pushing out the frontiers of my evolving grasp of © Grand Valley State University �Present to the Presence Richard A. Rhem Page 6   the historical development of Christian dogma from the Apostolic Age through the early church fathers and the creedal formation that continues to mark Christian dogma. Since Dogmatics was not considered a science in the Netherlands’ university system, Professor Berkhof, though my advisor, could not be the professor of the major study of my program, he being a “Church Professor,” appointed by the Netherlands Reformed Church. He advised a second minor in New Testament, and The History of Dogma as my major. What wise counsel; the history of the development of Christian Dogmatics was precisely what I needed – what I loved. I traced the historical development from the early centuries through the Reformation. It was an exciting time of discovery. After three years I took my testamens – oral exams with each of my three professors in Dogmatics, New Testament and History of Dogma. Having passed those three exams I was ready for the oral exam before the whole faculty for the Doctorandus Degree, which I was granted in April, 1969. Next – deciding on a subject for my doctoral dissertation and the writing of it. I decided to write on the place of history in the theology of Karl Barth and Wolfhart Pannenberg, a young German theologian who was of a school of scholars who were the students of the twentieth-century giants, Barth and Rudolf Bultmann, both of whom in their respective fields had no place for “revelation in history.” For Bultmann, the only “footprint” of revelation in history was the “dass,” the “that” of Jesus – he was an historical person but we can recover no reliable data of his life except that he “was.” For Barth, revelation came “vertically from above;” it was always an event. The only footprint of God’s revelation in history was the thirty-three years of Jesus’ historical existence bracketed by two miracles – the Virgin Birth at the beginning and the Resurrection at the end. The next generation was not satisfied with that conception of revelation that disallowed historical enquiry into the life of Jesus as well as the Old and New Testament history. That debate was the focus of my research and I became intensely interested in the development of historical thinking which emerged in the nineteenth century. But I soon learned that the real watershed that divided theological development from the Apostolic Age to the present was the Enlightenment. My sense was one had to go through the Enlightenment if the ancient faith was to be adhered to in the present. After having chapter one of my dissertation approved, I returned home but I had none. I had spent the last six months alone in the Netherlands, my former wife having left in the summer of 1970. A broken marriage finally came apart and I returned in December of 1970 to see my children, thinking I would return to the Netherlands to finish the dissertation and receive the Doctor of Theology degree which I saw as necessary because I thought my pastoral ministry was finished since divorce was certain and, at that time, I had no hope of receiving a call from a congregation. But I was wrong. © Grand Valley State University �Present to the Presence Richard A. Rhem Page 7   My first congregation, in what I still can only understand as an act of very great grace, invited me to return to be their pastor, knowing that divorce would follow shortly. Returning to Leiden, I packed my books and few belongings and on March 1, 1971, began again to be the pastor of the First Reformed Church of Spring Lake. Again, graciously, I was encouraged to continue to work on my dissertation. But the congregation began to grow and I was fully engaged. I did keep in touch with Professor Berkhof, letting him know what was happening. One day I received a letter from him in which he wrote, Mr. Rhem, I no longer expect you to return to complete your doctoral work. Theology is for the service of the church. God has called you to a more important work. Such a professor! Such grace! Such sensitivity! It is no wonder in subsequent years we, with our spouses, traveled together and twice they were our house guests. But that is another story. The above transitions me to Spring Lake where, three months after beginning again, we re-named ourselves Christ Community Church. Though now a full-time pastor, I could not cease being fascinated by the theological history through which I had traversed. In my preaching I sought to interlace my best understanding of the biblical text but in the present context of our history. Adult Education, however, provided opportunity to share my growing understanding of the Christian faith. In 1974 the Catholic theologian Hans Küng published a book in German entitled Christ Sein, which was translated into English in 1976 under the title On Being a Christian. I found it a marvelous statement of Christian faith in light of all I had learned about the historical development that brought us to the present and I used it with groups of lay folk. In 1978 Küng published Existiert Gott?, an English translation appearing the same year under the title Does God Exist? That book too I consumed and used in an adult education class. For me, it was as though my whole European study was condensed in one 800-plus page volume. It was here that I faced the Enlightenment head-on as it related to the Christian faith. Küng drew together for me in concise form the crisis of modern atheism that arose in the wake of the Enlightenment. In a section entitled “The Challenge of Atheism,” Küng’s sub-sections are: I. God – a projection of man? Ludwig Feuerbach II. God – a consolation serving vested interests? Karl Marx III.God – an infantile illusion? Sigmund Freud. © Grand Valley State University �Present to the Presence Richard A. Rhem Page 8   The next major division Küng entitles “Nihilism – Consequence of Atheism,” dealing with Friedrich Nietzsche. In scholarly fashion with great clarity he sets forth the kernel of the thought of these thinkers. He then offers a critique acknowledging where the thrust of their thought raised valid issues Christian theology must deal with. Küng opens this section, “The Challenge of Atheism,” by setting the stage for his development which follows: Socrates was condemned to death as atheos, as “godless.” But he had by no means rejected any kind of God; he had rejected, like many other educated Greeks, only the customary veneration of the gods of the Greek polis. Atheism properly so-called does not deny merely a plurality of gods or merely a particular way of worshiping God or even simply a personal, ”theistic” God. It denies any God and any divine reality, whether understood mythologically, theologically or philosophically. In both antiquity and the Middle Ages, there were very few who upheld atheism in this sense: a total view of reality assuming that it is possible to do without any God at all. It was only with the radicalized French Enlightenment – in the aftermath of secularization and the Church’s compromising of belief in God by its struggle against both modern science and modern democracy – that atheism, as we saw, became more widespread at first among the educated classes. The new defenders of atheism in the nineteenth century felt, however, that they were far above this “common atheism.” In fact, it was only with Feuerbach and Marx and later – supported by atheistic natural scientists – with Nietzsche and Freud that atheism became a Weltanschauung, threatening belief in God and Christianity at their roots, penetrating all classes of the population and finally reaching global dimensions beyond the frontiers of Europe. (p. 189) The font of this modern (nineteenth century) atheism Küng finds in Ludwig Feuerbach (1804-1872). Of course, Hegelian philosophy had set the stage but in Feuerbach modern atheism found its architect. Küng contends that, With Feuerbach, the tremendous danger to belief in God and Christianity presented by Hegel’s identification of finite and infinite consciousness, of man and God, becomes apparent. (p. 199) What happens to God? Küng explains: And God? What follows, from all this, for the notion of God? The essential presupposition is that “the consciousness of the infinite is nothing else than the consciousness of the infinity of the consciousness.” That is: “In © Grand Valley State University �Present to the Presence Richard A. Rhem Page 9   the consciousness of the infinite, the conscious subject has for his object the infinity of his own nature.” This, then, is how the notion of God emerges, and it seems entirely understandable. Man sets up his human nature out of himself, he sees it as something existing outside himself and separated from himself; he projects it, then, as an autonomous figure – so to speak – in heaven, calls it God and worships it. In a word, the notion of God is nothing but a projection of man: “The absolute to man is his own nature.” The knowledge of God, then, is a gigantic floodlight. God appears as a projected, hypostatized reflection of man, behind which nothing exists in reality. The divine is the universally human projected into the hereafter. What are the attributes of the divine nature: love, wisdom, justice...? In reality, these are the attributes of man, of the human species. Homo homini Deus est, man is God for man: here lies the whole mystery of religion. This becomes particularly clear with the personal (“theistic”) God of Christianity, independent and existing outside man. This God is nothing other than the specific notion of man, given independent existence, the personified nature of man. Man “contemplates his nature as external to himself”; God is the manifest interior of man, his expressed, “relinquished self.” The Attributes of God are really the attributes of the objectified nature of man. It is not, as in the Bible, that God created man in his own image. But, on the contrary, man created God in his own image. God as a ghostly Opposite, existing outside man, stimulated by man himself. Man a great projector, God the great projection. Just test it...and it disappears. God is intellectual being, spirit. In this very way, God appears as a pure projection of human understanding...” (p. 200f) From Feuerbach’s God as Projection idea one can see how that was used by Karl Marx claiming God, thus projected, serves the vested interests of the powerful. From Feuerbach, Freud claimed God to be an infantile illusion. Küng explains Freud’s claim regarding the source of religion. What is the source of religion? First of all we must look at the historical background. For Freud, the question of the origin of the various religions was quite obviously psychological in character. For Christian and Jewish theologians, for centuries it had been a dogmatic question: the pagan religions were distortions, degenerations of the original, pure, revealed religion (with a primordial revelation), as a result of man’s sin as described in the Bible. But, for the rationalist “enlighteners” of the eighteenth century also – David Hume in England, Rousseau, Voltaire and Diderot in France, © Grand Valley State University �Present to the Presence Richard A. Rhem Page10   Gotthold Ephraim Lessing in Germany – it was a dogmatic question: the various religions were distortions and degenerations of the originally pure religion of reason, with its clear belief in God, freedom and immortality – distortions brought about by priestly inventions and popular customs. It was only with the rise of a science of religion, in the nineteenth century that the question of the origin of religion became a historical, philological, ethnological, psychological question. Even in classical Greece, of course, there had been an interest in the history of religions; but a science of religion as a specific field of study has existed only from the nineteenth century onward. In this field, primitive religion itself became a problem. (p. 175f) Freud’s answer to the question of the source of religion? Küng summarizes thus: Religion, then, arose out of the oldest, strongest and most urgent wishes of mankind. Religion is wishful thinking, illusion. “Illusion” means that religion is not a deliberate lie in the moral sense or – and Freud stresses this – error in the epistemological sense; nor is it necessarily illusory in the sense of being unrealistic or contradicting reality. Illusion – and this is typical – is motivated by the need of wish fulfillment: it is a product therefore of sensual-instinctual life and needs for its deciphering the decoding technique of applied psychology. (p. 284) And where did the projection idea of Feuerbach and the various ways projection was utilized by Marx and Freud lead? Küng leads us to the conclusion found in the brilliant Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) – that is to Nihilism. In his parable of the “madman” his atheism comes to expression. There a keen-sighted prophet “who lit a lantern in the bright morning hours” proclaimed the death of God. “Whither is God,” cried the ‘madman’... “I will tell you. We have killed him – you and I. All of us are his murderers.” Küng gives us Nietzche’s understanding of the nihilism which he embraced. Küng writes that Nietzsche used the term nihilism initially with little discrimination, but in his unpublished work he reflected on all aspects of it. “What does nihilism mean?” asks Nietzsche here, and his answer now runs: “That the highest values devaluate themselves. The aim is lacking: ‘why?’ finds no answer.” In another fragment, he expresses it more precisely: “Radical nihilism is the conviction of an absolute untenability of existence when it comes to the highest values one recognizes; plus the realization that we lack the least right to posit a beyond or an in-itself of things that might be ‘divine’ or morality incarnate.” It can be said – and this, too, will be explained in the following pages – that, according to Nietzsche, nihilism means the conviction of the nullity, of the