1 24 1045 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/85aba223d3b2f92a6e7e791a8c2dd8d4.pdf 659494314d17a742939f4883366da7ef PDF Text Text   God Language: The Deeper Issue Article by Colette Volkema DeNooyer Minister of Faith Development and Richard A. Rhem Minister of Preaching and Theological Inquiry Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Published in Perspectives A Journal of Reformed Thought March 1993, pp. 18-21 A decade ago, in the early 1980s, Richard Rhem preached a sermon entitled “The Gender of God: The Humanness of Jesus.” The message brought that day pointed to the wonder of the incarnation being not that God had visited us in male flesh but that God had “pitched a tent” in human flesh. Then in 1986, in this journal, Rhem developed that theme further in an article entitled “The Accident of the Incarnation” using accident in its philosophical sense of not belonging to the essence of the matter. Never in the decade of the eighties was there a ripple of consternation from the Christ Community congregation. That the incarnation transcended human gender differentiation seemed apparent to all. That God was not choosing maleness over against femaleness in this revelatory act appeared to stand uncontested. Then in the Epiphany season of 1992, we determined as a ministry team that the community’s commonly held biblical-theological understanding should find bolder and more obvious expression in both our worship experience and our liturgical forms. We had been sensitive to sexist language—using masculine pronouns less and less in prayers, sermons, and hymnody, publishing in bulletins our intention to be an inclusive community. But on a fateful Sunday morning in January we proposed that the community join us in addressing God as “Our Mother/Father who art in heaven...” The reaction from a vocal few was immediate and sharp. We had touched a nerve and discovered that many had not truly understood the implications of our earlier theological conclusions. We had been naive. A good friend, learning of the rumble we had caused and our dismay, chided us gently for failing to see that a little tinkering with language was © Grand Valley State University   �God Language: The Deeper Issue, Colette Volkema DeNooyer & Richard A. Rhem Page 2   hardly sufficient to get at the larger issue of male domination in the church, reinforced perhaps by sexist language but hardly caused by it. He wrote, True, we need to change our language. But I am not as hopeful as you seem to be about language changes constructing a new social reality. An emergent reality (a true novum) will forge its own language (as has always happened, from the emergence of Christianity to Marxism), but I am not sure, especially in our age when we play fast and loose with words, that a reformation in language will bring a reformulation of social reality. Rescripting the present “paradigm” merely relieves points of potential rupture and allows the old story to continue. He was alerting us to the painful reality that little real change happens until there is a reduction to chaos. He cites Simone Weil who wrote of the necessity of “decreation.” His final shot was a suggestion that we fully engage the issue, for it might just be time for us all “to chaoticize, deconstruct, decreate.” After such a cogent puncturing of our noble project we were forced to plunge more deeply into the relationship of language and social reality. Our friend is quite right; we are dealing with a paradigm shift of major proportion. In Speaking the Christian God, Janet Martin Soskice cites Rosemary Radford Ruether making the point sharply: We cannot simply add the “mothering” to the “fathering” God, while preserving the same hierarchical patterns of male activity and female passivity. To vindicate the “feminine” in this form is merely to make God the sanctioner of patriarchy in a new form. (“The Female Nature of God,” Speaking the Christian God, 66) Soskice adds, Similarly, tinkering with the language of the liturgy, changing “he” to “he and she,” may be a cosmetic change which, from the feminists’ point of view, conceals a more profound and idolatrous teaching to pray to a male God. (Speaking the Christian God, 86) What this foray into language has revealed is the critical challenge that feminist theology throws out to the classical Trinitarian and Christological creedal formulations that came to expression in the philosophical language and conceptuality of the first five centuries of church history. Such an expression was a proper and necessary translation of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth and the experience of the apostolic community, but it was a culturally conditioned translation fully as much as any contemporary theological formulation in the post-modem paradigm (e.g., liberation, black, or feminist theology). © Grand Valley State University �God Language: The Deeper Issue, Colette Volkema DeNooyer & Richard A. Rhem Page 3   Hans Küng contends that, ironically, it was Karl Barth who inaugurated the postmodern paradigm that is so explicitly grounded in human experience (the experience of suffering and oppression). Barth had turned sharply from experience as the ground for knowledge of God. His particular target was Schleiermacher, who grounded faith in God in the “feeling of absolute dependence.” Barth found the Protestant liberalism of the nineteenth century so in tune with European culture that there was no word of judgment or grace to address to the social chaos in the aftermath of the First World War. In his struggle to find a word for preaching, he wrestled with Paul’s “Letter to the Romans.” He found there the God who is “Wholly Other.” His conviction about the deceitfulness of human experience was confirmed when he witnessed his esteemed professors of theology sign on with Hitler’s National Socialism, the movement that led to the Second World War and the horrors of the Holocaust. His whole great theological project was posited on the conviction that only God reveals God; knowledge of God is the gift of God effected by the miracle of the Holy Spirit. Against Brunner he denied that there is anything in the human person that provides a “point of contact” for divine revelation. Such a radical position drew criticism. Bonhoeffer spoke of Barth’s theology as a “house without doors.” There was no way to get in if one were not already in. Bonhoeffer called it “Revelational Positivism.” Paradoxically, from the perspective of the present it is evident that Barth’s theology did not arise apart from his own personal, existential experience; it was precisely in reaction to that experience that his theology took shape! After Barth turned the tide of European theology in the first half of this century, the pendulum began to swing back to the pole of experience. In the revision of his Christian Faith (1985), Hendrikus Berkhof added one entirely new section— paragraph ten—entitled “Revelation and Experience.” The place of experience also played a considerable role in his Introduction to the Study of Dogmatics (1982). He points to some theologians through the centuries who have a special gift for sensing shifts taking place in a given culture and in human perception— people like Augustine, Luther, Wesley, Barth, and Küng, who experience existence very differently from previous generations. In such instances new experience calls forth a new language of faith. In former times such prophetic voices have been labeled heretical. But today there is a growing recognition and acceptance of a plurality of faith formulations. For, as Berkhof writes, “someone may be so driven by a series of experiences that his personal faith and theology affect the very nerve of the tradition of faith.” He speaks of “ahead-of-the-pack” thinking arising in recent decades from unexpected sources: The unheard-of phenomenon of groups of believers, previously not at all part of the dogmatic process, who began to intervene in it. Pacesetting dogmaticians ... giving expression to the faith in a way that was hardly recognizable to those who had learned to read the Bible from the perspective of a very different set of experiences… In their best works they © Grand Valley State University �God Language: The Deeper Issue, Colette Volkema DeNooyer & Richard A. Rhem Page 4   give evidence of new discoveries made in Scripture. To the “official” practitioners of dogmatics they pose the question of what unconscious conditioning factors have had their distorting or inspiring effect on them. (26) We have come to recognize that it is not enough to refer to Scripture, the creedal tradition, and the transconfessional dimensions of ecumenicity “as the funding sources of dogmatics.” This becomes evident when these are held in common, yet opposite experiences may make our respective interpretations of the gospel mutually unintelligible. This is, of course, the flash point of contemporary controversy. Berkhof raises the question, “[I]s it our duty radically to exclude the factor of our life experiences?” But he then further asks, “Who can jump over his own shadow?” Of course we cannot. The call for contextual theology has simply made us aware of our own contextuality—the fact that no theology arises out of a cultural vacuum devoid of experience. In reference to the claims of Third World theologians and First World feminist theologians for whom experience is the key to theological understanding, Berkhof contends, We cannot cancel out their bewilderment by proclaiming: “Not what we say is important but what the Scripture says” or the question is, “Who is Christ himself?” All our central words such as “salvation,” “Christ,” “Church,” and “Scripture,” have a much more contextual shape and focus than we are aware of. (71-72) Rosemary Radford Ruether in her seminal work, Sexism and God-Talk (1983), asserts: What have been called the objective sources of theology; scripture and tradition are themselves codified collective human experience. She further declares: Human experience is the starting point and the ending point of the hermeneutical circle. Codified tradition both reaches back to roots in experience and is constantly renewed or discarded through the test of experience. “Experience” includes experience of the divine, experience of oneself, and experience of the community and the world, in an interacting dialectic. Received symbols, formulas, and laws are either authenticated or not through their ability to illuminate and interpret experience. Systems of authority try to reverse this relation and make received symbols dictate what can be experienced as well as the interpretation of that which is experienced. In reality, the relation is the opposite. If a symbol does not © Grand Valley State University �God Language: The Deeper Issue, Colette Volkema DeNooyer & Richard A. Rhem Page 5   speak authentically to experience, it becomes dead or must be altered to provide a new meaning. (12-13) What the feminists have uncovered is the sociology of theological knowledge putting the lie to the claim that its ground is an objective, divine, and universal authority apart from human experience. Here, of course, we arrive at a watershed of understanding. With our present knowledge of the development of dogma, our knowledge of that process in the early centuries of creedal formulation with the intervention of emperors and the political motivation of popes and patriarchs, one can hardly deny an historically conditioned understanding of all theological formulation. In Theology for the Third Millennium, Hans Küng reminds us that new prophetic traditions are not born in a cultural vacuum. New paradigms, while incorporating the truth of the old paradigm, break through with new revelatory insight. Then at some point in the process this new insight comes under the control of leaders who institutionalize the inaugurating vision. A series of criteria are imposed to determine the correct interpretive line, and soon the new paradigm begins to ossify. If, however, present experience is sidelined or denied a place in the continued development of theological understanding, those for whom the symbols no longer illumine their experience of being human may well drop out, abandoning the faith of their foremothers and forefathers. Janet Soskice asks, “Does the ‘father God’ have a future?” She answers: If Christianity has a future, then the answer is probably “yes.” But it would be reasonable for a dispassionate student of religions to wonder whether Christianity will survive the rapid changes taking place—around the world, not just in the privileged West—in women’s self-understanding. In my opinion, Christianity now faces a serious challenge, and one that addresses core metaphors, narratives, and ideologies. ... It may be that Christianity will not meet the challenge or will linger on as a pleasing anachronism distant from the life of the cultures it inhabits. You may well think we are watching yet another stage in the death throes of a dinosaur. (Speaking the Christian God, 94) Christian faith need not die unless we cling to symbols and forms that no longer mediate the truth in compelling fashion, idolizing the medium and confusing it for the message itself. In his journal, Morning Light, Jean Sulivan writes, Your certitudes—are you so blind? What are they generally based on? The failure to deepen your knowledge. We rush past questions in order to avoid anxiety.... Some weep for the certitudes of the past. We must preserve, they say, this or that which was beautiful and good. Perhaps that’s true, but those who © Grand Valley State University �God Language: The Deeper Issue, Colette Volkema DeNooyer & Richard A. Rhem Page 6   complain like that are weeping for themselves. In the last analysis, we shouldn’t weep but create. Gothic churches were built over Romanesque structures, which were built over pagan fountains and temples. To create is the only important thing, to rediscover the fervor that produced the thing you’re weeping for. (123-24) The legitimate place of experience in theological formulations given voice by Küng, Berkhof, Ruether, and Sulivan among others seems to us beyond refute. But refuted it is. An example is Speaking the Christian God, subtitle: “The Holy Trinity and the Challenge of Feminism,” eighteen essays addressing the question of the use of Father as a designation for God. Covering the spectrum from moderate to strident, the necessity of the Father designation is defended as the sine qua non of classical, Western, Trinitarian theology, indeed of Christian faith. This is an excellent collection of essays for identifying that the stakes in the feminist challenge run deeper than a superficial adjustment of pronouns. What is maintained almost uniformly throughout from various perspectives—language theory, worship, as well as creedal formulation—is that feminist claims must be denied because they undercut cherished creedal paradigms as well as a traditional orthodox reading of Scripture. Without the slightest apology or concession for possible human fallibility, the opinions of Church Fathers and early Christian councils are cited as pronouncements of eternal and divine truth. Present experience of ecumenical councils, popes, bishops and church leaders would seem to alert us to the ever-present political and personal agendas that dog very human leaders. Our contemporary understanding of parliamentary procedures and authorized committee reports should caution us that as Ernest Campbell has noted, “There was a lot of good stuff left on the cutting room floor!” Many of the writers in Speaking the Christian God seem to forget that the distance of centuries removes us from the passionate conviction of the opposition’s arguments as well as votes that at times were almost too close to call. That is precisely the claim of Reuther. And her exegetical work is impressive. It is remarkable that the appeal for preserving the Father designation in Christian usage in Speaking the Christian God is replete with references to the writings of the Church Fathers and the ecumenical councils but wrestles little with biblical material. The defenders of the classic creedal formulations have not gone back far enough! In absolutizing the formulations of the post-apostolic period when the gospel moved out into a Hellenistic world, the writers in Speaking the Christian God attribute an authority to those formulations that failed to recognize that these were already translations of the revelatory events. These formulations pulsated with passionate human experience in a cultural context that supplied the linguistic and philosophical tools by which to bring that experience to expression. But the experience of the post-apostolic age is hardly ours, and the language and philosophical conceptuality are alien to us on the threshold of the third millennium. © Grand Valley State University �God Language: The Deeper Issue, Colette Volkema DeNooyer & Richard A. Rhem Page 7   Stephen M. Smith in “Worldview, Language, and Radical Feminism: An Evangelical Appraisal,” (one of the essays in Speaking the Christian God) writes that we live in a time of massive cultural conflict. This conflict, he says, “is in reality a clash of worldviews.” Right! And is it not about time? There was no significant threat to the philosophical worldview within which the classic creedal formulation came to expression until the eighteenth century. But consider what has happened since. Not only have there been revolutionary breakthroughs in our understanding of the physical universe, but even more significant for our present focus, the rise of historical thinking has illumined the process of development of human understanding. Could it be that the classic paradigms, once the Spirit’s medium for the revealing of the living God, must be dismantled to make room for a new paradigm that takes up the truth of the old but makes space for the emergence of the new? One theologian who is seeking to bring to expression a new understanding of God in light of contemporary experience is Sallie McFague. She receives sharp criticism from Smith for holding a monist world view, which she acknowledges, but in the sense of panentheism, which The Oxford Dictionary of the Christum Church defines as “the belief that the Being of God includes and penetrates the whole universe, so that every part of it exists in him, but (as against pantheism) that his Being is more than, and is not exhausted by, the universe.” The issue must not be whether McFague challenges and undercuts the orthodox world view, but whether or not her models of God are able to illumine more adequately our present human experience as she wrestles with the biblical story and the revelation that was en-fleshed in Jesus. In her probings, McFague is engaged in the very process that is the responsibility of every serious theologian—testing the received tradition and bringing it to fresh expression. Otherwise dogmatics becomes fundamentalist, the mere reiteration of formulations that illumined yesterday’s experiences, and that is idolatry. A much more sympathetic reading of McFague comes from James Fowler who writes, She ... makes clear that we require new metaphors if our faith is to enable us to make sense of our contemporary experiences.... In our religious language we are naming ourselves, one another, our world, and our relatedness to God in terms from bygone times. Such anachronistic names, helpful in earlier times, are distorting and hurtful now. (Weaving the New Creation, 61) Brian Wren, a minister in the Reformed Church of England is well known as a writer of meaningful contemporary hymnody. In his book What Language Shall I Borrow? he addresses the concerns and issues that motivated him to write such hymns as “Bring Many Names,” in which he expands our language horizons by referring to God as: © Grand Valley State University �God Language: The Deeper Issue, Colette Volkema DeNooyer & Richard A. Rhem Page 8   Strong mother God, working night and day, Planning all the wonders of creation... Warm father God, hugging every child, feeling all the strains of human living... Old aching God, grey with endless care, calmly piercing evil’s new disguises... Young, growing God, eager, on the move, seeing all, and fretting at our blindness ... Great, living God, never fully known, joyful darkness far beyond our seeing ... The poem that opens What Language Shall I Borrow? a poem written by Wren, sums up his understanding that language can be one step in the process of freeing ourselves from idolatrous attachment to earlier faith expressions. The Main Question If every naming of God is a borrowing from human experience, And if language slants and angles our thinking and behavior; And if our society makes qualities labeled “feminine” inferior to qualities labeled “masculine,” forming women and men with identities steeped in those labelings, in structures where men are still dominant though shaken and women still subordinate though seeking emancipation... Then it follows that using only male language (“he,” “king,” “father”) to name and praise God powerfully affects our encounter with God and our thinking and behavior; So that we must then ask © Grand Valley State University �God Language: The Deeper Issue, Colette Volkema DeNooyer & Richard A. Rhem Page 9   whether male dominance and female subordination and seeking God only in male terms are God’s intention or human distortion and sin; For if these things are indeed a deep distortion and sin, So that women and men are called to repent together from domination and subordination, Then how can we name and praise God in ways less idolatrous, more freeing, and more true to the Triune God and the direction of love in the Anointed One, Jesus? His prolific production of hymns for worship is his answer to “The Main Question.” And that brings us back to where we began. The letter from our friend is full of profound insight—a little cosmetic tinkering with the language of worship is not enough. We have to do with a far more profound issue, indeed, with the necessity of a whole new paradigm for our speaking of God. And that will probably come about only through chaos and decreation. But in the meantime it is not unimportant to watch our language as a sign that the Christian community is honestly listening for the ways in which God may be coming to us through the voices of experience. References: Henrikus Berkhof. Introduction to the Study of Dogmatics. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1985. Rosemary Radford Ruether. Sexism and God-Talk: Toward a Feminist Theology. Beacon Press, 0010 Anniversary edition, 1993. Janet Martin Soskice, “The Female Nature of God” in Speaking the Christian God: Holy Trinity and the Challenge of Feminism. (Editor Alvin F. Kimel). William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., first edition, 1992. Brian Wren. What Language Shall I Borrow?: God-Talk in Worship: A Male Response to Feminist Theology. First published 1989; Wipf & Stock Pub., 2009. © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. References Hendrikus Berkhof, Introduction to the Study of Dogmatics, 1989, Rosemary R. Ruether, Sexism and God-Talk, 1993, Janet M. Soskice in Speaking the Christian God, 1992, Brian Wren, What Language Shall I Borrow?, 2009 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RA-4-19930301 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1993-03-01 Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Title A name given to the resource God Language: The Deeper Issue Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Perspectives: A Journal of Reformed Thought Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Colette Volkema DeNooyer & Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource eng Description An account of the resource Article created, delivered, or published by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on March 1, 1993 entitled "God Language: The Deeper Issue", it appeared in Perspectives, pp. 18-21. Tags: Nature of God, Creeds, Historical Thinking, Metaphors for God, Nature of Religious Development, Theological Paradigms. Scripture references: Hendrikus Berkhof, Introduction to the Study of Dogmatics, 1989, Rosemary R. Ruether, Sexism and God-Talk, 1993, Janet M. Soskice in Speaking the Christian God, 1992, Brian Wren, What Language Shall I Borrow?, 2009. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Creeds Historical Thinking Metaphors for God Nature of God Nature of Religious Development Theological Paradigms https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2b64e91eafef94e8463a4f10944444ce.pdf bf110f6281861fdeea3180724759a9ef PDF Text Text World Convulsion and the Exciting Vision of Faith Independence Day Weekend Text: Psalm 33: 10-11; Revelation 15:3 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan July 5, 1981 Transcription of the spoken sermon I have not lived on Lake Michigan long enough to grew accustomed to sunsets and I hope I never do. No matter how urgent the task at hand, Nancy and I stop and watch the setting of the sun every evening that we are home. It is a very special time - a time to savor the beauty and wonder of the created order; a time to stand in awe of the beauty of our Father's world. But in the year we have been there, I have learned that there are evenings when one can predict a beautiful sunset - when the day has been clear and there is no sign of a cloud in the western sky and the sun sinks toward the horizon with all of its golden radiance streaming forth without a filtering cloud. Such a sight is beautiful - the end of a perfect day. However, there is another kind of evening completely unpredictable as it moves toward the moment of sunset. Perhaps a storm has just passed through or a front is gathering in the West. Huge cloud formations in constantly changing configurations play across the sky with the sun breaking through a crevice here, gilding a foreboding looking cloud there. The interplay of sun and clouds is dramatic, fascinating. Sometimes in those few moments as the sun slips silently into the sea, a cloud covers it all and there is no sunset to be seen. But at other times the clouds break, and across the water pours a path of melted gold and all the lowering clouds are touched by the varying hues such that no artist could do them justice. That is a sunset! This is a parable of world history and, in microcosm, a parable of our personal lives, as well. My theme on this Independence Day weekend is that the Eternal God, the Sovereign of the Nations, works His purposes out in the midst of world convulsion, and His movement in History can be detected by the eye of faith. If we live by the vision of faith we can see the effecting of God's purposes in world convulsion. The dictionary defines the word "convulsion" as, "the action of wrenching or condition of being wrenched... violent social, political or physical disturbance...to shake violently, to agitate or disturb," and convulsion is a fit word to describe our © Grand Valley State University   �World Convulsion and the Exciting Vision of Faith Richard A. Rhem Page 2   world. It is a world in ferment -so much more than 205 years ago when those shots were fired that were heard 'round the world. As a matter of fact, those shots were not heard 'round the world. Much rather, what was happening was a rebellion in a British colony, the implication of which could hardly be foreseen at that time. The world went on its plodding way then, but at that time one could hardly speak of world convulsion. What happened then has had far reaching consequences. We have had now 205 years of national existence - an experiment in freedom - a nation shaped and formed deliberately to create the greatest possible freedom for its people. That freedom has brought unprecedented blessing and prosperity and we cannot treasure it too highly nor guard it too carefully. That freedom is a precious gift which is constantly in peril from within and from without. After 205 years we who enjoy it are still a small minority of people, for the vast multitude of humankind live under totalitarian regimes, live regimented lives, live in grinding poverty, despair and hopelessness. What is the proper celebration of our national independence? Where have we come in these two centuries? Where do we stand today and what ought to be the posture of the Church over against our world in ferment? Are we threatened by world convulsion? Should we use our mighty power in the world to repress the cry for human freedom or ought we to be working to break the stalemate of terror that characterizes our world today? God works His purposes out in history. He, the Sovereign of History, effects His purposes in the midst of world convulsion and world convulsion is pregnant with new possibilities for the realization of God's intention that all people and nations should live a fully human existence in peace and well-being. It is not always a simple matter to detect the invisible hand of God in the midst of the uproar and dust of history's unrest, but biblical faith has always been characterized by a confidence that God makes the wrath of men to praise him and that out of the chaos created by the pride of nations and the lust for power and glory, God affects His purposes of love. And so, this morning, on this Independence Day weekend, I want us to think about world convulsion as the opportunity for the working out of the Divine Purpose and understand that world convulsion in terms of the exciting perspective of our faith in the God of History. The commitment that was made and the risk that was involved two hundred years ago, which has proved to be so meaningful in the lives of us all, that commitment which has issued in this great nation with our experience of liberty and freedom, a nation deliberately designed to enhance human freedom – that commitment must be made again. And it needs to be made again not only for ourselves, but for all peoples. For it seems to me appropriate on this, our Independence Day weekend, that we make another declaration and a new declaration, this time not a declaration of independence, but of interdependence with all the people of the earth. For if there were no higher motivation driving us © Grand Valley State University �World Convulsion and the Exciting Vision of Faith Richard A. Rhem Page 3   on than self-interest, then we could say, in all honesty, in the self-interest of this nation and its people it is incumbent upon us to recognize that in this world which has grown so small - grapefruit size - it is impossible for us to pursue narrow, nationalistic purposes. Rather, we must become citizens of the world and embrace within our purview all people and nations. And to the extent that we are true to our own principles and honest with our own past, we must lend our power and our resources to every movement of human freedom, being sensitive to every cry for human liberation and the deliverance from bondage, wherever we find it. If we would be true to our past, we must be as committed to the freedom and liberty of all peoples as we have been to our own. I do not have a program, a one, two, three-step approach that you can go out of here with. Rather it is my intention to seek to raise your consciousness of the issue that is before us - the necessity of our nation to be committed to the freedom and the liberty of nations all over. Because, you see, we have moved to the other side of the issue. We are now in the position of the crown of England 200 years ago. We now are in the preeminent position. It is now in our selfinterest, if we are shortsighted, to maintain the status quo. We live in a world that is teetering on the brink of disaster with a balance of terror between the East and the West. We live in a world that is on the threshold of blowing itself up and destroying itself, and we are the persons of power. We are the persons of resource. We now pull the strings. We, now, have the ability to impact the world, either for peace or for destruction, and if we hear the word of God, then we will not be fearful of world convulsion, but we will see it as the opportunity to nudge and move the world toward a more humane society worldwide. The shot that was heard ‘round the world 200 years ago wasn't really heard around the world. This was a backwoods part of the world - who ever heard of America, and who knew what was here and what possibilities there might be? I am sure that Europe looked down its nose at this backwoods operation. The American Revolution was really just a pimple on the surface at the time - who would know what would issue from those apparently parochial events? But such is not the case today because events of far less significance impact us. Through the instant news coverage of the mass media incidents half a world away send their reverberating shocks around the globe. We are bound together in a bundle of life today like never before, and it is high time that we in the United States of America and in the Christian Church in America recognize our worldwide responsibility and recognize that it is not enough to pursue our own national interests and our national purposes. Even intelligent self-interest demands that we take the world into our view. The American Revolution eventuated in this great nation, and we can say that the commitment to liberty and freedom at that time has been vindicated. The experiment of that time and these past two centuries has not been an accident of history, for our founding fathers recognized that liberty and human dignity must be grounded in the Eternal God and our founding documents witness to that fact. © Grand Valley State University �World Convulsion and the Exciting Vision of Faith Richard A. Rhem Page 4   But if we would be true to that heritage, then we must recognize that that which we will for ourselves we must will for all peoples. And it is incumbent upon us to recognize our world responsibility, and to declare our interdependence. That isn't popular. As a matter of fact, it goes against the grain. It is much easier to exploit the fears of people and it is much easier to beat the drums and whip up a nationalistic feeling and a fervent patriotism. Throughout the history of mankind there have been those who have set up straw men and scapegoats and we see it happening on our evening news in Iran today where the Islamic revolutionary fires need to be fed constantly by hatred of America, justified or unjustified. History has always been filled with demagogues who would manipulate people for their own purpose and we see a narrow nationalism espoused by the very vocal religious Right in our day. But it is up to you and to me who are Christians as well as Americans to recognize that history is His Story, and that He embraces all people and has good will and purposes of love for all of humankind. Therefore, it is not enough for us to make a kneejerk, nationalistic and patriotic reaction to events in the world, but rather to take a step back and recognize our responsibility to be the instruments of God for the furthering of peace and the enhancement of the human condition everywhere, on both sides of the curtain, in the East and the West, in the North and the South, in the First World and the Second World, the Third and the Fourth, in developed nations and in developing nations - to recognize in our small world, that has shrunk to such miniscule size, that whatever happens anywhere in this world will impact our life and our existence as well. Whenever one gets into this area, one is in the area not of black and white, but of many shades of gray. The international situation is so highly complex that there is really only one thing we know for sure, and that is that those who have easy, simple solutions do not understand. Beware of the simplistic solution to problems whose complexity we can hardly probe. However, we cannot be silent until we have all the facts in. And so, in the midst of our struggle to determine the posture of America in this world of ours, in the 20th century, we recognize the inadequacy of our understanding and the complexity of the problem. Yet, act we must. For example, let us take the instance of El Salvador, which I have mentioned before here. How ought we to react as a nation? Bishop Romero was murdered there a little over a year ago. He was the Archbishop of San Salvador and in his high, ecclesiastical office he had identified with the situation of the poor. In identifying with the case of the poor, there are those who would write him off by simply saying he fomented the unrest among the peasants. Well, I imagine that he did that. As a Christian who knows that God will not have people live in grinding poverty and futility, standing with the poor in a country that has been characterized by repression and oppression, what is a Christian leader to do? He wrote to President Carter back in 1980 and in that letter he said, © Grand Valley State University �World Convulsion and the Exciting Vision of Faith Richard A. Rhem Page 5   It disturbs me deeply that the U.S. government is leaning toward an arms race in sending military equipment and advisors to "train three Salvadorian battalions in logistics, communications, and intelligence." In the event that this news is accurate, your government, instead of favoring greater peace and justice in El Salvador, will undoubtedly aggravate the repression and injustice against the organized people who have been struggling because of their fundamental respect for human rights. (…from an address by Prof. Jose Jorge Siman, Former President, Commission of Justice and Peace of the Archdiocese, Catholic Church of El Salvador, given from the pulpit of Riverside Church, New York City, on Peace Sabbath, April 26, 1981.) Nonetheless, our government did not heed the Archbishop. We did send aid and military advisors. And this present administration has done the same. Choosing El Salvador in their early days in office as the point at which they would draw the line, they blew it all out of proportion, and then tried to dampen it down again. Obviously, that little nation was to be a testing ground - those poor people, those suffering peasants, the playground of the major ideologies of the day. In April, on Peace Sabbath, Bill Coffin had in his Riverside pulpit a professor from El Salvador who spoke about the situation and pleaded with American Christians to send human aid, not weapons. And following his comments, Coffin said, ... If it is true that Communism has never come to a nation that took care of its poor, its aged, its youth, its sick, and its handicapped, then why can't we say to the Junta in San Salvador, "We'll help you take care of your poor, your aged, your youth, your sick, and your handicapped, but we will not help you find a military solution to what is not a military problem?" In Nicaragua, where Catholic priests are in the ruling cabinet, where Jesuits manage the nationwide literacy campaign and are nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by more than one hundred members of the British Parliament, why shouldn't we help the Sandinistas in the same way we helped Somoza for forty years without blinking an eyelash?... In Cuba, why shouldn't we lift the blockade of twenty years, and instead of sending Marines to Guantanamo Bay, let businessmen wade ashore in Havana? That's what Castro wants, that's the way to counteract Soviet influence, and that's the way to practice peace. The cure is caring, not killing; serving people, not power. Caring for others is the practice of peace.... Peace does not come through strength; strength comes through peace. The Psalmist in the lesson we read this morning said the Lord brings the plans of nations to nothing. He frustrates the counsels of the peoples. But the Lord's own © Grand Valley State University �World Convulsion and the Exciting Vision of Faith Richard A. Rhem Page 6   plans stand forever. And then the Psalmist went on to say what this world has never learned - and our nation does not understand, as well. A king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a vain hope for victory, and by its great might it cannot save. Psalm 33: 16, 17 (RSV) The world teeters on the brink of disaster, and what have we to say? I don't like radicals. I get sick and tired of radicals. I wish they would go away. I get tired of the media putting them before us all the time. One such radical is Daniel Berrigan, the Catholic priest who has been in and out of jail the last decade and a half. Most recently he and a few others went into the G.E. plant in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, which produces equipment for nuclear missiles. They destroyed what they could before they were arrested. They were just tried and convicted. In an interview, Daniel Berrigan had some things to say which, in spite of the fact that I don't like radicals, spoke to me. He said... The Jesuit order accepted me as a member. The Catholic Church ordained me as a priest. I took all that with great seriousness. I still do, with all my heart. And then Vietnam came along, and then the nukes came along. And I had to continue to ask myself at prayer, with my friends, with my family, with all kinds of people, with my own soul, "Do you have anything to say today?" I mean, beyond a lot of prattling religious talk. Do you have anything to say about life today, about the lives of people today? Do you have a word, a word of hope to offer, a Christian word? That's a very important question for anyone who takes being a priest, being a Christian, being a human being seriously, "Do you have anything to offer human life today?" Sojourners, June 1981, p. 23. Well, do you have anything to say today? Do I have anything to say today? The last issue of TIME magazine has a two-page essay on “The Bomb.” It says, in effect, since Hiroshima in 1945 the world has refused to look at the bomb. We have refused to look at the seriousness of the bomb. And we continue with nuclear proliferation and arming ourselves to the teeth with more warheads than would be necessary to blow up the entire globe, and still the song goes on. Israel makes a preemptive strike on the reactor in Iraq and justifies its action as necessary for its own safety and the safety of the world. In the wake of that, an Arab spokesman said, "We need the bomb!" In a world where six countries have the bomb, probably two more, and by the end of the 80's the possibility of 40 nations having the bomb, what has the Church to say? TIME magazine deals with it; I suppose we ought to, too. The war horse is a vain hope for victory… If the Psalmist were writing today he might say an antiballistic missile, or a nuclear submarine is a vain hope. © Grand Valley State University �World Convulsion and the Exciting Vision of Faith Richard A. Rhem Page 7   A king is not saved by his great army. … The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to naught; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! What do we do? Well, we don't make knee jerk reactions to every announcement from the White House or the State Department that would rile up our patriotic blood and make us feel like good guys over against the bad guys. We realize that we are in this bundle of life, bound up with all nations and people, and it is not a case of black and white or good and evil, of one side or the other. It is high time that we are true to the principles on which we were founded and that we seek to aid and abet every movement for human freedom and liberation anywhere in the world; that we pray for peace and begin to take steps and action, concrete action, that will further peace; that we come face to face with the horrible reality, the insanity of a world that lives under the shadow of nuclear armaments and that we recognize that our welfare rests with the welfare of the whole human family. A Declaration of Independence 200 years ago – in the providence of God, a magnificent move toward the enhancement of the human condition. 