3 24 1045 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a3d70fecbf0c09da682624a0bddb0ea3.pdf d0c255f9b73b60d2f5c8c28423af9757 PDF Text Text Spirit: The Now of the Future From the series: The Presence of the Future Text: Isaiah 61:1; John 14:18-19 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan December 6, 1998 Transcription of the spoken sermon We had our first Advent Midweek Eucharist on Wednesday. It is such a lovely hour - the warmth of the Parlour beautifully decorated in the festive garb of the Christmas season, the intimate setting - there is something quite wonderful about it. I hope the secret doesn’t get out, because about 75 is all that we can comfortably handle. Well, Wednesday I had a rather startling revelation for those gathered - I told them Jesus is not coming again, which, of course, is the theme of Advent - The one who came a babe in human flesh, will come again in glory to judge and rule. I just came out with it; the early followers of Jesus, including Paul, expected Jesus to return in power and glory to bring history to its close and usher in the age to come. They got it wrong; the ongoing unfolding drama of history and human culture should surely tip us off - 2000 years of subsequent history and we still hear talk of the Second Coming of our Lord from Glory. Let me suggest in this season of Advent 1998, that it is time for us to take a sober look at the biblical time line - the divine calendar as it has been understood and declared over the centuries, and recognize that it really makes no sense of the reality we live, the cosmic unfolding, history developing, and the emerging of humankind. I have been thinking about this for a few years now. When I was in Europe in the 60s, there was a circle of young scholars who were swinging the pendulum back to an appreciation of God’s action within our history. It gave me a way to return here and preach good news. One European biblical scholar, Oscar Cullman, was not of that circle, but he had written a very influential book entitled Christ and Time. He pointed out what may seem obvious to one familiar with the Bible story - that the whole biblical drama was seen on a time line. Out of eternity issues the creative word, "Let there be" and the cosmos is formed, and time and history began - a time still ongoing in © Grand Valley State University   �Spirit: The Now of the Future Richard A. Rhem Page 2   the biblical drama. The biblical understanding was that those who were living the drama were in what they called "this age" or "the present age." But, they were looking for "The Age to Come." The whole Creation/historical drama was seen under that model or paradigm. This age and the Age to Come. The Hebrew prophets longed for the Age to Come on earth in history when Shalom would everywhere prevail. Then the fortunes of Judah reversed - they returned from Babylonian Exile, but never saw the glory return. They were the pawns of conquering powers, poor, oppressed, and without hope. For them, history was hopeless; they cried out to their God to intervene, to dash the wicked and vindicate them as God’s chosen. This was a move from the prophetic with its dream of Shalom to Apocalyptic - the longing for God to ring down the curtain on history and usher in the Age to Come. This is the setting of the time of Jesus. I suspect Jesus shared that longing, although that is a matter of debate. But, certainly St. Paul was looking for the return of Jesus who had been crucified, risen, and ascended to the throne of God. That was the picture: Jesus at the right hand of God ruling from heaven and soon to come again - this time not in human weakness, but in Divine Power. In Revelation, we hear the cry of that early church, "Maranatha," which, translated, is "Our Lord, Come," and we hear the ascended Lord declare, "I am coming soon." In the calendar of the church this cry of 2000 years is remembered with every returning Advent - The one who came is coming again. And there has never lacked Christian groups that have continued to affirm: He is coming soon! It is quite amazing that such a conception, such a hope could be sustained for 2000 years. Well, as I said, in Wednesday’s meditation I said quite simply, "He is not coming again." I say it that bluntly to catch your attention because I want you to hear what I am saying and I finally say it now because we are on the threshold of the Third Millennium. As the calendar moved toward 1000, there was a large scale stirring and disturbance. Expectation was aroused and many claimed they were at the end of the age. I am beginning to hear it now again as though the turn of the calendar will bring us to the end and the appearing of our Lord in glory for judgment and the final consummation of all things. My word to you is, "Don’t believe it, don’t get worked up about it, don’t be afraid." The Jesus who came is not coming again in the sense that is understood in the biblical story. Now if you have heard that rather bold denial, I hope you will be ready to hear an alternative declaration - Jesus who came, the word made flesh, the one in whom God was embodied, has already come again - again and again and again. © Grand Valley State University �Spirit: The Now of the Future Richard A. Rhem Page 3   Let me give you the text that says this very clearly. In John’s Gospel, Jesus is purported to say: “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you.” (14:18) Just prior to this promise, Jesus promises the gift of the Spirit, the Spirit of truth. It is significant that this Gospel is late, probably in the 90s of that first century. Jesus had not returned on the clouds. Many of the Jews who had been part of the movement were returning to their Jewish spiritual home in the Synagogue. The Pharisaic Rabbinic movement was proving to be the ongoing shape of Jewish faith. As that movement gained power, there was an edict passed that said if one confessed Jesus as God’s Messiah, that one would be put out of the Synagogue. And so, it was decision time - continue to confess Jesus Messiah and be put out of the community, or give up that confession and continue in the Jewish community and tradition. That is always a crisis of great import. And what was no doubt the deciding factor? Jesus did not return. It is easy to understand that the early community expected a literal return of the ascended Lord from the throne of God. Jesus was a flesh and blood human being. Jesus lived, taught, healed, was killed - all the hard facts of historical existence. And they sensed his presence still - thus the resurrection claim - this one who died lives. God raised him up and took him "up." Why wouldn’t they expect him to come back in literal fashion? Read Acts 1:11. The scene is Jesus’ ascent into heaven. The disciples look on amazed. An angel appears and says to them: Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven. There you have it; it could not be plainer. Decades after the actual life and death of Jesus, that is how they told the story and expressed their hope and expectation. But, now John is writing even later. Now it is decision time - to remain in the Jewish Synagogue and faith tradition, or, to persist in the faith that Jesus was the Messiah who would soon return to bring the Age to an end and usher in the Age to Come. But, he didn’t come. And he still didn’t come. Nothing happened. Now, what is the Gospel writer to say? Will he say, "Hold on; he’s coming!" The author of II Peter did. He wrote, " ... in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and indulging their own lusts and saying, ‘Where is the promise of his © Grand Valley State University �Spirit: The Now of the Future Richard A. Rhem Page 4   coming? For ever since our ancestors died, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation!’ ... with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day ... The day will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed." (II Peter 3:1-13) But, the author of the fourth Gospel did not simply plead with the Jesus movement to hold on because surely he was coming soon. Rather, in the Gospel of John, we see a significant shift from the expectation of the imminent return of Jesus to a present experience of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit or the Spirit of Christ the Spirit is variously designated in the New Testament. He came: John says the word was made flesh and dwelt among us. This was the literal, historical presence of God in human form. And, crucified, resurrected and returned to the presence of God he comes again - not in human historical form this time; not in visible display of signs and wonder. No. Rather, he comes in Spirit, the spiritual presence of God abiding in the life of the one who believed and in the community that believes that he was the embodiment of God in the days of his flesh. The English biblical scholar, C. H. Dodd, whose special expertise was the Gospel of John, coined a phrase to point up this shift. He called John’s revision “Realized Eschatology." Eschaton is the Greek word for the end and Eschatology, the teaching about the end of history. Dodd, on the basis of the Fourth Gospel, claimed that the end had already occurred. The New Age Jesus ushered in was the Age of the Spirit. He understood the Fourth Gospel to be a dismantling of the future expectation and the declaration of the New Age in the Spirit. Although he was not widely followed in this claim, his point of the significant shift in focus has been acknowledged. This shift is pointed to in the Advent theme “The Presence of the Future.” For our present experience the future is not future, but present. I mean, in our human, historical experience, we have the presence of the Presence of God, the God enfleshed in Jesus, given us in the Spirit. Thus my title - Spirit: The Now of the Future. What I am suggesting is thus a shift from the commonly held assumption about the biblical teaching about the end of history. That biblical view is most commonly designated by the phrase "Second Coming." What I am suggesting is not without biblical basis, however. What we see with the New Testament itself is a shifting. There is no one consistent biblical scheme. I am picking up the hint from the fourth Gospel that we need to find another way to understand our ongoing historical experience that keeps moving into an uncharted future. We © Grand Valley State University �Spirit: The Now of the Future Richard A. Rhem Page 5   must have a fresh sense of the meaning of a key conviction of the Hebrew prophets and the Christmas story - the conviction contained in the name Emmanuel, God with us. God with us; the Spirit with us; the Presence present to us; the Mystery once enfleshed, but always the enlivening, creative Presence in the whole cosmic drama, the whole unfolding story we call history. In the beginning the Spirit hovered over the created Chaos. In Israel’s life, the prophet cried, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me ..." The angel said to Mary, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you ..." On the Day of Pentecost, suddenly "... from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a mighty wind ... all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit." Through two millennia, the church has confessed"... Conceived by the Holy Spirit." Spirit: the Now of the Future. Spirit - God’s breath, in creation of cosmos and unfolding of history - the life, the creative, energizing Presence that in the evolving of Nature finally brought to emergence a creature conscious, aware, giving the whole amazing Reality a voice full of wonder. The biblical story was clear that Creation or Nature stemmed from God’s creative word, but it was in history that Israel heard God’s voice. They divorced themselves from Nature in repudiation of the Canaanite religion that was bound to the cyclic natural order with the seasons coming round in regular order. And there was great gain in that exalted view of the Creator who spoke reality into existence and was a living, active presence in the historical unfolding. History is where Israel encountered God, or better, was encountered by God. Thus, that the Word became flesh was an amazing claim. Spirit, the instrument of creating, creates a human being who was the Mystery embodied. And is it any wonder that such a sense of Reality should then look for this embodied one to return to bring history to its consummation? But, we no longer divorce history from Nature. Rather, we see one grand process from the cosmic explosion 15 billion years ago, to the present continuing evolving of Nature which has gained a sense of history because we have emerged who are conscious, aware, recognizing the unfolding. There is not Nature and history. Rather, Nature has a history. And that created Reality we call Nature is alive, evolving because it is permeated with a creative Spirit that gives life and nudges the whole process on. © Grand Valley State University �Spirit: The Now of the Future Richard A. Rhem Page 6   Not some dramatic, cataclysmic future event, some display of power and glory. No. Rather, the future is already present in the Spirit Who mediates to us the Presence of the Mystery - Emmanuel, God with us. That was the prophetic assurance to Israel in its dark moments of crisis. Emmanuel: God with us. That was what the early Jesus movement experienced. Emmanuel: God with us - now in human flesh. And the Revelation’s final vision, chapter 21:3, reads in some manuscripts: God-with-them shall himself be their God in the context where the great declaration is uttered, Now at last God has his dwelling among humankind. There you have, of course, a climax in some near future. That, I am saying, needs revision. But, what is claimed for that future consummation is the same claim made by Isaiah, by Matthew. The claim is Emmanuel - God with us. That is the Now of the Future. The implication of that claim changes our whole perspective on our place in the cosmos. Rather that those who sing mournfully, this world is not my home, I’m just passing through," that is, I’m heaven bound, longing to divest myself of this life, this world which is a vale of tears, we celebrate the wonder of the natural world - the whole creation so richly endowed that there has emerged creatures conscious, aware, with tongues to praise, with spirit to love and care, with vision full of hope. Where is the whole dramatic venture going? Who knows? The future is open. But, what will be true, we can be sure, is that the key to it all will ever be Emmanuel God with us - Spirit creating, moving, and the whole story unfolding. Thus, we wait not with anxious expectation for suns darkened, stars falling, and all hell erupting. Rather, we live now with eyes open, ears cocked, imagination full of dreams and visions in this present moment, marked by the deep trust that God is with us, alert to the ongoing drama, watching with wonder and awe. Spirit: The Now of the Future. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3af7e14d1ee5298a6cce550659ed2e3d.mp3 ccdd93e08140521b1344c2a7d2df730d 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 Advent II Series The Presence of the Future Scripture Text Isaiah 61:1, John 14:18-19 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 KII-01_RA-0-19981206 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-12-06 Title A name given to the resource Spirit: The Now of the Future Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University 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 Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on December 6, 1998 entitled "Spirit: The Now of the Future", as part of the series "The Presence of the Future", on the occasion of Advent II, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Isaiah 61:1, John 14:18-19. Advent Emergence Incarnation https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/489105643f24db748d13d900521e90f9.mp3 8543217aee94c6908024a959c4ccf726 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 Scripture Text Psalm 116:12, I Timothy 6:17-19 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 KII-01_RA-0-19981126 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-11-26 Title A name given to the resource Gratitude, Generosity, and the Good Life Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University 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 Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on November 26, 1998 entitled "Gratitude, Generosity, and the Good Life", on the occasion of Thanksgiving Sunday, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Psalm 116:12, I Timothy 6:17-19. https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a671d50f8dd832676a913858df346e23.mp3 d59898e8e1b92e60991b991677c3325c 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 Pentecost XXV Series The Church: Human Community Scripture Text II Corinthians 8:2-3 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 KII-01_RA-0-19981122 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-11-22 Title A name given to the resource Mutuality in Mission Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University 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 Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on November 22, 1998 entitled "Mutuality in Mission", as part of the series "The Church: Human Community", on the occasion of Pentecost XXV, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: II Corinthians 8:2-3. https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/25ea1e23df5ccb6aed633bb4bedf0ca4.pdf 78e337632ca6ed39b6157d6fadb91b44 PDF Text Text The Awe of Worship From the series: The Church: Human Community Text: Isaiah 6:1, 3; Revelation 5:13 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan November 15, 1998 Transcription of the spoken sermon I was thinking about a statement that Paul made in a discussion in his first letter to the Corinthians as I was thinking about the theme of today’s worship. It has nothing to do with the theme, actually, but rather, with some domestic matters that he was dealing with in the congregation at Corinth, and at one point he said, "Now, as to thus and so, I have no commands from the Lord, but my opinion is, as one who is faithful and trustworthy, ..." That statement from Paul, when I was being educated into an understanding of scripture and how to interpret it, was claimed to be the inspired word of God as much as anything else Paul wrote, because, after all, Paul wrote it and it’s in the Bible. The inspiration of the scripture - that’s a theological doctrine. But, as a matter of fact, I don’t believe that anymore. I want to take the words at face value. What Paul was saying is, on this issue, I don’t really have a clear word from the Lord. Paul certainly was not conscious in writing the letter to the church at Corinth that he was writing what would be considered scripture by the church, subsequently, although, certainly he had a sense of authority, apostolic authority, and I think what he was saying in this case is there are some things about which I am very certain are reflective of the intention of God, but in this case, I don’t know, but let me give you my opinion. That’s what I want to do with you today. Of course, I’m always preaching my opinion. But, it is an understanding or interpretation of a text or a theological doctrine or something. But, today, not so much so. I have certainly biblical text and a biblical basis for what I’m going to say, but I want to say up front that what I’m going to speak about, the congregation, the Church, the human community in worship, involves an opinion on my part. It involves a choice that I have made. The way we worship at Christ Community is a deliberate and intentional choice. There are assemblies all over the globe today in this hour worshiping God in all kinds of settings, using all kinds of liturgy or non-liturgy, in all kinds of feel, mood, mode, posture, and the way any community of faith worships is a deliberate and intentional choice of that community of faith. At least, it is here. In some communities of faith it may just be what has been done forever and forever © Grand Valley State University   �Awe of Worship Richard A. Rhem Page 2   and forever. It seems that that was the way it was when I was a kid. Three hymns, two prayers and a long sermon. And I don’t know that anyone ever thought about it. But, at Christ Community, we have been very intentional about the way we worship, and I want to talk about that this morning. I want to say again, up front, not as some word from the Lord, but as some intentional, deliberate choice on our part, and so, think with me about the action in which we are presently engaged, the action of worship. Now, I’ve already tilted my hand by the very title of the message, "The Awe of Worship." Awe, a little three-letter word, but it carries a wallop. If you would look it up in the dictionary, you’d find that it comes from a Greek word, achos, which is defined as fear, and you might find the word "dread" in there, and you might find the word "reverence" and "respect." The Awe of Worship is an attempt to point to that which marks our worship, that gives it its characteristic mark, its mode and mood. It is awe. Now, not fear in the sense of being afraid, but fear in the sense of reverence and deep respect. The classic study of the religious experience of worship, indeed, of the religious experience itself, was done by a German scholar who died in 1937, Rudolf Otto, and his book is entitled, in English, The Idea of the Holy. And he was one of the pioneers in the study of comparative religions and he went around the world tasting, experiencing, analyzing the religious experience of the human family, and he found that at the core was this sense of awe, that there is a deep address to the inner being of the person, there is a feeling which is a knowing, but a "knowing" in quotation marks because it is not a rational knowing, it is supra-rational. It is beyond the ability, intellectually, to analyze. It is a feeling; it is an experience deep, deep down. He speaks about the Holy, or God, using a word he coins from a Latin word, numen. Numen, in Roman mythology, was the presiding spirit or divinity, and Rudolf Otto, then, in order to coin a new word, to catch attention, and to try to say something in a fresh way, talks about the numenus, which is really God. It’s the Mystery, however you want to speak of it. But, he noted that universally there is this human experience of the numenus, of the Mystery, and he used another Latin phrase, a mysterium tremendum, and you can hear the English word "mystery" and "tremendous." Rather crassly, a tremendous mystery. But, mysterium tremendum has that kind of sense about it of mystery. Rudolf Otto says that the experience to which we are trying to point this morning, that which is universally at the core of the human experience of God which is evoked in worship, which arises, is a feeling that is beyond explanation. An encounter with the Mystery who is unapproachable. Maybe it sounds like so much gobbledygook, but I’m trying to speak reasonably, rationally, understandably about a Mystery that cannot be spoken about reasonably, understandably. But, I think you know what I mean. I think you have all, at one time or another, felt it, experienced it; you’ve known it. And Rudolf Otto says, interestingly enough, that that universal human experience, the awe of that awesomeness beyond our ability to articulate, is that which has with it the © Grand Valley State University �Awe of Worship Richard A. Rhem Page 3   sense of fear or dread or reverence or respect that almost repels us and, at the same time, draws us, allures us. There is that ironic tension within us; we are drawn like a moth to the flame and yet, it is a fearsome, an overwhelming kind of moment and experience. That’s the awe of worship. And, at Christ Community, we have made a deliberate choice and with intention seek to create the possibility of that awe happening. All we can do is build the container. Whether the fire happens or not, whether there is anything evoked in us or not is not at our command or our disposal. That is the mystery of the Mystery. But, I think you know that we are very intentional and deliberate about the way we worship, about the mood and the mode and the posture and the spirit and the feel of this hour. I’ll spend probably three hours tonight on next Sunday morning. I have the pieces from Mr. Bryson, I know what music will be involved and whether there’ll be dance or whatever, and then I will simply live into that experience, trying to weave it together in such a way that it has a certain flow, a certain naturalness. After that, I’m helpless. Then we can execute it. Then we stand waiting, praying, hoping, longing for the experience which is beyond our control or ability to manipulate. That’s how it is here, and in making that intentional choice, we have expressed an opinion that that is worship and (this is a value judgment that I’m going to say anyway), that is worship at its highest and its best. It certainly is consistent with the biblical experiences of worship that we have, for example, Isaiah’s experience. "It was in the year that King Hosiah died." Was it a crisis for the nation? Was it a personal loss for Isaiah? Was it a grief that fell over, like on the day when Kennedy was assassinated? Was it a crisis of the nation as to whether or not Iraq will finally provoke us to war? Anyway, it was in the year that King Hosiah died that Isaiah went into the temple and suddenly the foundations were shaking and the whole temple was filled with smoke, and seraphic beings were everywhere, crying out, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty. Heaven and earth is filled with God’s glory." Did you just get a goose bump? I did. And Isaiah felt his utter creatureliness, his lostness, his dependence, total dependence, and he heard a voice, and he said, "I’m unclean." The angel took a coal from off the altar and touched his lips and said, "You’re cleansed." And, being cleansed and graced, he was called and commissioned. It was an experience of deep mystery. The prophet’s life was changed in the encounter with the Holy, whatever that may be. Or, the worship in heaven, before living creatures, the elders, bowls of incense, the prayers of people symbolized in the bowls of incense. The adoration of the Lamb that was slain. And again, that chorus of myriads and myriads and thousands and thousands of angels with a loud voice saying, "Worthy is the Lamb to receive honor and power and glory and wisdom and might, now and forever," and they fell down and they worshiped and they cried, "Amen, so let it be." © Grand Valley State University �Awe of Worship Richard A. Rhem Page 4   Now, it would be a travesty to try and define the pieces of that picture. It’s a picture. It is a scene painted for us that we can feel, we can enter into, even if slightly, and we know some of it ourselves because we have felt our insides quiver. We, too, have now and again, here and there, we have known that out of ourselves and beyond ourselves we were in touch with something that was embracing us and holding us and gracing us, confronting us, lifting us. We speak of being wrapped in worship, our spirits inspired, uplifted into the Holy of Holies. Now and again, here and there, thank God, we do sometimes taste the eternal in the midst of our time, and if it is to happen, it will most likely happen where we come seeking it and where the very environment and the hour is so structured that it just might happen again. In making that choice, we are making a deliberate, intentional choice, and we are swimming against the stream. You know that, don’t you? And I don’t want you to hear me this morning as being critical or condemning, because as I said early on, I’m expressing an opinion and there are all sorts of assemblies and all sorts of modes and moods of worship, and I do suppose that, just as I’m saying that which we try to create registers in the depths of our being, that there are those who find something registered in their being through an entirely different way. On the other hand, I want to say a word about the way we worship in contrast to that which is sweeping the landscape in our day. I would call it worship as entertainment. The organ is out; praise bands are in; choruses whose words generally lack any aesthetic value cast up on a screen to be repeated over and over again, which certainly does touch something and move something. It touches the emotion, somehow or other. Nothing against those things. I love an old-fashioned hymn sing or a Christmas carol sing. I love to gather around the piano when Mr. Bryson is playing and sing my lungs out before I lost my voice. But, now, I’m talking about that holy moment in the week, this moment, and I want to suggest to you that sacred space is so terribly important. I had the opportunity last week, as many of you know, to preach in the Fountain Street Church in Grand Rapids and to walk into that grand cathedral is to have one’s breath taken away. The magnificent stained glass windows, the vaulting architecture, the space itself lifts one’s soul. You cannot help but be still, silent, tranquil, peaceful in that sacred space. And this far humbler space, yet beautiful, carefully appointed with form and fabric, in order to address that below or above your rational faculties, that intuitive sense you have to touch that aesthetic dimension of your life - I didn’t know anything about that growing up. I didn’t know how to worship; as I said, three hymns, two prayers and a long sermon and we were finally out of there. There was no sense of mystery or awe; there was no wrapping in the warm womb of fabric and smell and feel and touch. I didn’t even understand it graduating from seminary. I suppose because, being in the Reformed tradition, we were still 500 years later reacting against the mystery of worship so magnificently captured still in the Roman Catholic church or the Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox church, and the Jewish temple. I had to learn it all from scratch. But, having learned it, having come to experience it and © Grand Valley State University �Awe of Worship Richard A. Rhem Page 5   appreciate it, I am determined that it will prevail here over against that trend, that contemporary trend in which mega-churches are growing by leaps and bounds on such a diet. I’m expressing an opinion and I’m an old fossil, and I don’t have a very open mind on this question, and so you’re probably stuck with the way it is as long as you’re stuck with me. And I acknowledge that it’s a deliberate, intentional choice, but I would say that it is that medium that has the greatest possibility of reaching into your inner being and leaving you speechless, full of wonder, lost in praise. My critical question to the contemporary trend, worship as entertainment, is: Can that medium bear the experience? Can the transcendent, the Awesome One find as a vehicle for encounter the chatty, casual, informal gathering of folks? That’s a serious question. I raise it here, there, other places. I’m a minority voice. I have had many say to me, "Oh, yes, it can. The Transcendent, the Holy One can be mediated through any vehicle, any medium." I’m not so sure. There is a little song that I’ve heard a time or two. I do not know the words, I could not sing the tune, but I know the title, and the title is "Our God is Awesome." And, I mean, it really gets goin’, it’s "Our God is awesome, our God is awesome!" And I want to say, "Come on, sit down, quiet down, be silent. Stop! For, what you’re singing about is denied by the manner and the mode in which you sing! There are times to sing and dance before the Lord. But, when I talk, when I think, when I open myself to the awesomeness of God, then I shouldn’t be hopping around like a Jiminy Cricket. So, that’s what you’re stuck with. So, how do you come? Open, open of mind, open of heart, senses tingling with anticipation. Obviously, then, prayerful, alert, aware of sights and sounds and the words and the music and the way the tapestry weaves together and flows and moves, and ready, then, to be moved along in a spirit of praise and adoration, engaging with the exposition, arguing with it, sorting it through, finding that upon which to contemplate, meditate, think, but all of it an honest opening of one’s life to the Holy, to the possibility, here and now, even now the heavens might open and angels appear, in word and music, in sight and sound, in the smoke of incense - all of it, all of it the accouterments brought together in order to create the occasion in which it just might happen. And, isn’t it grand? Isn’t it grand to be here in a place like this, a space like this, with people like this, a community, a human community, the Church, in worship, where the liturgy holds up the whole of life into the presence of God, where the newborn are baptized and those who died are given the final blessing, where young couples are united in marriage and young people are heard to stand and say, "I believe," and where we have vision clarified, where we are confronted honestly with ourselves and our flaws and failings, where we hear a word of grace, where our deepest concerns can be laid bare, where we can be embraced, where we can sing our hearts out, where our souls can be released to dancing, where we can have that fully, totally human experience of the Holy Other, full of grace. My God, I love it! © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/45c779fe3b58b2a5dd1b5eba7aecdd37.mp3 cee2c629671cd9b5cd9a7382b1c9daa3 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 Pentecost XXIV Series The Church: Human Community Scripture Text Isaiah 6:1,3, Revelation 5:13 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 KII-01_RA-0-19981115 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-11-15 Title A name given to the resource The Awe of Worship Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University 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 Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on November 15, 1998 entitled "The Awe of Worship", as part of the series "The Church: Human Community", on the occasion of Pentecost XXIV, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Isaiah 6:1,3, Revelation 5:13. Awe Community of Faith Divine Mystery Worship https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/edef04a75323de553ba042bdcbe9be9e.pdf 2d3d6fe277b1df9e8915da8937a528c3 PDF Text Text Carrying Coals to Newcastle Scripture: Luke 9:51-56; 19:41-48 Richard A. Rhem Fountain Street Church Grand Rapids, Michigan November 8, 1998 Transcription of the spoken sermon It is a pleasure and high privilege to be with you this morning. I am grateful to Bruce for his kind orientation and bringing me to this point. It is a privilege to stand here, and I do so with some fear and trembling, in spite of the fact that it is nearly forty years since my ordination and I have preached a sermon or two in those years. But this is not just any place, this is an historic pulpit and you are a people with a grand tradition. This is hardly a place where one would mouth banalities or come forth with trivial truisms. I come with some fear and trembling, not because I do not know that you are a gracious people and this a gracious place; you have been supportive and encouraging to me and to my people, and for that I would thank you very much. But, I do come with some fear and trembling, for this is always a very serious moment in which one would seek some word to address to a people engaged in the religious quest. I come carrying coals to Newcastle. Perhaps I should explain that a bit. There is, as some of you may know, a conversation that takes place on Tuesdays at Duba’s bar. A few weeks ago when I was wrestling with this moment, I said to an old intimate friend of mine, John Richard DeWitt, "If you were to preach at Fountain, what would you preach?" He laughed at the prospect. John Richard DeWitt is a classmate of mine from college and seminary and some few years ago he was called to become the pastor of the Seventh Reformed Church of Grand Rapids. At that time, I was serving my present congregation in Spring Lake and we were still affiliated with the Reformed Church in America and we had the distinction of being on the far left; he in Seventh Reformed Church had the distinction of being on the far right. The polls have been shaved a bit because both of us have been cut out by now. The reason that John Richard DeWitt sits at the table in Duba’s is because an older luncheon fellowship between Dr. Duncan Littlefair and Dr. Lester DeKoster had been going on for many years. And when my friend came to this city, the DeKosters became members of that congregation. Lester invited his pastor to the table. (Now, you see, Duncan was at the disadvantage. It was heavily weighted toward orthodoxy. But then my old friend invited me to the table. The scales were © Grand Valley State University   �Carrying Coals to Newcastle Richard A. Rhem Page 2   righted once again, although I had the sense that Duncan was doing quite well on his own.) But, that wonderful conversation at Duba’s was an occasion for me to say to my friend, "What would you preach?" I said to the table, "The only thing I can think of as a theme is ‘Carrying Coals to Newcastle;’ what do I have to bring to that people from whom I have learned so much, a people with whom I will spend the rest of my ministry trying to keep up?" Then my old friend, John Richard DeWitt, said, "Well, you know even Newcastle needs coals that are flaming." In that moment, of course, the sermon was born. Contrary to nature, the birth pains came afterward and have continued to the present. But, Coals to Newcastle - I, a guest in this pulpit, seeking to say something to you, a people engaged in the religious quest along with myself. I want to say very clearly in the beginning that I am conscious that I am bringing coals to Newcastle, for you have been a people for a long time on this quest. You have been a people for a long time who have been a voice in this community; you have been on the cutting edge, you have been prophetic and provocative. Thus, as I come and would say all of the things that are the passion of my life and ministry, I would only be repeating the things that have moved you and motivated you over many decades. I want you to know that I am conscious of that and that you have been for me and for many others a beacon. You have been a model of what a congregation ought to be, placed in the city as you are; I want to thank you for what you have been and express very clearly my respect for all that you are. I can perhaps demonstrate what I mean by that when I tell you a personal narrative that goes back forty years. In the irony of history and our human experience, it was forty years ago when my friend, John Richard DeWitt and I were students at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan. We were a part of a quartet that might have been called The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. We probably should have been caged up at the time, but, nonetheless, we were free to flaunt our impeccable orthodoxy. At that time my friend, John Richard, invited Dr. Duncan Littlefair to address the student assembly one evening during the year. Well, he came, and he was the adversary, he was the enemy we allowed within the camp. He was fascinating, brilliant as always, and terribly threatening. But, I was quite sure that I had managed to escape the evening without damage; I was invulnerable at those times. I had many answers, not having yet confronted the questions. It was shortly after I returned to Spring Lake in the early seventies that I was invited to be the speaker at an insurance seminar. I was some kind of a visiting fireman. I don’t know why I agreed to do it, but I told them everything I knew, and some things I only suspected. During one of the coffee breaks, my wife, Nancy, came up to me with a bit of a smile on her face with a distinguishedlooking gentleman, and she said to me, "This gentleman has just paid you a © Grand Valley State University �Carrying Coals to Newcastle Richard A. Rhem Page 3   compliment, I think." I said, "Oh, what was that?" And he said, "Well, I told your wife that any day you could step into the pulpit of Fountain Street Church." Sometime after that, I think still in the seventies, Nancy and I came and worshiped with you. I remember the day vividly. Dr. Duncan Littlefair was in this pulpit. The title of the sermon was "Honk If You Love Jesus." The text was Matthew 11:28, "Come unto me all ye who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." And Dr. Littlefair proceeded with all of his brilliance to contradict the text. He said, "There is no one out there, you are on your own." He decried the weakness of so much sick religion. Well, it was a bit unsettling to me, I must admit. But, then, before we left the service, the choir intoned those words, "The Lord bless you ..." and I thought, "Oh well, it’s all right." But then, after some years, I was invited to be a Professor of Preaching at Western Theological Seminary and I wrote an article about the extent of God’s grace, wondering out loud and in print whether or not the embrace of God’s grace might not embrace the whole human race. I found that I wasn’t simply the pastor of Christ Community Church, but I was now a seminary professor and seminary professors don’t think out loud, let alone dare to utter such a truth. I stepped aside rather than bringing down the roof, but as I left the seminary and returned to my home base, I said to my leadership and to my team members, "I must not be less radical; I must be more radical." I said to a trusted colleague of mine, "Christ Community must move