internal contradiction, futility and worthlessness of reality. © Grand Valley State University �Present to the Presence Richard A. Rhem Page11   Nietzsche sees this nihilism as coming in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries: “What I relate is the history of the next two centuries. I describe what is coming, what can no longer come differently: the advent of nihilism. This history can be related even now; for necessity itself is at work here. This future speaks even now in a hundred signs, this destiny announces itself everywhere; for the music of the future all ears are cocked even now. For some time now, our whole European culture has been moving as toward a catastrophe, with a tortured tension that is growing from decade to decade: restlessly, violently, headlong, like a river that wants to reach the end, that no longer reflects, that is afraid to reflect.” Indeed, it must be said: “Nihilism stands at the door,” and we can only ask: “Whence comes this uncanniest of all guests?” Thus Küng charts the nadir of modern atheism. But he does not leave us there. Rather he begins to build his case for a “yes” to reality beginning with an alternative to the emptiness of nihilism – fundamental trust. From there he affirms a “yes to God – alternative to atheism.” Then “yes to the Christian God” – finally, “The God of Jesus Christ.” Küng builds carefully, taking into account all that has been considered in the claims of modern atheism but offering an alternative based in trust. In my own continuing wrestle with the issues raised in the post-Enlightenment modern atheism, I struggled to find a reasonable faith. In my study of the new quest for the historical Jesus I found John Knox particularly helpful in his The Humanity and Divinity of Christ. Writing about the humanity of Christ he makes a statement that defined my own quest for understanding Jesus. There are two conditions under which a significant symbol loses (or, perhaps better, is shown to have lost) its vitality and power. One of these is when our hearts no longer need it, when all we want to say or need to say (or to have said to us) can be said without it. The other is when our minds, failing to discern in it the coherency of truth, are forced to reject it. For our hearts cannot finally find true what our minds find false. If they could, we should be hopelessly divided and any firm grasp of reality would be impossible. What we mean by ‘the heart’ in this connection is not something alien or counter to the mind, but is the mind itself quickened and extended. The wisdom the heart has found, if it be wisdom and not fantasy, is the same wisdom the mind all the while has been feeling after, if haply it might find it. It is a wisdom which, far from bypassing the understanding, enters through the doors of it, fills and stretches the space of it, and only then breaks through and soars above it. (p. 107) That was for me a critically important insight. Yet I was aware that my faith from childhood, which through all the intellectual struggles of my quest for an © Grand Valley State University �Present to the Presence Richard A. Rhem Page12   understanding, was deeper and more expansive than my mind, my rational faculties, could explain or justify before the bar of reason. Only recently was I given a copy of a chapter from the book Walking the Tightrope of Faith. The chapter’s author is Hendrik Hart, a philosopher/theologian who has done much work in post-modern thought. Without doing justice to the careful development of his contention in this chapter, let me simply offer a few lines from Professor Hart: Trust in a spiritually powerful orientation to the existential issues in the face of the boundary conditions of existence is historically not a matter of concepts, propositions, and arguments, but of stories, rituals, prayers, and hymns. (p. 198) Hart is in dialogue with Kai Nielsen as he writes that for which I have been seeking. Closely connected to Nielsen’s insistence that faith-as-trust is logically dependent on propositional belief is his pervasive complaint about religion’s lack of rational coherence (37, 39, 41, 43, 111). One problem with this complaint is that it does not do justice to those Christians who try to nourish faith as a non-intellectual(istic) life-guiding trust, as a form of spirituality. In faith thus developed, rational coherence is not necessarily a relevant concern, the way it is in forms of theology developed to counter the Enlightenment by modelling theology on rational philosophy (38-39). I think Nielsen misses the point when he continually charges that in order to be properly religious these Christians must conform to notions of religion especially developed in Enlightenment-influenced theology. (p. 199) “Enlightenment-influenced theology” – that was the story of my long journey. Finally I come to realize what Hendrik Hart claims defines my ongoing quest while living with fundamental trust. This is the understanding I have been seeking. We all need to trust some orientation to the ultimate questions of life. But “answers” to these questions point in a direction that transcends rational comprehension. These “answers,” that is, point to mysteries, told in myths. If we trust traditions which “tell” what people have experienced when they trusted the life-direction to which the “answers” in the myths point, these traditions provide guidance, especially if we decide to trust the narratives enough to live by them. It is not necessary here to insist on traditional language. If the faithful of some religion are to be in communication again with contemporary naturalists or atheists on equal footing, we can at least temporarily suspend talk about God, or even about some “transcendent revealed,” and for the time being talk only about trust making visible © Grand Valley State University �Present to the Presence Richard A. Rhem Page13   something that comes from beyond the boundaries of our understanding and is related to the boundary issues of existence. To derive hope from a resurrection narrative is not the same thing as insisting on the filmable factuality of a resuscitated corpse walking out of a grave. If our hope depends on the scientific modernization of an ancient faith-language, then hope undermines the nurture of trust. It is possible to “claim” the “truth” of such a resurrection narrative. But that is done, not in the logical space of reasons, or by delivering technologically enhanced evidence, but by actually living the life of hope the narrative inspires, by practically making manifest in action that such a life reveals truth or lights up our path. (p. 216) Finally, after that lengthy excursus I am ready to deliver “My Last Lecture.” There are many places within Scripture to which I might turn but let me select just two – a Psalm and a paragraph from Paul’s Letter to the Romans. Psalm 16 is one of my favorites. Beginning with verse 5, the Psalmist expresses a sense of deep wellbeing. The boundary lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage. He is full of gratitude for his human situation – referring to Israel’s coming into the land of Israel when the tribes divided the land by casting lots. The Psalmist is pleased with his human situation. But his wellbeing is rooted in something deeper. I keep the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand I shall not be moved. In the Hebrew “before me” is literally “before my face.” That being so he is steadfast whatever human experience brings him. His heart is glad; His soul rejoices. So confident is he that he cannot conceive of being given up to Sheol – the realm of the dead. One commentator writes, It can be read as the general prayer of the faithful who, without any doctrine of resurrection or eternal life to explain just how, nonetheless trust the Lord to keep them with such total confidence that they cannot imagine a future apart from life in God’s presence. (James L. Mays, Interpretation: Psalms, p. 88) © Grand Valley State University �Present to the Presence Richard A. Rhem Page14   Again the Psalmist exclaims, You show me the path of life. In Your presence there is fullness of joy; in Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Were we to read this poem in the original Hebrew we would see a beautiful juxtaposition. In verse 8, as noted above, “before me” is literally “before my face.” In verse 11, “in Your presence” is literally “before Your face.” God before my face; I before God’s face. Further, God at my right hand keeps me secure. At God’s right hand are pleasures forevermore. The Psalmist lived with a vivid sense of God’s presence. That awareness kept him steady in all the vicissitudes of life. That sense of trust was so strong even the fear of death, of loss, was transcended. He lived with fullness of joy. He was present to the presence of God. We find the same confidence in St. Paul in the wake of his vision of the crucified Christ who was resurrected – living beyond death’s boundary. If God be for us, who can be against us? Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Then he lists a series of negative human experiences – No, he affirms, in all life’s trials we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Listing again all possible threats to us he finally declares nothing will separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Present to the Presence, living in total trust, the Apostle knew a peace which he says in another context is beyond all human understanding. With those two eloquent expressions of trust bringing confidence, joy and deep assurance that All will be well; all will be well; all manner of things will be well. Thus I would keynote my last lecture. I feel deeply blessed to have had the exceptionally rich experience of plumbing the depths of the human record of the quest for God, for the deep probing of our human condition at life’s boundary © Grand Valley State University �Present to the Presence Richard A. Rhem Page15   situations. I have followed rational inquiry to the depths of nihilism and known there was something more. And at the end of my serious quest, what rational inquiry could not deliver, I find in trusting where I cannot know, and “know” all is well. Was the long journey of intellectual quest worth it if, in reality, I end where I first began? Indeed, for I’ve seen it for the first time! Oliver Wendell Holmes said it well: I would not give a fig for the simplicity this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d7d2ab3e9fe95a1c6e0451b55ae7da1c.m4v 775e7bea34fbe35091a2e1c11080f2eb Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Lakeshore Interfaith Center Gathering Scripture Text Psalm 16:5-11, Romans 8:31, 35-39 Location The location of the interview Lakeshore Interfaith Center, Ganges References Karl Barth. Church Dogmatics, Vol. I, 1932. Hendrik Hart. Walking the Tightrope of Faith: Philosophical Conversations About Reason and Religion, 1999. John Knox. The Humanity and Divinity of Christ, 1967. Hans K Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-20120729 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2012-07-29 Title A name given to the resource Present to the Presence - Living with Awareness of God in Whom We Trust Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on July 29, 2012 entitled "Present to the Presence - Living with Awareness of God in Whom We Trust", on the occasion of Lakeshore Interfaith Center Gathering, at Lakeshore Interfaith Center, Ganges. Scripture references: Psalm 16:5-11, Romans 8:31, 35-39. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/x-m4v application/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Historical View of the Bible Presence of God Trust https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/41af5f42cc1b7f0fa0a77ec650482b95.pdf c8fb8316c6d495e66548c573adfec5d3 PDF Text Text The Gift of Love: The Face of God Funeral Service for Louise Zevalkink Exodus 33:17-23; I John 4:7-8, 12, 16; Psalm 16:5-11; John 1: 1-5, 14, 18; John 14: 8-9 Richard A. Rhem Fifth Reformed Church Grand Rapids, Michigan July 3, 2012 Finally home; she is finally home and what shall we say? My words are not adequate to paint a portrait of this extraordinary human being. With you all, I loved her deeply. I have some sense of the void in your hearts. In these later years she really did not want to go out and about nor did she want dear friends in. In a sense she has long been removed from family gatherings and celebrations. Nonetheless she was present in her absence and was still “there.” She, the solid rock, the heart and center of the family, was still with you. But now she is gone. Slowly but surely she was shutting down in those last weeks and final days. Today we gather to worship, to remember and to give thanks for this beautiful life lived out before us. Leading the service as I am, yet I do so as one of you, as family. I can do no other. It would take too long and is not necessary to relate why that is the case – but you know. And so for a few moments let us celebrate her life as the child of God that she was. Louise was deeply traditional in the Christian faith, in the Reformed faith that looked back to Geneva, to John Calvin, and was expressed perhaps most clearly and warmly in The Heidelberg Catechism which opens with the penetrating question, “What is your only comfort in life and in death?” To which the eloquent answer is given, “That I with body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own, but belong to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ....” She never wavered from that bedrock trust in the grace of God revealed in Jesus Christ. To her end, one of her favorite hymns was “Blessed Assurance.” “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! O what a foretaste of glory divine!” So secure was she in her Christian faith that she had the freedom to question, to wonder. I suspect that is why we grew so close over the years. Spending the © Grand Valley State University   �Gift of Love: The Face of God Richard A. Rhem Page 