1981, high time for a Declaration of Interdependence for a world that would be made safe for children and for the generations yet unborn. Trust in arms? “The war horse is a vain hope for victory.” When will we learn it? As I was thinking about all these things this morning, I did what I always do on Sunday mornings, in the stillness, when the family is trying to sleep. I put on Bach's Mass in B Minor - a powerful piece. It begins with the Kyrie, "Lord, have mercy upon us. Christ, have mercy upon us. Lord, have mercy upon us." And then it moves into that great, strong, "Glory to God in the Highest and on earth peace among men," then it moves on through the affirmation of faith, the Nicene Creed, and eventuates in the great chorus of Alleluia and praise with the closing cry, "Grant us Thy peace." And as I heard that stirring music, the music itself communicating as much as the words, and I thought about the world in convulsion, I thought to myself - the world in convulsion seems to be so real, so close, so tangible, and the Glory to God in the Highest and Peace on Earth among men of good will seems to be so remote, and yet the music, the music convinced me that that is the Ultimate Truth, and in a world in convulsion we will not despair or give up in hopelessness, paralyzed by fear because we believe that, in the midst of world convulsion, God is working His purposes out. The exciting vision of faith keeps us going and we know that history is not an accident going to happen, but rather throughout all of its chaos is woven that meaningful thread of the purposes of God that will culminate with that great cry, "The Lord God Omnipotent reigns!" But He does not work in a vacuum, rather through His people who, like those 200 years ago, are willing to die for a heavenly cause and sacrifice life itself if need be that there might be peace on earth. Amen. © Grand Valley State University �World Convulsion and the Exciting Vision of Faith Richard A. Rhem © Grand Valley State University Page 8   � 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. Scripture Text Psalm 33:1-5, 10-22, Revelation 15:1-4 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-0-19810705 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1981-07-05 Title A name given to the resource World Convulsion and the Exciting Vision of Faith Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on July 5, 1981 entitled "World Convulsion and the Exciting Vision of Faith", at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Psalm 33:1-5, 10-22, Revelation 15:1-4. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Divine Intention Faith Freedom Global Community Interdependence Liberation Peace https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/cc5abf3092be9470597ebd4f018e50e4.pdf 7c753a27862dc35356ca06e21ddb6aba PDF Text Text God and Cosmos From the sermon series on the Cosmos Text: Hebrews 11:3 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan November 8, 1981 Transcription of the spoken sermon By faith we understand that the world was created by the word of God… Hebrews 11: 3 If you had come past my home last evening about 10 o'clock, you might have thought that I was really desperate, for you would have seen me with my cap and coat, out on the deck with my telescope, gazing at the moon and surveying the stars. And you might have figured that, after a week's vacation, having played all week, at the eleventh hour I was desperately looking for a message in the stars to bring you. Such would not have been the case, of course, for the message was well under way by then. But having reflected all week long on the fantastic cosmos of which we are a part, having already savored the wonder of yesterday - the clear air, the blue sky, the radiant sun; walking along the beach with its lapping water, cold and clear as crystal; having seen the magnificent sun slip into the sea in the West, and then the stars glimmering in the night heavens providing a fit setting for the silvery brilliance of the moon, I thought to myself, why not get out of the study and savor it even more? And so, I did. With my telescope, I gazed at the moon and I located a star or two and thought to myself that it is true O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is thy name in all the earth!... When I look at thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast established; what is man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that thou dost care for him? Psalm 8: 1, 3, 4 (RSV) The depth of eternity symbolized in the immensity of space in this vast cosmos of which we are a part, is but a finger pointing beyond itself to Him Who, in the beginning, created the heavens and the earth. I am sure we all identify with the awe, the sense of majesty which is reflected in this psalm of wonder and praise. I am sure we have all had the experience on a starry night when the atmosphere was clear as it was last night and the sky cloudless. We have looked up and we have wondered at it, and then we have © Grand Valley State University   �God and Cosmos Richard A. Rhem Page 2   found peace and comfort in the conviction that this is our Father's world. The glories of the cosmos are a reflection of the glory of God. For, as the writer to the Hebrews says in the words of our text taken from the 11th chapter, By faith we understand that the world was created by the word of God. By faith. It is certainly by faith. It is our conviction that He Who revealed Himself supremely in the face of Jesus and Whom, through Jesus, we have found to be gracious, is the Creator of the heavens and the earth. And, believing that, we have found a home. We know this is our Father's world. This is the first of a series of messages about God and Cosmos. God and Cosmos, in that order, because I do believe that God is prior to Cosmos, and Cosmos is the consequence of the deliberate intention of God to call into being that which was not. All that is, is because God said, "Let there be." I deal with this right now because I am currently viewing the television series, the 13-part Cosmos series, which is written and narrated by Carl Sagan, who must be one of the world's finest astronomers, and who is, besides being an excellent scientist, an outstanding communicator. I hope that you have seen some of that series and, if not, I hope that you will, for it is an amazing production. The photography is thrilling, the technical aspects of it are superbly handled, and the communication skills of Carl Sagan are something to behold. As I view that series, it causes me to look beyond the cosmos to the creator of it all, to experience again what the psalmist experienced, and to say within my heart, "O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth." Carl Sagan would not agree with the psalmist or with you and me that the cosmos is the consequence of the deliberate, creative act of God. Carl Sagan is an excellent scientist and an excellent communicator and I acclaim the job that he has done. I want to go on record as saying that I think it is tremendous that the depths and the deep secrets of the physical universe are being more and more unraveled in this wonderful way through this marvelous medium, by this great communicator. For he is skilled, not only in his understanding of the universe, but in his ability to make the profound simple. And when he is an astronomer, a scientist, and when he is setting forth all of that data which is available through the explosion of knowledge and through the use of instrumentation which is so sophisticated that it boggles the mind, then I listen intently and I learn. This past week I spent the week trying to master the book which is the narration of the video series. It is entitled, Cosmos. It's a very big and beautiful book, and a very expensive book. I recommend it. When Carl Sagan is a scientist and an astronomer, I learn a great deal. When he ceases to be an astronomer and a scientist and becomes a philosopher and a theologian, then he has moved into my territory and I carry on a dialogue with him. As long as he is talking about protons and neutrons and quasars and pulsars and galaxies and all of that, then I am an innocent bystander listening in and learning and eagerly so. When he becomes a philosopher and a theologian, then I say, "Carl, let's talk about that." © Grand Valley State University �God and Cosmos Richard A. Rhem Page 3   Now, a scientist has every right to be a theologian and a philosopher, and I suppose most all of them really are, because all of us finally are. The difficulty comes when the two are so closely intertwined that one hardly knows whether this is the result of the data gathered through some radioscope, testing the outer limits of space, or whether it is the configuration conjured in the mind and heart of the scientist. When he becomes a philosopher and theologian, then I take exception to him, because then he would not agree with our Judeo-Christian tradition, our conviction that all that is, is as a consequence of the Word of God. He would commit Genesis and the Letter to the Hebrews and the great Psalms to that great body of myth and fable which is a part of the common human experience. Every people who have ever lived have had some kind of an explanation, some kind of a myth which explains why there is anything. And Carl Sagan would lump our Biblical tradition with all of those religious and semireligious explanations for the fact that there is something rather than nothing. It is at that point that I would differ with him and call him to account. He is a materialist. Now, a materialist is one who believes that, finally, everything can be reduced to matter or energy. Now, you all understand Einstein's Theory of Relativity, which says that those two are interchangeable, that mass and energy are interchangeable, that finally, ultimately, the building blocks of reality are very simply molecules that can be reduced to energy. So a materialist believes that, finally, you can reduce the whole of reality to energy, electricity if you will, to chemical reactions, so that the emotions that we feel are the result of chemical reactions and nerve connections, and so forth. A materialist believes that the whole of reality and the totality of human experience can be reduced to that which is material, physical. Now, in saying that, he has to deal with the fact that you and I are intelligent and we are conscious. We are self-conscious people. We can reflect back upon ourselves, we know that we exist, we think about ourselves, for better or worse. And we have an intelligence. We can communicate. He would say that there may be intelligent beings in other universes. If there are, we don't know about it. They haven't signaled us yet, nor have they returned our signal. But, be that as it may, as far as we are concerned, and after all we can only deal here with planet Earth, the highest form of the cosmic evolutionary process has resulted in human intelligence and human consciousness . We are the only beings that know that we are. We are the only beings with the intelligence and the self-consciousness to reflect on the cosmic process of which we are a part. And, consequently, if everything can be reduced down to that point of energy or matter, then human intelligence and human consciousness and human emotion, likewise, can be reduced down and be explained in terms of electricity, chemical reaction, etc. And that would mean, of course, that we are at the top of the ladder. This is as far as the process has gotten. And that would mean, of course, that there is no higher rung as yet realized. Who knows what may be up there? One might say that humans have become godlike. Human existence with its intelligence and © Grand Valley State University �God and Cosmos Richard A. Rhem Page 4   consciousness is the highest rung of the ladder at this point and, consequently, with nothing beyond, there can be no one beyond. A materialist explains the totality of the cosmos in terms of the building blocks of reality that are reducible in the laboratory. Human intelligence and consciousness may be praised and affirmed and acclaimed. It is the highest development of the cosmic process. There is no one beyond. Such is the view of the materialist. Such a one is a naturalist. He would be a humanist, too, I suppose. But you and I believe more than that. As long as Carl Sagan is an astronomer and a scientist, we learn; we learn with fascination and with eagerness. We marvel at the ingenuity of the human mind, at the intellectual powers of an Einstein, the exploratory endeavors of Galileo and Copernicus, Kepler and the whole host of those who have probed the depths of reality and given us today such an amazing insight into the cosmic order. It is exciting and fascinating and we ought to affirm that in the Church. When Carl Sagan has said everything he has to say, he has not yet dealt with the religious question. Being a materialist, he has planted his feet squarely within this cosmos, whereas you and I see the totality of the cosmos as the consequence of the creative act of One Who transcends the cosmos, Who is not encased within the system of which we are a part, with our galaxies and our planets and our stars. We look to One Who is beyond, One Who stands apart from and Who spoke and called into being that which did not previously exist. By faith, we believe the worlds were fashioned by the Word of God. That God was, and nothing else was, and God spoke, and it came to be. That is the affirmation of the Letter to the Hebrews, the reflection of that first chapter where he sees the cosmos to the extent that he was able to understand it and he says, …they will perish, but thou remainest; they will all grow old like a garment, like a mantle thou wilt roll them up, and they will be changed. But thou art the same, and thy years will never end. Hebrews 1: 11-12 Or the psalmist who said, "O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth." When I consider the heavens, the moon, the stars which you have made, my worship is not offered, as it has been through so many ages of humankind, to the stars and the moon or the sun or the cosmic order itself, but to the God Who is apart from it and brought it into being. That is the Biblical tradition. That is the Judeo-Christian faith. It is our faith. And so we study the cosmos. As we view such a marvelous presentation as the television Cosmos series, we are fascinated and we marvel at the wonders, the complexity and the simplicity of the created order. But we always look beyond, and then we know this amazing place is our Father's world. © Grand Valley State University �God and Cosmos Richard A. Rhem Page 5   We have learned a lot through the research of astrophysics. They tell us that 15 to 20 billion years ago this universe was formed. Science, itself, has formulated what is today the most accepted model of origin - the ''Big Bang." There was a high concentration of energy and mass, almost a pinpoint. And from that intense concentration of energy evolved a nuclear explosion that scattered the elements in every direction, from which explosion we can still, through very delicate radioscopes, hear the pulsing of radiation. From that Big Bang 15 to 20 billion years ago, this whole cosmic order of which we are a part emanated. They tell us that it is still expanding like a balloon. If you blow up a balloon that has polka dots on it, the polka dots keep getting farther apart, but they remain relatively in the same position on that sphere. And so, this universe is going outward. They tell us if there is enough mass within this expanding universe, the force of gravity will eventually stop the expansion, that it will, in turn, contract so that after the Big Bang will come the Big Crunch. And then, they tell us, possibly with that Big Crunch and that high concentration again, there will be another nuclear explosion that will start the whole process over again. Does it make any difference to Genesis? Does it make any difference to Hebrews or to Psalm 8? Not a smidgin, really. For, who knows what God is up to? Who knows what fantastic things He has in store for this, our planet Earth, which is just a little speck of dust occupying an instant of time in this dramatic, cosmic, evolutionary process. But on this little speck of dust, in this instant of time, we exist, conscious and intelligent, able to reflect on the process and to adore the God Who is behind it all. What we have learned about space is so amazing. For example, they talk about black holes. I wish I understood black holes. In the next life I'm going to conduct great music. The third life I want to be an astrophysicist. I have never had a physics course in my life, and I am really out of my element. But, anyway, try to understand the black holes. Have you ever pulled the plug in a basin of water? You pull the plug in the sink and the water goes down the drain. If you had good drainage, the water was pulled down forming a whirlpool over the drain. Well, they say that where there is a high concentration of energy from the collapse of a great big star, maybe four or five times bigger than our sun, there is such a concentration of gravity that it rushes right out of the universe. Like if you had your hand inside the balloon and pushed it out. That gravity is so great, so intense, that it doesn't even let the light out, so that you look in the sky and there is a black hole. (You can't see the black hole where the star was, but you know that the star was there because there is such a strong emanation of x-rays from that point that they can tell by the radioscopes that it is there.) It is a tremendous source of power. Well, even Carl Sagan says that those black holes might be the shoots that would send us from one universe to another. I was thinking about the book Life After Life, and all the stories of those who have edged right up to death and then come back. They talk about that tunnel of light. Who knows but maybe it's a black hole? It's a black hole from the outside, but © Grand Valley State University �God and Cosmos Richard A. Rhem Page 6   inside, the light is there, you see. Does it make any difference to Genesis, or Psalm 8, or the Letter to the Hebrews? Not a bit. The more we learn, the more we probe, the more we understand, the more wonder, the more sense of awe, because of the majesty, the mind-boggling nature of the cosmic order. Our earth, 4.6 billion years old, part of a cosmic evolutionary process 15 to 20 billion years old. They say if you took a few baseballs and scattered them on the North American continent they would be crowded compared to the stars in space. And our galaxy, the Milky Way, has four billion stars, and our galaxy is in what they call the Local Cluster, a relatively small cluster. There are numberless galaxies. Sagan writes, We live on a mote of dust circling a humdrum star in the remotest corner of an obscure galaxy. And if we are a speck in the immensity of space, we also occupy an instant in the expanse of ages. Cosmos, p. 20f. Can you begin to take it in? I cannot. But whoever said God wasn't big? And whoever said God lacked power? By faith, we understand that the worlds were fashioned by the Word of God, and the more we learn, the more we stand in awe of One Who stands apart from and creates the heavens and the earth and this place for you and for me. When the Bible affirms that God created, it doesn't mean to tell us all of the scientific details about where everything came from, or the process by which it arose. The Church too long has used the Bible that way, as a scientific text. And because of that kind of use of the Bible there has been the unnecessary and tragic conflict between science and religion. The Bible simply is trying to say that God is at the beginning and God is at the end, and whatever exists, this cosmic evolutionary process contains nothing that can be threatening to you and to me, because God is at the beginning and God is at the end. And when the Bible says Creation is good, it simply is saying that it is a good place for us to develop and to grow in the grace and the knowledge of Jesus Christ. And when it says that God called into being that which exists from nothing, it is simply affirming that there is nothing in the cosmic order that can be threatening, because God is sovereign and Lord over all. That is really all we are saying, but that is to say tremendous things about our human existence, and the cosmic order of which we are a part. I am excited about this, because I believe too long in the Church there has been an atmosphere of fear and an attitude of defensiveness. I grew up being threatened by science. I grew up fearing every new discovery. I grew up wishing there would be no more explosion of knowledge, fearing that somehow or other, the faith and the things that were most dear to me would be exploded by some new view under a microscope or some distant vista from a telescope. The Church's history is tragic: Catholic and Protestant. Johann Kepler was excommunicated by the Lutheran Church in the 17th Century, and Galileo was put under house arrest the last years of his life by the Roman Church for simply © Grand Valley State University �God and Cosmos Richard A. Rhem Page 7   affirming what he knew was true, that the earth went around the sun rather than vice versa. The Church's record is tragic, to be repented of, and the Church too often continues to react negatively to the increase of knowledge. It stifles creative thought and experimentation and offends its best spirits and drives out its finest minds. I am excited about this, because I believe that we can allow the fresh air, knowledge and research and investigation to flow through the Church, and then, if we have faith enough, we can stand with the psalmist and say, "Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth. When I consider the heavens, the moon and the stars which You have made, then from my heart arises wonder, love and praise." By faith we believe that the worlds were fashioned by the word of God, and whatever is out there of which we are a part, whatever its future, and whatever its past, it is encompassed in the eternal love of God, Who has manifested Himself as Grace and touched us in the flesh of Jesus. Blessed be His holy name. Amen. Father, we revel in the wonder of the Created Order, the mind-boggling experience of the natural world, and we rejoice in the confidence that we have that we have a home here, that this is our Father's world, and that you uphold all things by the power of your word. Receive our adoring worship, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Scripture Text Hebrews 1:1-4, 10-12 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-0-19811108 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1981-11-08 Title A name given to the resource God and Cosmos Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on November 8, 1981 entitled "God and Cosmos", at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Hebrews 1:1-4, 10-12. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Awe Consciousness Cosmos Creation Creator Eternal Love of God Faith https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d97c24fd462fe79bf66c65813cf8428d.pdf 9e467acb12c4513d6e3c141e6a3a20d3 PDF Text Text God, Humanity and Cosmos From the sermon series on the Cosmos Text: Psalm 8: 4-5 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan November 15, 1981 Transcription of the spoken sermon What is man that thou art mindful of him, …dost care for him? Yet thou hast made him a little less than God. Psalm 8: 4-5 Through a happy coincidence, this was an exciting week in the old U.S. of A. as we once again accomplished a great triumph of science and technology, sending into space again our Spaceship Columbia, watching it blast off with all of the drama of those moments, and then, in order that we might report its safe return this morning, the mission was shortened, and they came back yesterday. Exciting, really, isn't it? And doesn't it boggle the mind to think about the human potential, to think about what human intelligence is able to effect? Isn't it amazing, really, when you contemplate the nature of such events? Truly it is thrilling. Yet we become so easily accustomed to the dramatic and the sensational. If we were to tell our forefathers that these things were happening, they wouldn't believe it. They would say it was impossible. At best they might say, "Well, it's a miracle." Well, it is a miracle, in a sense. But in another sense, it is simply that the human mind has been able to probe the secrets of reality in order to accomplish a mission like that and continue the exploration of the cosmos. I kidded about them bringing the spacecraft home early so that we would know this morning that they were successful, but, as a matter of fact, that decision was made, though not for that reason. As I was thinking about Psalm 2 and the psalmist's reflection upon the cosmos and then upon himself, who he was in relationship to God, I thought that decision was a rather nice illustration of the second Psalm, for a choice was made in favor of human life over the probing of the cosmos. If the psalmist was impressed with the cosmos, then how much more you and me? If he was impressed with what he could see, which was but an infinitesimal fragment of what there is, if he was impressed with his smallness over against the vastness of space and the eons of time, which are becoming more and more clear to us, then how much more must we be impressed with our smallness and our insignificance? And yet, when one of the three fuel cells of that spacecraft failed, a decision had to be made as to whether to let the mission run its course, or to bring it home early. Two fuel cells were enough to allow the © Grand Valley State University   �God, Humanity and Cosmos Richard A. Rhem Page 2   mission to take its full run. But then, down to two, if one should fail, the mission and human life would be in jeopardy. And so, at headquarters, discussion was held and the decision was made. They came home early, even though involved were scores and scores of people, and millions and millions of dollars and all of that which is at stake. They brought that mission home early because in this nation, standing in the biblical tradition, we know the value and the sanctity of human life. And when it comes to taking a risk and succeeding with a few more scientific experiments, but placing at the same time, human life in jeopardy, there is really no question, because we know in the face of space's immensity and time's ever-rolling stream, that there is still one thing that counts supremely, and that is a human being. Now that is really the same kind of conclusion that the psalmist came to. On the one hand, he said, Lord, when I consider the heavens, the moon and the stars which you have ordained, what is man that you are mindful of him? And the son of man, that you care for him? He felt his smallness and his insignificance. He was overwhelmed by the immensity of the heavens overhead, and he recognized that his days were but a brief span of time. His littleness in the vastness of it all gave him such a sense of insignificance and smallness. As I said, if he felt small, how about us? We have to say that in our own day there have been a lot of people who have been unable to move with the modern conception of the universe and maintain a faith in God the Creator. The psalmist had a correct intuition. I mean, who are we, really, when you think of it? Fifteen to twenty billion years in the process, and now we are here, threescore years and ten, perhaps. Why, our lifespan is a blink of the eye. And when you realize, as Carl Sagan says in his book, Cosmos, that the earth is a speck of dust, circling a humdrum star, our sun - just an average old humdrum star - you begin to realize the vastness of the cosmos. We are on a speck of dust circling a humdrum star in a corner of an insignificant galaxy; and if we are on but a speck of dust in the vastness of space, so are our days but an instant in the eons of time. When you really stop to think about it, I mean when you really stop to contemplate it, can you still believe that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth? You see, there have been many of our contemporaries who have not been able to make that move and that adjustment. We have opened up the mysteries of the cosmos, and it is a most exciting day in which to be alive. But what has to happen is not only that the cosmos expands before our eyes, but our conception of God must grow commensurately. As J.B. Phillips wrote so many years ago, Your God Is Too Small. We have to admit, too, that in the Church we have not been very good at helping people to make this adjustment. © Grand Valley State University �God, Humanity and Cosmos Richard A. Rhem Page 3   In the most recent issue of Science '81, an excellent magazine which was placed in my hands, there is a centerfold on Creationism – Creationism as opposed to Evolutionism, and all of the controversy that is being stirred up by the fundamentalist wing of the Christian Church today. It recounts how several states have gone to court to get equal time for the doctrine of Creation in their schools. It is a very interesting development. This is a science magazine. And in this report it was stated what we have been saying here over and over again, that all of the scientific investigation of the cosmos, whether in biology or physics or geology or in whatever field - all of these investigations really do not impinge upon whether or not God created the heavens and the earth, and whether or not I can still believe that this is my Father's world. That really isn't at issue. But the problem with the fundamentalist wing of the Church that is stirring up all this controversy is that it is creating, once again, that overagainstness with science, and that mindset in much of the Christian Church that there is something destructive to faith in all of this explosion of knowledge in the natural sciences. That is tragic. We do ourselves a great disservice. If you feel good when you see some television evangelist pounding the pulpit and talking in terms of creation over against a godless, atheistic evolutionism, don't clap, because he is not on your side, if you are on the side of God and Truth. That is a false distinction, that is a false antithesis, and it is deadly. It is deadly because it offends the best minds and the best spirits, and it creates the illusion that to be a Christian you have to take off your head, shut down your mind and refuse to survey the vast amount of data that is there for anyone with any common sense. We can't play that game any longer. We have to admit that what the psalmist saw, the immensity of the universe and the eons of time and all of this which has become even more clear to us will necessitate an adjustment of our understanding of God. We simply cannot have this neat, secure little world, little planet Earth and our few thousands of years and our literal, biblical account of things, because, you see, the biblical writers were not writing physics, were not writing biology, were not talking about geology. The writers of the Bible thought that this was a threestory universe, with heaven above and the waters under the earth. God didn't whisper in their ears and give them some revelation of the mysteries of physics. This is not a science textbook, and you cannot find out about the process of the created order, you cannot find out about the stages which have brought us to this present point by going to the scriptures. The only thing the scriptures will tell you, and of course the only thing that really matters, is that in the beginning was God, and that He will be in the end, and that He is with us in the meantime. When the psalmist looked up and thought, "Oh my goodness, I'm not much," then how much more we, and we simply have to recognize that we need to do some readjusting because, as a matter of fact, this old, cosmological, evolutionary process has been going on for a long, long time. There is no doubt about that. And it has been following a course of natural development which now is more and © Grand Valley State University �God, Humanity and Cosmos Richard A. Rhem Page 4   more understood, with many mysteries still to be unraveled, but which will be unraveled. We live in a day which is right at the crest of a breakthrough that will continue to explode and explode and explode all around us. The more we learn, the more access we have to deeper mysteries, and when you saw Columbia come in and land right on the second and right on the line, that is simply a sign and a finger pointing beyond itself to the most fantastic dreams that are even now welling up in human hearts and minds. Never say never! Because before you die, it will have happened. But the psalmist had another insight, and that is the critical insight, for he not only experienced his smallness and his insignificance, but he went on to say, "Thou hast created him a little less than God. Thou hast crowned him with glory and honor. Thou hast given him dominion over the whole created order." That is the biblical insight. That is the significant fact. That is the uniqueness of being human. That is the religious issue, for it doesn't really matter how long it's been going on, and it doesn't really matter how vast the immensity of space. The fact is that we are here now at this point in the process, and we are human. The psalmist recognized that there is something about being human which is nearly divine. And if I were to put it in a sentence, I would say to you this morning that the message is simply this - You are really something. That's the biblical message. We may be impressed with distance, and we may be impressed with age, but what we really ought to stand in awe before is the mystery of being human, the wonder of what it is to be man and woman, created in the image of God, for what the psalmist was saying here when he said, "Thou hast made him a little less than God," was what the writer of the Genesis account was saying when he said, "God created man and woman in His own image." God created a creature over against himself and made him almost divine. He created a creature with selfconsciousness and with a measure of freedom and self-determination, and with responsibility and the opportunity to fall in worship and adoring praise before the Creator of it all. You are really something! To be human is the greatest mystery reflecting the deepest majesty of the whole cosmological process. When I look at thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast established: what is man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that thou dost care for him? Yet thou hast made him little less than God, and dost crown him with glory and honor. Thou hast given him dominion over the works of thy hands… Psalm 8: 3-6 We are created to be the co-laborers with God, partners with God in this creative process. We are endowed with gifts, with human