toward Fountain Street," and he said to me, "You’re in enough trouble, don’t say that publically." But, I knew it, you see, I knew it ten years ago and I have watched you and I have admired you, I have respected you and I have learned much from you. I say this to you, not simply to tell you my personal narrative, but to remind you that you are being watched and you never know who is watching and you never know the impact of the integrity of your life and what it will mean to those who with you are on the religious quest. So, I carry coals to Newcastle quite self-consciously and I do it in order to remind you that what you are and what you have been is critically important. The world needs you, this community needs you, the whole church needs you. But, I say those things to you not simply that you might relax and rest on your laurels. Let me read a statement from Martin Luther: If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved. To be steady on all battle fronts besides is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point. Luther would indicate that we may be doing well all across the board, but if we have not located that one point where the battle is raging, where the fire is raging, © Grand Valley State University �Carrying Coals to Newcastle Richard A. Rhem Page 4   we will not be faithful; rather, we will be a disgrace. It is not enough once to have a vision. It is not enough to have been relevant and pertinent and powerful in the past, for it is always now and it’s always today in which we must discover that point at which the battle is raging, those things to which we must address ourselves if we would be true to our vision and faithful to our dreams. Where is the battle raging today? Well, I don’t really need to tell you. You can read it every day in your newspaper and view it on the television news. Jerusalem, the holy city, the cradle of three great religious traditions, where even this week violence, terrorism and death reign. Where people who profess to worship the same God are at the respective extremes, killing each other; where the fundamentalisms of Judaism and Islam clash. Where does the battle rage? It rages in Wyoming where a young man is strung across a fence as a sign post and a marker of that paranoia, fear and hatred that would say, "This is what we have in store for you if you are gay or lesbian." Where does it rage? It rages just down the road at my alma mater, Hope College, where the chaplaincy office advocates a position that condemns a positive response to the pluralism of religion, the recognition of the value of the respective traditions. At my old alma mater, exclusivism is being promoted in its sharpest form. Those are but symptoms, you see, for underneath, and this is my point, underneath, the greatest peril to the world, to its peace and its well-being are the respective religious fundamentalisms that are fueling the fears of people and unleashing their animal nature that result in the terrorism and the violence and the death that mark our globe every moment of every day. Where is the battle raging? It is raging in a kind of absolutist and dogmatic religion that is blind to its own meanness and narrowness, that identifies itself, its sacred book, its sacred tradition, its sacred persons with the Absolute itself, that has no sense that it is but a human response to that ultimate Mystery that pervades our lives and embraces us in a grace, and that sees its mission to promote its own particular point of view, no matter what the cost. I believe that’s where the battle rages today and I am again bringing coals to Newcastle because you’ve heard it from this pulpit for decades. But religion has never been more powerful; it has never been more volatile; it has never been more dangerous than it is in our day. And so, while I realize I am carrying coals to Newcastle, I would say to you, "What do we do about it?" We might abandon religion, wash our hands of it, shake the dust from our sandals. I’d like to do that. I cannot believe in the bigotry and the bias and the prejudice and the fueling of violence for which religion is responsible. There are times when I am so ashamed of it, I would like to leave it altogether, and I imagine you have been there, too. © Grand Valley State University �Carrying Coals to Newcastle Richard A. Rhem Page 5   Or, we might not abandon it. We might remain in it, but only in our little enclave, congratulating ourselves that we have long since left such darkness and with a kind of enlightened superiority look with disdain on those whose religious passion is misdirected. Or, we might see it as simply another social relationship, lacking all passion and significance. But, how can we? In this city where you have set such a grand tradition, the dangerous religious exclusivism to which I have referred is being preached in the majority of the pulpits at this very hour. The enlightenment that you have enjoyed over the decades has not penetrated one whit. There is still an exclusivism and a dogmatism and an absolutism which has put the whole creation in danger and is a detriment to human well-being. Well, what will we do about it? We won’t go on a social crusade. We won’t gird up our loins and march off to battle. We had better wait first, in moments like this, in an environment like this, in the attitude of prayer, allowing the Spirit to seep deeply into our being. We must be something before we do something. Let me hold up before you the model of Jesus who set his face to go to Jerusalem. It was precisely his recognition that the collusion of religion and politics was an oppression to the people that set him on his course. He set his face to Jerusalem. On the way, they went through Samaria. There was hostility between the Jews and the Samaritans and the Samaritans wouldn’t receive him. His own disciples said, "Should we call down fire from heaven and consume them?" And he said, "My God, you don’t know what spirit you’re of, for I have come to heal humanity, not destroy it." And then he came to the city and as he looked at that golden city from the crest of Olivet, he began to weep. It was anguish, anguish wet with tears. He cried out that great lament, "If you ... had only recognized ... the things that make for peace, but now they are hidden from your eyes." He could see it; he knew it. With frustration, with anger, with compassion, he entered the city and the very citadel of religion and he cleansed the temple of its bartering and its business and called it again to be what it was intended to be - a house of prayer for all people. This is why I follow the way of Jesus - not because he is some Divine Intruder invading our time and space to effect some miracle cure for our frail and flawed humanity, promising us some bliss in another world at a future time, not because he is some Savior figure of a Salvation cult. No, rather, that in that life, in that face set steadfastly toward Jerusalem, in those tears shed over that Holy City, I see the loving anguish, the passionate concern that bespeaks one who cares deeply, one who is angry with human arrogance and gracious with human weakness. I see his intolerance of human systems of domination and oppression, religious, political, economic and social. I see his awareness that it is religion gone awry that nurtures prejudice and fosters ignorance, that hides injustice in a cloak of piety while exploiting human fears and weakness to support institutionalized religion which so subtly becomes a facade behind which to hide © Grand Valley State University �Carrying Coals to Newcastle Richard A. Rhem Page 6   vested interests and reactionary forces seeking to maintain the status quo which means a societal system protecting privilege, deaf to the cry of the millions who live a less than human existence. I set before you Jesus, with all of his compassion for human weakness, in all of his anger at human dominance and oppression. I set before you one who set his face to go to Jerusalem and confronted the principalities and powers, the demons of his day. He found where the battle was raging and, after steeping himself in the presence of God, set forth to act. That is the fiery coal I would bring to Newcastle. I have no quick fix, I have no easy answer, but I’ll tell you this - a comfortable and complacent liberal religious experience will stand by while the world goes to hell and by God, we can’t let it happen! I set before you a model whose way to follow and in whose steps to walk will bring us to that point where the battle is raging. May the Spirit give you restlessness in your rest; enough humor to keep you humble, enough grace to keep you going, and joy in your journey. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/4f2fcccfb42d10740d290ad43d18217c.mp3 c6ff30e2ee6b685b270284a6aecd4203 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 Pentecost XXIII Scripture Text Luke 9:51-56, 19:41-48 Location The location of the interview Fountain Street Church, Grand Rapids, 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-0-19981108 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-11-08 Title A name given to the resource Carrying Coals to Newcastle Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University 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 Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on November 8, 1998 entitled "Carrying Coals to Newcastle", on the occasion of Pentecost XXIII, at Fountain Street Church, Grand Rapids, MI. Scripture references: Luke 9:51-56, 19:41-48. Inclusive Religious Quest Way of Jesus https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/25cd43afd152c7aa068ae26e359cf943.pdf 83d7a62c90b4b9476ba4ca2c9964ad1c PDF Text Text The Celebration of Life and Death From the series: The Church: Human Community Text: Ecclesiastes 3:2, 22; Romans 14:8 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan All Saints’ Day, November 1, 1998 Transcription of the spoken sermon The writer of the Ecclesiastes finds God inscrutable. He does not doubt God’s existence; in fact, he seems to believe God has pre-ordained everything that happens. In one sense, that is positive; there is for everything a season and life is lived with a structure and order that encompasses the wide diversity of human experience - a time to be born, and a time to die ... God has made everything suitable for its time, and God has put into the human mind a sense of past and future, but we cannot determine what God is up to. I like the translation "God has set eternity in the human heart," meaning, I suppose, that within our brief moment we sense we are part of something much grander, but again, what God is about, we cannot fathom. God is inscrutable; we simply have no clue as to what the future holds. This does not lead to the paralysis of despair. Rather, be happy, enjoy life - work, eat, drink and take pleasure - a wholesome outlook. But, when it comes to questions of the end, the writer remains agnostic because he finds God inscrutable. What is our fate? He answers, "Who knows?" Life has structure; for everything there is a season, and life should be bold - eat, drink, and seek pleasure in your labor. But this biblical writer has nothing more to say, and I think it is because he finds God totally inscrutable. I find this a fascinating contrast to the affirmation of another biblical writer, St. Paul. Paul was as Jewish as the writer of Ecclesiastes, but he was separated in time by at least three centuries and in experience by a great gulf. Between the times of these two, something had happened - the Word became flesh - God’s self- expression in the humanity of Jesus. Paul had an epiphany experience of Jesus, being overwhelmed with the truth that Jesus was God’s Word, God’s anointed - the revelation of the heart and purpose of God. © Grand Valley State University   �Celebration of Life and Death Richard A. Rhem Page 2   After setting forth his understanding of what God had done in Jesus in his letter to the Romans, he asks, "What shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Subsequently in his letter to the Romans he deals with a very practical issue about how Christians should act with each other and in the course of that discussion in the 14th chapter, he declares, If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord, so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. It is this claim by Paul that I believe we verify in our concrete human experience in community. Life’s limit situations, birth and death, and those significant passages in the meantime are marked in the community before the face of the Ultimate - the Source, creative ground, and final rest of our existence. This is All Saints Day, a day of remembering those from the community whom we’ve loved and lost awhile. It is thus an appropriate time to reflect on community, on the communion of the saints, the community of God’s people gathered in human community. I chose the hymn, "I Was There to Hear Your Borning Cry" intentionally for the theme of the day. Many have said that they cannot get through the hymn without moist eyes and a lump in the throat. Beginning at our borning cry and moving through the passages of our lives until we shut our weary eyes, the hymn is a celebration of the whole of life - and then some, for it ends with the promise of just one more surprise. The passages pointed to in the hymn are passages marked in the church baptism, childhood and nurture, adolescence and the perils of individuation into the emergence of faith and personal affirmation, finding a soul mate and the joy of human union, years of maturity moving toward old age and finally death. It is in community that we mark the passages of our lives. It is particularly then that we sense the need to belong to a faith family whose center is that Mystery that is the source of life and the gracious goal toward which our lives move. It is the witness of so many who come into this community that the birth of a child triggers the spiritual awakening and over and over again I hear comments about the celebration of the sacrament of Baptism that it brings tears to eyes. It is a beautiful moment, a moment of pure grace when we recognize the child as gift and claim the promise, "I will be a God to your children." I must skip over the intervening years of life to come to its close and there again something in us instinctively reaches out for the church, for its ministry. It is one of the high privileges of pastoral ministry to be present with the dying. It was my privilege this past week to witness the tenderness of family at the death vigil with © Grand Valley State University �Celebration of Life and Death Richard A. Rhem Page 3   reassuring words, holding the hand, stroking the cheek, being present to and with the one slipping beyond the pale. But when the final breath is taken and the loved one expires, it is not over. Again, I think instinctively we need something more - a gathering and not just a gathering, but a gathering in the context of worship, a remembering, a thanksgiving, a celebration of the life and a final commendation to the gracious embrace of the Eternal God. Over and over again I am struck by how natural it is to worship, to be lifted out of ourselves and come consciously into the Presence of the Transcendent One. The Mystery we call God in the presence of death. Sometimes one hears of a gathering of friends of one deceased where their life is remembered and spoken of and it always seems to me so lacking in ultimate meaning. That, of course, is my bias, my conditioning. Yet, I think it is deeper than that. Does not the human heart and mind with its natural limitation yearn to break out of those limits and reach for some touch of the Eternal? Here we rejoice at the wonder of a child. Our hearts meet at their wide-eyed wonder, their innocence, their total dependence, and their great potential. Here we grieve the loss of those we’ve dearly loved. Here we acknowledge honestly our pain, our loss, our guilt for words spoken or words not spoken, our sense of loss, maybe even anger, our failure to heal old wounds before it was too late. But, here, too, we await a word of grace, of forgiveness, of peace and surely of hope, believing finally all will be well. There is that within us that cries out for the sense of God’s presence, God’s grace, and God’s peace. And when we rejoice in a child or grieve a loved one lost, we do not want to be alone. Certainly we need such moments, too, but finally we need the community, family and extended faith family - the outpouring of love, care, and concern, the hug, the strong embrace, the presence of familiar faces, the sound of familiar voices and the ritual whose words and phrases leap to life, their familiarity a comfort and means of assurance. We need a place and a people with whom we can laugh and cry with no need to posture or put on false face. We need people who are the embodiment of God’s love and God’s grace. The celebration of life and death - that is at the heart of the human community that is the church. Religion arises from that deep sense of mystery that pervades our human existence, our self-conscious awareness of an ultimate source and ground of our life, and sense of a Presence toward which we instinctively reach. From some founding experience there grows a story, a tradition, a ritual that enables us to orient our lives, to find meaning and peace. It is in the religious community that we are provided the environment and the means to negotiate the most significant passages of the human experience in laughter and in tears; in compassionate and loving embrace that is the sign of the God whose we are in life and in death, Who is experienced most deeply with a lump in the throat, a tear on the cheek, and a heart tender, open and soft. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/960c43ca445574c7db98e801031ad000.mp3 d248ddacbec5974975ad526bc8325f28 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 Pentecost XXII Series The Church: Human Community Scripture Text Ecclesiastes 3:2, 3:22, Romans 14:8 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 KII-01_RA-0-19981101 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-11-01 Title A name given to the resource The Church: The Celebration of Life and Death Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University 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 Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on November 1, 1998 entitled "The Church: The Celebration of Life and Death", as part of the series "The Church: Human Community", on the occasion of Pentecost XXII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Ecclesiastes 3:2, 3:22, Romans 14:8. Community of Faith Mystery Worship https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/514721b9ec747b2102d2b4f7d658ce8f.pdf 14faa1fd3e31c82fbb7357de1b6367fc PDF Text Text The Church: Has It a Place in the Spiritual Life? From the series: The Church: Critical Questions Text: Mark 7:8; I Corinthians 12:7; 12:27; 13:13 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan October 11, 1998 Transcription of the spoken sermon The question this morning in this month of October, when we are thinking together about the church, is whether or not the church has a place in the spiritual life. A rather strange question, isn’t it, because one would assume at least superficially that the church is precisely the place for the development and cultivation of the spiritual life. Of course, at its best, that’s exactly what it is, and yet, the question is not ridiculous at all for, if you stop to think for a moment, the church as an organization, as an institution that is ministered to and over by flawed human beings, that is full of structures and traditions and all sorts of diverse baggage - the church as an institution can be a detriment to the spiritual life. It can dampen devotion and undercut the freshness of faith. Christ Community over the years has been a place that has collected all sorts of birds with broken wings, wounded in the struggle of religion in its organizational and institutional forms. So I think probably it is perceived here immediately, that it is a legitimate question, the church can be a detriment to spiritual life. There are those who would say, "The church has no place in my spiritual life, and it was in finally shucking off the church that I found my spirit beginning to sing." Unfortunately, that has too often been the case. That is understandable because, whatever else the church is, as the mediator of the Spirit, as the arena in which God moves upon us by the Spirit, it is also a human organization and institution and, to that extent, it is a flawed body, and it can do damage. Religion has been the source of great nobility and marvelous movements on the part of the human spirit, and it has a shadow side which has been to be a participant in some of the horrific experiences in the human story. So, to ask whether the church has a place in the spiritual life is an effort to get us to think together about the distinction between the spiritual pursuit, the pursuit of God, the experience of God, and our life together in an organized, religious institution. Obviously, it is my hope and my intention that a community like this foster spirituality and not hinder it or become a barrier to it. That can never be taken for granted and I think that we ought always, anew, to ask the question, "Is this © Grand Valley State University   �Church’s Place in Spiritual Life Richard A. Rhem Page 2   community such that it enhances human beings and inspires people and brings them into the experience of God, or has the institution moved into a phase in which, rather, it drains and detracts from the Spirit of God?" That’s the question asked this morning. As one looks back over the history of the church, obviously there have been those times again and again when the church became, not an institution inspiring, but an organization dominating and exploiting. If we simply think about the rise of religion, think of our own biblical tradition, the Jewish-Christian tradition (someone hears a voice, Abraham and Sarah move out, knowing not where they’re going, and eventually out of that family comes a people enslaved in Egypt, and another one named Moses encounters a bush that burns but isn’t consumed and has a sense of divine mission and calling, brings that people out of slavery through the wilderness, into their own land), we see that it is a movement, dynamic, alive. But, before too long, in that land, organization happens and structures are developed. Eventually, there’s a king named David, a great politician, a savvy leader of the people, who organizes the nation. His son, Solomon, builds the magnificent temple, and before long this people who had heard the voice of God on Mount Sinai become a people who are domesticated, as it were, in the organized structures of religion with a priesthood and a temple and altar and sacrifices and all of the accouterments of organized and institutional religion, and all of that arising out of the founding vision, all of that a sort of natural and inevitable development and yet, a development which loses the spontaneity and the freshness of the first love, that driving vision that sweeps people along and lifts them up, and it becomes ordinary, it becomes pro forma, it becomes highly structured, routinized, and loses its soul. And through all of the experiences of that people here and there, now and again, a prophet’s voice is raised, raised about the dominance of this institution, raised about the lack of soul and the emptiness. The prophets are silenced because their message is not popular. One day on the banks of the Jordan River, a man named John stands up and becries the situation of his people, their religious life, the temple crowd, the collaboration with the Roman occupying power, and he points to another one by the name of Jesus and Jesus, with his own vision, his own particular fire and his own particular spirit, filled with the Spirit, challenges the institution, challenges the tradition of the elders to such an extent that they know they have to silence him, and in collaboration with the Roman authorities they put him to death because he had the audacity to stand up in the face of the whole temple establishment and say, "You’ve lost your heart; you’ve lost your soul; you’ve lost your way." The religious institution, with all of the vested interests of those who are a part of it and who eat out of the trough has every reason to keep the status quo, but that which begins with a fresh blush of the winds of the Spirit, that which is, first of all, the experience of a new love, the freshness, the spontaneous movement of the © Grand Valley State University �Church’s Place in Spiritual Life Richard A. Rhem Page 3   Spirit, that which is inspiring, liberating, and causes people to sing and to dance, becomes domesticated, ordinary, forgets the fact that it is a means to lift people heavenward and becomes an end in itself that uses people for its own ends, always justifying, of course, as being this divine institution, when all the time it is human, all too human, petty, mean-spirited, losing vision, becoming protective, defensive, perpetuating itself, when all of that about which it finds its life circling around is anachronistic, out of another day, refusing to move along with the wind of the Spirit. Jesus said, "You stick to human traditions rather than the commandment of God." We have to read those Gospel passages, understanding that when they were written several decades after Jesus, they were written with the brokenness between the Jesus movement and the Rabbinic Jewish movement. I don’t believe that Jesus himself in his own day would have had the sharpness of those discussions. But, there can be little doubt that Jesus challenged the temple establishment. There can be little doubt that the Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, are reflective of that confrontation of Jesus with the religious establishment of his day, which eventuated in his death. It has always been so. The little struggling Jesus movement, persecuted, hunted down, finally in the fourth century, with Emperor Constantine, becomes the established religion of the Empire. It becomes the dominant religious expression. Cathedrals are built and the religious leaders dominate the European continent. It becomes a lush institution. It becomes wealthy; it is corrupt. And in the 16th century there is a movement of Reformation and the church is re-formed according to the word of God, and reformed is a verb, an action verb. It’s a verb of movement; it is a movement of renewal. And then, once again, just as has happened in the time of Jesus, the institutional forms of the church get rigid, brace themselves, will not be renewed, will not acknowledge that they’ve lost their first love, brokenness, the tearing, the rending of the body of Christ. The essence of that Reformation movement of the 16th century was never to absolutize any ecclesiastical form or creedal statement. But, the renewal only lasts so long and before very long, the essence of that which was a spirit that it would reform and always be reformed by the word of God, the verb, becomes a noun. Now there is a reformed presence in the world and it becomes an adjective, so there is reformed worship and reformed evangelism and reformed theology. The verb degenerates into a noun, a static thing, another institution to be protected, to be defended, to be perpetuated, to resist the winds of the Spirit. And so, it goes. Over and over and over again. And the institution which ostensibly is organized in the human arena becomes a dominating, exploiting institution that uses people for its own end, its own aggrandizement, its own perpetuation. That’s why organized religion in our day, the mainstream out of which we stem, of which we are a part, is in a survival mode, defensive and protective. © Grand Valley State University �Church’s Place in Spiritual Life Richard A. Rhem Page 4   The Utne Reader is an interesting journal with commentary on the contemporary scene. There was an article this summer entitled “God With a Million Faces,” and it began with the story of Ann Marie, who said that organized religion was, for her, dis-empowering. She said it’s bogus. She took some of the trappings of her Christian upbringing, she added a pinch of Buddhism and a little bit of this and a little bit of that and she came up with a sect of one, the sect of Ann Marie. She is on her individual quest, her quest for spirituality, her own thirst and hunger for the experience of the living God which she couldn’t find in the institution. She is an example of a very large trend in our day. We hear a lot about the vocal rhetoric, the Religious Right. We hear stories, news articles, etc., of the megachurches that are growing by leaps and bounds, and we hear about the noisy part of religion which seems to be alive and well in the US of A. But, we don’t hear much about the Ann Maries, the thousands and millions who have been disenchanted with organized religion, who have left the institutions. We hear a bit about the New Age and some of it is very bizarre, and some of it is more responsible, but all of it points to a deep spiritual hunger. It is very easy to say, "Well, the world is growing less religious, less spiritual. People are pursuing their own ends and their own pleasures," but I don’t believe that for a moment. I believe that there is as much hunger and thirst in the human heart, in the human soul as ever there was. But, there are all kinds of people who have taken the warning that institutional religion can be bad for your spiritual life, and they’ve gone off on their own quest, because the institution can be an albatross on the human spirit, and I don’t know of any movement that has been able to avoid that movement into organization and institutionalization, except maybe A.A. We’re familiar with the Twelve Steps of A.A. in terms of that personal healing and recovery, but A.A. also has its traditions in regard to it as a movement which has historically positioned itself against the possibility of becoming an institution with lands, buildings, and wealth. Maybe in the Christian movement, the Quakers have avoided it with their little white frame buildings, coming together and sitting in a circle of silence. But you, what do you do? You hire a preacher. You build a building. You have to put a new roof on it. You have a Minister of Music and a large organ - all of the accouterments that make it such a pleasure to be a part of this community. And it can become a real drain and a drag. And it can ring the zest out of your spiritual life. In the Utne Reader, in this same article, there are comments in the margins by six or eight people of all kinds of religious spiritual movements and traditions. I’ve printed a couple of them in the liturgy for you. One, in particular, Gangaji, I don’t know who she is or what she’s a part of, but I like what she says and that is that if the rituals and the forms can be the instruments by which the Mystery becomes present, then wonderful, but, she distinguishes very, very carefully between the freedom of the spirit and that ritualism that so easily comes and entraps us. And she reminds us that the people we follow were the people who © Grand Valley State University �Church’s Place in Spiritual Life Richard A. Rhem Page 5   would not follow, that the ones that we have made our leaders, the Buddha, Jesus Christ, whomever, are the very ones who shattered the forms, who broke out of the tradition, who undercut the institution, who got back to the heart and the spirit of the matter. That’s the way it is, isn’t it? Someone sees a vision. Someone breaks through the crust, the barnacles, and then everyone says, "Ha, that’s it!" And before long, that one becomes the one who’s worshipped and followed and a whole new set of things are organized, institutionalized, absolutized, and before long you have to take an offering again. Ann Marie says, "The church didn’t do it for me. I’ve taken my tray and gone down the cafeteria line and borrowed a little of this and a little of that and I am a sect of one." But, there are voices in that same Utne Reader article that suggest the difficulty of being the sect of one, going it alone. We really do need community. It is possible for human community to enhance our individual lives and our walk and our quest for the reality of the Spirit. I think that’s what Paul was trying to point out. The congregation in Corinth was exuberant, full of all kinds of gifts, and he had to write to them to calm down a bit, to recognize one another’s gifts and to do things decently and in order. He reminded them that all spiritual diversity has one Source and that is the Spirit, and that all of the diverse gifts are to be used not for personal exaltation, but for the building up of the body. And so, he encourages those people in Corinth, in that community, to recognize the unity of their spiritual gift and their calling to be concerned for their brothers and sisters and the upbuilding of the body which is the image that he uses, the body of Christ. And then he says, "When you’ve discovered your gift, when you’ve brought your gift to the service of the rest, then let me show you an even more excellent way." And he breaks out into that beautiful hymn of love, the 13th chapter of I Corinthians, in which he reminds us, as he reminded the Corinthian congregation, that the most profound proclamation, the proper creedal posture, the exuberant offering of oneself, making even the supreme sacrifice, apart from love, is nothing. And then he goes on to describe what love is and what love is not. He comes back, then, to remind them that all of the things that seem so important are really provisional, temporary, passing away, that there is finally faith and hope and love and the greatest of these is love. You see, the church so easily becomes an end in itself. It takes so much to keep it going, to keep it on track, to keep it up, organize it, regulate it, supervise it, when what we really want, what we really need is the experience of God. So, let us be very certain that this organization called Christ Community never sacrifices the life and the spirit in order to be a little more stable, a little more solid in order to have a better future, in order to perpetuate itself. We don’t have to go into the future. We don’t have to become anything. In fact, to the extent that we are willing to let it all go, let it die, only then will we be free to allow the wind of the Spirit to blow where it will. Only if we can relativize this necessary organizational life, will we be set free to open ourselves to the Spirit, to love one another, to © Grand Valley State University �Church’s Place in Spiritual Life Richard A. Rhem Page 6   recognize that everything takes second place to that community of love. When we become willing to unclench the fist and open our mind and heart, we can be free of compulsion, fear, manipulation, and the need for exploitation, finally freed up to walk the way of spirituality, the way of Jesus, in a community of love where the Spirit blows free, and where we can leave after gathering with the brothers and sisters on a marvelous Lord’s Day like this and see a leaf or hear a child’s cry, experience a lump in the throat, a tear on the cheek, and say, "That’s why I believe." © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/6a0dbb4568ea302714a36b15485d8a65.mp3 0b0eda39afd6ce2e510d6f5c52c9008c 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 Pentecost XIX Series The Church: Critical Questions Scripture Text Mark 7:8, I Corinthians 12:7, 12:27, 13:13 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 KII-01_RA-0-19981011 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-10-11 Title A name given to the resource The Church: Has It a Place in the Spiritual Life? Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University 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 Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on October 11, 1998 entitled "The Church: Has It a Place in the Spiritual Life?", as part of the series "The Church: Critical Questions", on the occasion of Pentecost XIX, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Mark 7:8, I Corinthians 12:7, 12:27, 13:13. Community of Faith Nature of Religion Prophetic Voice Spiritual Quest https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/dedef21f77bfe5535f425a703d987a4e.pdf 86ead1cdcb67145c08cba3516911538f PDF Text Text The Church: Has It a Future? From the series: The Church: Critical Questions Text: Matthew 7:4; 31:31; Matthew 23:37-38 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan October 4, 1998 Transcription of the spoken sermon It is the month of October, and being the son of the Reformation, the month of October always makes me think about the church and I have often in the fall season reflected on the nature of the church, its mission, and its function. I want to do that again this year in October, raising critical questions about the church and, in November, talking about the nature of the community that is the church. I do so this year, perhaps particularly, because I am anxious that we should think together about the nature of the church, the church’s future, a future that cannot be taken for granted, ever, but certainly in this congregation as we go into a new church year with a status of independence, somewhat unusual because most of the time, most of the church is interconnected. Not that we are outside of the body of Christ. Nonetheless, we have a particular situation, a circumstance, I believe a particular opportunity, but we ought to be about it intentionally and thoughtfully. And so, if you would for a few weeks just think with me about the church and, this morning, The Church: Has It a Future? I think I can answer that immediately - of course it has a future, but I would also respond to that immediately by saying it will not be the nature of the church as it has been in the past, I believe, as we look into the future. There will be some significant transformations, I’m quite sure, and I do believe that we can be a part of that movement toward a creative newness, which I would hope we would find ourselves engaged with. Think with me, then, for a bit about the church and perhaps the future shape. Maybe that would be a better title. The kinds of things that will be true, increasingly, as we move together into the future. I cannot help but remember the couple of weeks that some of us traversed the European continent. Every place you go, there is another church or another cathedral. There are those who have accused me of leading ABC Tours - "another bloody church." But, we seldom miss one. When one is on the European continent, one is impressed with the fact that those spires that ascend heavenward all over that continent bespeak an age of faith. There was a time when the European culture ,which has become so thoroughly secular, was marked by faith, Christian faith, to be specific. Those magnificent sacred spaces, © Grand Valley State University   �Has the Church a Future? Richard A. Rhem Page 2   still awesome upon entrance, taking your breath away, making one realize the function of sacred space, of the aesthetic that is able to reach the depths of our being and draw out that attitude of worship, causing us for a moment simply to be still. In one such moment someone said to me, "Whatever else one can say, one would have to admit that was a day when somebody really believed in God." They say you can determine the nature of a culture by its architecture, and that certainly is true of that European scene as it reflects those centuries in which faith was dominant and great cathedrals were raised to the glory of God. I suppose our own day would be marked by the glass and steel skyscraper of the commercial world, the business world. Ours is a different age. But, there was a time when in every village, in the most prominent location, there stood the church as a symbol of that faith in God that was as solid as the rock on which the church was built. But one cannot traverse that continent today without the sense that, when one enters those magnificent spaces, one is in the environment of the museum. That is not to say that there are not still godly people gathering in worship, but one does have the feeling that many of those beautiful edifices are more now a place where tourists come and light candles and stay a moment to pray, rather than being the cutting edge of the society over which the spire dominates. And so, one recognizes the fact that with religion and with now specifically the church, there are periods of ebb and flow and that to raise the question about the future is significant, it is important. I read an article some time ago about some of these buildings in The Netherlands. When a building has served as a place of divine worship, there is a general recognition, even for those who have no affiliation or participation in that act, nonetheless some feeling that such a building, such a place ought to be used appropriately when its function is no longer needed in the community. There are a lot of such buildings in The Netherlands, for example. So, how do you find a use for an old church? How do you use a place with dignity that once was a house of worship but no longer functions in that way? What of the future of the church? What of the future of this congregation? As I was thinking about this a month or six weeks ago, and put together this present series, I received an issue of The Christian Century that had an excellent article in it by Peter Berger. Peter Berger is a Lutheran; he’s a sociologist; he’s been one of the most acute observers of the religious scene, and he writes an excellent article, which was precisely what I had been thinking about, entitled "Protestantism and the Quest for Certainty." He raises the question whether or not the church can survive and have a future if it must live with less than absolute certainty in matters of faith. His answer is "Yes," but not to be taken for granted. In his analysis of the present situation, he says in our world, which is marked by pluralism, there is the interfacing of cultures and religions such as formerly was not the case. Formerly, in previous generations, people could live pretty much isolated in their own communities. People were socialized pretty much the same © Grand Valley State University �Has the Church a Future? Richard A. Rhem Page 3   way and, where there is a stable community and a stable tradition and a relatively homogenous population, you have a lot of things that are very important about life that are simply taken for granted. Peter Berger plays on that phrase, "taken for grantedness." Much of life is taken for granted, and that’s not all bad. It simplifies life a bit. You don’t have to think about every action. You don’t have to make a decision every time you make a move. There are things one takes for granted. But, in the arena of religion, the pluralism of our times, the presence of the great religious traditions in our own communities means that, in terms of our religious faith, we can no longer take it for granted. We simply know that there are other options. There are other people who evidence the fruit of the Spirit who believe differently, who act differently than we do, and whenever that happens, when you come into a situation that is genuinely pluralistic, that taken-for-grantedness is obviously undermined. One has to begin to think about what one believes and how one behaves and how one values, etc. Peter Berger says that’s our situation. He quotes the philosopher John Dewey, who speaks about a quest for certainty, and recognizes that it is endemic in the human heart, in yours and mine, that we do seek certain certitudes, certain securities. I like to use the phrase, "lust for certitude." Some things we want to know absolutely. We want to be able to say, "Here I stand," and we don’t want to waffle all over the place. Religion and the church as the bearer of religion have fed into the human desire and quest. It’s simply quite normal, but I think the disservice that the church as a religious community has visited on its people is to give the impression that it’s possible to live with absolute certainties, failing to point out that it is the very nature of our human existence that absolutes are denied us. We are in the stream of history; our lives are marked by change, by development. The future is open, and it is impossible to freeze, absolutize church structures, liturgical forms, creedal formulations, and consequently, we live with a tension, a tension that stems from our quest for certainty and the reality of our human situation which denies us certitude. I happen to think that the church has played into that lust for certitude and promised what it really cannot promise honestly, and that what we ought to do, what we must do, rather, is help our people learn to live by faith where those absolutes are unavailable. But the question is, can such a church have a future? Can such a community face honestly the human situation and survive, refusing to play into that which has motivated so much religious activity, that quest for certainty and security which, once again, I must say I think is simply not available in our human situation? Well, Peter Berger in this very fine article says the very heart and center of the Protestant movement of the 16th century Reformation was the refusal to absolutize any human structure, be it the structure of the church, or be it the structure of the faith, or even be it the Bible as the infallible, inerrant word of © Grand Valley State University �Has the Church a Future? Richard A. Rhem Page 4   God. Anything that a human hand has touched is denied absoluteness. That was the insight of the 16th century. The nuance of the word Protestant is negative, like protest, as being against. But, as a matter of fact, in the 16th century the Protestants were protesting. Pro is for. Calling for something, so that out of that 16th century movement, at its heart, which was already denied by the 17th century, there was a recognition that there is always a danger to absolutize human forms and structures and institutions, and freeze against the future, and try to create a situation of taken for grantedness, and I have to tell you there’s no such place. My question is: Can a congregation survive where there is that kind of honesty up front that denies you the certainty for which your soul longs? But, in taking that position, I am being true to my heritage, because the essence of the 16th century was that the church was being reformed according to the word of God, and always being reformed, and there was no point, no creed, no structure that could ever finally be absolutized. That’s what the whole thing was about, because there was an explosion in the 16th century because churches do what churches do. It happened in Jeremiah’s day. They thought, as long as the temple was sitting in the midst of Jerusalem, everything was going to be hunkydory. And so, the prophet comes. How does God speak to Jeremiah? I don’t know. Middle of the night, or did he just overeat the night before and have indigestion? Anyway, he stands on the church steps on the high holy day and they’re coming to worship and he says, "Don’t trust these deceptive words, ‘The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord is this.’ Do you think you can just go out and live any old way you want to live, denying the justice and the compassion that God requires, and everything will be just fine because the temple is standing? Not on your life." Oh, Jeremiah’s got a story. What a story. I can’t go into it, but they call him the weeping prophet no one ever heeded. Finally he lost his life, but he wasn’t alone. And Jesus, in his controversy with the religious leadership of his day, confronting them with the best in their own tradition, and yet recognizing that it would be true of him as it was true of Jeremiah. Jesus said to the religious leadership of his day, "You’ve always done it. You’re simply the children of your parents who have shed all that righteous blood down through the centuries. The prophet, the one who dares shake the foundations, the one who dares to tell the truth, the one who refuses to cotton to that lust for certitude where certitude cannot be found, that one who will give answers knowing more than one can know." Jesus says, "I would have gathered you as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would not." So, Judah went into exile. The Jesus movement split off from the Jewish movement. The Reformation was a rending of the body of Christ because institutions will not live in the light of reality, which is a non-absolute posture in all of life. That’s the nature of human existence. I’m sorry to deny you the kind of security and certainty you would want, but if I would give you security and © Grand Valley State University �Has the Church a Future? Richard A. Rhem Page 5   certainty in this human pilgrimage, I would be giving you something that is not possible. You, rather, have to learn to live by faith. Sola Fidei; Luther, one of the cardinal planks - By faith! There’s no church that’s absolute; there’s no doctrine that’s absolute; there’s no book that’s absolute; there’s only God Who is absolute and God is Mystery and we trust by faith, we lay hold of God. Colette prays a moving prayer that touches us deeply and recognizes the infirmities and the fragility and the tragedy and pain of our human existence, and then the choir sings, "All will be well. All will be well; all manner of things will be well," quoting Julian of Norwich who is quoted here regularly and will continue to be quoted here. Eventually we’ll sing it, as well. All will be well. All will be well; all manner of things will be well. I believe that. I live in faith; I trust that, but in the meantime, I don’t know. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring. I don’t know about the next decade or the next century or the next millennium. I have to live, trusting, trusting. The Protestant Principle, said Paul Tillich, refuses to absolutize anything human - church, state, culture, social, whatever. We are pilgrims, we are on a journey, the future continues to open up, we move toward it, trusting, without that kind of certainty that we would so love to have. I’m thinking about all this, and then I’m reading this article and Berger says, "How can one build institutions on such a fragile base?" I said, "Peter, you tell me. How can you build institutions on such a fragile basis?" Don’t viable institutions require a strong foundation of taken for granted verities? Require representatives who exude self-assured certainty? Let us assume that over time it is difficult to fake this, and we must ask, if one constructs institutions on the basis of the sort of skepticism that the Protestant Principle implies, will these institutions not be extraordinarily weak, associations of individuals with no deep commitment? Can such institutions survive? I want to say, "Peter Berger, you’re reading my mind." Do you know what sells in Peoria? Do you know where the vitality and the strength and the resources are in the religious world? They are in places where there is absolute certainty, where there is promise without qualification. Where there is triumphalism. Where there is reveling in this victory and triumph of God that makes all things well. They’re flourishing, folks, and my question to you is not whether we will flourish, but simply whether we’ll survive. Can an institution that is deadly honest with the human situation, simply trusting God, survive? Peter Berger says, "Yes," but he said there will be a difference. You can believe a lot of the same things, but you hold them differently because you know there are other options, and you know that you have intentionally decided to be here, and that you have deliberately embraced a certain faith and posture, and that you are an association of voluntary members. There’s no coercion. Nobody forces you. No peer pressure. No community pressure. Just plain saying, "That’s what I believe, and I can live with that kind of uncertainty because underneath it is a deep trust © Grand Valley State University �Has the Church a Future? Richard A. Rhem Page 6   in God that will enable me, come triumph or tragedy, light or shadow, radiant sunshine or the dead of winter, to prevail. In 1972, a man who was working for the National Council of Churches named Dean Kelly, wrote a book, Why Conservative Churches are Growing. This was 1972. I had been back here about a year. Kelly was observing, as Peter Berger, sociologically, phenomenally, the church scene, and he asked why conservative churches were growing, that is, churches with a very rigid creed and a very rigid social code, (you do this and you don’t do that), and a series of demands, (you’re here on Sunday, Wednesday night, you tithe your income), etc., etc. Why, he said, are conservative churches marked that way growing? He said, "As a matter of fact, they are the churches that are growing," and he has been proven to be at least partially right. In 1972 I took that book into the pulpit in that little sanctuary over there and I held it up and I said, "Folks, if Dean Kelly is right, we are doomed, because I am trying to do something that is absolutely opposite, diametrically opposite from what he says works." So, if we’re in trouble, it was intentional, and it’s the only way, it’s the only way that I can be a part of any church in the future. An honesty, a trust, and that’s all there is. So, let’s keep thinking about it. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/fd60ddece2cf83937ac2a19a0f9c8454.mp3 82144e330a9ba21a45ec16887bb490bb 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 Pentecost XVIII Series The Church: Critical Questions Scripture Text Jeremiah 7:4, 31:31, Matthew 23:37-38 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 KII-01_RA-0-19981004 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-10-04 Title A name given to the resource The Church: Has It a Future? Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University 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 Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on October 4, 1998 entitled "The Church: Has It a Future?", as part of the series "The Church: Critical Questions", on the occasion of Pentecost XVIII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Jeremiah 7:4, 31:31, Matthew 23:37-38. Nature of Religion Prophetic Voice Protestant Religious Quest https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f742aa537b078780033ef7e13a086539.pdf d81960265235f52ac041368b5da95c17 PDF Text Text Journey With Us Toward New Horizons Text: Genesis 12:1; Hebrews 11:8, 10 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan September 13, 1998 Transcription of the spoken sermon This is always a wonderful Sunday for us. There is a vibrancy in the air and electricity; there is anticipation, and so we have a moment again of new beginnings - new beginnings for the church year, for the educational year, for a new intentionality and seriousness in making this place a place of deep reflection, a place of education, study, taking faith seriously and trying to create a whole congregation of theologians. The invitation this year is COME, JOURNEY WITH US - Toward New Horizons. The image is that of the journey, which is a biblical image, very common biblical image of the life of faith, the pilgrimage of faith. And, Toward New Horizons - it is always so for the people of God, always called, as was Abraham, to go into the future, claiming the future by faith, with confidence, because of the one who calls us. Today I want to think with you about thinking the faith, about the serious wrestling with the Christian tradition, so that it is more than a matter of rote, recitation, and simple perfunctory, habitual action, but that it is that which arises out of the center of our being and is pursued with dedication and commitment, with seriousness. Next week Peter will talk to you about another aspect of that journey, which is the whole matter of spiritual formation, for it is not enough to think the faith. There is a hunger within all of us for the experience of God, the experience of faith. On the third week, Bob will call you to compassionate action, because the faith that we think and the God that we experience is not simply a luxury to be enjoyed in splendid isolation, but is that which shapes us and forms us to be instruments of God for the carrying out of God’s purpose of compassion and justice and love in this world. So, it is a time of new beginning. At Christ Community, we are on a journey. It has ever been so. But, it is so in a new, serious manner as we speak, because we have a new charter of freedom and a great opportunity to find that translation of the Christian tradition that finds resonance with our contemporary experience. That is what we are trying to do. As Gary Eberle, in his book, The Geography of Nowhere, has said, "The old maps don’t work anymore. The early cartography you’ve seen in books, the shape of a world as it was conceived, those maps were wrong. They were based on an © Grand Valley State University   �Journey With Us to New Horizons Richard A. Rhem Page 2   inadequate understanding of the physical universe. But the mapmakers did, in the forming of those maps, have a sense of orientation, and those maps did help people to have an understanding of where they were in the world. We know today that those old maps are archaic. They’re simply wrong. And today we have this global positioning system where you can be steaming in a boat in the middle of Lake Michigan and turn that on and from a satellite it will point out exactly where you are. In such a day, in such an age where we can pinpoint our location on the planet, we recognize that there are many of us who don’t really know where we are. Because the old institutions have crumbled, and the old authority structures have been called into question. Just to create a little envy in those of you who aren’t going with us to Geneva this afternoon, where we’ll spend a few days with the ghost of John Calvin over our shoulder, and then, if you really want to get jealous, I would tell you that we’re going down to Provence in the south of France, to lollygag on the Riviera. But, on the way down, we’ll stop at Avignon and, in order to prepare a little bit for that for the people going with us, I was reading again of that old church history and was reminded that it was in the 1300s that the papacy moved out of Rome and moved to the south of France, Avignon, and one of the old wonders that we’ll visit and tour in another week is the Palace of the Popes, and it’s a very splendid place, I understand. I have not seen it. But, the Palace of the Popes in Avignon was a sign of the wealth of the papacy in the 1300s. This was the age of the domination of the church and the papal structure found ways to tax and charge fees and to gain money by hook or by crook, so that the income of one of those popes in those 60 or 70 years in which the papacy was in Avignon was better than three times that of the king of France. (I’d always thought I’d wanted to be a Cardinal, but I think I might as well go all the way and try to be a pope). My point in bringing this up is that, in this time, the Pope was the most powerful person on earth. He was a religious figure and the church dominated the continent of Europe, and the kings groveled before the papal authority because the papal authority had the keys of the kingdom. The papal authority could excommunicate a person and shut them out of heaven. Or, on the other hand, open the gates of paradise. Think of it. That was the world. The king groveled before the Pope because he believed that the church was a divine institution on this earth that literally controlled the gates of the kingdom. Now, if you have that kind of power, you can do anything you want to, and you can control the masses, let alone the monarchs of the earth. That was the world; that was what was believed. The kings groveled before the religious authority, and it works if you believe it. And, if you believe it and you have a dominating religious figure, you can control society, you can manage people, you can manage morality, for example. They say that Moscow was a very moral place during the heyday of the Communist regime. Dictators, potentates, totalitarian powers can control people, and there are those who believe that people need to be controlled. There, in Avignon, is a palace to witness to the power and the authority of the religious authority that dominated the world. © Grand Valley State University �Journey With Us to New Horizons Richard A. Rhem Page 3   But also in Geneva is the memorial to the Reformation in which that institution that had grown corrupt and fat began to crumble before the waves of reform. But, even the Reformation would still, on the basis of authority, make the Bible the authoritarian power that the Pope was in the Catholic communion. John Calvin did everything he could with the elders of Geneva to control the morality of Geneva. Authoritarian power and domination. Well, is it any wonder that once that institutional form began to shatter that the human spirit eventually emerged to a point where it threw off all kinds of authoritarian hold? Isn’t it humanly understandable, isn’t it perfectly obvious, human beings being who human beings are, that, where there is a crack or a fissure in the structure and the daylight comes through, it will go like this? And so we have the Age of Reason and we have the ascendency of the human intellect and the honoring of human rationality to a fault, as we know in our postmodern age, where we have come to recognize that the rational depiction of reality is only a model and a fiction, as a matter of fact, and the human mind and human rationality cannot get itself around the mystery that is life, the ultimate mystery. Nonetheless, we are the products of that move to the modern and we are people who take for granted that non-authoritarian way of living. Modern society will no longer tolerate a church or a book or a tradition that shuts down its mind and simply calls it blindly to follow through the labyrinths of life. Robert Bellah, one of the most acute observers of society, a sociologist in this country, in an essay about religious evolution, cited Tom Paine, at the Age of Reason, who said, "My mind is the church," and Thomas Jefferson who said, "I am a sect." Then Robert Bellah went on to say that the modern period has come to accept the fact that people will join themselves voluntarily to institutions. There is no compulsion for you to be here, to be a member of this institution, and one of the marks of the church in our day is that its voluntary nature is recognized. There is no longer that coercion. If you live in this block, you are not automatically a member of this parish, and therefore coerced to be a part of its institution. Robert Bellah says that private, voluntary, religious association in the west achieved full legitimation for the first time in the early modern situation. But then he goes on to say, in the full flowering of modernity, will there be another kind of institutional structure that will be able to encompass the freedom, even the autonomy of the human person? Will we find some kind of institutional forms that will be supportive and helpful and give guidance and direction, but apart from the kind of authoritarian control that was imposed from the outside? He says, rather than interpreting these trends, this fragmentation in society where we go our own way and start our own clubs and our own denominations and our own congregations - rather than interpreting these terms as significant of indifference, of secularization, I see in them the increasing acceptance of the notion that individuals must work out their own ultimate solutions and that the most the church can do is provide a favorable environment for doing so without imposing on them a prefabricated set of answers. © Grand Valley State University �Journey With Us to New Horizons Richard A. Rhem Page 4   Bellah says in the modern situation, the contemporary situation, it is the task of the church to create here an arena, an ambience for the pursuit of the religious quest, for the asking of the questions, for the struggle and the wrestling with the issues of life, but no longer will it be tolerated that we impose upon you a prefabricated structure of belief. That’s the way it was. That’s the way traditionally it has been, and it will not work anymore, and we are simply at that cutting age where we have accepted that fact, we celebrate that fact, and we invite you to journey with us into a future that is unknown and uncharted, because that is the very nature of the human pilgrimage of faith. Bellah says it remains to be seen whether the freedom modern society implies at the cultural and personal, as well as the social level, can be stably institutionalized in large-scale societies. Yet, the very situation that has been characterized as one of the collapse of meaning and the failure of moral standards can also, and I would argue, more fruitfully, be viewed as one offering unprecedented opportunities for creative innovation in every sphere of human action. Now, that’s the very same note that was sounded earlier when I read that excerpt from Gary Eberle. Will there be, out in the future, some reconfiguration of the institutional life of the human family that will be able to embrace our questions and our quest? Who knows? But, one thing we know - you cannot go back to yesterday. To go back to yesterday, you might as well go back to Avignon. You might try to re-invent a world where the Pope can subdue the king or the President. But it won’t work. And I don’t want to go back to such a world. I want to be able to think. I want my own belief and my own faith to rise out of the center of my own being; I want to believe what I believe. I want to be able to think about it so that what I believe is what I really think, so that I really believe it, so that it’s a reflection of the authenticity of my humanness. No one is going to put it on me. Not an institution, not a book, not a tradition. I’ll use the institution for every value it has; I’ll value this book and study it and mine its treasures; I’ll respect that tradition and gain all of its wisdom, all the wisdom I can from it. But, it will finally be my journey, my pilgrimage, my faith, my insight, because it’s my life! And I invite you to journey with me, and to think about it, so that it is a thought-full journey of faith. I’m afraid that in many churches today, the situation in our country will be berated and the President will be berated and all of that despair will be everywhere. Well, that’s the very time for the people of God, recognizing our total vulnerability, all of us, recognizing the weakness in the heart and center of all of us, recognizing that the decay and the distortion that is present everywhere is not the consequence of some fall from perfection, but is simply the clinging of the slime and the mud from which we’re emerging. I believe in the future! Because I believe in God! I believe in the human family because I believe the Spirit of God is nudging us, beckoning us ever onward. I believe in a world of the future marked by justice and by grace and by compassion because that’s in this book. This book tells me that the image is the journey. We © Grand Valley State University �Journey With Us to New Horizons Richard A. Rhem Page 5   are on the way. Abraham was called to go out, not knowing where he was going to go. He was 75 years old and married to a barren woman. When God would start a new beginning out of the chaos of Genesis, of the garden scene, of the flood scene, of the Babel scene - when God would start a new beginning, when God would form a people, he starts with human impossibility; he starts with an old man and a barren womb in order to create newness. And the writer to the Hebrews was writing to an early church in the wake of Jesus. People who were followers of Jesus, but who were getting weak knees, who looked about them and were becoming dismayed, who didn’t know if they could hold on anymore, and he said, "Hold on. Be strong. Faith is the conviction of things not seen, it is the evidence of things hoped for." Look at old Abraham. Look at Sarah. They went out; they didn’t know where they were going, but they simply heard the voice of God and they followed to be the people of God. To be a biblical people is to be a people not settled, not fixed, not set in concrete. It is to be a people who are on pilgrimage, who don’t know what the future holds, who are willing to take all the tradition and all the wisdom of the book and all of the institutional forms and use them for all they’re worth, but to submit to none of them, not to submit one’s mind and one’s heart. It is to be a person who believes, who thinks and who goes, confident, because God is God. That’s where we’re going, by God. Then, don’t despair. Don’t let your tail drag. Stiffen the weak knees. Let there be a glint in your eye. Believe in the future; believe in possibilities; believe and know, as Bob offered in his prayer, that we create our future because we recognize that we don’t stand here as puppets on a string, but as responsible human beings who are called to journey and faith toward new horizons with confidence and joy. References: Robert Bellah, “Religion in Human Evolution,” American Sociological Review, 1964. Gary Eberle. The Geography of Nowhere: Finding Oneself in the Postmodern World. Sheed and Ward, 1995. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/6b9904f980350aae45c887eb22ca4d2f.mp3 50fc5e996b23d211fb70cbb1f8fde47f 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 Pentecost XV Scripture Text Genesis 12:1, Hebrews 11,8,10 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI References Robert Bellah, "Religion in Human Evolution," American Sociological Review, 1964 Gary Eberle. The Geography of Nowhere: Finding Oneself in the Postmodern World, 1995. 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-0-19980913 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-09-13 Title A name given to the resource Journey With Us Toward New Horizons Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University 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 Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on September 13, 1998 entitled "Journey With Us Toward New Horizons", on the occasion of Pentecost XV, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Genesis 12:1, Hebrews 11,8,10. Authority History of Church Journey of Faith Modernity https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/897f90ed11c89c2fe493a404a447ed0a.pdf 51c06b682ea06d73482c26f91163c7bb PDF Text Text The Biblical Vision and Karl Marx: A 150th Retrospective Scripture: Leviticus 25:1-17; Acts 2:43-47; Matthew 25:31-40 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Labor Day Weekend, September 6, 1998 Transcription of the spoken sermon Labor Day does not appear on the liturgical calendar, and there are some purists, some high liturgical churches where civil holidays are not noted, and I suppose if I had to choose if there was a conflict between a liturgical festival day and a civil holidays, obviously, I would take the text for the day in the church, but civil holidays also point to some significant human concerns which are not without deep biblical concern, as well. And so, on occasion it is, I think, appropriate to have a sermon on the theme of Memorial Day or the Declaration of Independence or, in this case, the Labor Day weekend. As I said, there are purists who wouldn’t do that, not even that highest, holiest of all festival days, Mother’s Day, but then, not to observe that is to take one’s life in one’s hands. But, today I want to address the theme of Labor Day, a day set aside to honor labor, a day in which it might be appropriate for us to think about the whole economic aspect of life and its impact upon our spiritual existence. The year 1998 is the 150th anniversary of the publication of the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx, assisted by Friedrich Engels, and I promise you more than I can deliver in the title of the sermon when I say, " 150th Anniversary Retrospective." I don’t really know very much about Karl Marx. I don’t really know very much about economic history, but I do think that it is appropriate to take a moment this morning in our worship to reflect on our spiritual lives in relationship to that which is so dominant in our society and in our lives, as well the power of the economic dimension. When I was reading the recent issue of Tikkun, the magazine edited by Rabbi Michael Lerner, I found the piece on spirituality which is in your literature, and what I want to try to communicate to you this morning is the place of our economic endeavor in the totality of our lives. As Lerner writes, "We live at the end of a century in which the competitive economic market has demonstrated its powerful ability to shape a dominate consciousness of the planet." Economic concerns being a dominate determinative of our minds and our hearts, shaping our lives and our motivations, it’s rather interesting that this message should have been planned for this Lord’s Day which is at the end of one of those great © Grand Valley State University   �Biblical Vision and Karl Marx Richard A. Rhem Page 2   volatile weeks on Wall Street. The ups and the downs, and the downs had it, and I suppose that there are those of you sitting here, along with me, who at least in the paper count are considerably less wealthy today than we were last Sunday. But it has our attention, doesn’t it? There was an article on the front page of one of the newspapers this morning in which a commentator was saying that we hear voices assuring us that all is well, the economy is essentially solid, the stock market is still a safe place to be, hang in there, ride it out. And then rather disconcertingly, he quoted similar statements from October of 1929 prior to the Great Fall. Well, if it all happens, will you jump out of a skyscraper window? My question to you this morning really is, "Where will you be if you get where you’re going?" How will you be if you achieve your dreams? What if you accomplish that which you are killing yourself to accomplish - how will it be with you? Will there be contentment, peace, serenity? Will you be a fulfilled and whole human being if you should be granted your fondest dreams, the things that you are giving your life to? I think that’s a legitimate question for a Labor Day weekend, and I believe that Karl Marx, 150 years ago, had a prophetic insight and amazing insight into the power of capital to determine the shape of global existence. In an anniversary edition of the Communist Manifesto that has an introduction by an English scholar, Eric Hobsbawm, the dust cover has an interesting paragraph. It says that Hobsbawm writes that the world described by Marx and Engels in 1848, in passages of dark, laconic eloquence, is recognizably the world in which we live 150 years later. The author identifies the insights which underpin the Manifesto’s startling contemporary relevance, the recognition of capitalism as a world system capable of marshaling production on a global scale, its devastating impact on all aspects of human existence - work, the family, and the distribution of wealth, and the understanding that, far from being a stable, immutable system, it is, on the contrary, susceptible to enormous convulsions and crises and contains the seeds of its own destruction. Historical development did not prove Marx correct. That is, what he thought would happen with the rise of capitalism did not happen according to his script. But, he saw with an amazing vision and insight the tremendous impact of the economic dimension of our human existence individually and in terms of human community. And what he saw, the dangers he saw, and the problems that he saw have been experienced and we are not out of the woods in terms of the consequences yet. Someone who was here on the 4th of July weekend and heard my sermon, "A Declaration of Interdependence," in which I suggested that the Holy Spirit was creating this global community, knocking down barriers and boundaries, all of which are artificial, creating therefore a world community, wrote me a very perceptive letter in which he said, "Dreamers dream and all of that is fine, but in the meantime, how about the people who get hurt? In building a global community, what about the disruption to local communities? And having that © Grand Valley State University �Biblical Vision and Karl Marx Richard A. Rhem Page 3   universal dream, what about the particularity of human communities, their identity, their character, their nature, their uniqueness?" He wrote a very, very good letter, and then he shared with me just what I needed, another book. It was written by Kirkpatrick Sale, whose book Rebels Against the Future tells the story of the Luddites. Do you know who they were? In the onset of the Industrial Revolution in England, the Luddites were small craftsmen, cottage industry people, textile people. And, of course, with the discovery of steam and power and the building of factories, these individual craftsmen were being put out of work. They were able to work traditionally at their own pace and in their own environment according to the rhythms of their own life and nature, and now, there stood a factory! And that factory was taking their jobs and also hiring them - they became the laborers who no longer could set their agenda according to their own rhythm, the rhythm of their life and that which led to human wellbeing, but the cadences of the piston and steel determined the nature of their work and their labor. So, what did they do? They took their guns and pistols and pickaxes and they attacked the factories. In 1811, 1812 there were a number of textile plants that were destroyed, and it was a violent revolt against what was the inevitable movement, it seems, of historical development. Well, Karl Marx saw what they were doing, but he recognized that there was this personal self-interest involved in their attacking the factory, because they were losing their jobs. But Marx saw a bigger picture: he saw the power of capital, as Lerner says, to determine the production globally. He saw the power of capital to continue to pile up wealth and the tremendous determinant that it would be of human destiny and human society. Marx didn’t fight the rise of capitalism. He figured it would have the seeds of its own death within it and eventually, having produced a large laboring class, the laboring class would revolt, overthrow the owners, and there would be this classless society. Now, it didn’t work that way; it hasn’t worked that way. His vision was Utopian, in that sense, the classless society where the development of each was the condition of the development of all, where everyone worked according to his or her ability and received according to his or her need. A kind of Utopian vision. Utopia is an interesting word from the Greek language. Utopia means "no place." There is no place like this. No place. Maybe we would say no possibility. But, where did Karl Marx get his vision? Where did he get such a fantastic idea? Well, he was from a Jewish family that converted for convenience reasons to Christianity, but he was nurtured in the Old Testament prophets. His uncle was a rabbi. It’s a Messianic vision. It’s a vision shaped by the Hebrew prophets, and the Hebrew prophets were those who spoke in the name of the God Who was concerned for human well-being, for human community, Who was concerned for the spiritual well-being of people, knowing the temptation of people to get caught up in de-humanizing activity and the de-humanizing chase in which they would lose their own soul. © Grand Valley State University �Biblical Vision and Karl Marx Richard A. Rhem Page 4   Scholars don’t think that probably Israel ever fully lived out that Levitical year of Jubilee, Sabbath Year and then the year of Jubilee, but it was a part of the Hebrew tradition and there are enough references in the Hebrew scriptures to know that it was operative, to what extent, we’re not sure. But, isn’t that an interesting idea? Here in the Bible we have this suggestion that every seventh year the land should lie fallow. Now, it’s an agricultural society and you have to make the translation, but how about a sabbatical every seven years? Do you want not only to not harvest the field, but also shut the doors of the factory, let the machines cool off and the laborers take a year off? You intelligent, academic people still keep that custom alive and I’ve practiced it a time or two, also. It’s kind of nice, under the guise of doing heavy work, heavy thinking. Now, listen to me. Listen to me. What was operative in the Sabbath principle? No matter how the practical execution of it, what was operative? Sabbath principle was the principle by which, according to the understanding of the Hebrew, God was saying, "For your sake, for my sake, cease and desist. Unplug. Every seventh day, stop." The Sabbath day could be kept with legalistic rigidity. I grew up in a setting, a home, an environment of Calvinistic grace that was all law. I, as a child, experienced ugly Sundays. Couldn’t do anything, and it wasn’t very much fun for a kid growing up. I think there are others like me, so that the Sabbath principle gets bad press because it was legalistically applied and sort of seemed to be a way to drain all the pleasure out of a day. Donald Gray Barnhouse, a great preacher of an earlier generation out of a Scottish Presbyterian home which was the only thing worse than a Dutch Calvinist home, said that when he was a kid in church and they sang "Day of All the Week the Best, emblem of eternal rest," he thought, "Good grief, if heaven is like Sunday, I don’t want to go there." But, the principle is absolutely beautiful, totally humane, and divine. It cuts the nerve of that compulsiveness that gets hold of us to produce and to consume and to acquire and to aggrandize. It says, "Stop! Just stop." I don’t want to emphasize it too much because Nancy may get the idea and say, "Physician, heal thyself." Because you don’t have to be a laborer in a factory to be a workaholic. That was the principle, and the year of Jubilee, of course, where it all goes back the way it was sets limits on the degree to which there can be this present widening gap between wealth and poverty. And the recognition that all of us, the shrewdest business man, the most skilled worker, the most industrious person, is finally a steward of God Who alone owns the resources. So, when you laugh at Karl Marx, you might as well also take your scissors and cut Leviticus 25 out of your Bible. And you’re going to have a problem, too, with the immediate aftermath of Pentecost when people were living their lives under the impact of the Spirit of God when they lived in a commune kind of situation, from which, of course, we get the word communist. Now, thank God for Acts 5, the story of Ananias and Sapphira. They were going to do like Barnabas, sell their © Grand Valley State University �Biblical Vision and Karl Marx Richard A. Rhem Page 5   farm and bring all the proceeds to the deacons, but they were also practical and they kept a little back. They told the deacons, who