2   summers on Lake Michigan shores in Grand Haven, the Zevalkink clan found their way to Spring Lake and Christ Community Church. I really don’t know just when that began or what brought you there in the first place, but I remember as summer arrived, year after year, I looked forward to having you fill a pew on my right about two-thirds back. And every so often I raised a question about which I was thinking and invited the people to think with me. Those were days of probing, not of dogmatic statement. And Louise was a natural prober; she loved to think, to wonder, to deepen and broaden her faith and understanding. Sometimes I got a bit too far ahead in the questioning of orthodox Reformed doctrine. Then there would be a conversation at the door – never in panic, certainly never in anger; she never took offense, she had to think about it. She was really quite wonderful: thoroughly engaged, thinking deeply, seeing possible pitfalls but ever gracious, kind and patient. If I were to describe my own pilgrimage and, I think, hers, there was a movement from dogmatic clarity and rational certainty to deep trust in the good and gracious God who holds us securely as we wonder, as we attempt to bring faith understanding into meaningful relationship with growing experience in our evolving human situation. There was a little choral response I haven’t thought of for years, but thinking of Louise I think it describes the passion of her life: To see Thee more clearly, To follow Thee more nearly, To love Thee more dearly. Perhaps that gives you a snapshot of how I knew Louise and I suspect you will recognize her in my description. I read the passage from Exodus. These are Israel’s founding stories – a kernel of history with faith’s embroidering. Moses, Israel’s great leader, brings them to Sinai where God calls him to the mountain and gives him not only the Ten Commandments but extensive direction for Israel’s life and worship. The people grow restive when Moses does not come down to them. They go to Aaron and, in an attempt to calm them, he calls for their gold and jewels and from those casts a Golden Calf – the focus for worship. The story is familiar. Moses returns, is infuriated at the people’s faithlessness and smashes the tables of the Law – fearing God may consume them in His anger. Well, that is the background for Chapter 33. God and Moses in conversation, Moses pleading with God not to abandon Israel but to go with them – and God promises to accompany them on the way of their pilgrimage. I selected this Old Testament story because, as God is reconciled to Israel, Moses makes a request: “Show me Your glory.” © Grand Valley State University �Gift of Love: The Face of God Richard A. Rhem Page 3   And God’s answer – “You cannot see my face; for no one shall see my face and live.” God does, however, instruct Moses to stand in a cleft in the rock as God passes by. God will cover him with His hand until He has passed by so Moses can see God’s back, but the chapter ends with the words “My face shall not be seen.” This biblical story came to me when I heard the news that Louise was shutting down and I began to think about her and her religious pilgrimage. There was in Moses, the story tells us, a longing to see God which I take to mean a longing to know God, to experience God in all His glory and greatness and grace. I can identify with that. I know that is not a common human experience; multitudes, I suspect, go on their way happily or nonchalantly, not worrying much about the source, ground, and goal of the whole cosmic drama. But I do and Louise did. And, as the Hebrew people told their founding story, they were saying from the beginning there has been a hunger for God. But this story ends “My face shall not be seen.” And that brings me to the heart of my reflection. I knew a week before Louise died that my meditation would be “The Gift of Love: The Face of God.” In that title I am trying to say she was a gift of love and she gifted us with love. In Louise, love was embodied and she was our gift of Love. But that’s not all; in her face we saw the face of God. In the Gospel of John and the First Epistle of John there is a fascinating thread that essentially says, “No one has ever seen God” but God is love and those who love abide in God and God in them. “In the beginning was the Word....” (John 1:1); “The Word was made flesh (or human) and lived among us, and we have seen His glory...” (John 1:14); “No one has ever seen God. It is God the only son...who has made Him known.”(John 1:18). In the ancient story God’s word to Moses is “You cannot see my face...you shall see my back; but my face shall not be seen.” But the Christmas gospel is “The Word became flesh...and we have seen His glory.” The gospel writer is well aware that “No one has ever seen God” but now the clue to the mystery of God is a human face. © Grand Valley State University �Gift of Love: The Face of God Richard A. Rhem Page 4   If we move to John 14: 8-9, that this is the writer’s intention is clear. Philip says to Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus’ response is amazing: “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” Quite amazing, isn’t it! Just as the Moses stories were created by later generations trying to grasp their origins in Moses’ encounter with God, so the circle of the Apostle John, probably located in Ephesus, was trying to understand the story of Jesus, his life, death and continuing presence in their midst. What was the message, the truth that came to expression in the life of Jesus? The Gospel is the Good News – in Jesus we have experienced the presence of God; in Jesus we have a clue to the Sacred Mystery from which all has emerged. The writer of the First Letter of John takes us one giant step further. Reading the mystery of God in the life of Jesus he states his fundamental trust. He writes, “God is love.” The Gospel affirms that the mystery of God is revealed in the humanity of Jesus. The writer of the First Letter of John repeats the Gospel’s acknowledgment that no one has ever seen God but, rather than pointing exclusively to the Word made flesh, this writer makes the astounding claim, broadening the Gospel’s claim. He writes, “If we love one another, God lives in us, and His love is perfected in us....God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.” Do you understand my title? Do you see why for the funeral meditation for Louise Zevalkink I entitled it “The Gift of Love; The Face of God”? She was the gift to everyone whose life she touched from the intimacy of marriage and family to the wide circle of friends and community – the gift of love – and in her face we glimpsed the face of God. Over these past years Betsy and Peg conspired with me to visit Louise but she was cagey and usually foiled our conspiring. But on March 23 of this year it was arranged. I gained entrance as it were and we had a delightful time. In fact it was so natural and easy that Peg called Betsy to come in with Nancy. We had one more happy hour. I had brought along a copy of a rather new hymn, “I was There to Hear Your Borning Cry.” We even tried to sing it. I chose that hymn because of the final verse: When the evening gently closes in And you shut your weary eyes I’ll be there as I have always been © Grand Valley State University �Gift of Love: The Face of God Richard A. Rhem Page 5   With just one more surprise. Well it was a beautiful moment. And then when it was apparent that Louise was approaching her end I came once more. She had been unresponsive all day but Peg and Betsy were sitting on her bed, Kleenex at the ready. Once again she came to life and was very present with us. She smiled and savored those moments as we sang and prayed. Finally the end drew near but once again with Peg and Betsy present she tried to tell them something – they figured out there was a framed something above her desk. It was a framed prayer I offered at their 50th wedding anniversary celebration. I had the prayer written in calligraphy and she had framed it. The girls read it to her and she said, “Now you may go.” The prayer in part tells the story of this wonderful woman, so full of grace, and the life she shared with her beloved Jim, taken from her too soon: “We give Thee thanks for the love and faithfulness in which they have lived together, worked together, nurtured their family, and been stewards together of the grace of life. We all in various ways are here present to attest to the enrichment our lives have received through them and the model they provide for us, - a model of the joy of living, - of quiet strength and steadiness, - of vivacity and graciousness, - of faith and devotion, - of kindness and gentleness, - of faithfulness and love.” Louise has entered light eternal, united again with the man she loved, caught up in the abyss of love of the God we have glimpsed in her beautiful face. What a gift! What grace! Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Meditation for the Funeral of Louise Zevalkink Scripture Text Exodus 33:17-23, I John 4:7-8, 12, 16, Psalm 16:5-11, John 1:1-5, 14, 18, John 14:8-9 Location The location of the interview Fifth Reformed Church, Grand Rapids Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-20120703 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2012-07-03 Title A name given to the resource The Gift of Life: The Face of God Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on July 3, 2012 entitled "The Gift of Life: The Face of God", on the occasion of Meditation for the Funeral of Louise Zevalkink , at Fifth Reformed Church, Grand Rapids. Scripture references: Exodus 33:17-23, I John 4:7-8, 12, 16, Psalm 16:5-11, John 1:1-5, 14, 18, John 14:8-9. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Faithful God Grace https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b9bc5afd621b0c79fc2c609b05bfea28.pdf 91134d9a9b206554975c414eda3ba4d3 PDF Text Text The Trinity: the Heart Has Reasons Trinity Sunday John 1:1-5, 18; 14:1-20; I John 4:7-8, 12 & 16 Richard A. Rhem Lakeshore Interfaith Center, Mother’s Trust Ganges, Michigan June 3, 2012 Prepared text of the sermon Trinity Sunday, 2012. Over so many years we as a worshipping community – Christ Community in Spring Lake – traversed the Christian liturgical calendar. It became more and more meaningful to me – more significant than the secular calendar January to December. Over and over again, the same feasts and festivals, but always evolving with deeper insight and evolving nuance. And every cycle ends where we are today – Trinity Sunday – the Sunday following Pentecost – reflecting, it seems to me, ancient insight and wisdom, for the story of Jesus is, for the Christian church, the story through which we learn of God, the Sacred Mystery, the source, ground and goal of the whole cosmic drama of which we know more and more, yet whose mystery and infinity only deepen with each new breakthrough in understanding. I selected this Sunday to be here because that would ensure that I would focus once again on the deepest mystery, the most meaningful questions of our human existence. I am one of those strange creatures that continues to wonder about the God Question, the classic philosophical question, Why is there something rather than nothing?– questions about our whence and our whither and the meaning of human existence in the meantime. And, while I do it deliberately and consciously, I suspect to be human is now and again to wonder about the ultimate issues of our human situation. When I had decided to take up the God Question one more time, I came on an online announcement of a class that promised to give a “faith lift” by exploring “the difficult idea of God in light-hearted and easy to grasp ways.” Well, I didn’t sign up! While light hearted is fine, I’m not sure we can talk about God in “easy to grasp ways.” I do hope, however, that as our human story unfolds we can catch a glimpse here and there, now and again, of the Sacred Mystery that embraces us. So we begin. © Grand Valley State University   �The Trinity: the Heart Has Reasons Richard A. Rhem Page 2   But before I deal with the meaning of the Trinity in the Christian tradition I want to reflect with you on the danger of dogma. Dogma is such a familiar term in religious parlance that I can probably take for granted that everyone knows the meaning of the term. Yet precisely such familiarity sometimes misses a term’s nuance and depth. I went to the dictionary. Dogma comes from the Greek – “that which one thinks true, an opinion, decree, from dokein, to think, seem.” Meanings listed: 1. a doctrine; tenet; belief (also collectively); 2. a positive, arrogant assertion of opinion; dogmatic utterance; 3. in theology, a doctrine or body of doctrines formally and authoritatively affirmed. Under “dogmatic”– “asserted a priori or without proof; asserting opinion in a positive or arrogant manner.” Checking the synonyms sheds light on the danger of dogma: “imperious, dictatorial, authoritative, arrogant, magisterial, self-opinionated, positive.” One would hardly feel good having such descriptive terms applied to oneself and I suspect the bad name religion has acquired over centuries and generations is because religions of various traditions and expressions have been seen and experienced to be marked by dogma, experienced as dogmatic, imperious, dictatorial, arrogant and self-opinionated. If dogma is used to describe a religious tradition’s teaching, the word is legitimate – all religious traditions and groups have teachings, tenets, beliefs. But is it not interesting how teaching, belief, opinion slide into dogmatism, into arrogance of opinion without possibility of verification. One meaning of dogma not often understood or admitted is “opinion.” The dictionary defines dogmatic as “asserted a priori” and that points out there is no proof to be offered; in a word, being dogmatic is to assert an opinion unfounded in any verification. There is nothing startlingly new here; however, I have become especially aware of late