potential, and we have the powers and the ability to reflect the divine image. We can think His thoughts after Him, and we can enter into His creative activity, and with the things that have already been accomplished through the exercise of human intelligence, who © Grand Valley State University �God, Humanity and Cosmos Richard A. Rhem Page 5   would dare say what the frontier finally would be? You are really something, and good religion will affirm human personality. Now, we need to hear that in the Church, too, don't we, because for too long we have spoken disparagingly of human personality. Nothing I say this morning would in any way detract from the fact which we have faced honestly that there is something desperately wrong with us all and we fall short of the glory of God. There is a meanness about us and a contrariness; someone, somewhere has thrown a wrench in the works, and man's inhumanity to man is given eloquent testimony from beginning to end. But in the Church, so often that is where we have left it. We talk about our misery and fail to talk about our grandeur. We talk about our fallenness and fail to take in the destiny to which we have been called. God has dealt with our sin, and by His grace, calls us to realize our destiny and to develop the full potential with which he has endowed us, and to reflect the divine image. You are really somebody. You reflect God. You were created in His image, a little less than Him, and He has created us in order to be in relationship with Him, to live in communion, and to live not only in communion with Him, but in communion one with another, and in interpersonal relationships where there is love and care and forgiveness and grace. There is a little bit of heaven. God and His creature, living in fellowship and communion, one with another and with Him, define the ultimate miracle and the meaning of the whole process. Now, that is terribly important to affirm and it ought to make you feel really good about yourself, because you really are somebody. You have potential untapped, you have gifts yet undreamed of, you have possibilities without limit. You are almost divine, and God calls us to that upward way more and more to respond to that destiny for which he has shaped us, to be prepared for the future that He has for us. Now, when you watch Carl Sagan on Cosmos, be enrapt with him in the excitement of exploring the mysteries of the physical world. And I affirm that, and I love it, and when you study it, as I have more and more, you are so impressed with the simplicity on the other side of complexity. The complexity of the cosmos and humankind seems so apparent. But once the smoke has cleared there appears a simplicity in the created order. All of us and all matter is made up of the same building blocks, the same atoms, the same fundamental elements, whether here on planet Earth or the moon or Jupiter or the sun or your beating, human heart. Everything, being composed of very simple and fundamental elements, seems to reflect a divine intelligence which can hardly be conceived of. But when you watch Carl Sagan and he begins to suggest that that process that has moved through all of the eons of time and all of that evolutionary process to the present moment is purposeless, the product of chance, when he begins to suggest that you are the latest and highest expression, and that there is no one beyond, then don't you believe him, for then he is no longer a scientist; then he is in the sphere of religion. He suggests that maybe the universes are not the © Grand Valley State University �God, Humanity and Cosmos Richard A. Rhem Page 6   dreams of God, but rather, that God may be the dream of man. He is saying that we have come to this point and then we have simply projected out, beyond ourselves the God that we wish were there. When he begins to talk that way, he has lost me. Then he has said that I am simply the consequence of all of that process of development having really no freedom and no unique spiritual character, related to all that went before but missing completely that relationship to Him Who is beyond and above. Then I know that he has missed the ultimate truth. Nothing that he says about our relationship to the cosmos is in any way in conflict to that relationship we have with a God Who spoke and called it into being. But to deny that God and to end up here is to leave me alone without a home and without meaning. Human existence, then, is the chance result of spontaneous reactions along billions of years. His explanation for the first development of life is that in a primeval soup one cell got the ability to reproduce itself and then through billions of years, organizing by perhaps a light ray striking a cell and causing a change, a mutation, and finally organizing and gathering and getting more and more complex, until finally one glob of cells woke up and said, "Well, here I am." Now, that takes faith to believe. When we contemplate what it is to be human, then we need not deny that whole process. But to me, it makes far more sense to believe that in the beginning there was an Intelligence that said, "Let there be..." with a purpose, and a purpose of love that moved the process to a point at which one day there was someone who looked into the face of God and experienced relationship, communion. For finally, what is ultimate and what is important? At NASA this week they made a decision, and a correct decision, for there is really nothing in the whole cosmos, there is no experiment, there is no technological breakthrough so important and so pressing that it would be worth placing in jeopardy one human life, one human life that knows itself as free and in relationship, able to love and to care. A couple of weeks ago when Nancy and I were at Mayo's, we did a lot of sitting and waiting for our names to be called. You watch a lot of people and a lot of people in various states of difficulty and need. It's always obvious when, for example, a son or a daughter has brought an aged parent, maybe in a wheelchair or helping them along to the desk. You think a lot about people and you watch them. Nancy was telling me about two old gentlemen, the one helping the other, hobbling along, finally getting to the desk because his name had been called, and the other who was helping said to the nurse, "Is it all right if I go in with him? You know, he's my brother." Well, you know, to me that's more impressive than a thousand billion galaxies. Isn't it, really? What finally counts? We stand not in any conflict with any scientific probe of the depths of reality. Half of the physicists are mystics, trying © Grand Valley State University �God, Humanity and Cosmos Richard A. Rhem Page 7   to determine the nature of what is. That is an exciting venture; it is a human venture. But we do stand in the midst of the darkness of space and the eons of time to say that, whatever else may be, this is ultimately important — we are, and we know one another, and we have learned to love and to care because into our lives, in our own flesh, has appeared Jesus. Jesus, in whose face we have seen the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, and found Him to be gracious. Ah, you are really something! You are really somebody. There are no limits to the possibilities that await you and, as the writer to the Hebrews recognized, what we see now is only a part. We see Jesus, not yet all things put into subjection to him, but the whole tenor of that New Testament, in the wake of Jesus, tells us that there is a future, the contours of which we have not yet begun to dream about. For eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man to conceive of the things that God has prepared for them that love Him. See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. I John 3: 1f (RSV) And what we shall be has not yet appeared, but we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And throughout all Eternity we will be brothers and sisters with our Lord, lost in wonder, love and praise of the God Who spoke and called all things into being. Blessed be His holy name. Amen. © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Scripture Text Psalm 8, Hebrews 2:5-9 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-0-19811115 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1981-11-15 Title A name given to the resource God, Humanity and Cosmos Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on November 15, 1981 entitled "God, Humanity and Cosmos", at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Psalm 8, Hebrews 2:5-9. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Community Cosmic Evolution Creation Creator Creature Grace Image of God Love Nature of God Nature of the Human https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2604f904c012abfbf1317cc7b030b11e.pdf 6092de23c5cebd0ab8fb6fa0979b71c3 PDF Text Text God, Cosmos, Grace and Thanksgiving From the sermon series on the Cosmos Text: I Chronicles 29: 11-13; Ephesians 1: 4-6, 9 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 1981 Transcription of the spoken sermon And now we thank thee, our God, and praise thy glorious name. I Chronicles 29: 11-13 In Christ he chose us before the world was founded…. Determined beforehand in Christ – to be put into effect when the time was ripe; namely, that the universe, all in heaven and on earth, might be brought into a unity in Christ. Ephesians 1: 4-6, 9 Worship is the ascription of worth to God; it arises from a sense of awe before the majesty and marvel of who He is. It arises, that is, it is a spontaneous, irrepressible expression of praise and adoration. Gratitude is likewise a spontaneous feeling that wells up in the human heart in the wake of the recognition of some grace or mercy or kindness done, some blessing received. We teach our children to say "Thank you" but we cannot teach nor can we coerce gratitude. How often do we not say of some person helped who fails to express gratitude, "What an ingrate!" But if it is not felt, then it cannot be forced. In this marvelous and moving outpouring of thanksgiving and praise of David in I Chronicles, we sense the essence of worship and gratitude - a heart totally transfixed in the presence of the grace of God. Let me tell you briefly about the situation that called forth this eloquent expression of praise and thanksgiving. Having consolidated his throne and expanded and secured Israel's borders, David wanted to build a great temple for the worship of God in Jerusalem. However, according to the prophet's word, that task would be denied David; it was rather to be his son, Solomon, who would build the temple. David yielded to that prophetic word, but he nonetheless made preparations for the building and used his power and persuasion with the people to gather gifts and resources with which to build. © Grand Valley State University   �God, Cosmos, Grace and Thanksgiving Richard A. Rhem Page 2   The occasion of our text is the great service of thanksgiving at the ingathering of the gifts of the respective tribes. A great outpouring of generosity to make the temple project possible was celebrated in a service of thanksgiving which was led by David, the King. The majestic doxological prayer, which is our text, is David's expression of the gratitude and praise he felt to God Who had moved the hearts of the people to support so generously the temple offering. David can hardly find words adequate to ascribe to God the worthiness of His grace. …Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from thee, and thou rulest over all. In thy hand are power and might; and in thy hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. And now we thank thee, our God, and praise thy glorious name. I Chronicles 29: 11-13 The deep emotion surges through that ascription of praise. We still "feel" it. It poured out. And true worship, praise and thanksgiving are the irrepressible expressions of a heart touched by mercy, overwhelmed by grace, subdued by love. True worship has the note of doxology and doxology cannot be coerced or conjured up. It arises. Doxology was a hallmark of Paul's worship. The burning passion of that great apostle was the consequence of a grand vision of the Truth. Paul's vision of God was no narrow understanding of some local, tribal deity, but rather of the Eternal God Who from eternity had a plan of cosmic scope to bind together all things into a glorious harmony and the very heart of that eternal purpose was grace. Like David, Paul can hardly find words adequately to express the grandeur and scope of the grace of God at work in the world, culminating in the grace that appeared in Jesus who is the very center of this vast cosmic drama. Listen to his outpouring of this cosmic vision: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. He destined us in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. …For he has made known to us in all wisdom and insight the mystery of his will, according to his purpose which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. Ephesians 1: 3-6, 9 In this series of messages, I have been attempting to sketch the amazing dimensions of the universe of which we are a part. To catch even a fleeting © Grand Valley State University �God, Cosmos, Grace and Thanksgiving Richard A. Rhem Page 3   glimpse, to gain even a faint impression of the wonders of the natural world is to stand in awe. And this I have tried to say to you – that the power and might and majesty of the Creation can be seen in another realm, the realm of His gracious reaching of us, creatures of His making, created to reflect His image, to live in communion with Him and one another. The God of Cosmos is the God of Grace. Our Creator is Our Saviour. As we reflect on the first chapter of Ephesians, we can sense the excitement of this insight into God's cosmic plan of salvation. Paul had received the revelation of God's gracious plan as we saw in the previous message. God had acted in Jesus to bring to the world the knowledge of Himself and in Jesus, to accomplish the salvation of the whole world. If we read the various letters of Paul, we know that salvation for him involved nature and people - the whole cosmos. It was this amazing revelation that Paul could hardly fathom, before which he bowed in adoring praise. Worship, praise and thanksgiving arose from the depths of his being. God had a plan. Before the foundation of the world He loved us and included us in His gracious purpose of love. When the time was ripe, He unveiled His hidden purpose that the universe, all in heaven and on earth, might be brought into a unity in Christ. Mindboggling, is it not! It was to Paul. He broke out in doxology. David and Paul both understood the grandeur and the wonder of God's gracious purpose. They knew God's grace was as expansive as the Cosmos and as personal as the individual person touched by grace. Grace is the secret of the universe - the world of nature. Grace is the secret of our human existence. Grace is the ultimate ground and cause of praise and thanksgiving. The Hamburg Times, dated October 9, 1981, has an extended article telling of a conference sponsored by the Thyssen Foundation. The purpose of this conference of scientists was to explore the "Anthropic Principle" - looking at the universe from the perspective of humankind. The amazing result was the realization that this whole cosmological process of billions of years is delicately balanced to provide at this point in the cosmic drama the presence of persons able to know who they are, know the history of the cosmos and assume responsibility for its future. Taking all the data available to us today through the research of the natural sciences, this convention of scientists discovered the universe to be delicately balanced, finely tuned in order to provide an environment in which life such as ours is possible. © Grand Valley State University �God, Cosmos, Grace and Thanksgiving Richard A. Rhem Page 4   Were the speed of expansion greater than it is, our universe would not have formed as it has. Were the force of gravity less or greater, our universe would not have formed as it has. The author of the article, “The World Is As It Is,” Reinhard Breuer, at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics at Garching, Bavaria, concludes by declaring, The interplay of exactly four forces seems, thus shows the anthropic principle, to have been already a quite frugal method for making possible an evolution through diversity and selection. The structure of the cosmos through natural laws as well as also a special process of evolution evidently cooperated effectively in an almost unique manner within the network of relative relations of forces in order to bring forth an intelligent civilization - us. The American physicist Freeman Dyson once said: "If we look out into the universe and recognize how many chance occurrences worked together for our benefit, then it almost seems as if the universe had known in a certain sense that we were coming." The anthropic principle thus permits a new and uniform valuation of the seemingly (at least in part) accidental development of the world and of the role of man in it. This indeed does not yet make possible an "explanation" in the sense of a scientific theory. Until today it has been shown that terrestrial life is most closely anchored in this structure, that our roots reach back all the way into the properties of the big bang. This transparence doubtlessly orients itself by the example of terrestrial life; it remains open whether an alternate cosmos could be populated by an entirely different form of intelligence. The new mode of thought underpins at any rate the thesis that the world is as it is because with any other constellation of natural laws we would not be here at all. To talk of an "accident" or of "chance" as the cause of our existence is therefore meaningless. Carl Sagan is fully aware of all the data of which these scientists were aware. He looks at it and is enthralled by it, but ascribes it all to chance, accident, coincidence. You and I look at it and fall to our knees as we begin to sense the Grace-Structure of the Cosmos. And with Paul we do more. We see in the vast Grace-Structured Cosmos a point in time - when the time was ripe -when one appeared whose name was Jesus, in whose face we see reflected the image of God Who is first and last the God of Grace. Could it be that this vast cosmic drama involving such immensity of space, billions and billions of years, could have been effected and set in motion for the purpose of love being shared, community being formed, community of God and humankind? That would seem to be the case. © Grand Valley State University �God, Cosmos, Grace and Thanksgiving Richard A. Rhem Page 5   What does that do for us? It certainly is no cause for boasting and pride. Are we not rather overwhelmed? Do we not identify with David, who in the ecstasy of experiencing the grace of God, cried out.... But what am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to give willingly like this? For everything comes from thee, and it is only of thy gifts that we give to thee. I Chronicles 29: 14 What am I? I am known and loved of God! O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! Grace is the ultimate truth, the final reality. Whether we search the distant stars or probe the mysteries of the minute atom, it is grace that meets us. Thanksgiving and praise arise from a heart transfixed by the grace of God. It is good in the Season of Thanksgiving to count our blessings, to take stock of our situation. Yet the immediate circumstances of our lives may not cause praise and thanksgiving to arise spontaneously. Perhaps our situation presently is one of adversity. Can we still give thanks? Certainly we can if we take the broad view, if we catch the vision of the cosmic grandeur of the Divine Purpose. In the long view, our immediate circumstances lose their urgency. In the light of the "big picture", we cannot but stand in awe before Grace. Grace is the ground of thanksgiving. Grace, as broad as the Cosmos, as personal as our names, engraven on the palms of His hands, is the first and last word. …Blessed art thou, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, for ever and ever. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from thee, and thou rulest over all. In thy hand are power and might; and in thy hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. And now we thank thee, our God, and praise thy glorious name. I Chronicles 29:10-13 Amen. © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Thanksgiving Day Scripture Text I Chronicles 29:9-18, Ephesians 1:1-10 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-0-19811126 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1981-11-26 Title A name given to the resource God, Cosmos, Grace and Thanksgiving Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on November 26, 1981 entitled "God, Cosmos, Grace and Thanksgiving", on the occasion of Thanksgiving Day, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: I Chronicles 29:9-18, Ephesians 1:1-10. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives David Divine Intention Grace of God Gratitude Thanksgiving Worship https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f752bfb83983da3d38384392dd0df16d.pdf 56868c9b33bdeb0659e090d69a94a537 PDF Text Text Memory and Hope in Our Cosmic Journey From the sermon series on the Cosmos Text: Isaiah 11: 1, 2-5 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Advent I, November 29, 1981 Transcription of the spoken sermon Advent means coming. The Advent of our Lord has for us a double focus: We remember that He came, We live in the hope of His coming again. Today we enter a new year - not a new calendar year, but a new Church Year or Christian Year. The Season of Advent comprises the period of the four Sundays before Christmas. It is a Season of preparation, a Season of penitence, a Season in which we ponder the mystery of grace in the first coming of Jesus and contemplate the Christian Hope, His coming in power to reign. It is appropriate that we enter this Holy Season around the table of our Lord for this Supper is a Feast of Remembrance and a Feast of Hope. He instructed his disciples, when they broke bread and poured out the cup of wine to remember him whose body was broken, whose blood was shed for them, for us, for the whole world. And in his instructions to them, he called them to do so "until he comes." Thus we are people who live in the time between the times. In the fullness of time, Jesus came. In the time of the End, he will come again. In the meantime, we celebrate his presence with us in the Spirit and in the signs he has given, the Bread and the Wine. The People of God are a people who always live by memory and hope. In recent weeks we have caught a glimpse not only of the immensity of space, but also of the eons of time in which our world has been evolving. We have a past. We have a future. © Grand Valley State University   �Memory and Hope in Our Cosmic Journey Richard A. Rhem Page 2   God has acted in our past. God will act in our future. In this confidence we live. We remember. We hope. So it was with Israel. The symbol on our Advent Banner is a branch, reminding us of the promise which inspired the Old Testament prophet. Through long centuries Israel sustained its hope for the future Kingdom by remembering God's action in its past. Israel was born in the Exodus, a great liberation movement which was annually commemorated in the Passover Feast. Each spring, Israel reenacted their freedom flight as the Passover Lamb was slain, roasted and eaten. In the ritual of remembrance, there was the note of expectation and hope for the day when the Messiah, God's anointed one, would come and bring to fruition Israel's dream of a Kingdom of grace and righteousness. Through the long, weary centuries faith often grew faint and almost succumbed to numbing doubt and debilitating despair. Then she cried, "How long, O Lord, how long?" She lived by the promise. She clung to the hope of the coming One. There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. Isaiah 11:1 Listen to the description of this One Who was to come. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor; and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. Righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist, and faithfulness the girdle of his loins. Isaiah 11:2-5 How Israel longed for such a leader; one who would take the twisted, the warped, the crooked and the deformed facets of her history and her world and usher in the Age of Peace and Righteousness and Justice and Truth. And one day, when hope was about gone and the flame of faith was flickering but faintly, Mary had a child. One of the few still hoping, praying, waiting was old Simeon who took the child in his arms and blessed God, realizing that this was indeed the long-awaited One. Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared in © Grand Valley State University �Memory and Hope in Our Cosmic Journey Richard A. Rhem Page 3   the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to thy people Israel. Luke 2:29-32 For Simeon, for Israel, their hope rooted in a memory was realized. Jesus was born; Messiah had come. In the wake of that birth, life and death, a new community was born, gathered around the resurrected and reigning Christ who was present in the Spirit. And the story was repeated. Just as Israel looked back to its redemption from Egypt, so the Church looked back to the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus as God's mighty act of salvation for the world. And looking back to the One Who came and reconciled the world to God, she waited in expectant longing for His coming again to wind up the drama of history and finally establish the Kingdom of God. Just as Israel annually remembered the event of its Redemption, so the Church regularly commemorates the event in which she finds salvation. Just as Israel remembered her past and hoped for the future action of God in the coming of the Messiah, so the Church commemorates Jesus' death in the hope of His coming again. That is where we are today — remembering, hoping. In this Advent Season we take courage from our remembrance of the past. Jesus has come. God's anointed has assumed our flesh and blood. Eternity has invaded our time. Grace has touched planet Earth. And we sense the excitement of John who had a vision of the glorified Christ who promised He was coming. Hear John's words... Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, everyone who pierced him; and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so, Amen. And the coming Christ says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega”, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. What are we to make of this promise of his coming nearly 2,000 years after this revelation to John? One need only to tune one's radio to most any frequency © Grand Valley State University �Memory and Hope in Our Cosmic Journey Richard A. Rhem Page 4   today to hear announced the near appearing of our Lord, coming to judge the world. The schemes and descriptions of the Last Things, the End Events, are without number. This waiting from which we take our text for this message has been the victim of the most fantastic and bizarre interpretations. Dates are set, predictions are made, but still He does not come. If already at the end of the First Century they were questioning, as II Peter tells us they were, the appearing of Jesus, then how much more must we, 2,000 years later? Surely in the light of 10 to 20 billion years of cosmological evolution since the "Big Bang," 2,000 years is a blink of the eye. Yet our time is measured in generations and 2,000 years for us earthlings is a long time. Is it possible that, just as our expanding knowledge of the physical universe called for a new understanding of the Bible's references to the heavens and the earth, so our present understanding of time is calling us to a new interpretation of time and eternity? Time and space are interwoven. You cannot peer out into space without going back in time. And at high velocity, time slows down. For example, light travels at 181,000 miles per second. If we could design a spaceship to travel at near the speed of sound, we could reach the center of the Milky Way Galaxy of which we are a part in 21 years. However, what for us would be 21 years would be for those we left on Earth 30,000 years. Not many of our friends would be there to greet us upon our return. Time is relative to motion. At the speed of light there is no elapse of time. Thus, time and space are interrelated, both integral aspects of our cosmic journey. But they are not absolute. They are relative. Perhaps Einstein's Theory of Relativity is calling us to a new conceptuality, a new model of Eschatology - that is, the doctrine of the Last Things, the End. Behold He is coming! That is the message to every generation. That is the word for us. He is coming. Could it be that every generation lives on the edge of Eternity; that every generation is equidistant to the End? The End, that is, of this phase of our cosmic journey? If that is so, then death becomes the gateway to Life in a new dimension. If that is so, then death becomes but the moment of transition, the momentary passage into the Light of Eternity and the presence of the Lord. And if that is so, then, my friends, we do stand always but a breath away from His appearing. And at this new Season of Advent the question is, are we ready? Are we so living that at any moment we are ready to meet the Lord? © Grand Valley State University �Memory and Hope in Our Cosmic Journey Richard A. Rhem Page 5   Memory and Hope in the Cosmic Journey. Take the Bread and remember. Remember Jesus, remember the Cross, remember the event of Easter morning. Then reflect on your journey. Where did He first encounter you? Can you recall the early spiritual impression of your journey? Can you let your mind have free wheeling for a moment to recapture the emotions of those times when He revealed to you His grace? Let your cosmic journey be projected like a film on the screen of your conscious memory. In light of those encounters of Grace in your past, where are you now? Are you moving or plunging deeper into the wonder and mystery of Grace? Or have the wells of your soul dried up? Has the flesh of your heart, once tender, hardened and become encrusted with bitterness, made brittle with the acids of cynicism, despair and hopelessness? And for what do you long? Where does yearning take place in your life? Do you believe He is coming? Do you believe one day all wrongs will be righted, all hurts healed, all dreams realized, all hopes come to fruition? Come to the Table of our Lord. Remember that which bread broken, wine poured out symbolizes. He died that you may never die, but live, live abundantly. Come to the Table of our Lord. Hear the Word today — Behold, He is coming! Learn to hope again. From this Table, with memory refreshed, with hope renewed, go to live fully alive, fully conscious, praying for and expecting with confidence and joy, the Lord Who is surely coming. © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Advent I Scripture Text Isaiah 11:1, 2-5 , Luke 2:29-32 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-0-19811129 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1981-11-29 Title A name given to the resource Memory and Hope in Our Cosmic Journey Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on November 29, 1981 entitled "Memory and Hope in Our Cosmic Journey", on the occasion of Advent I, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Isaiah 11:1, 2-5 , Luke 2:29-32. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Advent Cosmos Eschatology Eternity Faith Grace Hope Spiritual Journey https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b5155090b59250db8cbbd5273b649ddf.mp3 4249f0aef42f89f291aaa6fc225e6f83 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ebed986fd94159edf0e532bbc2a33d3b.pdf 82786c59cf5eb1d5de10cd10948752da PDF Text Text The Simplicity of Faith in the Gracious God Second sermon in the series: What the Church Has Forgotten, AA Remembers Text: Mark 9:23-24: “I believe; help my unbelief.”” Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan July 18, 1982 Transcription of the spoken sermon Once you accept the existence of God - however you define Him, however you explain your relationship to Him - then you are caught forever with His presence in the center of all things. You are also caught with the fact that man is a creature who walks in two worlds and traces upon the walls of his cave the wonders and the nightmare experiences of his spiritual pilgrimage. So declares Morris West in a preparatory note to his bestselling novel The Clowns of God. I think Alcoholics Anonymous would subscribe to that statement. They would appreciate the simple statement of the existence of God without an attempt carefully to define the nature of God with exactitude. They would agree, as well, that the acceptance of the existence of God has profound implications for our lives. And I think they would identify with this idea of human existence as being a very mixed bag - that humankind walks in two worlds: a world full of wonder and a world of nightmare experience. In this second message of the series, “What the Church Has Forgotten, AA Remembers,” we move to Step Two of the AA program for a recovering alcoholic. Let me repeat what I said last week: I speak of AA not simply to publicize it, although I am greatly impressed with this fine organization. Neither am I concerned in these messages with the use of alcohol per se. Rather, I wish to use the AA program to illustrate the biblical truths which constitute God’s method of human transformation, for I believe what AA has discovered and put effectively into practice is nothing new but rather the simple application of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What the Church too often only talks about, AA practices, and the persons who have been helped and healed are legion. In the first message we addressed the question of control - "Who is in charge?" Step One of the AA program is the admission that one's life is out of control "Our lives had become unmanageable." I suggested last week that to the profound realization, "I need help!", comes the obvious question, "Is there someone who can help?" That is what Step Two is all about. © Grand Valley State University   �The Simplicity of Faith in the Gracious God Richard A. Rhem Page 2   We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. That may sound like a highly religious statement from an organization that claims it is not religious - and it is not, but its principles are spiritual in nature and at this very early stage the person who has come to the conviction that he is helpless, that his life is unmanageable, is confronted with the suggestion that there is a Power greater than himself and that this Power holds the key to recovery, to the return to sanity, to wholeness. Is there someone who can help? AA says Yes, and suggests that all that is necessary to encounter that Power however defined - is an open mind, a mind open to faith, to faith that God exists. Once again, we are only at the beginning. Step Two points to the existence of a higher Power. Not until Step Three do we deal with trust or commitment. AA does not move too rapidly, expecting giant steps. What is necessary once one has said, “I need help,” is to come to believe that there is Someone Who can help and will help. Thus I entitle this message on Step Two, “The Simplicity of Faith in the Gracious God.” Before one commits one’s life to God, one must believe that He is and, before one who has come to the realization that he needs Someone beyond himself will be willing to commit himself, he must believe that that Someone is gracious, that the Power that is, is Grace. There is a story in the Gospels that illustrates very well what AA understands by Step Two. Mark tells us of a man whose son was possessed by a spirit that made him speechless. It would from time to time dash him to the ground and throw him into a convulsive-like state. Whether the child suffered epilepsy or what precisely his situation was, we are not certain, nor does it matter. Let us simply recognize a situation of great human suffering and great human need. The man brought the child to the disciples, but they were powerless to alleviate the child’s distress. When Jesus came, the man came to him seeking his help, explaining the impotence of the disciples. Jesus inquired further about the child’s condition and the father explained, concluding with the desperate plea, "If it is at all possible for you, take pity upon us and help us." There you have the situation - a life situation which reflects human suffering - a child whose life is bound in physical and mental and emotional anguish, a parent's anguish at the anguish of his child. In short, here we are back at Step One. We admitted our lives were unmanageable. We admitted we were powerless. It may be a physical ailment. It may be an emotional weakness. It may be the desperate plight of one dear to us. It may be the external circumstances of our © Grand Valley State University �The Simplicity of Faith in the Gracious God Richard A. Rhem Page 3   lives. Whatever breaks through the mask of our respectability, whatever wears thin the facade of our normalcy, whatever finally unhinges the floodgates by which we keep the raging sea at bay – sometime, somehow, somewhere, most of us come to recognize with profound conviction that we need help. As difficult as it is to get out the cry, finally we must say, If it is at all possible, help us! The response Jesus makes demonstrates that he was practicing the Twelve Step program long before AA inaugurated it. He said, If it is possible! Everything is possible to one who has faith. Certainly Jesus was triggering faith’s mechanism, bringing to the Father's consciousness that which alone can appropriate God's power. That will not be possible which we do not believe possible. I do not think Jesus was saying that one who has faith will arbitrarily regard anything as possible but rather that, in a given situation, it is faith that is the response by virtue of which God makes His limitless power available. What is faith here? I do not think it is much more than open-mindedness to whatever Power there is. And this is precisely AA's suggestion. It is precisely here that the Church must be willing to learn again faith's simplicity. Jesus is not carefully defining faith, the nature of God and the conditions of the application of His power. He is rather calling for an attitude of openness, which will allow the power of God to operate. Just as at Step One AA brings one to the consciousness of need but does not moralize or condemn, so here AA points to the source of help without feeling compelled to define that power and guard against misconception. Jesus says, "If it is possible! Certainly it is possible if you are open to the possibility." The response of the father is beautiful because it is so honest, so authentic, so free of pious cliché and mealy-mouthed evasion. I believe; help my unbelief! I love that. Perhaps I love that response so much because I have found that my response so often. And I suspect few statements in all of Scripture have given such comfort to struggling believers trying desperately to believe. The