asked, "Did you sell that farm for $10,000?" "Yes, we did." Well, they had sold it for $12,500. And Bingo, there were two dead Christians, right on the spot. Well, we know communal living for the good of all didn’t work, so we can be done with it. We don’t have to worry about it anymore. It may be in the Bible, but the Bible gives us clear indication that it doesn’t work. But, of course, I suppose that community of early Jesus people got some of their impression from Jesus who said, in the one description of the judgment scene in the whole Bible, that the difference between the sheep and the goats has nothing to do with grace or justification by faith or any of that stuff, it has to do with practical things like feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the ones in prison, the unconscious goodness and care of compassion. So, on this Labor Day Sunday there’s enough in the scripture to warn us about the possibility of getting all caught up in chasing dreams and building kingdoms, of getting our priorities all mixed up, thinking that it is of primary importance to secure ourselves into perpetuity, to recognize the possibility that we can be so caught up in the schemes in which we are engaged, that we lose our soul and we have no peace. My Labor Day message to you is that Karl Marx got a lot of things wrong, but he did see the threat to our soul of the economic dimension of our lives, and he got a lot of it from the Bible. So, for God’s sake, for your sake, take a moment and ask yourself where you’ll be when you get where you’re going and, if you do really get where you’re going, is it really where you want to be? © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b6f5a6e4a5992ecb2501dd28d9f1f877.mp3 5ca0fefc2a3ccf83d458211831394d6d 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 Labor Day Sunday, Pentecost XIV Scripture Text Liviticus 25:1-17, Acts 2:43-47,Matthew 25:31-40 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 KII-01_RA-0-19980906 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-09-06 Title A name given to the resource The Biblical Vision and Karl Marx: A 150th Retrospective Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University 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 Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on September 6, 1998 entitled "The Biblical Vision and Karl Marx: A 150th Retrospective", on the occasion of Labor Day Sunday, Pentecost XIV, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Liviticus 25:1-17, Acts 2:43-47,Matthew 25:31-40. Consciousness Justice Prophetic Voice https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/1ee725ca2a820f86005d9d46472f1d69.pdf 910433f86ab6296a3ad236841961041a PDF Text Text Is It Enough To Be Human? From the series: Can I Honestly Believe? Text: Luke 15:20; Psalm 103:14; Genesis 2:17 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan August 16, 1998 Transcription of the spoken sermon I’m going to say something radical for a change. I’m going to say this morning that you are very beautiful people, that humankind is amazing, marvelous, and wonderful, and I think that in the church we’ve given people a bum rap. If you’ve grown up in the church as I have, and spent your whole life in the church, you won’t have a terribly high impression of your human nature. Oh, the church has not only had bad news to tell about the obstreperousness of the human person; it has had good news, too. Good news about the fact that, in spite of how bad you are, there is hope for you if you heed the word of the preacher and bring your offering envelope every week and support the institution loyally and follow the code of conduct that the community communicates to you. Now, you understand that this is all of grace, but there’s a lot of effort involved in it. I believe that in the church we have been concerned for you. We wanted to keep you safe. Knowing the beast that rages in your breast, we’ve tried to hedge you in and keep you going down that straight and narrow path. For your own good, you understand. But, also, it’s been good for the institution, of course, since we mediate grace, kind of hold the spigot, and might have some influence upon whether or not you ultimately, at the end of this vale of tears, find heaven’s gate open for you. Well, perhaps you say that’s a bit of a caricature, and it is, of course. But, there’s a lot of truth in it, too. In the church, human nature has been brushed with a stroke of somber hues. We have not celebrated the human person. We have tended, on the other hand, to put the human person down, to be very clear about the potential for evil, to point to the load of guilt, and to indicate the end thereof, which is destruction. This morning I want to say that, being human, you are amazing, wonderful, and miraculous. That, being human, you represent the movement of that whole cosmic drama that has been unfolding for fifteen billion years. That it was the intention of the Source of all being, that ultimate Mystery of all things, that this © Grand Valley State University   �Enough To Be Human? Richard A. Rhem Page 2   whole drama should emerge eventually in someone like you that was thoroughly rooted in the earth, but also conscious and aware, knowing a measure of freedom and responsibility. As the statement on the inside of the cover of your liturgy by David Tooland, a Catholic scholar, states, you are the soul of the universe. You are the voice of the universe. You are the black box of the universe. In you this cosmic drama has come to awareness, to consciousness. Although you are and remain thoroughly rooted in the earth, your physicality being very much with you, nonetheless, that physicality, that body, is the bearer of spirit, and spirit doesn’t exist apart from its grounding in the physicality of the person, and with that human being there has come this amazing, miraculous creature that is you. I dare to proclaim that, even in church. Now, saying that, I don’t want you to hear this as a whitewash of the human creature. One of the dangers of making statements like that is that someone is going to go out of here and say, "Well, today he denied original sin," or "He doesn’t think that human beings are sinful." Let me read you a little statement that I have read you before but which I think is eloquent in its recognition of the potential for disaster that lives in the soul and heart of all of us. These are the words of a great preacher of a former generation, Carlyle Marney. He said, Man is the most dangerous and savage of the beasts. His bite is poisonous, his hand a club, his foot is a weapon. Knives, clubs, spears are the projectiles to bear his hostility. Nothing in nature is so well equipped for hating or hurting. Confuse him and he may lash out at everything. Crowd him and he kills, robs, destroys, for his crime rate increases in proportion to his crowding. Deprive him and he retaliates. Impoverish him and he burns villas in the night. Enslave him and he revolts, pamper him and he may poison you, hire him and he may hate both you and the work, love him too possessively and he is never weaned, deny him too early and he never learns to love. Put him in cities and all his animal nature comes out with perversions of every good thing. For greed, acquisitiveness, violence were so long his tools for jungle survival, that it is only by the hardest effort that these can be laid aside as weapons of his continued survival. Well, that’s not a very pretty picture of the human person, and who of us would deny that it’s true? We see it every day, played out in our society and, to the extent that we are self-aware, we see the seeds of it all within our own hearts and our own souls. So, don’t hear me whitewashing the human being as though there is nothing negative to say. But, what I do want to say is that, in light of our understanding of human nature, in the light of our understanding of the human person coming at this point in that cosmic drama, in the light of our understanding of our animal nature being the ground of our spiritual nature and symbiotic living in tight union with it forever, in the light of all that, we can come to some new appreciation and understanding of our human condition. Part of the problem, I think, in the Church’s understanding in dealing with human nature is that biblical paradigm that begins with an understanding of the human being © Grand Valley State University �Enough To Be Human? Richard A. Rhem Page 3   created perfect, given the gift of freedom, then in proud revolt falling from that perfection into a state of alienation from God, and therefore having to be redeemed by the grace of God. That’s the biblical paradigm. We find it in the stories of Genesis. We find it in the theology of Paul, articulated explicitly. The creation of the person in perfection, the fall of the person through revolt, the redemption of the person by grace. Let me suggest to you, in the light of our understanding of human nature and human history, of social development, let me suggest to you that we try to find another paradigm. Three years ago I suggested that the word emergence has a better image for who we are, from whence we have come, and whither we are going. Emergence rather than fall and redemption. Emergence as being a part of the whole evolutionary development of the totality of reality. If we were to take the 15 or so billion years of the cosmic reality and condense it down into one year, then the human being would have appeared in the last minute or two of that year. We are relative newcomers to the scene of history and cosmology and, in the statement that I printed also for you today to which I referred last week from U.S. News & World Report, the suggestion is that if we are the youth movement of the human story, then with the infinite resources in the star factories of the universe, who knows what further development there will be? Who would say that we are the acme of God’s creative act? Who would say that we are the pinnacle; that we are that to which all creation was pointing? Who knows but what there are stages and dimensions of which we have not yet dreamed, and who knows whether or not we, the human family, have not been the instrumentality through which the universe has turned the corner? Because it has: we are really something! With the human person, the universe has become conscious. With the human being, the universe has a voice, the universe has become aware of itself, is able to celebrate itself, is able to reflect on itself and on the other and on the Source and resting place of all. To be human is to be an amazing, marvelous, miraculous creation. But the idea of emergence indicates to us that we bear the marks of our past, and how did we come to where we are, if not by the exercise of instincts for survival? How did we get to this point, if not through the utilization of that instinctual nature that enabled us to continue to move in the continuum of the creative process? And if it is true that spirit is grounded in flesh, then that flesh still bears all the marks of that long evolutionary climb. We didn’t get here by being innocent children. We didn’t get here by the careful exercise of human reason. We got here clawing our way. We are jungle bunnies. And although we have moved to a point where we become conscious of that, and where we become conscious of another way to be, crowd us a little bit and we very easily slip back into that survival mode, that instinctual response. The miracle of the human being is that we can talk about that. We can look at our behavior. We know when we are denying our best insights. We know when we are acting against love and compassion and justice and care. We know when it is © Grand Valley State University �Enough To Be Human? Richard A. Rhem Page 4   selfishness, when it is fear, when it is jealousy that is driving us. We have that awful capacity to be able to jump out of our skin and take a look at ourselves. That’s the amazing thing about being human. If I suggest that that biblical picture of perfection and fall and redemption can better be replaced by an idea of continual emergence, that doesn’t mean that there are not profound insights in the scripture about the human condition. We can understand the Genesis writer not wanting to blame God for all of the hell on earth, and so the explanation is that God created us good, we revolted, we are responsible for all of the evil. But, in the midst of portraying that picture, there were some very, very deep insights. The writer did understand our rootedness in the stuff of creation, being made, formed by God out of the dust of the ground, the mud. David Tooland says out of stardust. The recognition remains, however, of our oneness with creation. The Hebrew poet, understanding that, was able to give us a sense of the compassion of God for us in our condition. God knows our frame, he writes. God remembers that we are dust. Like a compassionate parent, God has mercy on us. I think what the poet was saying is that it’s all right to be human. God knows you’re human. Whatever the creative process has produced in us, it is a process that has integrity and authenticity and we are part of the whole, and that’s all right. God knows our frame. God remembers that we are dust. Oh, we beat ourselves up. We’re so hard on ourselves because there is that struggle between that ideal toward which we aspire and the actual performance which we put out. We get down on ourselves because we fail again and again and again. We despair, we get discouraged. The Psalmist says, "Look, God knows who you are, and God intends you to be who you are, and God embraces you as you are." I believe that Jesus, standing in that tradition, was trying to say something like that in the beautiful story of that son who went into the far country who declared his independence, who went through the separation process, who came upon bad times, came to himself, became aware and then, still with a bit of manipulation, thought, "You know what? I think I could talk the old man into bed and breakfast." He came back with his rehearsed speech, only to be overwhelmed with a father weeping, kissing him, embracing him, smothering his wellrehearsed story. It seems to me that Jesus was saying that all the Creator God is waiting for is the creature to become aware and finally to be home in the embrace of God. At home in the wonder of the universe, at home with the tensions of being human. Oh, good grief, it’s not easy to be human. We are so fragile, so vulnerable. Jim Essebaggers goes to the doctor and the doctor says, "Cancer." A candle burns for Beth Cresse, who in a moment has her life wiped out, leaving husband, children and parents and a community mourning this marvelous person. The flowers at the table celebrate the sprite of a life, an angel of six years old who dies! So fragile. So vulnerable. So perilous. And yet, and yet in those very experiences, in those very moments in the darkness of the valley, in the light of our fragile © Grand Valley State University �Enough To Be Human? Richard A. Rhem Page 5   existence, in the pain and the loss of it all, there comes forth from this human person love and care and beauty that defies the darkness! How can it be? I want to tell you, you are really something, human crowd! You have your life rooted in the dust, even if it’s stardust, and you have all of the animality of your physical nature that’s alive and well. You carry with you all of those instinctual patterns that can be triggered in a moment, creating hell on earth, and you can sing and you can laugh, and you can dance, and you can love and embrace. God, what it is to be human! What a wonder and what a marvel you are! And how good it is to be here together for just a few moments, to become aware of it again and to feel the embrace of grace once again, and to sense that inspiring spirit that lures us with love and beckons us with grace, and embraces us in the wonder and the worry of being human. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/4b20cef3aa7cbd922f5dbeae166217aa.mp3 af947abdc3976622a4f18c4251912130 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 Pentecost XI Series Can I Honestly Believe? Scripture Text Luke 15:20, Psalm 103:14, Genesis 2,17 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 KII-01_RA-0-19980816 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-08-16 Title A name given to the resource Is It Enough To Be Human? Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University 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 Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on August 16, 1998 entitled "Is It Enough To Be Human?", as part of the series "Can I Honestly Believe?", on the occasion of Pentecost XI, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Luke 15:20, Psalm 103:14, Genesis 2,17. Consciousness Emergence of Human https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/dce48973f88522a56aa87981dafde6cd.pdf b8bc55b2597b349839d7b138124efd14 PDF Text Text Religion and Science: Can We Talk? From the series: Can I Honestly Believe? Text: Genesis 1:1; Psalm 19:1, 7; John 1:1 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan August 9, 1998 Transcription of the spoken sermon Shortly after I set my summer sermon series late this spring, The New York Times, U.S. News & World Report, and Newsweek all called to see what was hot, and they all selected this particular sermon as the subject on which they’d do a feature article. U.S. News and Newsweek on July 20, 1998, had articles: Newsweek, "Science Finds God," U.S. News, "Are We the Only Universe There Is?", and July 12, The New York Times featured an article on science and religion, "Cross Over the Line Drawn in the Sand," a major feature article. Well, I’m always glad to help them out. As a matter of fact, of course, I am kidding, but it is interesting that, having set the series and set for this week the question of the possibility of conversation between religion and science, there should have appeared within the last month those major features in the news media. It does indicate, I suppose, that the subject about which we are speaking is a subject of more than passing significance, and so I think that it is good that we within the religious community think from our perspective about the relationship between science and religion, because of the unfortunate history that we have had in the last couple of hundred years of the conflict between science and religion. The subject this morning follows in the series, "Can I Honestly Believe?" There is an inner logic to the series, I would hope, and I would hope that it is somewhat apparent. We began with the question, "Do We Need Religion?", to which we said, no, not if religion is a means by which we, somehow or other, stave off the wrath of an angry God. We’re all right. God loves us. We don’t need religion for that purpose. But I made the point that religion, all of the human religions, are really creative, imaginative constructs by which we respond to that experience of God. Religions don’t fall out of heaven, but human beings are encountered by that ultimate Mystery, and the whole human family has been aware of some presence, some greater reality that embraces us and from time to time seems to break through to our experience. The religions are the way in which human beings respond and give expression to that experience that has taken hold of them, and there are at least three dimensions to religion. There is the teaching, the doctrine, what we believe in light of the encounter. There is the ritual, the © Grand Valley State University   �Religion and Science: Can WeTalk? Richard A. Rhem Page 2   mode of worship, that by which we devote ourselves. And then there is ethics or a way of life. How, then, shall we live in light of this experience of God? So, religions are not necessary, but I think the human being is diminished and human community is diminished without the cultivation of religious devotion and the illumination of religious faith. If religions are human creations, then we can tamper with them without worrying about disrupting God or coming into some kind of lightening bolt. If religions are our human response to the experience of God, then they aren’t sacred; they can be improved upon; they can develop; they can change in the light of new insight. And perhaps the greatest challenge in light of the world in which we live and the information we have about the human situation and the cosmic reality, perhaps the greatest challenge to the religious community is the conception of God that we have. In Judaism and Christianity and Islam, the conception of God has been labeled Theism from the Greek word theos, and so, a theistic conception of God has been considered almost synonymous with belief in God. If one is not a theist, one is an atheist. But, I tried to point out that that is not really true, because the theistic conception of God which is in our scriptures, in our liturgy, in our hymns, that is a human conception concocted, constructed out of the response to the experience of God, and if our knowledge of reality develops, changes, as obviously it does, then it is possible, at least for some whose knowledge of the world collides with that conception of God, to seek to re-imagine God, to try to bring God to expression in a way that is more consistent with our experience of reality in our day. But, if we do that, then one might say, "How can I pray?" or "How do I pray?", because the heart of religion is the experience of communion with God, communication with that Ultimate Mystery that we can never reign in, never fully comprehend, but which breaks through to us and which we would respond to and with whom or with what or whatever we would be in communion with. How then do we pray? If our knowledge of the world has given us some dissonance with our old conception, our old image of God, then probably the problem’s in this book, because this book is the record, a faithful record of the authentic encounters of God with humankind. This book is the testimony of a people who were encountered by that Mystery, who believed heart, mind and soul, in that God, and who reflected that experience here. But how could they reflect it? Well, they could only reflect it in terms of their understanding of the world. And so, if this old book is the reflection of religious experiences that are two to three thousand years old, then the conception of the world that is the framework by which they brought to expression their experience of God is also two to three thousand years old, and so, what we had to say is, "How does the Bible function?, How ought the Bible to function? Does the Bible tell me so, as it says it in the Bible? Is it so?" We say, "No, it’s not necessarily so," because what the Bible is about is the expression of the reality of the experience of God, but it’s dressed in garments that come out of an ancient time and therefore, if the Bible talks about the physical world, it’s going to talk about the physical world as it was © Grand Valley State University �Religion and Science: Can WeTalk? Richard A. Rhem Page 3   understood two thousand years ago. And, if our conception of the physical world has dramatically changed, then what we’re going to have to say is, "I can’t take the conception of the world from the Bible anymore. I have another conception of the world. But what the Bible is talking about, the experience of God in the world - that’s what I have to listen to." And that’s the same experience I’m seeking, so I have to learn how to use this Bible in a way differently than traditionally has been the case. But, I’m a praying man. I’m a believing human being. I crave the experience of God, and I can find that experience witnessed to in these pages. But being a human being, I am material, concrete, a creature out of the dust, as the Genesis account says. We call the first man Adam, but it wasn’t Adam, it was A-dam in Hebrew, which is dust, dirt, mud. The man, the human being is out of the dust, out of the earth, and that man out of the earth called A-dam because the earth in Hebrew is Adama. So, we have A-dam from Adama. In the Hebrew understanding of things, there is a consistency between the molecules and the amoebas and the dust of the earth and the human creature who becomes conscious of himself and of another, aware, able to transcend himself, jump out of his skin and observe it all as from the outside. Now, if I as a praying man am also part and parcel of the cosmic reality, how am I going to find my place in the cosmic reality? I can live in the mystical experience of God, but I also dig in a garden, observe the stars, and have to deal with the health or unhealth of my body. So, there’s got to be another way to uncover the cosmic reality of which I am a part and, of course, that is the way of the natural sciences. I have now a dual way of knowing. I have the religious experience and, if I want to nurture that religious experience, I go to this ancient text that tells me of others before me who had the experience of God, the experience of the Holy, who were invaded by the Divine Reality, and I find that this becomes a helpful pointer, also a conditioner that opens my life to that same encounter. But, when I want to know about the world of which I am a part, I can go to the sciences, whose empirical method of observation and experimentation will tell me about the concrete universe into which my life is laced. So, can there be conversation between science and religion? Of course, there can. Of course there can, because religion is asking the question, Why? Most profoundly, why is there something rather than nothing? Why are we here? What is the meaning of it all, and to what end? Those are religious questions. Science takes apart the "something." It describes what is there. It is a limited discipline. It has no business talking about the Why, or the Wherefore, or the meaning in the meantime. If science remains a science and religion remains religion, there are legitimate arenas in which they can operate and the conversation between them is absolutely essential. Unfortunately, there’s been a great conflict between science and religion and there’s enough blame on both © Grand Valley State University �Religion and Science: Can WeTalk? Richard A. Rhem Page 4   sides. There have been scientists who have thought that empirical data gave them the right to say that there’s no Creator and there’s no purpose to it all, and there have been religious people who have mistakenly taken this book and have gotten data out of this book about a construct of the world and they have said to the empirical observations of the scientist, "That can’t be, because the Bible says," which is really dumb. So, there’s blame on both sides. But, I don’t need to police the science corps. I need us, as religious people, from our point of view as a religious community, - it is so critically important for the church no longer to live in that sense of conflict and hostility, but rather to foster the conversation, because it knows that it deals in questions of the source of all being and the resting place of all being and, in the meantime, has no other basis than the scientific, empirical method to understand the being of which it is a part. Alfred Lord Whitehead, one of the premier minds of the century, has made a wonderful statement and in the first service I read it and I realized that it’s one thing to read it and marvel at it, and it’s another thing for you to try to hear it and understand it, and that didn’t seem to be possible. His point is this, that religions will not again regain their old power until they learn to change as science changes. By that he means, in the scientific method there’s always the questioning of every conclusion and, when a conclusion is dislodged by further data, science doesn’t experience a defeat, but it experiences a triumph. On the other hand, religion has set its conclusions in concrete and that mystical experience that it has with God which it communicates in the garments of this world, when those garments of this world, of the time in which the experience happened, are absolutized, and the religious truth of it all is identified with the way in which it is communicated, well then, when reality continues to unfold and when science is to explain more and more the mysteries of the universe and the whole religious experience is locked into a conception of things 2000 years old, according to Alfred Lord Whitehead, religion loses its credibility. Whitehead, a mathematician, a philosopher, is not being antireligious here; he’s concerned about religion. He says what has happened is that religion has lost its credibility because, every time there has been advance in knowledge and new understanding, a new breakthrough about the universe, about the cosmos, the church has said, "No, no, no, no, it can’t be, can’t be! The Bible says! The Bible says!" and then pretty soon it becomes so obvious that everybody knows it and then the church says, "Oh, yeah, it’s true." And so, 400 years after Galileo, the Pope apologizes. "Sorry, old boy, we put you on house arrest. You were right. We were wrong because we were reading the Bible for scientific, cosmological information which it doesn’t give." And that whole controversy, that whole adversarial climate has been detrimental to the whole religious enterprise, and it’s not over, folks. There is a fundamentalist mentality that is trying to establish the most impossible conception of creation © Grand Valley State University �Religion and Science: Can WeTalk? Richard A. Rhem Page 5   that one has ever heard. The old Creationism - Evolutionary debate still rages in the public school, for goodness sakes! And, as Whitehead points out, this doesn’t hurt science. This hurts religion, because we come off as blind obscurantists who block knowledge and refuse to accept what is empirically verifiable through the scientific method, and what we have to do is dissociate the religious experience, the mystical experience of God for which the heart longs, of which Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and David and Jeremiah and Isaiah and Paul and Peter spoke. The experience of God: we have to dissociate that, dislodge that from the framework, the garment in which it was communicated, and then (here’s the trick) - how can we who have experienced the living God bear witness to it in light of the marvelous, cosmic reality that is unfolding before us? I facetiously mentioned the articles in the news magazines, but there were a couple of good paragraphs, and at the conclusion of the U.S. News & World Report article there was the suggestion that maybe with the cosmology that we have now available to us, we may be learning that the cosmos is not running down waiting to, as a cinder, fly apart or collapse upon itself, but maybe, just maybe after 12 or 15 billion years, with the very recent arrival of the human creature who brings consciousness, awareness and voice to the cosmos, maybe, maybe we’re just at the beginning of exciting new breakthroughs, the future dimensions of which, who can dream? Homo sapiens may represent a youth movement, arriving at a time when almost everything is still to come. Dreary subjections about ultimate faiths may be supplanted by the belief that, like the cosmos itself, the human prospect is, as the physicist Freeman Dyson once wrote, infinite in all direction. In the first service was our resident cosmologist, Howard VanTil, who gave me a couple of pieces soon to be published in which he argues about the fully gifted creation. Now, Jacque Monod, a Nobel-winning biologist, has written a book, Chance and Necessity and, after his biological observations based on empirical information, Monod goes on to be a religionist, a philosopher who concludes that we have to accept the fact that we are alone in the universe that is deaf to our music and as indifferent to our hope as to our crimes and our sufferings. Monod is a first-rate scientist, but when he becomes a religionist, he says, "No purpose, not going anywhere, no meaning." He has leaped out of the limits of his own discipline, and that’s his faith conclusion. But, Howard VanTil suggests, grounded in his belief in a source of all being, that the "Let there be" of the first word was a creative word that endowed whatever was brought into being with the full capacity to develop into all the multiplicity of this marvelous universe of ours, the end of which, who can say? And I say to Howard VanTil, "You have just leaped out of the limits of your discipline, you’re now a person of faith," and he would say, "Yes, I am." And then I have to choose myself between a Jacque Monod who does his research and then as a person of faith says no meaning, no purpose, or Howard VanTil, who does his research and then says, "A source endowing the stuff of creation with the potential for this marvelous flowering and blossoming." So, you see, the conversation between religion and science can be © Grand Valley State University �Religion and Science: Can WeTalk? Richard A. Rhem Page 6   fruitful and exciting. But we need to remember the limits of science and then give them free hand and let them go and let every new surprise be a new cause for praise to the Creator. And we need, at the same time, while that whole development is there for our enjoyment and our investiture, to cultivate that relationship with God that comes only through prayer and meditation and openness to the spirit that is beyond empirical verification. The Psalmist picked up the theme of creation from Genesis and in Psalm 19, the first six verses, sang the glory of Creation that without words or speech sings the praise of God. But, the Psalmist knew more than the wonders of creation that pointed him to a Creator. This same Creator, he says, is Yahweh, the God of the Covenant, whose Torah, the way of life, comes to give me instruction and illuminates my way. And with humility and authenticity, that sense of that Ultimate Mystery Who has addressed him causes him to say in a moment of selfawareness, "Test me. Know my words, the meditations of my heart. See if there be any wicked way in me. Lead me in the way eternal, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer." And you and I can go even a step further and say that in the beginning when God said, "Let there be," there was a word that was the creative force that brought all things into being and, in the fullness of time, that word became flesh and there was a face, and in that face we said, "My God! What grace and glory." Not only in that face, but I see it in your face and in face-to-face community, strangely enough, there’s the presence of that One Who in faith we say, said, "Let there be," and in trust we claim will in the end make all things well. Well, it’s really quite simple and quite wonderful, if you get it. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a0e115bdeb91ad3544cb4566ead19abb.mp3 b62296b5771729140cda0d8e45b4d73a 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 Pentecost X Series Can I Honestly Believe? Scripture Text Genesis 1:1, Psalm 19:1,7, John 1:1 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 KII-01_RA-0-19980809 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-08-09 Title A name given to the resource Religion and Science: Can We Talk? Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University 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 Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on August 9, 1998 entitled "Religion and Science: Can We Talk?", as part of the series "Can I Honestly Believe?", on the occasion of Pentecost X, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Genesis 1:1, Psalm 19:1,7, John 1:1. Cosmic evolution; Emergence Religion as a Human Construct https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/61af7d42a1f4b893095dc29ee880acce.pdf 78528034b9b5ddda3491689a1528b2ef PDF Text Text How Can I Pray? From the series: Can I Honestly Believe? Text: Genesis 32:24; Psalm 139:23; Luke 11:1 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan July 26, 1998 Transcription of the spoken sermon I had thought that I had entitled the message today, "Can I Pray?" and I thought all I had to say was, "Surely. The offering will be received and let’s go to the beach." But then I realized that it was, "How Can I Pray?" and that puts a little different light on it, and as I speak this morning about prayer, I want to say this: To speak about prayer is to speak about the most intimate devotional relationship of one’s life, and one ought to do it with great sensitivity. Preaching about prayer is not praying. Preaching about prayer is taking a step back and thinking about prayer, and that’s a far cry from the act itself, the devotion itself. I want to say this morning in regard to this subject, and it’s always true about every subject, that no one can answer such a question for you. Only you know if you can pray. No tyrant in a political role can deny you that, that inner sanctum of the person that is holy ground and, thank God, no one can control that inward being. And in this relationship, no preacher can tell you, either. You may say to me, "Well, we look to you for guidance." That’s fair enough. I’ll think in your presence. I’ll think out loud, and as I think out loud, I hope you’re thinking silently so that we’re having a real conversation. But I’m not an authority figure and I refuse to be that for you. If you see me as an authority figure, I want to say to you, grow up. Get off on your own. I cannot bear the weight of your soul. I’m going to do the best I can and honestly struggle with the questions that I think are very, very important, critical questions in the living of our lives and in our relationship to that Ultimate Mystery that is God. But, don’t take me seriously. Don’t believe what I say just because I say it. Listen to what I say. Argue with what I say. Debate me. You’re grown people, and the church too long has fostered a kind of dependency and kept people in a state of immaturity, as though if the minister said it, it’s so. Well, it’s just not so, especially if this minister says it. As I speak a bit about prayer this morning, I am conscious that there are those of you out there who are farther along in the school of prayer than I ever will be. And there are those of you who have a deeper experience of prayer than I’ve ever © Grand Valley State University   �How Can I Pray? Richard A. Rhem Page 2   had and, when I speak about prayer this morning, I will be seeking to clarify some questions. I’ve long since known that my greatest contribution to the human race would not be to provide answers, but rather, to help people clarify the questions, because what good would it do if I said to you, "Cease praying, it makes no sense." Would you stop? Or, if I said, "Oh, indeed, it makes a lot of sense." Would you start or keep on doing it? I wanted to say that this morning about this particular message about prayer, but I want to say it generally. Don’t believe everything I say. Just engage with me in some thoughtful reflection. That’s my responsibility. And you carry yours, as well. So, how can I pray? Well, the context for the question is the series that we’re in and that series began with my talking about religion, in which I made the claim that religion is a human, creative, imaginative construct. Religion is a human phenomenon. Whatever in-breaking of mystery, whatever experience and encounter of the sacred and the holy, whatever that may be, and whatever may be behind that, the human family has responded to that sense of awe before mystery with the construction of religious systems, things that are believed, modes of worship, manner of living. Basically, that’s what human religion is. That’s what our Christian tradition is - a set of beliefs, a manner of worship, a mode of living. And, if that is true, then I suggested to you that it is time we worked on the image of God. Again, not because I say so, but because generally as a part of the whole western culture of which we are a part, the theistic idea of God has been called in question. Maybe not by you and, if not by you, then for goodness sakes, you can leave right now. You don’t need to listen any further. But there are a lot of our contemporaries who are having difficulty with the theistic conception of God, which is a conception of God which has marked the whole western tradition, that is the God of our hymns, of our prayers, of our liturgies, of our everyday, common thinking about God. When we talk about calling in question the theistic conception of God, that is, a God "out there," a Supreme monarch, ruling, directing, employing invasive processes once in a while, a God episodic in that God dips in here and there and, what would appear from the human point of view, capriciously, arbitrarily, monkeys in this point and dabbles in that point, but a God supreme, omniscient, all-knowing, all-seeing, all-powerful - that conception of God that I grew up with in Sunday School, that I for many years preached from the pulpit - that God, that conception of God is in trouble. Now, if religion is a human construct, that doesn’t mean that God is in trouble. It means that a conception of God has been called into question. And if that conception is not a problem for you, you have no problem whatsoever with what I’m going to be saying. But, if it is a problem for you, then, you see, if God is not that enthroned monarch out there somewhere, then that’s where this question of prayer comes in. Then what does prayer mean? If God is not a larger-than-life supernatural parent in the sky, then what does it mean to pray? That’s the question. © Grand Valley State University �How Can I Pray? Richard A. Rhem Page 3   I cited in your liturgy the section from