of the lack of awareness of the nature of religious belief. For example, a current discussion – a noted leader in the fundamentalist wing of Christianity was asked if he thought Romney could win over the conservative evangelical voters. His response was that he thought Romney would run into trouble because his Mormon faith was wrong on the deity of Jesus Christ and therefore wrong on the Trinity. Without the deity of Jesus there is no second member of the Godhead and Trinitarian dogma has been the centerpiece of the Christian tradition. Since I was dealing with the Trinity today, my ears perked up and I smiled to myself. This is precisely my point. The evangelical Christian is certain Christianity is the true religion and Christianity rests on the Triune God. There was not a hint of a recognition that the Trinity is a dogma – a belief authoritatively declared as true with no proof possible – it is an opinion, an a priori assertion. © Grand Valley State University �The Trinity: the Heart Has Reasons Richard A. Rhem Page 3   Obviously I bring this up simply as an illustration of what happens everywhere all the time, by almost everyone. This is the case at least until I begin to see that the Christian creed and my particular tribe within the Christian Church has confessional statements that are not grounded in rational proof and capable of verification, but are beliefs, opinions, authoritatively affirmed. I have had my encounter with the dogmatic claims of the Christian Church. I was reminded of that recently in a conversation with a family member. Chase Bank and Jamie Dimon were in the news and I suggested the fiasco at Chase might help put in place some banking regulations like the Volcker Rule. Not agreeing with me, my loved one reminded me that at one time I left the institutional church chafing under its “regulations.” But I corrected him: it was not my choice to leave; I was put out because where my faith vision was growing I was calling in question rather central beliefs of the church’s dogmatic structure. Every institution needs structure and creeds and confessions have their place. The problem arises when they are viewed as sacred dogmatic structures that disallow fresh insight and growing knowledge. I was reminded of a Sunday morning, I think in 1995 or 1996. I preached at Fountain Street Church and did a follow-up discussion in their chapel. It was jammed, standing room only. In response to a question I remember as if it were yesterday, I said for most of my life and my ministry I had been ignorant and arrogant and the marriage of ignorance and arrogance is dangerous and destructive. Fountain Street Church had a great number of refugees from conservative Grand Rapids churches and with the expression of ignorance wedded to arrogance there was an audible umm across the chapel. The danger of dogma – not that it is not legitimate for a community, a confessional group, a religious tradition to have confessional statements, creeds that reflect what the group believes. The problem comes when such dogma becomes a straitjacket, cutting off ongoing thinking, research and new knowledge available from the respective disciplines of inquiry as well as further meditation on the religious claims of a group, local or global. Perhaps I’m belaboring this point but in today’s cultural and social environment there is such a need of epistemological humility. Epistemology is the theory of how we know what we claim to know. And in the dogmatism that marks so much religious conversation (or is it confrontation), there is so much absolutism on issues that have no proof or disproof by means of reason, of critical thinking. I mentioned above that I was asked to leave the Reformed Church unless I denied my emerging vision of Christian faith, but in the news recently was the story of a congregation that left the Reformed Church of America and left their two million plus dollar building because the RCA was becoming lax and liberal on the matter © Grand Valley State University �The Trinity: the Heart Has Reasons Richard A. Rhem Page 4   of homosexuality – being too open to gay/lesbian persons – contrary to the “Word of God.” Again, I point to a specific instance, not to discuss or debate it, but, as in the case of Romney and the deity of Christ, to illustrate how society, religious and other groups can be divided and set over against each other by dogmatic claims that are without warrant of critical, rational thought. And perhaps that is precisely where the problem lies: The Delusion of Dogma Put simply, the delusion of dogma is that dogma is founded on reason and thus can be declared as true based on reason and demonstrated as true by means of rational analysis and proof. Of course, this is precisely what the dictionary tells us about dogma as we have seen above. It is opinion, belief, a priori assertion – not the consequence of rational analysis. Yet that is how statements of faith, doctrinal position, or belief about, for example, human sexuality are treated. The religious institutions in all their various forms and configurations have claimed to have “the truth,” and not just “their truth” but the truth. Consequently we have all the competing truth claims across the spectrum of religious groups from right to left on the spectrum of opinion. If religious belief, religious conviction, is not based on reason, what is it based on? After all, none of us wants to be a babbling fool claiming as true what a reasonably balanced human being would write off as ridiculous. Let me suggest that dogma arises out of experience. The Source of Dogma This is Trinity Sunday as I said when I began and it has taken me a long time to come back to it, having acknowledged dogma’s danger and its delusion. The danger – the absolutist claims for dogmatic formulations which cause division in the human family and in the extreme instances ignite war and terror. The delusion – that dogma is rooted in reason, capable of rational proof. That is a gloomy picture I have painted thus far. However, if we understand how dogma arises we can come to appreciate its place in our lives, individually and in community. Using the dogma of the Trinity, it is my intention to show dogma’s source in experience. The Trinity is, I suggest, the ultimate expression of the mystery of God or ultimate endeavor to bring to expression the Sacred Mystery. And the early followers of Jesus did not sit around a conference table and brainstorm how they could best confuse future followers of the Way. Much rather, they tried to make sense out of their experience. © Grand Valley State University �The Trinity: the Heart Has Reasons Richard A. Rhem Page 5   Remember these were faithful Jews for whom God was one. Strict monotheism marked Israel. But then they met Jesus and in the brief span of his ministry they experienced humanity in him in another way. Following his death they stayed together and they had experiences of his presence with them – his spirit – such that they believed him alive. A week ago the Church celebrated Pentecost. We speak of it as the birthday of the Church – the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. And they felt empowered to live and to preach the Way of Jesus. The Gospels were written decades later. It is not as though on Pentecost everything became crystal clear. The community remained together. With the vision of the risen Christ Paul experienced, the mission to the Gentiles emerged. In the great cities of the Empire gatherings of followers of Jesus lived in expectation of a return of Jesus in glory to bring to consummation the reign of God. But decades passed and the King did not appear. In Ephesus a community gathered around the Apostle John. From that Johannine Circle has come the Fourth Gospel and the three Epistles of John. I am painting this picture because, in the Johannine writings, I think we are given a picture of the early followers of Jesus, followers of the Way who tried to come to an understanding of their experience. The dogma or teaching of the Trinity was a gradual development over those first decades and even centuries as the Jesus Movement tried o articulate what they experienced in their meeting Jesus and what that meant for their understanding of God. The Fourth Gospel is considered the most theologically reflective of the Gospels, the other three grouped as synoptic in that they, with differences, nonetheless read more like biographical story telling. In John we have a community near the end of the first century reflecting on what the “Christ Event” signified. Particularly in the Gospel and the Epistles we have the raw material that entered eventually into Trinitarian deliberation. For example: John 1:1. “In the beginning was the logos (Word)”, bringing our minds back to the creation story – Genesis 1:1. And John 1:14 – The Logos (Word) became flesh – the Incarnation – the event we celebrate at Christmas. And interestingly, in the 18th verse – no one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son...who has made him known.” The intention of this Gospel is clear: to tell the story of Jesus as the revealer of God, as one with God in Creation, as one who became human, as the one who revealed the God no one has ever seen. All of that is in the first 18 verses – the Prologue. Let me move to just one more passage, one of my favorites, John 14: 1-20. We have here Jesus speaking and also a conversation with Thomas and then with Philip. I may be wrong but I see these conversations as created by the writer decades later. Certainly, in an oral © Grand Valley State University �The Trinity: the Heart Has Reasons Richard A. Rhem Page 6   culture stories and sayings were memorized and passed on; that is possible. However it seems more likely to me that such conversations as recorded in John 14 were created to move the story along effecting the writer’s purpose to reveal the way in which Jesus in human flesh was the clue to the eternal, invisible God. In this context Jesus says he will be leaving them and they cannot follow at this time – but don’t be troubled – trust. Then he says he is going on before them to a place they know. But Thomas doesn’t know: “...we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Then follows the familiar words that have caused so much Christian exclusivism: “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Now the writer’s purpose is further clarified. Jesus says, “If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.” Well, that sets up another instance where a disciple asks the question we would have wanted to ask. Philip says, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Obviously, to my mind, that is a set-up question to let Jesus make this amazing claim: Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’ Then follows, at least for me, words difficult to understand. The claim is clear but the whole idea of mystical union, mutual indwelling – I admit I find difficult to figure out: Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? Jesus continues, claiming his words and works are the words and works of the Father. As I indicated above I don’t see these interchanges as verbatim records of conversations in the days of Jesus’ brief ministry. It is far more illuminating for me to picture that early Christian community near the end of the first century trying to figure out what had encountered the disciples and those present in the days of his flesh. The Word became flesh – No one has seen God. The enfleshed Word makes God known. Show us the Way. I am the Way. Show us the Father. © Grand Valley State University �The Trinity: the Heart Has Reasons Richard A. Rhem Page 7   If you have seen me you have seen the Father. And then skipping down a few verses: I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever. This is the Spirit... Now from this same early Christian community we have the three letters of John – not necessarily from the writer of the Fourth Gospel but from the same circle. Put these claims from I John together with the above. The First Letter opens: We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life. Concrete encounters to say the least. In the fourth chapter we have the familiar declaration “God is love.” Connecting to the Gospel John 1:18, the words are repeated: No one has ever seen God. And then a fascinating change from the Gospel. That early community living far from Jerusalem and the days of Jesus’ flesh are not directed to Jesus as the place of revelation but rather to each other. No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God lives in us and His love is perfected in us. And then there is a mention of the Spirit. By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. Once again it is repeated – God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. I have overloaded you with Scripture but I do so with purpose – to ground my claim that the source of dogma is experience. In the wake of Jesus’ life, death and sensed continuing presence in the community through the Holy Spirit, those who encountered him and those who were drawn into the ongoing and growing community tried to understand what they had experienced. That is how I read the Fourth Gospel and the First Letter of John. Telling the story to be sure. Telling the story so a widening circle would believe and find life in Jesus – in the © Grand Valley State University �The Trinity: the Heart Has Reasons Richard A. Rhem Page 8   community of Jesus’ followers. From the beginning there was community, there were Eucharistic meals, baptisms and gatherings to praise God. Prayers, sacraments, symbols, no doubt growing liturgy – the community gathered, remembered, prayed and praised. And, quite naturally I suspect, they tried to understand their experience. The first five centuries saw intensive action, mostly centering in the nature of Jesus. It was a pitched battle at times – excommunications and intense struggle and, of course, once orthodoxy – that is, right opinion/teaching – was achieved, the church had a full-blown