marvelous message of this passage is that such struggling faith, no more than an openness to the power of God, is enough to put us in touch with the Grace that heals and redeems. © Grand Valley State University �The Simplicity of Faith in the Gracious God Richard A. Rhem Page 4   The child was healed. And I suspect the minimal faith of the father grew to a profound confidence in the limitless power and grace of God. This, of course, is precisely what happens in the experience of the alcoholic. At the point of having faith, alcoholics are no different than anyone else. Like the rest of us, they have multiple barriers to faith. Faith is not easy. It is always exercised as a risk. But for the alcoholic, there is a reality check, for in a desperate situation, to turn to a Power beyond themselves begins to effect a human transformation. And, as that transformation takes root, the minimal faith that is little more than openness to a gracious Power grows into a more mature faith which takes on the character of trust. But again that gets us beyond Step Two. In fact, that is precisely Step Three. Let us stop with this simple faith in a gracious God for a moment - the faith that cries, I believe; help thou my unbelief! Let me make some observations. First of all, let me suggest that the question of God's existence is not so much an intellectual question as an existential question. It is not an academic matter but a life matter. It cannot be limited to a question of the head but is rather a question of the heart. Or perhaps better, it is not a question that touches only the mind but rather involves the whole person. The question of God pursued intellectually in calm and cool reflection is interesting, but it is not serious. Now I must make a qualification lest I be misunderstood. I am not saying that we are not called upon to think clearly about the question of God nor that in our serious pursuit of the question of God we must not fully utilize our critical faculties. There is far too much mindless religion and the Church has been guilty far too often of ducking the hard questions, hiding behind a smokescreen of pious platitudes. There has too long been too much fearful response to the critique of faith, too much defensiveness against honest questions and too much condemnation of honest doubt. Faith is not irrational. What is irrational is immoral to believe. God gave us minds to think clearly and if there is anything about which we ought to think clearly, it is the question of God and the faith of the Church. In fact, if we fail to think clearly about the faith, it is not to our credit but rather betrays the fact that we do not really believe at all. As much as anyone in our time, Hans Küng is carrying on this critical dialogue with the Christian tradition. In his book Does God Exist? He investigates the question of God as it has been addressed in the last four centuries. Beginning with the father of modern philosophy, Descartes, he traces the development of the God question. Küng compares and contrasts two seventeenth-century theologians, Descartes and Pascal, showing how the modern era began with © Grand Valley State University �The Simplicity of Faith in the Gracious God Richard A. Rhem Page 5   Descartes’ systematic doubt of everything he believed until he found certainty only in his own existence – the fact that it was he, himself, who was thinking. “I think; therefore I am.” This at least he could not doubt. From this small block of certainty he began to build the structure of knowledge. Pascal was critical of Descartes. He was a brilliant mathematician and scientist, but he recognized the fact that human reason could not be the gauge of reality or truth. Pascal's famous dictum expressed that well - "The heart has reasons the reason cannot know." Not cool, rational reflection, but a passionate pursuit of the truth and reason by the whole person was the way to the truth for Pascal. He declared the problem to be not intellectual certainty, but rather existential security. From these two thinkers - both incidentally Christian - can be traced a fascinating development of critical rationality as it has been applied to the question of God. That history of thought has led to the modern problem of God and the serious question of the existence of God, and Küng engages in the ongoing debate, indicating that he is convinced that all of our rational powers should be involved in this problem. But his research convinces him that the question of God's existence cannot finally be solved by human reason but rather calls for a decision of the will, a leap of faith if you will, not in the face of rational evidence but in the full light of rational evidence. Thus Küng would agree with the observation made above that the question of God cannot be solved by a detached academic pursuit but only by a passionate, existential quest. The roots of modern atheism, according to Küng, lie not in the amazing development and success of natural science and the emancipation of human reason from the shackles of superstition and traditionalism, but much rather in the alienation of the masses from the faith, due to the Church's inability to open itself and its dogma to the findings of science, as well as the Church's failure to address the sociopolitical problems that followed in the wake of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment and French Revolution. Rather than aiding and abetting the cause of human liberation and humanization, the Church aligned itself with princes and powers of established order. When revolution came, the Church was on the wrong side, identified with the power of oppression rather than on the side of liberation. When the Church as institution was rejected, so was the faith of the Church and the God Whom the Church claimed to worship. There you have the roots of modern atheism. In the cause of human liberation, the leading spirits of the last centuries have had to take a stand against the traditionalism of the Church. To be pro-human they were forced to be anti-God. You can trace a fascinating thread of thought through Ludwig Feuerbach, who claimed God was but a human projection, Karl Marx, who saw God as a consolation serving vested interests, Sigmund Freud, who claimed God was but © Grand Valley State University �The Simplicity of Faith in the Gracious God Richard A. Rhem Page 6   an infantile illusion – all leading to the nihilism of Friedrich Nietzsche who declared, "God is dead and we have killed him!" And we are not yet done with these thinkers and the problems they raised and the questions they put. But Küng has rendered a great service in helping us to understand where we are and how we got there. He has also demonstrated, I believe, what I said above the question of God must not only be answered; it must be answered out of the total human situation, out of our existential situation. For the question of God engages the whole person in his life situation, not just his head in splendid isolation. This brings me to a second observation: the question of God will most often arise in a situation of crisis. We have seen that in the program of AA. Step Two - openness to a Power beyond oneself follows Step One - life discovered to be unmanageable. This was the case in our Gospel lesson: a parent in anguish over the distress of his child. I think we would all testify to the fact that it is in the wrenching of the soul that we cry out, "Is there Someone Who can help?" This is the origin of the charge that religion is for the weak, for those who fail to find in themselves the resources to cope with life’s harsh reality. Do we have any defense against this charge? Not really. It is certainly true that it is most often in our extremity that God has His opportunity. But if we agree that human existence is fraught with peril and painful at best, then what are the alternatives to resting in the Lord? Gritting one's teeth and flying in the face of the pain? Cynicism and bitterness that corrode and poison the human spirit? Despair? Cursing the darkness? Feuerbach denied the existence of God, seeing Him as a projection of our need. God is not, but we have created Him out of our need for Someone to help in our helplessness. That is a possible explanation. In fact, I am afraid in far too many cases that is all God is to us - a combination of a super Santa Claus and Grandaddy created out of our craven fear and wanton desires. But that is not the only possible explanation. It could be that Augustine was right when he said... Thou hast created us for Thyself and our hearts are restless til they find their rest in Thee. It could be that God created us to find our security and our foundation in Him. It could be that life is unmanageable, that we are played upon by forces and pressures and tides not of our own making nor under our control. It could be that © Grand Valley State University �The Simplicity of Faith in the Gracious God Richard A. Rhem Page 7   only One beyond us can provide for us a solid ground for our lives and that it is His intention that in the perilous vicissitudes of life we find our rest and peace in Him. Perhaps there is Someone to help, a Power available if only we would open our lives to it. That brings me to a third observation. It is the testimony of the centuries; it is the witness of every recovering alcoholic; it is the experience of every truly religious person: all that is required is the simplicity of faith in the Gracious God. Again, there are depths of faith to be plumbed; there is a profundity of true Christian experience to be probed, but the transforming, liberating, redeeming grace and power of God are available to the one who can in honesty say no more than, "Lord, I believe; help Thou my unbelief!" I submit to you that that is amazing and marvelous. All God asks is that we throw down our weapons of defensiveness, our arguments and the barrier to belief we have erected. All God asks is openness to a dimension of reality beyond us, openness to a Power that transcends us, openness to a Grace that can heal us. Oh, I confess the sins of the Church. Too often we have encrusted the simple invitation of the Gospel with the baggage of our traditions and the burden of our dogma. We have thought it our duty to guard God and Truth through our careful definition and we have demanded not the simplicity of faith but whole systems of doctrine, most of which have never been through the refining fires of modern critical reflection. And I confess another sin. In the Church we have demanded conformity to our narrow conception of the moral life, most of which has precious little to do with morality, a conception of morality which majors on the peripheral matters and neglects the heart of the matter: love and justice and truth. But God must not be rejected even though the Church has offered only a distorted glimpse of Him, for to reject Him is to reject the only Power that can save us, heal us and make us whole. Only God can help us, transforming our nightmare experiences into experiences of wonder as He heeds our cry of simple faith and leads us into the expansiveness of Grace. Lord, I believe; help Thou my unbelief! © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Series What the Church Has Forgotten, AA Remembers Scripture Text Mark 9:23-24 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-0-19820718 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-07-18 Title A name given to the resource The Simplicity of Faith in the Gracious God Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text 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 18, 1982 entitled "The Simplicity of Faith in the Gracious God", as part of the series "What the Church Has Forgotten, AA Remembers", at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Mark 9:23-24. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Alcoholics Anonymous Faith Grace Transformation https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/6e9969320ea8676eab566d86bb163913.mp3 8a892bc3c3e6c110509b1962fe6e6bc0 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/097e028340500adc6941bfd440c6e7c6.pdf 4c29f2bfd768b1583fe119b54ebcd23a PDF Text Text Trust Third sermon in the series: What the Church Has Forgotten, AA Remembers Text: Romans 7 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan July 25, 1982 Transcription of the spoken sermon "Miserable creature that I am, who is there to rescue me... God alone, through Jesus Christ, our Lord " To trust is to have faith or confidence in; to rely or depend upon; to commit oneself to. Faith is a key word in the New Testament, being the term regularly used to denote the many-faceted religious relationship into which the Gospel calls persons - trust in God through Jesus Christ. Trust in God involves the whole person. If faith is the most common umbrella term, trust carries with it strong connotations of the total commitment of oneself to another. When one says, "I believe," it is a conscious and deliberate act, but it carries with it the idea of surrender to a new reality. A variety of terms can be used to describe this surrender, but implicit in the act of faith or trust is the element of acknowledgement - one knows and acknowledges the one in whom one trusts and the element of commitment - the entrusting of oneself to another. Volumes have been written on faith or trust. The nature of faith and its place in the Christian scheme of redemption have been endlessly discussed and debated. Too often trust has been defined and delineated in abstraction and what has resulted is a sterile theological proposition or doctrinal statement. Our interest in this message is more practical and experimental. We will look at trust as an act of stepping out of ourselves and outside our experience, looking to a gracious Power beyond ourselves, surrendering ourselves to the care of that Power - that Power that for us has been made known as the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In this series of messages we are paralleling the Twelve Step program of Alcoholics Anonymous with the Gospel of Christ, not in order to learn AA’s Twelve Steps, but rather to learn again the Gospel diagnosis of the human situation, the remedy in the Grace of God and the way of life to which the Gospel © Grand Valley State University   �Trust Richard A. Rhem Page 2   calls us. These things AA has discovered and by them alone they live. These things too often the Church forgets, encrusting this way of human transformation with religious burden and institutional baggage. Step One: We admitted we were powerless over alcohol -that our lives had become unmanageable. Step Two: We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. That Power was left undefined, our relationship to that Power left unexplained. In the AA program - which is spiritual, but not religious, that Power is never defined, nor must one subscribe to a carefully delineated formula of relationships. Step Two is little more than a positive response to the cry out of desperation -Is there Someone who can help? Step Two points to the existence of a higher Power. Step Three takes us further We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. Step Two speaks of little more than our openness to the truth of the existence of a higher Power - of God. Step Three speaks of opening one's life to God. It speaks of decision, thus to a deliberate act. The decision is to turn one's will - indeed, one's whole life - over to the care of God. Steps One and Two were reflective in nature: My life is unmanageable! Possibly there is Someone who will help! Step Three requires more than the acceptance of the truth of a statement. It calls for affirmative action. At Step Three the alcoholic is called to act to let God into his or her life. It is the profound conviction of AA that anyone can begin to let God into his life if he is willing. Willingness is the key. One has acknowledged he is powerless. One has come to a point of at least minimal faith that there is a Power - gracious Power. Now one is at the point of decision; one decides to turn over one's will, one's life to the care of God. AA shows great wisdom in separating Steps Two and Three. The world is full of people who believe there is a God, but too few have ever experienced the power of God operating in their lives. It is the entrusting of one's life to God that allows the © Grand Valley State University �Trust Richard A. Rhem Page 3   flow of God's power to effect our lives. It is trust - which is more than intellectual assent to the proposition "God exists" - which puts us into vital relationship with God. Trust is the action called for when Steps One and Two have become our profound conviction. Step Three is the watershed. It is the end of the self-life. It is the beginning of the God-controlled life. This step is what the New Testament means by conversion. It is a turning point. A turning from self to God, from independence to dependence, from self control to God-control, from self will to God's will, from impotence to Power, from death to life. There are many people who are religious. Too few people experience power in their religion. It is when one consciously and deliberately turns from oneself and turns to God that one is in a place to appropriate the Power that transforms human existence. Only a vital, personal, total surrender of our wills to God puts us in touch with His life-changing Power. There is much that could be said about the background of this commitment according to Christian teaching. Behind the commitment must be the prior work of the Holy Spirit convincing us of our need. And the work of the Spirit points to the Grace of God - His initiative as He reaches out for us and pursues us through the labyrinth of our human predicament. But it is clearly a biblical teaching that decision is demanded. That decision may be an undramatic, quiet resolution of the heart. That decision may come at the end of a long process of conflict and struggle. That decision may be made as a result of a sudden crisis experience. There is no stereotype that can be advocated. What must be insisted upon is that one must decide to turn over one's life to God. There is an interesting aspect of AA's understanding of this decision to turn one's life over to God which is largely forgotten in the Church - especially that part of the Church that most stresses conversion. Conversion is not once for all, as though once accomplished one was through with it. Too much of the evangelical Church stresses the initial commitment so strongly that the impression is made that once that is handled one simply goes on as a Christian. Perhaps this is why there are so many professing Christians who demonstrate little power, little of the reality of God in their lives. AA has discovered what the Heidelberg Catechism understood in the sixteenth century; conversion is not once for all, but daily - the daily dying of the old man and the daily making alive of the new man. AA goes further; it is the moment-bymoment turning over of one's life to God. One day at a time - one moment at a time. Living by the power of God is a dynamic process of appropriating that power, of turning over our wills to His. © Grand Valley State University �Trust Richard A. Rhem Page 4   There is another AA insight the Church needs to relearn. While we must stress the deliberate, conscious act of the will in commitment, we must know that we are dependent on the enabling grace of God even for such an act of faith. If it were I who finally chose for God it would still be "I", the self determining the self. But it is precisely self-sufficiency of which I must be rid. Thus the appeal to the will of so much hardcore evangelism is still an appeal to self-determination. Rather than having confidence in his self-determination, the alcoholic says only he is willing. To clench my fists, to grit my teeth and to say, "I am determined..."is quite different from saying, in total self-resignation and surrender, "I am willing..." The latter is AA's way. It is a way that acknowledges that rescue comes by grace. As one recovering alcoholic put it, You don't reach for God. You become willing to have Him take over, and He reaches for you! Trust is surrender. AA lives by this truth and, if we understand ourselves and our faith, so do we in the Church. Surrender to God. Total dependence upon God. Moment by moment appropriation of His grace and power. That is salvation, rescue, redemption. Consider now the experience of St. Paul. I chose Romans 7 as the biblical basis for this message even though it is not one that would seem to speak to the matter of conversion as the church has understood it. Yet I believe this passage illustrates vividly what these first three messages have been trying to point out. Romans 7 is a hotly debated chapter. Was Paul speaking autobiographically, telling his own story, or was he speaking of the human situation in general? And even more hotly contended is the question whether he is describing the experience of a believer or the experience of one before conversion. Perhaps as with no other passage, there continues to be little agreement on that question and excellent biblical scholars, ancient and contemporary, can be lined up on either side of the questions. Obviously, I will have to give you space to understand this passage as you become convinced in your own mind. I will, however, tell you how I read it while admitting one should not be dogmatic and should always remain open to a new insight and angle of truth. © Grand Valley State University �Trust Richard A. Rhem Page 5   I believe the passage describes the human condition - the enigma of our human nature; but I believe Paul does that so poignantly, so vividly, so powerfully because it is a description of his own experience. So much for the first question. I believe as to the second question that Paul is describing in Romans 7 the experience of a believer rather than a pre-conversion struggle. As we look at the passage I trust that my reasons for adopting these positions will be clear. Let me begin the exposition by pointing to the text - a cry of miserable despair, an expression of grateful trust. Listen to Paul: "Miserable creature that I am, who is there to rescue me out of this body doomed to death?" There you have despair, although not absolute despair. Paul has not given up on the possibility of Someone to rescue him. Do you recognize Steps One and Two? There follows an expression of grateful trust: "God alone, through Jesus Christ our Lord! Thanks be to God!" Do you recognize there Step Three? Although the word trust or faith does not appear, it is obvious that Paul points to God Who has reached him through Jesus Christ - God alone; God his only hope, the God of Salvation in Whom he trusts, to Whom he commits himself, the God to Whom he has made unconditional surrender. Having begun with the conclusion, let us now examine the dilemma out of which Paul cried for deliverance. The great question Paul is dealing with is how a person becomes right with God. Essentially there are two ways, two ways which divide all religions into two camps. Either through human effort and achievement one makes oneself right, or one trusts the grace of God to make one right, trusting God to do what one has found impossible to do. Paul's position is... Salvation (being right with God) is God's gift. It is of grace. It can never be achieved, earned or merited. His antagonists, in this case, Jewish legalists, believed Salvation must be achieved through obedience, the performance of God's will in obedience. The Jewish position saw the human will as having the ability, the power, to perform, to keep the Law. © Grand Valley State University �Trust Richard A. Rhem Page 6   Paul saw the human will as powerless so that the more one was concerned fully to follow the Law, the deeper one mired oneself in the misery of powerlessness. Paul's position will be illustrated somewhere in this area today. On a beautiful Summer Sunday with thousands flocking to the beach, the parking lots will be filled and people will have to park on the street and just off the street. Someone will misjudge the shoulder, not realizing it is nothing but sand. The car will sink. As they try to accelerate to gain sufficient power to extricate the car, the wheels will spin, but rather than propelling the car forward and out of the sand, the wheels will spin where they are, digging themselves in. The more gas that is given, the quicker the car will burrow down until the axle will be resting solidly on the sand. The only possible deliverance is for a power from the outside to pull the car out - its own wheels moving in response to the power of the other vehicle, but simply turning as they are turned with no power applied from the buried car itself. This was precisely Paul's experience. Read his autobiographical statement in Philippians 3. He says if you want to talk about credentials, confidence on external grounds, qualification, achievements, in sum, one's own record, let me mention mine. "Circumcised on my eighth day, Israelite by race, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born and bred; in my attitude to the Law, a Pharisee; in pious zeal, a persecutor of the Church; in legal rectitude, faultless." Phil. 3:5-6 That is some record. Never was one more serious about life's ultimate concern. Not one of his detractors could match that achievement. Paul knew whereof he spoke. And where did it get him? In despair. What did he learn? The powerlessness of his own will to perform what his reason agreed was the just requirement of the Law. He knew the problem was not with the Law. He says, "...The Law is in itself holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good." But what did that good Law accomplish in him as he tried to follow it fully? It brought about his death - spiritually. Why? Because he says, "...The Law is spiritual; but I am not. I am unspiritual, the purchased slave of sin." In utter amazement, Paul says, "I do not even acknowledge my own virtues as mine, for what I do is not what I want to do, but what I detest." What is the solution? © Grand Valley State University �Trust Richard A. Rhem Page 7   To look to Someone who can do for me what I cannot do myself. Here is Step One - Misery; life unmanageable/ Here is Step Two - A Power beyond myself. And Paul took Step Three - God alone - through Jesus Christ our Lord! I believe what Paul describes here is universal. Surely not every person goes through that agonizing struggle because not everyone has been sensitized by the claim of God upon his life. Paul acknowledges that, before the Law came, rebellion was out of the question. But for the person who becomes serious about being right with God - having one's life in conformity with the Law of love and justice and compassion, the greater the struggle, the greater the sense of powerlessness. But I am convinced Paul can speak so vividly of a universal condition because he read the experience out of his own heart. Is there no let up, no abatement of the struggle? Yes, there is. That is why I added the first four verses of Chapter 8. The power of the Spirit, which is the Power of God, sets us free from the Law of sin and death. When I entrust my life to another, when I surrender to God through Jesus Christ, the grace and power of the Spirit accomplish in me what I through my own efforts could not accomplish. Are there any more blessed words in Scripture than this marvelous declaration? " There is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus." Here we have the victory cry! Here is rescue, redemption, salvation, help, healing and wholeness. Is the struggle over? Do we move from misery to victory once for all? Is Romans 7 the state of unbelief and Romans 8 the state of faith? I do not think so. I do not think we ever move finally from Romans 7 to Romans 8, from the life of misery to the life of victory. Notice the summary of Romans 7 in the 27th verse... "In a word then, I myself, subject to God's law as a rational being, am yet, in my unspiritual nature, a slave to the law of sin." To be sure, Paul has made other statements that would seem to contradict this. For example, "If anyone be in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” II Cor. 5:17 And we know the truth of that statement, too. But it is not as though we move beyond the first into the second once for all. Here the AA experience has much to © Grand Valley State University �Trust Richard A. Rhem Page 8   show us. It is precisely the day by day and moment by moment appropriation of the power of God or, to put it more precisely, the moment by moment trusting, yielding, surrendering to the Spirit that enables us to live in the realm of victory and escape the situation of misery. Is there no alternative to the life of Trust? There is none. But to live in conscious trust is to live in constant power. And to live in constant touch with God's saving power is to live in grace. And to live in grace is to live in gratitude. And to live in gratitude, in grace, in touch with God's power is to live indeed! AA leaves to each person the task of defining God. Note Step Three speaks of God as we understand him. Here the Gospel of Jesus Christ leaves us no doubt. We see Him in the face of Jesus. We come to Him through Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus said we come to the Father through him and he said, "He that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out." Have you come to the Father through Jesus, the Son? Can you remember some moment past that was filled with the glory of His presence, power and grace? Can you remember when you said clearly and deliberately, "Jesus, I come"? Have perhaps the years passed and the stress of life taken its toll? Would you now in the sanctuary of your heart surrender again to the gracious God Who calls you to Himself, to rest and peace, Who calls you simply to trust Him and find in Him salvation, healing and health? Come... He will set you free! © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Series What the Church Has Forgotten, AA Remembers Scripture Text Romans 7 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-0-19820725 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-07-25 Title A name given to the resource Trust Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text 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 25, 1982 entitled "Trust", as part of the series "What the Church Has Forgotten, AA Remembers", at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Romans 7. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Alcoholics Anonymous Grace Spirit Transformation Trust https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/6fd4ef89af77cff0482a45870bfdd8f7.mp3 e17b783ad80ade701de0df7a632beeca https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/317666d5c073b7eb886135e979808b1c.pdf 5688549704c5c610d5126701eb2023b6 PDF Text Text The Grace That Enables Us To View Ourselves Honestly Fourth sermon in the series: What the Church Has Forgotten, AA Remembers Text: Psalm 139 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan August 15, 1982 Transcription of the spoken sermon Thoreau said that all men live lives of quiet desperation, and I often believe that he was right. One evening this week the telephone rang and the person on the other end told me of a young man who had entered this sanctuary some months ago. Being in his 30th year and never being a part of the Church, he was amazed at what he heard and what he felt here and was one of the most sincere and serious seekers with whom I had ever dealt. In a number of sessions I developed a real fondness for him, the reality of his questions, his search, his struggle to find meaning, his reaching out after God. The voice on the other end of the telephone line informed me that last week he committed suicide. And so, one recognizes that Thoreau was right. All over this community churches gather, congregations assemble to worship very much as we have done here with our Sunday clothes, our respectability, and our cordiality. We meet one another, but we do not really meet. We manage to keep things on the surface and we major in trivialities. We major in trivialities because any deeper probing might unmask us and reveal the quiet desperation and the storm that rages within. Churches meet, people singing hymns and saying prayers and going forth from the sanctuary still bleeding and bruised and wondering what to make of it all. And not only in the churches, but also in the streets of the city, the throngs go to and fro, carrying within the raging storm. How can we penetrate the thick armor with which we shield our deepest hurts, our anxieties, our fears? How can we learn to live lives of health and wholeness? How can we come to an honest self-awareness that is the prelude to human wellbeing? Today we make a significant shift in our study of the parallels between the Twelve Step Program of Alcoholics Anonymous and biblical faith. In the terminology of the Church we begin at Step Four to speak of the Christian life. To use the doctrinal term, we begin now to speak of sanctification or the way of holiness, which I would like to translate as the way to wholeness. © Grand Valley State University   �The Grace that Enables Us to View Ourselves Honestly Richard A. Rhem Page 2   Step One was a step of diagnosis - Our lives had become unmanageable. Step Two took us beyond our misery to a Power beyond ourselves - We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. Step Three was the watershed moment - We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God, as we understood Him. With those three steps we have admitted we have a problem - or better, we are a problem - and we are powerless to help ourselves and we have committed our lives, turned ourselves over to God. In biblical terms, we have entrusted our lives to God. Where do we go from here? I have entitled this series "What the Church Has Forgotten, AA Remembers" because AA is actually doing what too often for us in the Church is only a way of life acknowledged but too little lived. AA is responsible for the transformation of millions of lives that once were broken and miserable. Human transformation is what we in the Church are about. We must learn again our own faith in order again to be effective in changing human nature, bringing healing and creating wholeness. Step Four calls for a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. For the alcoholic, sobriety has been won through the admission of powerlessness and the commitment to the Power of God. But now that sobriety has been achieved, how can one go on to a new life? How does one appropriate the power of God on a day-by-day, moment-by-moment basis not only to stay sober but to find the fullness of life? Step Four calls for an honest self-appraisal - true self-knowledge as the way to a transformed life. Self-knowledge is not an end in itself. It is, however, a necessary first step toward the goal of accepting responsibility for our own lives and beginning to work at behavior modification. The Gospel too calls us to an honest appraisal of who we are and sets before us the model of Jesus Christ as that fully human existence to which we are called. My thesis in this message is that the Grace of God enables us to view ourselves honestly. Knowing that we are loved unconditionally and accepted just as we are gives us the courage to accept ourselves, own our own behavior and take responsibility for our lives. Let me suggest first of all that seeking self-knowledge takes courage. We must admit that we avoid self-knowledge both because we are proud and we are afraid. By self-knowledge, I mean a knowledge of who I am, an understanding of myself, why I react as I do, my strong points and my weak points, my deepest desires, my greatest fears. I mean a knowledge of how I react in given situations, how I affect © Grand Valley State University �The Grace that Enables Us to View Ourselves Honestly Richard A. Rhem Page 3   people and how other persons affect me. By self-knowledge I mean understanding myself, understanding the past which has shaped me and the present which conditions me and the future which determines me. By selfknowledge I mean an honest appraisal of my strengths and my weaknesses. In a word, self-knowledge is knowing who I am. In the case of AA, it is obvious why the new life begins with a searching and fearless moral inventory. Alcoholism is a disease and for some persons there is an immediate chemical reaction, which leads to addiction. But for most people alcohol is first of all a way of escape from life and its realities. It is a cover for fears and anxieties, feelings of resentment or frustration, a compensation for feelings of inferiority. The first requirement was the admission of powerlessness and then the willingness to turn one's life over to the power of God. Thus sobriety is achieved. But the problems that lie behind the turning to drink in the first place remain. It is those problems that need to be named, owned and dealt with. But the alcoholic is not unique. He is not the only person with problems. We are all alike. Our problems differ. The way we handle our problems differs. But we all devise some method of coping with life. We may choose some escape mechanism that does not lead to an addiction such as alcohol, but we all have our ways. Some of us chain smoke. Some of us bite our fingernails. Some of us keep on a merry-go-round of activity. Some of us overeat. Some of us withdraw into ourselves. Some of us overwork. Some of us play too hard. Some of us know it. Some of us don't. Self-knowledge is painful, but living without self-knowledge is pitiable. AA is very serious about the moral inventory. As I have mentioned in each message, AA is a spiritual organization but it is not a religious organization. It is not precise in the definition of its terms. It leaves to each person to form his own conception of God and, in regard to the moral inventory; it leaves to the individual the freedom to define the problems of his own character. The biblical term would be sin. That term is expressed by several biblical words meaning missing the mark, or transgressing the bounds, something twisted or distorted; sometimes it refers to rebellion. Sin is not a popular word. If one prefers, as one approaches the inventory one can speak of character defects or maladjustments. However one speaks of it, what is being asked is to be completely candid about those attitudes and actions and behavior patterns in one's life which are the roots of the disruption one experiences within one's self and in one's relationships. AA is not only very serious about this process; it is very practical, as well. It calls for a written report. The inventory is very concrete and specific, naming the fault, © Grand Valley State University �The Grace that Enables Us to View Ourselves Honestly Richard A. Rhem Page 4   how one behaved in light of the fault and the consequences of that behavior. For example, from the outstanding clinic for alcoholic recovery, Hazelden, comes this pamphlet, "A New Fourth Step Guide", which is an instrument to help one do the Fourth Step meaningfully. In the instructions it says: Step Four (like each of the Steps) marks the beginning of a new way of life. It says that today I will begin to take a realistic assessment of myself. We hope this guide will help you begin to learn to know yourself. Three attitudes are important: To be searching, fearless and moral. 