Marcus Borg’s book, The God We Never Knew. I like Marcus Borg because, when I meet him, when I talk with him, when I read his writings, I feel he’s a person who has had a spiritual experience. Marcus Borg speaks a language or in a tone quality that resonates with me. And yet, he thinks about it. He’s thought about it very deeply and he acknowledges that the old image of God made it impossible for him any longer to pray; he could not pray to that God "out there" enthroned in the heavens, controlling things on earth. He needed a new image of God, and so he was working at that. So, he says, "I couldn’t operate with that old image." At that point many of our contemporaries have ceased to pray. You realize that; that’s why many have simply dropped out of the spiritual endeavor at all, because that didn’t make sense, so one just gives it up. Marcus Borg is unwilling simply to give it up. He says, "How can I image God, then, so that prayer becomes a continuingly meaningful experience for me?" And he is clearer at what he cannot conceive of than how it works. I like a person who says, "I don’t know how it works. I can’t explain it." But, he says, "I know this that old thing doesn’t work. For example, in relationship to the Holocaust, if God controls human history and the Holocaust happens, then God is a devil." It’s time for the pulpit to do some plain speaking. How long have we hidden behind the idea of mystery, or, God simply doesn’t reveal God’s decrees, or someday we’ll understand. That’s ridiculous. If God could stop the Holocaust and God didn’t stop the Holocaust, then something’s wrong with God. That kind of God I can’t believe in. I can’t worship. Marcus Borg is quite right. Let’s get honest about it. Obviously, that is not the kind of God that we really worship, a God Who’s pulling strings here and there. That just doesn’t work. He says I still make requests, but it seems to be the natural way for me to care for another, and when I pray, it’s my attending to my relationship to God. Well, the theologian that probably popularized in common understanding across the church and beyond this whole idea of a God "out there" that was out of style was John A. T. Robinson, the Anglican Bishop, and in his little book published in 1963, Honest to God, which created such a stir, obviously if he began saying that image of God out there enthroned beyond the universe doesn’t work for me, then obviously he has to deal with this question of prayer, and so he, too, on the cover of your liturgy says, "What is, then, intercession?" Can we have even a nonreligious idea of prayer? Well, he struggles to say, when I care for another with an ultimate concern, isn’t that the heart of intercession? In other words, if I open myself up to another person, if I care about that person, if the compassion flows out of me to another, if there is an ultimate concern in that relationship, then is not in that relationship the presence of another? Is that not to involve God in the relationship, or is that not what it means to have God in a relationship? And if that does make some sense, I think it probably is what the writer of first John was saying in the fourth chapter, when he says the one who loves abides in God and © Grand Valley State University �How Can I Pray? Richard A. Rhem Page 4   God abides in that one. In the horizontal relationship there is the experience of that other dimension full of awe. And if that is the case in a human relationship, person-to-person, might it not be true also in that relationship one has to oneself? Now, I don’t know about this, but I’ve been thinking about the story of Jacob wrestling with the angel, or with a man. It’s an old, old tale of patriarchs. Jacob’s been a cheat and a deceiver and a manipulator. Now he’s on the threshold of facing his brother and it’s as though the film of his life runs before him and he wrestles all night. I don’t think there was anybody out there. I think Jacob was wrestling with Jacob, don’t you? Jacob had a relationship to Jacob. There is a self-consciousness about us. That’s what marks us as human beings. We jump out of our skin and look at our self. We survey our life; we examine our self, our motives, our reactions. We look over the story of our life; we get out of ourselves and look at ourselves. There is also a relationship between myself and me, and is not that perhaps what it means to wrestle with God? Is that just a mumbling monologue within my own psyche, or is that precisely the area? Is there a kind of objectivization of myself, where I am able to see myself, and in that seeing myself, see myself not off in some dark corner, but conscious that my life is an open book, and before some objective reality greater than myself, I stand either in integrity or without integrity, either in wholeness or in brokenness, either with some sense of serenity or total disarray. And is that not to pray? The Psalmist was aware that he didn’t make himself. The Psalmist was aware that there is something rather than nothing. The Psalmist, in beautiful poetic fashion, marvels before the wonder of the whole of reality into which his little life is laced. And then, something of that human rises in him, that hostility, the anger, and all of a sudden he becomes self-conscious and says, "Search me, O God," which is that searching more than my own coming to awareness of myself in the presence of a mystery that is greater than myself. What could be more effective in regard to prayer than just that? Well, it’s easier to say what doesn’t seem to work than to come to understand what does work. We have poets who are struggling to say it in a new way, the universe that Marcus Borg or John A. T. Robinson couldn’t come to terms with in terms of the old image of prayers expressed marvelously well by an English scientist, Richard Dawkins. He is at the other end of the spectrum from a Marcus Borg or a Robinson; he is a reductionist who believes that everything is simply electronic charges and energy and so on. He says, "If the universe were just electrons and selfish genes, meaningless tragedies like the crashing of a bus are exactly what we should expect, along with equally meaningless good fortune, such a universe would be neither evil nor good in intention. It would manifest no intentions of any kind. In a universe of blind physical forces and genetic replication, some people are going to get hurt, other people are going to get lucky, and you won’t find any rhyme or reason in it, nor any justice." © Grand Valley State University �How Can I Pray? Richard A. Rhem Page 5   Don’t you love it? I love smart. That’s smart. That’s clear. That’s a hard-headed, honest statement. No religious, foggy mumbo-jumbo. And Richard Dawkins is not a demon. He would stand here and he could pile evidence upon evidence upon evidence to support this conclusion. There is nothing. Nobody. No mind, no purpose, nothing’s going anywhere, it’s all a chance kind of a thing popping off here and there, and where it will go, who will go. You can choose that with reasonably good data, or you can find others who will say, "That doesn’t say enough for me. I choose to believe that there is operative something more in the whole cosmic process into which I have come, have emerged into consciousness." And some of those others are poets who are trying to say it in a new way. Did you catch the hymns this morning? You did, didn’t you? You were grumbling, I could see. Well, you can complain to Betty VanTil because she passed along to me that opening hymn a long time ago. "Praise God Whose Providential Awkwardness." Have you ever thought of providence being awkward? Well, take one look at the world. This God of ours is not very handy. Wouldn’t you think that God could do a better job of putting things together? Praise God whose providential awkwardness defies our human scrutiny, whose wisdom looks like foolishness, whose purposes seem cloaked in mystery. And I love the fact that he says, "Praise God for what we fail to comprehend, for silence. Praise God for the fact that we are not God. Praise for the fact that our arrogance is often reduced to silence, where we would better stand in awe, not knowing. And praise God Who gives us restless hearts and minds, Who still is both our Source and Resting Place." Now, that’s an image I can live with. I like that. The Source, Resting Place. The poet is trying to figure out how to say something in a manner which honors the data of which we are aware, of our world, which is so vastly different than the data out of which the old system was constructed. The next hymn was written by W. H. Vanstone, an Anglican clergyman who wrote a book about God, who also could not believe in this God of omnipotence and omniscience and all of the omnis and all of the aura that we ascribe to the God that we want to be there, to be in control so we don’t have to take responsibility for our own lives. Vanstone says, no, He’s not that way. God is not that way. God is an abyss of love that is continually giving of itself in an anguishing, agonizing way to bring forth. You can meditate on this hymn for the rest of the week. "Open are the gifts of God, gifts of love to mind and sense;" ... that’s obvious, he says. "Hidden is love’s agony, love’s endeavor, love’s expense. Love that gives, gives evermore, gives with zeal, with eager hands, spares not, keeps not, all out-pours, ventures all, its all expands. Drained is love in making full, bound in setting others free, poor in making many rich, weak in giving power to be." And finally, here’s God, "no monarch he, throned in easy state to reign; here is God, whose arms of love, aching, spent, the world sustain." The poets are working at it, and you’re going to have to work at it, too. © Grand Valley State University �How Can I Pray? Richard A. Rhem Page 6   How can I pray? Well, begin by simply stopping long enough to be aware, attentive, in communion with your own soul. And, in communion with one’s own soul, there may appear to be that other dimension, call it what you will. But, you see, prayer is the language of the soul. Prayer is the utterance of the heart. Prayer is that expression to which we must give expression, lest we burst. And so, how can you pray? Just be human, I think. And we’ll keep thinking about it. But, can you pray? Surely. References: Marcus Borg. The God We Never Knew: Beyond Dogmatic Religion to a More Authentic Contemporary Faith. HarperOne, 1998. John A.T. Robinson. Honest to God. Westminster John Knox Press, 1963; 40th Anniversary edition, 2003. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/770333117ad98975276b289f7960db9b.mp3 c270693a2a4aeed1095ebd03cafb3f4d 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 Pentecost VIII Series Can I Honestly Believe? Scripture Text Genesis 32:24, Psalm 139:23, Luke 11:1 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI References John A. T. Robinson, Honest to God, 1963 2003 Marcus J. Borg, The God We Never Knew: Beyond Dogmatic Religion to a MoreAuthentic Contemporary Faith, 1998. 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-0-19980726 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-07-26 Title A name given to the resource How Can I Pray? Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University 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 Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on July 26, 1998 entitled "How Can I Pray?", as part of the series "Can I Honestly Believe?", on the occasion of Pentecost VIII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Genesis 32:24, Psalm 139:23, Luke 11:1. Natue of God Prayer Religion as a Human Construct https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/26a8d8e29e0111ab871034312cb5e9a9.pdf 93b4f1033ab5f8b6552ad99352a9ffe5 PDF Text Text A-Theism? From the series: Can I Honestly Believe? Text: Isaiah 43:18-19; Psalm 137:4; Acts 17:28 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan July 19, 1998 Transcription of the spoken sermon I continue today the summer series which I inaugurated last week on the overall theme, "Can I Honestly Believe?,” an attempt to look at the same old questions and say that which we affirm is also consistent with that which we know in the exercise of our minds in regard to the whole of reality. Is there a consistency between the faith structures that we hold and the knowledge that we have of our world, of our lives? If that isn’t true, there is a cognitive dissonance and then religion becomes a compartment of our lives. We come into a sanctuary on Sunday morning, but it isn’t that which illumines our total human experience. Ideally, it ought to do that. Ideally, our religious faith and devotion ought to be the expression of the deep wells of our being that is consistent with who we are and what we know and how we live. So, we are going back to visit some of the old, fundamental questions once again, and this morning to talk about God under the subject, "A-Theism?" The most important matter for you to understand as we begin is that A-Theism is not atheism. Atheism is a belief that there is no God. "A-Theism?" raises a question about that conception of God known as Theism, or a theistic conception of God. Now, what is that? Well, it’s everything you’ve ever known, everything you’ve ever been taught, everything you’ve taught. It is a conception that informs you when you pray, when you sing hymns, when you do liturgy, because Theism is the most common conception of God in the whole western culture, including Judaism and Christianity and Islam. Theism as a conception of God is so common that we speak of Theism as identical with faith in a God. That’s not true. And that’s what I want to say this morning, and, if I can get that through to you this morning, we will have accomplished something. Last week I asked you, "Do I Need Religion?" and I said, no, I’m not going to claim that. But, I do claim that there is a fuller, richer experience of being human if it includes God, worship, devotion, and so on. This morning I want to go on with what I was trying to say last week when I said that religion is a human, creative, imaginative construct. Religion is a human, imaginative, creative construct. You will not hear that from many pulpits, and understandably so. If © Grand Valley State University   �A-Theism? Richard A. Rhem Page 2   too many people get too loose with this whole matter of religion there won’t be enough jobs to go around and it’s detrimental to my profession. But, since I’m almost old enough to retire, I can be honest and I can tell you that religion didn’t fall out of heaven, our human religions are not the product of revelation from heaven, they are human, creative, imaginative responses to the in-breaking of that Ultimate Mystery that we speak of as God. Now, when we took a vote at the end of last Sunday, you did agree that I was right on that. (You did vote, didn’t you?) You have to be careful, because if you grant me some of these things, before you know it, I’ll have you, you see. I’m setting you up. Religion, that is, institutional religion, any kind of religion that involves doctrinal beliefs, cultic forms of worship, ethical modes of human living - any kind of religion is a human response to the in-breaking from beyond of the Mystery. That’s a wonderfully liberating idea, because then I can acknowledge from the beginning that my human religion with its forms of belief, its forms of worship, its manner of life, will be laced with error, misconceptions here and there, that it is sometimes fruitful and profitable and sometimes less than that. I don’t have to defend my religion. The world is full of religion being defended because the claim is that the religion fell out of heaven and therefore, if there is something wrong with the religion, there’s something wrong with heaven, there’s something wrong with God. Not so. God can’t help the kinds of religions we create. God is not into religion. God is into breaking through to us, to say, "Be still and know that I am God." As Isaiah said in passage, "I birthed you, I’ve born you, and to your last days I’ll carry you." All of it symbolic language that points to that kind of security that is craved by the human heart. But how we construct, how we concoct our human religions, is not God’s problem, although it can create a real problem for God sometimes, I think. Religion as a human, creative, imaginative construct. Now, if that is true, then of course, right at the core is our conception of God. And what I’m going to claim this morning is that we have a very imperfect conception of God, necessarily so, because the Mystery that is God is a mystery that leaves us dumb. I could have brought you a marvelous quotation from St. Augustine who said, "I used to speak about you until I experienced you, and then I found to experience you, I was unable to speak about you." God breaks through or manifests, and we respond. Moses responds and we get the whole liberation movement of the slaves out of Egypt, and we get the nation Israel and that founding experience in the Exodus. Jesus comes along and Jesus, the Jew’s conception of the intimacy of the relationship with God becomes very threatening, indeed. Paul, the Jew, experiencing Jesus, having this breakthrough, this manifestation, tries to give expression to God. On Mars Hill he borrows from the Stoic philosophers of Greek culture and actually, in a way, a conception of things much closer to a modern conception than the Theistic conception which basically he did hold - in God we live and move and have our being, we are God’s offspring. But, the whole human story is an ongoing attempt to bring some meaning, to bring to expression that reality that always eludes us. And I say that that’s a liberating idea, because I © Grand Valley State University �A-Theism? Richard A. Rhem Page 3   don’t have to defend it. I don’t have to claim that it’s given once for all. And I don’t have to panic when the major configuration of things begins to move off in another direction. That’s really what I’m talking about this morning. A-Theism, signaling that at our time, in our world, with our knowledge of reality and of the human person and of human society and human developmental history, that the most classic, bedrock conception of God is challenged and has been simply written off by many, many, many of our contemporaries. We don’t have any sense of that, really, in this area, and we live in a nation that is peculiarly religious. We live in a nation where there are megachurches that are flourishing, but also a nation in which the mainline church is deeply in trouble, trying to hold on and survive. But folks like us don’t really have much chance to realize the degree to which classic, biblical, Christian conceptions are in trouble. I want to say that’s okay. God will not go down the tubes when the conception of God in theistic terms is shown to be no longer compelling. Well, what is that theistic conception of God? Let me read you a couple of definitions. From the Oxford Dictionary, Theism is a belief in one God as a Creator and Supreme Ruler of the universe. Isn’t that what you always have believed? Or, the Encyclopedia Britannica, Theism is the view that all limited or finite things are dependent in some way on one Supreme or Ultimate Reality which one may also speak of in personal terms. Or, another - Theism holds that God is something like a person without a body who is eternal, free, able to do anything, knows everything, is perfectly good, is the proper object of human worship and obedience, the creator and sustainer of the universe. In his book, Why Christianity Must Change or Die, Bishop John Shelby Spong writes of Theism as a belief in an external, personal, supernatural and potentially invasive being. Marcus Borg, in his The God We Never Knew, speaks about the image of God in the Hebrew scriptures as that God enthroned above the heavens, that God who is ruler, who is sovereign, who is king, and even in the Hebrew scriptures, Father, but that idea of a supreme being with all of the apparatus of supernaturalism so that this world and our lives are over against that being. Now classically, in our theological tradition, we also spoke about that transcendent being "out there" also touching us "in here," so that God was also immanent. But, the immanence of God in our traditional classical understanding of things was never realized very deeply. Rather, God was that figure out there, ruling, controlling, directing, guiding, bringing everything to its consummation, the Supreme Being. That, says Spong, has had its day. I want to say to you here, it hasn’t had its day here, and I want to be very clear that, if it’s working for you, keep working it. There is no one that needs to move the mental furniture of one’s religious construct around just because they happen to be in a congregation whose pastor is a bit strange in probing the outer edges of theological esoterica. Don’t change anything that works, because religion is that human, imaginative, creative response to the God beyond our gods, the ultimate Mystery of things, and that response that is meaningful for you, deepening your humanity and enriching your life is just fine. © Grand Valley State University �A-Theism? Richard A. Rhem Page 4   But Christ Community is a place where we do think around the edges and this summer I am trying to think as clearly and simply as I can about these ultimate matters. I’m simply telling you that we are a part of a massive shift in the broader ranges of western culture, a massive shift in the understanding of God. Many of our contemporaries have just turned off from God, so they have moved into atheism. And if you chart the modern period, you would do so from an orthodox view of God as that Supreme Other up there, potentially invasive, the episodic God who moves in and out of creation, to Deism in England at the time of our founding of this nation. Deism was kind of a halfway house, the God who created it all wound it up like a clock and now is letting it tick off, but doesn’t really have an intimate relationship. There was the orthodox conception; Deism was a step removed, and Deism was really a halfway house to atheism, where we didn’t really even need the hypothesis of a God. I’m trying to say this morning that if we want to avoid eventually, down the road, we or our children or our children’s children, that slide into atheism, the denial of God, then it is incumbent upon us to think and to think hard about the nature of God that we have experienced and how to bring that to expression. I don’t know how to do it. Oftentimes, we know when something isn’t working before we know how to fix it. Karen Armstrong, in her lecture, "The Future of God," which I heard a year and a half ago, when she was at the Diocese of Bishop Spong, talked about that cognitive darkness, quoting the poet Keats, waiting for the poem to write itself, as she said, quoting the poet, the poet doesn’t sit down and just write the poem. The poet waits in the darkness until the muse speaks, until the poem writes itself. You don’t call a committee and write a poem. You don’t call a committee and write a creed. You wait with openness. You wait in expectation for the idea, for the vision to emerge. And I do believe that that is where we are, globally speaking, today. The great religions of the world are in dialogue with one another. The west has become largely secular in its greater expression, and it is a time of waiting, I think, in the darkness for God to reveal God’s self. In Psalm 137, Judah was in exile and their captors said, "Give us a little Jewish song," to which they replied, "How can we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?" We take the Hebrew scripture seriously, but we ought to recognize that they’re very, very human. This document is very, very human. If you would go on to read those verses, beyond those verses that were sung for us, "How can we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land," you would come to the last verse where all of the anger and hostility of the Psalmist is expressed when he prays to God to dash their little ones against the rock. It gives you goose bumps. It’s chilling. The God of Israel in that instance was a tribal God. That tribal God couldn’t move into exile, and so they were godless. And they couldn’t sing their God’s song in that situation. But, then there arose a prophetic voice that said, "Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, says your God. I am the creator God. I created a way through the sea, the horse and chariot were overcome. Now, don’t look back, for behold I am doing a new thing." © Grand Valley State University �A-Theism? Richard A. Rhem Page 5   Israel, Judah, had to gain a bigger conception of their God, a God who could accompany them and indeed be with them in exile and still be God to them in exile, a God who would, ultimately, bring them home. And Paul - how could he say God in the face of Jesus Christ on Mars Hill in Athens? That was his problem, his challenge, his struggle. He quotes their poets; there’s some truth there. Paul is standing in the Acropolis, the center of human learning, trying to bring expression to that which had encountered him, and that which had encountered him was the God of Israel as Israel had conceived God, but, now that God is given a different spin, now seen through the lens of Jesus Christ. For Paul it was still quite a simple matter. He said God arranged the times and the boundaries wherein people dwell. Kind of a small project. But, he was reaching and stretching to bring to expression a bigger view of God and that’s what we are about, as well. You say, well, what about the revelation of God? Yes, that’s what I mean when I’m talking about the breaking in or the manifestation of the mystery. I don’t deny that God reveals God’s self. But, there’s a problem with revelation. Everyone who has one thinks it’s the last word. And then they build a structure and absolutize it, trying to freeze the moment and perpetuate it on forever so that there’s a block to any further manifestation, any new experience. We can’t afford that anymore. Our world is exploding. The growth in knowledge and understanding is exponential. It’s breaking out all over. And the mood of the church in the mainline, by and large, is to hold on, to survive, to nail down and to re-imagine yesterday. I guess the big thing I say to you is wait in the darkness. What works, work. And where there’s cognitive dissonance, live with it, keep thinking about it, and eventually the new will emerge, the idea will show itself, and when it shows itself, you will recognize how weak and paltry is our present institutional Christian religious form and structure, because when the new emerges, when we learn to say God in a new way, it will sweep all before it. Someone has said there is no military might that compares to an idea whose time has come. So, we’re out testing ideas, confident in the meantime that we can rest in that Ultimate Mystery, that God beyond our gods. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/6c51f1b9550783f0232f5057e810a3d1.mp3 c2f448b15dbbae1ec3cb5e165ce9f419 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 Pentecost VII Series Can I Honestly Believe? Scripture Text Isaiah 43:18-19, Psalm 137:4, Acts 17:28 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 KII-01_RA-0-19980719 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-07-19 Title A name given to the resource A-Theism? Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University 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 Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on July 19, 1998 entitled "A-Theism?", as part of the series "Can I Honestly Believe?", on the occasion of Pentecost VII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Isaiah 43:18-19, Psalm 137:4, Acts 17:28. Nature of God Religion as a Human Construct Response to Mystery https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/bdfd6929f469b9879237b6dec7866225.pdf 268c849bddaf0a8f91cdde2291f53b3c PDF Text Text Do I Need Religion? From the series: Can I Honestly Believe? Text: Psalm 8:1; Psalm 42:2; Acts 17:22 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan July 12, 1998 Transcription of the spoken sermon I announced a summer series in a recent Courier entitled With Heart and Mind United. I cited a sermon from 1984 with that theme. In that sermon, I pointed back to my return to this congregation in 1971 when we determined to be a congregation marked by intellectual integrity and evangelical passion. We have been on such an adventure of faith now for over twenty-seven years. When I determined the series theme for this summer, it was not a case of conscious recycling; rather, it was a determination to do once again what we have been engaged in over all these years - to understand the faith we profess and live, to bring our experience of God, of the sacred, the Holy, into connection with the whole reality of our human experience. Working over that theme, I have named the series Can I Honestly Believe? By that I mean, can I as a person at the end of the twentieth century, aware of the universe of which I am a part, still believe in God as Source, Guide, and Goal of all that is, to paraphrase St. Paul? Faith, religious awe, worship and devotional practices arise from our depths, not from rational analysis; we will never by exercise of our reason be able fully to explain the human experiences of the Mystery we call God. In a 1917 classic study of religion, Rudolf Otto wrote on the idea of the Holy, the description of the experience of the Holy or a God as the ganz andere, the wholly Other, that mystery beyond that breaks through to us but, breaking through to us, making us unalterably aware of the reality in the presence, remains the hidden one, the hidden mystery. The religious experience, Otto describes very, very wonderfully when he says, it is ... the feeling that remains where the concept fails. It is an experience that transcends the possibility of conceptualizing it, articulating it, putting it into idea form. But, put it into idea form, we will. We seem to have to do that. We will try to understand. The understanding is never the same as the experience in itself, but © Grand Valley State University   �Do I Need Religion? Richard A. Rhem Page 2   being human as we are, rational creatures, reflective, self-conscious, we will inevitably think about and seek to bring to expression at least in some symbolic form that which will point beyond itself to the experience that has broken in upon us. That seems to be the universal human experience, and that is the origin of religion. Religion has at least these three basic components: There is that which is believed, or the doctrine. There is the mode of worship, devotion, practice, the ritual, the liturgy, which seeks to be an expression, an action that gives expression to the idea. And then, there is the drawing out of the implications of the experience for daily living, or ethics. So, doctrine or theology, cult or worship, ethics or morality - that’s the nature of human religion. I have said this before a number of times, but I’m going to say it again until you wake up in the middle of the night and repeat it to yourself - religion is a human, creative construction. Religions don’t fall out of heaven full-blown. We make them up. Not arbitrarily or capriciously, but we make them up in response to the in-breaking of the sacred or the Holy or God, the experience that is still there when the concept fails, but the experience that drives us to seek to articulate the nature of it. We construct our human religion in response to the in-breaking of the mystery that is God. Therefore, and this is critical, the knowledge of the world, the universe, the human being and society, in a word – the worldview, because it provides the framework of human religion and will from time to time move beyond an earlier understanding, will leave the religious structure, imagery and symbol with a framework that no longer makes sense. For a time the religious community will do a translation - the three-storied universe heaven earth hell is translated into modern cosmology with meanings spiritualized. But, at some point, a symbol system breaks down and it no longer speaks, it can no longer point beyond itself to the Ultimate. Then one must decide - either to chuck religion as nonsense, or to recognize that an outmoded structure does not spell the death of God. Edward O. Wilson, in his recently published book, Consilience, talks about his experience as a good Southern Baptist lad who went through the evangelical experience of conversion and all the rest, but having a curious mind from the © Grand Valley State University �Do I Need Religion? Richard A. Rhem Page 3   beginning, eventually went off to school where he says, "I chose to doubt." Then, in his distinguished career as a biologist who recognized the place of religion in people’s lives, he recognized the importance of religion in giving orientation, in giving meaning, significance to life, and so forth. But he also recognized that he was one person who could not continue to understand reality as continually being unfolded in our presence before the pursuit of the natural scientist and still somehow or other believe that there was a literal anchoring of conceptuality back 2000 or 3000 years. He refused to believe that the final revelation of God was put in stone by an agricultural culture 2000 years ago at the eastern end of the Mediterranean. He experienced cognitive dissonance. Wilson raises the interesting question whether science, the examination and exploration of reality, may not be a continuation of "Holy Writ," only on better tested ground. He suggests the data of scientific investigation may play the role that once revelation played in religion - satisfying the religious hunger to know one’s place in the universe. So far, the theory of everything has eluded even the great intellects of an Einstein and a Hawking. And if one day the unity of knowledge becomes a reality, even then one will have to choose whether or not behind it is still the Mystery that manifests itself, yet remains hidden. The questions we will be asking this summer are questions that arise because our religious system, its imagery, symbol and conceptuality derives from another time, based on an outmoded worldview. Therefore, in Wilson’s terms, there is widespread cognitive dissonance. Many have simply given up religious faith. Some of us struggle to bring religious experience into meaningful conversation with our present knowledge of the world. That is my challenge for this summer season. But, the question arises: Do I need it? - Not if my religious practice was only a way to please a God Who might condemn me to eternal punishment. - Not if I practice religious devotion just to cover the bases, just in case ... I read last night again The Grand Inquisitor, by Dostoevsky. Chilling, chilling! Jesus appears in Seville, Spain, during the time of the Inquisition. They had just burned 100 heretics at the stake and Jesus appears before a crowd of people and the Cardinal, the church ecclesiast, sees him, has him thrown into jail, then goes to speak with him, and tells him how the freedom of which Jesus spoke and for which he gave his life cannot be handled by the people. The people need authority. They live by miracle, mystery, and authority. Let them submit. Let them be slaves, simply obedient, unthinking. Give them bread. That’s what the © Grand Valley State University �Do I Need Religion? Richard A. Rhem Page 4   masses need, not the freedom of spirit of which Jesus spoke and incarnated. And then the Cardinal says, after Jesus refuses to respond, but only arises and plants a kiss on the wizened old face, the Cardinal says, "Get out! Get out and never return!" Well, we don’t need a lot more of that religion, even though there’s a lot of it alive and well on Planet Earth. But, do we need it? No. No, not absolutely. But, I think that there’s a loss without it. There’s a loss to our humanity and a loss to world community. The scripture lessons were read to indicate different experiences of God. I’m used to watching the sunset. It’s been magnificent, but Friday morning I had to take Nancy to the airport early and I caught a sunrise. Huge, flaming globe just over the horizon. I said, "My goodness, it comes up like it goes down!" I’m not a morning person, but the sunset or the moon, the stars say, "O Lord, our Lord, how magnificent is your name in all of the earth. When I consider the stars, the moon, the wonder of it all, I say how small am I." The sense of humility and smallness before the vastness, the wonder of the world. But, I am a little less than God! How can I give expression to that in a secular fashion? What if I can’t sing? What if I have no song, no songwriter, and no one to whom to sing? Or, in life’s anxieties and depression, the hunger for God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. Or, like Isaiah, to come someday and to have the place filled with smoke and to hear the rumbling and to be encountered by the mystery, the fascinating and terrorizing mystery and to feel one’s own guilt and uncleanness and unworthiness, and then to hear the word, "You’re cleansed. Your sin is forgiven." And to be commissioned to significant living and service. You don’t need religion. But I believe that to fail seriously to engage, to practice, to be observant is a very great loss and leads to a truncated human experience and a distortion of all that we’re intended to be. Paul said to the Athenians, "You’re really religious. There’s an idol to an unknown God just in case you missed one." I don’t need that kind of religion. But, yesterday I had the privilege of being invited to the Bar Mitzvah of the son, David, of Rabbi Alan and Anna Alpert, and in that Jewish community again, on Bar Mitzvah day, which is high celebration, I felt the warmth, I felt the solidity of family and of community. I regret that I wasn’t born Jewish because it’s not like being born a Christian where you have to keep worrying about becoming one, where you have to get converted, you have to keep wondering if you’re in or out. A Jew is just a Jew! Can’t do anything about it. So, they celebrate, and those who are observant, who are serious, celebrate it in wonderful warmth of community. And there’s something more there than just good friends and family ties. It is in the presence of a Mystery that here and there, now and again, has broken in upon us, creating awe, wonder, gratitude, drawing forth worship, enhancing our humanity and nudging us toward the things that make for peace. You don’t really need it, but you’ll miss a lot if you don’t have it. © Grand Valley State University �Do I Need Religion? Richard A. Rhem Page 5   APPENDIX . . . I found it a wonderful feeling not just to taste the unification metaphysics but also to be released from the confinement of fundamentalist religion. I had been raised a Southern Baptist, laid backward under the water on the sturdy arm of a pastor, been born again. I knew the healing power of redemption. Faith, hope, and charity were in my bones, and with millions of others I knew that my savior Jesus Christ would grant me eternal life. More pious than the average teenager, I read the Bible cover to cover, twice. But now at college, steroid-driven into moods of adolescent rebellion, I chose to doubt. I found it hard to accept that our deepest beliefs were set in stone by agricultural societies of the eastern Mediterranean more than two thousand years ago. I suffered cognitive dissonance between the cheerfully reported genocidal wars of these people and Christian civilization in 1940s Alabama. It seemed to me that the Book of Revelation might be black magic hallucinated by an ancient primitive. And I thought, surely a loving personal God, if He is paying attention, will not abandon those who reject the literal interpretation of the biblical cosmology. It is only fair to award points for intellectual courage. Better damned with Plato and Bacon, Shelly said, than go to heaven with Paley and Malthus. But most of all, Baptist theology made no provision for evolution. The biblical authors had missed the most important revelation of all! Could it be that they were not really privy to the thoughts of God? Might the pastors of my childhood, good and loving men though they were, be mistaken? It was all too much, and freedom was ever so sweet. I drifted away from the church, not definitively agnostic or atheistic, just Baptist no more. Still, I had no desire to purge religious feelings. They were bred in me; they suffused the wellsprings of my creative life. I also retained a small measure of common sense. To wit, people must belong to a tribe; they yearn to have a purpose larger than themselves. We are obliged by the deepest drives of the human spirit to make ourselves more than animated dust, and we must have a story to tell about where we came from, and why we are here. Could Holy Writ be just the first literate attempt to explain the universe and make ourselves significant within it? Perhaps science is a continuation on new and better-tested ground to attain the same end. If so, then in that sense science is religion liberated and writ large. Such, I believe, is the source of the Ionian Enchantment: Preferring a search for objective reality over revelation is another way of satisfying religious hunger. It is an endeavor almost as old as civilization and intertwined with traditional religion, but it follows a very different course — a stoic’s creed, an acquired taste, a guidebook to adventure plotted across rough terrain. It aims to save the spirit, not by surrender but by liberation of the human mind. Its central tenet, as Einstein knew, is the © Grand Valley State University �Do I Need Religion? Richard A. Rhem Page 6   unification of knowledge. When we have unified enough certain knowledge, we will understand who we are and why we are here. If those committed to the quest fail, they will be forgiven. When lost, they will find another way. The moral imperative of humanism is the endeavor alone, whether successful or not, provided the effort is honorable and failure memorable. The ancient Greeks expressed the idea in a myth of vaulting ambition. Daedalus escapes from Crete with his son Icarus on wings he has fashioned from feathers and wax. Ignoring the warnings of his father, Icarus flies toward the sun, whereupon his wings come apart and he falls into the sea. That is the end of Icarus in the myth. But we are left to wonder: Was he just a foolish boy? Did he pay the price for hubris, for pride in sight of the gods? I like to think that, on the contrary, his daring represents a saving human grace. And so the great astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar could pay tribute to the spirit of his mentor, Sir Arthur Eddington, by saying: Let us see how high we can fly before the sun melts the wax in our wings. Edward O. Wilson. Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge. Vintage, first edition, 1999. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c556fae286f8b082232fe1d616637d9f.mp3 45bf0dbd3358e49fbf9b439bb93e4aaf 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 Pentecost VI Series Can I Honestly Believe? Scripture Text Psalm 8:1, Psalm 42:2, Acts 17:22 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI References Edward O. Wilson, Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, 1999 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-0-19980712 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-07-12 Title A name given to the resource Do I Need Religion? Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University 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 Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on July 12, 1998 entitled "Do I Need Religion?", as part of the series "Can I Honestly Believe?", on the occasion of Pentecost VI, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Psalm 8:1, Psalm 42:2, Acts 17:22. Critical Thinking Nature of Religion Religious Quest https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/177e19e1846fc846db94e3ffc0d055b5.pdf eb6c0cf7f58d3a459ba769b2079091cf PDF Text Text A Declaration of Inter-dependence Text: Psalm 33:16-17; Romans 12:21; Matthew 5:44 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Independence Day Weekend, July 5, 1998 Transcription of the spoken sermon We celebrate 222 years of existence as a nation, born as an experiment in human freedom, a nation in which the government was of, for and by the people. The ideal of our founders was a magnificent vision worthy to be celebrated in public festivals and to be reflected on in Divine worship because, while the early framers of our founding documents were not evangelical Christians as is loudly claimed in some quarters today, their vision was grounded in the biblical vision of humankind created by God, not only the ground of all reality but the source and enlivening presence of all life, including human life - a Creator Who is the guarantor of human dignity and freedom. Our founding vision was a radical experiment, to be understood in the background of the European origin of the nation, a background of Divine Right of kings and nobility and human domination. The American experiment was an attempt to limit government and vastly restrict its arena of operation. The early documents resonate with lofty idealism and there is too little appreciation of the greatness of that founding vision. It was flawed from the beginning; it had its limitation of the radical nature of the freedom it was espousing and has been in a process of development over the 222 years of our national existence. But we have been blessed to have entered into the fruit of that vision, for which we give God thanks. The Declaration of Independence, the claim of national sovereignty, was a bold and daring act in the 18th century. As the 21st century dawns, an equally bold and daring act is imperative; it is the declaration of inter-dependence with all nations and peoples of the earth. Such a claim is not wild-eyed fantasy of a hopelessly idealistic and impractical dreamer. Rather, it is a practical and necessary response to the real situation of our world on the threshold of the Third Millennium. The most telling image of our situation as humankind on planet earth is the astronaut’s picture of the earth taken from outer space - the earth, a beautiful globe of blue and green hanging in the frozen darkness of space - obviously an © Grand Valley State University   �Declaration of Inter-dependence Richard A. Rhem Page 2   inter-related, inter-connected whole. The picture gives vivid witness to the commentary of the astronaut who says there are no real barriers or divisions; the earth is one; a planetary unity. What the picture of the earth as a whole points to is being realized in actual human experience. The amazing accomplishments of technology have put the world’s people into instant communication. Travel exposes us to the whole rich diversity of the human community. What happens in one part of the world impacts every part. We cannot wash our hands of the ongoing tensions in the Middle East, not turn our backs on the anguish of the Balkan states. The ecological concern for the well-being of the environment can only be addressed from a global perspective and nuclear non-proliferation is essential for the whole global family. Speaking of the drive toward one world totally intertwined is not fantasizing about what might be, but simply being responsible before what is; and the best place to see it is in the actuality of a global economy. Multinational corporations and international banking are a reality. The move to one currency in the European community is only a symbol of the interlocked economics of the world. We bail out Mexico, cajole and press Indonesia and support the Japanese yen not because we are an altruistic nation wanting to help those in distress, but because we are invested literally around the globe and need a healthy global economy to keep our own GNP in good shape. As the Third Millennium approaches and the 21st century breaks upon us, it is time for a declaration of inter-dependence. It would be foolhardy to think that we, the USA, the world’s only present superpower could insulate and isolate ourselves from the rest of the earth in the ongoing development of the cosmic drama and the human story. These are not far out ideas. The Fourth of July in Flint was marked by picketers with American flags. We are witnessing a serious social situation in our own state that is impacting not only Michigan, but the nation. What is the underlying reality? It is not a simple matter. One can fume at General Motors - giving the store away in the past. One can fume at the UAW - bringing on what they claim they are trying to avoid. But, General Motors cannot go on as is. And autoworkers in Flint are human beings being disrupted and dislocated. I mention this not to take sides or examine all the issues involved - and it is very complex; rather, to show that this kind of crisis close to home has to do with globalization. © Grand Valley State University �Declaration of Inter-dependence Richard A. Rhem Page 3   Some philosophers and theologians suggest that we must dismantle the global networks of industry and economics, return to small regional communities of production and consumption, nurturing local customs and ethnic diversity. They rail against globalization as the loss of particular cultural identities and want to stop the whole process toward one world. I understand, but I don’t think that will happen. There is a tide, broad and powerful, that is sweeping us toward one world, totally inter-related. It seems to me what we must do is not throw up barriers against ongoing development, but rather, seek ways to make the future humane, just and peaceful. We need a vision of inter-dependence and then the will to make it happen. What is needed is a transformation of consciousness. We simply must begin to think differently. We need a prophet to annunciate the new and emerging reality - the global reality of which we are a part. Rather than the reactionary rhetoric of the religious Right that is attempting to re-invent yesterday, we need someone to help us find a new orientation in a new cultural situation. Rather than a fearful, defensive posture that is marked by a militant mind and hostile spirit, we need to cultivate a global consciousness that thinks of how to make the future more humane, more just, marked by planetary peace. We are not without resources for such a vision. In 1848 Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels published the Communist Manifesto. It was focused on economics, but it was really a revolutionary social document. On the 150th anniversary of its publication, a number of works are being published. In an article in The New York Times, the present debate was set forth, but what seemed to be commonly agreed on was that Marx did see the relentless power of capital to produce wealth and he did see what we are currently experiencing globally. He failed to see how Capitalism could pull the proletariat into the game and thus avoid what he thought would be inevitable revolution. Again, here my point is not to argue Marx pro or con, but to suggest that we need such a powerful prophetic visionary in our day. Where did Marx get his vision? Communism has been called a biblical heresy. The founding story of Israel is the freedom of a people from domination and ruthless exploitation, and the story is shaped by the Hebrew prophets who envisioned a peaceable kingdom where the lion and the lamb would lie down together. The vision, the passion for justice and human well-being that found expression in a Karl Marx was in that biblical tradition. We have the biblical story as resource. Psalm 33 celebrates the sovereignty of God who fills the earth with steadfast love. The image of God as Ruler out there in heaven - controlling the affairs of the nations is not in line with the experience of cosmic movement and historical development, but I believe the Psalmist had © Grand Valley State University �Declaration of Inter-dependence Richard A. Rhem Page 4   true insight into the human situation - we did not create this world; we are not sovereign, nor can we secure ourselves by human means. The King - the symbol of human sovereignty - is not secured by horses and armies. Military might won’t do it. Economic power won’t do it. No human reality is impregnable. God is at the heart of things. Love is at the heart of things. Grace - modeled out in God, as we see it revealed in Jesus Christ, is the only way to peace on earth. Paul, responding to the encounter with the grace of God in Jesus Christ, appealed to followers of Jesus in Rome - on the basis of the mercies of God, to present themselves a sacrifice to God - living, holy, acceptable. This, Paul said, is only logical - it makes sense. Grace at the core of things, as he had so eloquently written as chapter 11 ends, calls for a transformation of life, a new way of being, not conformed to the structures and forms of this world, but transformed by the renewing of the mind. A shift in consciousness - that is radical, thinking differently! Paul, of course, was reflecting Jesus. The Sermon on the Mount is filled with concrete, practical counsel on how to live. Paul said do not meet evil with evil, but overcome evil with good and, obviously, he was trying to counsel a way of being that emulated the way of Jesus who said "No!" to the old code of justice - an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Rather, "If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give her your cloak, as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile." Again, radically, Jesus declares, Love your enemies. In short, be God-like, the God who causes rain to fall on the righteous and the unrighteous alike and causes the sun to rise on the good and the evil. That section ends with "Be perfect as God is perfect," and the connotation of the word translated perfect is "mature." In effect, we need to grow up. Hans Küng brings this radical counsel of Jesus into the concrete circumstances of our day. In his work, Judaism, he addresses the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Recognizing the delicacy of any non-Jew dealing with the issue, he nonetheless points to the frequency with which the Likud party, particularly, uses the word retaliation. One must be sensitive to the Israeli position, given the suffering and loss that people has suffered over the centuries. Yet, he wonders if the word of the Jew Jesus is not a better way to the future and peace - not retaliation, but the voluntary renunciation of power and rights. © Grand Valley State University �Declaration of Inter-dependence Richard A. Rhem Page 5   For many years I did not preach on the Sermon on the Mount. I was not content to interpret it as a code of personal ethics irrelevant to the world of real politics. Yet, it seemed so incredible, so impossible in the real world of international relations. But, the longer I think about these things, the more I am convinced that Jesus’ way is the only way there can ever be peace on earth, the realization of the Creator’s intention for Shalom - the peaceable kingdom. If Jesus’ way won’t work, there is no other way. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3b3317e031eb6f4d29193b5f043218bf.mp3 9df576e251d76b5603a5470fc2302ff1 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 Pentecost V Series Independence Day Weekend Scripture Text Psalm 33:16-17, Romans 12:21, Matthew 5:44 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 KII-01_RA-0-19980705 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-07-05 Title A name given to the resource A Declaration of Inter-dependence Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University 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 Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on July 5, 1998 entitled "A Declaration of Inter-dependence", as part of the series "Independence Day Weekend", on the occasion of Pentecost V, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Psalm 33:16-17, Romans 12:21, Matthew 5:44. Consciousness Global Community Inclusive Justice Peace https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e9544dd6f9c56e3cd9e408f266edf161.pdf 9be0b735e8df3e9659e8e3effafac6ea PDF Text Text Mystery Embodied From the series: Aspects of God Text: Exodus 25:8; I John 4:16; John 1:14 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan June 21, 1998 Transcription of the spoken sermon With the Pentecost storm, we had to move Pentecost up to a week later, which was Trinity Sunday, which made Trinity Sunday a week later, which meant that my series on Aspects of God would have three aspects collapsed into two. But, you can bet I’ll get them all in. Last week we spoke about that aspect of God as Mystery, the ultimate Mystery of everything beyond our knowing, beyond the possibility of our knowing. There was a phrase in one of our hymns this morning which spoke about the cloud of unknowing that comes from a Christian, mystic, medieval time. The cloud of unknowing. Entering into the cloud of unknowing is to experience God, Mystery, not in the sense that eventually we’ll figure it out if we keep working at it long enough, but Mystery as that which is beyond human comprehension or the capacity of the human mind to get itself around. Last week we talked about Mystery Experienced, because that ultimate mystery of everything is experienced. There is that seemingly universal human experience of the Ultimate, of that Mystery, that ultimate mystery that we cannot comprehend but yet which we sense, experience, which we say is none other than the breath of God or the Spirit of God, so, that Ultimate Mystery is experienced. Today I want to say that that Ultimate Mystery has also been embodied. Last week we looked at Moses in that interesting story where he says to God, "Don’t lead this people up if You won’t go along," and God says, "I’ll go along." Then, Moses, emboldened, says, "Show me your glory," and God says, "No way, Moses. You can’t see my glory. That would blow you away. Get into this cleft in the rock and I’ll put my hand over you and I’ll pass all my goodness past you and you’ll see my backside. But, you can’t see my glory." We also listened to the conversation between Phillip and Jesus where Jesus was talking about going to the Father and Phillip said, "Oh, just show us the father and we’ll be satisfied." And Jesus said, "You don’t get it yet. You can’t see the © Grand Valley State University   �Mystery Embodied Richard A. Rhem Page 2   Mystery. You’ll never penetrate the Mystery, but if you’ve seen me, you have seen the Father." That is today’s emphasis. That is the aspect I would stress today, and I want to say that every religion needs some concretization; every religion needs something to hang on to, something concrete, something to give that Mystery specificity and directionality. The little child that was baptized in the beautiful little kimono - I was thinking about the Buddhist temple. The Buddhists understand that God is Mystery better than we could ever begin to, because their whole tradition is based on the idea of the void. God as the void. Emptiness. For them to try to put some concrete shape to that or some content to that is to deny the core of their religious understanding which is God as the emptiness or the void. But they need a temple, too, and they use beautiful little kimonos for children and they bless the children, and the temples are places for meditation because every human religion needs concretization. The Incarnation of Jesus Christ and what the Christian tradition has done with it philosophically has been an offense to the Jews because Judaism at its core is monotheistic and it has seen in the deification of the son an idolatry mixing with God Who is absolute and ultimate. But, as a matter of fact, if we could stick to the New Testament data itself, there should not really be a problem for Judaism, because they themselves also recognize the need for that concretization, something that you can get your hands around. Going back to the story of Moses, in that conversation on the mountain, God says, "Build me a sanctuary," the word that comes from the root word to mean holy. In other words, that which is set part. Create for me a sacred space. And do it in order that I may dwell in the midst of my people. And that word to dwell in Hebrew is really to pitch a tent, literally. And it’s very interesting that in Exodus in the founding story of Israel you have the tension that was within Israel’s faith all along. It is that tension between the need for the sense of the abiding presence of God and yet the refusal to say that God can become a permanent possession set in stone, that God can become domesticated by the cultic actions of a priesthood. The freedom of God to be there was always guarded in Israel, and yet, they understood that God would dwell with them and they needed that tabernacle in their midst, that tent. God would pitch God’s tent in the midst of the community in order that there might be a place for this Holy One Who was not just easily accessible, yet always there as a sign of the abiding presence of God, the constancy and the faithfulness of God, the God Who led them out of Egypt, the God Who would go through the wilderness with them, the God Who would bring them into the Promised Land. In the sixth century B.C. when they have been taken from their land and brought to Babylon and given up on God and lost their faith, some prophet comes to them and says, "Remember our founding story. Our © Grand Valley State University �Mystery Embodied Richard A. Rhem Page 3   God is a God who is mobile and light. He pitches his tent. He goes with his people. God is here in exile as God was there in Jerusalem and the temple." So, Israel, too, had that tangibility of God because we share with Judaism and Islam the idea of God as absolute Mystery, yet present in Spirit. But there is then this nuance that distinguishes Christian faith - it is that Mystery experienced spiritually is given a human face. It is that which makes Christian faith what it is. You could have a mystery and you can sense the mystery, but what is its nature? Or, what is the nature of God? It is so critically important that we have the proper conception of God because the God we worship will shape the lives we lead. Tell me who your God is and I’ll tell you the kind of person you are. And I want to say this morning that that Mystery in our faith’s story has been embodied because, just as God pitched a tent in the wilderness with God’s people, so according to the Christian gospel, John now, the first chapter, that word that was with God, that created intention of God, became flesh in the face of Jesus Christ. (Jews writing now, as Jesus was a Jew.) That God Who dwelt in the midst of the people in a tent that was pitched in the wilderness now pitched a tent in human flesh, for the same word is used. The word was made flesh and dwelt among us. It could be literally translated, "The word was made flesh and tabernacled in our midst." God went camping. God in the tent, now the tent being the shape of a human person. And there was no denying all of Israel’s faith from which this little Jesus movement stemmed. They said the Torah came through Moses. The gift of Torah was a gift of God, a previous gift of God. But, grace and truth came to expression in Jesus. And those words, the words behind grace and truth are two of the most beautiful words in the Hebrew Bible - hesed, steadfast love, limitless mercy, and emet - truth, but better, faithfulness to covenant promises. In Jesus, says John, the God of Israel has taken the shape, the human form that has communicated the glory of God. That which Moses wanted to see has now become veiled in flesh, a tangible concretization of the nature of that mystery that we cannot fathom but which in the good pleasure of God has taken a shape, then given a face. So, the nature of the mystery is love. That’s what a writer of the same Johannine circles concluded, the first letter of John, the fourth chapter. He says no one has ever seen God. That’s always the problem, isn’t it? "Just show us the father," says Phillip. "Show me your glory," says Moses. The writer says no one has ever seen God. But God sent Jesus Christ, and on the basis of the sending of Jesus Christ, what came to expression there is that God is love. And, he says, "The one who abides in love, abides in God, and God abides in that one. He does not say "Abide in God," because how can we abide in God? We can’t get a handle on that. What would we do, challenged to abide in God? But, to abide in love, to love one another, that’s tangible and concrete. I can do that. And then, does he say, given the love of God, God so loved us, then we ought to love God? No. God, having so loved us, we ought to love one another. And miracle of miracles, when we begin to love one another, on the basis of that revelation which says that God is love and therefore, having loved us, we ought to love one © Grand Valley State University �Mystery Embodied Richard A. Rhem Page 4   another, miracle of miracles, when we do that in relationship, in community, God is there! And the Mystery becomes experienced in a new and fresh way. And if you want one more marvelous text from II Corinthians, third chapter, Paul says that where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom, and we, beholding as in a mirror the image of that face, are being transformed into that same image through the spirit of God. You see, the Mystery has been embodied. The Mystery has a face and, beholding that face by the ministry of the Spirit of God, the breathing of the Mystery in us, we are being shaped into that same face. Because what the embodying of the Mystery is all about is to give us standards and norms by which to orient our lives. What the mystery of the Trinity is all about is very practical living. Beholding the face of Jesus and seeing therein that God is love, we are called to be a people who love, affecting therefore attitudes, determining our actions, suggesting those things to which we passionately commit ourselves. It makes all the difference in the world. This is our story. This is what it means to be in the Christian tradition. This is what it means to be in the Christian church. It is to have that Ultimate Mystery of things experienced somehow inwardly, shaped and defined by Jesus, and following in the way of Jesus. Then, I believe, according to my story, that I am living with the grain of the universe, that I am living out in the practical arenas of my life the intention of God, because God is love. And that love, that mystery having come to expression in Jesus, shaping me into that image by the Spirit of God, gives me a way to go, gives me a way to live, it shows me what my values must be, it shows me that to which I must commit myself, that about which I must be passionate. This is down-to-earth, practical stuff. What shapes our lives? What shapes our community? What kind of people are we? Are we people of love, people of grace, people full of mercy, people ready to forgive, people for reconciliation? Are we people who will love our enemies? That’s what being Christian is all about. And it’s all about that because in our story, that ultimate Mystery was embodied in Jesus who showed us the way. I don’t have any proof for that. I don’t believe it because the church teaches it. I don’t believe it because the Bible teaches it. I probably believe it because my mother and father believed it. I probably do believe it because I’ve found it here. I probably do believe it because my whole life has been lived in the Christian community. But, I don’t believe it because my parents believe it. I don’t believe it because the Bible teaches it. I don’t believe it because the church affirms it. I believe it because, by God, it’s true. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/648d6748ccc272e0e395b7dbfcc67d5c.mp3 569377f95ccc4bbb05212fc3b20c426f 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 Trinity Sunday, Pentecost III Series Aspects of God Scripture Text Exodus 25:8, I John 4:16, John 1:14 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 KII-01_RA-0-19980621 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-06-21 Title A name given to the resource Mystery Embodied Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University 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 Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on June 21, 1998 entitled "Mystery Embodied", as part of the series "Aspects of God", on the occasion of Trinity Sunday, Pentecost III, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Exodus 25:8, I John 4:16, John 1:14. Divine Intention; Embodiment of Love Love Mystery https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/1eab3a2dff05956da121f64bf309a7bd.pdf 1d5d49c12b5d5c3f245412113582f322 PDF Text Text Mystery Experienced From the series: Aspects of God Text: Numbers 33:23; Hebrews 1:2-3; John 14:16-17 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan June 14, 1998 Transcription of the spoken sermon Our religions are the consequence of creative human imagining in response to God’s revealing. God’s revealing, if it is revealing, indeed, meets in us now and then with awareness, awareness of the wholly Other, and of the Holy Other, of God, of the sacred, of the holy. The human experience has been that now and again, to this one or that one, there is some breakthrough, some awareness, some experience of that which is beyond human capability to grasp. Yet the experience, the awareness will always result in a stumbling, stammering attempt to give expression to that which was experience. And so, we have our human religions with our statements, expressions, articulations of the truth as best we can bring it to expression in light of our experience. Last week, celebrating Pentecost one week late, we said that the experience of the risen Christ, the living Lord, the foundational event of Christian faith was not the experience of the word in flesh, but rather, the experience of Spirit, the Spirit of Christ or the Spirit of God, the wind, the movement, the enlivening, creative movement that gives us an awareness of that intimate relationship with God, even though we can never adequately bring to expression that experience, but rather do so in human language, always limited, stammering and stuttering because we have been overwhelmed if we have met the living God. The Sunday after Pentecost, which really was last week but celebrated here this week, therefore tries to gather the experience of the Christian year, the cycle, on this particular Sunday. Four Sundays before Christmas we begin with the Advent season, the One who came is coming, the birth of Christ at Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost and the gift of the Spirit, and then on that next Sunday we say we believe in one God - God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, one God blessed forever, in traditional liturgical language. We speak of God as Triune because we want to affirm that God is one. But, the experience of God is trifold, and on this Sunday we simply point to that Christian understanding of God as God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, one God. © Grand Valley State University   �Mystery Experienced Richard A. Rhem Page 2   The early Church, the immediate followers of Jesus, did not sit down to construct a mysterious doctrine by which to bewitch and confuse us. And the early Church did not sit down to construct some mysterious idea of God that would confuse generations ever after. They did what all people do who have religious experience - they simply began to express what they had experienced. And the immediate followers of Jesus, in the wake of his crucifixion and resurrection, were Jewish people and they had no idea at all that they were talking about some other God than the God of Israel. They were now not switching their loyalties; they were not now conceiving of some other deity; they were not now leaving that covenant, faithful God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob whose law came to expression with Moses, who had been spoken of by the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah and all the rest. These were faithful Jewish people who were still dealing with the same God, but a God now Who had been experienced, strangely enough, in the life of that Jesus whom they had known. And then this Jesus was crucified but, in the wake of that, nonetheless, they experienced his presence, as I said a moment ago, not in the flesh. "The word was made flesh and dwelt among us." But, that was one thing. This other Easter experience was something else. It was God in the Spirit, Jesus in the Spirit. How do you give expression to that kind of mysterious, baffling experience? And yet, how can you be silent if you have had that kind of intimate experience of God? The writers of the Hebrews said in many and various ways to our forbears, "God made God’s self known. But in these last days, God has spoken to us by a son who, he said, is the express image of God." The word used there is icon, and if you have had any experience in the lush sanctuaries of Eastern Orthodox churches, you have seen icons, those paintings of the head of Christ or some symbolism of the Trinity or some saint. Eastern Orthodox piety and devotion has been conditioned to have its consciousness raised and its spirit elevated through the contemplation of the icon. Those of us that don’t know anything about it mock it and say, "Well, that’s idolatry. Even the Heidelberg Catechism said God will not be worshiped through pictures or dumb idols." Yet, there are those who, in contemplation of that icon, find themselves lifted into the presence of God; it’s a way of devotion or pious expression. The writer to the Hebrews says that Jesus was the icon of God, the express image of God. He couldn’t have said anything any more elevated of Jesus than to say that this Jesus in the flesh, the word made flesh dwelling among us, this one was the very picture, the image, the expression of God in human flesh. I return again and again to old John 14, but it’s so revealing of that early Christian community, trying to give expression to its experience. Now, don’t think of the disciples sitting around together at a campfire with Jesus in the midst. This Gospel writer was writing some sixty years later and probably reflecting the oral tradition of the stories and the conversations and all of that, and he said, "How can I say that this Jesus, as a matter of fact, was the unveiling © Grand Valley State University �Mystery Experienced Richard A. Rhem Page 3   of God?" And so, he pictures them in these middle chapters in John’s Gospel as a conversation with Jesus where Jesus is getting them ready for his departure "Let not your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me," etc., etc. "In my Father’s house there are many rooms. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you," all of that nice language, and then Phillip who in the fourth Gospel plays the role of dunce, raises the questions that we all have but feel too self-conscious to raise. He says, "Oh, Jesus, I’ve really been wanting to say this all along. Just show us the Father and we will be satisfied." It’s what we all sigh at one time or another, don’t we? "God, if you’d just show yourself. If somehow or other I could just get a handle on it, just a glimpse, perhaps. Just a tickle in my pinkie." Jesus says, "I’ve been with you so long and you still don’t know. If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father." This, now, is not what Jesus said. This is what they said he would have said if he had said what they know to be true. Do you get the difference? This was their experience, in his face there was God. We tell the story and we’re going to keep telling the story because somehow or other the God of Israel, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was there in that flesh, his face, the human face of God. And so, they who had known Jesus in the flesh knew him to be crucified, experienced him yet to be alive in the Spirit, talked about God and they talked about Jesus as the face of God, and they talked about the Spirit as the Spirit of God, and they had the "stuff" out of which subsequent generations in subsequent centuries put together using Greek philosophical concepts to say that God Who is Mystery has been known in concrete human flesh and continues to be experienced spiritually through a focus on Jesus who seems to bring up the depths of the mystery. Today I want to say that Mystery, the aspect of God is Mystery, but Mystery experienced, and Israel always knew that they didn’t know God in the depths of God’s mystery. And the Christian tradition which took the God of Israel and put the face of Jesus on the God of Israel and experienced the Spirit of God through the mediation of Jesus, the early Church tacked that nuanced adjustment and understanding of God onto the images and metaphors of Israel, and the images and metaphors of God for Israel were Ruler, King, more intimately Father. But, essentially Israel thought in terms of God as the Ruler "out there," "up there," engaged in their history and yet beyond their history, and they thought of God as getting directly involved in human events, although as an imperial ruler removed. That conception of God we speak of classically as "Theism." Judaism is theistic. Islam is theistic. Christianity has traditionally been theistic. A theistic © Grand Valley State University �Mystery Experienced Richard A. Rhem Page 4   understanding of God, even though we say it is a triune God, having been present in the flesh of Jesus and continuing to be present in the Spirit; nonetheless, God is "out of here," "up there," beyond us, traditionally. And our Christian understanding of God got attached to that kind of imagery, and the difficulty with that imagery is that it doesn’t connect easily with what we know about the cosmic reality of which our lives are a part. The Episcopal Bishop, John Shelby Spong, Bishop of Newark, has just written a book, Why Christianity Must Change or Die. Bishop Spong is courageous, if nothing else, and he dares to challenge that theistic image of God, saying that image of God is no longer adequate to express how we experience our world. He says theism has to go. Well, it will go kicking and screaming; it will go with great, great difficulty. I’ve been trying and trying for some time to divest my head of theistic understanding and I can’t do it yet, but I’m working at it. I got a letter Friday from Bishop Spong who said that in 1999 he has one full weekend available and he’ll give it to us. November 12, 13 and 14 of 1999, Bishop Spong will come here to help us to disengage from classical, traditional theistic conceptions of God. So, mark it down now. He will follow in the fall of ‘99, when in the spring of ‘99, we’ll have Marcus Borg here so that we can meet Jesus again for the first time. And maybe as we continue to work at this we might be involved in that advanced guerilla warfare that’s trying to find out how to say God in light of everything else we experience, because you can just import the old images and metaphors as long as you don’t want that God to be intimately involved in your day-to-day experience. As I said a moment ago, Israel knew that it didn’t know God. I think this is the point of that old story, Moses in Exodus 33 saying to God, "I know you’re angry with this people, but you know, if you’re not going, I’m not going." God says, "Relax, I’m going." Moses said, "Otherwise, how will the other peoples of the world know that we’re distinct?" You see, Moses was into exclusivism a long time ago. He wanted to be distinct. Don’t we all? We all like to be special. He said, "Well, one more thing, then - I’ll go if you go. You say that you’ll go, but show me your glory." God said, "Aha, Moses. I gave you my name, the Lord, Yahweh. I Am what I Am. I will be where I will be. I will be there for you. I told you my name, but my glory you cannot see. Moses, if I came bare before you, it would blow you away, it would destroy you. You humankind, you cannot countenance, you couldn’t stand, you couldn’t take in a raw exposure to my glory. Moses, come here and stand on a rock next to me. What I’m going to do, Moses, is I’m going to pass all of my goodness before you and I’m going to put you in a cleft of the rock, I’m going to put my hand over you and all of my glory will pass by, and when it’s passed, I’ll take my hand away and you can see my backside. Don’t even think about trying to see my face. Don’t even think about trying to take in the mystery. But, I’ll hide © Grand Valley State University �Mystery Experienced Richard A. Rhem Page 5   you in a cleft of the rock and pass by, and you’ll get a glimpse after I’ve passed by." Some of you who are older remember an old hymn, "He Hideth My Soul in the Cleft of the Rock" - "He hideth my soul in a dry, thirsty land and hideth my soul in the depths of his love and covers me there with his hand." The experience of God is that, in the experience of the terrors of life, we know that there’s a cleft in the rock and God’s hand protectively covering because more than that we couldn’t handle. And we can relax in the cleft of the rock with the hand of God over us, knowing that, as we stammer to try to say something about that experience, God will be just fine. God is not put in jeopardy when we start messing with the images and metaphors. If we should someday in the year 2005, after laboriously for seven or eight years working at this problem, if we don’t blow ourselves apart, and if we could do it rationally, if we could do it with a sense of security, with one another in dialogue, if we could keep talking about how can we say God in the 21st century, then maybe in another half dozen years or so we may stumble on a way of saying that will be much more in line with the world into which you graduates are all going. But, this is my prayer for you - No matter how the images, no matter how the metaphors are going to change, that you’d still be able to sing something comparable to "God hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock, in the depths of God’s love, places God’s hand on me there." Because it’s Mystery. Those that know an awful lot about the definition of God don’t know it all. And those who don’t know are on the threshold of wisdom, opening to the possibility of fresh experience. There were two fleas buried deeply in a forest of hair on a beasty. One said to the other, "Do you think there really is anything called Dog?" © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/0f02306e0d7a8778d9e7021b4823b1b6.mp3 43d9f0cb3795d0b46fa6d9f525eb2aac 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 Pentecost II Series Aspects of God Scripture Text Exodus 33:23, Hebrews 1:2-3, John 25: 16-17 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 KII-01_RA-0-19980614 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-06-14 Title A name given to the resource Mystery Experienced Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University 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 Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on June 14, 1998 entitled "Mystery Experienced", as part of the series "Aspects of God", on the occasion of Pentecost II, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Exodus 33:23, Hebrews 1:2-3, John 25: 16-17. Mystery Nature of Religion Trinitarian https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/158534be80edd0d5822e4d94297c9e51.pdf 84d29df8024bce9b08611c8f21cd27a0 PDF Text Text The Story Without End From the series: Christian Faith: Interpretations of Experience Text: Acts 2:16; Ezekiel 37:14; John 25:12-13 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan June 7, 1998 Transcription of the spoken sermon This is one week late for a Pentecost message, but Pentecost is too critical to the life of the church to miss it, and so we celebrate it today in all of its wonder and all of its joy, and I want to say today that Pentecost is nothing rather than the experience of the risen Christ whose presence defines for us the eternal God. I conclude the Eastertide series purposely on Pentecost in order to make the connection. If you read from Luke in his Gospel, and then the Book of Acts, you would have a narrative form of these events - Easter, 40 days later Ascension, 10 days later Pentecost. But, two weeks ago as we gathered here, we read from John’s Gospel that on Easter eve Jesus came into the midst of the disciples, breathed on them, said "Peace be with you and receive the Holy Spirit." For John, Pentecost happened on Easter, because, as a matter of fact, Easter and Pentecost cannot be separated from one another. We have looked at these experiences of the risen Christ, the crucified one still present and alive in the lives of Peter and Paul and Mary Magdalene and the disciples. We noted two weeks ago that with the Gospel of John there is a shift, not even a subtle shift. It is not as though there is an imminent expectation now of the inbreaking of that risen, ascended Lord as we have it in Luke. In the fourth Gospel, we begin to see the recognition of a process. Of course it was some sixty years later. This was the last Gospel to be written. Jesus had not appeared. The Messiah had not come from heaven. Now there must have been some reinterpretation, trying to figure out what in the world was going on. And so, I read those passages from the fourth Gospel. "I have more things to tell you, but you can’t bear them now. I’ll pray for the Spirit, the advocate. When he comes, he’ll lead you into all truths,..." And therefore, the sense that there was an ongoing process. Ewert Cousins, in a very fine book entitled Christ of the Twentieth-first Century, says "How are we to approach religion today? Certainly we must approach it in terms of its process, that dynamic movement through history. It is not a static moment, but it is rather a fluid, dynamic movement that goes on." And so, this © Grand Valley State University   �The Story Without End Richard A. Rhem Page 2   morning on Pentecost, one week late, I want to suggest to you that we have to set our religious faith in a context, and that context is a context that is 15 billion years old. I want us to understand our present Christian experience, our present religious experience in terms of that broad cosmic reality that embraces us, and that broad cosmic reality is the large context in which we have interpreted our experience of God. It is a process of billions of years, the emerging out of that initial chaos, this universe, this cosmos, with its order, with all of the wonder that simply boggles the mind the more one begins to see its mysteries and its depths. And then within that billions of years process there developed life, there developed biological life, there developed animal life, and that animal life over billions of years eventuated in that which in the evolutionary process has emerged as the human being, that moment when that whole process became selfconscious, aware of its hands, and aware, indeed, of another. And out of that awareness, that self-consciousness, which we define as the human, developed tribes, societies, culture, civilizations, until our present moment in history. Here we are in the ongoing movement of a process that goes back billions of years that has within it all of the story of the cosmic reality, the story of life, the story of human life, and with human life came the religious consciousness, the awareness of the mystery, the awareness of the frailty and fragility of life and the searching for that ultimate and that absolute, that place to stand and to be. And all religions, as we have been saying these weeks, are the human construction, the human imagination in response to the encounter with that mystery. And within that human man religious reality is our story, the Christian story, 2000 years old now and still alive and young and ongoing. That’s my message this Pentecost. Our story, the Christian story, embedded in the religious story of humankind, embedded in the totality of humankind’s experience, embedded in the totality of cosmic experience - our story is a story without end. It is the story of Pentecost, because the story of Pentecost is nothing other than the experience of the God defined in Jesus Christ. For us, that’s our story. We see the human face of God in Jesus who was experienced by those first followers as alive and present and still powerfully transforming. Rooted in history, but not mired in history. For John the same fourth Gospel tells the story of Thomas. Thomas was that doubter, like all of us. He said, "I’d like to poke my finger in the hand, you know?" And so, Jesus appears without coming through the door. Nonetheless, at the end of that story, what is the blessing given? "Thomas, you wanted to touch and feel. Blessed are those who, having not seen, believe." Because if the story was to go on, it would have to go on by those who could encounter the living Lord without the living Lord tangibly there. No more word in flesh, but rather the spirit of Christ or the Spirit of God, or God breathing, encountering us, convincing us of that ultimate mystery that is so far beyond us, but nonetheless, graciously embraces us. That’s our context, and at this moment in our history the Pentecost message is that it’s a story without end. We are still writing it. We are still engaged in the story, chapters yet to follow, presently writing the story of Pentecost and of Easter. © Grand Valley State University �The Story Without End Richard A. Rhem Page 3   I had a marvelous insert for you which somehow or other got blown away in the storm, and it’s actually two pages, but I won’t read it, so relax. Just this statement which comes from an Orthodox theologian, George Florovsky about the nature of tradition. What I want you to see is that Christian tradition, like any religious tradition properly understood, is the presence of the dynamic spirit of God in the church: Tradition is the witness of the Spirit; the Spirit’s unceasing revelation and preaching of good tidings ... To accept and understand Tradition we must live within the Church, we must be conscious of the grace-giving presence of the Lord in it; we must feel the breath of the Holy Ghost in it ... Tradition is not only a protective, conservative principle; it is, primarily, the principle of growth and regeneration ... Tradition is the constant abiding of the Spirit and not only the memory of words. Remember that. Tradition is the constant abiding of the Spirit in the body of Christ, here and now. You see, the story is a story without end. It is an ongoing story. We are in process. There is always that arrogant assumption on the part of every generation that somehow or other God’s purposes have culminated in them! Every age and every culture would arrogantly assume that they are the acme of what God is doing in the world, and it just is not true. What happened in the 19th century particularly, which some have called the century of history, is that we became aware of other civilizations and other cultures and other world religions, and what developed in the wake of that is a historical relativism that said everything in its place and its time is proper and legitimate. There was an easy tolerance of all of this. It was a great threat to the exclusive claims of the Christian faith that said this is the last word and the absolute truth. But, who could deny it? There were world religions. There were other civilizations. There was a diversity of cultures. Who would say one is better than another? Who would say one has the truth and the other are all in darkness? Not many who thought about it seriously could do that. And so, there was a kind of unraveling of that confidence of the traditional Christian proclamation. Something is happening in our day which is fascinating. It is the recognition that we cannot rest easily with diverse cultures and other civilizations and world religions all in their separate existence, because what we are experiencing in our day, our moment in history, is a convergence of civilizations, a growing together of cultures, a tying together of the globe. Ewert Cousins says that the symbol for our age, an age of global consciousness, is that earth, that planet earth hanging out in space, the picture taken by the astronauts from deep space. And there, as he points out, national boundaries, ethnic divisions, religious separations - all of that is superficial and artificial because we are a whole, interrelated, interfacing with one another. If one stops to think about our world today, one finds that we are economically interdependent. I have often felt that Marx was closer to right than he knew, for © Grand Valley State University �The Story Without End Richard A. Rhem Page 4   he spoke of economic determinism. Finally it is economics that will determine. And, of course, he was severely criticized. But, it just may be that multinational corporations and international banking will bind this world together in a real fashion greater than any religious proclamation. We are buoying up the ruble in Russia now. We are trying to avoid the chaos of Southeast Asia. We are a world that cannot live in separate identities anymore, in a kind of isolation, sovereignties with their own weapons. In a day of nuclear threat, India and Pakistan testing nuclear weapons - this world is too small! The human race is one! It is too dangerous to live that way. And on Pentecost 1998 what we in the Christian church ought to be doing is to say we missed it too, but we are coming around, because the Spirit is the Spirit who creates new insights, who enables us in every historical moment to re-interpret our faith in light of the moment and understand the moment in light of our faith. And so, the world growing together in the convergence of civilizations and cultures and religions symbolized if not by Ewert Cousins’ globe out in space, then the golden arches of McDonald’s. It is one world; you can get a hamburger anyplace today! In such a world, what the world needs to hear from us, and we could lead the pack, leading out of strength as Christians – we have to say we can no longer look at the whole world through our Christian eyes. As Americans we have to say we cannot simply think "our country, right or wrong," "USA Number One." As citizens of western civilization, we can no longer hold arrogantly to the superiority of the west. We must value the treasure we have in our Christian tradition. We can savor the freedoms and the wonders of this nation. We can treasure the cultural values of the west, and we should share them, and be ready to pass them along, but we must recognize that we also will be recipients from the east. We’ll gain insights from others. In this world which is becoming a one world global civilization, we can no longer afford to live in the arrogance of our exclusivities with a superiority over against all others, whether it be political or religious or cultural. We who have the insight of the Holy Spirit are the ones that ought to be opening ourselves and modeling out that kind of openness to others that can create the possibility for humanization and ultimately for shalom, for peace, for human beings to live fruitfully, creatively, productively, in love. There is that possibility, because we believe in God. It is the Spirit of God breathing through all that is, coaxing toward that unity in diversity, creating a community of communities where there is mutual value, mutual enhancing, common sharing, living out the ideal of the kingdom of God. This time of year church assemblies and synods and bodies are meeting and, in reading the press, one could about despair as much as the captives in Babylon in the 6th century before Christ. One could well throw up one’s hands at the anguish of the institutional forms of religion. Institutional forms of religion are altogether necessary, but they become sealed against the ongoing revealing of the Spirit. The moment we can get our hands around it, make it manageable and neat, we have sealed ourselves off against the Spirit’s ongoing, unceasing revelation. But, it is the Spirit of God that breaks down barriers. It is the Spirit of God that rips open © Grand Valley State University �The Story Without End Richard A. Rhem Page 5   our hearts and opens our minds, that breathes fresh air when we would live in the safety and security, reinventing yesterday. Dear God, can these bones live? I will breathe in them. I will put my Spirit in them." And by God, they will live, because we’re part of a story without end. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3ddc78eb54a08cda6481b526b1a555cf.mp3 728bbfaba5aa1b6792eced8bbda7cd3f 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 Pentecost celebration Series Christian Faith: Interpreting an Experience Scripture Text Acts 2:16, Ezekiel 37:14, John 25:12-13 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 KII-01_RA-0-19980607 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-06-07 Title A name given to the resource The Story Without End Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University 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 Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on June 7, 1998 entitled "The Story Without End", as part of the series "Christian Faith: Interpreting an Experience", on the occasion of Pentecost celebration, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Acts 2:16, Ezekiel 37:14, John 25:12-13. Emergence Global Community Non-exclusive Spirit https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e32a044019e3f10e59650ff561bd9de2.pdf 9eb57375cec948ff6d908f719ab85ba9 PDF Text Text The End of the Story From the series: Christian Faith: Interpretations of Experience Text: Micah 4:4-5; I Corinthians 15:28; John 20:21 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Memorial Day Weekend, May 24, 1998 Transcription of the spoken sermon On this Memorial Day weekend, which is also the last Sunday in Eastertide, I am going to say one more time that our Christian tradition is the consequence of the interpretation of experience. The foundational event of the Christian tradition is Easter, the experience of being in the presence of the crucified one, Jesus. It was the experience of those who knew that Jesus, the one they had loved and followed and hoped would be their deliverer, had been crucified and then, strangely enough, was with them still. Peter, Paul, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Jesus - all of them. The Christian tradition coming out of the womb of Judaism was the consequence of interpreting the experience of the living Lord. All religion is the interpretation of human experience. It is the consequence of our trying to make sense out of our human situation in those moments when we come to an awareness, a consciousness of the holy, of the sacred, of God. In those moments of awareness, we seek to understand what is going on, what has been said to us, what has broken through to us, and that ongoing interpretation of experience, which initially is reported and repeated orally, is later written down. The foundational event thus becomes a written record and continues to create the possibility for the experience to happen again and again and again because we’re dealing with the living Lord, the living Lord who gave us the Spirit. The Christian tradition is now 2000 years old and it is the interpretation of the experience of the presence of Jesus who we declare to be Lord of all - that the Way of Jesus was the Way of God, that the truth of Jesus was the truth of God, and that the life of Jesus was the life of God. So, what is the end of it all, the purpose of the story that we have now been telling for 2000 years, the story that has been told and retold for 2000 years and has been told to us and that we continue to tell - what is the end of it all? I want to say this morning on this Memorial Day weekend that the end of it all is peace on earth, or to use that beautiful Hebrew word which is too rich to translate with one English word - the end of it all is Shalom, the totality of reality in total harmony between Creator and creature, Creator and creation, creature and © Grand Valley State University   �The End of the Story Richard A. Rhem Page 2   creation - in the totality of that mix, perfect harmony reflecting the intention of God. That is the purpose or the end of the Gospel. The scriptures are focused on the here and now. Our faith is of this worldly faith. To be sure, we have tended to project it beyond history to another time and another place. But to read the scriptures is to be aware that it is about this world and its transformation. It is about the mending of Creation. The Hebrew prophets gave us visions that are marvelous. If you would go down to the Worship Center this year, you would have seen here and there lions and lambs, because the wonderful vision of the prophet Second Isaiah, was that the time would come when there would be a new creation in which the lion and the lamb would lie down together. As Woody Allen said, "When they sleep, the lion will sleep more soundly than the lamb," nonetheless, the lion and the lamb lying down together, symbolic of that harmony that has come over all things. Or, the picture in the prophetic reading this morning from Micah where Mt. Zion will be exalted, will be lifted up, and the nations will flow to Jerusalem. Out of Mt. Zion will flow the Torah, the Law understood as the way of life. And the purpose of Israel, its specific function, was to be the instructor of the nations, to give light to the nations. The prophet says that, when Israel is exalted, when Mt. Zion is exalted and when the nations come and receive instruction in Torah, then there will be righteousness and peace, then they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks and nation will not lift up sword against nation, nor will they learn war anymore. The prophetic vision is about this world, about creation, about history, about concrete human experience, and the end of the biblical story is that there might be peace. On Memorial Day we remember those who paid the supreme sacrifice in order that there might be peace and freedom, and we have enjoyed so much as a nation, but we have still in this world of ours so far to go. The prophetic vision is a challenge to us. The experience of Jesus’ death and resurrection was Paul’s experience. He tried to figure out the timetable and what was going to happen. He talked about how Jesus was raised from the dead as the first fruits of those who would be raised. Paul expected that he was at the end of the age, the new age was about to dawn. Paul expected that this Jesus who had been raised was in the presence of God temporarily, only to return and to restore all things. The major victory had been won, but there was at present a mopping up operation. Then, when Jesus finally subdued all things, then Jesus would yield up the kingdom to God and then God would be everything to everyone. Paul expected it to happen any moment. He was wrong about that. If you read the 15th chapter of I Corinthians, you find that Paul was straining to understand the phenomenon of resurrection and he would have been better off just to proclaim it rather than the torturous way in which he went on to talk about it. He was wrong about how this all was going to work out, and I can’t believe that for 2000 years we haven’t simply recognized that fact. But, what we see in him, what he was trying to do was to say that what happened in Jesus was critical for the whole destiny of the © Grand Valley State University �The End of the Story Richard A. Rhem Page 3   universe, for the world, and that eventually there would arrive the kingdom of God or this reign of God. I like the picture that we have in the fourth Gospel of that Easter evening when Jesus is suddenly in the midst of the disciples who are clammed up in a locked room, afraid for their lives, and he says, "Peace to you." They determine that it really is their living Lord, and he says, "Peace to you. As the Father has sent me, so send I you." Paul was just a couple of decades down the line; he was still expecting the heavens to open. The writer of the fourth Gospel some six decades down the line is beginning to say maybe we need to adjust our understanding of what’s going on in the world. But, the point in the fourth Gospel in the light of the resurrection, the interpretation of that experience was that, as Jesus was in the world, so the followers of Jesus were to be. "As the Father has sent me, so send I you." If Jesus is the enfleshment of the word of God, if Jesus is the human face of God, if Jesus is the embodiment of God in historical garb, then what Jesus says in the fourth Gospel to us is that what I am here, you are to be here, and that is to say "Peace be unto you," to bring about that Shalom on earth, the mending of creation. It is the task here and now in our lives as a community of faith to be peacemakers, to create, to embody in community that mending of relationships and that totality of harmony in our lives and in our lives together that will be a sign of the kingdom of God, and do what we can to promote peace in the world. In the middle of April, Time magazine came out with the first of six special editions that will come out over the next two years. Perhaps you’ve seen it. The 20th century, its leaders and revolutionaries. This being the first, special issue, there was an introductory essay indicating the marks of our 20th century, which the writer claims is one of the four or five most significant centuries ever, and we’re living at the end of it. He mentions, for example, the 15th century with the Renaissance, the Spanish Inquisition, Copernicus looking at the heavens, the Gutenberg printing press, very, very significant, earth-shaking, age-determining events. Or, the first century, of course, with Jesus’ life and death, or the 5th century B.C. with Plato, Aristotle, the whole Greek philosophical thinking. But the writer makes a pretty good case for the fact that our 20th century is one of those significant times. Over the years I have called it a hinge period, a hinge time. You know all these things, but just listen as he ticks off some of the things that mark our century. "To name just a few random things we did in 100 years we split the atom, invented jazz and rock, launched airplanes and landed on the moon, concocted a general theory of relativity, devised the transistor, and figured out how to etch millions of them in tiny microchips, discovered Penicillin and structured DNA, fought down Fascism and Communism, developed cinema and television, built highways and wired the world, not to mention the peripherals these produced, such as sitcoms and cable channels, 800 numbers, websites, shopping malls, leisure time, existentialism, modernism, Oprah." And, he says, "Against all odds we avoided blowing ourselves up." © Grand Valley State University �The End of the Story Richard A. Rhem Page 4   What a time in which to be alive. One of the most significant centuries in which to be a participant. A fascinating time. With all of that happening, is there any wonder that people are afraid, have lost their moorings, so that we see a double reaction in society at large? We see on the one hand a kind of a pessimistic relativism that throws up its hands and sees no guiding star, and on the other hand, we see a kind of fanatical reactionism, a fundamentalism that wants to turn the clock back and to go back and find a safe place in which to dwell, not understanding that there is no safe place in which to dwell in the house of history and that one can never go home, one can never go backward. It is the people of God, it is the church of Jesus Christ that ought to be at the forefront with confidence leading the way, breaking new ground with a beacon into the future, wondering at the awesomeness of our life and our world and moving things onward rather than generating fear and eliciting negative emotions from people. The prophet Micah, in the passage to which I referred a moment ago, after speaking about how the nations will flow to Mt. Zion to be instructed and go home and live in peace, says, "And the nations and the people will walk in the name of their God and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God, Yahweh our God." In other words, in that moment when Israel was to be the teacher of the nations, they were not bringing everybody into the Jewish faith, they were saying to everybody, "Practice your own faith. Practice your rituals. Pray in your own way, in your own posture, in your own good time, be who you are. But learn those basic, fundamental principles of righteousness, justice, and compassion that are the foundation of human society. Those principles have manifested themselves so marvelously in western civilization and in the United States of America in our history. Those principles of democratic liberalism, the freedom of the individual, the possibility of pursuing one’s own way in worship and in work, the wonderful freedom that has enabled us to accomplish tremendous goals. The kinds of things that we have brought about, accomplished and take for granted today are not things that will go down in history as just another interesting century - they are the kinds of discoveries that will open up the world as never before. The growth will be exponential, the understanding, the insights, if we don’t blow ourselves up. And we could. But, we will blow ourselves up if we allow the religious fundamentalisms of the world to create fear and drive to violence. It is for the church of Jesus Christ to recognize on this Memorial Day weekend, this end of Eastertide, that all of our interpretation of tradition is the consequence of our concrete experience, and that is true for us and it is true for every people everywhere. In the Time article it notes the things that we have to worry about as we go into the next century: two of them are tribalism and fundamentalism. It is imperative for the church of Jesus Christ to recognize that the whole purpose and end of its story is peace, that its whole biblical story is about Shalom, about the mending of creation, about the ultimate kingdom of God, the reign of God in peace where dwell righteousness and justice and compassion. © Grand Valley State University �The End of the Story Richard A. Rhem Page 5   The church is called as never before to a radical discipleship. As the Father has sent me, so send I you ... the embodiment of the divine in the human, calling for justice, compassion, loving of the enemy, turning the other cheek, the way of nonviolence, laying down finally one’s life, if need be. That’s the radical demand of the followers of Jesus who would be in this world as Jesus was, which is the end and purpose of it all, finally to be a peacemaker. We know this in our heart. I believe we want to be peacemakers, to dwell in peace. We must trust our hearts, dare to act on our intuition, stop fighting over the Bible as though it fell out of heaven having an authoritarian grip on our lives. In all its diverse witness, finally it calls us to the way of Jesus, the crucified who lives - to be as he was, to be the Body of Christ committed to peace. It is time for us to wrestle with the biblical story again, to take seriously 2000 years of tradition, to trust our experience and to use our heads! And to be good to one another, with good humor and grace, and a lot of kindness and compassion. Finally, dear friends, that’s what it’s all about. Heaven can wait. That can’t. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e67b73dc7365010bb2dae7fa7ce9a30b.mp3 f82b9ef0fbc1e5f79ddf37e282c7b8d9 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 Memorial Day Weekend, Eastertide VII Series Christian Faith: Interpreting an Experience Scripture Text Micah 4:4-5, I Corinthians 15:28, John 20:21 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 KII-01_RA-0-19980524 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-05-24 Title A name given to the resource The End of the Story Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University 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 Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on May 24, 1998 entitled "The End of the Story", as part of the series "Christian Faith: Interpreting an Experience", on the occasion of Memorial Day Weekend, Eastertide VII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Micah 4:4-5, I Corinthians 15:28, John 20:21. cWay of Jesus Prophetic Vision Shalom https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/91f4a72af373f8b371a1637d7676f5cb.pdf ddbb283fae5add64e7ff89afbe6789dc PDF Text Text What Will You Do With the Story? From the series: Christian Faith: Interpretations of Experiences Text: Luke 24:31; Romans 8:38-39 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Confirmation Sunday, Eastertide, May 17, 1998 Transcription of the spoken sermon In this Eastertide season we have been hearing the stories of those who had an experience of the crucified Jesus as present with them, to them, as a living reality in their midst. Peter thought he was going to return to fishing in Galilee; Paul was going to stamp out the followers of the Way in Damascus; Mary, heart broken, was weeping at the tomb; then they experienced the living Lord, present to them. Flowing from those post-Easter experiences there grew a community of people Jewish people, who believed that Jesus was God’s anointed one to bring about the Kingdom of God as the end of the Age approached. Thus, there was a community of Jesus people. They told their story, shared their experience and the movement grew. We are part of that movement nearly 2000 years later. And you are part of that movement we call Christianity, I suspect in all cases, because you were born into a family that was part of the Christian faith family. Today we celebrate your belonging in this community, this family we call Christ Community, which is part of the global Christian family. You belong. We have given you a candle of faith for you to nurture and keep aflame. In this faith family, we have a story; it is the story of Jesus. In the season of Lent we reflected each week on the theme of Jesus as the Human Face of God. In Jesus we see embodied in a human person what God is like. That is our faith conviction. That is our story. In this faith family, when a child is born we light a candle from the Pascal Candle as a sign that the light of Jesus lives in the child and parents promise to tell their child the story of the faith - Jesus whose way is God’s way, whose truth is God’s truth, whose life is the life of God. We tell the story of Jesus. He is our model of faith and of life. © Grand Valley State University   �What Will You Do With the Story? Richard A. Rhem Page 2   In the church, we tell the story, too - in the liturgy of Sunday morning, in the sermon, in Worship Center, and, now we can say after the last two years, in "The Stepping Stones" study. In your home, in your faith community, you have heard the story told and you have seen the story lived out in your family and in this community. Now we come to the time to hand you a second candle. The first candle was received on your behalf; this one is handed to you. The first candle, it was suggested to your parents, should be lighted on the anniversary of your baptism, telling you the story of that day when you were marked by the waters of Baptism. Now we are suggesting that you re-light this candle on the anniversary of this moment. May 17, 1999 May 17, 2000 May 17, 2001. I don’t know if you will; it is your responsibility now. Some of you, I am sure, will place the candle in some prominent place - on a dresser or a bookshelf. You don’t need to wait until May 17 comes around again; maybe four months from now, feeling anxious about a new school year, you will light it as a reminder that you are not alone, that you belong, that you are loved eternally by God. Some of you may not even get home with the candle today. I know that and I know that God will not love you less. There comes a time when you have to determine how it will be with you and the journey of faith. We have told you the story, assured you that you belong to the family of God, that God is for you and nothing can ever separate you from that love of God which came to expression in Jesus Christ. Now you hold the candle in your own hands. What will you do with the story? To be sure, you cannot honestly tell me that today. Let’s recognize that. Demanding some lifetime commitment from you at this point in your life is unrealistic. That is why we are putting a whole new light on this passage into young adulthood. There is much for you to discern, discover and decide in these days. Much is happening to you, biologically in your body, socially in your relationships, educationally in your life choices. This is hardly the time to confront you with a spiritual life choice. For now, rest in the security of God’s love, your spiritual family’s affirmation and trust, and our promise to be here for you. © Grand Valley State University �What Will You Do With the Story? Richard A. Rhem Page 3   And then the moment will come when you face the question of your own spiritual journey. You will come to an awareness of the Mystery of God and the wonder of life. And you will know where you stand, in what or whom you believe and that to which you will commit yourself. That is the way it happens authentically. I read the story from Luke of the two disciples walking home to Emmaus from Jerusalem, sad at heart because Jesus had been crucified. They are joined by a third person whom they do not recognize. He inquires about their conversation and they relate what had just happened. They even tell the stranger that women had gone to the tomb and found it empty and had a vision of angels who said he was alive. Others, to verify the women’s story, went and also found the tomb empty, but still there was no Easter faith, no faith in a living, risen Lord. They came to the village and Jesus made as though he would go on, but they invited him to come home with them as evening was approaching. He entered their home and, strangely, at the evening meal acted as host. He took bread, blessed it and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road ..." Well, it may have been evening, but they returned immediately to Jerusalem; they found their companions gathered and what did they do? They told their story. Their companions knew it, too, because they reported, "The Lord is risen indeed and he has appeared to Simon!" (or Peter, as we more familiarly know him.) There you have it. Not the empty tomb, not, that is, some objective proof, some irrefutable argument from evidence, but the experience of the living Lord - that created Easter faith. It is an experience of the Presence, awareness, wonder. And such moments of awareness still are the only way to one’s own faith. That is what Luke is saying. John Dominic Crossan, a scholar studying the historical Jesus, says of the story from Luke, "Emmaus never happened; Emmaus always happens." That is what I want you to understand at this significant moment in your lives We have told you the story. Your parents have told you the story. We have spoken of God, of Jesus as the word of God in human flesh, of his way, his death, his resurrection. And growing up, you have learned the stories, essentially believed it all to be true. But now you are entering a new stage of your growth toward adulthood and maturity. Now you can no longer take it all in secondhand, believing because you are told it is so. Now you begin to question, to wonder, to probe for yourself Now you hear the story in terms of your own unfolding experience. Now you © Grand Valley State University �What Will You Do With the Story? Richard A. Rhem Page 4   must ask, "Is it true?" But, not simply true in that these things happened and the Christian tradition has held these things to be true and life-transforming for 2000 years. Now the question is, "Is it true for me?" "What will I do with the story?" Some of you will follow quite naturally. Some of you will struggle a bit. Some of you may need to create some distance between you and the family faith. We are all different. And it is important that we all be given the freedom to find our own way authentically. Don’t force the spiritual vision. Don’t panic as though you may be abandoned. But, do keep your mind and heart open to God’s Spirit. One day walking the road to Emmaus, or receiving bread at this table, or in conversation with a parent, friend, or lover, or when a child is born or a loved one dies - you will inexplicably find your heart burning, your eyes will be open, you will see in the face of Jesus the God Who gave you life, Who has never abandoned you, and Who will never let you go. And maybe you will rummage around in some old trunk holding personal items, photo albums, and a candle - you will light it - and you will know that you are held in the grip of grace. Your eyes will mist over, you will hear angels sing and you will know the wonder of the love of God from which you will never be separated. Such an experience stamps us indelibly. We are transformed. Such an experience, however, is not once for all - thank God, there are further places along the journey when again and again we experience, we know, we believe and we commit ourselves anew. It is the human journey in its deepest dimension. It is such awareness that makes us human, embodied Spirit, children of the Spirit in the Family of God. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/67c10c099f923394fddad55effbd2796.mp3 e11cc6e3b91c012b553969b6ecdce430 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 Confirmation Sunday, Eastertide VI Series Christian Faith: Interpreting an Experience Scripture Text Luke 24:31, Romans 8:38-39 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 KII-01_RA-0-19980517 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-05-17 Title A name given to the resource What Will You Do With the Story? Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University 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 Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on May 17, 1998 entitled "What Will You Do With the Story?", as part of the series "Christian Faith: Interpreting an Experience", on the occasion of Confirmation Sunday, Eastertide VI, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Luke 24:31, Romans 8:38-39. Community of Faith Journey of Faith https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3b31d46d672f6ff86017bb5a2df3295e.pdf 263945ed325d42e8fc4181b51d45cc1b PDF Text Text Every Family Has a Story From the series: Christian Faith: Interpretations of Experience Text: Deuteronomy 6:6-7, 6:20; Mark 3:19b; Acts 1:14 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Mother’s Day, Eastertide, May 10, 1998 Transcription of the spoken sermon I was given a tape of an interview on National Public Radio, of a novelist, Jim Crace, an Englishman. In the course of the interview, which was about his recent novel, Quarantine, which he has written recently and which centers on the temptation experience of Jesus in the Judean wilderness, I was struck by the fact that Jim Crace, who wrote the story about the temptation of Jesus, is himself an atheist. And he is a very articulate and intentional atheist. He’s not an angry atheist, but he is, by conviction, a person who believes that the scientific explanation of reality and its purely naturalistic fashion is sufficient for him, and he lives comfortably with that view of the totality of things. But, what struck me was his recognition that atheism and any kind of scientific naturalism has failed to develop ceremonies and rituals and celebrations that can elicit awe and wonder, and cultivate that depth dimension in the human person. That came up in the interview when he told that, as his father, who is also an atheist, was approaching his death, he had said, "No priest, no music, no ritual." They grew up, of course, in that grand Anglican tradition where the liturgy sort of permeates the air and his father, obviously, was a very deliberate atheist who wanted none of the folderol at his death and burial. Well, the son felt a lack, but what impressed me was the fact that, once again, the apple doesn’t fall very far from the tree. A good, intentional, deliberate, articulate atheist produces a good, articulate atheist son. You can point to exceptions to that fact, of course, all about you, but the exceptions prove the rule. As a matter of fact, the apples don’t fall very far from the tree, and it is, therefore, the claim upon us by our Christian tradition that we keep telling the story to keep the faith alive. Every family has a story. We have a story together and we have a story individually in our respective families, and on this Mother’s Day when we focus on the family, I do want us to understand how important are our family stories. As we have been saying these weeks, in this Eastertide series, our tradition, the Christian tradition in our case, is the consequence of a foundational event that finds expression and symbols and images that have developed into a story that eventually is conceptualized and systematized, but is really kept alive and is shaping and determinative of ongoing generations by the story itself. We have a © Grand Valley State University   �Every Family Has a Story Richard A. Rhem Page 2   story. We keep telling the story and the generations, one following another, hearing the story, are shaped by the story and by the story are given lens through which to understand life, to interpret the meaning of human existence. The stories that we have received, that have shaped us and that we pass along are terribly important. This is a critical matter. I don’t know what would be more critical in the midst of the congregation as we think about being a part of the Christian tradition than to be reminded of the critical nature of storytelling, passing on the faith by reciting the story. We Christians are relatively new kids on the block. The Christian tradition came out of the Jewish tradition and, whenever we think about these things, we rather naturally go to the sixth chapter of Deuteronomy where we have a classic package - the creed which had been crystallized and made concise, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord." Yahweh, our God. This is our God. That creedal statement is set in the context in which Israel is commanded to love the Lord with their whole being, to keep the commandments in their heart, that is, all of the ordinances and the statutes and the rituals, the liturgies, the prayers, all of that which make up the religions experience - keep it in your heart, and recite it. Tell it to your children. Talk to your children about it all the time. Talk to your children as you’re going along the way, when you rise up, when you sit down. Put it on the doorpost of your house so that every time you go out, you touch the doorpost and are reminded of the Shema, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one." In other words, be so saturated, so drenched in the consciousness of our God that the whole atmosphere is controlled, conditioned by that spiritual reality. One is, at it were, drenched with spirituality to the cultivation of a consistent, continual consciousness of God in one’s life. And a little kid exposed to that doesn’t have a chance. That’s essentially what Israel learned, found out, and that’s why Israel continues to be a vital reality, a living reality, a living people today. What are they? Not a race. They’re not a tribe. There is again a nation, but finally, they are a People. They are people with a story and they have magnificently kept that story, and all of that religious tradition intact, practicing it, observing it, and continuing their struggle to preserve it. Jesus was a part of the Jewish People - an observant Jew. On this Mother’s Day I am pointing to the fact that the family is where tradition is observed and kept alive. That is a challenge. It takes serious commitment. The family, in whatever configuration we find it, is the key place for telling the story and passing on the tradition. We get just little hints of Jesus’ own experience in the New Testament. Mary, in the Gospel of Luke, is this beautiful maiden in total submission to the word of the Lord brought by the angel that she will bear this one conceived by the Holy Spirit. And then she, with Joseph, does everything for Jesus, according to the Law. All of the ritual, all of the requirements are fulfilled. Then the next thing we find is that © Grand Valley State University �Every Family Has a Story Richard A. Rhem Page 3   Jesus is off on his own, in his own ministry, and we have an interesting episode in Mark, the third chapter, where the word is out that Jesus has gone off the deep end, that Jesus is demon-possessed, beside himself, meaning literally in that day that he had possession of some kind of spirit. And so, Mary and his brothers go off to get Jesus. They want to bring him home. Obviously, there’s tension and there is alienation and estrangement because Jesus doesn’t budge, Jesus doesn’t move, even though his mother is outside. Mothers have a way of expecting their children to respond, to obey, to follow their word. One of my favorite mother stories is when I presented myself to my own mother for the first time with a beard. I had grown a beard in Europe and since I couldn’t grow it any other place, I thought it looked good, and the day before I came home to see my mother, I shaved it off. (I had other problems; I didn’t need that one.) But, after a couple of years, on the way to Florida, Nancy looked at me and said, "You didn’t shave." I said, "I didn’t shave and I didn’t bring my razor." I thought, you know, at one time I needed the whole Atlantic Ocean to separate me from my mother to dare to grow the beard, but now Florida would be enough distance. But, when I got back and she saw me for the first time, she said, "I don’t like it, Dick. Shave it off." Now, I’m a grown man. But, I can imagine Mary saying, "Jesus, come home." My mother said, "Shave it off. I don’t like it." Well, I gave her a hug and then probably another three or four weeks later I saw her again and I still had the beard. She was quite nonplused, not really believing her eyes. She said, "I told you to shave that off." Well, Nancy was enjoying it a bit and thought she’d add a little fuel to the fire, so she said, "You know what else he’s doing now, Mother?" And my mother said, "Don’t tell me." Nancy said, "He’s now sitting on a stool to preach." My mother looked at me as if to say, "Tell me it isn’t true." I said to her, "Mother, do you know that Jesus had a beard?" She said, "He did?" I said, "Yes." And I said, "Mother, do you know how he preached?" She said, "No." I said, "Well in the 4th chapter of Luke, he reads scripture and he sits down to preach." She said, "He did?" © Grand Valley State University �Every Family Has a Story Richard A. Rhem Page 4   I said, "Yes, and, Mother, from a child you have taught me to be like Jesus and I’m doing the best I can." I will never forget the absolute certainty with which she said to me, "Dick, shave off that beard." And the next time when I came and hadn’t done it, she could not believe I hadn’t obeyed. I imagine it was that way with Jesus. He is handed a note, "Your mother’s outside." He says, "My mother? Who is my mother? My mother is those who do the will of God." I’m glad that John, the 4th Gospel, gets Mary and Jesus back together at the cross, although he speaks of her as "Woman," hardly the kind of thing that warms the cockles of a mother’s heart on Mother’s Day. That’s why I read that little paragraph from Acts. Following the Ascension, that early community, the disciples gathered praying, waiting for power from on high and there’s Mary and there’s his brothers and sisters. The reconciliation and the coming together - that’s not so easy. It’s a very, very difficult thing, as a matter of fact. I think it’s part of God’s wisdom and perhaps his humor that he makes us live in families. We can choose our friends – parents are a given. And our children are a given. And our brothers and sisters are a given. And that’s why, close as we are, living in that close, intimate proximity, we allow ourselves to be revealed in all of our humanity. It is in that mix that we have a story to tell and it is that story that shapes us, forms us, and it’s so critically important that we tell the story and pass on the faith. That’s the only way it happens. I want you just to think about it this morning, how important that is. We have had a rather unruly worship service this morning. I kind of like high church Anglicanism, myself, but I do get misty-eyed when I see those children, and when I see those children, I realize what a treasure is the community in which they are present, and what a responsibility to nurture them, to tell them the story so that the story becomes their story, so that the story shapes them and, in turn, gives them lens through which to understand who they are, from whence they have come, whither they are going and what is the meaning of it all. Don’t you love the passage in Deuteronomy? When your son or daughter says, "What do these things mean?" then you have a teaching moment, a wonderful opportunity. And what do you do? You don’t get out the catechism. You tell the story. You say, "Our fathers and mothers were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt and God brought you out ..." You tell the story. And the story becomes that which is remembered every year, annually in festival, in ceremony and ritual, and the story shapes the community, it keeps the faith alive. That’s so terribly important. Just hear me say that this morning. © Grand Valley State University �Every Family Has a Story Richard A. Rhem Page 5   Now, how are you doing? Not just parents with active children, but parents who had children long ago and now have grandchildren. How are we doing? How are you doing it? I think it used to be a simpler matter, although maybe it never was an easy matter. For example, when my parents told me the story, they were dead certain there was only one story. You’re going to have to tell your children, with compassionate commitment to the story, that it’s not the only story. It’s our story. It’s the story that has shaped us and formed us in which we find our hope and the grace of God. We don’t want to build walls for them that need not be built, or that need later to be torn down. You have to give it proper priority. What is proper priority? Well, I don’t know what to tell you. I could make you feel very guilty right now, because who of us doesn’t know that we’ve been lousy at the job? I could tell you stories of years ago when Mr. Bryson on Saturday morning had Choir School. I could tell you even more ancient tales of when I went to catechism on Saturday morning, so that the next time you run to the soccer field on Saturday morning, you might think, "Hmm. Soccer rather than catechism; soccer rather than choir school. I wonder about my priorities." I wish at some point I saw as much commitment to the spiritual nurture of children as I see to soccer on Saturday morning. But, in all honesty, I have to say that for kids who go to school Monday through Friday, then to bring them to catechism on Saturday morning must be a form of child abuse. So, as a grandparent, I’m glad that my kids didn’t get warped enough to damage their children. But, how are we doing it? What are we doing? Are we doing it? Does it have proper priority? And then, do it with passion and grace. That means you don’t, like Mary, go rushing off to bring the kid home. Your passion is felt; they’ve got to feel your passion, but laced with grace. There’s a different feel, then, and there’s a different feel because you are trusting the process, which is another way of saying you’re trusting the Spirit. Or, let me say it this way - what you do, do for yourself. Be genuine and authentic in your own choice and expression. That will be perceived. That will be communicated. That will catch, sometime, some place, believe me. And then, let me say that what I see in you moves me deeply. I honestly believe my children are better parents than I was. What I see in your families in the respective arenas in which you live and in this arena in which children are being nurtured, I see a commitment that is deep and wonderful, and I think you are doing a marvelous job. Traditioning, instilling the faith story must be recognized for the critical nature of which it is. It must be given priority. It must be laced with passion and grace. But, I want to say, you are doing a really good job, I believe. Parents, grandparents - I see a wonderful commitment to those beautiful children, and I believe that there is grace in the end of it all. © Grand Valley State University �Every Family Has a Story Richard A. Rhem Page 6   You want a nice Mother’s Day story? Betty’s mother is going to have surgery tomorrow. It was a little over a year ago when Betty came out of church one day and said, "We’re going to see my mother whom I’ve never seen before." She had finally found her mother! Betty and Norma went down and found her mother, brought her home, and Betty P. found out that her name was Elizabeth Grace. What a name! Is it any wonder that on this Mother’s Day that Elizabeth Grace says, "Pray for my mother," because after decades, there is reunion, there is love, there is grace. Beautiful! Now, go out and love each other. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/1278b0e7d174dca9f634f0177cb9ace5.mp3 cc53f7887644da70daef649a6c6e30a7 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 Mother's Day, Eastertide V Series Christian Faith: Interpreting an Experience Scripture Text Deuteronomy 6:6-7, 20, Mark 3:19b, Acts 1:14 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 KII-01_RA-0-19980510 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-05-10 Title A name given to the resource Every Family Has a Story Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University 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 Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on May 10, 1998 entitled "Every Family Has a Story", as part of the series "Christian Faith: Interpreting an Experience", on the occasion of Mother's Day, Eastertide V, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Deuteronomy 6:6-7, 20, Mark 3:19b, Acts 1:14. Community of Faith Story of Faith Traditioning https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a3f17712227e82e1f3131a21f279a875.pdf a2740ad6dadda5118f5d10c8f69ced69 PDF Text Text You Can’t Fight It, Paul From the series: Christian Faith: Interpretations of Experience Text: Acts 9:4; Acts 26:14, 19 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Eastertide, April 26, 1998 Transcription of the spoken sermon The Christian faith is one of the great world religions, flowing out of the faith tradition of Israel and developing from the event of Jesus Christ, as Israel’s faith tradition, following the destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem in 77 CE, developed along the lines of Rabbinic Judaism. Out of the First Century, then, two religious traditions developed, both rooted in the Hebrew Scriptures, or, as the church has traditionally referred to them, the Old Testament. Religions are rooted in a foundational experience of a person or a people in which some profound insight overwhelms the subjects of the experience, creating a whole new perspective on the nature of things: on God, on the meaning of being human, on the purpose of life. One is transformed and one’s life is reorganized around that life-changing experience. We can speak of a paradigm shift - some insight, some discovery throws everything up in the air and a whole new configuration of reality emerges. This happens in the natural sciences; it happens in religious understanding. Perhaps it is most accurate to speak of a foundational experience that effects a radical perceptual shift. This happens all the time to all of us in all sorts of human understanding in the spectrum of human knowledge. Some years ago there was a film with a title something like, "You Are What You Were When." The powerful impacting events that we experience during adolescence will shape us for a lifetime. Only a significant emotional experience later can alter our perception of reality and our instinctive responses to life. The Stock Market Crash of 1929 - the experience of the great wars of this century, the Holocaust. On an individual scale, this happens to us all - experience and the emotional response to concrete experiences form our perception of reality. On the larger canvas of the human story, we see the same thing - A foundational experience finds expression in a story using images, symbol, metaphor; the story eventually © Grand Valley State University   �You Can’t Fight It, Paul Richard A. Rhem Page 2   is probed for its meaning and that meaning is given conceptual expression. We have an intellectual systematic account of reality on the basis of the foundational experience. Moses leads a slave band out of Egypt to freedom - the Exodus becomes the foundational event of Israel. The Jewish teacher and prophet, Jesus of Nazareth, is crucified by Imperial Rome and his followers despair because they had hoped through him God would bring to consummation God’s reign and then one day, preparing to take up again the fishing trade in Galilee, Peter experiences Jesus as a living presence and he is transformed by that experience, declaring, "The Lord is risen." If such an experience had been limited to the immediate followers of Jesus, all Jewish, all hoping for God’s final visitation to God’s people Israel, there would perhaps have been an ongoing Jesus Jewish movement - as there was for a century or two, but there would probably not have emerged what we know as the Christian church. To understand that phenomenon into which we have entered, we must move to Paul, or as he is named in his first appearances in Acts, Saul. Now we are dealing not with a Galilean peasant nor with a disciple of Jesus, but with a well educated, well traveled member of the strictest of the Jewish groupings, the Pharisees - the group who was serious in its observance of Jewish religious practices, strictly following the prescriptions of Torah. Furthermore, we are dealing not with a Pharisee who was open to Jesus as was, for example, Gamaliel or Nicodemus. Rather, we are dealing with one who is in the employ of the High Priestly establishment, committed to the stamping out of the movement that gathered around Jesus, the movement called People of the Way. The story of Paul’s revelatory experience is familiar enough. We read Luke’s account in Acts 19. Luke sees this experience as so critical to the development of the Christian religion that he repeats the story twice more, in chapter 22 of Acts and chapter 26. We in the Christian church speak without thinking of the conversion of Saul or Paul. But this was not a conversion from one God to another or even from one religion to another. Paul was born a Jew and died a Jew and never claimed to be anything else and consistently declared the God of Israel to be God alone, Creator of all and ultimate Goal of all. Paul was not a convert to a new religion; rather, he experienced a radical perceptual shift Jesus was indeed God’s anointed one whose death on the cross was the means by which God effected reconciliation with humankind. Further, God had raised Jesus from the dead and destined Paul to declare this reality of reconciliation to the Gentiles, the nations beyond the bounds of Israel. © Grand Valley State University �You Can’t Fight It, Paul Richard A. Rhem Page 3   I cannot here recount the whole story of Paul’s missionary journeys, the tension created with the Jewish Jesus Movement led by Peter and James, the brother of Jesus at Jerusalem, and the compromise they reached. I want, rather, to focus on the interpretive shift that Paul effected on the basis of his experience of being encountered by the Risen Lord. Paul had a vision, a revelation, an unveiling. It was a transformation experience that resulted in new insight and a radical perceptual shift - out of it came the Christian movement, the Christian church and the Christian tradition. The shift from the performance principle - righteousness through obedience to the Law or Torah, observance as a way of life - to the reality of grace: present existence as a new creation marked by confidence that God has given us our life as sheer gift to be lived in freedom with joy and peace in loving community. One enters the reality of the people of God by faith - confidence that this is so. This was a new conception of the nature of religion - response of gratitude for the gift of life. Thus, religious observance is because of, not in order to.... A second insight: God has elected not only Israel and not Israel as a biological, historical people, but also in Christ, the Gentiles, the nations. This was a radical departure from the traditional conception of Israel as God’s elect. But, so far, we might agree that all of this is interesting and does explain the eventual break between Judaism and the Christian church. But, is the radical perceptual shift effected in and through Paul the last word? E. A. Sanders raises the question, what if Paul had lived beyond the first generation of the Jesus movement, or, what if he could have seen out 2000 years that his apocalyptic scheme of the near end of the age would not happen? We know what he thought in his own context: the only way to be saved was through faith in Jesus Christ for both Jew and Gentile. But, what if he saw from our historical perspective, the Christian tradition, the continuing Jewish tradition and a world of other faiths - would he still claim salvation through Jesus Christ alone? Sanders says he personally would vote against such a claim in any ecclesiastical assembly today and he suspects so would Paul. Paul, in Romans, near the end of his career wrestled with the native convictions he held - that God had chosen Israel and would be faithful to that election of grace; yet, in his revelation Paul sees access to God by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, the one largely rejected by the "Elect People," Paul’s brothers and sisters. There was conflict in Paul, tension. He struggled with this problem in Romans 9-11, concluding that somehow the Gentiles would be included by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and, mysteriously, Israel too would be included. Israel’s large-scale rejection of Paul’s Gospel distressed him; yet he could not simply write them off. © Grand Valley State University �You Can’t Fight It, Paul Richard A. Rhem Page 4   I am finally encouraged by the confusion of the great Apostle. I like a questioning Paul. It gives me courage. Paul entered into a present experience of God’s grace giving him freedom, joy, peace and love. That was his great discovery and he witnessed to it with passion. In regard to God’s timetable in history, he was wrong. The present age did not come to an end. The Messiah, the Risen Lord, did not return in clouds of glory. So, obviously, there were chapters yet to be written about which the Apostle had no clue. Nor do we. But, the present possibility of resurrection life, life as sheer gift to be received with gratitude and lived with wonder - about that the Apostle was quite right - it is the continuing present possibility for all who have eyes to see it and mind and hearts open to it. And, is that not enough - life as gift, sheer gift, the gift of God Whose intention was revealed in the face of the Crucified, who lives, who is present with us in the ongoing journey of faith in the adventure of life? © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/329ad83de6f1219e845df9d3fbf957be.mp3 ca726f061c2fb34ff2d90c1137f38730 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 Eastertide III Series Christian Faith: Interpreting an Experience Scripture Text Acts 9:4, Acts 26:14, 19 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 KII-01_RA-0-19980426 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-04-26 Title A name given to the resource You Can't Fight It, Paul Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University 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 Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on April 26, 1998 entitled "You Can't Fight It, Paul", as part of the series "Christian Faith: Interpreting an Experience", on the occasion of Eastertide III, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Acts 9:4, Acts 26:14, 19. Nature of Religion Paradigm Shift Transformation https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/6e71df8f6b53adb3b4d3775dcc58b146.pdf a878857d70a8596b2197c5e07a2facc5 PDF Text Text You Can’t Go Home, Peter! From the series: Christian Faith: Interpreting An Experience Text: Acts 10:36; John 21:19 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Eastertide, April 19, 1998 Transcription of the spoken sermon In this season of Eastertide it will be my intention to enable you to see how Christian faith is the consequence of interpretations of experience. That is true of all religion. Someone or some group has a significant experience, and out of that experience comes the attempt to articulate that experience and eventually the analysis of the experience that issues in a more systematic and intellectual account of the experience. But it always starts with an experience and the Christian faith, the Christian church, the tradition of which we are a part everything that it is, is a consequence of a foundational experience and the interpretations of that experience. For the Christian church, the Christian movement, the Christian tradition, the foundational experience is Easter. For the Jewish people, the foundational experience was the Exodus, which is remembered every year with the Passover festival. This past week the Christian church remembered its foundational experience in celebrating Easter; the Jewish community remembered its foundational experience in a celebration of Passover. That is true, not only of Christianity and Judaism; every great religious movement has a foundational experience. That foundational experience, then, cries out for expression. Have you ever gone somewhere and had some great experience and come home and tried to tell your spouse or your children about it? You say, "I don’t have words, I wish I had words, I can’t tell you about it. I just can’t... there’s no way I could communicate what I just experienced." But, of course, you go on trying to communicate what you’ve just experienced, nonetheless, and you grab for language, metaphors, images, symbols, one way or another to try to articulate, to give expression to that which you’ve experienced, because that which you have experienced was so dramatic that you need to talk about it. Language is necessary in order to keep us from exploding when we’ve had that tremendous experience. Eventually the metaphors and the images and the symbols point to the experience and then we begin to reflect on the images and the symbols and the metaphors in order to understand what really was going on down there, the insights that accrue from that experience which came to expression in image and © Grand Valley State University   �You Can’t Go Home, Peter! Richard A. Rhem Page 2   metaphor. That’s when we get the more conceptual analysis of the experience. That’s the systematizing, the intellectual activity. Now you’re into doctrine and theology and the movement’s dead. The conceptualization of the metaphors and images which are the result of the experience - that’s, of course, where we come in. That’s what you do when the experience forms a movement, a community, and it takes on a life of its own. And then you pass it along by means of the conceptual understanding, the analysis of the experience and what it meant. But, you hope, even so, that the foundational experience will continue to be experienced again because, if it doesn’t, it is dead. Then you are simply perpetuating a system of ideas which has no fire, no passion, no transformative affect on the life. That is the nature of a lot of religion, isn’t it? That is the nature of a lot of institutional religion. That is a description of a lot of what goes on in the church; it is the passing along without passion and fire and a transforming experience of a system of ideas, and a system of ideas never changed the world and never changed a person. It is finally, one would hope, in the communication of experience through image and symbol and metaphor and analysis that the experience would happen again. This Eastertide I want us to see that what we have in the New Testament documents are the interpretations of experience, and those interpretations of experience are somewhat removed from the event itself. Following the crucifixion of Jesus and the experience of Jesus as living, present nonetheless, there was the telling of the story and the building and forming of community and, eventually as the decades move along, there was the felt need for the writing down, the documentation of that account of the experience, and so we have the New Testament documents. And then, of course, if you want to go on three, four and five centuries into the Christian movement, then you had the whole creedal development - 325, the Nicene Creed; 451, the Council of Chalcedon. You have the church for 500 years trying to say what the experience meant. But it started with somebody having an experience, and we’re going to look at Peter today and Paul next week, and Mary the third week. "Peter, you can’t go home." Where do you think Easter happened for Peter? When do you think Easter happened for Peter? You say, "Well, it must have happened on Easter Sunday in Jerusalem." The evidence is not clear. That’s one of the liberating things I hope you will learn in this Eastertide, that the evidence is not clear. We have Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and you simply cannot reconcile those four accounts of what actually happened. The only thing they agree on is that Jesus was crucified, Jesus dead and buried, and that Jesus was experienced as a living reality by the community that followed in his name. But, if you put those four Gospel accounts together, you will find an impossible complex of meetings and encounters and persons, and © Grand Valley State University �You Can’t Go Home, Peter! Richard A. Rhem Page 3   there is no way to reconcile them. So, I doubt that Peter on Easter Sunday celebrated the resurrection, was encountered by the risen Lord. We don’t know, but there is this clue in John 21. Peter was in Galilee and he says, "I’m going fishing." And the others say, "We’ll go with you." Now, it seems to me that the picture that the author is painting for us is a Peter before Easter, a Peter before the experience of that living one, that non-material, living presence, that same Jesus but no longer in the form of flesh, but in a radically new form. I think that Peter is going fishing because Peter is trying to pick up his life again, because Peter’s life had been shattered. His dreams had been shattered; his hopes had been dashed. Peter, who thought that Jesus was the Messiah, Peter, who thought that Jesus was going to establish the twelve tribes, Peter, who thought that the kingdom would come, the heavens would open, that he would be on the inside track – Peter saw Jesus crucified and not only crucified, but crucified before Peter could say, "I’m sorry for denying you three times; I’m sorry for my pride and for my arrogance; I’m sorry for my buffoonery and my bullheadedness, ... all that makes me who I am. I’m sorry." Jesus was crucified; Peter went back to Galilee. And he was going to go fishing because, if our life has been torn apart and all of our hopes and dreams have been shattered, the thing we need is something familiar, something we can manage, something we can handle. Peter was going back to fishing. And the others said, "We’ll go with you." But, you can’t really go home, Peter, because you’ve seen too much. You know too much; you have experienced too much. You walked with that one too long, you’ve sat at table with him, you saw him break bread, you saw him throw the arms of embrace around the excluded, you saw the compassion that flowed out of him, you saw the love with which he moved, the compassion that marked his life, the grace that drenched him. Peter, you can’t go home. You saw too much. You can’t just go back to your fishing. Maybe that’s what this 21st chapter of John’s Gospel is about. The weight of scholarly opinion says that chapter 21 was slapped onto the Gospel that really concluded with the 20th chapter. I don’t know. It doesn’t make any difference. I think what the 21st chapter is trying to deal with is the place of Peter in the ongoing community and his relationship with John, the beloved disciple. So, what we have here is Peter going fishing, and Boom! There’s a miracle. There’s a great big catch of fish, 153 fish, after they had labored all night and gotten nothing. They throw the net on the other side and there they are. John’s Gospel begins with the wedding at Cana; they run out of wine. Jesus produces more wine than any decent wedding reception could possibly use. Where Jesus is, there’s abundance. Where Jesus is absent, there’s lack. © Grand Valley State University �You Can’t Go Home, Peter! Richard A. Rhem Page 4   Is John telling us things that really happened? Or, is John painting a picture for us? Is John trying to tell us about this One? Of course, he’s trying to tell us about this One. There probably never was a wedding in Cana and there probably never was a breakfast on the Sea of Tiberius. But, there was this One, this Jesus who was crucified and who, in the wake of his crucifixion, was experienced as not dead but still alive, a presence. So, the author tells us about the abundance of the catch and, in the intimacy of a breakfast on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, what happened was the same thing that always happens. Jesus had been crucified. Peter is off in Galilee, trying to run away. But, now Peter and the other disciples have a breakfast around the charcoal fire, bread and fish, and you know, it’s like it always was, like nothing changed, like he was right there. They sensed his presence in the inclusiveness of that intimate breakfast. Peter thought he could go home, and instead gets commissioned three times over to match the three times of denial (nice literary stuff) in order to say, "Peter, you are charged with responsibility for this ongoing movement. Feed my sheep. Tend my lambs. And Peter, the bottom line is this follow me." When Peter was called in the first place, Jesus said, "Follow me." And the postcrucified Jesus says to Peter, "Follow me." And somehow or other, in the midst of the experience, Peter is convinced that that same Jesus Christ for whom he had so many hopes and dreams was with him still, living still, in the life of God, going before him, calling him to follow, calling him to keep the movement alive, calling him to do all that he had seen Jesus do in a continuing, growing movement of resurrection in this old world that is a Good Friday world. In this world that is a Good Friday world, there are those signs of resurrection and Easter keeps happening. That’s the only reason that we are here, 2000 years later, because Easter keeps happening. We are not here because there was a body that came out of a tomb 2000 years ago. We are here because the living Christ continues to confront those who look out into their world and suddenly, in a moment, experience the presence of the resurrected one, and scales fall from their eyes and they see. We’ll see next week that it happened to Paul. And I think it happened to Peter in Galilee along the lake as he was going fishing. Suddenly he realized that Jesus was not dead, but alive, that all the hopes and dreams that had been crushed in Jerusalem were not really crushed but simply channeled into a new direction in which he was to lead the flock into the future into a Good Friday world with marks of Easter. Jesus was born into this world and the doctrine of the Incarnation roots the whole foundational experience of the Christian church in history. Something happened back there. There was a Jesus. He was flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone and he was crucified, dead, and buried. And following that experience, here and there, now and again, someone saw him, experienced him, and continued to follow him. That’s what Easter’s all about. That’s why Easter keeps © Grand Valley State University �You Can’t Go Home, Peter! Richard A. Rhem Page 5   happening. That’s why Easter is not on a Sunday three days after crucifixion. Easter is the moment in the world when the risen One is experienced as a power of the future. For example, on February 25 of this year a new president was inaugurated in Korea, Korea that had been in the throes of military dictatorship and oppressive domination for so long, and the new president had behind him a General Chung, who, in 1980 came within a hair’s breadth of executing the new president who was a dissident at the time. But this new president, before he was inaugurated with the then reigning president, agreed to the liberation of political prisoners because he said, "In my new regime there will be no political retaliation." A sign of Easter in this old world that is still a Good Friday world. Nelson Mandela spent 18 years in a cell and is able now to entertain the President of the United States and even give him a lesson or two in moral authority, and in South Africa, within the last decade, there is a transformed situation with all of the problems that still remain, but it is a sign of resurrection in this old world that is still a Good Friday world. Do you still remember in the late 80s when we would not ever have expected it, would not have dared dream about it, the Berlin Wall fell one day and that great divide, that impasse, the Iron Curtain, was removed? We move again into tribalism and ethnic cleansing and it’s not as though everything is rosy, but we are moving at least; there are signs of resurrection in this old world. It is possible. I can paint with you a very dark picture of the human situation and then I can also point to you signs of resurrection and of Easter, because there are people now and again, here and there, for whom the scales fall off their eyes and they see what Jesus stood for and what Jesus was - the inclusivity of his table fellowship, the compassion of his life, the grace of God that flowed through him, and there is transformation, there is salvation, there is healing, there is the mending of creation, here and there. Peter, you can’t go home. You can’t go back fishing, because there’s a Roman soldier named Cornelius who needs to hear about Jesus. Peter has a vision. Cornelius has a vision, and sends for Peter. Peter comes, having had the scales fall off his eyes at the Sea of Tiberius, but only partially. And now he’s confronted with a concrete situation. "Now, what do I do? Jesus said, ‘Follow me.’ What does that mean, now? Here’s Cornelius; he’s a Roman soldier; he’s a Gentile. Jews by law according to Torah have nothing to do with Gentiles. I can’t be an observant Jew and sit at the table of a Gentile. I can’t even go over the threshold of his house!" More scales. Rubbing his eyes. Coming into Cornelius’ house, not too sensitively saying, "You know, I shouldn’t be here." He knew he shouldn’t be there; his whole training, his whole tradition, his whole study of Torah said he shouldn’t be there. But, he hears Jesus’ word, "Follow me." Maybe he said, "What would Jesus do?" © Grand Valley State University �You Can’t Go Home, Peter! Richard A. Rhem Page 6   And he opens his mouth, moving now beyond the initial experience, but on the basis of the experience, and says, "Well, my, I see that God shows no partiality." Do you hear it? Can you sense at all what that meant to Peter? That God shows no partiality? Peter, you have to be kidding. You’re running counter to your whole experience as God’s special, elect people. But, you see, the worm continues to turn, and the insights continue to come from those who have had their eyes opened and begin to draw the implications of what they see, because when you see it, you can’t go home. Once you see it, the word of Jesus, "Follow me," is compelling. Once you see it, you recognize that the world needs to see it, that there is salvation in no other way, that this is the way and the life and the truth, that there is no way to God except the way that Jesus opened. So, you go into Cornelius’ house and you start telling the story of Jesus and sort of, to justify this bold act, you say, "Jesus is Lord of all. Jesus is Lord of all. This Jesus that I follow, this Jesus that was crucified, this Jesus was right. This is God’s way; this is God’s intention; this is the embodiment of God’s love, of God’s grace. Jesus is Lord of all. Therefore, with fear and trembling, I will follow him. I’ll take one step at a time, but I will follow Jesus because I have seen the Lord is risen. The Lord is risen, indeed." Easter happened when Peter thought he could get away by going home. I have a good friend who celebrated his 80th birthday recently who chided me a little bit for forcing him to rethink some things theological, and he wrote a beautiful piece about in his 80th year, thanking God that he still has opportunity to repent of the narrowness and the exclusiveness of his faith journey and to begin to see brothers and sisters of every stripe as loved by God. Easter can happen even when you’re 80, and when it happens, there’s no going home. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d4f2eafa53bb6d14b6245ee69fd1126c.mp3 a1467201ddc35b87c23e68cd96654d4d 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 Eastertide II Series Christian Faith: Interpreting an Experience Scripture Text Acts 10:36, John 21:19 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 KII-01_RA-0-19980419 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-04-19 Title A name given to the resource You Can't Go Home, Peter! Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University 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 Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on April 19, 1998 entitled "You Can't Go Home, Peter!", as part of the series "Christian Faith: Interpreting an Experience", on the occasion of Eastertide II, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Acts 10:36, John 21:19. Easter Experience Inclusive Nature of Religion Resurrection