philosophical/theological formulation that was far removed from experience. My point is that experience came first. There would have been no arcane philosophical documents and creedal formulas had not something happened in history that transformed persons and created community. However, once the Church, using Greek philosophical formulas, defined theologically the deity of Jesus, and of the Spirit and their inclusion in the Godhead, orthodoxy was established and thus “right belief.” That brings us back to where we began. Now dogma became dangerous because it could be used coercively to shut down further reflection on experience as new knowledge emerged. Further, the orthodox church lived under the delusion that God was defined and understood, all the while still speaking of Mystery. Thank God, once defined, the dogma of the Trinity did not preclude experience, and with religious practice – liturgy, prayers, music, sacramental observance – God still was alive in the lives of God’s people. I have used the dogma of the Trinity on this Trinity Sunday to show the danger and delusion of dogmatic creedal propositions that shut down fresh apprehension of the Mystery of Being. In his In Face of Mystery, Gordon Kaufman tells the story of the evolving, ever emerging cosmic drama, including the emergence and evolution of the human. As he paints the drama of the cosmos evolving and the emergence of the human, he recognizes that we are really the first humans who have the privilege of the backward glance of 13.7 billion years from the Big Bang. In light of all we know at this point of the Big Bang, the expanding universe, Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, the interchangeability of matter and energy and all that is far beyond my capacity to understand or convey, Kaufman, in the next to the last section, Part IV, concludes the section with a chapter entitled, “A Trinitarian God.” In the course of this discussion, Kaufman explains: In this interpretation of Christian faith, the symbol “God” is intended to designate (a) the ultimate reality (mystery) with which we humans have to do, a reality regarded as the creativity which is at work in and through all © Grand Valley State University �The Trinity: the Heart Has Reasons Richard A. Rhem Page 9   things (first motif); that which (b) is thus present and with all realities of our world – all that we can experience, know, or imagine – as that which enables them to be real, their very “reality” so to speak (third motif); and which c) is at work, therefore, within the evolutionary-historical trajectory which has produced our humanness and is moving us toward a more profound humaneness, a trajectory manifest in and paradigmatically identifiable by the Christ-event (second motif). (p. 423) After a marvelous portrayal of the cosmic drama of which we are a part, a theologian concludes with a Trinitarian scheme – a conception he assures us is not the Trinity of St. Augustine, for example: By ‘God’ then, Christian faith and Christian theology (in the interpretation presented here) are far from meaning some mythic being ‘up in heaven’ ruling the world from on high, a being who one day sent ‘his’ son to earth to appease the wrath of the father and thus save humans from everlasting torment. (The early formulations of Trinitarian doctrine already ruled out that sort of mythology as heretical.) In this articulation of the Trinitarian idea, I have attempted to overcome the reifying effects of the traditional Trinitarian metaphors (‘substance,’ ‘persons,’ et cetera), thus freeing us to see ‘trinity’ as a concept that specifies the central motifs of the Christian understanding of God while simultaneously holding them together in indissoluble unity... ª p. 422) Let me try to express Kaufman’s profound representation of the Trinity – the Sacred Mystery or Source; the Spirit enlivening every atom, molecule, human being, indeed every aspect of cosmic reality; and, the Word enfleshed as the clue to the nature of the Sacred Mystery of Being. We speak of God because God reveals God’s self in our human flesh; indeed, God identifies with our humanity. We see, we hear, we touch the Word made flesh. God is mirrored in a human face. That is the Christian claim. Something can be known of the nature and character of the ultimate Mystery of God because it has come to expression in the human. The Christian idea of the Trinity goes one step further; it claims that that ultimate Mystery whose nature and character are expressed in a human life is really the life of all that is – that the whole of reality is in-spirited with God. Nothing exists without the life, the breath of God which animates all that is. All of that is not so difficult; in fact, it is quite obvious. The Ultimate Mystery-God must hold all things in being, must be pervasively present in all things, the source, the energy, the creative center, moving the whole along the emerging, the unfolding of the bio-historical evolutionary process. Thus God’s Spirit – the wind, the breath that is enlivening – is pervasive. And the Ultimate Mystery, if it would be known, must show itself, communicate its nature and intention. Thus, the © Grand Valley State University �The Trinity: the Heart Has Reasons Richard A. Rhem Page10   intention or idea of the Mystery “lands,” so to speak, in history, takes on flesh, shows itself. And so it is the claim of the Christian revelation that the character and nature and intention of God can be read off the face of Jesus Christ – flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone. That is what the Christian religion – that is, Christian theology or doctrine or dogma– claims. It is an attempt to articulate the experience that grounded and founded the Christian movement. We are thinking animals; we want to understand our experience and so we reflect and we do our best to put experience in word and concepts. Those words and concepts are not the experience; they are a step or more removed from the experience. To understand the doctrine of the Trinity is not the same as having the experience of God. Yet, the concept arises out of experience. As fascinating, profound, even moving as the Trinity is in reflection on its meaning, it is not knowledge, not theological acumen that brings us the depth of experience of the Sacred Mystery that is the source, ground and goal of all that is. Finally it is experience, and experience is the result of practice – devotion, worship with liturgy, sacrament and song – in community that forms us and brings us to trust, to rest, to experience the presence of the Sacred Mystery we call God. I received a call from an old friend about ten days ago – old as in a long-time friendship and old as in being even a couple years older than I am. His email name is “Dutch Marine.” That gives you a hint about him – very Dutch and very much a Marine. He moved from Spring Lake a few years ago to the north country but he keeps in touch. Every so often he calls, usually asking how it is with my soul and how I am with Jesus. And then also, “How’s your weight?”! He usually reports on the small local churches in his small village – Methodist, Baptist, whatever. After our usual conversation, he said the previous Sunday he had attended the local Methodist church because they were having a hymn sing. He said, “We sang all the old hymns. I loved it!” But then, he said, two old men got up and sang a duet, “The Old Rugged Cross.” He told me how they sang with such deep emotion, obviously moved by the old hymn and, in their singing, deeply moved my friend. He said to me, I thought of you and I thought, ‘Richard, I know the theology is wrong but that didn’t matter – Those old men believed it and they loved that hymn and I loved it too! It brought tears to my eyes. Wrong theology, I know, but powerful and I loved it!’ After years of preaching and teaching, of shaping and forming a community, an old friend says, “Richard, I know the theology is wrong but it moved me!” And in all honesty I could say, “Good, I understand. The theology is not important.” © Grand Valley State University �The Trinity: the Heart Has Reasons Richard A. Rhem Page11   Could you believe I said that? The theology is not important! Well, I did and I meant it in that context. An old hymn from a person’s childhood and youth, even into middle age – a beloved hymn, familiar words and tune – I suspect many of you could sing it right here and now – On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross, The emblem of suffering and shame; And I love that old cross where the dearest and best For a world of lost sinners was slain. Refrain: So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross, Till my trophies at last I lay down; I will cling to the old rugged cross, And exchange it some day for a crown. O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world, Has a wondrous attraction for me; For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above To bear it to dark Calvary. Refrain In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine, A wondrous beauty I see, For ‘twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died, To pardon and sanctify me. Refrain To the old rugged cross I will ever be true; Its shame and reproach gladly bear; Then He’ll call me some day to my home far away, Where His glory forever I’ll share. That old hymn touches old chords that vibrate once more. It fills mind and heart with sacred moments, old memories, settings, associations and one is moved. Good religion does that because we are finally not rational animals ruled by our head but emotional animals ruled by our heart. With two old men singing an old, beloved hymn it was not the moment to protest that Jesus died because of our sins, not to atone for them. Not the time to insist that it was the way Jesus lived that caused the way he died. There is a time and place for that. There was a time when I came to see that the death of Jesus as an atoning sacrifice for human sin was the heart of a religious exclusivism I could no longer affirm. © Grand Valley State University �The Trinity: the Heart Has Reasons Richard A. Rhem Page12   That growing, evolving understanding on my part which I shared with my people effected new symbols, liturgy, hymns but in no way removed deep emotional attachment to the earlier symbols and liturgical movements which shaped one, nor should that happen because those deep places in the heart remain alive and move us still. A week ago Sunday was Pentecost. It was very warm so the air conditioning kept me in through the afternoon and early evening. But an hour before sunset I went out to our bluff overlooking Lake Michigan. There was a balmy breeze and the setting sun sent a path of gold to our shore. I reflected on Pentecost as celebrated in the Christian liturgical calendar – the breath of God, the Spirit of Jesus poured out on the waiting world. And I thought of today, Trinity Sunday. In that setting all of nature was alive and singing – every blade of dune grass, every fluttering leaf, every foaming wave as it caressed the sandy shore, the golden sun, the balmy breeze, and I was reminded of Barbara Brown Taylor’s description of the cosmos shot through with divinity, with God, in her Physics and Faith: The Luminous Web. She writes, When I am dreaming quantum dreams, the picture I see is more like that web of relationships – an infinite web, flung across the vastness of space like a luminous net. It is made of energy, not thread. As I look, I can see light moving through it like a pulse moving through veins. I know the light is an illusion, since what I am seeing moves faster than light, but what I see out there is no different from what I feel inside. There is a living hum that might be coming from my neurons but might just as well be coming from the furnace of the stars. When I look up at them there is a small commotion in my bones, as the ashes of dead stars that house my marrow rise up like metal filings toward the magnet of their living kin. Where is God in this picture? All over the place. Up there. Inside my skin and out. God is the web, the energy, the space, the light – not captured in them, as if any of those concepts were more real than what unites them, but revealed in that singular, vast net of relationship that animates everything that is. Marvelous imagery! The whole of reality saturated with the Spirit, the breath, that is the energy of the Sacred Mystery we call God, a Sacred Mystery we describe as Love because, at one moment in the luminous web that enlivens all that is, a face appeared – the Logos (Word) became flesh, and God, the X factor, that abstract Ground, Source and Goal of all there is became concrete. Now there was a clue as to the nature of the originating, everything-permeating, infinite Mystery that takes our breath away and gives us breathing room. A deep sense of well being filled me, being one with the whole cosmic wonder resonant with God, and I began to sing... © Grand Valley State University �The Trinity: the Heart Has Reasons Richard A. Rhem Page13   On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross, The emblem of suffering and shame; And I love that old cross where the dearest and best For a world of lost sinners was slain. I had to smile at myself. But I thought of my conversation with my friend who teared up at two old men singing George Bernard’s old hymn and I was acutely aware once again that the heart has reasons and Reason can’t touch them. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/09861d9a358e1f3cffe3c3950ea9db3f.m4v 33cd092aa5167bf61d136af72f64141e Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Lakeshore Interfaith Center Gathering Scripture Text John 1:1-5, 18, 14:1-20, I John 4:7-8, 12, 16, In Location The location of the interview Lakeshore Interfaith Center, Ganges References Gordon Kaufman, The Face of Mystery, Barbara Brown Taylor, Physics and Faith: The Luminous Web Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-20120603 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2012-06-03 Title A name given to the resource The Trinity: The Heart Has Reasons Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on June 3, 2012 entitled "The Trinity: The Heart Has Reasons", on the occasion of Lakeshore Interfaith Center Gathering, at Lakeshore Interfaith Center, Ganges. Scripture references: John 1:1-5, 18, 14:1-20, I John 4:7-8, 12, 16, In . Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/x-m4v application/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Divine Mystery Emergence https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/825350f5eb80af66371989503859dd04.pdf 186ce621cf2f895f1c94b4e5a444377b PDF Text Text The Presence of God in the Face of Love John 1:1-5, 14, 18; I John 4: 7-8, 12, 16 Richard A. Rhem Harbor Unitarian Universalist Congregation Muskegon, Michigan April 29, 2012 God is Love. Such a familiar affirmation; who would argue with that? Doesn’t everyone believe God is Love? But so what? What difference does it make? What has that to do with the everyday reality we live? God is love – has it become perhaps a cliché? It is one of those religious claims in the great traditions in one form or another which is seldom questioned but which too often remains a belief that has little real impact on the manner of our living. Hopefully we live in loving relationships in our families and our communities, but the human family remains divided – where would one begin the catalogue of current conflicts around the globe and the toxic atmosphere we live and breathe in our own nation destroys relationships and human community. One would never suspect that for the majority of us it is assumed that God is love. And that may be why it fails to create loving community – it is a belief but too rarely a practice and good religion is not a matter of belief but practice. Perhaps that is obvious in a community like this but it is far from obvious in much of the Christian Church and I understand that from my own experience. Perhaps the simplest way I can explain my own pilgrimage as a Christian and, indeed, a minister of the Gospel is to say I have moved from being a vertical Christian to being a horizontal Christian. Let me explain what I mean. As a vertical Christian I understood myself as a child of God through Jesus Christ and “through Jesus Christ” meant through his death on the cross as an atonement for my sins, gaining thereby for me forgiveness and peace with God. Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world through his death offered as a sacrifice to God puts me in relationship with God. As it has been popularly expressed, Jesus took the rap for me. This is a vertical transaction – I, now with sins forgiven, am in relationship with God. To be fair, the Heidelberg Catechism on which I was nurtured has three sections: 1. How great my sins and miseries are; 2. How I may be delivered from my sin; © Grand Valley State University   �Presence of God in the Face of Love Richard A. Rhem Page 2   and, thirdly, now moving from the vertical issue with God through Jesus’ atoning death, 3. How I ought to live in gratitude for such salvation. The third section deals with the Ten Commandments and The Lord’s Prayer – the redeemed person lives a life of obedience and prayer and thus a Christian expresses in her life gratitude for salvation. Thus there is a horizontal dimension to the old scheme of salvation I’ve described as vertical, but such an understanding is first and foremost a vertical transaction between God and me. I go into this in such detail because we are talking about two radically different understandings of Christian faith. The traditional, orthodox understanding in which I was nurtured, and which in the early part of my ministry I preached, was marked by God, wholly other and beyond us, who was the focus of salvation out of which was to flow a Christian life of obedience and prayer. So what is the conception of Christian faith I’ve called the horizontal Christian understanding? It is an understanding of Christian faith as experiencing the God who is Love in the love of my brothers and sisters. Such an understanding begins with the affirmation – God is Love – and holds that God is experienced in the concrete love of another. Thus, not in a vertical event through Jesus’ death as atonement opening Heaven’s gates, but in the horizontal human relationships as the medium through which God is experienced. Let me be clear; in moving to Scripture I am selective. The biblical case for the vertical conception of salvation and knowing God is strong. But there is another track and it is that track to which I would point you, a track I believe that has the potential to lift the claim “God is Love” to our attention such that we look for the experience of God in the face of our neighbor and trigger a chain reaction of love that has the potential to transform the human adventure. My lessons are John 1: 1-5, 14, 18 and I John 4: 7-8, 12, 16. John 1:1 reminds us of Genesis 1:1 – the creation of the Word (Logos) of God. Now the Gospel writer will tell the story of Jesus but roots that story in Creation, in Israel’s history. So in John 1:1 he says “In the beginning was the Word (logos).” Someone translated that as “in the beginning was The Divine Intention” – the Divine Intention to effect Creation. And then, to tell the story of Jesus, the writer in verse 14 says, “...the Word (logos) became flesh and lived among us.” The Christian Church speaks of this as the Incarnation; it is the Christmas story in a sentence. The Gospel writer roots the Incarnation in the original creation and then declares that the Eternal Word became enfleshed, became human. Now the clue to the Sacred Mystery is in a human being. In the face of Jesus we get a clue to the Being of God. The writer acknowledges, No one has ever seen God. © Grand Valley State University �Presence of God in the Face of Love Richard A. Rhem Page 3   but he declares, It is God the only Son...who has made God known. That is the Good News of the Christmas Gospel – now we have in human form a clue to the Being of God. But it gets better: I read from John’s First Letter because he picks up the theme and marvelously broadens it. He calls us to love one another because “God is love.” He then picks up the Gospel writer’s acknowledgement, repeating it: No one has ever seen God. It is at that point that the Gospel writer points to Jesus, the Word become flesh, in whose face we see God. But now in the First Letter of John, after repeating, “No one has ever seen God,” this writer greatly expands the Gospel’s claim. Now, not just the face of Jesus as the locus of revelation; now he writes, following the acknowledgement, “No one has ever seen God,” that If we love one another, God lives in us, and His love is perfected in us...God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God and God abides in them. (Note: not those who abide in God abide in love. No, rather amazingly, radically even, he says those who live in love live in God.) Thus the title of my message: “The Presence of God in the Face of Love.” In the Face of Love – the horizontal love of human to human – the Presence of God is known and experienced. God is love. God is known, experienced in loving. Perhaps by now you are wondering if I’m going to tell you anything you didn’t know and believe before you came. And maybe that is my point: God is Love. God is experienced as we love across the whole human community. Ho hum.... And the whole human community continues with war, violence, and conflict. Yesterday’s New York Times had a long article about Israel’s Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s nuancing comments by his Defense Chief, General Gantz, who had seemed to suggest Iran’s leadership was rational, thus seeming to strike a less © Grand Valley State University �Presence of God in the Face of Love Richard A. Rhem Page 4   militant tone than has been that of Barak. As I read the piece my mind was full of the call to love and I realized anew the urgency of moving love out of the arena of personal relationships and into the arena of international affairs. If we don’t, we risk ending the human experiment. I’m reminded of James Carroll’s House of War, in which he documents the rise of American Empire and the domination of Pentagon politics. It was in the wake of our use of atomic bombs over Japan in 1945 that Secretary of War Henry Stimson wrote a memorandum to President Truman. Carroll writes, ...less than a month after Japan’s surrender, and just over a month after the detonation of the Nagasaki bomb, Stimson composed an urgent “Memorandum for the President,” which began, “Subject: Proposed Action for Control of Atomic Bombs.” First Stimson told the president what the dawning of the nuclear age meant: If the atomic bomb were merely another though more devastating military weapon to be assimilated into our pattern of international relations, it would be one thing. We could then follow the old custom of secrecy and nationalistic military superiority relying on international caution to prescribe [sic] future use of the weapon as we did with gas. But I think the bomb instead constitutes merely a first step in a new control by man over the forces of nature too revolutionary and dangerous to fit into the old concepts. I think it really caps the climax of the race between man’s growing technical power for destructiveness and his psychological power of self-control and group-control – his moral power. If so, our method of approach to the Russians is a question of the most vital importance in the evolution of human progress...The crux of the problem is Russia. Carroll comments further: “To put the matter concisely,” Stimson wrote, he proposed that the United States take immediate steps to “enter into an arrangement with the Russians, the general purpose of which would be to control and limit the use of the atomic bomb.” He suggested that by bringing the Soviets into our confidence, they would have reason to believe it when Americans said that “we would stop work on any further improvement in, or manufacture of, the bomb as a military weapon, provided the Russians and the British would agree with us that in no event will they or we use a bomb as an instrument of war unless all three governments agree to that use.” Give up the secret. Give up the monopoly. Give up sovereignty over use. Give up control of existing bombs. Stimson, in the cover letter that accompanied this memo, summed up his proposal by using the word “share” twice. (p. 113f) © Grand Valley State University �Presence of God in the Face of Love Richard A. Rhem Page 5   Tragically Stimson’s counsel was not heeded. Strongly against it was Secretary of State James Byrnes who stood adamantly against any attempt to cooperate with Stalin. Byrnes prevailed and the consequence was the long, costly and dangerous Cold War that caused us to live on the brink of disaster, living in terror of mutual assured destruction. And not only the Cold War but still in the present, North Korea’s saber rattling to say nothing of the threat of a strike on Iran and the potential for a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. One might respond regarding the Stimson Byrnes conflict that I’m operating with 20/20 hindsight. Not so! Rather that critical moment of history with its disastrous results was determined by two different mind-sets, two different spirits – a spirit of trust vs. a spirit of fear. Carroll points out that Stimson was fully aware of Byrnes’ opposition to his position regarding nuclear weapons. Carroll writes, Very much against Byrnes, in one of the most remarkable statements ever made by an American statesman, Stimson presumed to assert in his September 11 letter to Truman, “The chief lesson I have learned in a long life is that the only way you can make a man trustworthy is to trust him; and the surest way to make him untrustworthy is to distrust him and show him your distrust. (p. 114) He speaks of trust. I am speaking of love but they are related. One who loves, trusts. In the reading from First John 4 we read in the 18th verse, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear...” A heart that loves enables trust and removes fear. We know that is true in our interpersonal relationships but, as the Stimson memo demonstrates, it is just as true in international affairs. It is universally true because God is Love and Love is God. I lunch weekly with a friend, present here, and we speak of our lunches as our Wednesday Liturgy. Peter Hart has put me on the trail of some major works on this morning’s reflection: Pitirim Sorokin’s The Ways and Power of Love which, incidentally, relates his life work on the study of Love stimulated by the emergence of the Atomic Age; and Jeremy Rifkin’s The Empathic Civilization, which claims it belongs to the core of the human to feel empathy for another human being rather than living over against, by nature aggressive, materialistic, utilitarian and self-interested, basing his claim on recent brain science and child development. In the past few months we have engaged in an internet conversation with his philosopher- theologian brother Hendrik, on various subjects but, somehow or other, the nature of God is never far from the discussion, God as Love and the implications for our lives and human wellbeing. In a recent post “Henk” wrote “Reflections on Love and love” which emerged from our “conversations” via the © Grand Valley State University �Presence of God in the Face of Love Richard A. Rhem Page 6   Internet. He introduced his reflection with reference to his loss of both a daughter and his wife as well as his own health: My daughter Esther died of cancer the Tuesday of Easter week 2007. The moon was full. This year the Easter dates will be the same and the moon will again be full. My wife Anita died December 14, 2009, my birthday. In February my own cancer, almost forgotten, re-entered my life with a potential of death. All of this came together in reflections that appeared in