1. Are you searching? Are you really digging into your own selfawareness and describing your behavior as it really is? 2. Are you fearless? It takes courage to face yourself in terms of what has really been going on in your life. 3. Are you moral? Take a good look at the "good-bad" implications of your behavior, your own values? How does it size up with your own values? Then there are some thirty pages, most of which are blank spaces for one to write in response to questions raised at the top of the page. Let me cite just a couple: FALSE PRIDE What we mean is excessive pride; being so thin-skinned that we have trouble admitting any human weaknesses at all. Another word for this kind of pride is grandiosity. Describe how your pride has kept you from looking at your own behavior. HUMILITY Now that you are learning that it is safe to admit your powerlessness and unmanageability, do you find it easier just to be human? Being humble doesn't mean being weak. It means accepting ourselves - our strengths as well as our weaknesses. Do you know something now about what humility really means? Are you able to be less defensive? To enjoy the peace that comes with genuine humility? Explain. SELF-PITY This is hard to recognize, and it's something no one likes to admit. It's a matter of feeling sorry for ourselves. Maybe because we feel people just don't understand us. Or maybe it's feeling that people don't respect us or don't love us enough. It means feeling hopeless, feeling like a victim of © Grand Valley State University �The Grace that Enables Us to View Ourselves Honestly Richard A. Rhem Page 5   circumstances. Have you ever felt self-pity? Do you feel sorry for yourself right now? After each brief statement, it is your turn to respond. Sounds scary, does it not? That is why I began by saying that honestly to seek knowledge of ourselves takes courage. As I said earlier, self-knowledge is painful. Yet I also said to live without self-knowledge is pitiable. That brings me to the second point I want to make Self-knowledge is freeing. As much as our pride and our fear resist self-knowledge, there is nothing more freeing than the honest admission and acceptance of who we are. So many of us expend so much energy covering up who we are. We spend our days in selfjustifying behavior. We explain ourselves and excuse ourselves and when we are cornered, we strike out in defensiveness. To some degree we all play roles. We wear masks. We hide the person we are behind a cloak of respectability. The roles we play, the masks we wear depend on where we are and with whom we are. We tend to live up to others' expectations and so much of human relationship and human society occurs on a very superficial level. We have surface contact and we major in trivialities. What a relief it is to be able simply to be ourselves in the presence of someone with whom we feel safe, not worrying that we will be discovered for what we are rather than known for what we project as our facade. This brings me to the Old Testament lesson, Psalm 139. This magnificent poetry sings of the sovereign and gracious presence, power and knowledge of God. After reciting the completeness of God's knowing, His inescapable presence, His limitless power, the Psalmist concludes with a morning prayer for God to search his inmost being, to make him transparent and to lead him in the way of truth. I submit to you that only one who has found God to be gracious would dare to offer such a prayer. Obviously this is the prayer of one who knows God intimately and has been convinced of His steadfast love for he cries out, "How precious are Thy thoughts to me!" To be known completely, and to take comfort in that, is to know that God is gracious. But does the recovering alcoholic necessarily know God in the intimacy of His love and grace? Not necessarily. He may still be at the stage of speaking of an Anonymous Power. Whence, then, comes the Grace? © Grand Valley State University �The Grace that Enables Us to View Ourselves Honestly Richard A. Rhem Page 6   In the AA experience it comes from another person, perhaps his sponsor, and from the AA group. The mediation of grace comes through persons who know where the recovering alcoholic is coming from and who reach out without judgment offering total acceptance. The AA fellowship provides the tangible expression of God’s grace to the person who has finally come to seek help much as Jesus mediated grace to the woman at the well. That fascinating narrative which John has written into his Gospel for his own purposes of telling the story and significance of Jesus is a beautiful instance of the Grace with which Jesus dealt with persons. Jesus, gracious Jesus, able to engage in conversation a woman of Samaria. Every word is loaded; for him to talk to a woman, for him to talk to a Samaritan woman - all of that immediately spoke volumes, which he did not have to say in so many words. Jesus, gracious Jesus, reaching out to a woman living in quiet desperation, communicated to her that kind of grace that enabled her to come to self-knowledge. It is an interesting little story. Starting out at Jacob's Well, a drink of water, Jesus moving directly to the point... "Bring your husband." "I have no husband." "You're right, you have no husband. You have had five husbands, and the one you are with now is not your husband." She says, "My, you must be a prophet. Let's talk about worship." But he had gotten to her. Not an unmasking that left her denuded, but a gracious peeling away of the facade that opened her up to the healing of his acceptance and unconditional love, enabling her to go back home to say, "Come, meet a man that told me everything that I ever did." Honesty can only happen in the context of grace. I wish the Church could learn that. The Church is the last place in the world you would want to be honest. A sinner wouldn't be caught dead in church, for the Church is for the righteous, for the religious, for those that need no physician. But Jesus said, "I came to call not the righteous, but sinners, sick people, people with problems, people with fears, with resentments, wallowing in self-pity, people with self-destructive tendencies. People who are poor bets and high risks, bleeding people, bruised people, people beaten in the game of life. I've come to help people say, "That's who I am, and God loves me anyway'" - the prelude to movement toward wholeness. © Grand Valley State University �The Grace that Enables Us to View Ourselves Honestly Richard A. Rhem Page 7   It is grace that enables us honestly to look at ourselves. Apart from grace we keep our defenses up and go on our self-justifying way, expending tremendous energy to avoid the reality we would rather not face. Grace enables the courage of self-knowledge. Grace, enabling self-knowledge, creates the possibility of freedom. Grace alone provides the climate for healing and the fullness of human existence. When we have seen the Father in the face of Jesus and experienced His grace in the acceptance of another in whom the Word becomes flesh, we can view ourselves honestly, accept ourselves and take responsibility for our lives and find the flow of God's power, which moves toward wholeness. Thank God! Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Series What the Church Has Forgotten, AA Remembers Scripture Text Psalm 139 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-0-19820815 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-08-15 Title A name given to the resource The Grace That Enables Us To View Ourselves Honestly Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text 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 15, 1982 entitled "The Grace That Enables Us To View Ourselves Honestly", as part of the series "What the Church Has Forgotten, AA Remembers", at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Psalm 139. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Alcoholics Anonymous Grace Humility Transformation https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/02cd9fb24e9d9f5ccc1b473ccf0e110e.mp3 f9c4e7a981799d63fbddd98b447d5d08 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/64b29f5b4287791a35ae38aa7a422f35.pdf 9aa61f64592a50159b3e73adbb028b2d PDF Text Text The Place of Confession in the Christian Life Fifth sermon in the series: What the Church Has Forgotten, AA Remembers Text: Psalm 32:1; I John 1:10; 2:2 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan August 22, 1982 Transcription of the spoken sermon "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven..." Psalm 32:1 "If we confess our sins, he ... will forgive our sins and cleanse us..." I John 1:9 How did you react to the Corporate Prayer of Confession this morning? You probably recognized it as one of the more familiar Prayers of Confession because we use it from time to time. If you were ever part of the Episcopal or Anglican tradition you likely knew it by heart. It is the General Confession from the Book of Common Prayer. Almighty and most merciful Father, we have erred and strayed from Thy ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against Thy holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; and we have done those things which we ought not to have done; and there is no health in us. But Thou, 0 Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders. Spare Thou those, 0 God, who confess their faults, restore Thou those who are penitent; according to Thy promises declared unto mankind in Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant, 0 most merciful Father, for His sake, that we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life, to the glory of Thy holy name. Amen. I ask about your reaction because it has often elicited strong reaction. In a book written in 1942, an Anglican priest, D.R. Davies, discussed the prayer phrase by phrase. He gave the book the delightful title Down Peacock Feathers. That says it very well. Honestly to offer the General Confession is to have one's wings clipped. It is an exercise in genuine humility. But that is precisely why the prayer elicits such strong reaction - it hits us where it hurts; it assails the citadel of our pride. Davies writes, Nothing has been a subject for greater merriment or jeering raillery in the pages of our modern novelists than that part of the Confession on which © Grand Valley State University   �The Place of Confession in the Christian Life Richard A. Rhem Page 2   people describe themselves as "miserable offenders." I seem to remember that Mr. H.G. Wells found this a particularly rich vein for his brilliant and riotous pen. With his incomparable facility for skinning people's souls, he has pictured Anglican congregations – which, of course, were very bourgeoisie, very complacent and very respectable – describing themselves, with the greatest hypocritical gusto, as "miserable offenders." And somehow the whole confession withered away in the contempt that flowed from Mr. Wells' pen. And how his readers - of whom I was one rocked with laughter. That was a long time ago, and today we are rocking with something that is very different from laughter. Mr. Wells himself has ceased to laugh. (p. 116, The Centenary Press, 1942) D. R. Davies makes reference to World War II and the great peril in which Europe and the world stood. In a most penetrating analysis of the historical scene of his time he shows that the General Confession is not overstated but rather the kind of humble confession that alone is fitting in the world writ large with war, bloodshed and violence. I came across another reference to the General Confession in a more recent book, Madeline L'Engle's A Circle Of Quiet. She was raised in the Episcopal tradition and attended an Episcopal boarding school. She tells of her encounter with the prayer, which was part of the liturgy at chapel every morning. She writes, When it came to the General Confession in Morning Prayer I was, with proper humility, willing to concede that I occasionally left undone a few things which I ought to have done (I was, after all, very busy), and I occasionally did a few things which I ought not to have done. (I was, after all, not "pi" (pious); but I was not willing to say that I was a miserable offender and that there was no health in me. (p. 233. The Seabury Press, 1972) Later in her life, having married and in process of raising her family, she lived in New England and attended a Congregational Church. They came out with a new hymnal which had a section of prayers in it, as does our own. The General Confession was printed but without the two offending phrases. She says. It is an interesting commentary on human nature in this confused century that precisely those words which I could not, would not say as an adolescent were deleted from the congregational prayers. But by now a mature Madeline L'Engle had lived enough and had enough selfknowledge to know that it was precisely those words which reflected honestly the human condition. She goes on, © Grand Valley State University �The Place of Confession in the Christian Life Richard A. Rhem Page 3   By that time, in the midst of my fumbling agnosticism, it had become very clear to me that I was a miserable offender, and that there was very little health in me. (p. 234) She told her pastor, It's all right to think you can be virtuous if you try just a little harder when you're an adolescent, but I don't like having the Church behave like an adolescent. (p. 234) Coming from a different perspective, Robert Schuller contends that the Prayer of Confession in the liturgy is detrimental to human self-esteem. You will never have to confess to being a "miserable offender" with "no health in you" at the Crystal Cathedral. Schuller has a point. The Church has certainly done the world a disservice with its dour emphasis on human sin and failure and its failure to communicate effectively the Gospel of Grace. He is quite right that the Church has been responsible for creating for many of its people low self-esteem, producing a lack of ego strength and thus crippling psyches. But the question remains whether the remedy lies in deleting the Prayer of Confession from the liturgy. If we were to submit the question to Alcoholics Anonymous they would tell us in no uncertain terms that to drop the element of confession of sin from the Church's liturgy and from the Christian life is to court disaster. I suspect there is a good deal more honest and humble confession going on in AA than in the Christian Church, and AA claims that only through such confession and forgiveness is human transformation possible. Human transformation. That is what we are about. Since it seems to be happening with greater regularity and greater effectiveness through AA than through the Church, perhaps we ought to ask why. That is what this series is about. What the Church has forgotten, AA remembers. What is the central act of Christian worship has become a practical steppingstone for the recovering alcoholic on the way to health and wholeness. AA recognizes the truth D.R. Davies was driving at; the great human problem is to rein in the peacock feathers. Step One was a giant first step: We admitted we were powerless...our lives were unmanageable. © Grand Valley State University �The Place of Confession in the Christian Life Richard A. Rhem Page 4   Steps Two and Three were a reaching beyond oneself to a Power greater than oneself to find help - to be rescued. Step Four was the beginning of the life of sobriety - a searching and fearless moral inventory, revealing the roots of one's drinking in character faults. But having gained self-understanding, having gotten insight into who one really is, standing exposed with all one's glaring faults, what does one do? To whom does one turn; what does one need? It must be obvious: one needs Grace. One needs forgiveness, the assurance that all the wrongs one has discovered and all the damage one has done do not hang around one's neck like an albatross, but rather are removed, pardoned, covered. One needs the freedom that God's forgiving grace alone can provide. That is where we are: Step Five: We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. Step Six: We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. Step Seven: We humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. There you have confession in the life of the recovering alcoholic. Again, here there is great wisdom and insight. After taking the moral inventory, which we noted last week was a painful process, the alcoholic is counseled to come to terms with it. It must be admitted to God. Now that is an awesome assignment. If we have a sense of the majesty and holiness of God, then, to borrow a phrase from Kierkegaard, we will come before Him with "fear and trembling." But that is not all that is required. We must have faced our faults honestly and owned them ourselves and then, further, shared them with another human being. It is one thing to tell God; but we can get accustomed to that. It is another thing to blurt out the whole sorry tale to another person. Confessing our sins to another gives a certain concreteness to the act. Here is the wisdom of the Roman Catholic practice of the confessional booth. You have no doubt heard many Protestant sermons affirm that Jesus is our High Priest. He is the one mediator between God and humankind and we need no other priest. That is true in theory, but it is less than successful in practice. We should have reflected more carefully before we did away with the booth. Did not God reach us in the flesh of Jesus? Should not the incarnation have given us a clue that God's love and grace and forgiveness are always mediated through the tangible encounter with another? © Grand Valley State University �The Place of Confession in the Christian Life Richard A. Rhem Page 5   If we really believe and act on the priesthood of all believers, we will still be all right. This is in fact what happens in AA. Fellow members hear confessions and mediate grace. This we must learn again in the Church, for there will be no profound religious experience for anyone, who has not given place to confession in the Christian life. The Scriptures give wide place to the experience of confession and forgiveness. Psalm 32 is a classic statement of the confession of sin and the joy of forgiveness. The opening verse is a ringing announcement of the happiness of one who has confessed his sin and experienced the grace of God's forgiveness. The Psalm is attributed to David. This would then be a song written sometime after that passionate cry for cleansing found in Psalm 51. David loved and longed for a woman who belonged to another. He took her to himself and she conceived his child. Failing to cover the transgression, he had her husband, Uriah, the Captain of his army, exposed to the thick of the battle where he lost his life. He then took Bathsheba as his wife and she bore a child. David lived with all that on his conscience and the experience, he writes, on reflection, was pure hell. Confronted with his sin by Nathan, the prophet, he acknowledged his wrong and sought the mercy of God. Now he sings of that experience, expressing vividly both the agony of guilt and the freedom of forgiveness. The New Testament tells the story of Jesus who came to mediate to us a knowledge of God, of His grace and to secure for us, for the whole world, the forgiveness of sin. John writes in his First Letter, If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sin, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This is the Gospel. This is the Good News! To those who truly repent, acknowledging their sin, genuinely seeking its removal, God will grant forgiveness, full and free. Involved in that forgiveness is the love of God and the agony of crucifixion. He will forgive us and cleanse us because Jesus bore our sins in his body on the tree, in the words of Peter, and God made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him, in the words of Paul. In another marvelous expression of the same truth, Peter says, There is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. © Grand Valley State University �The Place of Confession in the Christian Life Richard A. Rhem Page 6   This is the word we so desperately need. There is no health in us and, as AA well knows, as long as wrong rages within us, unrecognized, unacknowledged and unconfirmed, it creates hell within us. The manifold disturbance of human personality is the devastation wrought by wrong-headedness and wrongheartedness, rationalized, excused, justified by the person who uses huge amounts of emotional and psychological energy to repress the truth. Great relief has come to troubled people through the insights of psychoanalysis, and Sigmund Freud has made a large contribution to our knowledge of ourselves. There is a great deal of distortion and misconception, resulting in a sense of guilt which has no basis in reality and much relief can come to one who gains such insight. But when all wrong-thinking and damaging psychological experience has been discovered and exposed, there is still one great problem remaining... Real guilt. For we are wrong. And for this hard core of real guilt, what we need is not insight, but forgiveness. Grace is our only hope. It is precisely Grace that is offered through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Psychoanalysis can expose and reveal; it cannot heal. Only God can heal; if we confess our sin, He forgives our sin. The General Confession can be prayed only by one who has faced his sin, admitted it, and sincerely desires its removal. It is a strong statement: There is no health in us, miserable offenders. Why does that offend us so? Perhaps we can understand that better if we remember that it is offensive both inside and out of the Church, but not in an AA meeting. For those outside the Church there is still the need to mask the truth, to deny the dark reality. For those taking their chances, leaning on their own resources, there is the necessity of self-justification. No one going it alone is about to admit such a devastating truth. For those in the Church - at least for many in most churches the reality of sin has been handled, not in the context of grace, but in a moralizing, judgmental manner. Too often in the Church we have not addressed the biblical doctrine of sin but rather have condemned sins, too often concentrating on minor matters while leaving great issues untouched. I am convinced that any serious, thinking person can read the biblical doctrine of sin written large in the course of human history as well as reading it in his own heart. And such a person will recognize that the only answer to radical evil is the radical grace of God. But the Church majors in minors and denies its own message of grace with the self-righteous posture of the Pharisee. Congratulating itself that it is not like others, it fails to take sin with sufficient seriousness. © Grand Valley State University �The Place of Confession in the Christian Life Richard A. Rhem Page 7   Here we must learn from AA. There is no soft-pedaling what is wrong. The recovering alcoholic knows too well the folly of excusing his behavior. He learns to say, "I am wrong." And in the environment of grace provided by those in the meeting - which is concretely an expression of the grace of God - he dares to look at himself honestly. He experiences grace. He finds himself forgiven. He learns to forgive himself and others. Let me suggest that, if the Church is to be a redeeming, reconciling fellowship, if the Church would be the instrument to set people free, give them hope and a new self-image, filling them with self-esteem, the best method is not to downplay the problem but to lift up the forgiving grace of God that is the salvation to our greatest human need. The Church, then, must reclaim this truth - that the Grace of God, mediated through persons, alone brings health and wholeness to humankind. The Church is not institution. The Church is you and me, in honest relationship together, embraced by the Grace of God. © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Series What the Church Has Forgotten, AA Remembers Scripture Text Psalm 32:1, I John 1:9 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-0-19820822 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-08-22 Title A name given to the resource The Place of Confession in the Christian Life Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text 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 22, 1982 entitled "The Place of Confession in the Christian Life", as part of the series "What the Church Has Forgotten, AA Remembers", at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Psalm 32:1, I John 1:9. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Alcoholics Anonymous Confession Forgiveness Grace Transformation https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e401f59c1b5e07f75a89362a3755c57a.mp3 0488fa85e4fae8e4910594c9726df648 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/326d6b9176de8f7e3e743299c2960091.pdf 0ab0b7d00fbf92f950d1f22d837b81ef PDF Text Text A Circle of Quiet Sixth sermon in the series: What the Church Has Forgotten, AA Remembers Text: Isaiah 26:3-4; Psalm 46:10; Romans 12:1-2 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan August 29, 1982 Transcription of the spoken sermon "Be still, and know that I am God..." Psalm 46:10 "Thou dost keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusts in Thee. Trust in the Lord for ever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock." Isaiah 26:3-4 "...present your bodies as a living sacrifice, ...which is your spiritual worship...be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God..." Romans 12:1-2 Madeleine L'Engle writes, ...often I need to get away completely, if only for a few minutes. My special place is a small brook in a green glade, a circle of quiet from which there is no visible sign of human beings. There's a natural stone bridge over the brook, and I sit there, dangling my legs and looking through the foliage at the sky reflected in the water, and things slowly come back into perspective….The brook wanders through a tunnel of foliage, and the birds sing more sweetly there than anywhere else; or perhaps it is just that when I am at the brook I have time to be aware of them, and I move slowly into a kind of peace that is marvelous….If I sit a while, then my impatience, crossness, frustration, are…annihilated, and my sense of humor returns. (A Circle of Quiet, p. 4) She wrote that in a book entitled, A Circle Of Quiet. From that passage she named the book after it was finished and the title is a happy choice. It describes the book which, in journal fashion, records Madeleine L'Engle's deepest thoughts and intuitions, the kind of reflections that come to one who has developed a circle of quiet in her life. I borrow the phrase “a circle of quiet” for this message, which deals with the importance of solitude, meditation and prayer in the nurturing and sustaining of the new life in Christ, a truly spiritual existence. © Grand Valley State University   �A Circle of Quiet Richard A. Rhem Page 2   Once again, what the Church has forgotten, AA remembers. In the wonderful logic of the Twelve Step Program for recovering alcoholics, AA recommends a daily practice of meditation and prayer. I am jumping over steps eight and nine which have to do with making restitution for whatever wrongs one has done, where amends can be made without doing further injury, and step ten which encourages a continued moral inventory such as we have earlier discussed in step four. I turn now to Step 11, which deals with the discipline of a devotional life: We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. Such a practice is not new to us in the Church. Perhaps it is not fair even to say that the Church has forgotten it. I think, however, we would not be far wrong if we said that for most of us in the Church it is a practice not practiced. Here again perhaps the recovering alcoholic is more fortunate than those of us that do not share his particular problem. His problem is such that, once having been rescued from his plight, he knows he can continue on the road to health and wholeness only by the daily appropriation of the power and peace of God. That is why we speak of a recovering alcoholic, not a recovered alcoholic. He is never cured; he lives one day at a time – indeed, moment by moment. The Power - God, as he understands Him - has set him free from the tragic slavery that held him bound. But that freedom is nurtured one day at a time and the secret is a day-by-day conscious cultivation of the power and peace of God. I hope you know by now that this series is not primarily for recovering alcoholics, nor is it for the purpose of advertising AA, although I am happy to do so. I have stressed throughout that the alcoholic is not unique. He has a particular problem but then, we all do of one sort or another. The Steps of the AA program are simply borrowed from the Scripture and translated into the language of one particular group of people. But the steps follow diagnosis and remedy of the human condition found in the Scripture and they go on to counsel how that new life must be nurtured and sustained. What the recovering alcoholic knows to be absolutely essential, too many of us believe to be optional. He cannot make it without daily prayer and meditation. None of us can, but because we don't necessarily fall on our face without it, we think we can get by. But we are only fooling ourselves, or, I should say, cheating ourselves out of the richest dimension of human experience - the practice of the presence of God. Let me suggest to you today that every life needs a circle of quiet. Let me encourage you to set about developing for yourself the habit of devotion, a time for solitude, meditation, prayer. © Grand Valley State University �A Circle of Quiet Richard A. Rhem Page 3   AA provides practical helps for the development of the discipline of devotion. There are several publications which are very helpful. What I suppose one could call the AA Bible is a little pocket-sized book entitled Twenty Four Hours A Day. There is a brief paragraph on some aspect of life, a meditation and a prayer. For today's date, for example, this is what is written: We cannot get along without prayer and meditation. On awakening, let us think about the twenty-four hours ahead. We consider our plans for the day. Before we begin, we ask God to direct our thinking. Our thought lives will be placed on a much higher plane when we start the day with prayer and meditation. We conclude this period of meditation with a prayer that we will be shown through the day what our next step is to be. The basis of all our prayer is: Thy will be done in me and through me today. Am I sincere in my desire to do God's will today? In another AA publication, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, Step Eleven is discussed in a very practical way. Recognizing that for many a daily practice of meditation and prayer may be totally new, simple hints are given as to how to begin. The suggestion is made that one take the Prayer of St. Francis, "Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace..." and let it soak into one's consciousness. Read it. Read it over. Read it slowly, thinking about every phrase, savoring every word. This, of course, is but one example of how devotional material can be used to get us started. The literature available is immense and the devotional suggestions many. The aim of all our striving must be the practice of the presence of God, the developing of conscious contact, communion with God. For us who would nurture and nourish our spiritual life, our life in Christ, the greatest source of devotion, the greatest aid we have is the Bible, and the practice of daily Bible reading is indispensable for one who would have his life conformed to the image of Christ. The Old Testament lesson is Psalm 46, one of the most familiar and best loved of the Psalms, which are the favorite source of devotional reading in Scripture. Psalm 46 celebrates the safety and security of God's people because of His presence with them. Perhaps it was written to celebrate the preservation of Jerusalem from the Assyrian hosts. But the historical situation is not important. In itself, it breathes of the security that comes to God's people because of His presence with them. The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. How many times have not these words brought calm and peace to those in peril, confusion and fear? Be still and know that I am God. © Grand Valley State University �A Circle of Quiet Richard A. Rhem Page 4   What steadiness comes to one who repeats those words and with those words comes into the conscious presence of God? The Psalms are full of such comfort and strength and not only the Psalms. I added another example of the promises of God's words from Isaiah: Thou dost keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusts in Thee. Trust in the Lord for ever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock. Isaiah 26:3-4 That statement was inscribed on a plaque and hung in our living room when I was growing up. It promises precisely what AA knows the recovering alcoholic needs. It promises what each and every one of us needs. It promises peace to the mind concentrated on God. It calls us simply to trust in God, the Rock of Ages. Christian hymnology has taken up texts such as these and enabled us to sing our faith. Martin Luther's great hymn, "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" is based on Psalm 46. Augustus Toplady based the familiar "Rock of Ages" on Isaiah 26:4, where "everlasting rock" is literally "rock of ages." Rock of ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee. These two hymns are directly based on words of Scripture and the hymnal is a great source of Christian devotion, providing much substance for meditation and prayer. The Old Testament texts I offer as examples of what one finds in rich supply in the Scriptures, great statements that, once imbibed and appropriated, bring peace and calm to the heart. But I selected the New Testament text as the biblical parallel to Step Eleven, the call to spiritual worship, which leads to the transformation of life. Paul urges, Therefore my brothers, I implore you by God's mercy to offer your very lives to him; a living sacrifice, dedicated and fit for his acceptance, the worship offered by mind and heart. Adopt yourselves no longer to the pattern of this present world, but let your mind be remade and your whole nature thus transformed. Then you will be able to discern the will of God, and to know what is good, acceptable, and perfect. Romans 12:1,2 The Apostle with his "therefore" moves in this great statement of Christian faith to the practical application of Christian truth in the everyday life of the believer. He appeals on the basis of all that has been set forth as the foundational truth of Christian faith for a life wholly offered up to God. The sacrificial system of the old cultic worship is now superseded. Jesus, the Lamb of God, has been offered over for all -the perfect sacrifice. No longer do we come with sacrificial offerings as the token of our lives offered in worship. Rather, as new creations in the Risen Christ, © Grand Valley State University �A Circle of Quiet Richard A. Rhem Page 5   we offer ourselves in the totality of our lives to God. Our worship is the offering of our whole being, the worship of mind and heart in the practical affairs of our every day. A change has taken place; a transformation. The mind is remade. The whole nature transformed. Now all of life's energy is focused on learning to know and do the will of God. In his paraphrase, Phillips renders Paul's words thus... Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, but let God remold your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves toward the goal of true maturity. I submit to you that no statement could better reflect what AA suggests is the goal of human existence than this word from Paul. Step Eleven counsels prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understand Him and the focus of prayer is the knowledge of His will and the power to carry that out. Living out God's will for our lives by the power of God is an excellent statement of maturity, of full human existence. If one would read the rest of this twelfth chapter as a prelude to every day, one would find its shaping impact on one's life and this, of course, is the purpose of a life of prayer and meditation, the purpose of practicing the presence of God. Let me speak personally for a moment. Over the years I have spoken on the subject of prayer and spiritual formation. I did so because it is a subject that from time to time should be addressed in the course of one's preaching. I have tried to do so honestly, never claiming to have cultivated the art of Christian devotion with great skill, nor to have achieved great success in the practice of devotion. In fact, what stands most vividly in my mind about my attempts to speak to this area of Christian life is that I was most helpful because I admitted my own failure, neglect and inconsistency in the life of prayer and meditation. After an experience of regular prayer with a prayer list, a weary morning appointment and a sense of heavy obligation during my years in seminary, I backed off any kind of regular devotional practice. I think there was some negative reaction on my part as well as recognizing, in a more positive vein, that the devotional life cannot flourish under legalistic constraint. After all, I reasoned, one can pray any time, anywhere. And it is true. Yet I think it is also true that one does not pray "without ceasing," any time, anywhere unless one has some more purposeful, disciplined pursuit of prayer and meditation. I have had another barrier to meaningful devotion. I have wrestled with the theology of prayer and have too much made prayer a matter of the head than the heart. © Grand Valley State University �A Circle of Quiet Richard A. Rhem Page 6   Now as I speak to you on the subject of practicing the presence of God, of a circle of quiet in your life, I can speak of that circle of quiet out of the experience of a circle of quiet in my own life. I want to share with you what I have found rich and meaningful. I sense finally in my own life the real joy and richness of a daily experience of solitude, prayer and meditation. I simply recommend it to you - not on the basis of legal constraint or religious duty, but rather as a way to be human, whole, at peace with self, others, the world and God. Step Eleven puts the central concern of such prayer and reflection into sharp focus Show me thy will and give me the power to do it. There, too, I have battled with God. I have not always wanted to say, "Nevertheless, Thy will be done." Yet when we really sense the grace of God, the graciousness of God, then what better can we desire than His will? What better can we ask than His power? His will fulfilled in our lives through His power. Is that not life's highest possibility? And that will is made known to us in the circle of quiet; that power flows through us as we move out of the circle of quiet into the demands of our ordinary days. He will speak gently to us all. Be still and know that I am God. © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Series What the Church Has Forgotten, AA Remembers Scripture Text Isaiah 26:3-4, Psalm 46:10, Romans 12:1-2 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-0-19820829 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-08-29 Title A name given to the resource A Circle of Quiet Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text 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 29, 1982 entitled "A Circle of Quiet", as part of the series "What the Church Has Forgotten, AA Remembers", at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Isaiah 26:3-4, Psalm 46:10, Romans 12:1-2. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Alcoholics Anonymous Meditation Prayer Transformation https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c605b62e13ccccb71c79b96915de1c16.mp3 1e18a14f81ae402188ea003331a2121c https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/80240669a58a179132f39cb0f78dd0ca.pdf f0d56eaa9b173b3b3f9ba87d5ba164ee PDF Text Text On Being Available to Another Final sermon in the series: What the Church Has Forgotten, AA Remembers Text: Galatians 6: 1-10 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan September 5, 1982 Transcription of the spoken sermon "...set him right again very gently... Help one another to carry these heavy loads... So let us never tire of doing good ...as opportunity offers, let us work for the good of all." Galatians 6:1-10 Our capacity to love reaches its full maturity when we "can look upon the twisted features of a fellow human being in pain and not turn away in fear or disgust but catch a glimpse of the face of the suffering Christ and minister to him in all simplicity and tenderness." (Timothy J. Gannon, Emotional Development and Spiritual Growth, p. 31, cited by Morton Kelsey, Caring, p. 181.) Human maturity can be measured in one's capacity to love and one's capacity to love can be measured by the extent that one is willing to be available to another. Being available to another is what Step Twelve of Alcoholics Anonymous' Twelve Step Program for recovering alcoholics is about. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs. With this step the recovering alcoholic moves outward to engage in a caring, compassionate ministry to another person caught in the bondage of alcohol addiction in order to witness to the way of human transformation. AA does not spend time and energy arguing over terminology and definitions and I suppose I should not either. Yet I must say that the mere statement of Step Twelve does not adequately convey what is involved. "To carry the message" is more than "telling one's story", although that is an essential element. Step Twelve Work for an AA member involves being willing to go anywhere, anytime and to do anything necessary in order to heed a call for help. The "message" is clear because it is acted out; it is lived. To use a good term from Christian theology, the © Grand Valley State University   �On Being Available to Another Richard A. Rhem Page 2   message is incarnated; it is clothed with flesh, the flesh of another human being. Step Twelve as it is stated might seem to involve no more than "witness" in Christian terms. To be sure, the biblical conception of witness also demands more than words - proclamation. Yet the danger of the phrase "to carry the message" is that it might be reduced to "mere words" as has too often been the case in Christian witness. To counter this danger in the Church we have come to speak of witness in word and deed, of "word-deed". There is probably not so much danger of misunderstanding in AA because again here, as at every other point we have examined, AA practices what it "preaches." It is what Christian faith should be for the Church - a way of life. What the Church has forgotten, AA remembers because it will not continue if it forgets. What the Church has forgotten - that its witness must become action, redemptive, reconciling, tangible, love in action, AA remembers and practices. There is no more amazing or beautiful aspect of the organization we have been examining than its Twelfth Step Work: the willingness of the recovering alcoholic to go anywhere, anytime, to do anything in order to help a brother or sister in need. Alcoholics Anonymous presents a model which the Church could well emulate. The fellowship of AA practices unconditional acceptance, supportive love and total availability to anyone in need. In so doing, it has borrowed a page from the Gospel and has become in fact what the Church ought to be. And being true to itself - the incarnation of redemptive grace and supportive love - AA is growing. In fact, the growth is phenomenal when one remembers that its appeal is to only a limited group of persons. I want to say a few things about AA's manner, method and motivation in its outreach program, its Twelfth Step work and then show from the New Testament that this is also the mission and ministry to which we are called. AA's manner is one of being available. An AA member will go anywhere, do anything, anytime. This is the response he makes out of gratitude for the recovery he has experienced. This is the action that flows out of his transformation. This is the outward expression of his new life. Having gone through all of the steps, finding himself and living in the flow of a Power beyond himself, his spontaneous response is ministry to others who are suffering what he knows only too well. The "circle of quiet" issues in a life of service. © Grand Valley State University �On Being Available to Another Richard A. Rhem Page 3   I use the word available because it conveys the manner of AA's approach to the person in need. AA does not go where it is not invited. It comes with no axe to grind and no manipulative or coercive methods are used. Alcoholics Anonymous has found it is unproductive and fruitless to try to help someone who is not convinced he needs help. AA does not try to force its recovery program or its fellowship meetings on anyone. But just let someone indicate the need and desire for help. Someone will be there. And they will stay there as long as they are needed. Obviously there is much Twelfth Step work which begins in the real hell of a sufferer's misery. There is urgency about it, a kind of emerging rescue work at the beginning and then a consistent follow through, sticking with the one who is seeking deliverance from bondage. I do not want to create the impression that every time an alcoholic calls out for help and an AA member responds, there is a new member for AA and another person is on the way to sobriety. Many reach out but are never rescued. Many reach out and are rescued only to fall again and again before finally they arrive at a consistent sobriety. The success of AA is astonishing but success in terms of the growth of the organization is beside the point. Here I would simply lift up the posture of availability. AA does not force itself or its program on anyone. AA does not write off the person who makes many false starts. AA never gives up on anyone. AA is and remains available. That is the manner of its outreach. AA's method is a caring presence and humble witness. I link presence and witness. Presence is "being there" for the other. Witness is telling one's own story. The adjectives caring and humble are extremely important. One is present to another not because of heavy obligation simply to render a duty. One is there because one genuinely cares. A recovering alcoholic who has moved toward health and wholeness and happiness has deep compassion for the one struggling in the hell of addiction. He has been there. He knows the hopelessness, pain, loneliness and despair that overwhelm the sufferer. He is present because he cares and thus his is a caring presence. Humility. That spirit runs through all twelve steps. No one gets past Step One without a painful humbling which then is cultivated and nurtured with each progressive step. A recovering alcoholic lives a day at a time, moment by moment. He depends on a gracious power beyond himself. Apart from that, he cannot make it. He has nothing of which to boast. With genuine humility he tells his own story helping the victim he has come to help to realize that he is not alone, that his friend knows whereof he speaks, understands the agony he is experiencing and without judgment or condemnation accepts him just as he is. © Grand Valley State University �On Being Available to Another Richard A. Rhem Page 4   The recovering alcoholic tells his own story in an effort to identify with the one who is seeking help, letting him know that there is no lost cause, no person beyond redemption's point. Witness, not preaching! Acceptance, not judgment! As one of AA's co-founders counsels in the book As Bill Sees It, Never talk down to an alcoholic from any moral or spiritual hilltop; simply lay out the kit of spiritual tools for his inspection. Show him how they worked with you. Offer friendship and fellowship. (P. 192) That's the method: a caring presence, a humble witness. The motivation for Twelfth Step work is compassion for the alcoholic and self-preservation for the recovering alcoholic. One who has suffered the horrors of bondage to alcohol will most naturally feel compassion for another person caught in that bondage. The desire to help another person flows naturally from the new way of life he has found. To be delivered, freed, released and transformed again into a useful citizen with a measure of happiness and serenity will issue in a longing to tell others the secret and lead them toward health and wholeness. The one who goes to help will naturally suggest the AA meetings and witness to the effectiveness of the Twelve Step Program, but not for the greater glory of AA or its program. Fortunately, Alcoholics Anonymous has been able to keep the institutional aspects of AA in low profile. The meetings, the disciplines are not ends in themselves and no one is out to make a name for himself in AA or to build a super organization. Motivation is compassion for the alcoholic and a desire to see him restored to sobriety. Nothing is asked in return. Twelfth Step work is selfless service. But there is another motivating factor: self-preservation. It has been the experience of AA and the testimony of countless recovering alcoholics that the best therapy in the world, the strongest defense against relapse is Twelfth Step work. Through his selfless service, in the paradox of grace, the recovering alcoholic finds his own life strengthened, his joy deepened, his own soul refreshed as he finds himself the instrument of restoration for another to whom he has made himself available. There you have the manner, the method, and the motivation of the Twelfth Step of the AA program. © Grand Valley State University �On Being Available to Another Richard A. Rhem Page 5   Does it not sound strangely familiar? Have you not heard it all before? Is it not precisely the biblical conception of Christian witness? I have gone into considerable detail on this step because, once I have set forth AA’s conception of outreach, I can simply say, "Go thou and do likewise." Nevertheless, this is a sermon, so let me take you to the Scripture lesson where I believe we will find the same manner, method and motivation for Christian witness, the same conception of what the Church should be and do. Paul's letter to the Galatians is his letter of Christian freedom where he sets forth in all its radical glory the grace of God. In the course of his discussion, Paul describes the fellowship of the Church as a community of forgiveness and mutual support, a community of supportive love in a spirit of gentleness, a community of care, one for another. Galatians 5:25 could well serve as a motto for the whole Twelve Step Program. If the Spirit is the source of our life, let the Spirit also direct our course. AA would speak of "Power" or "God as we understand Him." The New Testament tells us that God active in our life is the Spirit. Salvation is effected by the Spirit and it is in the Spirit that we live the life of a Christian. But then Paul deals with the Church as a community of mutuality and support. Restoration of the fallen is counseled: If a man should do something wrong, ...set him right again very gently. Gentleness and humility are counseled because you may be tempted, too. Recognizing that life is not easy, Paul goes on to say, Help one another carry these heavy loads. And in the 10th verse he says again, Therefore, as opportunity offers, let us work for the good of all. . . There are so many points of contact between this letter and the Twelve Step Program, but I must limit myself to the spirit of this passage as it relates to AA and its posture. The spirit is one of kindness and gentleness as we deal with one another, sharing each other's load and walking in humility. Grace must permeate the fellowship of the Church. Unconditional acceptance and supportive love must be its hallmarks. The concern that comes through strongly is the restoration of the person to wholeness and Paul pleads that we will never tire of doing good. © Grand Valley State University �On Being Available to Another Richard A. Rhem Page 6   I submit to you that the spirit of this passage permeates the fellowship of AA and the practical counsel is what is acted on in Twelfth Step work. Now let me apply this to the outreach of the Church. If Step Twelve is AA's outreach program, why did I select Galatians 6 as my scripture rather than a passage dealing specifically with Christian witness? I chose this passage because I want to say that effective evangelism happens through compassionate ministry. Earlier I said the phrasing of Step Twelve does not convey the manner and method of Twelfth Step work. "Carry the message" might sound like "witness to Jesus Christ" and be thought of in terms of "words." Words are important. It takes words to tell one's story. Yet that is only part of the outreach. The caring presence is that which puts flesh on the words. The story is told in the context of a humble, gracious presence. It is being available, being present to another in unconditional acceptance and supportive love that creates the environment where the words, the witness, can be heard. This is what the Church has forgotten. This is what AA remembers and puts into effective practice. The Church has been too "word" oriented, forgetting that God's great move toward us was a Word made flesh. There are too many words. We are too wordy. We print tracts and we talk ceaselessly. But in the final analysis, it is the compassionate, caring presence of a community of persons that is the most effective instrument of evangelism. And what we need in this church and every church is not more committees on Evangelism, but more Stephen Ministers, persons who will carry out a ministry of care, persons who will provide a caring presence in a spirit of humility with kindness and gentleness. This is not a new note being struck here at Christ Community. It has been our posture over the last decade. We are probably the only congregation in the world with a Minister of Evangelism and no Evangelism Committee, and no formal program of outreach. Gordon has always maintained that the best evangelism is a happy congregation. This is what I meant earlier when I said that AA is growing by simply being true to itself. So the Church will grow if it is really the Church - if it is a community of compassion, care, humility and grace. As an interesting sidelight, Gordon just gave me a note. The statistics of the Reformed Church for 1981 are just out: In 1971 we numbered 678 members; at the end of 1981 we numbered 2430. In 1971 we were 130th in size in the RCA; at the end of 1981 we were 4th. In 1971 we were 36th in size in Michigan; at the end of 1981 we were first. © Grand Valley State University �On Being Available to Another Richard A. Rhem Page 7   I share that not as a matter of pride. Even to share it is dangerous because it so easily leads to pride of institution. But I share it as the best evidence I know next to the phenomenal growth of Alcoholics Anonymous that a community that cares about people cannot help but prosper. There is an Institute of Church Growth in California where they have stressed the imperative of the New Testament that the Church grow. They have approached the matter scientifically and set forth certain sociological principles for church growth. But I have never been impressed. Church growth smacks of institutionalism. Church growth smacks of competition. Church growth smacks of pride. What matters is not church growth, but people, people touched by grace; people accepted, loved, healed; people forgiven and given hope. Church growth is an accident, a byproduct of the Church being true to itself, being a community of compassion and care. We really do not need more evangelistic tracts, or crusades, or evangelism seminars. We need a whole army of people who have been touched by the grace of God who are willing to be available to another. In such a church, the Word becomes flesh and the love of God becomes tangible and the grace of God flows out to embrace, to forgive and to renew. Numbers are not important but the human beings for which they stand are all important and I do believe that where persons are primary - primary over all institutional considerations, primary over all doctrinal definitions, primary over all rules of order, primary over all confessional loyalty – there the Church will grow, and the grace of God will flow, and Christ will be magnified. It is as simple as being available to another. © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Series What the Church Has Forgotten, AA Remembers Scripture Text Galations 6: 1-10 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-0-19820905 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-09-05 Title A name given to the resource On Being Available to Another Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text 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 5, 1982 entitled "On Being Available to Another", as part of the series "What the Church Has Forgotten, AA Remembers", at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Galations 6: 1-10. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Alcoholics Anonymous Empathy Transformation Unconditional Love https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/36f8d445c84874816fe81f8f38adbee1.mp3 d3dd9bb9c6dcbbe46fa3853a3692047e 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 Palm Sunday 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-0-19840415 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1984-04-15 Title A name given to the resource Jesus, You Are Really Something Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource 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 April 15, 1984 entitled "Jesus, You Are Really Something", on the occasion of Palm Sunday, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/44c51af84095a33d50d0cac4902b9f3a.mp3 ecee59979c42771d14e67381f09e91d1 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 Bible Study at Crystal Cathedral Scripture Text Luke Location The location of the interview Crystal Cathedral, Orange Grove, CA 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-0-19840902 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1984-09-02 Title A name given to the resource Only Love Changes People Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource 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 September 2, 1984 entitled "Only Love Changes People", on the occasion of Bible Study at Crystal Cathedral, at Crystal Cathedral, Orange Grove, CA. Scripture references: Luke. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/78f0f822976704e5796fd4b388650f25.mp3 786bf1c4964087c952d2b9eb0dfc8698 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f86f0959d5e11c2580c47b15f1ed20e0.pdf 12c2bedea336d56a751e4e3cdd4defe8 PDF Text Text Follow the Star: Trust the Vision Text: Matthew 2: 9 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Epiphany, January 6, 1985 Transcription of the spoken sermon ...The star which they had seen at its rising went ahead of them... Matthew 2:9 Today is the Festival of Epiphany. In the calendar of the Ancient Church this is a special Feast Day with which a new Season is inaugurated, the Season of Epiphany. We have celebrated the twelve days of Christmas. Christmastide moves today into Epiphany, the Season that extends to Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Season of Lent. The theme of this Season is the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles. Epiphany, the word, comes to us from the Greek; it means "manifestation." In this Season we celebrate the universality of the Gospel. Jesus was born of the House and lineage of David. The Angelic messenger to the shepherds said there was good news, great joy coming to the whole people, but in that context that probably was a reference to the whole House of Israel. We must go to Matthew for the Epiphany theme. He tells the romantic tale of the visit of the Magi who saw the rising of a star in their Eastern land and journeyed West to Jerusalem and then to Bethlehem where they found the child Jesus, bowed down in adoration and offered him precious gifts. In that search for the newborn king, their adoration, worship and offering, the Magi have become the symbol of the coming of the nations to the true God, to light and truth, to salvation. In the coming of Jesus, God brought the light of the knowledge of Himself to all nations, thus fulfilling the promise to Abraham that in him all peoples of the earth would be blessed. Let this narrative recorded by Matthew be the focus of our reflection as we recognize in Jesus the revelation of God Who calls us to live by the vision that revelation provides. To begin with, let us look at the story. We are told by Matthew of astrologers from the East who arrived in Jerusalem asking, "Where is the child who is born to be © Grand Valley State University   �Follow the Star: Trust the Vision Richard A. Rhem Page 2   king of the Jews?" They came according to the Gospel because they had observed "the rising of his star." Who were they, these astrologers? We sing of "three kings." They are referred to as "the Magi" in Christmas lore. Actually there is nothing in the record that speaks of their being kings and neither is there any reference to number. There is much popular mythology and legend that has sprung up around the story of the Nativity and later generations have embroidered it liberally. While we cannot be certain about these Eastern visitors, there is relative agreement that they were members of a priestly caste who engaged in occult arts and the name "Magi" refers to a broad range of persons involved in astrology (astronomy), fortune-telling, priestly augury and magicians. The "Magi" of Matthew were astrologers. We know that the ancient East had gained a great deal of knowledge of astronomy and there was a widespread conviction that human destiny was determined by the star under which one was born as well as the movement of the heavenly bodies. These Magi in Matthew's narrative represent the best of pagan lore and religious perceptivity which has come to seek Jesus through a revelation in nature. (Brown, The Birth of the Messiah, p. 168) They came from East of Palestine. Three locations are proposed as their point of origin: Parthia, or Persia, Babylon, or Arabia, or the Syrian Desert. There are arguments in favor of each location but it is not important for us to pursue the matter. It is enough to know that the ancient East was known for its astronomical investigation and for priestly castes that studied the stars and ancient writings. There was a common belief that great events and the birth and death of great rulers were signaled in the heavens. Thus, whatever historical core lies behind the story of the visit of the Magi, it was not extraordinary that such astrologers should make such a journey and join in such a quest. As to the star itself, what can we say? We have the story in its simple beauty. What the story is meant to convey we shall come to shortly. Perhaps it is best simply to leave the story as it is. Yet questions come to mind. Raymond Brown in his marvelous study of the nativity narratives writes of the "intrinsic unlikelihoods" of the story. A star that rose in the East, appeared over Jerusalem, turned South to Bethlehem, and then came to rest over a house would have constituted a celestial phenomenon unparalleled in astronomical history; yet it received no notice in the records of the times. (The Birth of the Messiah, p. 188) On the other hand, there were some unusual astronomical phenomena which occurred around the time of the birth of Jesus, which best estimates place in 6 B.C. Speculation suggests the heavenly light may have been a supernova or "new © Grand Valley State University �Follow the Star: Trust the Vision Richard A. Rhem Page 3   star." It may have been a comet or it may have been a planetary conjunction. Brown explains the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. Jupiter and Saturn are the slowest of the visible planets in their orbit around the sun: for Jupiter there is an orbit every twelve years; for Saturn, every thirty years. In the course of these orbits the two planets pass each other every twenty years; and in so passing, even though they may be considerably north or south of each other, they are said to be in conjunction. A much rarer occurrence is when a third planet, Mars, passes during or shortly after the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, so that the three planets are close together. Kepler saw this occur in October 1604. He calculated that it happens every 805 years and that it had happened in 7-6 B.C. ... From calculations we know that the three high points of the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn were in May/June, September/October, and December of 7 B.C. - a rare triple conjunction. ... - and that Mars passed early the next year. This "great conjunction" of Jupiter and Saturn took place in the zodiacal constellation of Pisces. ... Pisces is a constellation sometimes associated with the last days and with the Hebrews, while Jupiter (an object of particular interest among Parthian astrologers) was associated with the world ruler and Saturn was identified as the star of the Ammonites of the Syria-Palestine region. The claim has been made that this conjunction might lead Parthian astrologers to predict that there would appear in Palestine among the Hebrews a world ruler of the last days. (p. 173) This is all very speculative as Brown asserts; yet it is fascinating and it does immerse the story of the Magi's visit with mystery and wonder. As already indicated, we cannot strip off the legendary aspects of the nativity narrative and get down to the “facts.” Scripture is not a book of “facts” in that sense. The Word was made flesh. That is fact – historical truth. Jesus was born at a particular time and place. He grew and entered upon his ministry, was crucified and raised from the dead, ascending to the Father where he reigns and from whence he will appear a second time. The Apostles and the Early Christian community were certain of the risen Christ who was the same as Jesus of Nazareth. As they witnessed to God's revelation in him they told the story of his birth and his life, death and resurrection. That is what we have in our Gospels of which Matthew is one. As this Gospel was composed, there was a specific purpose in its composition. Matthew included a nativity narrative and that narrative included the story of the Magi. Why? What was Matthew telling us with this story? © Grand Valley State University �Follow the Star: Trust the Vision Richard A. Rhem Page 4   It is the consensus of biblical scholarship today that this Gospel called Matthew was written in Syria by an unknown Greek-speaking Jewish Christian living in the 80's in a mixed community with converts of both Jewish and Gentile descent. The writer was concerned to instruct the community of mixed background. Matthew interprets what he sees happening in the first century Church. As Brown writes, A Christian community, at first Jewish, had seen an increasing number of Gentiles come to believe; and with the rejection of Christians by the Synagogue, it now seemed as if the Kingdom were being taken away and given to a "nation" that would bear fruit (21:43). In this situation of a mixed community with dominance now shifting over to the Gentile side, Matthew is concerned to show that Jesus has always had meaning for both Jew and Gentile. (p. 47) Thus asserts Brown, In the person of the Magi, Matthew was anticipating the Gentile Christians of his own community. Although these had as their birthright only the revelation of God in nature, they had been attracted to Jesus; and when instructed in the Scriptures of the Jews, they had come to believe in and pay homage to the Messiah. (p. 199) This is the meaning of Epiphany and the message of this Season. God's calling of Abraham was the calling of one to reach the many. God's long and patient dealing with Israel in the Old Covenant was in order to bring finally to the world the Saviour of all. Matthew tells us of Magi from the East who followed the star and trusted the vision of the birth of one who would rule the world with righteousness. On this Epiphany Sunday, then, let us recognize that I. God has revealed Himself. This is a foundational truth of our faith. Having just come through the Christmas Season again, we have celebrated that divine visitation of our planet by the Eternal God in the flesh of Jesus. We have heard those great New Testament affirmations again — the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory... John 1:14 We have seen the light of revelation - the revelation of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. II Corinthians 5:6 ...in this the final age he (God) has spoken to us in the Son ... who is the effulgence of God's splendor and the stamp of God's very being…Hebrews 1:2 © Grand Valley State University �Follow the Star: Trust the Vision Richard A. Rhem Page 5   What these writers affirm in theological reflection Matthew tells us in a story, the story of a star and of those hungry for God who traveled mile after weary mile until they found the child born to be a king. Matthew was pointing to a sign in Nature which triggered the longing of the human heart for a knowledge of God. And the point he was making was that the sign was given for all the world to see. The Magi are used by him as signs of that universal revelation of God to all humankind. Paul speaks of God's revelation in the natural order. For all that may be known of God by men lies plain before their eyes; indeed God himself has disclosed it to them. His invisible attributes, that is to say his everlasting power and deity, have been visible, ever since the world began, to the eye of reason, in the things he has made. Romans 1:19, 20 Paul goes on in that passage to show how that knowledge has been suppressed by mankind. Nonetheless the revelation is there had we eyes to see it. Bringing the Magi to Herod's court where they learned of Micah's prophecy of the Messiah's birth in Bethlehem was Matthew's way of saying that the revelation of God in Nature is not sufficient to bring one to a knowledge of the grace of God. Yet the truth remains; God has revealed himself and in Jesus that revelation came to all humankind. God has revealed himself. That is our bedrock conviction. That is the heart of Christmas and the truth of Epiphany. II. Those who seek him will surely find him. In the visit of the Magi Matthew finds the sign of the coming of people of every tribe and nation. That was a giant breakthrough in the thinking of the Jewish Christian community. The struggle of the Early Church on the question of the Gentile converts to Jesus is recorded in the Book of Acts. Matthew is saying that what was happening in that early community was right on schedule and according to plan. God so loved the world that whosoever ... There was an exclusiveness in the Old Testament. Yet had not the prophet Jeremiah written centuries before, When you seek me, you shall find me; if you search for me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the Lord. Jeremiah 29:13 In the Magi we have representatives of those who hunger for God and whose hunger is satisfied. They were seekers and searchers after God. They had no doubt studied ancient writings. They may very well have known of the ancient © Grand Valley State University �Follow the Star: Trust the Vision Richard A. Rhem Page 6   prophecy of Balaam recorded in Numbers 24:17 about the star that would rise out of Jacob. They were men open to revelation, seeking the truth. We might say that these were early examples of the human hunger for transcendence. They were seeking something more beyond the limits of space and time. They lived in a world filled with mystery. They believed that beyond the world there was One Who wrote in the stars. They believed that behind the appearance of Reality there was One Who made the planets do His bidding. They followed the star and trusted the vision. They acted on their faith and they found the Saviour. Those who seek Him will surely find Him. III. Those who find Him worship Him. This, too, is clearly Matthew's intent in portraying the Magi in Eastern magnificence bowing before the child offering their treasures. The universality of God's revelation and the universality of the yearning in the human heart are matched by the universality of the response of those who see the glory of the Father in the face of the Son. This is something we take for granted perhaps, but it was an amazing discovery to those who had been brought up in the exclusiveness of Judaism, who had been taught that the non-Jew was something less than human. Certainly there had been those strains of universalism - in Abraham's call and in the prophetic vision of the exaltation of Mount Zion and the flowing of the nations to Jerusalem. But it was nonetheless a truth hardly conceivable and thus one of the major stumbling blocks in the world evangelization which happened in Paul's ministry - that God was making of Jew and Greek one new humanity - united in the worship of God through Jesus Christ. In these Eastern visitors Matthew saw the sign of the world coming to the Saviour who would be the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world. Do you sense what a compelling vision that was? In the midst of an occupied people in a tiny piece of the earth's surface, in the poverty and humility of a peasant family was born a child - a child, Matthew declares, who is the light of the revelation of the glory of God for all people of all time. That is the stupendous claim of the Christian Gospel. In the worship of the Magi Matthew witnesses to the universal truth of the Gospel that Jesus Christ is the light of the world, the Saviour of all, who draws all people to him. Those who find him worship him, for those who find him find God. © Grand Valley State University �Follow the Star: Trust the Vision Richard A. Rhem Page 7   We have just celebrated another Christmas. We stand on the threshold of a new year. What has the celebration done for us? In what mind and spirit do we enter this new year? The lessons of the Magi visit are simple and clear: God has revealed Himself; those who seek Him find Him; those who find Him worship Him. Will the truth so recently celebrated be connected to the restless longing of our hearts and will we respond to the revelation of God's glory with adoring worship and committed life? It does not follow automatically. It is possible to be so caught up in trivial pursuits and penultimate matters that we never see the star nor follow the Saviour. The Magi came to Jerusalem where Herod was King and their question posed to him, not the possibility of the advent of the Saviour of the world, but rather a threat to his throne, his rule and authority. On December 28 the Church celebrated the Feast of the Holy Innocents, the remembrance of Herod's decree that all male children two years old and under should be slain. Such a ruthless deed can hardly be conceived of. Yet that is precisely the bestiality of which human pride and blind ambition is capable. George Schultz leads the American delegate to Geneva where he will engage the Russian delegates in arms talks. There will be posturing and maneuvering but the bottom line will be to come out in the position of power because our world lives under the delusion that security resides in power and the greater nuclear arsenal when, as a matter of fact, those very arsenals on either side of the great ideological divide have made the world more insecure than at any time in its history. And to what lengths will either side not go if threatened? Is there any stopping point in this international madness? Perhaps only Herod's desperate conspiracy to rid the world of God's Messiah can be compared with our present age marching to its doom. Not truth, mercy and compassion, but power; that is our madness. The Magi came to Jerusalem and the Scribes and chief priests, the servants of God, His representatives among the people were able to answer the question when the Messiah was to be born, but we hear nothing of their own pilgrimage to find him. But before we are too hard on them, let us remind ourselves that we just celebrated the coming of God in our time and space and, yet, has not perhaps our very familiarity with that amazing story left us dull and untouched? If God has come to us, revealed His grace to us, placed His claim upon us, what sort of people then ought we to be? © Grand Valley State University �Follow the Star: Trust the Vision Richard A. Rhem Page 8   Need I expand on that question? Does not the question itself convict us of the apathy and spiritual deadness of our lives? But the Season is Epiphany, the sign is a star, the truth - God revealed in Jesus, and all who hunger and yearn and long for God will find Him and finding Him, worship and in worship find their true selves. And those that find God in the face of Jesus will be a people of hope, knowing that God has entered our past to give us a sign of our future - a future determined not by human possibility but by the grace and power of God Who will create new heaven and a new earth. His People are a people of hope living in the present in light of the future, which God has prepared for those that love Him. We have celebrated Christmas. Now it is ours to live out in all our ordinary days, following the star, trusting the vision. Reference: Raymond E. Brown. The Birth of the Messiah: A Commentary on the Infancy Narratives in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Anchor Bible Reference Library, Doubleday, 1993. © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Epiphany Sunday Scripture Text Matthew 2:9 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI References Raymond Brown. The Birth of the Messiah: A Commentary on the Infancy Narratives_,1993 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-0-19850106 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1985-01-06 Title A name given to the resource Follow the Star: Trust the Vision Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text 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 January 6, 1985 entitled "Follow the Star: Trust the Vision", on the occasion of Epiphany Sunday, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Matthew 2:9. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Epiphany Hope Inclusive Magi Mystery Nativity Revelation Spiritual Quest https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/30efd72a365ac1ef2f695ed2119482b5.mp3 3d215c3b370b35f117dc19a602431d1f https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/69bf57baa7f46260026bf9181618c0e1.pdf e25215b622cdfb94575ac450564b7894 PDF Text Text Living From Commitment From the sermon series: Lifelines Text: Luke 14: 27, 33 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Epiphany II, January 20, 1985 Transcription of the spoken sermon Noone who does not carry his cross and come with me can be a disciple of mine…none of you can be a disciple of mine without parting with all his possessions. Luke 14: 27, 33 To commit is to entrust oneself to another. In the Christian Faith it is to entrust one's life to God through Jesus Christ. It is to turn over the controls of one's life to Christ, to yield to His Lordship, to recognize Him as one's sovereign, one's King. The Christian Life is a life lived out of commitment to Jesus Christ. That commitment involves the whole of life; every area of life is affected - human relationships, vocational decisions, attitudes, political and economic decisions. In the Christian understanding of things, one's spiritual commitment is not one dimension of life among others, but the primary decision of life which shapes all others. It is also the Christian understanding of human existence that yielding one's life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ is not to lose one's life, but rather to come into the fullest possible realization of being, of a truly, fully human existence. I begin with this message a series entitled, "Lifelines." It will be my purpose to show that the total commitment of oneself to Jesus Christ and the consequences of that commitment, or the living out of that commitment lead to life in its fullness. Commitment to Christ and the disciplines of Christian living are Lifelines. In this series we will focus on several facets of the Christian life in order to find the path to the abundant life Jesus came to bring and which He makes available to us. Before we examine some of the disciplines of life, however, let us begin with the recognition that the call of Jesus to follow Him involves us in a costly choice: He calls us to radical commitment. Radical is a word deliberately chosen. It comes © Grand Valley State University   �Living From Commitment Richard A. Rhem Page 2   from radix, root. The call to follow Jesus reaches to the very root of our existence. His claim and call are uncompromising. His claim and call are serious. He would shape us from the core of our being so that the attitude and actions of our daily lives are the fruit of that one primary and fundamental commitment to be His disciple. The choice of texts presented a problem only because there are so many possibilities. The Gospels carry the theme repeated in various contexts. I point you to the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 14. The paragraph beginning with verse 25 begins, Once, when great crowds were accompanying him… No one could accuse Jesus of inviting followers on false pretenses. He always laid it on the line. Obviously He was not running for election. He was not astute at winning friends and influencing people. There was nothing manipulative in His manner. He was a person consumed with God and the Kingdom of God He came to inaugurate. In the vivid language of the East, He put it this way when the crowd swelled and He feared there were many following without really understanding what was at stake. If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, even his own life, he cannot be a disciple of mine. No one who does not carry his cross and come with me can be a disciple of mine. …none of you can be a disciple of mine without parting with all his possessions. Luke 14: 25-33 The sharpness of the saying jars us and that is precisely its purpose. To hate means literally to love less and the counsel is obviously not hatred in intimate human relationships which are sacred but simply to say there is no relationship or claim upon the disciple of Jesus which takes precedence over the claim of Jesus on our lives. The renunciation of possessions was a familiar model for conversion in the world of Jesus. The gentile who converted to the God of Israel was called to such a oncefor-all act of renunciation, which entailed a break with one's social relationships. Edward Schillebeeckx, in his book, Jesus, points out that this pattern was taken over from late Judaism. Being converted meant in practice surrendering all one's possessions, becoming odious, having to leave father and mother, etc., and all one's worldly goods. The radical break with the past was called for by Jesus in light of the coming rule of God. The narrative of the rich young ruler who came to Jesus illustrates that this young man was not ready for radical conversion because he was unwilling to renounce all and give to the poor. The actual surrender of all material goods was the sign of a true conversion. As for the call to cross bearing, that was a familiar sight in the Palestine of Jesus' day. Crucifixion was the fate of the Zealots who were always plotting against the © Grand Valley State University �Living From Commitment Richard A. Rhem Page 3   Roman occupiers. Once again here, cross bearing was a sign of the willingness to lay down one's life and Jesus' own death on the cross became the concrete illustration of the cost of discipleship. Cross bearing was the willing assumption of the suffering involved in following Jesus and aligning oneself with the cause of the Kingdom of God. It is voluntary. It is not a burden thrust on one about which one can do nothing; it is an active assumption of the consequences of following Jesus. All of the imagery of this paragraph and the others liberally sprinkled throughout the Gospels speak of death, the dying to self. In his book, Alive in Christ, Maxie Dunnam tells of a friend, Brother Sam, a Benedictine monk who shared with him the service in which he took his solemn vows and made his life commitment to the Benedictine community and the monastic life. On that occasion he prostrated himself before the altar of the chapel in the very spot where his coffin will be set when he dies. Covered in a funeral pall, the death bell that tolls at the earthly parting of a brother sounded the solemn gongs of death. There was silence - the silence of death. The silence of the gathered community was broken by the singing of the Colossian words, "For you have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God. " (Col. 3:3). After that powerful word, there was more silence as Brother Sam reflected on his solemn vow. Then the community broke into song with the words of Psalm 118, which is always a part of the Easter liturgy in the Benedictine community: "I shall not die, but live, and declare the words of the Lord. " (Psalm 118:17 King James Version). After this resurrection proclamation, the deacon shouted the works from Ephesians: "Awake, O Sleepers, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light." (Eph. 5:14). Then the bells of the Abbey rang loudly and joyfully. Brother Sam rose, the funeral pall fell off, and the robe of the Benedictine Order was placed on him. He received the kiss of peace and was welcomed into the community to live a life "hid in Christ." (p. 27F) That is a beautiful ritual, a vivid image of the call to discipleship, not just to monastic orders. Jesus calls us to life through death, the death of self, selfcontrol, self-life. That this is the call of Jesus and that His claim on our lives is absolute there can be little argument. But granting that, how do we live that out in our world in our day? What does it mean to follow Jesus today? We have just been reminded of one of our own generation who put his life on the line and paid the supreme price for his discipleship. Martin Luther King said shortly before he fell from an assassin's bullet: © Grand Valley State University �Living From Commitment Richard A. Rhem Page 4   Every now and then I think about my own death, and I think about my funeral. ...I don't want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long... Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize... Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards... I'd like somebody to mention that day, that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others. I'd like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody... Say that I was a drum major for justice, say that I was a drum major for peace. That I was a drum major for righteousness, and all of the other shallow things will not matter. I won't have any money to leave behind. I won't have the fine and luxurious things of life to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed life behind. Martin Luther King, Jr., Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia. February 4, 1968 And he did. Would anyone say he was a failure? About three years ago Archbishop Romero was likewise gunned down while saying Mass in EL Salvador. He was killed because his call to discipleship led him to take up the cause of the poor and oppressed in that troubled nation. The moving film, "Gandhi," has reminded us again recently of that great spiritual leader who changed the face of India and he too took an assassin's bullet. Around the world today many languish in prisons because they have espoused unpopular causes in situations of tyranny. Our world is no stranger to the violent death that pursues those that seek to bring justice and righteousness to bear on the concrete conditions of humankind. But what of ordinary mortals like you and me living in the safety and security of Western Michigan? What does it mean for us to live from commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord? Sometimes I fear we put discipleship out of reach when we speak of King and Gandhi and of course, Jesus, who remains the preeminent model. One hardly knows where to begin and certainly there are many more things to say than can be dealt with in the compass of this message. Yet we can say some, things. First, the call to commitment is the call of the gracious God revealed in Jesus Christ. There are not two Gods. The God of grace Who in Jesus has touched our world is the only true God and His heart is love and His movement toward us is gracious. In the face of Jesus we have seen into the heart of God. © Grand Valley State University �Living From Commitment Richard A. Rhem Page 5   This is the God of tender compassion Whose love will not give up on His people, Whose judgment is the other side of His love with the intention of calling His people to their senses and to return unto Him. The call to commitment is issued by Jesus Whose heart was moved with compassion because the people were restless, harassed, like sheep without a shepherd; Jesus Who said, "Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest." The call comes from one Who dealt tenderly with the weak and embraced the sinner, offering unconditional acceptance and a continuing positive regard for persons. It must be obvious then that total commitment is not the call of a despotic sadist who enjoys seeing people on the rack. A second thing that comes to mind is that the call to commitment issued by Jesus is not properly responded to by a heavy religiosity. Any cursory reading of the Gospels will detect a strong strain of anger in Jesus, anger directed toward the most religious groups of the day. His anger was not a disapproval of religious practice as such but against religious practice as a way of self-righteousness, selfjustification before God, religious practice that was outward conformity to structured ritual and ceremony without corresponding inwardness, religious practice that fulfilled institutional demands but was exercised apart from the more important matters of love, justice and mercy. A third observation I would make is that the call to commitment transcends institutional structures. Perhaps I can put it simply this way: Jesus calls persons to life in God, not simply to join the Church. By now you know me well enough to know that I consider the institutional form of the Church as a necessary evil. Spirit needs form and apart from the institutionalization of the Gospel in the community with creeds and rituals and forms of organization, the Gospel would not have reached us. All organized religion involves a set of rites, an ethical code and a body of doctrine. The institutional Church - just like the Judaism of Jesus' day, consists of rituals, ethics and doctrines and these structures become the vehicle by which religious reality is mediated from one generation to the next. By these institutional forms – rituals for worship, rules for conduct, articles of faith for understanding – a religious system is shaped which is the carrier, the mediator, of religious belief and practice. But when Jesus called to commitment he was calling persons to something more than institutional loyalty. In fact, it was the perception that He was a very great threat to the institution that got Him crucified. There was fear for the Law and the Temple. He dared point beyond Law and Temple to the God toward Whom both Law and Temple pointed, thus relativizing Law and Temple in the face of the absolute demand of God. Keeping the Law was not an end in itself; rather the Law was God's gift to Israel that they might find fullness of life. The Temple was not an end in itself; rather it © Grand Valley State University �Living From Commitment Richard A. Rhem Page 6   was the place where altar and sacrifice and Priesthood were present to mediate the presence of God to the worshiper and bring him beyond the outward forms into the gracious presence of his God. That would suggest a fourth comment: The institutional forms of religious faith and practice fulfill a necessary function in providing the structures by which we find our life's fulfillment in the worship and service of God. Here I am not saying anything not already mentioned, but I say this explicitly lest I be understood to be cavalier about institutionalized religion. How could I be? My whole life is spent in the cause of institutional religion because I see in it the only means by which the Truth of God may be conveyed and the worship and service of God cultivated, through which God is glorified and His people led into the fullness of life. There are rare souls that seem to be able to go it alone, to find the ecstasy of mystical contemplation of God in splendid isolation, but such is not possible for many. And even those who find the vision of God in the solitude of contemplation did not learn of God in a vacuum. The institution is necessary; its forms and structures are the vehicle upon which the Truth of God is conveyed. They are the signs pointing beyond themselves to the mystery of God and apart from them the vision would soon die. The institution also provides the social structure within which we are aided in the spiritual quest. We are social beings. We do not live as isolated atoms in the Universe. We are bound together in the bundle of life. We were created for community and we need the support and encouragement of one another. Personal devotion is essential; contemplation in solitude is essential. But such cannot take the place of corporate worship when as one body we are caught up into the presence of God and lose ourselves in the wonder of worship. The purpose of religious structures then is to mediate the knowledge and experience of God. If we did not have them we would have no access to God but if, having them, we never rise beyond them, we will never experience the mystery of God. Charles Davis says it well: Religion is the drive toward transcendence, the thrust of man out of and beyond himself, out of and beyond the limited order under which he lives, in an attempt to open himself to the totality of existence and reach unlimited reality and ultimate value. This drive cannot be confined to the observance of a moral code, settling questions of right and wrong within a limited frame of reference. The person who is merely moral knows nothing of the heights and depths of human experience and existence. Even a religious system set up to mediate the drive toward transcendence cannot contain it. It never fits exactly and at its best is inadequate © Grand Valley State University �Living From Commitment Richard A. Rhem Page 7   precisely because it is in itself limited and relative, not transcendent and absolute. (The Temptations of Religion, p. 73) Again, David writes, For religion the relativity of any human order of truth and value indicates its mediating function. Its purpose is to become transparent, to lead beyond itself and mediate a transcendent experience. Summarizing what we have said: 1. The call to commitment is the call of the gracious God revealed in Jesus Christ. 2. The call to commitment issued by Jesus is not properly responded to by a heavy religiosity. 3. The call to commitment transcends institutional structure. 4. The institutional forms of religious faith and practice fulfill a necessary function in providing the structures by which we find our life's fulfillment in the worship and service of God. If the above statements are true, then it must be evident that the call to commitment is a serious call to find the highest possible human fulfillment in a life whose first priority is the worship and service of God. God has made us for Himself. There is a hunger in the human heart for God. The universality of religion would seem to demonstrate that. To be sure that claim has been disputed and it does seem in our day there are many who live "onedimensional" lives with no transcendent reference, no worship, no sense of mystery beyond the human and the mundane. Yet our day would also seem to witness to that hunger for transcendence. We speak of the younger generation "turning East." With the lessening of influence of the traditional Church we have seen a rise of the cults and bizarre expression of religious devotion. Ernest Becker, the noted scholar in the field of psychoanalysis finds in the human being a longing for the heroic. He sees a universal fear of death but not the fear of extinction so much as extinction without meaning. We want our lives to be significant, to mean something, to find ourselves caught up in something bigger than ourselves. Although he does not profess to be a Christian thinker, he finds great truth in Kierkegaard who found in the Gospel's call to total commitment that which lifted the person out of himself and satisfied his longing for meaning, (cf. The Denial of Death). © Grand Valley State University �Living From Commitment Richard A. Rhem Page 8   God calls us to Himself not that He may be enhanced in His Sovereign Rule, but because God is love and love would bestow the best and highest gift on the creature made after His own image. The truth of Jesus' words has been proven over and over throughout the centuries. To grasp on to one's life is to lose it; to lose one's life in the service of Jesus and the Gospel is to find it. Thus the call to commitment is an invitation to experience Life at its highest. It is the call of the gracious God in Jesus Christ to experience abundant life. If that is true, then it must be evident that the successful living out of one's commitment is always threatened from two directions: a. From the danger of absolutizing the institution and its form and structure; b. From the danger of abandoning the institution or giving it only slight regard. The first danger is succumbed to by the religious. Jesus' greatest foes were the highly religious: those who absolutized the established form of Jewish faith, who made idols of Temple and Law and ritual. One can see this so very prevalent in our own day with the upsurge of visibility and volubility of the religious Right. Fundamentalism has become militant in our country as illustrated by the conflict over Creationism and Evolutionism. One can see it also in the mean-spirited militancy that crusades against abortion and the rights of homosexuals. There is little civility in the debate on issues in which there can certainly be differences of opinion. In great emotional display evidencing deep-seated anger, we see people demonstrate for God and Truth as though they had some corner on the truth. What they have done is absolutize their position, which is limited and relative because it is a human perspective on divine truth, not that truth itself. One can see the danger of absolutizing the institution where people are controlled and manipulated by religious leaders. Often the implication is if you do not follow my leading or support my program, or serve in my institution, you can have no part in the Kingdom. But there is danger on the other side, as well. Too many have "progressed" to where they recognize that God and the institutional forms structured to give access to Him are not synonymous and have thus simply written off the institution and the practice of religious life. One theologian of sorts writes that he doesn't need the institution or the symbols anymore. Growing up as a Scottish Presbyterian, it was all so deeply ingrained “that he can go on without it.” Fine. But who will tell his children and provide the © Grand Valley State University �Living From Commitment Richard A. Rhem Page 9   experience in which they might be overwhelmed with the mystery of God? Who will pass the torch of faith and maintain the community of faith for the generations yet unborn? For many years now at Christ Community I have chosen the difficult path of teaching you that our creedal statements are not the last word, our way of worship is not the only form of true worship, our grasp of the Christian life must always be open to examination. Our institutional life and structure is not absolute; our program as a congregation is not synonymous with God's perfect will. Yet I have called you to commitment to Christ and the Church and its life here, recognizing we have blinders, we are flawed, and we stand always in need of correction and further insight. What "sells" today is to reduce complex issues to simple formulas, claiming they are absolute, beating the drums, whipping up the emotions and leading a crusade. Such has not been my style nor the posture of this congregation. We have sought rather to be both Civil and Committed. Is it possible to recognize the relativity of our grasp of God's Truth and of the structures of our life and worship and yet be totally committed to God through Christ in the life and mission of the Church? I believe it is. I would hope that I might myself be "Exhibit A." I believe in what we are about here. I commit myself unreservedly to it, even though I recognize the flawed nature of all we do and are. This is the kind of commitment to which I call you. Spirit needs form. Faith needs structure. The Gospel of Christ will be perpetuated from one generation to another only if we maintain the community of faith, flawed though its every expression is, relative though its grasp of Truth may be, partial though its obedience always is. The cause of the Kingdom of God is carried on in the world by people like us for whom God is a priority, who, having found Him gracious, find the fullest experience of being human in the worship and service of His Name. We have striven never to come off as laying on you heavy duty and obligation. Rather, we have sought to lead you into the joy of losing yourself in the service of God. The Gospel paradox is true - greedily grasp your life to yourself and lose it; give your life away for Jesus' sake and find it. You don't have to do anything. God loves you anyway. But in failing to find yourself, your gifts and energies in the employ of God, you lose out on the deepest joy of being human. © Grand Valley State University �Living From Commitment Richard A. Rhem Page10   God's claim on you is absolute; Jesus' call to commitment is total, because God being the fountain of love would give Himself to you as you offer yourself to Him in response to His redeeming grace. Thus I set before you the key lifeline: Commitment. Living from commitment is to live fully, richly, deeply. It is the abundant life. © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Epiphany I Series LifeLines Scripture Text Luke 14: 27, 33 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-0-19850120 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1985-01-20 Title A name given to the resource Living from Commitment Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text 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 January 20, 1985 entitled "Living from Commitment", as part of the series "LifeLines", on the occasion of Epiphany I, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Luke 14: 27, 33. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Community of Faith Epiphany Followers of Jesus Institutional Religion Nature of Religion Spiritual Quest Transcendence Worship https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e9b237a80a1e2fc40d479052854283ae.mp3 f4293fa7f4f2040080942f229bdcb9b0 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 Epiphany II Series LifeLines Scripture Text Matthew 6:24, 33 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-0-19850127 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1985-01-27 Title A name given to the resource Living with Open Hands Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource 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 January 27, 1985 entitled "Living with Open Hands", as part of the series "LifeLines", on the occasion of Epiphany II, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Matthew 6:24, 33. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/48c9b87092b10fb0b98a3d392794e487.mp3 a7b777306adc129b2acf796f5e9e20b3 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/61d9566a92d26dcdda169fd526207471.pdf a3e149ca05cd1d65c16576bff78decac PDF Text Text Living With Wonder From the sermon series: Lifelines Text: Isaiah 6: 1 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Epiphany IV, February 3, 1985 Transcription of the spoken sermon …I saw the Lord…high and exalted. Isaiah 6: 1 Viewing the Robert Kennedy story on television this past week I was reminded of the tumultuous events of the last quarter century. What drama and high tension have punctuated the flow of the years of recent decades. I remember vividly where I was the day John F. Kennedy was shot. Seeing familiar scenes flashed on the TV screen again this past week still sent a chill through me. The vast majority of our days flow without special significance and they are lost in the mists of the past. But not all days, not all events. Some days, some moments change us forever; they leave their imprint upon us and we can never be the same again. Isaiah knew that. He shared such an experience. Isaiah wrote, In the year of King Uzziah's death, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted ... It was not necessarily the occasion of the King's death, although that is possible. Perhaps it was the annual enthronement festival. At least it was a great worship celebration, a state occasion in the setting of the Temple with, no doubt, the pageantry of priesthood, altar and incense. Whatever was the particular focus of the worship that day, for Isaiah, it was a moment of revelation, of the breaking through of the hidden majesty of God, the penetration of his whole being with the vision of the glory of God and he was transformed; his whole life was grasped, shaped and given its destiny. In chaste and restrained fashion he describes the vision: © Grand Valley State University   �Living With Wonder Richard A. Rhem   Page 2   ...the skirt of his robe filled the temple. About him were attendant seraphim ... calling to one another, ‘Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory.’ As he was transfixed by the scene, The threshold shook to its foundations, while the house was filled with smoke. Such was the vision of the glory of God. In reaction to the vision of God's holiness, the prophet was overwhelmed and sensed his unworthiness, his uncleanness in the presence of the Lord and he cried, Woe is me! I am lost. He knew immediately that there was a great gulf between the creature and the Creator. Such a vision would be his undoing, for he cries, I have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts. But the gracious God revealed Himself not to destroy His servant; rather the ministering seraph took a glowing coal from off the altar and touched his lips, signifying his cleansing and the removal of his sins. Then it was that he heard the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? Who will go for me?" To which Isaiah answered, "Here am I; send me." And the word of the Lord was, "Go and tell..." And Isaiah became one of the greatest of the Hebrew prophets, speaking the word of God to the People of God. This passage is obviously about the making of a prophet, about the vision of God and the prophetic call. In this message, however, I want to use the passage for another purpose, which, although not its primary teaching, is yet certainly a valid use. Let us consider the experience recorded here as an instance of the encounter with God in the celebration of worship. Worship is our focus. And even though Isaiah's experience was very personal, as all moments of divine revelation must be, yet its occasion was the corporate worship of God's people. It is corporate worship about which I invite you to think with me. Corporate worship is a lifeline; it provides the occasion in which Eternity breaks into our time, heaven touches earth, God reveals His glory, Grace and forgiveness are realized, the call of God is heard, and our response is offered. © Grand Valley State University �Living With Wonder Richard A. Rhem   Page 3   Worship provides the setting in which we are lifted out of ourselves, beyond the limits of the ordinary, in which we have the experience of transcendence and we are enabled to live with wonder. Living with wonder — That is the enrichment that worship affords. Moving from the experience of worship into the ordinary and the mundane to pick up our duties and exercise our vocations, all is transformed. A glow radiates over all of life. We move through the world as through a magnificent vaulted cathedral, conscious of the vertical dimension of life by which the horizontal plane of our lives has been intersected and transformed. Archbishop William Temple wrote: To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God; to feed the mind with the truth of God; to purge the imagination by the beauty of God; to open the heart to the love of God; to devote the will to the purpose of God. Those statements seem to flow directly from the experience Isaiah recorded for us. Worship is a lifeline because it is the highest action of the human person whereby true humanity is realized through the vision, grace and call of God. Worship is a spiritual discipline. It is means by which we are shaped into the persons God has called us to be. That shaping, that forming of persons, of a people, is accomplished most notably through the experience of corporate worship. In this message I recommend to you the great importance and value of regular corporate worship. I do so not to make it a legalistic requirement, the socalled "Sunday obligation." I do so because I believe the regular, corporate worship of the people of God gives structure and rhythm to life. I recommend regular, corporate worship to you as a spiritual discipline, indeed, a lifeline, because I believe it is so vitally important to have a regular weekly appointment in which you can be unlocked from the world's grip, freed from the grip of value systems and ideologies that would mold you into a sub-human existence, lifted above the economic struggle for survival, the competitive struggle that creates tension with values of mercy and compassion, the perils of a consumer culture that pummels you with eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die – like a dog, a culture that would convince us that this is all there is. No people can know spiritual formation, the shaping of life and value by the Word of God without a regular appointment with the occasion and the setting in which our lives may be encountered, confronted, judged, graced, healed and sent forth again to be the people of God in the world. Living with wonder. © Grand Valley State University �Living With Wonder Richard A. Rhem   Page 4   That could be a definition of being human. It speaks of living with the awareness of God, with the awareness that there is something more, a transcendent dimension; with a sense of grace that overcomes brokenness and failure; with a sense of vocation, calling, that gives life meaning and purpose. A sense of wonder. Living with wonder would enable others to sense through our language and behavior a life lived in openness and awesomeness before the world of things and peoples. As a friend and colleague described it, In an over-rational and over-explained world our overweened arrogance of knowledge teaches us that wonder is a temporary state of curiosity caused by an ignorance of adequate explanation. To realize that this universe, the one in outer space as well as inner space, holds mystery beyond imagination. Dag Hammarskjold was a celebrant of that mystery. He said in his diary, “God does not die on the day we cease to believe in a personal deity, but we die on the day when our lives cease to be illumined by the steady radiance, renewed daily, of a wonder the source of which is beyond all reason. (Howard Moody) Isaiah's life was transformed in that moment of vision which occurred in the context of corporate worship. Every time we gather together here we place ourselves in the posture and setting where lightning may strike. Reflect with me about the act of corporate worship. Obviously one could bring a whole series of messages on the subject of the corporate worship of God and I cannot begin to cover the subject in this one message. My focus is very limited and specific: I am setting before you the great importance of a regular corporate worship as a spiritual discipline by which your life might be characterized by a sense of wonder. In choosing this narrow focus I create for myself inevitable problems. First, I can point to the vision of God which transforms human existence but I cannot guarantee that that will "happen" every time we gather for everyone, or even for anyone. God reveals Himself. God gives Himself. God is sovereign in His own unveiling. The same thing stated negatively - God cannot be manipulated by liturgical acts, incantations, sacramental actions. God is God. He is not at our disposal. He is not a genie to be "rubbed," moved by a magical formula or coerced into action by ritual of priest or people. I face a second problem: To speak of the vision of God is not the same thing as experiencing the vision of God. To speak about worship is not worship. Speaking as I am now, tied to a biblical text over which we have prayed and to which we © Grand Valley State University �Living With Wonder Richard A. Rhem   Page 5   give attention is an essential action of corporate worship. In speaking as I am, I speak out of prayerful preparation with confidence in the promise of God to speak through my words. Yet here, too, God remains God; God remains free. In our Reformation tradition we have highly valued the sermon. We speak of the Word made flesh, the Word written and the Word preached and we call them all the Word of God. Nonetheless, apart from the present action of the Living God, the Word written remains a dead letter and the Word preached but human stammering. In other words, in corporate worship all of the forms, liturgical acts, gestures, sacramental actions are human structures that provide the framework in which the "happening" may occur. To use an analogy, the structure of the service and the actions in which we engage are like the train tracks. Whether the locomotive moves down those tracks is not in our power to determine. There is a third problem I face related to the one just mentioned: I can only describe that to which I refer rationally; yet what I am seeking to describe is beyond reason. Obviously as I speak to you I must attempt to be clear, to make sense. I work hard to make the message understandable. It must therefore be reasonable, able to be grasped by the reason. It must be logical so that its meaning can be grasped. But when I speak of the vision of God, of the inbreaking of God, of a “lightning strike” of revelation, I am speaking of an action of God, the experience of which is ineffable. The definition of “ineffable” is that which “cannot be expressed in words; unspeakable, unutterable, inexpressible.” Do you sense my dilemma? I am speaking about what is unspeakable, attempting to express what is inexpressible, trying to utter the unutterable. The best I can do is to point you by means of speech in logical thought, to a Reality which can only be experienced. In a classic study of the experience of God, which is beyond reason's ability to grasp or describe, The Idea of the Holy, by Rudolf Otto, the author states: This book, recognizing the profound import of the non-rational for metaphysics, makes a serious attempt to analyze all the more exactly the feeling which remains where the concept fails, and to introduce a terminology which is not any the more loose or indeterminate for having necessarily to make use of symbols. (Forward) To speak thus of "feeling" certainly is not to reduce religious experience to a purely human phenomenon. The translator of Otto's book writes in the preface: It is possible to devote our attention to religious “experience” in a sense which would almost leave out of account the object of which it is an experience. We may so concentrate upon the “feeling,” that the objective © Grand Valley State University �Living With Wonder Richard A. Rhem   Page 6   cause of it may fall altogether out of sight. Is religious experience essentially just a state of mind, a feeling, whether of oppression or of exaltation, a sense of “sin” or an assurance of “salvation;” or is it not rather our apprehension of “the divine,” meaning by that term at least something independent of the mental and emotional state of the moment of experience? (p. XIIf.) In reference to Otto's purpose, the translator affirms: He is concerned to examine the nature of those elements in the religious experience which lie outside and beyond the scope of reason - which cannot be comprised in ethical or "rational" conceptions, but which none the less as "feelings" cannot be disregarded by an honest inquiry. And his argument shows in the first place that in all the forms which religious experience may assume and has assumed, so far as these can be reinterpreted ... certain basic "moments" of feeling ... are always found to recur. Speaking directly to our point, he continues, Here we are shown that the religious "feeling" properly involves a unique kind of apprehension, sui generis, not to be reduced to ordinary intellectual concepts, and yet - and this is the paradox of the matter - itself a genuine "knowing," the growing awareness of an object, deity. ... a response, so to speak, to the impact upon the human mind of the divine," as it reveals itself whether obscurely