letters and then in a brief summary: Reflections on Love and love Hendrik Hart Lent 2012 I have of late given much thought to ... the meaning of love and Love. I think that, at its core, a human life gains immeasurably in depth and scope when it is exposed to giving or receiving love as the primeval energy of all that is. Once we begin to be in the embrace of Love and begin to experience ourselves as vessels of love, we become aware of an irresistible energy that compels us to become centered, in all we do, in that energy; to seek for ourselves and others peace, justice, joy, life, fulfillment, patience, hope, life and much more. Love then begins to guide us in setting our priorities, distributing our energies, choosing our relationships, valuing our involvements and in so doing fills us with a blessed awareness that whenever and wherever we follow this guidance we find that, step by step but irresistibly, darkness recedes and light spreads. We become driven by a Spirit (Ruah, Wind, Breath) that blows where it wills and that without exception harvests light and life wherever it blows. The more we trust the Presence of Love in our life the more we ourselves become a presence of love in that Presence. That expresses what I would affirm in this meditation: Love is at the core of reality, the creative center of the cosmos. The grain of the universe is Love. It is to love we are called every day in every way to one and all. It is the Way of Jesus for me, a very concrete way to which I am called, which I betray and fail miserably to fulfill. Yet a way I will not deny or rationalize away, a way I will self-consciously cultivate because it compels me. I choose that way and will not give up in spite of falling so far short. Love is the answer to the world’s violence, to humanity’s brokenness and finally Love will prevail because there can be no doubt, Love wins and in the face of Love I experience the Presence of God. No one has ever seen God. To dwell in Love is to dwell in God, for God is Love. © Grand Valley State University �Presence of God in the Face of Love Richard A. Rhem References: James Carroll. House of War: The Pentagon and the Disastrous Rise of American Power. Houghton Miflin Harcourt, 2006. © Grand Valley State University Page 7   � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5749ebdaaa1e9e20fb8141e28a0ac72e.m4v 6fa49fd4cf4b9cbca9cb7b0cf0a2ae0b Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Harbour Unitarian Universalist Church Scripture Text John 1:1-5, 14, 18, I John 4:7-8, 12 & 16 Location The location of the interview Harbor Unitarian Universalist, Muskegon References James Carroll. House of War: The Pentagon and the Disastrous Rise of American Power. Houghton Miflin Harcourt, 2006. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-20120429 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2012-04-29 Title A name given to the resource The Presence of God in the Face of Love Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on April 29, 2012 entitled "The Presence of God in the Face of Love", on the occasion of Harbour Unitarian Universalist Church, at Harbor Unitarian Universalist, Muskegon. Scripture references: John 1:1-5, 14, 18, I John 4:7-8, 12 & 16. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/x-m4v application/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives God as Love Nonviolence https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/aeecc18407706389379fff49fc7f1a9e.pdf 56fa8a030d919793a88aa60640caf68a PDF Text Text Love Never Ends Fred Meijer Memorial Service Meditation I Corinthians 13; Luke 10:25-37 Richard A. Rhem Sunshine Community Church Grand Rapids, Michigan November 30, 2011 Let me begin by saying what an honor it is to conduct the funeral of Fred Meijer. That must be obvious; what a man! I’m grateful to the family for inviting me to bring the funeral meditation. As I have been thinking about little else since receiving the call that Fred was stricken and then that he died, Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar came to mind. Caesar has been betrayed by his trusted friend Brutus; he is assassinated, Brutus pointing to Caesar’s ambition and the peril he presented to empire – and then Mark Antony is invited to speak. Remember those lines – “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.” With great irony he says, I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones. I smiled as those lines came to my consciousness for I knew at this moment I would be reversing what Mark Antony claimed – I come not to bury Fred Meijer; I come to praise him! In other words, although my roots are Dutch Reformed, this will not be a Calvinist funeral sermon! With Fred, evil was non-existent; the good he has done will live on for generations. Has it not been amazing in the days following Fred’s death how Fred stories have been told, literally by thousands who had the good fortune to be encountered by him and upon whom he bestowed grace, love, compassion and generosity. This was no ordinary human being and I make that claim without fear of contradiction. Where would one begin the list of adjectives by which to describe him? His authenticity, his simplicity, his humility, his generosity, compassion, passion for © 2013 Kaufman Interfaith Institute and Grand Valley State University   �Fred Meijer Memorial Richard A. Rhem Page 2   justice, his brilliance, his courage, his business acumen…but we all know that and we marvel at him – the way he was. But rather than pointing to the amazing human being he was, let me share the dimension of Fred of which I am aware because of experience with him which goes back about a decade. In the 1990’s, serving the congregation of Christ Community in Spring Lake, I stirred up some theological controversy. One of my members was one of Fred’s skiing buddies and Fred would ask him how his preacher was doing. As in the whole spectrum of the human endeavor, so in religion and theology, Fred had an insatiable appetite. He was curious. He had his own very well-honed ideas and insights but he loved thoughtful probing and serious conversation. One day my member suggested lunch and thus began our friendship. What fun it was – he with his brilliant mind and well thought out insights loved to push and prod this preacher as you can imagine. He was delightful, not disrespectful nor rude but acute in pointing to so much in institutional religion and dogma that didn’t fare well before critical thought and common sense. Those were fun conversations and more often than not we were in agreement. A couple of times the lunch included Duncan Littlefair, famed long-time pastor of Fountain Street Church and notorious as the voice of the liberal in the bastion of Dutch Calvinism. I remember the twinkle in Fred’s eyes when he related his first meeting with Duncan. It was at an airport I think. And Fred said to Duncan, “I would come to your church if you weren’t so conservative!” I’m not sure Duncan quite knew how to respond but Fred had his fun. Well those lunches were feasts and I am not referring to the food. Can you imagine the fun and energy and deep probing that occurred! For about a decade I had had lunch every Tuesday with Duncan at Dubas. The whole theological spectrum was present but the communion transcended our differing perspectives and bonded us into a marvelous community. I relate this to you to explain why I am doing Fred’s funeral. In 2004 I conducted Duncan Littlefair’s funeral and Fred was present. We spoke following the service and, as son Hank said to me yesterday, “I think that is when dad decided he would like you to do his funeral.” I suppose he thought if I could get Duncan into heaven maybe I could assist him too. Well, as a matter of fact, I’ve never known anyone of a deeper spiritual life, who followed the Way of Jesus any more than Fred Meijer. I Corinthians 13 is sometimes called Paul’s Hymn of Love. It reads like a description of Fred. Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it © 2013 Kaufman Interfaith Institute and Grand Valley State University �Fred Meijer Memorial Richard A. Rhem Page 3   does not rejoice in wrong doing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. Don’t you recognize Fred in that description of love? Jesus didn’t write letters as did St. Paul; he told stories, and finally it is in story that truth shines most brightly. You are not surprised, I’m sure, that for Fred’s funeral meditation I selected Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan. The religious establishment was greatly threatened by Jesus because the common people heard him gladly and sensed he carried authority in contrast to the religious “authorities.” So they tried to trip him up. A lawyer put him on the spot with a question: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus pointed to the law and asked, “What do you read?” The lawyer answered, “Love God, love your neighbor.” Jesus responded, “Do this and you will live.” But the lawyer wasn’t through. He asked, “And who is my neighbor?” It is in response to that question that Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan. The man who is robbed, beaten and left to die is passed by by a priest and a Levite. But the Samaritan – one of the despised ethnic groups – ministers to the wounded man, takes him to an inn and pays his way. In a word, he shows compassion. So Mr. Lawyer, which one was the neighbor? Obviously the one who showed mercy. The story is so simple, so clear; the meaning is so obvious: What do I do to inherit eternal life? Love God and your neighbor. Who is my neighbor? The one in need who crosses your path. Fred Meijer has been a Good Samaritan literally to thousands, has he not? I could wax eloquent at this point, taking the part of the lawyer in the story or the serious Calvinist community in which Fred lived and raise all sorts of theological questions and objections, but I won’t. I think you get my point: Paul’s portrait of love is a portrait of Fred; Jesus’ Good Samaritan who embodies the way to eternal life portrays the way Fred has lived his whole life. Fred didn’t bother much about heaven. When you live heaven on earth for nearly 92 years, why should you? Enough is enough! © 2013 Kaufman Interfaith Institute and Grand Valley State University �Fred Meijer Memorial Richard A. Rhem Page 4   But I wonder…I remember at one of our lunches Fred sat on my left. At one point he leaned forward, looked me in the eye with that irrepressible smile and asked, “How would you answer if someone asked you if they were going to heaven?” Well, I suppose I stumbled and stammered until Fred told me of the time when Lena’s mother, of strong Lutheran faith, failing in health, asked Fred if he thought she would go to heaven. Well, not really certain of pearly gates, yet ever kind and sensitive, he said, “Grandma, if anybody is going to heaven, you are!” Wonderful gracious ambiguity! Thinking about Fred, I hear Paul’s words, “Love never ends.” Paul goes on to acknowledge that now, in our present existence, we “see in a mirror dimly – there is so much we do not know, mysteries we’ve not yet probed. But St. Paul writes, Now we see in a mirror dimly But then face to face. Now I know in part; then I will know fully… Recently another most unusual human being died – Steve Jobs – universally recognized as a genius who has changed our world just as Fred changed retailing. Steve, of course, was no Fred Meijer in human relationships. Through much of his life he was a terror to those who worked for him and, in earlier years, very difficult for his family. But he did mellow and had time to contemplate his death. In her Eulogy, his sister told of his last moments. His family was around him. He looked at them and smiled and then looked beyond them as it were and said, “Oh wow! Oh wow! Oh wow! His last words. Paul writes, "Love never ends.” Fred lived the way to eternal life. He lived a Wow! for all his days. Had I been with him at the end and he popped grandma’s question – “Will I go to heaven?”, my response would have been instant: “If you won’t, I don’t want to!” © 2013 Kaufman Interfaith Institute and Grand Valley State University �Fred Meijer Memorial Richard A. Rhem Page 5   Who knows what mysteries lie before us? But this I do believe: love never ends, and our Good Samaritan who lived so fully, so richly – indeed, who lived a Wow! – is simply amazed by Grace beyond his wildest dream. © 2013 Kaufman Interfaith Institute and Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5c248425cc8a896f0d0947bd4e4c1c9c.m4v 1795d3261f933325257d9f3fef4c8930 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Fred Meijer Memorial Service Meditation Scripture Text I Corinthians 13, Luke 10:25-37 Location The location of the interview Sunshine Community Church, Grand Rapids Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-20111130 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2011-11-30 Title A name given to the resource Love Never Ends Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on November 30, 2011 entitled "Love Never Ends", on the occasion of Fred Meijer Memorial Service Meditation, at Sunshine Community Church, Grand Rapids. Scripture references: I Corinthians 13, Luke 10:25-37. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/x-m4v application/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Community Good Samaritan https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/686ab0302ef1f60719fb47991062bc51.pdf 0756dc0df8c9aecd7035a5deb59c1d96 PDF Text Text Only a Poem Will Do When Gratitude Fills the Heart Psalm 16:5-11; Philippians 4:4-7; Matthew 6: 25-34 Richard A. Rhem St. John’s Episcopal Church Grand Haven, Michigan Thanksgiving Service, November 20, 2011 My good friend Ed Post said to me once, “You would have been really good if you had had time to think!” Whether he was right or not, I’m not sure but this I know: too much time to think can be the paralysis of preaching. Preaching only every once in a while, I have too much time to think about it. Certain ideas emerge and some sense of what I want to say rests off in the fog. Maybe if I take you on a journey with me you will sense what I am wrestling with and then you can figure out, if you are interested, how you would deal with the questions and issues I am thinking about. If I had been smart I would have announced the meditation title “God, Grace and Gratitude”: God, the source, ground and goal of being, of human being; Grace, the mode of God’s action; Gratitude, the spontaneous response of human beings in face of such grace. Three “G’s” offering good movement and who would argue with that as we move toward Thanksgiving Day? That really is what I want to say; that is what I really do believe and experience and attempt to practice. But I’ve been carrying around a question with me as I’ve been pointing to this meditation: Does gratitude need an object? When gratitude is experienced as a feeling or attitude is it gratitude for something or someone or gratitude to an agent or agency that provided that for which one is grateful? Perhaps you say, no need for the to or the for; gratitude is a stand-alone feeling – a general, unfocused feeling of being thankful. I suspect that is true of most of us at one time or another. However, what if we are pressed – for what are you feeling grateful? To whom are you feeling grateful? Would there not be a person or institution or agency that would come into focus as the trigger of your sense of wellbeing causing the feeling of gratitude? © Grand Valley State University   �Only a Poem Will Do Richard A. Rhem Page 2   In his work The Happiness Hypothesis, Jonathan Haidt asks, Why do some people find meaning, purpose, and fulfillment in life, but others do not? (p. xiii) He explains how he pursues this question: I begin with the culturally widespread idea that there is a vertical, spiritual dimension of human existence. Whether it is called nobility, virtue, or divinity, and whether or not God exists, people simply do perceive sacredness, holiness, or some ineffable goodness in others, and in nature. (p. xiii) In sum, Haidt claims there is a human capacity to be “elevated” in face of some extraordinary human deed or some experience of natural beauty. He writes, My claim is that the human mind perceives a third dimension, a specifically moral dimension that I will call “divinity.” Well, I relax and begin to smile. Here is a fine scholar in the relatively new field of positive psychology who sees in the human a dimension he calls “divinity.” But I am quickly let down as he continues, In choosing the label “divinity,” I am not assuming that God exists and is there to be perceived. (I myself am a Jewish atheist.) Rather, my research on the moral emotions has led me to conclude that the human mind simply does perceive divinity and sacredness, whether or not God exists. ( p. 183f) Arriving at this conclusion, Haidt confesses he lost the “smug contempt for religion” he felt in his twenties. He came to recognize “the ancient truth that devoutly religious people grasp, and that secular thinkers often do not: That by our actions and our thoughts, we move up and down on a vertical dimension. (p. 184) But, before I see an opening for God, Haidt clarifies, Even atheists have intimations of sacredness, particularly when in love or in nature. We just don’t infer that God caused those feelings. (p. 193) Does gratitude need an object? – my question as I mull over thoughts for this meditation. Haidt would deny that; something in us elevates in face of natural beauty or human love but gratitude is a stand-alone feeling; it is triggered by natural phenomena but no need to go to the Ground of Being, no need for being in all of its manifestations to have a ground, a source, or meaningful goal. © Grand Valley State University �Only a Poem Will Do Richard A. Rhem Page 3   For one nurtured in and immersed in the biblical tradition, that left me unsatisfied. Does gratitude need an object? My sense, my deepest intuition, is that it does, or, perhaps I could say, it seems natural. We teach our children to say thank you – you. We experience a flaming sunset, we view the raging white water surf or listen to the gentle lapping of the waves on the shore. We gaze on the blackness of the heavens sprinkled with stars as diamonds. We see the beauty and wonder of a child. We feel the rush of love, the experience of care, the expression of tenderness, and for us it is most natural to feel, to express, “Thank God!” In Israel’s tradition the Psalms were the hymnbook expressing that vertical movement of the soul which Haidt describes. Expressions of praise, thanksgiving, and worship, expression of lament and pleading, expressions of joy and celebration. The whole spectrum of human emotion was brought to expression before the God of Israel. The Psalter lesson, Psalm 16:5-11, expresses beautifully the sense of wellbeing and consequent gratitude directed to God as Israel understood and worshiped the Divine. Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; You have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. (vss. 5-6, NIV) The references in those lines refer to Israel’s settling in “The Promised Land.” The word “portion” is used in the book of Joshua to designate every Israelite’s share in the land (see Joshua 19:9). Thus it represented the possibility of sustenance, life, future. For the Psalmist, God is the source of all these good things….To call God “my cup” suggests the same idea…the word “lot” recalls both the method and the results of apportioning the land in the book of Joshua (18:8,10; 19:51). (The New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. IV, p. 736) Thus we have in Psalm 16 an expression of good fortune which goes back to a lottery(!), but a lottery overseen by Israel’s God; as Israel understood the process, it was simply the way Divine Providence was executed. The answer to my question – Does gratitude need an object? – The Psalms give eloquent answer: Yes, indeed! “Thanks be to God!” That unquestioned affirmation quite different from the statement I referred to earlier by the Jewish atheist Jonathan Haidt – © Grand Valley State University �Only a Poem Will Do Richard A. Rhem Page 4   Even atheists have intimations of sacredness….We just don’t infer that God caused those feelings.” In the wake of his experience of the risen Lord, the apostle Paul wrote to the Philippian Christians whom he had evangelized that there was available to them a peace beyond human understanding. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7) Here again, as with the Psalmist, a deep fundamental trust in God – a God who could be addressed, a God who listened to human requests and granted a peace beyond human understanding – requests brought in the context of thanksgiving. So where are we? A contemporary professor of positive psychology is convinced there is that in the human being that has a capacity to respond to “divinity,” is aware of a sacred dimension whether or not God exists. The biblical tradition from which we stem – the faith of Israel, the Gospel of Jesus as it has come to expression through his disciples and the early Jesus movement – is rooted in the faith understanding of God, creator, redeemer, provident provider and sustainer. On Thursday we will celebrate our annual day of national thanksgiving. How will you express gratitude? Does gratitude need an object? Will it be a prayer of thanksgiving such as the Psalmist or St. Paul would offer? Or might it be simply a quiet awareness that puts you in the presence of the sacred, an awareness that you are blessed, a serenity that arises from a sense of wellbeing? I purchased recently a book by the great scholar of Jesus research, biblical and other ancient texts, James M. Robinson, entitled The Gospel of Jesus. It was published in 2005 as Robinson’s concise summary of the conclusion of all his research. Thus a great scholar condensing the great store of his learning for the benefit of the people who desire to understand the essence of the Good News that came to expression through Jesus’ life and teaching. He states his conclusion already in the introduction: In this Introduction I want to summarize Jesus’ gospel, in as clear language as I can, so that no one can miss his point. The rest of the book will spell it all out in more detail; indeed, the Notes contain the scriptural references, so you can look up as much as you like. But I want to put up © Grand Valley State University �Only a Poem Will Do Richard A. Rhem Page 5   front the outcome of all that, without any cluttering quotations or digressions, so that you do not lose the point. This book is intended less to provide information about Jesus than it is to let you listen to what he had to say back then, so that you can respond to what he may still have to say today. The focus of Jesus’ gospel was God taking the lead in people’s lives, God remaking the world through people who listen to him. Jesus’ favorite idiom for God in action was the “kingdom of God.” A better translation might be the “reign of God” or “God reigning.” This was not a common idiom of his day, to judge by the Jewish texts of his time that have survived, for the idiom is surprisingly rare. Apparently it was Jesus who first made it the central idiom for his message. Since the ideal of God reigning is the main idea Jesus talked about again and again, much of the book focuses on what he meant when he spoke that way. It is an excellent work deserving its own treatment on another occasion, but at the conclusion of his work he addresses both the secularist – those who have “outgrown” the usual church – the standard kind of Christianity – and also the evangelical – those seriously committed to Christianity. It is what he says to the secularist that I find helpful given this discussion of gratitude. Jesus did not point to himself to understand what he was doing or to explain himself to others. He pointed to God so we must listen to his Godtalk if we really want to take him seriously, to understand him. (p. 220) And then to the point I am attempting to make, Robinson states, God-talk is not empty talk. It can be and usually is one way of talking about reality, an important way built into religious cultures. God-talk is like a foreign language – it is just a way of talking about things that is different from the way we are used to. ªp. 220) Robinson points out that we must learn to translate God-talk before we know whether or not it is saying anything of substance. He gives a couple examples of the necessity to understand the language of any particular discourse. The most well known debate from medieval times – How many angels can dance on the point of a needle? Sounds to us so ludicrous but Robinson points out it was a critical discussion about whether some thing can be real without taking up space. It was a profound philosophical debate in the medieval period by some of the best minds. Robinson is simply trying to explain that one must enter the world of any given language – true of philosophical debates; true of God-talk and religious discourse. © Grand Valley State University �Only a Poem Will Do Richard A. Rhem Page 6   These way-out illustrations, oversimplified as they may be, are intended to convince the most secular among you that God-talk is the language in which many substantive issues have been discussed down through the ages. Our rejection of them, indeed at times our ridicule, may be less evidence of our modern superiority than of our superficiality – our inability to understand what is brought to expression in any language other than our own. (p. 224) I find Robinson most helpful. Trying to answer my question, Does gratitude need an object?, by doing empirical research with the language of science by which we lay bare the mysteries of the cosmos will hardly do. In fact, only a poem will do! Thanksgiving is about deep human experience, about feelings, emotions in light of goodness received, love tasted, grace known. It can only be expressed in the language of the heart and our heart “knows” there is a Gracious Source, One in whom we live and move and have our being whose lure of love moves this cosmic drama toward wonders we have not yet dreamed of. No rational dissertation will ever answer the deep question of the heart – only a poem will do! Is it so surprising that the remarkable, gifted, flawed and most amazing human being, Steve Jobs, who died recently looked beyond his family and that circle of love and said, “Oh, wow! Oh, Wow! Oh, Wow! Thanks be to God! References: Jonathan Haidt. The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom. Perseus Books Group, 2006. James M. Robinson. The Gospel of Jesus: A Historical Search for the Original Good News. HarperOne, 2006. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a73c88019fb2a16a1c3a97f887805d22.m4v 6b28d3e981cb486c26dea990263791d2 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Thanksgiving Sunday St. John's Episcopal Church Scripture Text Psalm 16:5-11, Philippians 4:4-7, Matthew 6:23-34 Location The location of the interview St. John's Episcopal Church, Grand Haven References Jonathan Haidt. The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom, Perseus Books, 2006, James Robinson. The Gospel of Jesus: A Historical Search for the Original Good News. HarperOne, 2006. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-20111120 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2011-11-20 Title A name given to the resource Only a Poem Will Do - When Gratitude Fills the Heart Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on November 20, 2011 entitled "Only a Poem Will Do - When Gratitude Fills the Heart", on the occasion of Thanksgiving Sunday; St. John's Episcopal Church, at St. John's Episcopal Church, Grand Haven. Scripture references: Psalm 16:5-11, Philippians 4:4-7, Matthew 6:23-34. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/x-m4v application/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives God is Grace Gratitude Thanksgiving