or clearly. The primary fact is the confrontation of the human mind with a Something, whose character is only gradually learned, but which is from the first felt as a transcendent present. "The beyond," even where it is also felt as "the within" man. (XIV F.) When I speak of the problem of expressing what is essentially inexpressible, I am speaking of what Otto describes in his study. The translator states it thus: The "feeling" element in religion involves, then, a genuine "knowing" or awareness, though, in contrast to that knowing which can express itself in concepts, it may be termed "non-rational." The feeling of the "uncanny," the thrill of awe or reverence, the sense of dependence, of impotence, or of nothingness, or again the feelings of religious rapture and exaltation, - all these are attempted designations of the mental states which attend the awareness of certain aspects of "the divine." (p. XV) It is to the "feeling" that remains when the concept fails that I point you. I can only point to the experience. Isaiah described such an experience in the imagery of the Temple service. There in the midst of some festival celebration God broke through to him. © Grand Valley State University �Living With Wonder Richard A. Rhem   Page 7   It was a life-transforming moment. For the rest of his days he was shaped by that vision. Few of us will ever have such a vivid, dramatic encounter. But it is the contention of this message that it is in the setting of corporate worship that we put ourselves in the way of such an experience. It is here in the sanctuary that we are most likely to be encountered and that we have the greatest potential for apprehending the divine vision. If we would live with wonder then we can do no better than place ourselves in the presence of God with spirits open to the lightning strike of His glory. Rudolf Otto coins the word "numinous" to describe ... The specific non-rational religious apprehension and its object, at all its levels, from the first dim stirrings where religion can hardly yet be said to exist to the most exalted forms of spiritual experience. (p. XVII) But he maintains that we cannot dispense with the knowledge that comes through human reason and moral experience. He insists, writes Harvey, that for him the supremacy of Christianity over all other religions lies in the unique degree in which ... in Christianity the numinous elements, such as the sense of awe and reverence before the infinite mystery and infinite majesty, are yet combined and made one with the rational elements, assuring us that God is an all-righteous, all-provident, and all-loving Person, with whom a man may enter into the most intimate relationship. (p. XVII) Thus it is Otto's contention that religion ... is a real knowledge of, and real personal communion with, a Being Whose nature is yet above knowledge and transcends personality. This apparent contradiction cannot be evaded by concentrating upon an aspect of it and ignoring the other, without doing a real injury to religion. It must be faced directly in the experience of worship, and there, and only there, it ceases to be a contradiction and becomes a harmony. (p. XVII) God is the object of worship. We attempt to speak of God. The description of God is spoken of as the attributes of God and Otto writes, ... all these attributes constitute clear and definite concepts; they can be grasped by the intellect; they can be analyzed by thought; they even admit of definition. An object that can thus be thought conceptually may be termed rational. The nature of deity described in the attributes above mentioned is, then, a rational nature; and a religion which recognizes and maintains such a view of God is in so far a "rational" religion. Only on such terms is Belief possible in contrast to mere feeling. (p. 1) © Grand Valley State University �Living With Wonder Richard A. Rhem   Page 8   However, too much religion, including our Reformed tradition, has stopped there. As Otto says, ... so far are these "rational" attributes from exhausting the idea of deity that they in fact imply a non-rational or supra-rational Subject of which they are predicates. ... That is to say, we have to predicate them of a subject which they qualify, but which in its deeper essence is not, nor indeed can be, comprehended in them; which rather requires comprehension of a quite different kind. (p. 2) Otto points to the failing of Christian orthodoxy in that it found in the construction of dogma and doctrine no way to do justice to the non-rational aspect of its subject. So far from keeping the non-rational element in religion alive in the heart of the religious experience, orthodox Christianity manifestly failed to recognize its value, and by this failure gave to the idea of God the one-sidedly intellectualistic and rationalistic interpretation. (p. 3) So much for the problems I encounter as I point you to the discipline of corporate worship as the place and occasion for an encounter with the living God from which one derives the sense of wonder that transforms all of life. Recognizing that I can point to the vision of God but cannot guarantee that to speak about worship is not the same as worshiping, and that I must describe the worship experience rationally, but that it is an experience beyond reason, let me nonetheless say something about the experience of corporate worship. The first statement I would make is that our worship is response to God. He has taken the initiative; He has woven the truth of His being into the fabric of our being and no matter how much we deface His image in our souls, yet we can never fully divest ourselves of the trace of His imprint. This is where we part company with those following the German philosopher/theologian Feuerbach, such as Marx and Freud and company, who insist that religion is of human creation, prompted by human need and thus must be understood not as response to the revelation of God, but as a purely human action fashioning God out of human projections. We speak of the "feeling" that remains when the concept fails; we speak of that which shatters our reason and breaks the bounds of our rational thinking, but we insist that is a reflex action a response, a re-action. God reveals Himself; our worship is response. Thus worship is something the People do Godward; it is human action offered to God Who is the object of our worship. Therefore, while worship should be edifying and instructive, edification and instruction are not in themselves worship. Therefore, worship ought never to be boring, but neither is its purpose entertainment, simply holding the people's attention. Worship is the offering of praise and adoration to God Who has made © Grand Valley State University �Living With Wonder Richard A. Rhem   Page 9   Himself known to us so that we cannot but respond by acknowledging His worthship. Secondly, the corporate worship of God occurs in a carefully choreographed, dramatic pageant. Such a statement will certainly not be accepted by all without objection. Let me quickly admit that there is a large variety of acceptable modes of worship. Where God's people gather, God's truth is declared and God's Spirit is present, there the worship of God occurs. Let me acknowledge further that various modes and media of worship touch different persons. There must be no stereotyping of personality type that alone can worship truly, and worship depends not on one's theological understanding, liturgical training or aesthetic sense. Granting that I must insist that the worship of God demands of us the highest attention, the most strenuous care for detail, and the utilization of our best gifts all devoted to excellence of form and content in the experience of worship, I have acknowledged the legitimacy of variety in modes of worship: the silence of the plain Quaker Meeting House, the fervor of the Charismatic Pentecostals, the solemn dignity of Evensong in the setting of Cathedral magnificence. Yet, let me put in a word for the mode of worship created in this place week by week. I spoke of a carefully choreographed, dramatic pageant. The word pageant has several definitions. The most obvious is "a scene acted on a stage." Another definition is "a spectacle arranged for effect." And "pageantry" is defined as "splendid display; pomp." "Pomp" is defined as "splendid display or celebration; splendour, magnificence. " In the definitions of pageantry and pomp there is also another meaning of empty display or ostentation. That is interesting because it indicates what a fine line there is between truth and its counterfeit. That is why religious ritual and ceremony have so frequently through the centuries become empty, lifeless display without substance, without soul. Hollow forms have been the curse of the Church, foisted on her by ministers and priests without passion and faith, by religious leaders grown callous through familiarity with holy things. Acknowledging all of that, I must still contend that the celebration of worship of the People of God at its highest and best is the full-spectrum pageant in which is utilized the arts which appeal to the aesthetic sense: music that moves one in the depths; movement that expresses what leaves the tongue dumb; color and symbol creating a feast for the eye; the word of truth that engages the mind and triggers the emotion that triggers the will; candles and crosses and colors of vestments; incense and smoke rising heavenward; © Grand Valley State University �Living With Wonder Richard A. Rhem   Page10   the roar of the mighty organ; the chill of an obligate; the simplicity of a gesture - breaking bread, pouring wine, making the sign of the cross on a forehead with baptismal water; The word of assurance -"Your sins are forgiven; go in peace." Choir and congregation in one mighty voice, singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Alleluia! Go back to the definition of pageant: "A spectacle arranged for effect." That is it, you see: arranged for effect. What effect? The vision of God, surely! The vision of God, high and lifted up! I cannot in calm rational discourse affect the vision; I can only point to it, speak about it, draw out the implications of it. Sweet reason does not remove the veil from the face of the living God. Reason reaches its limit; rational discourse comes to its bounding and still beyond reigns the living God. He must come to us. He must penetrate our space and time. But if I can choreograph a pageant full of sound and sight which engages not only the head but the heart and soul, then at least I have set the stage - created the setting, arranged the spectacle where the effect might, if God be gracious, happen. In such a setting I just may catch a glimpse of His glory; there may well be a moment in which there is a rift in the sky and in that moment my life may well be transformed, become radiant with light and full of glory. Then I will have come to know God Who is beyond knowledge, and to possess a joy which is unspeakable. Then my life will be full of wonder, and I will walk beneath the blue sky of the heavens as though it were a great vaulted cathedral and my every day will be vibrant with praise. Finally, in such an experience of worship all of life is lifted into the presence of God, cleansed and claimed and sent forth to serve. It is here in worship that one is most likely to hear the Voice, "Who will go for me?" "Whom shall I send?" It is while one is lost in wonder, love and praise that one is most open to respond, "Here am I, send me." That, of course, is why this service always culminates in the offering. Where a People has caught a glimpse of the glory of God and heard the call of God, response is inevitable. Some action is called for, some gesture must be made. That is why the organ builds to mighty crescendo, the people rise, the gifts come forward and together we sing, "Praise God from Whom all blessings flow." © Grand Valley State University �Living With Wonder Richard A. Rhem   Page11   How could we remain seated, passive, uninvolved? Such is the wonder of worship. From such worship flows life full of wonder. Living with wonder is living with heaven on earth. Reference: Rudolf Otto. The Idea of the Holy. Translated by John W. Harvey. Oxford University Press, 1958. © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Epiphany III Series LifeLines Scripture Text Isaiah 6:1 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI References Rudolf Otto. The Idea of the Holy. Translated by John W. Harvey, 1958. 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-0-19850203 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1985-02-03 Title A name given to the resource Living with Wonder Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text 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 February 3, 1985 entitled "Living with Wonder", as part of the series "LifeLines", on the occasion of Epiphany III, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Isaiah 6:1. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Epiphany Presence Prophet Isaiah Sacred Transcendence Wonder Worship https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/efa0b8cb04890365d330c491c8d5eafa.mp3 b0cce55d5901a27da5288fc7da68edb8 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 Epiphany IV Series LifeLines Scripture Text Mark 1:35, Luke 22:42, Luke 23:46 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-0-19850210 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1985-02-10 Title A name given to the resource Living in Dialogue Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource 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 February 10, 1985 entitled "Living in Dialogue", as part of the series "LifeLines", on the occasion of Epiphany IV, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Mark 1:35, Luke 22:42, Luke 23:46. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/fb100a79f720914d4ba398b12859755e.mp3 9642fc7d145f9d0f7c9632912e503c64 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/bf131020b8c5003a093a3edcb5e60317.pdf 806359be2b93196a6c8a728181bad601 PDF Text Text Living With Care From the sermon series: Lifelines Text: Isaiah 42: 3, 6; Matthew 9: 36 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan February 17, 1985 Transcription of the spoken sermon Having entered the circle of those whose life span has reached the half century mark, I have been thinking about life and decided that it would be a good time to have a thorough checkup, to get a reading on the present condition of this "house" I live in. A stress test was suggested, but I responded that I have one of those every day. Having been blessed with good health, I am not one that gives much thought to my physical body and I am quite sure I do not take care of it as I should. That is a confession. I certainly affirm the attention given to physical health in our day. Wellness is in and that is good; that is biblical, for our Judeo-Christian faith affirms the body and Paul speaks of proper regard for the body since it is the Temple of the Spirit. Proper eating, rest, exercise - all of that is important, and we could no doubt develop a series of lectures entitled "Lifelines" which would deal with the various disciplines by which good physical health is maintained. There is a high level of consciousness about health matters. In Times Square last week I saw the brilliant neon signs for Sony, Minolta and Tobishi, and sandwiched in there somewhere was a new weight control diet plan advertised in glittering colors. I noticed it on my way to Mama Leone's, where I had a sevencourse dinner. I have been setting before us in this series of messages another set of lifelines spiritual disciplines by which to enhance the spiritual dimension of our human existence. Do not misunderstand me, please! I would not want to set physical and spiritual over against each other. We are not "souls" and "bodies," compartmentalized so that we can deal with the one in isolation from the other. Neither should we choose to cultivate the spiritual and deprecate the physical, or vice versa. © Grand Valley State University   �Living With Care Richard A. Rhem Page 2   However, the lifelines I have been speaking about are spiritual disciplines through the exercise of which we deepen the spiritual life and cultivate the presence of God in our lives, thereby enticing the fullest, richest of human experience. Physical wellness has caught on; it has become with some even an obsession. Spiritual wellness (or fullness) is more difficult to "sell"; there is a great lack of spiritual discipline among us in the Church, let alone the population in general. This morning in Louisville, at the Human Heart Institute, the third person will undergo surgery to receive an artificial heart. Such medical experimentation is inevitable; we will continue to push back the horizons and establish new frontiers in medical science. I do not speak against that or call it into question. However, when we remember Barney Clark and when we see what William Schroeder has gone through, it must be abundantly clear that there is a sharp distinction between extension of physical existence, and quality of life. The stages we are going through are the only way to progress in our capacity to extend and enhance life, but it is obvious that extension is not synonymous with enhancement. One thing is certain: we will never beat out the Grim Reaper; we may stave off death, but it is only a matter of time. How important it then is that we get things in proper prospective. Might we not be giving our attention, time, energy and resources to the preservation of what we can never finally keep while failing to develop that which we will never lose? Life in the biblical sense, in the ultimate sense, is more than a beating heart. Jesus said, I have come, that they may have Life, and have it more abundantly. (John 10:10) Again he said, This is eternal life; to know Thee Who alone art truly God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent. (John 17:3) The life Jesus spoke of is eternal life and that is not some esoteric existence after death, but a present possibility, a present reality. Eternal life is here and now, living in communion with God through Jesus Christ. The spiritual disciplines I have been setting before you in this series are not ends in themselves; they are means to the end of life in relationship with God. They are forms and structures by which we may practice the presence of God. Spiritual disciplines give us access to abundant life: life which is full, deep, rich; life which is truly human, fully alive. © Grand Valley State University �Living With Care Richard A. Rhem Page 3   Spiritual disciplines practiced in the course of our present existence develop communion with God that robs death of its sting and makes it but a point of transition to a form of existence in the presence of God of which present experience is but a foretaste and foregleam. As I have indicated before, Jesus is our model. Paul prayed for the Galatian Christians "until you take the shape of Christ." In Jesus, God revealed Himself - we see who God is. In Jesus, God revealed His intention for human existence. To this point in this Lifelines series, we have suggested: 1. We must intentionally begin - commitment. 2. We must yield to God's grace, which transforms us from people of the clenched fist to people of the open hand. 3. We must present ourselves in regular appointment in the corporate worship of God with His people - living with wonder. 4. We must daily open our lives to Him and cultivate His presence -living in dialogue. Finally, let me suggest that we must become involved with God's mission in the world: 5. We must live with care. Care is an interesting word. It has taken on various meanings. To be full of care may mean to be burdened with worry and anxiety. Such care Jesus said is lack of trust. He would have us care-free, not care-full. We also use it in the sense of "Do you care if ..." Does it matter to you, in other words, and we may respond, "No, I don't care ..." Sometimes in that sense we communicate indifference. I am using care in another sense. I use it here to convey just the opposite of indifference. I am suggesting that God calls us to live with passionate concern and sensitivity to our neighbor and with a sense of responsibility for our world. Just as I began this series with a theme – Commitment, which was not itself a discipline but the prior decision to cultivate a disciplined life, so I end not with a specific discipline but rather with the fruit of such discipline - a life engaged in mission, a life of care. This is extremely important. We do not cultivate the spiritual life simply to turn in on ourselves; we are not content simply to develop our own soul as though we lived an isolated human © Grand Valley State University �Living With Care Richard A. Rhem Page 4   existence. That, in fact, is a contradiction: if we are isolated, we are not fully human. God created us for Himself and each other. We are created for community - a fully human existence is a life in relationship with God, and with neighbor. The highest, richest, fullest human existence is a life drawn out of itself, lived with care for the world and all God's children. The best of spiritual directors have seen this clearly. There is an inward journey the cultivation of a personal spiritual life. There must be an outward journey, the moving out in compassion to the world. The two journeys must be engaged in simultaneously. It is not the case that we can become spiritual masters and then begin to serve in the Kingdom. Training for Kingdom service is "hands on" training. It is as we engage in the mission of Christ in the world that we are driven deeper into the spiritual life and as we deepen the spiritual springs of the soul we will be driven out into the world in the cause of Christ. Inward journey. Outward journey. In worship and personal devotion we find our lives transformed into the posture of the open hand and we enter the arena of service. Such service requires regular maintenance of our spiritual life and thus we seek grace and power in worship and devotion. In Israel there is a classic example of what I am addressing in this message. From the heights of Mount Herman and surrounding mountain ranges fresh water flows into the Jordan River. When in the Holy Land, we came down from the Golan Heights and stopped at a small bridge over the sparkling, fresh, flowing water of the Jordan. We also took a boat trip on the lovely Sea of Galilee. The Jordan flows out of Galilee at its south end. The sea is still fished as it was in Jesus' day. The water is sweet. The Jordan flows south and empties into the Dead Sea. It is called the Dead Sea because of its heavy saline content. It is also called the Salt Sea. It is heavy with mineral content. I swam in the Dead Sea and could not submerge myself. One bobs on the surface like a cork. Surrounding the Dead Sea it is wilderness, a desert, stark and barren. The water is useless for irrigation; it cannot make the desert bloom. What is the difference? It is the same water. The difference is that the Dead Sea has no outlet; there is nowhere for the water to go and thus it becomes stagnant. It brings death rather than life. The Sea of Galilee is fresh, supporting life, watering the countryside and making it fruitful. The Dead Sea is stagnant, devoid of life, leaving the area a wilderness. The Sea of Galilee both receives and gives. © Grand Valley State University �Living With Care Richard A. Rhem Page 5   The Dead Sea takes in but has no outlet. And that is a parable of human existence. Through the cultivation of spiritual discipline we receive spiritual grace and power. Through caring ministry, grace and power flow through us to the world and our lives are fresh, vital, fruitful. God calls us to be channels of grace, conduits of love, instruments of peace, caregivers. This is so central a biblical teaching that I need only point you to the lessons of the day. The Old Testament lesson, Isaiah 42:1-7, is one of the so-called Servant Songs and response. The Servant Songs of Isaiah portray the mission of one who proclaims the Good News of God, suffers and finally gives his life in carrying out his service for God. Biblical scholars have pointed out that sometimes the Servant seems to be an individual, sometimes a corporate personality, thus representing Israel in its calling to be God's special instrument of salvation to the world. One commentary states it thus: The servant is conceived as an individual figure, but he is the figure who recapitulates in himself all the religious gifts and the religious mission of Israel ... He is the fullness of Israel; in him the history of Israel reaches its achievement. He incorporates the dominant features of Israel's past; he has some of the traits of a new Moses: he is the spokesman of divine revelation, he is the witness of the divinity of Yahweh to Israel and to the nation; he is a prophet. (The Anchor Bible, Servant Israel, p. LIII) Further, he writes, The Servant poems are not "predictions" of the future in the simple sense. They are rather insights into the future, into the ways of God with men, a projection of how judgment and salvation must be realized if they are to be realized at all. For the community to whom the Songs were addressed, they are a challenge to a commitment, to a faith in a future, which is revealed in the figure of the Servant. Unless Israel accepts the Servant as its incorporation, it cannot keep faith with Yahweh. (Ibid., p. LV) Chapter 42 presents the Servant. God's Spirit is on him and he "will make justice shine on the nation." His manner will be one of tenderness and compassion. He will not break a bruised reed, or snuff out a smoldering wick. He will bring God's teachings to the world. The word in Hebrew is torah, which we usually translate as law, but which does not mean law in the narrow sense of legal code but "way of life." It really means here "revelation." The Servant brings the revelation of the Truth of God to the Nations. He does so not in great public display with noisy ostentation, but quietly with sensitivity, setting forth the light of God's truth in the world's darkness. © Grand Valley State University �Living With Care Richard A. Rhem Page 6   The response to the Song in verses 5-9 sets forth clearly that God, the Creator, has called Israel to be His special agent to bring light and salvation to the world, to establish justice and create order in creation. Listen to this clear call: I, the Lord, have called you with righteous purpose and taken you by the hand; I have formed you, and appointed you to be a light to all peoples, a beacon for the nations, to open eyes that are blind, to bring captives out of prison, out of the dungeons where they be in darkness. Called. Formed. Appointed. Israel's mission is unmistakably clear. She is God's elect people. God called one nation to bring light and salvation to all nations. Election is to service. It is both privilege and responsibility. Israel was God's special People; its mission was to be a beacon for the nations. Israel failed in its mission. The whole of Old Testament history was reduced to a righteous remnant, finally to Jesus. Jesus found the model for his ministry in the Servant Songs. He adopted the posture of the Servant of the Lord. He became the Suffering Servant. He finally died vicariously for the sin of the world, bringing salvation to the world. Jesus fulfilled the ideal of the Servant. Matthew, in our New Testament lesson, pictures him in his healing ministry. In 9:21-22 the Greek word Sozein is used three times in regard to the woman who touched his garment. She was healed. She was "saved." Jesus came to save, to heal, to make whole. He came to restore order and unity to God's creation. In this context he gives sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf and life to the dead. Jesus' miracles were not for the sake of sensationalism; rather they were signs of the presence of the Kingdom, the rule of God. They were signs pointing to the new order, the new Creation. God's presence and power were mediated through the life and ministry of Jesus. Our text paints a beautiful portrait of the Saviour. Matthew gives us a summary statement after citing miracle after miracle. He writes: So Jesus went round all the towns and villages teaching in their synagogues, announcing the good news of the Kingdom, and curing every king of ailment and disease. The sight of the people moved him to pity: they were like sheep without a shepherd, harassed and helpless… The sight of the people moved Jesus to compassion. He saw the multitude and sensed their confusion: sheep without a shepherd, harassed, helpless. His life was a gift to people; He proclaimed the Truth. © Grand Valley State University �Living With Care Richard A. Rhem Page 7   One translation reads instead of "announcing the good news of the Kingdom," "proclaiming the Freedom of the Kingdom." He brought the truth that set persons free. He brought wholeness to persons: sight, hearing, health - life itself. Thus the highest ideal of Old Testament insight - the calling to be the Servant of the Lord - found its embodiment, its fulfillment in the life and ministry of Jesus. If, then, Jesus is our model, if we are to take on the shape of Christ, we will not only imitate him in his life of communion, but we will follow him in his life of service. Like Jesus, we are called to live with care. The care with which we are called to live is as broad as the world and as personal as our neighbor. Obviously I am using care in the sense of concern and compassion that draws us out of ourselves, our private lives and personal pursuits. To live with care is to acknowledge that I am my brother's keeper; that the experience of the grace of God makes me, with St. Paul, a debtor to all, responsible to share the Gospel. To live with care means, again to cite St. Paul, "to look to each other's interest and not merely to your own." To live with care means to accept responsibility for the world, for the cause of justice and the doing of righteousness; it means to be engaged in the great issues that confront the world and society; to be informed and to exercise whatever influence one has in the network of one's relationships to work for and speak for truth and right and mercy. Let me draw from today's Scripture two dimensions of caring which find expression both in the Servant Song of Isaiah and the Gospel reading. First, to care is to proclaim the truth, to witness to the revelation God has given, to announce Good News, to share the message of freedom through the liberating action of God. This the Servant was called to do. "... the islands wait for his teaching." "To be a light to all peoples, a beacon for the nations. This Jesus did; he taught. "... teaching ... announcing the good news." This we are called to do. We are the People of God, the new Israel, the Body of Christ, the extension of the Incarnation. We have been given the knowledge of God's revelation in the face of Jesus. We have learned of His redemptive acts and we have experienced His grace. Therefore we are called to witness to the Truth. © Grand Valley State University �Living With Care Richard A. Rhem Page 8   We must do this with proper humility and deep sensitivity. We must not do so with arrogance in a proud spirit. Only out of gratitude and the awe that God should have been merciful to us do we in turn witness to the truth we have found in Christ Jesus. It is our conviction that God has revealed Himself supremely in Jesus and that His grace is extended to the world through Jesus. This does not deny that there is truth, goodness and beauty beyond the Christian Church. There is no need to deny that God's saving intention and action reaches beyond the bounds of the Church as we know it. It is to say, however, that His last word is Jesus. Jesus is the Truth that sets people free. All religions are not alike. One is not as good as another. The Gospel is liberating. That's why one can translate Matthew 9:35 announcing the Freedom of the Kingdom. The Servant's posture was one of humility. His approach filled with compassion, he did not break the bruised reed. But he faithfully bore witness to the Truth. My knowledge and understanding of world religions is limited and a religion can be understood fully only from within. Yet I am convinced that the Christian Gospel is the Truth that sets people free. The Gospel is a liberating Truth that changes human life and society. Where the Gospel has made its impact felt, there has resulted a humanization of society. It is still happening around the world and there is still great need for the worldwide witness to Jesus Christ. We call people not to religion; they have religion. We call them to the Way of Life. In our world this calls for greater sensitivity than ever before and the difficulties of bearing witness to God's grace are more complex than ever given the nature of today's world scene with ideological conflict and revolutionary ferment, especially since we are a world power seeking to maintain the status quo. Thus it is so very critical that the Christian Church claim its own identity as the People of God who are called to mission - a mission that will witness to God's truth both in our own nation and beyond - to the whole world. That's why the Catholic Bishops are doing what they are doing in publishing pastoral letters on subjects like nuclear warfare and economics. Differ with their conclusions, if you will, but recognize their responsibility to bear witness in that arena, for God has called, formed and appointed His people to be light to the people and a beacon to the Nations. This is why Desmond Tutu, newly appointed bishop in South Africa, speaks against the apartheid policy of that nation. It is the Church's calling to confront injustice and oppression. © Grand Valley State University �Living With Care Richard A. Rhem Page 9   I could go on. The People of God are called to care and caring equals costly engagement, concern for the Truth, for justice and righteousness and a commitment to tell the story and announce the liberating Truth of the Gospel. Secondly, to care is to touch and heal. The ministry of Jesus bears eloquent testimony to the care that flowed from him: Sight for the blind, hearing for the deaf, the lame walked, the dead were raised. Captives in all sorts of human bondage were set free. It is not without good cause that Jesus has been called "The Man For Others." Compassion flowed forth from him to all he met. He responded to the slightest spark of faith and never turned away from human need. He was moved with compassion as he looked on the multitude. So often we are moved with anger; we look with disgust at the action of the rebellious youth, the revolutionary, the poor and oppressed. Or, perhaps worse, we are indifferent, apathetic. We are hardened to human suffering; we become numb. We can wall ourselves off from the monstrous hurt of the masses and our neighbor. Non-involvement is the easy way out. Jesus cared. Jesus reached out and touched. Jesus brought healing and wholeness to human lives burdened with despair and futility. We stand on the threshold of Lent. We have a new opportunity to find the fullness of life to which he calls us. It will take intentionality - commitment. It will involve opening up and sharing, worshiping together, seeking God's presence in solitude, and a movement out of ourselves - a determination to care through costly involvement. Living with care is living at its best. Nothing can bring greater joy, deeper satisfaction. To care is to be - fully human, fully alive! © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Epiphany V Series LifeLines Scripture Text Isaiah 42:3, 6, Matthew 9:36 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-0-19850217 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1985-02-17 Title A name given to the resource Living with Care Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text 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 February 17, 1985 entitled "Living with Care", as part of the series "LifeLines", on the occasion of Epiphany V, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Isaiah 42:3, 6, Matthew 9:36. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Awareness Empathy Hebrew Scriptures Meaning Servant Songs Servanthood https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/94f8f922e3cb6d2688f695a1f7b7fd6a.mp3 f951132a7bc4663fb85baa0572f4e9fd 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 Lent IV Series The Blood of Christ Scripture Text Leviticus 17:11, John 6:54-55 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-0-19850317 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1985-03-17 Title A name given to the resource The Life is in the Blood Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource 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 March 17, 1985 entitled "The Life is in the Blood", as part of the series "The Blood of Christ", on the occasion of Lent IV, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Leviticus 17:11, John 6:54-55. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f60cef922b4a7c06bb6a87b3fea9e460.mp3 0f4e4adc770dc54b6b65a57bb9f252ac 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 Lent V Series The Blood of Christ Scripture Text Hebrews 10:14, I John 1:7 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-0-19850324 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1985-03-24 Title A name given to the resource Cleansed by the Blood Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource 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 March 24, 1985 entitled "Cleansed by the Blood", as part of the series "The Blood of Christ", on the occasion of Lent V, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Hebrews 10:14, I John 1:7. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d95451e15425a38b883ea5a4fe492e7f.mp3 05ab16805d47b4a7ff8405ec5cd60085 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 Palm Sunday Series The Blood of Christ Scripture Text Colossians 1:20 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-0-19850331 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1985-03-31 Title A name given to the resource Reconciliation Through the Blood Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource 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 March 31, 1985 entitled "Reconciliation Through the Blood", as part of the series "The Blood of Christ", on the occasion of Palm Sunday, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Colossians 1:20. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/37473636fa28d2a8fe4e5ff869b59d71.mp3 fe80773137771991b6be2411026b8f83 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 Easter Sunday Series The Blood of Christ Scripture Text Revelation 5: 6, 9, 12 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-0-19850407 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1985-04-07 Title A name given to the resource Overcoming By the Blood Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource 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 April 7, 1985 entitled "Overcoming By the Blood", as part of the series "The Blood of Christ", on the occasion of Easter Sunday, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Revelation 5: 6, 9, 12. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives