782 24 26018 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/4d1b83c09fef75cd185c897cfb7e8ebe.pdf b41a62410c41d94744ec7216ddcc306d PDF Text Text The Breath of God – The Life of the World From the Eastertide sermon series: Credo Text: Genesis 1:2; Ezekiel 37:5; John 3:8 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Pentecost Sunday, May 22, 1994 Transcription of the spoken sermon "... a mighty wind (Spirit) that swept over the surface of the waters." Genesis 1:2 “I will put my breath (wind, spirit) in you and you shall live." Ezekiel 37:5 "The wind blows where it wills; you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So with everyone who is born from Spirit.” John 3:8   I have a very simple but a very wonderful word to share with you today on this Pentecost Sunday. I want to say to you that the breath of God is the life of the world. You've been around with me long enough to know that "the breath of God" is simply another way of saying "the spirit of God" or "the wind of God." For the Hebrew word Ruach means "spirit" or "wind" or "breath". In the Hebrew it has that enlivening, energizing vitality about it: the wind as a tempest, the wind as moving power, the wind as energy. It was the Ruach of God in the story of creation that shaped the cosmos. As we said earlier today at the baptismal font, it was the breath of God moving through the chaos, bringing creation to its fullness. It was the Ruach of God that caused Israel to have hope in its exile, the Ruach of God which caused the dry bones to come together in that vision of Ezekiel, that vision which spoke in metaphor of God's promise that that exiled people would come to life again. Then resurrection so to speak, would be through the Ruach of God. It was the Ruach of God or the breath of God that breathed, which blew through Mary and caused the Word to take on flesh and to dwell among us. And on the day of Pentecost that Ruach, spirit wind of God, rushed through that early community of the followers of Jesus turning them inside out and sending them out into the world. The unfortunate thing for us is that the Hebrew word Ruach that had about it this energy and vitality was translated into the Latin vispiritus, and into English by the word spirit. And for us, the word spirit is intangible. It's invisible. It's kind of ghostlike. In fact, the German translation is gist and we even speak in an older form of the Apostles Creed of the Holy Ghost. So there is something spooky about it, something intangible about it – quite the opposite of the imagery of the Hebrew word Ruach. © Grand Valley State University   �The Breath of God–The Life of the World Richard A. Rhem Page 2   What I want to say to you this morning is that it is that breath of God or that wind of God that gives life to the world, to all that is. Psalm One Hundred and Four, I said, is such a beautiful poem because it makes that point that every living thing – snails, and worms, and grubs, and birds, and the animals of the field, and the trees of the forest, and the meadows, and the skies, and the seas, and ourselves – is alive with the life of God! It seems that in the modern age, since the Enlightenment, with all of the past accomplishments of the natural scientists and the explosion of technology, there has come into our lives a compartmentalization, a division, so that we do this on Sunday and then go out to the rest of the week to do our lives where life really is. Others have no moment like this hour of worship, because life for them is lived altogether outside the sanctuary, and they're getting along just fine. Human powers, human ingenuity, technology, scientific experiment, production, the corporate world, all of that going on without any reference to God. There we live a profane life. Profane means, literally, outside the temple. We come into the temple, then we speak of the sacred. And to this day in life, there has been that distinction between the sacred and the profane. What I want to say to you this morning is that the celebration of the sacred, such as we do today, is in order to recognize the sacredness of the whole of life. But what has happened in our modern western civilization, western culture, is that the vast majority of our brothers and sisters live a purely secular life without any reference, without any recognition that it is the breathing of God that keeps all things in being. Someone from the outside could say to me, "We don't need God. That's just a hypothesis. The world is just a phenomenon that's there. It's just an accident the way things have developed. We can live purely out of our own resources." And I have to answer that is as reasonable as what I am claiming. But I'm claiming the opposite. I'm claiming that everything that is, is because God keeps breathing. As the Psalmist said, "God withholds God's breath and they wither and return to the dust. God breathes and they are created and renewed." That goes not simply for some spiritual realm of our human experience, but that goes for our bodies. That goes for our physical universe, our natural world, for the totality of reality. It is all God-breathed, moment-by-moment incessantly. God holds all things together. And we live and we celebrate and we can delight in the totality of it because it is all a consequence of the breath of God. On this Pentecost hear me say that I believe the breath of God is the life of the world. I had an experience recently on a beautiful morning, much like this morning. I had to go into Grand Rapids for breakfast. I came down Route 45 to Allendale, to Eastmanville, and then took Leonard Road into Grand Rapids. And if you haven't taken that route recently, do it again. It courses through valleys. There are wonderful green hills. That day the trees were coming out in marvelous blossom. © Grand Valley State University �The Breath of God–The Life of the World Richard A. Rhem Page 3   There were jonquils and farmyards. There were cattle staring at me with those large eyes. And because it was still cool at that hour, their breath was causing a bit of a vapor, almost a kind of mystical something in that morning light. It was a brilliant, shining morning. I had my sunroof open. The fresh air came in. After the long Michigan winter, I said, "Dear God this is it! Spring has come!" And when I began to tell somebody about it, I said, "It was almost a spiritual experience", when as a matter fact it was precisely a spiritual experience. It was exactly a religious experience because a spiritual or religious experience is simply the experience of the world in the conscious awareness of the breathing of God that makes it all possible and invites us to delight in it. I had another experience, not too long ago while I was on vacation. It was Sunday afternoon, on a Florida intercostal down in Marco Island. It was a ramshackle, broken-down, old, beat-up tavern scene, the kind of place where you find yourself a small table under a little thatched palm roof to keep out of the sun. Tied up to the nearby docks people were eating brats and hot dogs and there was a musical group (though not nearly as good as the Weideman family but with a certain similarity!) and the people washing down excessive numbers of brats and hot dogs with excessive liquids of various kinds. They had tied their boats together,"rafting" out from one another as it's called. I looked at that scene and I said to myself, "Dear God, in the church, we are missing it. We few Christians coming together decrying the worldliness of the world and the unspirituality of people. We are growing smaller and smaller, and it's getting tougher and tougher, and we have to shout louder and louder, and run faster and faster. And I thought, "We're missing it." What we ought to do is not simply invite people next weekend to come "casually" (for a casual Sunday) into the sanctuary, What we ought to do is all go to the shores of Lake Michigan somewhere and have a "kegger", and some hot dogs, and a hot band. Then at some point, give me just ten minutes. Give me just ten minutes for me to tell them that all of this sand dune, and sky, and sea, and the wonder of the world is all there to be enjoyed and be delighted in because God keeps breathing. It isn't an accident. It can't be taken for granted. It ought not to be presumed upon. We don't need to retreat to the temple to feel God's breath! If only we are aware, in that moment, that all that surrounds us is enlivened by God! A moment of awareness, that's what prayer is. A moment of attention, that's what prayer is. Attention and awareness to the breathing of God in a jonquil, in a tulip, in the forsythia, in sand, in sky, in food and friends. It should cause us to wonder and worship because the breath of God is the life of the world. Rather than living out in the world by my wits as best I can and sneaking into church on the weekend to be refueled, I ought to come here to this sanctuary to do sacred things, in sacred space, in order to go out and to see that all of space, and all of life and all of its lusty delight is the gift of God who keeps breathing, and breathing, energizing, vitalizing, enlivening us to be fully human, all to the glory of God. Isn't that wonderful? © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/640a377c649abf2ce6f0b5604e5e2fd1.mp3 ee1cc2466376609b228ebb9c2644017a Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost Scripture Text Genesis 1:2, Ezekiel 37:5, John 3:8 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19940522 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-05-22 Title A name given to the resource The Breath of God - The Life of the World 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 May 22, 1994 entitled "The Breath of God - The Life of the World", on the occasion of Pentecost, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Genesis 1:2, Ezekiel 37:5, John 3:8. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Awareness Panentheism Pentecost Presence of God Sacred Wonder https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8571bd39f7a1907b6d758c6d2d5efe18.pdf 2c269e191e3ae47a0f442303af009f06 PDF Text Text God in Human Experience Trinity Sunday Text: Ezekiel 37:5-6; Acts 10:38, 44, 48 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan May 29, 1994 Transcription of the spoken sermon Trinity Sunday is the Sunday that follows the celebration of Pentecost, and rather naturally so. Just like in the Apostles’ Creed we say, I believe in God. I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe in the Holy Spirit, but there is no mention of the Trinity or the doctrine of the Trinity. So in the early Christian experience there was a Trinitarian experience. We’ve just been through the whole cycle of the life of Christ, the great events of Jesus’ birth and life and death and resurrection and exaltation. Then the celebration of the coming of the Spirit of God, and then, as a Christian community we worship, we recognize that the God that we worship is the God who is come to us revealed in Jesus and is with us in the power of the Spirit, the one true and eternal God, the creator of all, the source of all and the goal of all. That one true and eternal God is known to us through the lens of Jesus and is experienced by us in the power of the Spirit. The experience of that early Jesus movement was a Trinitarian experience. It was the experience of God in just that way. There was no thought in that early community that they were leaving the God of Israel. They were not finding another God. They were not turning away from the God of their fathers and mothers and going in a new way. They were worshiping none other than the God of Israel who was the creator of all. They had no consciousness whatsoever that they were moving their allegiance to another. This was the God of Israel. That’s why you have throughout the whole of the New Testament scriptures the constant citation from the Hebrew Scriptures. That’s why, on the Day of Pentecost itself, Peter stood up and said, “This is that that was spoken by the prophet Job.” This is what we’ve been waiting for.” They were conscious of a total continuity with the worship of the God that they had known from their mother’s knees, so to speak, and to this present experience of that God revealed in Jesus, present with them in the Spirit. Their experience was a Trinitarian experience. They had not understood fully, obviously, in the experience with Jesus in the flesh. The Gospels were written decades later, and they were written on the other © Grand Valley State University   �God in Human Experience Richard A. Rhem Page 2   side of Easter, reflecting back on their experience with Jesus. But it is obvious they didn’t know what was going on. In fact, the disciples come through as rather dull. Now they weren’t really dull, but they didn’t know. It wasn’t obvious. It wasn’t self-evident. It was only in retrospect, and then they reached back to the Prophet Isaiah, and they took the name of that one who was promised, Immanuel — God with us. They said, “Jesus was God with us. Jesus was Immanuel.” In retrospect, reflecting on their experience, they said it was as though God was with us in this one. Now the day of Pentecost was a mind boggling, life transforming experience, an ecstatic experience that could not be contained, and they said, “This is God. This is Jesus. What is this?” And God said, “That’s right. It is I. I am with you in the flesh, in Jesus, now with you in the power of the Spirit.” They didn’t put all that together in neat formulas or write a creed there. They simply witnessed to an overpowering experience of the one God, the creator of all. “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is one.” That was their God. That was the God they were experiencing, the God they had rubbed elbows with in Jesus, and whom they now somehow or other knew to be present in them, a power and a presence that gave them energy and gave them peace, their experience. That early Jesus movement was a Trinitarian experience. First, is the experience, that to which they bore witness, and that witness comes through in the Biblical data. Let’s think about the Biblical data for a moment, starting in the Hebrew Scriptures. As we said last week, the Spirit of God was not inaugurated on Pentecost. Pentecost was a time of the outpouring of the Spirit universally, in a powerful way. Remember, when we baptize a child here we pray to God to breathe through the water to make the water an instrument of grace. And we usually refer to the first verses of the opening chapter of Genesis. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth . . . and it was all void . . . and the wind of God, or the breath of God, blew over the deep.” Remember? And out of that chaos came the creation, the cosmos. It was God breathing, because remember that Hebrew word Ruah, we translate “wind,” we translate it “Spirit,” we translate it “breath.” It is the same word, but it points to that energizing creative power of God, to the Spirit of God active in the creation of the heavens and the earth. Or the Old Testament prophecy that I read, the wonderful story in Ezekiel. Judah is in exile and in Babylon; they don’t have a prayer. Their bones are all dried up. Their hope is gone. And God takes the prophet by the nape of the neck and says, “Prophesy to those bones, that valley of dried bones.” “Do you think, prophet, that those dried bones can live?” The prophet says, “You know, O God.” God says, “Prophesy. Speak the word.” And the word comes and those bones begin to come together and there is muscle, and there is flesh, and there is skin, and they stand up. And God says, “Speak © Grand Valley State University �God in Human Experience Richard A. Rhem Page 3   again.” And they are full of life. A standing army as it were. Reborn, by the Spirit of God or by the breath of God, or the wind of God. And Mary, that young Hebrew girl, overshadowed, we are told, by the breath of God, or the wind of God, or the Spirit of God. And there is a conception, and there is a child born, and of that one the apostles say, “The word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” And Jesus, on the threshold of his ministry, goes into the wilderness and struggles with who he is and what he is to do and he comes out of that experience full of the power, the Spirit, the breath, the wind of God so that the life of Jesus is exercised in consequence of that breath of God blowing through Jesus. So, the Spirit of God didn’t begin on Pentecost. It’s like the movement we talk about: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, but that’s a kind of Christian prejudice. Actually, if we wanted to be more correct, biblically, we’d say, God, Spirit, Word. Because it was God breathing that brought about the word made flesh. The story of Peter and Cornelius — it’s a wonderful story. I see it as a model for understanding so much of the New Testament development, and how really we ourselves ought to be doing theology today. Here’s Peter – remember the vision on the rooftop – and the call is to go to Cornelius, the Roman Centurion, a Gentile. Peter struggles a bit, but nonetheless he cannot withstand the power and the compelling force of that vision. So he goes, and Cornelius is there to greet him and Peter gingerly steps inside his house, where he shouldn’t even have been according to his Jewish regulation. Cornelius says he’s had a vision, too, and that it was the angel of the Lord that told him to beckon Peter. So what can Peter do? He scratches his head a bit. He starts out by saying, “God is not partial? Whew! That’s a new one.” Then he begins to tell the story of Jesus. I think it is so interesting in those verses that we read together that in the 38th verse it tells how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit, and with power. Now notice, it’s God who anoints. Remember, anoint is the same word for Messiah or for Christ. It’s like how God ‘Christed’ Jesus with the Holy Spirit and power. He tells the story of Jesus, and while he’s preaching would you believe it? Pfft — God starts heavy breathing. It’s obvious that the Spirit falls on that congregation. Now those of you who were here last week (some of you said it was really nice— once in a while. You know, it’s O.K. once in a while), but I’ve got to tell you last week’s worship was probably closer to the first Pentecost than today’s worship. Sure glad that’s over, aren’t you? Sure glad that we’ve moved beyond all that excess, that enthusiasm. I like it domesticated, a nice routine, where you can manage it a bit. I mean, after all, this is a worship of God, and one ought to be respectful and responsible and a little deadpan. One ought not to get involved too much, because if you get too involved, if you really started feeling the Wind of God blowing through you, you’d stand up and start hollering and dancing in the © Grand Valley State University �God in Human Experience Richard A. Rhem Page 4   aisles and singing and shouting. And I wouldn’t know what to do with you. (Laughter) And we might not be able to get through this service in an hour (probably won’t anyway). (More laughter) I like it calm. Dignified. Don’t you? Sure hope God never breathes heavily through this assembly while I’m on the stool. Well, that’s what happened. Peter is preaching along and the Holy Spirit falls and the people start praising God. That’s never happened while I was preaching. Thank God! (Laughter) It’s so obviously a work of God that Peter says he can’t withhold water for baptizing these people. So what does he do? He orders them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Well! They were really messed up. Peter knows this is from God, he sees it as an experience of God, and he invites them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ— Jesus the Christ, Jesus the anointed, Jesus the Messiah, Jesus, the one filled with the Spirit. That’s the kind of data you have in the Scriptures. It’s a bit unruly, it’s not neat. It’s hard to get it into a nice neat formula. It took three hundred twenty-five years before the Church was able to do that. At the Council of Nicaea they finally put together a creedal statement which you can still find in your hymnbook, the Nicean Creed which formulated very carefully in philosophical terms what they sensed was happening back there. That formula has come down to us today, so that we still speak of our faith as a Trinitarian Faith. Now the problem is, that when Peter was preaching in Cornelius’ house, this was as fresh as the present moment. This was an overpowering experience. They were actually ecstatic, out of their minds in the adoration of God through that overwhelming experience. Then the experience got regularized in a doctrine and put together in a creed. Now people can say the creed and talk about the doctrine, and don’t need the experience. Then, because there tends often to be a vacuum of experience – that is, a lack of reality in one’s spiritual life – one begins to hang on words and phrases as though the reality is the statement of it, when the statement of it is simply a reflection after the fact. The story of the Church is a story of outliving its experience, but continuing to reiterate the experience of yesterday. Let me give you a couple of examples, and we’ll be done. In November of 1993 there was a conference in Minneapolis, St. Paul. It was held under the auspices of the World Council of Churches, which designated 1988 - 1998 as a decade of solidarity with women. It was a response to the feminist concerns for an experience of God that connected with their experience. The Trinitarian formulation—God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit – is, for many women in our day, no longer a kind of formula that speaks to them or that they are able to use in their worship. So the World Council of Church designated a decade of solidarity with women, during which they are sponsoring several events that are in the interest of finding new ways to express the understanding of God, or, simply focusing theological reflection on this question. © Grand Valley State University �God in Human Experience Richard A. Rhem Page 5   Now, that’s what the Church should be doing every day, every year, every decade. It should be thinking about its faith so that it is constantly expressing its faith in a way that connects with its experience. When our expression of faith no longer connects with our experience, then we enter into fundamentalism. Fundamentalism is the reiteration of formulas, answers to yesterday’s questions, today. The thing that we really long for, all of us, is the expression of our faith that gives witness to our present experience. Well, this conference was held in November 1993 and a couple of the key players were the United Presbyterian Church and the United Methodist Church. And, oh my goodness, are they in trouble! The poor Presbyterians figure that they will lose 2.5 million dollars by the end of 1995 because of irate people who say that this was some kind of a pagan ritual or festival. The Methodists, they don’t know what they’re in for yet, but they’re in deep, deep trouble. There is a controversy brewing across the country. If you read the newspapers and magazines you’ll probably become aware of this. Ninety-nine percent of the pastors who retreat on this on Trinity Sunday would lead their congregations to say, “Isn’t that awful.” You happen to be that privileged group of the 1% where I want to say, what they were trying to do is perfectly alright, legitimate, necessary, the kind of thing we ought to be doing all the time, because the last word was not spoken in 325 or 451 AD. We cannot give the finest witness to our present experience of God through formulations that at one time were at white-heat, the expression of the way God was experienced then. I use this as an illustration, not to go into the subject of that re-imagining conference, but to say to you that it is the responsibility of the body of Christ, always, to be finding the freshest, finest way to worship God in terms of our present experience. If we simply reiterate yesterday’s formulas and creeds, we are really bearing witness to a hollowness of experience. And what we really need is that fresh taste of God today, that fresh experience of God breathing through us today so that our experience today is interpreted, or is able to be interpreted, in light of our worship of God and our trust in God. One other example: In our world, as I have been saying to you for a long time, religion is the most dangerous force alive. It is that which is fueling much of the ethnic conflict in the trouble spots around the world. We need to be in dialogue with our Jewish brothers and sisters, and with our Muslim brothers and sisters. And, as a matter of fact, our Jewish folk and Islamic folk are clear: God is one. We should be clear on that too. There is no formulation of the trinity that would claim anything else. And there is no question, as we saw in the Hebrew Scriptures, the Spirit of God is understood in Judaism as the creative, energizing force of God. So, we’ve got two down. That leaves the understanding of Jesus, and that’s why we’ve been working at it for a year—to understand how in that conversation we can come to a deeper understanding, recognizing what was happening back there and what needs to happen now. No one needs to be worried about that. It is incumbent upon us to do that. Yesterday’s answer won’t do for today or for tomorrow. © Grand Valley State University �God in Human Experience Richard A. Rhem Page 6   Theology is the constant challenge of the Church to interpret its faith in the light of experience, and experience is ongoing. So, on this Trinity Sunday, I want to say to you it is not enough for us simply to continue to say: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. That’s a part of our past. It’s a part of our heritage. It gives us a guideline and a beacon light. It is within that context that we continue to think. But, to hold onto it in the light of experience to the contrary, is idolatry, is an act of faithlessness, is a refusal to trust the present Spirit of God to lead us into broader horizons and deeper vistas, more of the glory and the wonder of the one Eternal God whom we see through the lens of Jesus, who we experience in the power of the Spirit. We need to go back to New Testament data, take the raw data, allow all of the past to be that which shapes us and forms us, and then go boldly out into our world with some fresh word. When was the last time you caught God breathing through you? Friends, it’s time to let go and experience the freedom of the children of God who are constantly being led into the future by the God who beckons us, the God who is the source of all, and the goal of all. God blessed forever. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c228d993b10952a3d9cda228082b7eff.mp3 f8bbc694cf91b3665d96c065ba2c83ac Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Trinity Sunday Scripture Text Ezekiel 37:5-6, Acts 10:38, 44, 48 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-0-19940529 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-05-29 Title A name given to the resource God in Human Experience 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 May 29, 1994 entitled "God in Human Experience", on the occasion of Trinity Sunday, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Ezekiel 37:5-6, Acts 10:38, 44, 48. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Nature of Religion Trinitarian Experience Trinity Sunday https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a61655e05589b62254b4290cf91a4139.pdf eb44f0ff840ad0ab3855729b323c9f12 PDF Text Text A Spirit and a World To Love Baccalaureate Sunday Text: Isaiah 58:12; Acts 1:8 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan June 5, 1994 Transcription of the spoken sermon In the prophecy of Isaiah 58:12 we have this wonderful image, this picture of those who would turn to their neighbor and love their neighbor, love their world on behalf of God, for those that have said, “Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundation of many generations, you shall be called the repairer of the breech, the restorer of streets to live in.” And on this weekend we are mindful again and again of that which happened fifty years ago in our world. We remember the D-Day invasion and the invasion on the Normandy beaches and that dark hour in world history when we and the allied nations rose up on behalf of freedom and human dignity. We cannot help but think of that text in terms of that mission that was executed by those who love freedom—the democratic nations. It’s incredible to relive it again. I am amazed to think that I am about as young as one can be and still have some personal remembrance. I was just a little kid, but had a couple of brothers-in-law over in the thick of it and remembered adult conversations about it, and felt some of the anxiety and tension of those days. That was a noble hour. I think in my earlier experience I tended to compartmentalize my religious or spiritual experience from that which happened in the world. But I recognize more clearly now that the Spirit of God, the breathing of God, is not restricted to what happens in a setting like this, but also impacts what happens in the larger landscape of the world. I believe that that noble effort to maintain the best of Western Civilization and the freedom and the democracy of the world was a response to the Spirit of God. There is a sense to which we were loving the world in the power of the Spirit, in that we were engaged in an effort for human freedom. [It calls forth] the image of the prophet in Isaiah: “You will restore the ancient ruins and foundations, and you will be a repairer of the breech. You will create cities and streets to dwell in.” © Grand Valley State University   �A Spirit and a World to Love Richard A. Rhem Page 2   That image of the prophet is so characteristic of the Hebrew prophet who had images of shalom, of that messianic age when Messiah would come, when there would be harmony and peace in the world. As I was reflecting on that text in the context of this weekend, I came across this document written by Rabbi David Hartman who was in Muskegon a month or so ago. It’s about the present Israeli/Palestinian peace process. Rabbi Hartman is striking a blow here for openness, to let that process happen. But in the midst of this document, he says this, “No period in history is immune to the forces of regression.” Then he quotes in quotation marks, “It can never happen here. Here tolerance, pluralism and decency are firmly established and secured.” And to that he responds, “Against such expressions of naiveté and false complacency stands the classical statement of Biblical realism. Behold I have put before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life.” As I was thinking about that, I thought I’ve heard veterans interviewed in the documentaries that are on television these days, some who have said there will never be another battle like it. There will never be another naval assault like it, etc. All of those statements are true in the sense that the world and technology that happened at that time has been so greatly overcome. You think about sending coded messages across the channel. You think about the surprise element that was able to be effected in that massive movement of armaments and men and women. You realize today that our spy satellites circle the globe and from outer space track the movement of armaments and armies so that there’s a sense in which Normandy could never happen again. Then I read David Hartman and I recognize how easy it could be to become complacent and to say that that was the world’s hour of darkness and it could never happen again. That is not true. Darkness and evil are lurking always in the wings of human experience. If our technology has made it impossible ever to duplicate the Normandy invasion, so our technology has enabled us in an instant to wipe our masses of population, more than all who have died in all the wars of human history. If North Korea has a bomb, and if it would loft it over the demilitarized zone, in an instant it could wipe out more persons than in all of World War II. So I read a little more from Rabbi Hartman who says those beautiful prophetic images are not images of what will be at the end, but rather they are possibilities of what needs yet to be realized within history. They are a statement of historical inevitability. They are a statement of present possibility. The call of God to God’s people is to join God’s Spirit in the creation of justice and righteousness and Shalom. Those wonderful images of the prophet, “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain. The lion and the lamb shall dwell together. They shall beat their swords into plow shares and their spears into pruning hooks. They shall learn war no more.” Those images from the Hebrew prophet are images that are to call us up short, and to present us with an alternative reality, an alternative possibility. © Grand Valley State University �A Spirit and a World to Love Richard A. Rhem Page 3   We are called as the people of God, not to sit by and wait for history to run its course when Messiah will come and Shalom will cover the earth. We are called to be the instruments and the ages of Shalom, of justice, of peace, of righteousness right here and now. We are called to the power of the Spirit of God to love the world. The God, whose heart was revealed in the face of Jesus Christ, and whom the followers of Jesus experienced as still powerfully present with them, is the God who continues to move through the landscape of history, and is a part of the human scene and is calling us to join in the cause of justice and righteousness, leading to peace. The one true and eternal God, the God of Israel shown to us in Jesus, continues to breath through us, to empower us to be the instruments for peace and the channels of grace in our day. The people of Judah in exile had a complaint against God. They said, “Look, we’re religious, we worship, we fast, we go through sacrifice and ritual, but you don’t notice.” The answer through the prophet is: “That’s not a fast I choose. The fast I choose is to set the prisoner free, to take off the yoke of oppression, to feed the hungry, to take the homeless into your home. Then your life will break upon you. Then you will call and I will answer, and I will say, ‘Here I am.’ ” In other words, in this Old Testament understanding of things, the service of God is the service of humankind, and the worship of God is the care and the love of a neighbor. Jesus knew this passage. Someone has said that Matthew 25, the parable of the sheep and the goats, must have been written right out of Isaiah 58. They said to him to whom he had said, “Come into the kingdom.” They said, “When did we see you hungry? When did we visit you in prison? When did we clothe you?” Jesus said, “Inasmuch as you have done it to the least of these, you’ve done it to me.” There’s always a tendency to compartmentalize religion into one little part of life and then to get on with life in a kind of secular fashion as though God is divorced from that. Not so. God says, “Do whatever rituals you need. Do whatever worship you need. Go into the temple if you will, offer sacrifices if you will. Take bread and cup if you will. Do what you need in order to be conscious of my presence. But if you really, really want to know my presence and power, then take care of your neighbor—the poor, the oppressed, the homeless. Then miraculously, in your neighbor, you’ll find me. You cannot find me any other way.” If you don’t believe that Jesus knew this prophet, then turn a couple of pages to the 61st chapter of the same prophet, a couple of chapters later and you’ll find there, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because the Lord has anointed me and has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners.” If you go to the 4th chapter of Luke, verse 18, you’ll find in the inaugural sermon of Jesus in his hometown of Nazareth the sermon that got his family and friends so upset with him. He cited those words. The agenda of Jesus was to set the prisoner free, to affect human dignity and human freedom. The mission of the Church, the calling of the people of God, is to love the world for God’s sake. If we would follow the way of Jesus, then we must take Jesus seriously. This is what Jesus was about. © Grand Valley State University �A Spirit and a World to Love Richard A. Rhem Page 4   I must admit to you at first I entitled this message “The Spirit and World Mission,” but I changed it because for me world mission spoke too much of my past understanding where I would send this graduating class out into the world to preach the Gospel in order to make the world Christian. But now I want to say to you graduates, if you want to know God in power, in fresh experience, love the world. Care. Be filled with compassion. Give your life away, and in giving your life away, find your life in the presence of God. That’s the paradox, isn’t it? Jesus said, “Go into all the world. Proclaim good news; the good news that Jesus proclaimed that God is near, that God is full of grace, that God is for human dignity, for human freedom, for the fullest realization of the human potential of all people.” It is the calling of the Church not to convert the world, but to love the world and let the consequences be in God’s hand and to allow the breath of God to flow through us empowering us in an outpouring of ourselves in love for a world so desperate for love and grace. I once thought that finally the world would become Christian and then Messiah would come. Now, now I don’t know so much about all of that, but this I understand clearly: Messiah has come and the Spirit is moving, and I am invited to follow in the Way of Jesus in loving the world and therein know the presence and the power of God. A Messianic age is not an historical inevitability. It is an ever present possibility if we dare to love the way Jesus loved. That’s why we’re in Romania. That’s why we’re in Wales. That’s why we’re in Africa. That’s why the world is our parish—to love the world for God’s sake. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/772fc780b1394b8e4f2c36776ade8d94.mp3 1963f8068cfb21c02358cffbac9264b5 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 Baccalaureate Sunday, Pentecost II Scripture Text Isaiah 58:12, Acts 1:8 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19940605 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-06-05 Title A name given to the resource The Spirit and a World to Love Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource 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 June 5, 1994 entitled "The Spirit and a World to Love", on the occasion of Baccalaureate Sunday, Pentecost II, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Isaiah 58:12, Acts 1:8. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Justice Peace Shalom Transforming the World Way of Jesus https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2fe2cf0e90538ef39f41c25961656f93.pdf b1cb364e31be6a34b6918a286e41af79 PDF Text Text A Profile of a Christian The Story of Barnabas Text: Acts: 22:24-26; II Corinthians 3:17-18 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Pentecost III, June 12, 1994 Transcription of the spoken sermon We come through the cycle of the Christian year and celebrate Pentecost, that day in which the Spirit of God is poured out with power on the followers of Jesus, and the Jesus movement which was called The People of the Way begins its way throughout the world; then, on Trinity Sunday, celebrate the God who breathes or whose breath is active in creation and who forms the world, and also forms people. We come now, finally, today to think about how that breathing God who was defined for us in the face of Jesus, this God who is revealed in Jesus, the God who breathes on us and breathes through us, and energizes us—this God whose breath is the life of the world is the God who also breathes through us, shaping us and forming us. Paul in his letter to the Corinthians tells them that they are letters of Christ, read by all people. He said, “letters written,” not with ink on paper but letters written by the Spirit, the breath of God, and written on the fleshly tables of the heart. He goes on in that passage to speak about the Christian beholding Jesus and becoming like Jesus. Contemplating the Lord, one becomes changed by degree into the likeness of the Lord. The Spirit involved in that, the Spirit of the Lord, is the Spirit that gives liberty and shapes and forms. Today I want us to think for a few moments about what it means to be Christian. What does it mean to live out this Christian life? What shape or what form does it take? And, as I do that, I’m going to call your attention to the life of Barnabas, but before I do let me make a couple of qualifications as we think about a profile of a Christian. Notice it is a profile, not the profile. There is not one set form to which everyone must conform. God is a God who obviously loves diversity, and one of the worst things we can do to one another is force ourselves into a certain mold, a certain pigeonhole, to say, “Now that’s Christian.” No, this is a profile of a Christian, recognizing that what we’ll see from the life of Barnabas doesn’t cover everything, but at least there are some hallmarks there that we can lift up. And then the second qualification I want to make is that this is a profile of a Christian, but the hallmarks that we lift up are not exclusively the possession of Christians. I heard a story one time, heard a sermon one time, of a Christian in New York City whose sanctuary was burned. Down the street was a Jewish synagogue and © Grand Valley State University   �Profile of a Christian Richard A. Rhem Page 2   the rabbi came to the pastor and he said, “Since your sanctuary is destroyed and while it is being renovated you are welcome to worship in our synagogue.” The pastor said to him, “How very nice. That’s a wonderful Christian thing for you to do.” (Laughter) The rabbi said, “No, it’s just a very Jewish thing to do.” (Laughter) And I thought to myself when I heard that, you know it’s a simple little story, but I thought how arrogant I am, how presumptuous I am to think that everything that is good and noble and true is Christian. I want to say at the beginning that I want to talk about some hallmarks of Christian life, but they are not exclusively ours. However, they are hallmarks that I see in one like Barnabas, who I believe was living in the flow of God’s breath and being shaped after the image of Jesus. If there is one model, of course, it is Jesus, but again Jesus is so many-faceted that all of us only reflect a small piece. Let’s look at Barnabas. His story is in the book of Acts. I read one passage this morning from the 11th chapter, but actually if we go to the beginning we’d have to go back to chapter 4 where, in the immediate wake of Pentecost when that community was really a communistic community, it was a real commune. Everyone shared, everyone according to his gifts, to everyone according to his needs. That was what was really happening there under the full impact of the Spirit of God – there was this mutual sharing; no one had any need. Everyone took care of everybody else, and for Barnabas it was no small matter. He was a wealthy estate owner in the Isle of Cyprus. He sold his estate and brought in the proceeds to be used by that Apostolic community. He became involved in the leadership of that movement, that early Jesus Movement, which was not at this point a Christian movement, you understand, but it was still within the pale of Judaism trying to find out where in the world it was going and who in the world they were. Then Stephen was martyred and persecution followed, and that Jerusalem community was scattered. But everywhere they went they were like sparks of fire that began to flame wherever they found themselves. At the beginning it was a cautious movement. They took the gospel to Samaria. They were half Jews. Then they began to go to some of the other cities of the Roman world, but they spoke to the Jews only because they were Jews, and they never gave it a second thought. They simply assumed that Jews were God’s special people, so to Jews they went, saying that Jesus was, “your Messiah.” Then, how it happened, we don’t know. Who they were we don’t know. That’s the remarkable thing. The critical breakthrough happened from people that we don’t know. They began actively to speak the Gospel to Gentiles. This happened in Antioch, which was the third city of the Roman Empire: Rome, Alexandria and Antioch, north of Jerusalem, a major metropolitan center. And there some of those who were scattered through the persecution began actively to witness to those who were non-Jewish. And, miracle of miracles, they began to believe and there was a community gathered there. Well, back at headquarters they said, “We’d better check this out,” because the Jerusalem core formed sort of that normative tradition-setting, credentialing community of that early movement. © Grand Valley State University �Profile of a Christian Richard A. Rhem Page 3   They sent Barnabas who came and saw the grace of God in the lives of these Gentiles who believed in Jesus Christ. And he rejoiced and he saw the possibility of a great world movement here, and he remembered a man named Paul. Originally his name was Saul. He was the one who was going out from Jerusalem to Damascus to decimate the People of the Way, you’ll remember, and he saw this light from heaven and was knocked off his horse and was brought to a conviction that Jesus was indeed Christ the Messiah. He began to witness, and when he came to Jerusalem everyone was in fear and trembling because this was the one who was decimating the Church and now that he is converted they say he is preaching Jesus. But how can you tell when everyone is afraid of him except Barnabas? Barnabas hears his story and believes him, and Barnabas gives him entré to the Apostolic circle. Now in this fresh situation in Antioch, Barnabas says, “I know the person for this job.” He went to Tarsus, Paul’s hometown, and brought him to Antioch where together they labored for a year in that congregation until it was a flourishing community. Then the Spirit of God said to the congregation, “Separate Paul and Barnabas for me and send them out,” and the Christian world mission was begun. At that point I can speak of the Christian world mission because it was in Antioch where they first brought the news of Jesus to non-Jews. It was in that community that the name Christian arose. It was used half mockingly. They were the Christones. But it became the name that stuck because these were the People of the Way. They were the followers of Jesus, Jesus the Christ, Jesus the anointed one. In fact, these people were anointed, amazingly as it happened with Cornelius. When the Gospel was preached, God breathed and they were moved by the breath of God, the Wind of God, the Spirit of God. They were the anointed ones, they were the Christ-ones, they were Christians, they were of Jesus the Christ and anointed one, the one who was breathed on by God. So, Paul and Barnabas went out into the Roman Empire to tell the Good News. They came back and there is quite a development there. They have to test whether that whole movement was authentic so they go to the Jerusalem council, etc. Eventually, Paul says to Barnabas, “Let’s go out again and visit the churches that we founded.” Barnabas says, “Fine, I’ll call John Mark.” John Mark was Barnabas’s cousin and he had gone with them on their first journey. He only lasted a week or two and deserted them; he missed his mother (I’m sure he missed his mother.) (Laughter) She had a home in Jerusalem and so he gave up the mission. Barnabas says, “I’ll call on John Mark.” Paul says, “No way. He started out with us the first time and he deserted us. Shame on him. I take him again, shame on me. No way.” Barnabas said, “Give him a chance.” He said, “No way.” “He was only a kid.” “No way.” Barnabas said, “If I go, I go with John Mark.” Paul said, “Then you go alone.” And Paul called Silas, and now you’ve got two teams going. That’s the way denominations go, you know. Through the © Grand Valley State University �Profile of a Christian Richard A. Rhem Page 4   orneriness of people you get a lot more people going. (Laughter) So he goes with John Mark and that’s about all we hear in the book of Acts. Barnabas was a remarkable person. He was one of the great leaders, not only by what he accomplished, but by what he foresaw. By his visionary leadership he was able to move the People of the Way, the followers of Jesus, into a world-wide movement—good news being brought to the ends of the world, literally. As I think about Barnabas there are a lot of ways you could go with him, and a lot of things one could say about him. But it seems to me that the first thing that underlies everything is that this man was a man who continued to be able to grow and was open to new experience. That is a remarkable quality. There’s something about us human beings that we always want to shut down. We always want to bring closure. We feel uneasy being pilgrims on the way. We’d like to have it finished. We’d like to have the bottom line. We’d like to have the package tied up neatly with a bow, no loose ends dangling. Barnabas was a remarkable human being. Barnabas, first of all, as a Jewish believer rooted in the Hebrew Scriptures and traditions, was able to see that Jesus, indeed, was the Messiah and he experienced the power of God in his life and he opened up to that. Not only did he just open up to it, in the sense that he believed it was true, but he acted on it. He sold his farm. He saw the future and he moved into it. He was one of vision who continued to grow, staying open, staying flexible and free, not knowing where the wind of God would blow him next. He was always ready. This is demonstrated once again because when there were things happening in Antioch, whom do they send? Not Peter. It took a vision on the rooftop to get him to go to Cornelius. Thank God they sent Barnabas. Barnabas comes to Antioch and here is a totally new situation. This is an impossibility. These are non-Jews. They’ve not been circumcised. They don’t keep the food laws. They don’t know anything about Moses and all the traditions. How can they really be accepted as bona fide members of this spiritual movement of Jesus? Barnabas says, “I can’t square it with the Bible, but it’s true.” Barnabas was one of those that recognized that, when the facts of life don’t fit the faith, it’s easier to change the faith. If you can’t change the facts, then blessed is the person who is able to stay open enough to honor human experience and to open one’s mind to new possibilities and to see that which was may not always be, and what has been said is not the last word, that human experience is a growing experience, and the Gospel is interwoven into the historical movement so that it is a continuing movement that develops and grows with the expanding horizons of the human experience. Barnabas was quite a guy. It there hadn’t been someone like that around they might have shut Antioch down. I want to tell you, if they had shut Antioch down, they would have shut the whole thing down, because it never would have come out of Jerusalem. You cannot trust Jerusalem. The action was not Jerusalem. Jerusalem acted in a supervisory capacity. They checked things out. They tested. © Grand Valley State University �Profile of a Christian Richard A. Rhem Page 5   They called councils. But the world movement started from Antioch. There was not vision and freedom enough at headquarters. First Church Jerusalem was stodgy and stuck fast. It was in Antioch that the Spirit found the openness and the freedom to blow to new possibilities. I like Barnabas. I like somebody that has a vision and enough faith and courage to act on it. In the eleventh chapter it says he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit, and faith. I like him too, because he got caught up in a movement that was larger than himself. He saw the possibilities of Antioch. He knew that’s where the future lay, and therefore, he went after the best person he could find in order to make that work come. He remembered Saul. He remembered his passion, his power, his fanatical zeal, his sharp mind. He said this is a work for none less than Saul. When He brought Paul over to work with him he worked with him side by side, but you know any man is a fool who upstages himself by the person he calls to work with him. It takes a lot of grace. One can never tell the grace it takes to play second fiddle well. I like Barnabas. He said, “What’s going on in Antioch is more than I can handle. I’m going to look for the strongest, most passionate, most powerful, brilliant person I know. And I’m going to call that person and I’m going to work in his shadow, because what is important is not my prestige and position, but that the Gospel be brought to a hungry world, parched and longing for the water of life.” He was self effacing, concerned about the truth, about the larger picture, and willing to do what he had to do in order to make it happen. Maybe the nicest thing about him was he was full of grace. I already mentioned that, on the one hand, when Paul came to town now soundly converted, everybody was scared to death of him, and it was Barnabas that reached out to him. It was Barnabas that said, “Tell me your story.” It was Barnabas that believed him. Do you believe people when they talk to you? Can you listen to someone’s story of newness? Can you hear something that blows your mind and not immediately shut it down, turn it away? Barnabas had grace, he said, “Talk to me Paul. Tell me what happened.” He said, “That’s really something. Come on, I want you to meet Peter.” Then, of course, he works in Paul’s shadow and they go off on the missionary journeys and when they are gone on that second or third journey, he wants to bring John Mark along. Paul says, “No way.” Barnabas believed in the possibility of the second chance. He believed in giving someone a break. He didn’t believe that because someone fails he or she necessarily must be a failure. So he took John Mark with him and he nurtured him, and Paul went his separate way. Barnabas had a lot of grace. Paul finally got a little grace, too. When he was old and imprisoned he wrote Timothy and said, “By the way, bring John Mark to me. He’s profitable to me.” He mentions him very positively in the 4th chapter of his letter to the Colossians. John Mark is most likely the guy that gives us the Gospel of Mark. What if Barnabas hadn’t believed in him? What if Barnabas had not had enough grace to withstand the strong Paul to his face and say, “Nonetheless, the boy gets another shot.” I like that about him. © Grand Valley State University �Profile of a Christian Richard A. Rhem Page 6   Barnabas wasn’t everything, but dear God I wish the winds of God’s spirit would blow through me with such creative and energizing power that I’d have visions to see where things are going and the courage to act on it; the willingness to be selfeffaced in the light of the larger movement and the grace to keep believing in my brothers and sisters as we go along together. That’s not everything, but that would be a lot… if we could more and more be shaped into a Barnabas or Jesus by the Spirit of God. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b2995e44f1330ac9b0aa773a350e4fda.mp3 f8b6d2cec1604032034bd5e1373686d5 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost III Scripture Text Acts 11:24-26, II Corinthians 3:17-18 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-0-19940612 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-06-12 Title A name given to the resource Profile of a Christian: Life of Barnabas 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 June 12, 1994 entitled "Profile of a Christian: Life of Barnabas", on the occasion of Pentecost III, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Acts 11:24-26, II Corinthians 3:17-18. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Christian Life Grace Jesus Movement Open Mind https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2f30a1e04a718c5ba78fd6bd297113be.pdf 58632e47771b99cca669bed4f95b5696 PDF Text Text Baptism: A Sign of Belonging Text: Genesis 17:7, 13; Acts 2:39 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Pentecost IV, June 19, 1994 Transcription of the spoken sermon "I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant to be God to you and to your offspring after you... So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant.” Genesis 17:7,13 "For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away..." Acts 2:39   In his best selling book, Care of the Soul, Thomas Moore deals with the spiritual emptiness of contemporary society. Thomas Moore writes not fluff. It’s a heavy book, and he has expressed his amazement that it found its way on to the New York Times hard cover Best Seller List, and now continues some 21 weeks on the paperback Best Seller List. Obviously, Thomas Moore has touched a nerve in our contemporary human experience. He says what all of us know down deep, that we have no depths, that we have neglected our soul, that depth-dimension of the human person. He gives us two images of our contemporary life. The first is fast food: fast food rather than the ritual of dining. The gathering of the family around the table to share a meal is an experience becoming more and more rare in our contemporary experience. And the second image: rather than reflective commentary and news analysis, journalism becomes sound bites. Fast food and sound bites. We live at an accelerating pace. Technological breakthroughs create new horizons for human experience. We are whirling on a planet spinning out of control and our lives show it. Perhaps Thomas Moore is right that what is missing is the very kind of thing we are engaged in here—a regular appointment. We gather in this sacred space with all of its associations of experiences past: its furniture, its whole setting, the environment, the feel of this moment. For so many of our contemporaries there is no longer a regular appointment like this. And even for us, increasingly it becomes an option when Sunday morning dawns. In my earlier ministry, I did © Grand Valley State University   �Baptism: A Sign of Belonging Richard A. Rhem Page 2   everything I could get you to come to church, not only on Sunday morning, but, God forbid, on Sunday evening too. The whole day shot to heaven. (Laughter) I’m afraid I probably did so because of certain ego needs. I was fooling myself saying that what I really wanted was God's people to hear God's word when I really wanted God's people to hear God's word through me. And, beyond that, if I had to be there, by George, they ought to be there too. So there was, in a previous era, some imposition of guilt, and a bit of manipulation. But, I am older now, as must be self-evident, and I wouldn't lay that on you. That's a heavy obligation. Now I would say to you, "You need to be here." You need to be here, not just occasionally, once in a while, willy-nilly. You need to be here because your soul needs what happens here beyond whether or not the sermon was scintillating, or suffocating. You need to be here to open your soul to something beyond the ordinary and the humdrum, the rapidity of the days that fly by. You need to be here because the soul needs to be nourished, and it is at appointments like this where there are certain ritual actions and there are certain words and formulas, that touch us, not necessarily rationally, intellectually, but down in our depths. We need to be here on a week like this, when Peter relays all those who have just been in the hospital, the birth and death of an infant, the birth and complications of another infant, the death of an aged saint, the celebration of marriage, the celebration of baptisms – all of these things in the mix of human experience. In a week like this, dear God, don't we know that we don't have stamina enough to make it on our own without that connection to a world beyond that which is time and space and manageable? Maybe a symbol of our contemporary society is O. J. Simpson. The whole nation was glued to their television sets in that bizarre Friday night tale as it unraveled, watching with apprehension one of the highest profile persons in the nation, with friends saying, "Oh, I talked with him and he seemed himself." Yesterday in the Detroit Free Press, was a column by Mitch Album. He pointed out that here's this person whose face everyone recognizes, who has achieved larger than life status: our hero, fantastic gifts, great accomplishments. Then, if the charge is true, in a moment of passion he erupts in violence, which results in a murder, which shocks the nation in its brutality. Yet as Mitch Album says, "Did you know him? Nobody knows him. Nobody knows nobody." We live with the facade with which we engage one another. But who knows the raging storm within? And O.J. Simpson is not unique. He is a symptom. It is happening every day with lesser known folk, so less is known about it. But the rage lies within people who do not know who they are, or whose they are. That's why a morning like this is so important. That's why what transpires at this baptismal font is so important. For baptism is the Christian Church's sign of belonging, belonging to that community of faith that stretches back into Israel's history – that community which gathered around Abraham and Sarah, which © Grand Valley State University �Baptism: A Sign of Belonging Richard A. Rhem Page 3   became Israel, from which Jesus issued, the One who was crucified, risen, ascended, and gave his Spirit. The Spirit of God breathed in the midst of that people who were gathered around that story and who were marked with a new sign, a sign of baptism. Water is the sign of the cross—a sign that one is a child of God. I have a friend, a colleague of mine in seminary who, in groups where one had to introduce oneself, the groups we often squirm thinking about, would always say his name and then he would add, "Child of God." Name, "Child of God." Who are you? Dick Rhem, Child of God. Who are you? Your name, Child of God. So we baptize. We bathe it in prayer because this ritual action which stretches back across the centuries and puts us in touch with that whole community of faith past is an action in which God is the actor. God is the agent and we simply are the instruments, by which the gift of God's breath, God's enlivening breath, wind Spirit, is received by the child. The most dramatic, most vivid example of grace in the Church, is that passive receptive child receiving the sign, the mark of grace, of eternal love, of covenant, binding one to the eternal God, a binding that will never, never be broken. What happens? Who knows. But in obedience we mediate the sign, believing that God is the actor. We do it differently than ten years previous. I came into the ministry along with the elders, understanding that baptism needed to be requested and sometimes granted, and perhaps sometimes not granted if those who requested had not proven their faithfulness. How wrong that is, you see, because baptism is not the Church's gift to be given to those who merit it. Baptism is a sign that God gives to a child on the basis of God's promise, "I will be your God and a God to your children." We used to gather parents here and would say, "Do you ... will you ... do you promise?" and then baptize the child. Then I heard in St. Pierre's Cathedral, the home church of John Calvin, how it was reversed. The baptism was performed and then the parents were given opportunity to answer such questions. I knew immediately that was right. Baptism is God's gift; God is the actor. It is pure grace and, in the light of that grace, one says, "Oh, yes I will, with all my heart." Of course, in the light of all of that. Maybe I can make it clear by a comparison. Sometimes comparisons help us to lift up certain dimensions. No criticism of the Baptist Church. Thank God for all good Baptists everywhere. But the Baptists also recognize and have increasingly felt the need of some kind of ritual for infants, even though the hallmark of the Baptist communion is that one must say that one believes and then be baptized so that baptism is an adult affair. Now increasingly in Baptist churches there are dedication services. Do you see the different nuance? Here God is the actor and the parental response is response to God's initiating grace. In a dedicatory service the focus is on the human person’s act of dedication. It is a different spin. It is a different nuance. I prefer it this way—all of God. All of grace. Pure gift. That which moves then in response of worship and adoration and following in the way © Grand Valley State University �Baptism: A Sign of Belonging Richard A. Rhem Page 4   of Jesus. Marked, belonging by God's choice. God's gift, so that when the bottom falls out and the roof caves in and the foundations shake, and it seems that darkness will overcome us, we can do as Martin Luther used to do in those moments of deep temptation and despair. He would cry out, "I have been baptized." Baptism is not a sentimental ceremony for little infants in arms. It is a gift of God that marks us throughout all of our days, so that come what may one is able to say, "I have been marked," with a sign of love, by a God that shall never let me go. Thank God. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a1378122c52fb924be64a019920a9c46.mp3 c45f84d9de2c31e607483f77025b625b Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost IV Scripture Text Genesis 17:7, 13, Acts 2:39 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19940619 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-06-19 Title A name given to the resource Baptism: A Sign of Belonging 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 June 19, 1994 entitled "Baptism: A Sign of Belonging", on the occasion of Pentecost IV, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Genesis 17:7, 13, Acts 2:39. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Baptism Community of Faith Faithful God Pentecost Ritual Worship https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/78c5c584301af8941d22f3166cc2c7a8.pdf 52678b667070e5ab62881239fca924a5 PDF Text Text Eucharist: Memory, Presence, Hope Pentecost V Text: Deuteronomy 16:1; I Corinthians 11:24; Mark 14:22, 24 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan June 26, 1994 Transcription of the spoken sermon "Observe ..by keeping the Passover... The Lord your God brought you out.." Deuteronomy 16:1 "Do this in remembrance of me." I Corinthians 11:24 "Take, this is my body... This is my blood of the covenant" Mark 14:22,24   In the first service there was a young pastor who is between assignments. He is on his way to a new assignment and he stopped here for Sunday morning worship. He said to me, "I've heard a lot about this place and I wanted to stop before I left." He said, "It’s strange the things you hear. I heard that you preached in a rocking chair." (Laughter) "Well," I said, "it sort of has that effect on the congregation, but I always use this stool." (Laughter) We had a reading from the Old Hebrew Scriptures regarding the institution of the Passover, at least an instruction to keep the Passover, one of the great feasts of Israel to celebrate their deliverance from Egypt in the Exodus. We read the account of the apostle Paul, probably the earliest Christian account of the celebration of the Lord's Supper, or Communion, or the Eucharist Feast, and we read the institution itself in Mark's gospel. If I were to read a contemporary lesson I would read from one of our own who wrote to me recently, "As I listen to the minister retell the Last Supper story and present the bread and the cup heavenward, I become drawn into a place of wonder and awe, a holy place where I may begin to experience a little bit of God in my own life. My head stops being in charge, and for those moments I become a child again, a child who has been allowed a glimpse of the heavenly. I feel infused with the love and, for just a fleeting moment, the understanding of God. It is the holiest of moments for me. My fellow participants become at the deepest level my brothers and sisters in Christ in an almost tangible way. I have yet to participate in a Eucharist celebration at Christ Community with dry eyes. For a brief time on those Sundays I am able to let go of my head, of my intellectual faith and questions and doubts, and experience faith on a deeper level. It is a level © Grand Valley State University   �Eucharist: Memory, Presence, Hope Richard A. Rhem Page 2   that is more enriching and rejuvenating, a nourishing faith that can sustain me throughout the week." Would that that would happen to each of us every time the table is set. In this congregation the table is set every Lord's Day at the early service, and from time to time at the second service as today. It is an experience of the presence of God that comes in a unique fashion through the elements of bread and wine. We look at the sacraments now because it is the season of Pentecost. I want to connect participation in Eucharist with the Spirit of God because without that, participation in itself can become empty ritual. But bathed in prayer and received in faith, it becomes a means of grace. It becomes a moment of encounter. It becomes experience. Last week at the baptismal font, there was prayer for God to breathe through the water. Today, if you followed the liturgy, there was the invocation of the Holy Spirit to make this bread and this wine the body and blood for us; to enliven the material with the spiritual—God's Spirit or God's Wind or God's Breath—Wind, Spirit, Breath—the Hebrew word RUACH, which means wind or spirit or breath, which is tangible, which is energy, which is energizing. Jesus said, the wind blows and you don't see it, but you see the tree and the leaves waving because there is an energy there. So in our Christian experience, in any religious experience that is genuine experience of God, it is the breathing of God. It is the present moment, the reality of the living God in our experience. The one who writes to me is fortunate, I believe, for she was raised in the Catholic tradition where there was developed a hunger for the sacraments. The elders in Geneva in the 16th century knew that the sacrament had become a routinized, too often mechanical magical ritual, and so they instituted a practice that has continued in the Reformed tradition to the present. In our tradition, according to our Rules of Order, it is a quarterly celebration—four times a year. As you have heard me say many times, what actually happened is that the good intention to make it special has backfired in that it has become optional. You cannot develop a taste for the Eucharist, taking it four times a year. The opening word of the Old Testament lesson was "Observe," and that word observe or observance is often connected with religious ritual. Thomas Moore says in The Care of the Soul, that we are "to observe our soul," we are to become attentive to ourselves, we are to become aware of ourselves. What's going on in us? What are we thinking? We are we feeling? What are we experiencing? Take a step back, reflect on ourselves. Be self-reflective in order to understand what's going on in us. Awareness or attention. To observe. The serve in observe is an old word that comes from tending sheep. It is as though we were tending our soul. But that word then goes with the practice of religious rituals too. We observe Holy Communion. We observe the Sacrament of Baptism. And in the observation, something happens to us if that observation becomes a part of us. Not if it’s an incidental observance, once in a while, but if it is a regular keeping, a © Grand Valley State University �Eucharist: Memory, Presence, Hope Richard A. Rhem Page 3   regular observance, it begins to shape us. You don't have to observe Christmas. You can be Scrooge. You don't have to trim the tree and hang the socks and wrap the presents. You don't have to do any of that. You could just come to church. That's what it’s all about. But if you don't trim the tree and hang the socks, and delight the children, your Christmas will indeed be a kind of Scrooge-like experience. But, if you trim the tree, and wrap the presents, and create the aura, if you observe Christmas, you will experience Christmas. The world becomes a softer place at Christmas. Miracle of miracles. Year after year. There is something in the observing that washes over us and shapes us and forms us. It is no different with the celebration of the Eucharist. In the observing of it there is a forming in us. As my correspondent said, "For a moment the mind, the brain stops, and I am open to pure experience—a kind of depth moment, a holy moment. A fleeting moment of knowing God's presence." Eucharist is commemorative sacrament. That is, we do it again and again and again. We do it in regular fashion in order that that to which it points might be brought to us again and again. Baptism is an initiatory ritual. Once is enough—marked as belonging eternally. One baptism, but many feasts at the table of our Lord. The background of that was just like Israel's experience. That sacrament of Baptism parallels the sign of circumcision in the old experience of Israel. And this table parallels the Passover Feast. It was a feast that Israel celebrated annually in order to remember and to hope, and in the meantime to experience the presence. The instruction to Israel was that they were to eat in a fashion that would remind them of that night when they were delivered from the bondage of Pharaoh's Egypt, when with a mighty hand God set them free. They were to roast the lamb and they were to eat bitter herbs so that they would remember the years of affliction—remember that from which God has sprung them free. And in the contemporary celebration of that feast, still in the Jewish tradition, as Rabbi David Hartman in Muskegon said recently when he told about the celebration of the Seder in his own family, the little children would watch until after the meal when he would pour the cup of wine for Elijah and they would say, "Daddy, will Elijah come?" And he would say "Sh-h-h-h, listen. Maybe he will come. Close your eyes. Is he coming?" And when his children would say, "Daddy, if he would drink our cup at our Seder feast, at all the Seder feasts he wouldn't be able to walk." To which the Rabbi said, "If you are the prophet Elijah you could handle it, you could handle all the chalices of all the Seder feasts." During the Passover celebration the door is always open, and the youngest child is sent out to the open door to see if Elijah is coming. Fantasy? Did you ever put cookies and milk out for Santa Claus? You see, children know that when he stops by on Christmas Eve he will have a snack and maybe be generous. Fantasy? Yes, like pouring the cup for Elijah, because we need to live with hope and expectation. The cry of the Jewish family is, "Next year in Jerusalem!" I wonder what it was like the first time that the Jews actually returned to Israel and a family sat down for their Seder meal, when after all those years they had said, "Next year in Jerusalem." Doesn't it give you goose bumps to think of it? © Grand Valley State University �Eucharist: Memory, Presence, Hope Richard A. Rhem Page 4   Do you think that anything is afoot in the world? Is God doing anything in the world? Do you live with any kind of hope? I don't know how it will happen. Jesus said," I won't drink this again until I come in the kingdom." Obviously he thought he was on the edge—at the end. He wasn't, was he? Here we are two thousand years later. Paul said, "We will not all die but certainly will be changed." Paul expected that. It hasn't happened now, but Jesus has risen; that's the first fruits. The first seeds have been planted, and the harvest would follow very soon. It hasn't happened. Jesus was wrong, Paul was wrong, Wrong in terms of the immediate end of things, but not wrong in the ultimate set of the heart, which is of hope and anticipation. Believing that whenever, however this God who has been in our past, this God who has met us in the past, intervened in our life, came to us, was the Word made flesh in Jesus. This God is the God of our future, the one from whom we have come, the one who has come to us, the one to whom we go, the one who is coming to us. And, in the meantime, in this in between time, the God who is with us. Breathing— breathing—breathing through water that marks us as belonging. Breathing through bread that becomes body. Breathing through wine that becomes blood. It is all so wonderful. It is a great pageant. It is a great way to live—between memory and hope. Sustained in the present moment. Mind shut down. Just open so that, even if just for a fleeting moment, I might be present with God and God present to me. Well, did it happen this morning? It doesn't always happen. It is not something that is automatic. It is not something that is magical. But, did it happen this morning? Was there a taste of bread and wine that said to you, "God has been gracious. God will be gracious. God has marked me. God will enfold me. And even now, dear God, I know here, face to face, now in bread and wine, but one day with unveiled face we shall behold God and we shall be made like God for we shall see God as he is." Beloved by God. What manner of love with which we have been loved that we can be called the children of God? "And of such we are now and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but when he appears we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is." Between memory and hope, just now, just a fleeting moment, I know the reality of the presence of the Living God. Thank God. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d308f28ea7a6b638a85b0959abd42bba.mp3 3f48f377e5f3d1f2305e8b5d37281c2d Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost V Scripture Text Deuteronomy 16:1, I Corinthians 11:24, Mark 14:22, 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-0-19940626 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-06-26 Title A name given to the resource Eucharist: Memory, Presence, Hope 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 June 26, 1994 entitled "Eucharist: Memory, Presence, Hope", on the occasion of Pentecost V, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Deuteronomy 16:1, I Corinthians 11:24, Mark 14:22, 24. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Awareness Grace Pentecost Presence of God Ritual https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/50e62e5a72d6122d63d8fa25f5076143.mp3 0af56c96d016a43df281b18755e4efef 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 Independence Day Celebration, Pentecost VI Series With Ken Medema Scripture Text Psalm 148, Acts 4:23-31 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-0-19940703 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-07-03 Title A name given to the resource The Spirit and History - A New World Dawning 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 July 3, 1994 entitled "The Spirit and History - A New World Dawning", as part of the series "With Ken Medema", on the occasion of Independence Day Celebration, Pentecost VI, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Psalm 148, Acts 4:23-31. 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/f37ad496ed60f41eb0e02cfb0bce650d.pdf a1aecd0a321d35c8c503afa44a1504a0 PDF Text Text What It Takes to Make a Heretic From a sermon series on the Book of Job Text: Job 6:25-26 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Pentecost VII, July 10, 1994 Transcription of the spoken sermon "Teach  me,  and  I  will  be  silent;  show  me  where  I  am  wrong.   Does  honest  speech  offend  you?  Are  you  shocked  by  what  I  have  said?  "   Job  6:25-­‐26;  Translation  by  Stephen  Mitchell     I begin this morning a series of messages on the Book of Job. This is the first time I've ever tried to preach on Job in a serious fashion in order to handle the content of the writing itself because, to be honest, I haven't understood it. Oh, a text here and there—a text torn out of context to make a whale of a sermon on occasion. But an insight into the composition of the book sometime ago enabled me to crack open the enigma of the Book of Job. The Book of Job is a part of the Wisdom literature of the Hebrew Scriptures—Job, Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, some of the Psalms. The Wisdom literature is a particular genre of the Hebrew Scriptures which has its own characteristic themes. We don't do a lot with it in the Church, and I haven't done a lot with it in preaching. As I said, the Book of Job has been for me an enigma, and what I've found is that, in a new understanding of something of the composition of the book, it becomes a marvelous and powerful message which deals with the very concrete stuff which makes up our human experience. So I want to begin this morning in a kind of introductory fashion to deal with this book. I want to deal with the Book of Job because I think that it deals with the things that we wrestle with every day in our lives—the unvarnished stuff of human life. We'll see how far the series goes—four or five, six. Who can tell once a preacher gets started? The enigma that has kept me from ever treating the Book of Job as a whole has a couple of aspects. In the first place Job has become in popular understanding the "patient Job." We come by that honestly because in James 5:11 we are told, "You know the patience of Job." So in conventional wisdom, Job became a model of patience. To be sure, in what I read, in the prologue to the book, he certainly is patient. But when you read the whole central section of the book, Job is not patient. He is one of the most impatient people in the Bible. He rails against heaven. He calls God to account. He damns the day he was born. Job is not © Grand Valley State University   �What It Takes to Make a Heretic Richard A. Rhem Page 2   submissive, patient and enduring, but a "rebel with a cause." I could never put those two things together. If you read not only the prologue that I read a moment ago, but the epilogue, the last few verses of the last chapter you will find that, after his terrible suffering and total loss and the experience of God's voice in the whirlwind, Job gets everything back two-fold. So, it would appear that the messsage of Job is to suffer, be patient, so that finally you will be vindicated, rewarded. But that theme contradicts the whole powerful center of this poem. Well, the insight that helped me to make some sense of this book is that probably the prologue and epilogue is an ancient legend—probably centuries and generations old, and that the author of the central poem, if you glance at the Book of Job you'll see the shift from prose to poetic form sandwiched between a prologue and epilogue which are reflective of another age and a totally other philosophy and understanding, a protest. Now you say, "Well, what's the sense of that?" Why would the poet want to sandwich that between the telling of an ancient legend? Well maybe, as some have said, because he wanted to set his own point of view in sharp contrast to the other. The ancient legend says that God blesses those who are good and God punishes those who are evil. The ancient legend says if you suffer and endure patiently you will be rewarded. The poet says, "I don't believe it! It is contrary to everything that I experience and observe in human life, and I don't believe it." Maybe by setting that ancient legend at either side of his protest, he sets it off even more starkly. Or maybe he softened the edges of his protest by encasing it in this ancient legend just to get in touch. You know, it’s dangerous to swim against the tide. It’s dangerous to speak a word against conventional wisdom. It can cost you your life to hold an opinion contrary to that which everybody knows. Do you know how much we live by what everybody knows? The poet says, "I don't know that. I don't believe that." But, you had better be careful when you say "no," and everybody else is saying "yes." It would be an interesting doctoral dissertation to trace through history the significant written works that were published after an author's death, purposely, for fear that if they had been published in his or her life, the author would have lost his or her life, would have died sooner than he or she did. The poet gives Job the voice of a heretic—Job spoke a word against what everybody knows, and what nobody thinks about, but everybody believes. Job was not orthodox. He was heretical. The word orthodox means straight opinion. The prefix ortho is from the Greek language. When I was a kid I used to be able to spit through my teeth. And then my mother sent me to an orthodontist. The orthodontist made my teeth straight because my father had me set apart for the ministry. Otherwise I don't think they would have straightened my teeth. (Laughter) If you break your leg and it is at right angles, you go to an orthopedic surgeon who makes bones straight. If you are orthodox in theology, you hold the right opinion. You hold the straight, accepted, perceived view of things. This poet was not orthodox. This poet was a heretic. Heretic also comes from the Greek language. It means "to choose." © Grand Valley State University �What It Takes to Make a Heretic Richard A. Rhem Page 3   William Safire, the New York Times columnist, has a relatively recent book on Job. He calls it The First Dissident. Job was the first dissident, which comes from the Latin, descent, to sit apart. A dissident is one who sits apart, stands apart, and acts apart. I don't use the word dissident because I'm not thinking as Safire is, largely of the political and economic realm, but I am thinking more theologically. So I will use the theological term heretic. The author of Job ran contrary to the commonly accepted view of things in his day. He stood up and dared to say "no." He stood up and dared to be alone and have the passion and conviction that enabled him with courage to say, "I don't believe it." He was a heretic. What makes a heretic? Concrete human experience that can't be crammed into conventional wisdom as an explanation. Burning, passionate, concrete experience that you just can't shove into a ready-made pigeonhole. A heretic is one whose experience brings him to a point where he dares to stand up and to say, "No, I don't believe it. This is what I believe." Job is a heretic, because everyone knew that suffering was a sign of sin, that the one who was suffering was carrying some guilt whether known or unknown. In his day the poet ran into the conventional wisdom, the things that everybody knew, and that is that God blesses those who are righteous, and God punishes those who are wicked. Everybody knew that when you run into trouble, when calamity comes, when tragedy strikes there is either some open or secret sin in your life. So when you come into trouble, the question you ask is "What have I done wrong? Why me? What have I done? Am I wrong? Where have I gone wrong?" It was a cruel philosophy or theology, but it was deeply inbred into the human heart then, and it continues to be to a large extent even today. I think that's why it is so important to deal with it. The poet of these poems said, "I don't believe that." He said, "I look about me and I see a mystery of human suffering that cannot be explained. I see the innocent suffer. I see the good coming into calamity, and I see sometimes the careless getting off scot-free." Human experience—what I observe and what I myself experience – simply cannot be put into a neat formula: God blesses the righteous and punishes the wicked. Job said, "I see innocent children die. I see cancer strike willy-nilly. I see fires rage and floods rise, and I see natural calamities which the insurance companies call 'acts of God', and I see human calamities when there are broken relationships and betrayals and denials. I see parents who find their daughters raped and mutilated or throats slit. I find young people blown away in war. I see good people, decent people struck down by any number of things that bring them into intense suffering and pain and loss." The poet said it is simply too simplistic—"I don't believe it. The innocent suffer. That is a mystery. I can't explain it. Sometimes there is darkness, and there is no word to say." Job's friends had words. And today, we have pious platitudes, which work for many people: "God makes no mistakes." "God has a purpose in it." Of course, when you are back in the age of legends, then God did it, or God's agent whom God controls did it. You can't have it both ways. You can't say God has a purpose and apply it only to minor inconveniences. How can you tell someone whose life has just been ripped apart with tragedy, that God did it. I don't really think we © Grand Valley State University �What It Takes to Make a Heretic Richard A. Rhem Page 4   mean it when we say, "God has a purpose in it," or "God makes no mistakes." Job stood up and said, "No! I don't believe it for a moment." He said, "I can't explain the mystery of human suffering. I don't know the whys of human tragedy, but I am innocent and I am suffering, and I see no good purpose in it." We have something else we resort to, as I mentioned a moment ago. We take upon ourselves feelings of guilt for our failures and for the things that go wrong. Last year I ripped this woodcut of William Blake out of the New York Times. It was woodcut of Job and underneath it says, "Many Americans in the flooded Midwest will sit like Job amid the ruins of their lives and ask why God has turned against them." Nearly one in five Americans told the Gallup Poll that the floods are God's judgment on the people of the United States for their sinful ways. The poet-Job says "I won't hear a word of it." Job was a heretic. He stood up against the received opinion, the common person on the street idea of things that everybody knows. He stood up alone because it was contrary to everything he felt in his gut. He knew it was wrong and he dared to say so, and thereby set himself apart. He paid the price, of course. His three friends who came to comfort him came and with delicate sensitivity, when they saw his disaster, they sat with him seven days and seven nights without opening their mouths. That's a good comforter. Don't say a word. But when Job's voice was raised against heaven, calling God to account, railing against this injustice, this mystery, this suffering—then they ran to the defense of God or rather to the defense of their belief system about God and they denounced Job. He was rejected by his friends and he felt abandoned by heaven, but he stood up anyway, and he didn't yield. Thank God for that. Thank God that this poem made it into the canon of the scripture, because Job gives me the permission to think, to experience, and then to seek to connect my experience with my faith. When faith explanation doesn't fit with the facts of my life, I keep probing and struggling until I bring them again into some kind of meaningful relationship. Thank God for this heretic-poet. Because, as it is, we are told that one out of five Americans say the floods are the result of God's punishing the sins of the people. But think what it would have been if we had never had this protest that said, "No! I don't believe it." Thank God for Job who called God into account and said to his friends, "I'm innocent and I'm suffering, and I don't know why." Thank God for Job, for in his darkness ,which was not penetrated by any ray of light, he wrestled with God. He wrestled with God and became the forerunner of another who in his darkness cried out, "My God, my God, why?," which is not a question seeking an intellectual answer, but a primal scream from a devastated human being, longing to know that there is someone there. Thank God for our confidence that, while there is suffering that has no meaning and tragedy that has no explanation when finally we must be silent, nonetheless we cling to the God of all mercy, who we believe will never let us go. If God plays with us like puppets on a string, you have every right to fear such a God, but you can never love such a God. But if we can trust in the darkness, © Grand Valley State University �What It Takes to Make a Heretic Richard A. Rhem Page 5   believing somehow or other in an infrastructure of mercy, that's a God you can love. That's a God you can love when everything goes wrong and nothing makes sense. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5560a1a7ae42bbecd6a16dc54fba8036.mp3 09be711552ea93fbbd31e719d9e51ef4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost VII Series The Job Series Scripture Text Job 6: 25-26 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-0-19940710 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-07-10 Title A name given to the resource What It Takes To Make a Heretic 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 10, 1994 entitled "What It Takes To Make a Heretic", as part of the series "The Job Series", on the occasion of Pentecost VII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Job 6: 25-26. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives God of Compassion Hebrew Scriptures Nature of God Wisdom Literature https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c9813f854c92c6b8a3b181c8d70128cd.pdf 4d0e761bffcdac1f9b3f33446b4e6e14 PDF Text Text A Compelling Question: Does Sin Reap Suffering and Virtue Reap Reward? From the sermon series on Job Text; Job 6:26-30; Job 8:20 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan July 17, 1994 Transcription of the spoken sermon Job: "Do you want to disprove my passion or argue away my despair? Look me straight in the eye. Is this how a liar would face you? Can't I tell right from wrong? If I sinned, wouldn't I know it?" Job 6:26-30 Bildad: "Good never betrays the innocent or takes the land of the wicked." Job 8:20 (Translated by Stephen Mitchell) We are in the midst of a series on the Book of Job. Job is a dramatic poem found in the Hebrew Scriptures. Let me catch you up for just a moment, because we began last week, and it will be important to have the proper context. I noted last week that Job was a heretic. That word comes from the Greek language and it means " to choose." A heretic is a person who stands up apart from the rest and dares to speak one’s mind, to give expression to one’s conviction and passion. To defy conventional wisdom, to remove oneself from majority opinion, to stand alone if need be. Job was a heretic in that sense because he spoke against the conventional wisdom of his day. He spoke against those things that everyone knew, namely that human suffering was the consequence of human sin; that God punishes human sin with suffering. Everyone knew that. Everyone took it for granted. And then Job spoke out of an experience in which he said, "No, I don't believe that." And in standing up, and in challenging, and in protesting to God, he became a heretic, as it were, over against the orthodox opinion. Orthodox is also from the Greek. It means "straight opinion," or "correct view of things." That is, correct in terms of the majority vote of the establishment at any given time. Job made his protest and it comes to expression in chapters 3-42, the majority, the corpus of the poem. But it is encased in a prologue and an epilogue. The prologue and the epilogue say a contrary thing to what the whole middle of © Grand Valley State University   �A Compelling Question Richard A. Rhem Page 2   the book says. The prologue and the epilogue, those who study it believe, reflects an ancient legend that the author of the dramatic poem used in order to set forth his protest. The ancient legend said that Job was the most patient man who ever lived, that he was prosperous, came into calamity, endured patiently, and was prospered once again. That message is diametrically opposed to the message of, the protest of the poet who lived perhaps four, five, six hundred years before Jesus. The poet borrowed an ancient legend in order to set off his radical and heretical view: that there is no link between human suffering and human sin. That's what the poem of Job is about. Today, let's focus on the heart of the issue. I frame it as a compelling question. "Does Sin Reap Suffering And Virtue Reap Reward?" Maybe a more existential question, maybe with a deeper pastoral concern, I might simply say, "Does God punish us for our sin with suffering?” Is human suffering a consequence of wrong-headedness or wrong-heartedness or wrong action? Does God as the moral cop of the universe send thunderbolts to us, bringing about our suffering in order to punish us for our sin? Well, you say, "Everybody knows . . . it is conventional wisdom . . . it is the knowledge of the person on the street that that's not true. There is no link between suffering and sin, and its corollary is also not true. There is no necessary link between virtue and reward." Everybody knows that, don't we? But before we make short shrift of the question, let us recognize that if we know that . . . if everybody knows that at least in their head, it may be in part due to the fact that the Book of Job is in the canon. Because it is precisely to break the link between human suffering and God's punishment that that book came forth as an eloquent statement of a contrary view. So thank God for Job—if everybody knows that. We may know that now, but Job got into severe argument with his friends who, though they came to comfort him, had become miserable comforters when he began to raise his challenge to God. For in raising a challenge to God, Job threatens their belief system. So, forgetting that they are there for comfort, Job's "friends" go on the attack. They seem to have a lot of data going for them too. They were operating on the accepted opinion, the orthodox view, that God gives suffering. Job is suffering, God does not give suffering to the just. Therefore Job has sinned. Job accepted their major premise. We'll have to deal with that subsequently in another message, but he accepted their major premise: God gives suffering. But Job said, "I am innocent. Therefore, God is unjust." Now that is the radicality of Job's protest. He doesn't question whether or not God gives suffering, but he does say, "I am innocent, and therefore I will take my cause to heaven. God is unjust." That is how strongly his own concrete experience moved him. But, as I said, the friends of Job seemed to have some pretty good basis for their view that punishment from God comes in the wake of human sin. For example, maybe they were reading from Leviticus 26. At the head of the paragraph in my © Grand Valley State University �A Compelling Question Richard A. Rhem Page 3   Bible it says, “Rewards for Obedience. If you follow my statutes and keep my commandments and observe them faithfully, I will give you your rains in their season…." It continues on and on about all the blessings that will come in the wake of obedience. If you move to the 14th verse, my Bible has a heading that says, “Penalties for Disobedience,” and there I read, "In turn, if you do not obey me, I will bring terror on you….” I selected Leviticus 26, but you can go to Deuteronomy 28 or you can read that marvelous statement in Isaiah 1:18, "Come let us reason together says the Lord, though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson they shall be as wool." That's where I'd like to stop. But it goes on, "If you are willing and obedient you shall eat the good of the land. But if you refuse and rebel you shall be devoured by the sword. The mouth of the Lord has spoken." So you see, the friends of Job weren't just blowing a lot of smoke. They could quote a lot of Bible verses. We have to recognize that the earliest Jewish tradition was being expressed by these three friends. They could cite chapter and verse. Actually, when you stop to think about it, it does make sense. You don't really have to be a Bible student to know that there are certain manners of behavior and certain attitudes and certain spirits that lead to disaster. And there are other actions and attitudes and behaviors that lead to blessing. Perhaps that's why Job's protest has never really gotten through to us. We may say in our head there is no necessary link, but in our gut how quickly we say, "What have I done that is wrong?” What about the way we often look askance at the victim? Why did one in five Americans a year ago say the floods in Mississippi or the earthquakes in Los Angeles are God's judgment on human sin. Why is there this popular theology in the church and out of the church that somehow or other this is just the way things are, and that God does intentionally harm people and punish people. There is a deep thread in the human person of connecting behavior and painful consequences. It may be because preaching has a bad name. Do your kids ever say to you, "Don't preach to me?" Parents have a tendency to preach. "Don't you dare." "You had better." "Because of - - - this consequence will follow." Preaching. People don't like preaching. Why should they like preaching? The whole tradition of preaching in the Church is to turn the whole religious experience into a promise and reward system. We try to keep people on the straight and narrow and have them avoid the disaster. So preaching has a kind of heavy-handedness about it, which makes out that God is some kind of moral cop up in heaven and that you had better watch out. We transform the gracious God into Santa Claus. Santa Claus is coming to town. You had better be good, you had better watch out, because God knows if you have been naughty or nice. That's what religion can degenerate into. That's what comes through too often, overpoweringly. That's why people have left the church in hordes. Turn on your television today, and don't watch golf. Find some great evangelist. He will give you texts right out © Grand Valley State University �A Compelling Question Richard A. Rhem Page 4   of context. They will promise you reward for thus and so. He'll give you all kinds of verses ripped right out of the context that will give you dire warnings of dire consequences. You can always be sure that when a text is ripped out of its context, it’s a pretext for something else. A text without a context is a pretext. There are all kinds of hucksters in religion and out of religion. There are all kinds of hucksters who are using religion as a means to sell their product, who are quoting the Bible all the time. I listened to some motivational tapes this week. I won't tell you why I got into it or how I got into it. I am just a sucker that's all. (Laughter) I've got to tell you, they used Deuteronomy 28:10, Exodus 5:14, and Joshua 3:16 to prove their point and sell their product. God says . . . God says, as though you can just take a verse of scripture and say, "God says," as though it’s right out of heaven, as though you could hear the voice of the Almighty. "If you will do thus and so … If you won't do that….” You would think that the whole of religion and the whole relationship to God is this matter of sin and get punished, be virtuous and be rewarded. It is ignorant, it is arrogant, it is an abuse of the Bible, and it is an abuse of people. It makes me angry! (And if you want to know something I am really passionate about, come next week!) (Laughter) I'm telling you, it's everywhere. That's popular religion, and it is used by hucksters out of ignorance at its best, arrogance at its worst, and it has ruined so many people. It distorts God. It distorts the grace of God. That's why you can say off the top of your head, "Of course there's no link between suffering and punishment," until you move into the darkness and begin to doubt yourself, and you begin to look up and say, "God, why?" Obviously there are some behaviors whose end is disaster; there are some behaviors whose end is blessing. But as William Safire says about Job, "There is a fire wall." The Book of Job is like a fire wall between the necessary link between human suffering and human punishment. We may not blame the victim, for it is not ours to judge. When we see someone in darkness, or when we enter the darkness ourselves, what we need to know is that God is there with us. God is not waiting in the dark with a club ready to beat us down. There is a mystery of human suffering. In the first service I read the Foreword from Night by Elie Wiesel, the renowned author and the survivor of the Holocaust, which occurred in our own century and in our own remembrance. The author of the Foreword, Noriak, quoted this paragraph from the book. These are the thoughts, the anguishing remembrances of Elie Wiesel. On the last day of the Jewish year the child was present at the solemn [ceremony] of Rosh Hashanah. He heard thousands of these slaves cry with one voice, 'Blessed be the name of the Eternal.' Not long before he too would have prostrated himself and with such adoration, such awe, such love. But on this day he did not kneel, the creature outraged and humiliated beyond all that heart and spirit can conceive of, defied a Divinity who was blind and deaf. That day I had ceased to plead. I was no © Grand Valley State University �A Compelling Question Richard A. Rhem Page 5   longer capable of lamentation. On the contrary I felt very strong. I was the accuser and God the accused. My eyes were open and I was alone, terribly alone in a world without God and without man, without love or mercy. I had ceased to be anything but ashes, yet I felt myself to be stronger than the Almighty to whom my life had been tied for so long. I stood amid that praying congregation observing it like a stranger." Our world is torn. It is bleeding. People are suffering, especially the children. Job said, "God is not doing it. God is not responsible. It is a mystery." His friends, representatives of the tradition, said, "God gives suffering: Job is suffering: Job is guilty." Job said, "God gives the suffering: I am innocent: God is unjust." No one thought to say, " Job is suffering: Job is innocent; therefore, suffering is a mystery that we cannot explain." Virtue is not necessarily met with reward. There are those who will tell you that. Those on the religious network, on the tapes I heard will promise you assured blessing, if only you'll subscribe, if only you will send in your contribution, if only you'll do this or that. It's not true. It's not necessarily so. Sometimes there is the person who is suffering deeply, and there are those who say, "If only you had faith and would pray." That's cruel. Don't we all know some who have had faith and have prayed and have died? God will not be manipulated into our schemes of things. Logical syllogisms do not work in concrete human experience. If you don't believe Job, would you at least believe Jesus? That life, wholly open to the will of God, lived before the face of God on behalf of the world, crucified, with a cry of dereliction on his lips, "My God, my God, why?" Not "Why are you punishing me?" That wasn't the question. The question had to do with the mystery of evil. "My God, where are you?" No, being virtuous carries its own reward. I can't promise you prosperity. Be careless and you may end up a wreck, but not because God punishes you. When you come into the darkness, look to the one who went before you, as the writer to the Hebrews invites you to do. We have this faithful High Priest, Jesus Christ, who was in all ways tested like we are; therefore, come boldly to the throne of grace to find mercy and obtain help in every time of need. There is a throne, there is a throne of grace. There is one to whom to go. This one is the God of all mercy. That you can count on. Reference: Elie Wiesel. Night. Hill and Wang, 1960. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3e9f73e628057f23ec7aa8fd87e11750.mp3 3b262edf461d5967b0f4b1bf5f2e365e Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost VIII Series The Job Series Scripture Text Job 6: 26-30, Job 8:20 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-0-19940717 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-07-17 Title A name given to the resource A Compelling Question: Does Sin Reap Suffering and Virtue Reap Reward? 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 17, 1994 entitled "A Compelling Question: Does Sin Reap Suffering and Virtue Reap Reward?", as part of the series "The Job Series", on the occasion of Pentecost VIII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Job 6: 26-30, Job 8:20. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Morality Open Mind Suffering Wisdom https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a4db4a103f5955f2c30eb61be64fa0ee.pdf 439c3cb330e081076051e58a931f5186 PDF Text Text Retribution is Not God’s Idea From a sermon series on the Book of Job Text: Job 20:4-5; Job 21:7; Job 42:7, translated by Stephen Mitchell Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Pentecost IX, July 24, 1994 Transcription of the spoken sermon Zophar: "Haven't you realized yet (How can you be so blind!) that the sinner's joy is brief and costs no more than a moment? Job 20:4-5 Job: "Why do the wicked prosper and live to a ripe old age?" Job 21:7 God: "I am very angry at you [Eliphaz] and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has." Job 42:7   I was thinking about the serenity and beauty of Psalm 23 as it was sung a moment ago. I was thinking of the melodious song, beautiful words, comforting and reassuring as they were floating over you. You seemed to be at peace and it reminded me of a conversation I had last evening with a good friend of mine who is a pastor. He has just gone through radiation for the cancer that has invaded his body. I asked him how he was and he said, "Doing pretty good." He added, "I'm speaking to God again." He said, "In the midst of it we kind of got separated for a while." Well, you know, all the wonderful religious comfort in the world in which we really believe, by which we live, by which we are undergirded and overshadowed, enabled and empowered, all of that which is so terribly important and so wonderful, sometimes comes into collision with our real life situation. All of a sudden it can evaporate, it can raise doubts and questions, and we wonder, "Where is God in this moment and in this darkness?" I think that that's what happened to Job. The poet who wrote this dramatic poem may have come into a crisis in his faith, or maybe, as poets generally are, he was a spokesperson for a lot of people who had come into a crisis of faith. What they had learned in Sunday School just wasn't working any more. They couldn't connect what they were experiencing with what they had always held to be true about God. So the poet raised a serious protest against the generally perceived wisdom of the day about the relationship of God to our lives. What the poet protested was in the question of last week—the one-to-one relationship between sin and punishment, virtue and reward. What he said was, you can't tell whether a person is virtuous or wicked by looking at their life—their happiness, their prosperity or their lack thereof. It just doesn't work that way in my human © Grand Valley State University   �Retribution is Not God’s Idea Richard A. Rhem Page 2   experience and what I see about me, even though that's what I once believed and that's what you friends are trying to convince me of anew, I don't believe it. I am not going to make a lot of progress today because when I get into a series like this I get to thinking about it eight days a week, and I find often that I move too rapidly. So I am stalling this morning. If you were here last week, you can leave now. (Laughter) No, what I want to say this morning is just a little different spin on what I said last week. This morning I simply want to say, "Retribution is not God's Idea." Tribute is payment; retribution is re-payment It reflects an idea of human experience and of the way the world is that gives tit-for-tat. You do "a", you get "b." You do "c", you get "d". The one who is turning the dials and pushing the keys is God, the moral cop striding in heaven observing creatures on earth, giving just "desserts," whether for weal or woe, depending on whether one is good or bad. That was a very early conception of things and, as I said last week, in saying that is not the case, we have got to make some qualifications. We have got to recognize that there is a whale of a lot of the Bible that says that's the case, at least as superficially understood. It would seem to say in many places in the Scripture that it is a matter of being good and being blessed—being evil and being punished. The implication of that was that if you are punished, therefore, you have been evil. No one suffers if one is innocent. There is a lot of Bible that would seem to indicate a very close relationship between being good and being blessed—being evil and being punished. We all know that there are certain patterns of behavior that engaged in will result in happiness and prosperity and wellbeing. And there are certain patterns of behavior if engaged in will result in disaster and self-destruction. So there is a certain truth in the fact that our human action and human behavior has its consequences. Don't hear me denying that. That is obvious. Maybe I should add another qualification and that is that to live in human community or human society we do need a system of justice. We live in a nation, under a constitution. That constitution is interpreted and reinterpreted, and its laws are applied. Apart from that, it wouldn't be possible to live in community or to have human society. I wouldn't want to live in a society where good and evil were just indiscriminately affirmed or where it didn't matter. It does matter. You can't live together unless there is some law, some structure, some order. Human beings being as they are, it is necessary that there be some enforcement of order. The great theologian of the last generation, Reinhold Niebuhr, wrote a book about society. I can remember being struck by his book many, many years ago where he said, "The ideal for human community is not love, but justice." I said, "Oh, come on. Love is higher than justice." But his point was that in society you cannot legislate nor can you enforce love. Love is not for legislating and love is not for enforcing, but justice you can legislate and justice you can enforce. I think that was at the time of the Civil Rights Movement in the 60s, and at that time © Grand Valley State University �Retribution is Not God’s Idea Richard A. Rhem Page 3   there were those who were saying you can't legislate this decency in community, and all of that. Reinhold Nieboer said, "Oh, yes you can. There is a standard of justice that can be legislated and it should be enforced because, even though we cannot effect through any human means a loving community, we can effect a just community." So, that is important. But having said that it still doesn't get at the nub of Job's protest. Job's protest was, "I am suffering. I am innocent." Therefore, there is not a one-to-one relationship between human behavior and consequence. Job was so convinced of his own experience that he was willing even to accuse heaven. But, really, he was buying in with his friends the idea that God was doing these things—pulling the strings and pushing the buttons, busying God's self with all of the stuff that makes up our life. He bought into that. But what he couldn't go along with out of his own experience was the fact that, therefore, if one is suffering, one is being punished for sin either known or unknown. So, he accused God of being unjust. That really got the ire of his friends and they went on the attack. Job had a lot to learn too, and we will get to that eventually (Out of the whirlwind Job had to say, "Whew, I didn't know what I was talking about. Sorry."). But the important point that Job made in the protest that was brought to expression in this dramatic poem was that there is suffering in human experience, there is tragedy in human experience, there are things that happen to us that are disastrous, and we ought not first of all to blame the victim. Or, if we are the victim, we should not blame ourselves. Job's point was that God never intended a retributive system to be put in place, enforced by God's all-seeing eye and authority. Job said, "I don't know what I am suffering. I don't understand suffering. But in the human situation, I am suffering. And I am innocent." His friends said, "Can't be." Zophar says, "The sinner's joy is brief and lasts no more than a moment." For if Job would point to someone, they would say, "Ah, yes, but that ephemeral, that's going to pass away. Just wait." The Psalmist in Psalm 73 had a problem with the prosperity of the wicked as Job did, but then he said, "Then I contemplated their end. Oh, you have set them on a slippery slope." Zophar was saying the happiness and prosperity of the wicked is an illusion and finally God will get them. Job said, "Oh really. Oh really! Is His candle so quickly snuffed out? Not what I observe. I see reckless, careless, people with grandchildren frolicking on the lawn and jumping on their lap. I see the wicked prosper." Now Job has got a lot to learn yet. Job is going to go through the whirlwind. Job at this point doesn't have it all right. But Job's friends have it all wrong, and that's the point. In the resolution of the book, which I read also, God says to the friends, "I am angry with you. You didn't speak truly about me as my servant Job did." "Retribution Is Not God's Idea." No tit-for-tat. No God striding around heaven observing your behavior to prosper you if you tithe and bomb you if you don't come to church. We preachers wish that were the case. (Laughter) We have a long © Grand Valley State University �Retribution is Not God’s Idea Richard A. Rhem Page 4   history of implying that that might be the case. On second thought, you can't be too safe! (Laugher) But that is an abuse of religion. That is a manipulation of people. That is speaking to people's vulnerabilities. I am always surprised at how seriously you take sermons. Don't believe me. Let me raise some questions we ought to think about, but don't expect me to give you a simple answer because I might be just as miserable as Job's friends, or I might be as off the track as Job before the whirlwind." The Wisdom Books out of which we are preaching really say to people, "Don't listen to preachers, begin to think for yourself." The Wisdom Books are books that call God's people to maturity, to stop using God as a security blanket, as a safety shield, using prayer to pass the buck to God when it is our responsibility to work at human community and concerns of justice and righteousness and compassion and to stop doing what Jesus forbids us to do anyway, and that is to judge other people or ourselves. William Safire in his book The First Dissident, in the quote I had in the bulletin last week says, "Don't blame the victim." Then he uses the example of the person with AIDS. Haven't you heard it? If you haven't, you don't watch preachers on television or listen to the radio. But if you do, if you have that addiction, I'll bet sometime or other you have heard one suggest that there is a plague on America, and the HIV virus has come because of homosexuality, and those non-persons coming out of the closet and making a big uproar in society. Job would say, "No. You can't do that. For one thing you don't just take a class of people and write them off. For another thing, you being people who are being called to maturity and to growth and reasonableness and decency, know from new information and data available to us today, that the matter of sexual orientation may really be a matter of orientation, not necessarily a matter of choice. The Bible has a lot to say about promiscuity in hetero or homosexual relationships, but it doesn't talk about orientation per se. So for people to then say, "There is a plague. God is judging." That is nonsense! It is cruel. And, it is not true. Safire says, "A woman is raped. Easy to say 'She got what she deserved.' Or people's houses are flooded because they live on the river bottom and say, 'Stupid people. God is judging them for their stupidity.'" No. Job says, "That's not what God is into. God is not into tit-for-tat. God is not walking a beat in heaven in order to get a bead on you and all of that." God says, "Here is light. Here is creation. Live it. Be responsible. Be mature. Stand up and be a human person." The God that Job is going to meet in the whirlwind that lies yet before us is a God that is going to blow Job away. Job isn't going to get all his questions answered. He is not going to get a nice neat scheme of things. I want to say at this point that if you have a good satisfying relationship with God and your faith system is working for you, far be it from me to try to move you from that. But as your pastor I know that some of you one day will come into an experience where, if you haven't thought these things through, your faith is going to crash on the rocks of © Grand Valley State University �Retribution is Not God’s Idea Richard A. Rhem Page 5   reality. Then I would like to be able to say to you, "There is something bigger and better." The reason to think these things through is that, if we should come into a Joban experience, I would hope it would lead us to the whirlwind of revelation in order that our God would not crumble before the assault of tragedy and human suffering, but rather that God might become grander and greater. For what Job finally had to learn—I think the outcome of the book would be this—is that God ought to be served because God is worthy to be served, that one should be in awe before God because God is awesome, that God is such that one can trust and cling even in the darkness, and that virtue carries its own reward. In other words, one ought simply to be "good for nothing." If one is "good for nothing," then one is good for the only good reason there is to be good. If one catches a glimpse of the grandeur and the glory of God, then one will have another way and a better way to stand in any storm of life. Job didn't have it all right yet. But in the end God said, "That other stuff, it's wrong. Job has said it right." © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/070ebbe6cd7d42eee4b0c200f8bcf57d.mp3 4bc0591b4eacde2270f5dfa22d5f0778 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost IX Series The Job Series Scripture Text Job 20: 4-5, Job 21:7, Job 42:7 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-0-19940724 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-07-24 Title A name given to the resource Retribution is Not God's Idea 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 24, 1994 entitled "Retribution is Not God's Idea", as part of the series "The Job Series", on the occasion of Pentecost IX, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Job 20: 4-5, Job 21:7, Job 42:7. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Community Justice Nature of God Wisdom Literature https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/111cbbd03f6e672f2450ed8a7218b907.pdf 04d57b91e753dad90f266078b8f16378 PDF Text Text God Beyond All Human Conceiving From the sermon series on the Book of Job Job 38:1,4; Job 40:3-4, 6-14; Job 42:8, translated by Stephen Mitchell Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Pentecost XI, August 7, 1994 Transcription of the spoken sermon "Then  the  Lord  answered  Job  out  of  the  whirlwind:...  Where  were  you  when  I  laid  the   foundation  of  the  earth? Job  38:1,4   "Then  Job  answered  the  Lord:  See,  I  am  of  small  account;  what  shall  I  answer  you?  I  lay   my  hand  on  my  mouth." Job  40:3-­‐4   "Then  the  Unnameable  again  spoke  to  Job  from  within  the  whirlwind:  Do  you  dare  deny   my  judgment?  Am  I  wrong  because  you  are  right?   ...  Dress  yourself  like  an  emperor.  Climb  up  onto  your  throne.  Unleash  your  savage   Justice.  Cut  down  the  rich  and  the  mighty.  Make  the  proud  man  grovel.  Pluck  the  wicked   from  their  perch.  Push  them  into  the  grave,  Throw  them,  screaming,  to  hell.  Then  I  will   admit  that  your  own  strength  can  save  you." Job  40:6-­‐14   "Then  Job  said  to  the  Unnameable,..  I  have  spoken  of  the  unspeakable  and  tried  to   grasp  the  infinite.  Job  42:3     Well, we've got two more shots at Job—if you can bear it. Today in a voice out of the whirlwind—God shows up. Next week we come back full cycle to the mystery of suffering, trusting in the darkness. I wish I could preach both sermons back to back because they really belong together. I'd be willing to do it, if you'd be willing to sit through it, and be willing to let me take two offerings. (Laughter) I suppose we had just better stick with two weeks, and you'll have to remember this week that I don't say everything that needs to be said about this whole issue. I make these comments to begin with because the voice out of the whirlwind is not a soothing voice, and the God, revealed in the dramatic images of this whirlwind experience of Job, is not a kind of comfy, cozy, divine parent. As we talk about the God out of the whirlwind, don't hear me deny the comforts of religious faith. But hear me suggest that maybe some of the ideas and conceptions that we have about God, if we may be like Job, will need to be de-constructed in order that we may be transformed with a deeper insight and a larger understanding of God. How then should you listen to this sermon? Well, listen to this sermon as you ought to listen to every sermon. Don't take it too seriously, but hear it as a probing of mysteries that lie beyond our comprehension; hear it not as a dogmatic claim of what is, but rather my best insight— knowing that in my © Grand Valley State University   �God Beyond All Human Conceiving Richard A. Rhem Page 2   insight cannot be your answer, because your answer must be your answer. If you were to borrow my answer as your answer, it would crumble in the crunch. Finally, I must place my feet, and finally you must place your feet too. So, let's begin. Note, in the first place, that Job shared the flawed theology of his friends. That may surprise you, but think about it for a moment. He and his friends really go at each other, but as a matter of fact they both shared the conventional wisdom, the orthodox view we've been talking about. Job and his friends knew that God is into the business of rewarding virtue and punishing sin. And they all agreed that if one is suffering, then one has sinned, because that's the business of God— rewarding virtue and punishing, causing suffering for the sinful. But then Job had a problem because he began to suffer—terribly. And he knew he was innocent. So, not asking himself whether he had the major premise right, but rather knowing that he was suffering, and suffering is supposed to be the consequence of sinning, and knowing that he is innocent he has no alternative but to accuse God of being unjust. So he rails against heaven. Now, that brought his friends to the attack, to defend God. But Job wouldn't hear of it. He knew that he was suffering, and he knew that he was innocent, and therefore he was railing against heaven. There are moments in that dialogue and discussion when it is clear that Job still hung on to God, and somehow believed if only he could get his case heard there was an ultimate justice and truth somewhere. Remember those moving words: "Oh, that I knew where I might find him, that I might state my case before him. I go to the right and God is not there. I go to the left and God is not there. I go forward, I go backward, God is absent. Oh, that I knew where I might find God." Well, God showed up. In the written piece in the bulletin from William Safire, The First Dissident, I love his description of God showing up. It is as if in answer to Job's pathetic cry "Why?" God arrives in a tie-dyed t-shirt on which is emblazoned, "Because I am God, that's why." Then God begins to speak and there is this panoply of cosmic wonder in beautiful poetry of all the things that God is about, and the natural world. Essentially God raises three questions to Job in that first speech: Who are you? Where were you? Are you able? And Job says, "I am nothing. No, I wasn't there." And "No, I am not able." But the interesting thing is that the issue that Job has raised was a question of the suffering of the innocent, and the charge against God was a charge of injustice. In that whole first speech there is not one single reference to the real issue. God simply sweeps the issue aside and overwhelms Job with cosmic management responsibilities. Thereby, I suppose, the poet is saying what we have said earlier: that retribution is not God's idea, that retribution is not what God is about, that © Grand Valley State University �God Beyond All Human Conceiving Richard A. Rhem Page 3   rewarding the virtuous and punishing the wicked is not God's business. In this whirlwind voice, God with a mighty cosmic sweep, doesn't even make a reference to the real issue of Job's life because it is as though God is saying, "Look, take care of those things yourself. I am not into reward and punishment." I remember when my kids were little we had a little Volkswagen "bug" in Europe. There were three kids; two in the back seat and one in that little rumble seat. The older two in the back seat were constantly arguing about who had the biggest half. I got so irritated with those kids I finally took a ballpoint pen and on that nice white seat I drew a line down the middle. And I said, "Now don't bother me with that. Take care of that yourselves." Haven't you had your kids come sometimes and they are fighting among themselves and don't you have to say to them, "Go settle that yourself, I've got bigger fish to fry." So, I think God doesn't even make reference to this thing that is so pressing for Job that he says as a matter of fact, "Look, look what I am into!" Job says, "Well, that's what I figured. I knew if I ever got a chance to take my case to you that I would simply be overwhelmed. I know you are bigger than I am. I never said you weren't, never denied you are really omnipotent, really something. OK, I'll say no more, but I'll still think the same. You're unfair." At which point God begins to blow with mighty bombast, this time saying to Job, "In order to claim your own innocence, you don't have to make me wrong. Go ahead. Make your case for being innocent. As a matter of fact, I know you are innocent. Go ahead. Make your claim for being innocent, but don't base that claim on the fact that I am wrong. Don't accuse me of injustice just because you as an innocent person are suffering. Do you understand anything at all? Let me tell you what I am about as creator of heaven and earth, as manager of the cosmos. Do you know anything about the behemoth, that land monster full of brutality? Have you ever heard of leviathan, the sea monster whose thrashing, lashing tail makes the sea like a boiling cauldron? You see, in the ancient Middle East, all peoples in those cultures shared a common idea that creation was not something "boom" out of nothing, but rather that the creator was one who took an existing chaos and was ordering it and fashioning it into something harmonious and beautiful. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." And the earth was void and empty and was chaotic and the Wind, the breath of God, blew all over the stew, forming out of the chaos cosmos.” You remember in Isaiah 2 that marvelous vision of the wolf and the lamb lying down together. The wolf and the lamb lying down together, and no one hurting in all God's holy mountain—that vision of the messianic kingdom of Shalom, that wonderful energizing vision of what would be when God got it all together. And the revelation to John on the Isle of Patmos, chapter 21. You all know it. You have all heard it at every funeral you’ve ever attended "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the former heaven and earth faded away and there was no more." What? Shame on you—for lack of courage because I know you know it. There was no more sea. I love to live on the edge of the sea © Grand Valley State University �God Beyond All Human Conceiving Richard A. Rhem Page 4   with the gentle waves lapping, or the mighty billows breaking. I can't even imagine the vision of paradise without the sea, but if you had lived in that ancient culture you would have known that the sea was the source of chaos. That's where leviathan lived. So that vision of things to come where the wolf and the lamb would lie down together and they would not hurt or destroy in all God's holy mountain was a place of a new heaven and a new earth, and there was no more sea. There was no more threat of chaos. There was no more possibility of the eruption of evil into God's good order. But not yet. That's what God is saying in this second speech. "Not yet, Job. I am doing the best I can. Oh! Why don't you come and play 'God for a Day.' Come on, Job, get on the throne. Go ahead. If you would act the way you want me to act, O.K., then do it—crush evil, throw the wicked into hell, get everything lined up there. That's the way you want me to do it. Is that the way you would want me to do it? Come on, sit in my place for a day and have absolute power and then see how you would manage this cosmic reality. Because with heavy totalitarian hand you would want me to crush the wicked and destroy all evil, then what you would have me do is to deny the very nature of the reality that I have created ... the values that I value. You would rule out the possibility then of moral choice and freedom of spontaneous worship and adoration, of virtue for its own sake. You would take away that which is intrinsic and central to the fabric of reality as I have called it forth. You come; you play God. How would you do it? Oh, yes, Job, I know it’s very much in process. It’s far from perfect. There are the wicked who prosper and there are the innocent who suffer. Cancer grows on beautiful young bodies and blood clots form, and loved ones are lost and it hurts . . . and it’s dark .. . and it’s painful. Human existence is vulnerable and it’s perilous, and it’s open to terror. Yes, Job, I know. Don't you think I know? But what would you do, Job, if you could play 'God for a Day?'" Job said, "I didn't know. .. I didn't know. I am all focused in my own little internal concerns and issues. I changed my mind. That is, I repent. I take my words back accusing you of injustice. I don't know. I have spoken things I didn't understand. I've tried to bring into manageable terms infinite reality. I... I dissolve." And that was the point of Job's transformation. His issues never got dealt with. Suddenly he began to think in larger terms with a grander vision, and realized that he had two alternatives: To remain in an embittered cynicism or to 'Trust God in the Darkness." Shades of next week. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/33f66452e1d3ab172dfed1e79851147d.mp3 0969e5de72dc2546bb48b0553c82a50a Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XI Series The Job Series Scripture Text Job 38: 1,4, 40:3-4, 6-14, 42:3 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19940807 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-08-07 Title A name given to the resource God Beyond All Human Conceiving 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 7, 1994 entitled "God Beyond All Human Conceiving", as part of the series "The Job Series", on the occasion of Pentecost XI, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Job 38: 1,4, 40:3-4, 6-14, 42:3. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Creation Nature of God Pentecost Transformation Hebrew Scriptures https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/cc5a17acfe8b56b1f64ca99387388081.pdf c0d80f13083483ae20aeb840c0e197c7 PDF Text Text The Mystery of Suffering: Trust in the Darkness From the sermon series on the Book of Job Text: Job 13:15, in four translations Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Pentecost XII, August 14, 1994 Transcription of the spoken sermon "He may kill me, but I won't stop; I will speak the truth to his face, Translation by Stephen Mitchell "He may slay me, I'll not quaver. I will defend my conduct to his face." Translation by Marvin Pope "If he would slay me, I should not hesitate; I should still argue my cause to his face." New English Bible "Though he slay me, yet will I trust him: But I will maintain my own ways before him." King James   I find it is not so easy to bring Job to a conclusion. I struggled in the last service and am very thankful I don't have such a long struggle this time. I have four manuscripts in various stages of completion, and had to finally quit and say, "So, what's the bottom line?" The last word of Job must be this, I believe, "There is a Mystery of Suffering, in the midst of which we must dare to trust God, even in suffering’s darkest days." In his poem, the author of Job makes it eloquently clear that the innocent suffer, that the kind of world that we live in is a world where cancer strikes "willy-nilly," blood clots form, loved ones are ripped from our lives, and sometimes the wicked prosper and the innocent suffer. The word last week, the voice from the whirlwind, was God's defense against Job's accusation, which comes to expression in the text of the morning, "He may kill me, but I'll not quaver." Job was absolutely convinced that the conventional wisdom was wrong. He was so convinced that the religious establishment didn't have it right, that he was willing to stand with his fist raised to heaven. There were moments of deep pathos when we felt Job reaching out. "Oh that I knew where I might find him," says Job, because he was convinced that he had a case to make. Ironically, Job in some ways still shared the erroneous conventional wisdom of his friends. Job still felt that somehow or other God sent that suffering. And if God sent that suffering, God was unjust, for in his case, God was in the wrong. Job cried out to heaven © Grand Valley State University   �The Mystery of Suffering: Trust in the Darkness Richard A. Rhem Page 2   and said, "If it takes my life, I'm going to state my case." Well, God showed up, as we noted last week, and out of the whirlwind Job was given a panoramic view of cosmic reality and it literally blew him away. He said, "Well, I knew God is big. I never denied that. I knew if I ever did get my opportunity to state my case I'd probably have no chance against God so now I will be silent." But he was still thinking the same way. Once again the voice sounds and God says, "Job, come on and take my place. What would you do if you were God for a day? Because you see, Job, the issue is not whether or not I have absolute power. The issue is: What does one with absolute power do in a world where there are other values as well, values that I have woven into the fabric of creation—freedom of choice, moral choice, spontaneously offered worship, virtue done for its own sake? How does one guard those values in a cosmos like this as one seeks to manage the world, even if one be God?" God is saying, it seems to me, "The world is not perfect, it is a world where cancer strikes, a world where people die, it is a world where darkness can be oh, so dark, but I, God, given the values to which I am committed and the created order I am weaving together – I, God, am doing the best I can do." Well, where does that leave us? Is that a God in which you can find comfort and security? It certainly isn't the traditional view of God that we have been nurtured on, is it? The traditional view of God that we've been nurtured on is a God of the omni's: omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, knowing all, present everywhere, all powerful, able to do all. Some of us, at least, who have come out of the Reformed tradition have had that large word "predestination" hovering over us throughout all of our days; that is, that all things ultimately are predetermined, that there is a predestinating will of God that determines all that happens. I heard a delightful story the other evening. It was a family story about a young man courting a young lady whose father was a sturdy Christian, of strong persuasion that predestination is indeed the rule, and that God indeed determines all that happens. As they were walking the back 40 acres, a donkey happened to bray and the young man, the interlocutor, said, "You mean at 3:00 in the afternoon on this given date, God determined that that donkey should bray?" The old man said, "Absolutely. My God is a God that makes it so that whatever is going to happen is going to happen, whether it happens or not." (Laughter) Now, Yogi Berra would have been proud to have said that, wouldn't he? If you think about it, "whatever is going to happen is going to happen whether it happens or not," now that's a muscular God, that's a macho God, that's a no nonsense God, that's a God in control. If we want anything, we want God in control, and understandably so. We don't want to be orphans in a pathless wilderness leading nowhere. We don't want to feel abandoned and alone on this spinning mud-heap. But if I hear the voice from the whirlwind correctly, then that old classic idea of God of the omni's is flawed. In the light of what we know about cosmic reality, if we know anything about our world, the cosmos, we know there is a kind of randomness about it. There is an unpredictability, there is the Huizenberg second law of thermo dynamics (which of course, you all © Grand Valley State University �The Mystery of Suffering: Trust in the Darkness Richard A. Rhem Page 3   understand), a law that on the one hand was able to open a cause and effect universe that had no room for miracle or eruption of the new, but on the other hand shows us that this cosmos is so much more mysterious than we ever dreamed of. Perhaps the people today, who stand in the greatest awe, are the physicists who study the mystery of the universe and are continually mystified at ever deepening reality. So, the God of the whirlwind is a God who suggests that, while this is not a perfect world, God is nonetheless engaged in moving it in that direction, and invites us who are created in the image of God to grow up and to become mature and to join our shoulders to the task as well. It is not so much that I look at God in my pain and say, "Why are you doing this to me?" But rather, I sense the presence of God with me in the midst of the darkness, moving toward the Light. What I really need to know, I think, is what Job needed to know. He longed not to receive a logical and rational answer to the mystery of suffering, but to know that there was someone who would show up, that there was a Voice, that there was Someone engaged and involved. When Job saw that, Job said, "I didn't know. I didn't understand. I didn't realize." If we're honest, I think we would all have to own the fact that we would love to have God simply a littler larger than our parents, a divine parent, someone who could make it all right, someone who could fix it all, soothe it all, salve the wounds. Friends, it isn't so. You know it isn't so. If in that old classic idea of God where God is throwing all the switches and pulling all the strings, there is an awful lot of darkness and pain and horror in this world that then has to be attributed to God. It won't do simply to say that all the darkness and the pain and the horror of the world is the consequence of human sin and rebellion. There is a grand residue of darkness for which there is no explanation, and for which there seems to be no meaning and no purpose. There is a contemporary school of theology that has been very helpful to me. It's called "Process Theology," which does not deny God's ultimate power and purpose, rather sees God neither aloof nor pulling the strings, but rather a God who is in there with us, a fellow traveler, a fellow struggler, a fellow sufferer, One who has invited us to join in the creative purposes that would move reality toward the realization of love and mercy and justice. The vision of Shalom, that beautiful word, which we translate as "peace," is more than peace. It is a vision of the total harmony of things. If I understand the God who speaks through the whirlwind, if I understand the message of the poet-Job, there is a picture there of a God, who, in the midst of this cosmic reality, is far beyond our ability even to conceive. It is a vision of a God who is engaged in the movement toward wholeness and toward Shalom, and invites us to become one with God and the establishment of justice, and the doing of mercy, and the building of community for the purpose of Shalom. A God like that I can trust in the darkness, a God who is for us. © Grand Valley State University �The Mystery of Suffering: Trust in the Darkness Richard A. Rhem Page 4   This was Paul's conviction. "What can separate us from the love of Christ, famine or nakedness or peril or sword? Know in all things that we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am persuaded that there is no angel or principality or power or thing in the heights or the depths, nothing in all creation that can ever separate us from the love of God, in Christ Jesus our Lord." That God I can trust in the darkness, believing that God is for us, that God's purposes of love are for wholeness and health and Shalom, and that God is doing all God can do. Given not only God's absolute power, but also God's absolute commitment to our human freedom and our moral choice, and the universe in which there is elbowroom for the reality and authenticity of a human creature living in the image of God. A God like that I can trust. Ironically, the religious always try to protect God and to blunt human responsibility. So that as you read the citation of William Safire in the bulletin states, the translation of Job 13:15, is not as we read it this morning as it is accurately translated, "Though he killed me, yet I will not quaver," but rather the mistranslation of, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust him." This translation plays down the darkness and blunts the edge of Job's charge. But ironically the mistranslation may actually better articulate the bottom line in the book of Job. It is said, perhaps even better, in Psalm 23, by the Psalmist who had also struggled with the prosperity of the wicked and yet says, "Whom have I in heaven but Thee, there is none on earth that I desire beside thee." I like it better in the words of Habakkuk who struggled with the place of God in human events, who finally said, "Though there be no olive crop, though there be no cattle in the stall, though all be lost, yet I will rejoice in God, my Savior." There is that witness in our tradition. There is that Biblical witness that is able to say, "Nevertheless... Let it all be stripped away, nevertheless ... I will trust." That's where Job came to rest. And that's finally where Job would invite us to rest. As I said last week, the evidence is divided, the circumstances full of ambiguity. There is no simple and easy unraveling of the knot of the Mystery of human suffering. But, finally, the alternatives are embittered cynicism and cursing the darkness, or trust in God that will sustain one through hell itself— "Though he slay me, yet will I trust Him." © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8fd6010e9c25529043ffde293385aeb4.mp3 7317fab644e3402970396d5eb576e560 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XII Series The Job Series Scripture Text Job 13:15, Romans 8:39 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19940814 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-08-14 Title A name given to the resource The Mystery of Suffering: Trust in the Darkness 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 14, 1994 entitled "The Mystery of Suffering: Trust in the Darkness", as part of the series "The Job Series", on the occasion of Pentecost XII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Job 13:15, Romans 8:39. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Hebrew Scriptures Meaning Nature of God Pentecost Presence Shalom Trust https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b2e290447311b841e062fbbe4d6377d1.pdf a61f2b71c11469030337cd1c3a40e095 PDF Text Text Wisdom for Life From a series on the Wisdom Literature Text: Proverbs 8:35-36 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Pentecost XIII, August 21, 1994 Transcription of the spoken sermon "For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord. But those who miss me injure themselves; all who hate me love death." I hope it is as much a relief to you as it is to me to be out of the Book of Job (laughter) and into something light—the Book of Proverbs. Proverbs is one of the Wisdom Books. I have seldom preached from the book. I have made various sorties into Proverbs. I would read a few verses here and there, but it seemed it was simply the gathering together of aphorisms and maxims and proverbs from ancient cultures that made a lot of sense, but over which I didn't really care to linger too long. There was no story there . . . I've just never been attracted to it. However, on more serious study, I find that, in neglecting the Wisdom Books in general and Proverbs in specific, I have missed a very rich mine of spiritual direction and guidance. There is a lot of wisdom in this Wisdom book. I have learned that the Wisdom Books offer a strong affirmation of life. In the Wisdom Books we have not simply inconsequential truisms; we have the distillation of generations and centuries of observation of life as it really is. What we have specifically in the Book of Proverbs is the invitation to follow the Way of Wisdom, thus finding true life, and admonition to avoid the path of foolishness, which leads to destruction and to death. Lady Wisdom as it were, (Sophia, the Hebrew word – somewhat akin to logos, the Greek word – that personification of wisdom and order and principle in the whole cosmic order). Lady Wisdom invites us to choose wisely, to live well, in order to find life. As we can only scratch the surface of this book this morning, let me simply give you some of the fundamental assumptions of wisdom. It will not be exhaustive, but I think it will at least be enough to perhaps whet your appetite and give you a modest introduction to the contents of this literature, and specifically this particular book. The first thing that I would reiterate again is that in wisdom literature there is an affirmation of life. The toast with a glass of wine in the Jewish society, "L' Chaim," “To life”, is a hallmark of Jewish culture, of a Jewish perspective on © Grand Valley State University   �Wisdom for Life Richard A. Rhem Page 2   human existence. There is something wonderful in Jewish society—they celebrate life in a marvelous manner. Rabbi Harold Kushner, who has earlier written some books, last year published a book entitled "To Life," which is a marvelous survey of Jewish faith and life and community, in which he points out that that is the hallmark of Jewish existence . . . "to life" . . .the affirmation of life, a strong positive regard for life, a valuing of life. It is definitely a central theme in the wisdom literature. Walter Brueggemann has written a book about the wisdom literature, which he has entitled "In Man We Trust," that is a reflection of this basic premise, that life and the human person are created good. The Book of Proverbs and all of wisdom literature was an attempt to gain knowledge in order to have mastery of life. To have mastery of life here and now means we should enter fully into it. We should wring the best out of it. We should live with joy and with delight, and we should exploit all the possibilities that are ours in a creation that God called into being and said, "It is very good." The Jew says enter all of it fully, enjoy it fully, delight in it before the face of God. Laced through the Book of Proverbs you will read that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom – fear in the sense of reverence and awe, living before the face of God, conscious that one lives before the face of God, but lived with zest, for life is God's gift. We need to hear that, particularly those of us who come as a part of the Christian tradition, both Catholic and Protestant, and particularly the western Latin tradition out of which we have flowed, that is, the Protestant Reformation tradition. In the Latin tradition, the central emphasis was not, as in Eastern Orthodoxy, on resurrection and celebration, but rather on the cross, crucifixion, sin and guilt. We have been nurtured in a rather dim view of the human experiment. We have been given, I believe, a negative perspective on the human person and on human experience. We are the inheritors of a few statements by Paul that have been systematized and absolutized by Augustine and by Luther and Calvin. We are the children of a doctrine of Original Sin. We believe in Total Depravity, and as the psychologist Maslow says, "The human person will generally live up to, or down to, the expectations that are held out for him or her." Our view of human life and the human person has been a rather negative view. We are suspicious of motives, of intentions, and rather negative on the human scene as a whole. And, that's too bad. We've lost something that was intrinsic to the tradition of Israel, and that was a strong affirmation of life, of human life, of human existence. We could well go back and embody some of that positive feeling about life here and now that was their basic assumption, their affirmation of life. I suppose somewhat of a corollary of that is, in the wisdom literature and in Israel's tradition, the human person was viewed as capable and responsible – capable and responsible of making decisions that would lead to life. It was part of the tradition, not only of the priests and the prophets with whom we are familiar, but also of the sages who reflected on life, who observed life carefully and patiently, and who rendered wise counsel as to the path that led to life, a tradition © Grand Valley State University �Wisdom for Life Richard A. Rhem Page 3   that believed the human person was capable of deciding and responsible for those decisions. That doesn't mean that they were naive about human nature, as though the human person was entirely good, but neither would they agree with Augustine and Luther and Calvin that human nature was basically evil. They would rather say that the human person is made up of a little bit of both. In fact I suspect that most of you would agree that we are . . . a little bit of both. We are a mixed bag. There are times when you feel pretty good about something that you did, and aren't there times when you despise yourself? Don't we know about acts every day that are heroic, and don't we know of instances every day in which the human person has been a scoundrel? Isn't there a constant interweaving of both in the experience of all of us? So, in the wisdom literature it was not naiveté that the human person was prone always to choose the right, but the invitation was there and the person was understood as being capable of making choices, and responsible for those choices, and reaping the consequences of those choices be they the right choices or the wrong choices. The invitation was there because the human person was viewed as capable and responsible for deciding. Therefore, there was a responsibility placed on the person. No cheap cop-out, "Well, I'm only human." You are human. Precisely the point. Therefore, stand up and decide, for you have a choice to make, so choose life . . .avoid the path of destruction . . . in the multitude of human decisions that you make every day. Now listen carefully to me, because this is where the rub comes. According to the sages, the writers of the Wisdom literature, the choices are to be made on the basis of the authority of human experience. That means that you can't open up the book and find a text and find the answer to your dilemma. That means that morality or ethical choice cannot be laid on us from beyond ourselves, from another time. That means that there was a consistency between Proverbs and the Book of Job when God in the whirlwind said, "Don't bother me with that stuff. You can figure that out for yourselves. You've got minds. You've got experience. Decide and choose wisely. Order your lives." All the proverbs and maxims and aphorisms are the distillation of the wisdom that comes after years and years of reflection, centuries and generations of reflection, pursuing that ultimate. But there is no authoritarian rule to be laid on us from outside of us. We are called upon to the careful observation, the living of life as it is and the making of decisions accordingly in the midst of the concrete context of our everyday life. "Well," you say, "What about the Ten Commandments, aren't those moral absolutes which can be laid on us eternally?" No! (Pause . . .) Nobody walked out yet? (Laughter) What are the Ten Commandments then? They are universal principles coming out of Israel that have been proven in the test of time. They are reflective of, for example, the Code of Hammurabi, that predated them. They are reflective of Mid-eastern culture and the peoples that surrounded them. They are the best wisdom possible for a fulfilled, successful human life, and the possibility of human community and society in that day, and maybe in ours. But those moral absolutes didn't drop out of heaven. There were no tablets that were penetrated by a divine finger. They were the best wisdom that could be distilled © Grand Valley State University �Wisdom for Life Richard A. Rhem Page 4   out of the ongoing human drama by some of the best possible people who realized they were living with fear and trembling before the face of God. So it is with every decision that we have to make in the living of our lives. You can't go to a book. That's a cop-out. You can't ask a priest. That's a cop-out. You can't ask the Church. That's a cop-out. That's authoritarianism. People like authoritarianism, really, even though in the eighteenth century we threw off all authoritarianisms. The human bud started to flower in the fifteenth century, in the Renaissance. Then the Reformation came along as an aspect of that, but that shut down the blossoming of the human spirit with one more authoritarian mode. Finally in the eighteenth century, the Age of Reason, Enlightenment, the human person said, "No" to the church, "No" to the Bible, "No" to the divine right of kings, "No" to every authority—the emancipation of the human person. Well, pendulums swing too far. The enlightenment for all that it has given us has been found wanting in that to make human rationality the limit of reality is to truncate the Mystery of Life. So now we are in the Post-Modern Age as some would say. But what in a Post-Modern Age we must never do is to go back and put our necks under the yolk of some new authoritarian control. Now, what does this mean for the decisions that face us as a society and as human persons? Well, it means that fundamentalism is a dead end street, whether it be Christian or Jewish or Islamic. In a hinge time in history, when the old ways have been shown to come up short and the new ways are not yet clear, people get very fearful, they get very insecure. In fact it's a good time for the Church, because people who are fearful come to church seeking answers, wanting a priest, wanting someone, some prophet to say it clearly. Make it simple. Make it burn. Answer these quandaries for me. Give me some ground to stand on. The Church is all too happy to beckon those who would come to find in it a crutch in order to avoid having to stand up and be an adult and make mature decisions in this world where it is so ambiguous and hard to decide. But fundamentalism is not the answer. It is simply the reiteration of yesterday's answers to today's questions. You cannot go home. You cannot go back. When it seems that the tide of society is moving back, you can be assured that it is a reactionary movement that will explode in ever greater force one of these days. The Church ought not to be pandering to people's weaknesses. What we need to do is to call people, as the wisdom literature did, as the sages did, to be adult, to be mature, to look at the evidence, to live with observation and discernment, and to make decisions that lead to life. Let me be concrete for just a moment. The Pope says, for example, regarding women in ministry, that he has no right to make a decision, that women cannot be ordained to priesthood because Jesus chose men. That, if the Holy Father will forgive me, is ridiculous. Jesus did not choose any women to be his disciples in that age, in that culture, for it would not have been tolerated. But it would not have been tolerated in that patriarchal age because women were devalued. Women were understood to be second class citizens, less capable, less gifted. Now © Grand Valley State University �Wisdom for Life Richard A. Rhem Page 5   in the movement of culture, if we really believe that women are equal human beings, equally gifted, equally capable, then to perpetuate a decision out of the past that was based on an understanding of women that we no longer hold, to perpetuate that decision to the present when we understand something quite differently, that is fundamentalism. That is blindness. That is oppression. And, that cannot stand the light of day. You see, you can't have it both ways. To say, "I refuse to ordain women to ministry," but equally value them is a contradiction. They weren't ordained back then because they were not equally valued. Had they been equally valued they could have been a part of it. If they are equally able to serve, then they have every right to enter fully into Christian ministry. Well, where else would you like to go? In the last two months in this congregation I have dealt with families in the critical care unit, about Living Wills. If you haven't gotten yours made out, I would suggest you do. We may think the cranky, kinky Kevorkian is out in left field somewhere, but I'll tell you he is dealing with a real life issue. To say that he is wrong, that human life is not at our disposal and that it is something for God to decide is simply to cop out. The moment you inoculate, the moment you are put on a respirator, the moment you give an antibiotic you are playing God, you have taken responsibility. You have entered into the life determining process. You have interrupted a natural course of nature, and you can't stop. You can't stop simply because it is a situation of fear and trembling. You are responsible, and God says, "For God's sake, stand up and be an adult and make a decision." We must be responsible. We must choose the ways that lead to life. We must discern. We must struggle. We must talk together. We must dialogue. It's not clear. It's not simple. It's not black and white. These are decisions that wrench us, but we are humans created in the image of God, called to think . . . and to decide. We could move to the question of human sexuality. Two or three years ago the Presbyterians came out with a report finding that the Church ought to deal with this fundamental issue in our human existence, given what we know today about the human person. The report was defeated by the General Assembly by about 400 to 30, and I said in a sermon at that time that I would have been on the minority side. I think we lost a family that day. But I'll say it again. The Lutherans didn't do any better. They had a report this past year and it never even made it to the Synod there was such an uproar. People don't want to talk about human sexuality because it may tamper with the moral absolutes. That's ridiculous. The moral absolutes arose in a concrete context where people struggled together to find the way of life. To take yesterday's answers and absolutize them for today apart from the concrete situation in which we live is to abdicate our responsibility to be human beings to whom God gave minds and called us to think God's thoughts after God. The Episcopalian head bishop, Browning, said to the House of Bishops that, when they meet in September and present their paper on human sexuality, they should just pass it without debate, because there are just so many things that we don't know about and we are just going to disagree on, so let's not get into a debate. Let's just pass it!" (Laughter) © Grand Valley State University �Wisdom for Life Richard A. Rhem Page 6   Abortion. People willing to kill in order to abort abortion. Convinced that they know God's mind and God's will on that very difficult issue. The wisdom literature would say that God is pro life, because God is pro choice. God would expect us as responsible human beings to find our way in this maze in which there is no simple answer to any one of these issues that I've raised. For if I read the wisdom literature correctly, the one thing I may not do is try to find an answer in a book, or in an institution, or in an authority figure. You and I live before the face of God. We live in fear and trembling before the face of God, believing that there is an order, that there is that which is true and good and beautiful. But we'll never capture it absolutely . . . only tentatively, provisionally, partially. And on the basis of that, we are called to decide and to act. I can't coddle you, friends. This is not a place where you can run for refuge from the tough decisions of the human story. If the Church could only be a place where people, rather than being coddled in their infancy, would be called to maturity . . . to seek wisdom . . . act wisely . . . find life. God will not abandon us in the struggle, but neither will God write simple answers in the sky. It's tough. It takes courage. But in the end that's what it is to live as a human being before the face of God. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8a46365121141dd69beca9bf99d255f3.mp3 c32f8ffe4484f68d2b67ccc28b23e2a6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XIII Series Wisdom Literature Scripture Text Proverbs 8: 35-36 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-0-19940821 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-08-21 Title A name given to the resource Wisdom For 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 21, 1994 entitled "Wisdom For Life", as part of the series "Wisdom Literature", on the occasion of Pentecost XIII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Proverbs 8: 35-36. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Authority of Huma Experience Consciousness Maturity PostModern Wisdom https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d2491c7f69239073c1f6954b07a1a526.pdf d0409eac4849bbf1c53b7157511f8e6e PDF Text Text A Healthy Perspective – But Is This All There Is? Ecclesiastes 3:12-13, 20; I Corinthians 15:54, 57 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Pentecost XIV, August 28, 1994 Transcription of the spoken sermon "God  has  made  everything  suitable  for  its  time;  moreover  God  has  put  a  sense  of  past   and  future  into  their  minds,  yet  they  cannot  find  out  what  God  has  done  from  the   beginning  to  the  end...  There  is  nothing  better…than  to  be  happy  and  enjoy  themselves   as  long  as  they  live..."    Ecclesiastes  3:12-­‐13   "All  go  to  one  place;  all  are  from  the  dust  and  all  turn  to  dust  again." Ecclesiastes  3:20   "Death  has  been  swallowed  up  in  victory...  Thanks  be  to  God,  who  gives  us  the  victory   through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." I  Corinthians  15:54,57   The Wisdom literature of the Old Testament is an attempt to gain knowledge of human existence in order that one may know how to live—how to live wisely, how to live well. It’s a special genre of literature. It has a different nuance, a different tone, than so much of the rest of Scripture. It raises those questions about the nature of our experience of being human, seeking to find the meaning and purpose of it all. And it reads that meaning and purpose off from experience itself; it doesn't go to a priest, it doesn't go to a sacred text, it doesn't go to an institution, but rather the sages of the tradition of Israel were careful observers of life, trying to discern meaning and purpose from what was observable and what could be comprehended within the parameters of human knowledge and human understanding. With Ecclesiastes, we come to the farthest extreme of wisdom in the Hebrew Scriptures. The author purports to have lived widely, broadly, deeply. He tried everything—pleasure, riches, work, everything that his heart desired he granted to himself. And, in the end of it all, his conclusion was that human life is empty. "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity, says the Lord." Chasing wind. He is a person, who having entered broadly into human experience, concludes that its meaning and its purpose is not discernible by the human mind. Just reading from human experience, he can find no ultimate purpose. He doesn't deny that God is, he doesn't deny that God will hold us accountable, but God is largely absent and God is inscrutable. The meaning of our human existence is inscrutable. So this is a very pessimistic account of what it means to be human. He simply says over and © Grand Valley State University   �A Healthy Perspective–But Is This All There Is? Richard A. Rhem Page 2   over and over again... there is nothing new under the sun...whatever has been will be again. It’s an endless cycle... a dead end street or, as in the title of the French existentialist Camus’ novel, No Exit. That is his analysis of the human situation from what he sees in human experience. He recognizes that the human person isn't satisfied with that. He himself isn't satisfied with it. He says God has "put eternity into the human heart." It’s a wonderful phrase isn't it? "Put eternity into the human heart." Or the other translation is that God has put it into the human mind to know that there is past and future, but without being able to discern what God is up to. If there is anything that distinguishes the human person, it is that, while knowledge is limited, nonetheless there is a consciousness of those limits. And the consciousness of those limits makes the human person restless— always trying to transcend those limits, always trying to reach out beyond, always trying to break through. But to no avail, he says. I have often spoken of the writer of Ecclesiastes as cynical, but I think that's the wrong word. The more I reflect on it and the more I come to understand the Wisdom literature, he was not cynical, he was sad. He was lonely. He was disappointed. He wanted to find something. He wanted to break through. He wanted to penetrate the barrier, but he couldn't and he felt a sense of alienation. He wasn't sure that there was anyone home. From what he could observe about human experience, there certainly wasn't anybody with any kind of logical purpose that could be discerned, no management in control. He was sad, so he said the conclusion of the matter is this: Human experience is empty. I sort of like this writer because he is honest person, so honest he almost didn't get into the Old Testament Canon. (There is only so much reality we can stand, and you can't have too much truth in church.) You say, "How did the book ever get in there," and I would have to say, "With great difficulty." But in the Synod of Jamnia," in about 100 AD the rabbis put the book of Ecclesiastes into the thirtynine books that we have in the canon and called it part of Hebrew Scriptures. You might still seriously ask, "What is it doing in the Bible?" I want to respond by suggesting that there ought to be a place in our religious devotion for expressions like Ecclesiastes. I want to suggest that we've got far too much piety and firm assurances of faith, and arrogant triumphalism. What we need is a healthy dose of Ecclesiastes, particularly in church. In the harvest festival of the Jewish people, the Festival of Booths celebrated in the fall, they read on the fourth day of this celebration the book of Ecclesiastes, just in order to lace into the celebration this very somber note. I want to suggest that it is a healthy corrective to what generally comes spewing forth from preachers’ mouths. Isn't there a place for a document within our religious book that says, "I can't make sense of it at all”? I mean, be honest with me. Haven't you ever had days like that, or seasons? Have you had periods of your life when you had to say as you left church, "I really don't believe it." Would I scandalize you if I said that sometimes when I climb off this pulpit I have to say, "I can't figure it out. I don't understand it." You know, it is not as simple and as neat as we © Grand Valley State University �A Healthy Perspective–But Is This All There Is? Richard A. Rhem Page 3   preachers try to portray it. I want to make a plea for listening to the writer of Ecclesiastes, not as a cynic, but certainly a skeptic, a thorough-going agnostic, who simply confesses that the data of human experience doesn't add up to anything meaningful as far as he can determine. Don't you need, sometimes, not to feel that you are somehow or other excluded from the community of faith just because you can't figure it out? Isn't it good to know that even in the Bible itself there was someone who at least in one period of his life threw up his hands and said, "You know, it doesn't make sense. God is inscrutable. Human experience is inscrutable. I can't figure it out. I don't know what to make of it." The questions that are raised by one like the writer of Ecclesiastes are the questions that are raised in a culture like ours, in which we have the luxury of being able to take a step back and think and reflect on life. You won't find this kind of philosophical questioning coming out of Rwanda today. Those poor folk are simply trying to keep body and soul together. They are trying to survive. You don't find dissertations on the meaning of human existence or the purposes of God in primitive cultures where it is simply a matter of day-by-day existence. No, you find these questions in an advanced culture, in an advanced stage of civilization where people do have the time, the luxury, to think reflectively about their life and their experience. What happens when people begin to think this way, and reflect on their life is that they are not necessarily content just to take the given answers—to take the whole package wholesale, when their human experience runs onto the rocks of reality and where the old answers don't make sense, where human experience collides with the traditional given and accepted line. In such a situation one comes to the kinds of questions that the writer here raises. That's the kind of culture we live in. There was a day, there were centuries, when the old answers simply weren't questioned, when no one stopped to say, "But is that really true? Do I really believe that?" In the modern period, beginning with the eighteenth century, when human experience and human knowledge exploded all over the place, people did begin to try to relate that explosion of knowledge to the structure of their faith. What happened is that the church as an institution, and authority figures such as myself, got very nervous because of that explosion of knowledge. Faith and human experience brought together in some kind of reconciliation is not so simple. So, if you would read the history of the modern period you would find that there was a growing bifurcation of the academic world and the Church, thoughtful people, the best and the brightest who raised their questions but got the cold shoulder in the Church and, therefore, the body language pushed them out, until you have a whole society today in the West which is largely alienated from the Christian Church. We don't get a true sense of that in Western Michigan. This is a kind of ghetto; we are a minority of people and we are not keeping up. But in Western Civilization, Europe, the Continent, the institutional church is in trouble, not addressing civilization, not addressing culture with the dilemmas that face culture today. So, the whole explosion of knowledge, the development of the natural sciences, the technological revolution, which created © Grand Valley State University �A Healthy Perspective–But Is This All There Is? Richard A. Rhem Page 4   the modern world in which we live six days out of seven, all of that sort of drifted off on its own because we got very defensive. We really didn't want to hear the questions. There was trouble on both sides, of course, but eventually there was a shrinking body of people who were a people of faith, and a large body out there that were alienated at least from the institutional forms of religion. What happened? The writer of Ecclesiastes is absolutely right. If you try to live in this world in a human way, strictly within the parameters of what's possible in human knowledge, you're going to come up empty. That's where modern society has come. It has come up empty. We recently celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of Woodstock, which was a symbolic expression of the 60s. The 60s has become that symbol for the rebellion against institutional forms and the foundations of Western culture. In the Church we widely decried that whole movement and were scandalized by hippies and long hair and beads and earrings. The alienation and the gulf grew even greater, but all that was symbolic of the fact that the writer of Ecclesiastes has it right, that human existence pursued in strictly human fashion, a one-level fashion within what is possible by human knowledge and understanding, comes up empty. Like I said, the writer to Ecclesiastes was not cynical; he was sad... he was lonely... he was disappointed. What has happened in the modern culture with the emptiness, because certainly you could write the model of Ecclesiastes over our culture today, "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." Emptiness. Therefore, the rush to drugs, alcohol, sexual license—describe what you want about the ills of our present culture, and you probably could not over react against it. But, what is it? It is not just bad people. It is the hungry human heart questing for meaning, looking for purpose and meaning that is denied an analysis strictly based on human experience. If all you know is what you can observe in human experience, you cannot come to that transcendent dimension which is planted in the human heart, but which cannot be grasped. So, where there is a vacuum it will be filled, and it has been filled with a lot of the wrong stuff, to the disaster of so much of our culture today. What does the Church do? It grows fearful. It grows conservative. It becomes fundamentalist in its outlook. In the political realm—conservatism, law and order, crime bills. In the theological realm—fundamentalism. Fundamentalism is the reiteration of yesterday's answers to today's questions. It is irrelevant. The body language of the Church that wants to go back to a former day where righteousness reigned says to the world out there, "You are condemned—the judgment, the condemnation, the self-righteousness, super holiness of the people of God stinks! Super holiness of the people of God stinks in the nostrils of the world. The world may be hungry, and it may be longing for something, and it may be at loose ends, but it will not take the arrogance and the triumphalism of the Church that thinks that all the world has to do is come on back into the © Grand Valley State University �A Healthy Perspective–But Is This All There Is? Richard A. Rhem Page 5   seventeenth century. That, it seems to me, is a mistake of large segments of the Church today. The Jewish community, I noted, reads the book of Ecclesiastes on the fourth day in order to interject a somber note into the celebration. I would like to go to some of the praise gatherings of the Christian Church across the country and read the book of Ecclesiastes in the midst of all the singing and foot stomping. I would like to say, "What are you all worked up about? What are you all excited about? You haven't begun to see the depth of the question, the seriousness of the social situation. All you are doing is attacking the symptoms of the culture and never getting down to the root of a human heart that is empty and longing for God." A human heart that is empty and longing for God and that has lived in this modern world is not going to go back and knuckle under authority figures like priests or institutions like the Church, or a sacred text. Oh, I have to admit there are more that do that than I would believe possible. I can't believe how easily the masses can be led like sheep. But I have got to say to you that I believe that the writer of Ecclesiastes gave an accurate and honest analysis of the human situation seen strictly within the parameters of human observation and human knowledge. The end of that is emptiness and sadness and loneliness, but what will not work is to trot out a paradigm out of the seventeenth century, to try to go back to the Reformation of the sixteenth century. What we need to do is to appropriate all of the explosion of knowledge and the understanding of the human situation and the cosmos and the environment, and all of that and then begin to sit down and to reason together, to learn what the real questions are and to begin to communicate in a level of reasonable discourse, to be sensitive to the hunger of the human heart and the anguish of the human soul that acts out in all kinds of self-destructive ways, rather than simply to condemn the masses as though somehow or other they have become animals and that culture is going to finally explode and go to hell. You see, we're not so smart. We don't have the answers. The writer of Ecclesiastes was right. You just look at the human situation and what he says is right. Things don't add up. So you are faced with an alternative. Either throw up your hands like he did and say, "Eat and drink and work, and grasp what little bit of pleasure there is at the moment." Or you hear the witness of, for example, Paul who was encountered from beyond himself and came face to face with Jesus Christ. The alternatives are not matters of intelligence or accurate analysis. The alternatives are matters of the posture of the heart. It is a matter of looking at the data, and then trusting or not trusting. Jacque Monod is a world-class biologist, a Nobel Prize winner who wrote the book Chance and Necessity. What he describes in these little lines that I will read could very well be the modem description of the human situation to which the writer of Ecclesiastes referred. Monod writes this, © Grand Valley State University �A Healthy Perspective–But Is This All There Is? Richard A. Rhem Page 6   "If he [that is, the human person] accepts this negative message, [that is, what he can read from the human situation, the cosmological situation], in its full significance, then one must at least awake out of his millenary dream and discover his total solitude, his fundamental isolation. He must realize that like a gypsy, he lives on the boundary of an alien world, a world that is deaf to his music, and as indifferent to his hopes as it is to his sufferings or his crimes." That is honest and hard hitting, and clear eyed. If there is no one home in the universe, then we are alone and the world is deaf to our music. The world is indifferent to our hopes, to our sufferings, to our crimes. So says Monod, so says the writer to Ecclesiastes. That's as much as you can decipher. That's as much as you can discern just from the observation of human experience. On the other side of the coin, an equally intelligent twentieth-century person, Hans Küng, in his book Does God Exist? wrote this: "To trust in an eternal life means, in reasonable trust, in enlightened faith, in tried and tested hope, to rely on the fact that I shall be one day fully understood, freed from guilt, and definitively accepted and can be myself without fear, that my impenetrable and ambivalent existence like the profoundly discordant history of humanity as a whole will finally one day become profoundly transparent, and the question of the meaning of history one day finally be answered." He agrees with Monod, he agrees with the writer to the Ecclesiastes—"my impenetrable and ambivalent existence,” but this is written by one who trusts. St. Paul addressed Greek culture, Greek classical culture. Greek culture is called classical culture, classical because it has never been surpassed, a gigantic achievement of the human spirit. Paul came there and proclaimed Jesus Christ crucified and risen. Some laughed, and some believed. Some said, "I don't believe it," and some said, "God, I believe it." Paul in writing to these people said that the parameters of humans experience, this flesh, this perishable, this is not all there is. This has to be overcome, this perishable has to put on imperishable, this mortal has to put on immortality. Then will be brought to light that which has said death is swallowed up in victory. Paul said that because he was encountered by one whom he believed to be Jesus, whom he knew to be crucified, whom he experienced to be living, whom he therefore deducted was God's "Yes" to this world, to this ambivalent, impenetrable human experience. God had acted in the case of Jesus, had brought him to life, had said "Yes" to the Way of Jesus, and that simply, absolutely changed everything so that Paul could write to the Church of Corinth, "Be steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, in as much as you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." Empty. Chasing the wind. The writer in that old Hebrew book said, "Vanity. Empty." Paul said, "Not in vain," because this is not all there is, because the story cannot be written simply from the data available to the human mind observing human © Grand Valley State University �A Healthy Perspective–But Is This All There Is? Richard A. Rhem Page 7   experience. There is, in other words, the possibility of the gift of sight, of trust that breaks through and that washes all with a radiance from the eternity which the Creator has planted in the human heart. Most of the time the Church reads Ecclesiastes and makes a beeline for Jesus, not even hearing the question, not admitting the depth of the dilemma. I hope I haven't done that. But if I couldn't conclude where I just concluded I'd have to get out of the business. I believe that the best is yet to be, and I never believed it more strongly than when I am preaching a funeral message. And as long as I can still preach before a gaping grave with hope, I'll keep preaching. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/1e27923360bda53d76dc814b4299d0c0.mp3 adca69114e6551055a3cb97a2ac3a209 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XIV Series Wisdom Literature Scripture Text Ecclesiastes 3: 12-13, 20, I Corinthians 15:54, 57 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-0-19940828 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-08-28 Title A name given to the resource A Healthy Perspective - But Is This All There Is? 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 28, 1994 entitled "A Healthy Perspective - But Is This All There Is?", as part of the series "Wisdom Literature", on the occasion of Pentecost XIV, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Ecclesiastes 3: 12-13, 20, I Corinthians 15:54, 57. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Hebrew Scriptures Meaning Pentecost Spiritual Quest Wisdom Literature https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/25839433faf6be0ccc3c2f5575cf69e4.pdf 063439e09df2cf0b3ccd13d73ddabfd0 PDF Text Text The Hope That Heals the Human Hurt From a series on the Wisdom Literature Scripture Text: See below Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan September 4, 1994 Transcription of the spoken sermon " But this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, God's mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:21-23 ". . . suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit." Romans 5:4-5 "For in hope we were saved . . . if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." Romans 8:24-25 As we conclude this summer series of messages on the Wisdom Literature, let me just remind you of the way we have come. The Wisdom Literature is not an area that I have spent much time in in my ministry, as I have told you, but I have found it this summer a rich mine of teaching and instruction. I hope that it has been helpful to you as well. The struggle of Job, the mystery of suffering, that call to maturity in the Way of Wisdom in the book of Proverbs, and that candid observance of human experience in Ecclesiastes: I have found the Wisdom Literature to be enriching, indeed. I like it because, although it may not have all of the comfort, all of the rich promises of some other parts of the scripture, it is a very honest, a very candid review of human experience. It is a careful observation of human experience, and it holds up to us a mirror of the way life really is. I like that because, as you probably have picked up from me on occasion, what I don't like about religion, what I don't like about preachers, what I don't like about too much devotional literature is the fact that I don't always think it is honest. I think there is much religion, and much purveying of religion, that is too confident, that knows too much and gives too many promises that crash on the rocks of human reality. And for that reason I value the Wisdom Literature. It doesn't have everything, but there are so many times in our human experience when there is some word there to which we cannot but say, "Yes, that's really the way it is." © Grand Valley State University   �Hope that Heals Human Hurt Richard A. Rhem Page 2   And yet, within the limits of what we can observe in human experience, and within the limits of what our human mind can think through, there remains a veil that is impenetrable. There is a mystery that lies beyond and we cannot get hold of it by deep thinking or profound reflection. It simply remains hidden to us. I think the writer of Ecclesiastes understood that. He said God has put eternity in their hearts, but not such that they are able to determine the past or the future, as to what God is up to. I think the writer of Ecclesiastes, who gave us that portrait of life as tragic, was aware there was something more, but he couldn't get hold of it, and, as far as he could observe, it was beyond the grip of human possibility. That's where I left you last week as we had been looking at the drama of Ecclesiastes with that choice, that decision before which one stands. I believe in hard thinking, serious thinking, careful thought, the application of mind to experience. But finally when we hit the limit, we'll have to make a choice. The biologist that I cited last week, Jacque Monaad, said we are aliens on the edge of a universe, which is indifferent to our music, to our hopes, to our suffering, to our crime. No one out there—nothing more. Hans Küng agreed that our human existence is ambivalent and impenetrable. Yet Hans Küng, the Christian believer, says, "I believe the day is coming when I will understand, when I will be free to be all that I am, and all will become clear." That finally is the choice, isn't it? How will you live? In trust or in mis-trust? That is not something that your mind will be able, finally, to determine. It will be the set of the soul. It will be the posture of the heart. So we face the ambiguity, the impenetrable nature of our experience. Which way will we go? What will we do? The great English scholar H. A. L. Fischer, in his History of Europe, said that there is one intellectual excitement that has passed him by. It is to find any pattern or any rhythm in the movement of history. He says, as a historian, he has only one safe rule—that he should recognize in the development of human destinies, the play of the contingent and the unforeseen. I say, "That is the way it is, isn't it?" The contingent and the unforeseen. Who knows what today or tomorrow will bring? How does one find pattern and rhythm? It seems that the word of this historian is all one can say. . . but then how do you explain the continuing presence of hope in the human heart? How does one explain the presence of hope in one's own heart, in the light of the contingent and the unforeseen in a world full of tragedy, in a violent world, in the ups and downs of the human situation? How is it that hope continues to survive? In 586-587 CE, Jerusalem was absolutely decimated. The great Babylonian power came in, removed the cream of Jewish society to Babylon, threw down the walls and burned the temple and desecrated every holy symbol, and shattered every dream, every promise that this people held onto as being a special people of God. I read some selected verses from Lamentations—five poems of bitterness. I don't know if there is any more bitter outpouring in any literature than that that flows from the pen of the poet as he reviews the destruction of all his hopes and dreams. Then in the middle of the middle chapter, right after the wormwood and © Grand Valley State University �Hope that Heals Human Hurt Richard A. Rhem Page 3   the gall, his teeth grinding on gravel, he remembers God. And he says, "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. God's mercies are new every morning. Great is Thy faithfulness." How do you explain that? Where did it come from? In the midst of the darkness, the darkest day in his life, surveying nothing but the ashes of all of his dreams, and then in the middle of it, hope is reborn. God's love is not exhausted, and that marvelous image . . . God's mercies are new every morning. I love that image. I live by that image. I wouldn't want to imply this morning that I am a morning person. (Laughter) I much prefer to see the sun set than to see the sun rise. But I have at least one crisis each week, and it's Sunday morning. So I get up very early when I see the eastern sky begin to illumine. And then sometimes, like this morning, when I see that golden glow rising spontaneously, permeating every cell of my being, is that wonderful image of the poet—God's mercy, new every morning. "Great is Thy faithfulness." Where does it come from? How does it continue to arise? Hope seems ever to be reborn in the human heart, in the human experience, so faithfully reflected by the writer of Ecclesiastes. Hope, mercy, conviction of the steadfast love of the Lord. You don't get it by thinking. You don't find it at the end of a logical argument. It is finally, a gift. There is a bumper sticker that could summarize the book of Ecclesiastes and the poet's view of human existence better than anything I know. Unfortunately I can't say it (laughter), but it starts with a four letter word and the second word is "Happens." (Laughter) Dear God, that's honest! It does happen. Doesn't it happen? It happens everywhere all the time. But let me suggest an even finer bumper sticker. We should publish it perhaps. It's another four letter word— because Hope Happens. Hope Happens. It is not something I achieve. It is not something I merit. It is not something I finally struggle through to. Hope Happens. Thank God, Hope Happens! It is a miracle of grace. It is a gift of God. It is the dawning of light in the midst of darkness. Hope Happens! I am not into alliteration, generally, but I have a bunch of H's for you: Hope happens and, paradoxically, hurt is hope’s home. We go kind of drifting through life not thinking too seriously, not having to struggle too much, not wrestling with ultimate questions. Thank God for that! We need a lot of time and a lot of space when we can just sort of go through the motions of life. But then, hurt happens, and paradoxically hurt becomes hope's home. It is precisely in those limit situations of life, when a darkness envelops us and it seems that all is lost. It is in hurt's home that hope is born again, isn't it? Isn't it amazing? Isn't it surprising? Isn't it baffling? It is in the depths of the hurt that the hope suddenly arises. Well, if you can stand a couple more H's—Hope Heals. Hope Heals. We know it. It is documented all over the place. Hope Heals. There is something about hope that releases all of the healing power, all of the recuperative powers of the human body. We can fool one another with our emotional and spiritual state some of the time, most of the time. But we can't fool our bodies. Our bodies will register, our © Grand Valley State University �Hope that Heals Human Hurt Richard A. Rhem Page 4   bodies are the Richter scale of our psychological and emotional and spiritual health. It's all registered in the body, and hope heals the body. In his early best selling book that continues to be on the list forever, Scott Peck, marvels about the fact that healing happens, that there is a kind of orderliness and ongoing rhythm to the cosmos, and that there is healing at all. He speaks of the grace from beyond, an intimation that there is a positive force of life or one invested in life. Hope Heals. Hope rolls back the Z’s. Hope is the best therapy in all the world. The possibility of healing lies with the grasping onto the promise, not to the exclusion of fear, not to the ridding of anxiety, yet still, it is able to break through. It heals. Paul says, "Justified by faith," that is, ceasing from all human performance. Ceasing from every human effort and achievement. Stopping every process to make myself somebody. That is, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, an access into this grace wherein we stand. We rejoice for a hope that lies before us, hope of the glory of God, hope of that final consummation. And he says, even in the meantime, we are able in our suffering to boast, for suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. Hope leaves us not disappointed because God's Holy Spirit is poured into us; the love of God begins to roll over us. In the middle of the darkness of decimated Jerusalem, the writer of Lamentations said, "The steadfast love of the Lord is not exhausted." And hope sprang to life anew. Paul says that hope is at the end of the process of suffering and endurance, and character and endurance in the end is the presence of God. Steeped in the love of God. So he says, we are saved by hope. Saved now, healed now. But there's more. For he says the whole created order and our old bodies with it are, as it were, in labor pains waiting to be reborn, renewed. There's something afoot, says Paul. There is a whole cosmic process afoot, and it's going to come to full flower and fruition one day, and we don't see it yet. Obviously what we hope for we don't see, but if we hope for it, we patiently wait for it. "Hope Heals Human Hurt." My friend, Arie Brower, died a little over a year ago and in some typewritten copies of his journal I shared with you some of this, but now it is published: "Overcoming the Threat of Death: A Journal of One Christian's Encounter with Cancer." He tells about how he was about to edit his favorite sermon on his favorite text – a favorite of mine as well – a sermon called "Faith in Spite of Everything," based on those wonderful words from Habakkuk, "Though there be no grapes on the vine and no cattle in the stall, and all will be lost, nonetheless I will exalt in God my Saviour." Arie says that up and down the land he preached that sermon on that text "Faith In Spite of Everything," and then, in his encounter with cancer, he began to see that there was something even beyond faith for him. Growth in grace was represented by an experience of hope. He says, "These days I hold out little hope for my cancer to be cured. I haven't given up, but the statistics steadily weigh ever more heavily against it. In spite of that I find © Grand Valley State University �Hope that Heals Human Hurt Richard A. Rhem Page 5   my feelings of hope undiminished. How do I explain this even within the household of faith, to say nothing of a skeptical world? How do I keep people from feeling as they read this that I am clutching at a straw, deceiving myself, using hope as a form of escapism from the harsh reality of terminal illness and death? How do I communicate that in truth we do not sorrow as those who do not have hope? What is this hope that abides in spite of everything? What form does it take? To me this experience of "Hope In Spite of Everything" is even more important than the experience of faith, in spite of everything." I don't know how to explain that. Arie Brower was a thoughtful enough Christian to know that there was no way in the world he could prove to anyone that his hope was not simply illusion. But he witnessed to an indomitable hope so that, as he says in another place, "I hope you understand that I've been healed of cancer," even though cancer took his life. Would that I could throw a switch and fill your hearts with hope. Would that I could give you a formula, a prayer to recite. I can't do that. But I point you to the poet of Lamentations. I point you to St. Paul. I point you to the confirmation of their claim and the experience of a friend. And I remind you that, as the poet of Lamentations sat in the midst of the smoldering ashes of Jerusalem, John on the Isle of Patmos, and the Spirit on the Lord's Day had the vision of the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God as a bride adorned for her bridegroom. And he heard a voice from the throne saying, "Behold the dwelling of God is with humankind. God will dwell with them and they shall be God's people. And God will wipe every tear away from their eyes and there shall be an end of death and pain and crying. For the former things have passed away. Behold, I make all things new." I believe that. It fills me with hope, enabling me to live now such that, if this is all there is, it is enough, but promising that there is even more—even more. Thanks be to God. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/005ddb059b723829026d362be39932ea.mp3 e60b05b09ce94413ac3015f52a9a8929 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XV Series Wisdom Literature Scripture Text Lamentations 3: 21-23, Romans 5: 4-5, 8:24-25 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-0-19940904 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-09-04 Title A name given to the resource The Hope That Heals The Human Hurt 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 4, 1994 entitled "The Hope That Heals The Human Hurt", as part of the series "Wisdom Literature", on the occasion of Pentecost XV, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Lamentations 3: 21-23, Romans 5: 4-5, 8:24-25. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Grace of God Wisdom Literature Hope Love of God Mystery https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/16105fcfb52711c7b1298a2fa6e50841.pdf 48a46a1b7fe4ed1bf576a89d7fac57c6 PDF Text Text Creation: God’s Risky Decision – Dream or Nightmare? The Genesis Story of the People of Israel Text: Genesis 9:8-11 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Pentecost XVIII, September 25, 1994 Transcription of the spoken sermon "Then God said to Noah... I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you... and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." Genesis 9:8-11 The Bible is a forbidding book. In order to get some handle on it, let's try for a few Sunday mornings to look at large chunks, with broad strokes, in order to see how those large chunks fit into a whole to tell "The One Story of the Bible." Our beginning is with the first eleven chapters of Genesis. But those first eleven chapters, while they speak of the beginning of all things, are not really the beginning of the biblical story. To go to the beginning of the biblical story, we would have to go to the book of Exodus, to the birth of the people Israel. Here we find Moses leading the Israelites out of the slavery and bondage of Egypt, through the wilderness, and into the Promised Land. The Exodus, the movement from Egypt and slavery to the land flowing with milk and honey, that was the founding story of this people Israel. The Creation story is the story of this people. This people Israel, like every people, told stories. They told stories in order to understand themselves, who they were, and to communicate that understanding to the rising generations. They told stories of beginnings, like every people. They told stories of the ancient past. They told stories in order to understand themselves in the broad scheme of things. They told these stories in order to understand how they related to the whole cosmic reality and the whole human history, how they as a people related to all other peoples. They told stories in order to explain why life was like it was, and how to respond to it, and from what perspective to interpret it. They told stories. The first eleven chapters of Genesis are the stories that this people Israel told in order to explain what they believed—what they believed to be true about the world, about history, and about themselves, and about God. This people Israel told their stories in order to give expression to their faith, for they were first of all a people of faith. © Grand Valley State University   �Creation: God’s Risky Decision – Dream or Nightmare? Richard A. Rhem Page 2   Perhaps you will then say to me, "Well, then these stories in the first eleven chapters of Genesis are human creations? Are they simply stories that people told?" And I would say, "Yes .. . and No ..." Yes they are human creations, they are stories that this community told, that expressed their faith. But whence did those stories arise? They arose out of the experience this people had with the One who was transcendent, the One who was beyond them, the One whom they understood to be the source of all life—Creator of all. Their stories arose out of their encounter with the Living God. So there's a sense in which you could say yes, these biblical stories are human creations, but they are more than that; they speak of human experience of being encountered by God. Out of that encounter they gave witness to the things that they believed about the God who encountered them. As the centuries went by and the nation of Israel developed, the stories they told in an oral tradition eventually became written down and gathered together. So, we have today the Hebrew Scriptures or the First Testament. (Rather than the Old Testament. To say the Old Testament it sounds as though the New Testament superseded the Old, as though Israel has been surpassed. I think that that is insensitive and I don't really believe that to be the case. I think more and more we come to see that we, with Israel, worship this one God who creates all and is full of grace.) So, the Hebrew Scriptures or the First Testament will be our primary focus for a few weeks. And that Hebrew scripture begins not with the beginning of the Hebrew people—that's told us in the book of Exodus – but what they believed about the Source of all things. They said there is, because God said, "Let there be." That is the creation story told poetically by James Weldon Johnson, expressed marvelously by Franz Josef Heyden, recorded here by the First Testament writer in the first chapter as a creed of creation. This story is recorded in the midst of Israel's exile and despair, as an affirmation of faith, that a Creator created all things. Why is there anything, rather than nothing? They said, there is something rather than nothing, because God said, "Let there be." The unraveling of that creation story is simply the explication of the fundamental decision of faith that what is—is, not by accident or chance or an eternal cycle of things, but is the consequence of the Living God who is the creative source of all, who decided in a risky decision to bring into being all that is. That's what they believed. Then they went on to say, "But how—now that we have located ourselves in this cosmic scheme of things, the consequence of God's creative word—how should be feel about the world and the created order?" They went on in their storytelling to reiterate that statement of God, "It is good," a positive affirmation, a positive affirmation of human life. They said, "Who are we and how are we related?" The storyteller said, "We are related to God, for we are created in the divine image, and with profound insight." This story also helped them to see that the human person, created in the divine image, self reflective, created with freedom and responsibility, was also shaped © Grand Valley State University �Creation: God’s Risky Decision – Dream or Nightmare? Richard A. Rhem Page 3   out of the mud of the earth—dust, humus. After the rain the worms buckle up the soil—that's humus, the excretion of the worm. The humus is the stuff that God shaped to make the human person. Humus. Its root is in the word humility; the root of humility is the root of humor. In God's good humor, God making a joke, created a being out of humus that had a spirit that could soar with God's own so the human person beckoned upward, pulled downward, lives in this constant tension. The Israelite tradition said, see, that's why we are like we are. But someone else said, "But why? This God is good, and if this God created humankind in God's own image, why all the disease and all the dis-ease? Why all the trouble, the anguish and the pain? Why does it sometimes seem that this creation is not a dream, but a nightmare?" The answer was: Not God's fault. The Creator called the creature to live in freedom within limits, in harmony with creation, and the Creator. But the risky part of it was that the creature had the potential to say, "No," and with arrogant pride to usurp the place of the creator, to seek human autonomy. All of that is in those primitive stories. The writer was trying to give expression to the conviction of Israel that creation is good because God is good, and God called it forth. The human person is good because it is shaped after the image of God, yet rooted in the earth, full of conflict, set always before choice, called always to choose life, to choose the way of wisdom. But again and again and again, say the storytellers, these persons choose wrongly, bringing on alienation, disharmony, grief, death. The third chapter of Genesis, following on the story in the Garden of Eden, tells us about Adam and Eve and the trees and the temptation to eat from the tree. And the choice to do what God had said they should not do, to eat from the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. But that's not a story that happened at 6:00 a.m. on the first day of creation, because these are not historical narratives as though day one is in chapter one, and day two is in chapter three, then day four, or month six, or whatever. No, these are a series of little stories, a series of portraits, of snapshots. So, in chapters two and three we have a human couple, created for a garden of paradise, an Eden of delight, who usurped their limits of the freedom and brought grief upon them. Then, it is not as though from that point on there is no more human possibility to choose rightly. In the fourth chapter there are two brothers, Cain and Abel. Cain gets an angry eye over against his brother and he becomes jealous of his brother. He has hatred growing in his heart, and he rises up and he kills his brother. But the word of the Lord comes to him and says you did that because your mother and father sinned, therefore, you are a sinner and are totally depraved; you can't help yourself. Sin crouches at your door, but you can master it, but you didn't. If you want to call that the "fall" in Genesis 3, then you have a second "fall" in Genesis 4. There the writer tells us that human civilization and culture developed, and with the developing culture of the civilization there was an increase in wickedness on the earth until God shook his head and he said, "I wish I wouldn't © Grand Valley State University �Creation: God’s Risky Decision – Dream or Nightmare? Richard A. Rhem Page 4   have done it. I took a risk. I wish I wouldn't have taken a risk." The storyteller uses anthropomorphic words– so child like, so profound—revealing the anguish of a God who is engaged and involved, who says, "I will wipe it out." Ah, but we're told, there's Noah. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. He was a righteous man. God snatched Noah and his family out of the abyss of the flood, and when the floodwaters passed away God said, "You know, I'm never going to do that again. I am going to make a covenant pledge with the created order and every living being and humankind. I'll never destroy it again and I am going to put a rainbow in the sky to be reminded every time I see it that I am pledged to stick with this risky experiment all the way to the end. I'll never let it go." Such grace! Then you have Noah's sons and their trouble, and the final story in these eleven chapters is the story of the Tower of Babel where they begin to build this tower toward heaven. Again with such profound wisdom and insight the storyteller is telling us that it is the human project to usurp the place of God, to build the secular city, to organize all of life without regard to the Creator, to break the limits. So we have the dispersion of the people due to the confusing of their tongues. Because, when communication breaks down, community is impossible and the world becomes hell. That's how this people Israel related themselves to the total cosmic scheme of things, to the whole flow of human history, to God whom they affirmed to be the source of all life, and how they understood the reason there was so much pain and trouble in the world. Not blaming God, and never letting themselves off the hook as though, "We're just human, and we are fallen; therefore, marred forever and it can't ever be any different." Always calling themselves back to choose life, to live obediently – that was their understanding and their goal in the telling of these stories. Those eleven chapters are foundational for the rest of the story because, you see, what the writer did was say "We, as this peculiar people of Israel, are who we are, chosen by God because in the beginning—Adam and Even, Cain and Abel, the people of Noah's generation, the Tower of Babel—again and again and again human failure, human cussedness, human obstreperousness was the choice." But God says, "I can't let it go. I'll never abandon my people, so I am going to have to do something." What follows is the story of Abraham. Does the writer just happens to tell us that Abraham's wife, Sarah, was a woman with a barren womb? I don't think that the writer slipped that in order that there might be a wonderful trivia question some generations later. The writer was using a metaphor to tell us that Israel would be born as a new creation of God, out of a barren womb which only God could do in order to be a people to bring light and truth to the nations on behalf of the God who was the Creator of all. Out of the womb of Sarah that was barren, and at her age as wrinkled as a dried prune, God would bring a people as numerous as the stars of the heaven and the sands of the sea. But I am anticipating next week—so for now let me say just two things. These marvelous stories answer the fundamental question: All that is, is because God said, "Let there be." © Grand Valley State University �Creation: God’s Risky Decision – Dream or Nightmare? Richard A. Rhem Page 5   I received a magazine at my Wednesday night class, brought by one of my friends. The Scientific American, a special issue, October 1994 celebrating 150 years of continuous publication. The theme, "Life in the Universe," has marvelous articles about the latest bits of knowledge we have about the earth, the evolutionary process, the human person, the extra-terrestrial investigations, the environment, all of that. Marvelous! Now I want to say there is nothing in this [magazine] that is in conflict with this [Bible]. The tragic history of the conflict between religion and science has done irreparable damage to the cause of Christ and the mission of God for the world. This [magazine] talks about how, when, by what means— maybe this, maybe that. It speaks of baffling questions yet unsolved, yet a continual probing, searching, reflecting. This [Bible] says nothing about what this [magazine] says, except that there would not be this [Bible] if there were not One who said, "In the beginning, let there be." It states that in the beginning, God created. It is the affirmation of faith, the absolute affirmation of faith, and it is the primary goal of this book to say only that. This is a book of faith by a people who believed that all that is is because God said, "Let there be. That's all! And that is everything! With such a faith we can relax, say, go to it ,all you scientists. Unravel the mysteries, tell us the exciting news that brings ever more awe to the human mind as secrets are revealed." Tuesday and Wednesday this week at Hope College there is a Critical Issues Seminar on Human Genetic Engineering. The chief of the whole project from Washington, DC will be there Tuesday night. Medical questions, ethical decisions, all of those things need to be figured out. All this book [Bible] says is that the reason that you seek the answers is because you seek the God who is the ultimate source. Now, use your minds, your best judgment. Find the path of wisdom. Choose life." And there is free rein to uncover the secrets of this marvelous universe, whose complexity is but a witness to the wonder of the Creator. One further word, those opening chapters are eloquent in their statement about human wrong headedness, wrong heartedness, wrong choices, pride, arrogance. Are you a cussed people? Oh my, are you ... and I with you. The Hebrew Scriptures point to the hopelessness of the human person, but never in a hopeless kind of way. There is no "fall" that marks generations from thereon. That's an imposition on the stories. That's a doctrinal system that has done terrible disservice to the human person, robbed the human person of dignity, stripped the human person of self esteem, put the human person under a load of shame and guilt. And it doesn't come from these scriptures. It is imposed upon it. Do we make wrong choices? Yes, we do. Have we in the past? Yes. Will we in the future? Yes, we will. But God says, "I won't give up, and when you fall down I will pick you up and put you back on the road." These chapters, we understand them in the Hebrew tradition, are terribly honest about the human condition. We are hopeless, but not without hope because God is full of grace. Well, a risky decision like that might seem a nightmare. But God will never abandon the dream. Thank God. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/eb8d54aedb5ea401aac429378a88796c.mp3 d1ea75fb892dee4c74c4518c1d8a7e10 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XVIII Series The First Testament Scripture Text Genesis 9:8-11 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-0-19940925 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-09-25 Title A name given to the resource Creation: God's Risky Decision - Dream or Nightmare? 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 25, 1994 entitled "Creation: God's Risky Decision - Dream or Nightmare?", as part of the series "The First Testament", on the occasion of Pentecost XVIII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Genesis 9:8-11. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Covenant Creator Faith Forgiveness History of Israel https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a93567604cf8180e0b68fe3c2695ed1e.mp3 ac037abc0ad3a83ad6db7409d9e354c2 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XIX Series The First Testament Scripture Text Genesis 17:18 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-0-19941002 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-10-02 Title A name given to the resource Why No Ishmael? - Election: Exclusive or Inclusive? 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 October 2, 1994 entitled "Why No Ishmael? - Election: Exclusive or Inclusive?", as part of the series "The First Testament", on the occasion of Pentecost XIX, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Genesis 17:18. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Covenant History of Israel Inclusive Pluralism https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/030a1b6532bba23365075be9845d437f.pdf ec7104c170faf6db544f355a7d0109e3 PDF Text Text Israel: God Wrestler A Tale of Providence and Grace Text: Genesis 27:38; Genesis 32:9-10, 28 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan October 9, 1994 Transcription of the spoken sermon Esau said to his father, 'Have you only one blessing, father? Bless me, me also father!' And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. Genesis 27:38 And Jacob said, 'O God of my father Abraham…I am not worthy of the least of all the steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown your servant…’ Genesis 32:9-10 Then the man said, 'You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed.' Genesis 32:28 We have had a series of messages in which we are trying to see the broad sweep of the Biblical story. The message this morning is about the one of whom we read, Jacob. You can tell that there's material there for a dozen sermons, and I've done series on Jacob in the past. This morning, I will simply hit the mountain peak of that story. I am not treating the story of Jacob this morning in order to find the preaching values that are there or the applications that are there for our life so much as, rather, to see the story of Jacob in the larger puzzle of the whole biblical story. The first eleven chapters of Genesis are Israel's understanding of where it fit into the broad scheme of things. Those first eleven chapters were stories told, by which Israel gave expression to its understanding of where it stood in relationship to the whole cosmos and the whole sweep of human history. In those eleven chapters it witnessed to its understanding of the human situation, why life is like it is. Those stories, so profound, gave expression to the best insights that Israel had about the world, about God and the human condition. Then last week we moved from that universal scope to the more particular focus, because that was Israel's story. In the 10th chapter of Genesis you have the table of the nations, and it is out of those nations that God calls one family, and the call was to Abraham and Sarah. We looked at that story, that really beautiful and tragic story, of Abraham and Sarah who had to trust God in the extremity, yet © Grand Valley State University   �Israel: God Wrestler Richard A. Rhem Page 2   who in the meantime took things into their own hands so that Sarah's slave girl, Hagar, bore Abraham a son, whom he loved. And Sarah, being so human, forced the slave girl and her son out of the tent. The tragic story of Ishmael, the firstborn, Abraham's beloved, but who was turned away. The question is this matter of God's choice in selection. Does it always have to be a case of one who is elected and one who is rejected? Isaac, the child of promise, comes—Ishmael is rejected. Ishmael, as it were, Abraham's son by normal, natural means. But Israel understood that, ultimately, the fulfillment was not the product of human ingenuity or human potential; it was a miracle, it was the creation of God. So out of Sarah's barren womb must arise the child of promise, Isaac. Then Isaac's story is told, although Isaac is not a very colorful figure and he doesn't get a lot of press. He takes a wife, Rebecca. Abraham sends his servant back to the home territory in order to secure a wife for Isaac, and Isaac and Rebecca are married. But, do you remember? Here again, Rebecca is "barren." It is not the case that once God gets this whole thing going by grace that it can kind of generate itself. No, not at all. Once again, a barren womb seems the way for this people, from whom will come, the promise says, children as numerous as the stars of the heaven. This time conception occurs. It’s a tough pregnancy. Rebecca wonders if she shouldn't die, and then she is told, "two nations are in your womb," foreshadowing the conflict that will come down through the ages, beginning with the brothers Esau and Jacob. Esau, the first out of the womb, his heel grasped by his brother Jacob, giving his brother his name, "heel" or "supplanter" or "grasper," setting us up for the conflict between these two brothers. Again the ordinary way of things will be upset because it will not be the firstborn, it will be the second son, Jacob, who will be the bearer of the promise. "Why?" you say. "Why?" I say. The inscrutable mystery of God. I don't know. The story runs smack into it again. Not Ishmael but Isaac. Not Esau but Jacob. And all our sympathies are with Esau. He's the kind of kid that everyone would love. But Jacob, soft skinned Jacob, was his mother's favorite. One day Esau comes in famished and Jacob is stirring up a pot of stew, scheming and planning, always thinking. Shrewd Jacob says, "I'll give you the stew for the rights of first birth." Esau said, "What's the future? It's now that I am hungry. Give me the soup." But then the really tough part of the story. Isaac is old now. He is blind. He is ready to die. He is ready to bestow that final blessing on his firstborn, so he calls Esau and says, "Go to the field and hunt and bring me venison, fix me a stew, and I will bless you." You know the story. Rebecca hears and tells Jacob to go get a kid. They cook it up and she puts hairy skins on his soft arms and sends him in to the blind old man to pose as Esau in order that he might get the blessing. Isaac gives Jacob the blessing, even though suspicious about the identity of this one. Esau comes back and weeps bitterly. Once again, the same cry as Ishmael. "Is there only one blessing? Can you not bless me, oh my father?" But the deed is done, the word has been spoken, the word cannot be recalled. That's the way it was in that culture, in their understanding. And if that's the understanding that everyone shares, that's the way it is. That has power. © Grand Valley State University �Israel: God Wrestler Richard A. Rhem Page 3   So Jacob has to flee because Esau says, "Now twice he's done it to me, I'll kill him." So Jacob flees a days' journey and finally, exhausted, lies down to rest and, of course, one would suspect that he would be wide-eyed all night, trembling with guilt and fear. Not so. He lies down and sleeps like a baby and has a dream so magnificent that it brings tears to our eyes. There's a heaven. There's a ladder stretching up to heaven with angels coming up and down, and at the top is God. A revelation, an epiphany, call it what you will, an experience of an encounter with the living God who says, "I am the God of Abraham and of Isaac, your father. I will be your God and you will be the covenant child, and I will bless all nations and I will be with you wherever you go. I will keep you and I will bring you home." Amazing, isn't it? He goes off to his uncle to find himself a wife. Leah, and then Rachel. Leah is given to him by subterfuge, but he works longer and he earns Rachel. He loves Rachel. But Rachel is what? "Barren." Here we are again. Finally through all the prosperity he gains his flocks and his herds and Rachel has a child, Joseph. The wife, the love of his life, gives him the apple of his eye. In late years he prepares to go home, to meet Esau. Always equal to the task, probably with a yellow pad or two, making notations, he plans and he schemes, ready once again to manipulate this weaker brother. Then, the night before the encounter, he sends his family over the brook and remains on the other side in the darkness alone. The story tells us a man assaulted him. A man? A demon? No, we read between the lines. This is none other than God. Jacob wrestles with God. He wrestles all night and seems almost to prevail, but the dawn is about to break and the match must be over before sunrise. At the moment it seems that Jacob will prevail, his thigh is "touched," and he is crippled. Now he clings to the other, but not in order to overcome, but rather he clings to the other out of need, crying out, "Bless me. I will not let go until you bless me." As a result, he is given a new name. No longer Jacob the deceiver, the supplanter, the grasper, but "Israel"—God wrestler. The name in that culture also signified the person, and the new name signified a new person. Jacob is born anew at Jabbok that night as he wrestles with God, striving with every ounce of energy to prevail, finally crippled, fearfully wondering who this was, only to discover that he has struggled with the God of all mercy who blesses him there. The sun begins to light the conflagration in the eastern sky, and we see Jacob limping off. He seems even to be dancing on that crippled leg. He has been crippled by a very great grace. Fascinating story. The Hebrews telling about their roots. Israel is trying to understand who it is. It is trying to understand itself in the light of the whence of its birth. Abraham, Isaac . . . but Jacob? I don't suppose it is true any more in school classrooms. But it seems as though when I was attending there was always a picture of George Washington, father of the nation. Wasn't George Washington the one who never told any lies? I mean, founding fathers and mothers should be heroes and heroines. They should be © Grand Valley State University �Israel: God Wrestler Richard A. Rhem Page 4   exemplars. They should be models. They are those who are held up to us as great figures, and we are called to emulate them. But Israel claims Jacob as its father, this schemer, this planner, this usurper, this manipulator, this exploiter. This one they say is our father. Israel telling its story in terms of this man, and believing that God worked through one like that. That all is so much of grace that it actually scandalizes us. No morality play, this. No whitewashing of the forefathers and foremothers in order to claim a squeaky clean past. This is a people who knew that God worked with the raw material of human history and of humankind, and that a Jacob was in the line of covenant blessing. How could God use a Jacob? How could God further God's purposes, God's eternal purposes of love and grace through one like that? Yet you see that's exactly the heart and center of biblical faith. Finally, Israel knew that it was given life by God, that life was gift, that all was grace, that there was nothing in itself, no righteousness or goodness or mercy or merit. There was no claim at all on this one who moves inscrutably, and blesses, who wrestles with us and struggles with us, but finally will overcome us. I loved Ruth's phrase "knocked to her knees by grace." It is only grace that finally knocks us to our knees. You see, it is in stories like this that you see what the Bible is all about. I will tell you that my whole understanding of grace arises out of these stories. My understanding of grace comes not out of the New Testament, even though it’s there. It was in this sense of God choosing this people from progenitors like this one that it had to be all of grace, that choice, that selection, that election which brought with it in the very choice and selection, tragedy and disappointment and rejection. That very choice, that selection, that was not in order that the rest might be abandoned, but it was a choice of these in order that all might be embraced. If God would choose these, if God would use these, then God will use anything, anyone. Then it is all of grace, radical grace. Radical grace! And if it is radical grace in its foundation, it must be radical grace to the end of time and to the whole expanse of the human family. It is grace because God is grace. Will you question God? Will you put God on the stand? Will you say, "Why God?” Sure you will and the only answer is "I am God, and I am full of grace." That's the story of this scoundrel who was finally conquered by grace at Bethel. In the midst of his guilty night, there heaven opens up and God says, "I will be with you, and I will keep you wherever you go. I will bring you home, “through many dangers, toils and snares. I have already come. ‘Tis grace has brought me safe thus far, and grace will bring me home." Amazing Grace. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/37fa1de8324494fa1e03f9636199252d.mp3 5b5cd36e313437c2e8219438bf4010b8 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XX Series The First Testament Scripture Text Genesis 27: 38, 32:9-10, 28 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19941009 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-10-09 Title A name given to the resource Israel: God Wrestler - A Tale of Providence and Grace Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource 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 October 9, 1994 entitled "Israel: God Wrestler - A Tale of Providence and Grace", as part of the series "The First Testament", on the occasion of Pentecost XX, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Genesis 27: 38, 32:9-10, 28. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Grace of God Mystery Transforming Grace https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5bddc8d9f6c933b22bf44dde4a1c43c8.pdf c98b5555fd3196daf11d7aa500f8d1cb PDF Text Text A Founding Story: A Visionary Leader and a People Set Free History of Israel: Its Liberation and Birth as a People Text: Exodus 1:8; Exodus 3: 2, 6-7, 14 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Pentecost XXI, October 16, 1994 Transcription of the spoken sermon "Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph." Exodus 1:8 "There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed." Exodus 3:2 "l am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob... I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry."  Exodus 3:6-­‐7   "God said to Moses, ‘I will be there’.. ( ‘I Am who I am.' or 'I will be what I will be.')  "  Exodus 3:14 Now imagine, if you will—six hundred years later or so—this same people, this community of faith now down some generations, are once again in a situation of captivity. The people of Judah are in exile in Babylon, and their faith is wavering. They are ready to give up. All of these great promises: the covenant of grace, God's special choice of this people, God who was supposedly God alone, Creator of the heavens and the earth. Where was God? Babylon seemed to hold sway. As their hope was fading and their faith was flickering someone said, "Let me tell you a story." He told them a story that we've just read, a story of where this people, even six hundred years before, had been in a situation more oppressive and more hopeless than anything that the present exiles in Babylon had known. Someone said, "That's a great story." And someone else said, "You ought to write that story down." And a third person said, "Xerox it off and spread it around. That's a good story." They started to believe again. Maybe what they were experiencing in their present circumstance was not a dead end. Maybe that was not all there was. Maybe this God really was God after all, a God who could create newness, who could do the unexpected. Maybe this was God who would surprise by grace, as God had to their fathers and their mothers centuries ago. The prophet picked it up and he began to speak in the name of God. Second Isaiah, Isaiah 43:14—listen to the images. © Grand Valley State University   �A Founding Story…A People Set Free Richard A. Rhem Page 2   "Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: 'For I will send to Babylon and break down all the bars, and the shouting of the Chaldeans will be turned to lamentations. I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.' Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, who brings forth chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick: 'Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert...'" Six hundred years later and the old founding story of liberation and the birth of the Israeli people becomes a catalyst for this same people to begin to believe again, to begin to hope again, to begin to wait on the Lord again, and to expect the salvation that comes from God. The story is familiar. Israel is terribly oppressed. Moses, who had been raised in all of the pomp and circumstance of Egypt, with all of that culture and civilization, blew it badly through a temper that flared up when he killed an Egyptian. Now he's out there tending flocks. In Wanderings, the Jewish novelist Chaim Potok tries to get inside the skin of Moses to figure out what must have been going on in this man as he tended sheep and sensed something within, how he was confronted with a bush that burned and was not consumed, and who heard a voice, within perhaps, but as thunderous as any thunder, saying to him, "Things are not right in Egypt. Go. Set my people free.” He goes, and it is a contest of wills. But the judgments of God, we call them the plagues, counter all of the "no's" of Pharaoh, until finally he says, "Take them out." And Moses leads them to freedom, through the Red Sea, into the desert, gathering at Sinai to be formed as a people specially created by the Eternal God, the Creator of the heavens and earth, the God of their fathers and mothers: Abraham & Sarah, Jacob & Rachel, Isaac & Rebekka and Joseph. Now they are on their way to a new beginning and a promised land. They celebrate this story as their founding story, the story of a God who sets people free, who uses the likes of a Moses to lead a people into God's intention for their humanization, for the full realization of all for which God had created them. Wonderful, wonderful story, and in that story we can see Israel's faith. Israel's tradition is the tradition out of which the Christian Church has come, so the founding story is our story too. This God of deliverance, this God of liberation— this is our God. The things that Israel believed are the things that have shaped the whole western tradition as well, the Jewish Christian tradition. There are so many things one could say, but let me mention just a few. The first thing I would say is that God in this story comes through as a God who is on the side of human liberation. God is a God who wants human freedom. God is a God, on the other side of the coin, who is against all slavery or oppression, or © Grand Valley State University �A Founding Story…A People Set Free Richard A. Rhem Page 3   totalitarianism. God is against the tyrants and the dictators and those who will use people and abuse people for their own ends. God is against every movement that used people as a means to an end, and not an end in themselves. God is for people. God is for the humanness of people. God is for the freedom and the liberty and the full blossoming of the human person and human community. That's in the story, I believe. Israel believed that. Its long tradition, even to the present, holds that to be true. And, therefore, the God of Israel, the biblical God, the God whom we worship, is a God who is engaged in the human story, a God who is involved in human history. Do you believed that? Do you believe that? You say, "Oh, sure, doesn't everybody?" Yes, everybody does until they think about it. When you think about it, where is the puzzle put together, that is, the fiats that come out of the power centers of the world, the governments of the world, the Bill Clintons, the Helmut Kohls, the Saddam Husseins, the machinations of people? Is that all there is? Is it just maybe economic ties? Is it just political scheming and structuring? Is God involved in it? Well, sometimes it would hardly seem so. Who could see this invisible hand? Yet, what is the alternative? Is no one transcending all these human machinations? Then are we just pawns on the sea of fate, of political decision and economic trends? Biblical faith says God is engaged. God hears the cry of the suffering people. God says, "I remember my covenant." God moves, through human agency to be sure, but God is engaged. God is involved. There is a spiritual power or force that is at work in the political decisions and the human scheming on the historical plane. So says biblical faith. A huge affirmation of faith is needed, because you can't get your finger on it, and just the moment you say, "There," something will reverse it. But it is true that the Jews went home from exile in Babylon believing as they believed, triggered by this Exodus story, that all was not over, that the present circumstance was not a dead end, that God could create some newness, some window for them. Some years ago, this story was a powerful story being preached in South Africa. The white South African government did not fall, apartheid was not dismantled because they did not have enough police power and enough guns. Apartheid was immoral. It was contrary to the God, the Creator, who was for human liberty and dignity, and when something is essentially immoral it will ultimately be politically disastrous. The Berlin Wall fell without a shot. The most powerful forces to move it were the candles and the prayers in Leipzig. We are people who don't claim to know how or where or when, and yet we believe that God is for justice and for righteousness, and for good, and for compassion and for mercy— that there is something operative beyond what is apparent to the human eye and the human perception, something more. There is a surplus of meaning that is on the side of human liberation. That's in this story that is effected through guys like Moses, who has a short fuse and kills a man and flees justice, a flawed man, and © Grand Valley State University �A Founding Story…A People Set Free Richard A. Rhem Page 4   yet a great leader. Really it's because that's all God has to work with—folks like you and me with our clay feet hanging out. A man from the Nobel committee in Norway resigned on Friday when Arafat was given the Nobel Peace Prize, along with Peres and Rabin. He said that to give the peace prize to Arafat, so tainted with blood, terrorism and violence, is to prostitute that prize. At first I thought, "Good for you. You're right." Members of the right-wing conservative party in Israel said Peres and Rabin should not accept the prize because it would desecrate all the lives of those who had died in the violence. Where were they in 1978 when Menachem Begin got the prize – one of the greatest terrorists of them all? Then I got to thinking, "No, Mr. Christiansen, I don't think you should resign because they are not evaluating the moral character of those people; they are saying those people somehow in the ebb and flow of history have been at a vortex of action that has gotten some breakthrough and moved onward toward peace and justice." Arafat is no lily. Neither was Moses. It's all God has got to work with. So God uses what's there. The biblical God gets hands dirty and messed up with the ambiguity of the human situation. And that's the fourth thing I would say: the movement towards liberation is ambiguous and it is messy. There are not white hats and black hats. There are not good guys and bad guys. There are not lily-whites and black evil. When David Hartman was in Muskegon he told this founding story, and he said, "You can tell it two ways. You can say 'Wow, what a story! Israel set free, isn't it wonderful?'" Then he told about some of the Rabbis way back in history who said, "God in heaven said, 'Why are you singing and rejoicing when the work of my hands, the Egyptians, are drowning in the sea?'" The Hebrew tradition does it better than we have done it. They have a sense of the ambiguity of the historical, human situation. Recently I was at Normandy. It was very moving to be there and to review the countless crosses at Omaha Beach. I thought about the sacrifice of human life and of the hearts of parents that were crushed. But there were German cemeteries there too. Nothing is black and white in history. The movement forward is a messy movement. It is full of ambiguity. And every victory has the downside of tragedy. That's really the way it is, and maybe it is at that point that I read the story different than some of my colleagues and other advocates of the “U.S.A. No. 1” position. I name some people just so you know what I am talking about in the political arena: the Oliver North types, the flag waving, the identification of patriotism with righteousness and a strong America-and all that, or the television ministries of Pat Robertson, even James Kennedy, with their strong American defense. It is a reading of the story as though the United States of America can be identified with the children of Israel, with the cause of righteousness and justice in the world, and the movement of God toward peace and justice. You see, if you © Grand Valley State University �A Founding Story…A People Set Free Richard A. Rhem Page 5   read this honestly, we at this point are the greatest power in the world and uncontested. We are not Israel looking for freedom. We are the House of Pharaoh. If we would read this Word of God and let it address us, it must address us as those who are in power, not those who are seeking freedom. There's nothing wrong with being in power. The only question is what will we do with our power? And if we would hear the word of God, if we would hear this founding story, then the Church of Jesus Christ must say to those in power who lead us that what God is concerned about in the world is not U.S. national security or U.S. GNP, or U.S. self-interest, or the oil or whatever. What God is concerned about is humanity, humanness, liberty, the dignity of the individual, the building of community, a compassionate world. We cannot so easily identify with the white hats of scripture. Our Puritan forbearers came over here and saw this as the new Canaan. They came over here and saw this as a theocracy, the kingdom of God. And I think with all honesty they believed that. There was a time when we had to take our guns and our rifles and stand up for liberty in these states. There was a time when this nation was in that position. We could identify perhaps then with the story on that side. But if I would be true to the Word of God, I would have to say to you that the founding story of Israel confronts us with a question: Now that you have the power, what will you do in the world? And that ought to make us very nervous. Three weeks away from an election, that would be a great question to raise to those running for office. How do you get elected by serving the self-interest of the people? What is popular? Patriotic rallies and flag waving, that's O.K. I love the nation. I am proud of the nation. As I said, I stood on Normandy Beach and I experienced vicariously, I think, the best of this nation. But never let the Church of Jesus Christ be co-opted by a political agenda as was the German Church under Hitler, as is Islam under Saddam Hussein. Whenever the Church baptizes the government's policy, the government will in time be in trouble, because what is morally indefensible is ultimately politically disastrous, because God is God, by God. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e17b098df018886dab618152c782ad39.mp3 85f9262641f1b22ad8ecbc45876cb7fe Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XXI Series The First Testament Scripture Text Exodus 1:8, 3:2, 6-7, 14 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19941016 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-10-16 Title A name given to the resource A Founding Story - A Visionary Leader and a People Set Free 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 October 16, 1994 entitled "A Founding Story - A Visionary Leader and a People Set Free", as part of the series "The First Testament", on the occasion of Pentecost XXI, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Exodus 1:8, 3:2, 6-7, 14. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Freedom Hebrew Scriptures Spiritual Journey History of Israel Sabbath Trust https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c21b0345bd23e3125c7da3c36b7e0f12.pdf f8965007327f9d9a80e4c18e87641c3d PDF Text Text The Test of Trust Text: Exodus 16:18 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Pentecost XXI, October 23, 1994 Transcription of the spoken sermon "Those who gathered much had nothing over; and those who gathered little had no shortage; they gathered as much as each of them needed." Last week we saw Israel set free, a slave people delivered by the mighty hand of God, by the mighty hand of Moses and we noted that that founding story was the story that Israel looked back to when it understood its origins, recognizing that it was created by the grace of God. God with mighty hand moved into that situation of oppression and set his people free. Although that story reflected the ancient traditions, it was written down about six hundred years later when Israel was once again in a situation of exile, when they had lost their hope, when they were about to give up on God and all the promises of the covenant. So someone rehearsed the stories. Someone reminded them about how they were born out of slavery, out of oppression, out of an impossible situation. How God created them a people and set them free. But there are probably no people in all of history that told their own story with more candor than has Israel. A major image comes to mind when I think about Israel in the wilderness, the image of complainers, and the words of God over and again, "You are a stiff-necked people." There is one thing in Israel telling its story: it admitted that it was a stubborn and stiff-necked people. The Jewish Rabbi, David Hartman, said in April that God elected the most obstreperous, obstinate, stubborn and stiffnecked people in all the world, and God said "Now if I can make them human, then I'm really God." As you read the stories in the book of Exodus and the book of Numbers, you will find again and again and again that this people is unhappy, they complain, and they never learn to trust God. They are simply an impossible lot. Well, the situation in the sixteenth chapter of Exodus is a situation where they have no food. At least what they have they are not happy with. They had just seen God provide water out of the rock, but that didn't seem to get through to them, so they complained and God said, "I'll give them bread from heaven." © Grand Valley State University   �The Test of Trust Richard A. Rhem Page 2   Now, it is really not proper to try to explain the miracles of the Bible in natural terms, but as a matter of fact, in the case of this manna or bread from heaven, we know that there was a phenomenon—some kind of plant lice that excretes a certain kind of gum or resin and it is edible and has sustained people in that area even to the present. As far as the quail are concerned, the migratory birds would often go across Sinai and sometimes, having come a long way, they would rest there. So that the miracle of the feeding does have a kind of natural explanation to it. But the point of the story is that God provided for this people in the wilderness. They were set free and set on a journey. The journey in the wilderness was forty years. But forty years in the Scriptures means an extended period of time. There was this extended period of time when they were between Egypt and the Promised Land. It's one of the great models or paradigms of the Scripture – being set free, journeying through the wilderness, journeying toward the Promised Land. In that wilderness experience, as Israel understood its own past, it saw that experience as a time in which it was tested and the thing that God was trying to create in the Israelite was trust. "Trust me. I will be with you. I will take care of you. Give up your anxiety. Simply trust me." So in the story the Lord says, "I will give them bread from heaven." And here are the instructions: They are to go out every morning and they are to gather enough for the day. We are told that they went out and some gathered a lot, as I probably would be inclined to do, knowing my appetite. Others gathered a little. But the text tells us that those that gathered a lot had nothing over, and those who gathered little had no lack. You see, that's the finger of God in the story. There might have always been that kind of stuff in the desert, but the lesson that Israel was to learn as it told this story, and the lesson that the people were to learn who were hearing the story hundreds of years later was that God is always on time with enough for the day. Then we are told that some of them didn't believe it. They gathered some extra and they put it in the freezer and in the morning, Behold, it was wormy. It didn't work. The Lord also said, "On the Sabbath Day there will be no manna. Don't go out to gather on the Sabbath. So gather a double amount the day before." Lo and behold, they did, and the next morning it was just fine. It didn't get wormy. Now there were a few who didn't believe that and they went out on the Sabbath anyway. But there was nothing there. That's the story, the story of bread from heaven, a story of how God provides for God's people, how God in the provision [of food] seeks to teach people to trust. It is a whole manner of life. Trusting is a way of life. Really, so much of the Biblical story is simply an invitation to people to live with trust, because God is good, and God cares, and God provides for those that trust in God. As you think about the story, obviously the first question that the story raises for us is — What is enough? The Financial Seminar which is being held in Track II in Perspectives raises a question. What is © Grand Valley State University �The Test of Trust Richard A. Rhem Page 3   enough? Our worldly possessions, our savings accounts, our investments – all of that which seems to be "worldly" is really at root a matter of deep spiritual concern. A question comes to us. What is enough? What is enough? What is enough in an age of affluence such as we live in? What is enough as we contemplate the engagement of our energies and our time? What is enough as we think about our future? We are reminded of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, who also with beautiful simplicity invited those who heard him to trust God. He pointed to the sparrow in the tree and the lily of the field. He used creation as a parable to say, "Look, there is someone who is looking after this old world, and after you and me. Live with trust. Be done with anxiety, all of that inquisitiveness, that compulsion to possess." In another place he told about the farmer who kept building bigger and bigger barns only to find that his soul was required of him when he had laid up all of his treasures. The question that comes out of this old tale of Israel's past, “What is enough?” John Wesley, who was a great English preacher and one who led the 18th century revival in England, raised the question as he observed the people that he was marshaling together into the whole renewal movement in England. He made this observation. He said, "Whenever riches have increased, the essence of religion has decreased in the same proportion.” “ Therefore,” said Wesley, "I do not see how it is possible in the nature of things for any revival of religion to continue long." Then he said this interesting thing, "For religion must necessarily produce both industry and frugality, and these cannot but produce riches. But as riches increase so will pride, anger and the love of this world and all of its branches. Is there no way to prevent this continuous decay of pure religion?" I was thinking about Wesley's statement: thinking about the area in which we live, thinking about Western Michigan, thinking about our own roots. "Good religion produces industry and frugality. And industry and frugality produce riches, and riches lead to the decay of religious commitment." Not necessarily, but all too often. Think about Western Michigan. I think about the industry and the frugality of our fathers and our mothers and our grandparents back two and three generations. I think about the considerable wealth of Western Michigan, which is the consequence of industry and frugality, which is a wonderful blessing of God. But the question that comes to us then is: What is enough? Another statement of John Wesley: (I like this statement.) he said, "Earn all you can. Save all you can. Give all you can." That, it seems to me, would be an answer to his earlier observation that when we are blessed we see it as the blessing of God, that it is the consequence of God's good grace, and that then as good stewards we become the instruments of doing good, of being full of mercy and compassion, of binding up the wounds of the world. So, out of the story, let me leave you with a question this morning. “What is enough?” © Grand Valley State University �The Test of Trust Richard A. Rhem Page 4   Then, obviously, this is there too. The Israelites were to gather enough for the day. Those of you who are familiar with the Twelve Steps know that the secret of long successful sobriety is to live one day at a time. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, "Take no thought for the morrow." Now that can become ridiculous, of course, if you think that it undercuts any kind of planning or projection of the future. But the point is — Where is our focus? And have we learned to live by trust in God, one day at a time? There were those who didn't believe it. They said, "You know, you'd better gather this manna while it's here. It might not be here tomorrow." And it turned moldy on them. How many of us have not been guilty of overreaching, grasping the prize only to have it turn to dust in our hands? The lesson of the story and what Israel was being taught by God was —today, that's enough. Take care of today. Worry about today, and tomorrow will take care of itself. Then, this too, which was all part of the same kind of lesson and was a Sabbath lesson. No gathering on the Sabbath. Sabbath was to be a break, a break in that continual day by day struggle for survival. The Sabbath principle was woven throughout the whole of Israel's history. It was a principle that was rooted in creation itself. The creed of creation in the first chapter of Genesis, which was written in the 5th or 6th century B.C.E., was the principle of God's creative activity and then rest. God rested from all God's work, surveyed it all and said, "It's good." And that was woven into the very fabric of the lives of God's people. In the time of Jesus, in the time of Paul, that Sabbath principle had become rather legalistic. They had all kinds of rules to hedge it in, such as the permissible Sabbath day’s journey when you could carry only so much. Well, Jesus had to protest against it. He said, “You know the Sabbath was made for humankind. Humankind was not made for the Sabbath.” I don’t know about you, but I grew up in that kind of Sabbath legalism. I always tell the story about the visiting preacher who was raised Scottish Presbyterian, which was about as formidable as being Dutch Reformed in terms of the legalism of the Sabbath. He told about singing the hymn “Day of All the Week the Best, Emblem of Eternal Rest,” and he thought to himself, “If heaven is like Sunday, I don’t think I want to go there.” We can make it miserable and the sense in which I grew up was “ugly Sundays.” But to react against that is to lose something that is so profoundly necessary for human well being, and that is to have some point in the week when we stop! When we stop and we rest! We give up that compulsive need to generate, to produce, to acquire. Just to stop! To stop, even when it’s stupid to stop, because we can conquer another milestone. The Sabbath principle cuts right into the core of that human compulsion, that obsession of producing. People who are workaholics like I am need to hear it over and over again. Stop! The Sabbath was not first of all for worship. The Sabbath was first of all simply to rest and to delight. I think that in my past the Sabbath principle was violated by the Church itself, where it required Sabbath worship morning and evening and all parts in between. What God wants people to do is to © Grand Valley State University �The Test of Trust Richard A. Rhem Page 5   take time to smell the roses, take time to be human. Take time to let the earth refresh itself and to rest the animals and, above all, to find a quiet place for our souls. The test is trust. Do I believe in God? Do I believe in the goodness of creation? Do I trust that the good God and the good creation will be supportive of my human existence? And will I take time to recognize that every good and perfect gift comes from God, and learn simply to live with trust? I think that that is the spiritual dimension of our Christian giving. That’s the real point of the issue when we determine what of that which God has given us we will give in turn to enhance and enable the work of God in the world. Trust. To trust God is to be relieved of a terrible anxiety, to be freed from an awful drivenness, to be able to delight and to enjoy and to rest in the Lord. Those that gathered much didn’t have any over, and those that gathered little had no lack: a vision for a world where everyone has enough, a goal to work at for the people of God, who trust God, day by day. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/50771c556f2dddcce300baceff2fdfea.mp3 d5c4de6aa96ec1e2e2eb91d53b0ffd0b 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 Reformation Sunday, Pentecost XXII Series The First Testament Scripture Text Exodus 16:18 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-0-19941023 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-10-23 Title A name given to the resource The Test of 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 October 23, 1994 entitled "The Test of Trust", as part of the series "The First Testament", on the occasion of Reformation Sunday, Pentecost XXII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Exodus 16:18. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Hebrew Scriptures History of Israel Pluralism Reconciliation Reformation https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c573637a79a6433566032f68c0ce01a3.pdf c511f53812a08221db1efdc04560d232 PDF Text Text Culture Wars: Battling For the Soul of the Nation Reformation Day Sunday Text: I Samuel 8:7; I Samuel 9:16 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Pentecost XXIII, October 30, 1994 Transcription of the spoken sermon ". . . The Lord said to Samuel, 'Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but have rejected me from being king over them.' " ". . . you shall anoint him to be ruler over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines; for I have seen the suffering of my people, because their outcry has come to me." In the lesson from the Hebrew Scriptures you will notice a reference to the book of Judges. I am not going to read that, but that simply is a reference that says that after Joshua, Moses' successor, died, there arose a generation that knew not the Lord – a very serious portent of bad things to come. The book of Judges talks about that period of time between the settlement in Canaan of the children of Israel, and the first king, Saul. It was a period of a hundred or two hundred years. It was a time when leadership was charismatic. A leader would arise, would be filled with the Spirit of God, execute a task and then retire to his farm, or her farm. Deborah, Gideon and Samson, those great Bible stories are recorded in the book of Judges. The last and greatest judge was Samuel. Samuel was a priest, prophet, judge, and ruler. He led Israel for many years and then as he grew older the people were concerned because his sons were not following in his steps, and they wanted a king like all the other nations, so they asked Samuel for a king. Israel had been a loose confederacy of tribes, and they had gotten together to do certain things on specific occasions, but they were rather loosely connected as semi-independent tribes. But now, recognizing the threat from without, they request a king. The scripture lesson lists in the first book of Samuel a Saul source and a Samuel source. I do that so that you can see that there were two points of view that come together in this lesson. There are two traditions, and the author purposely let both traditions stand. The one tradition said that the people of Israel were vulnerable and in danger, and God said to Samuel, "Anoint Saul. Through this © Grand Valley State University   �Battling for the Soul of a Nation Richard A. Rhem Page 2   first king I will deliver my people." The Samuel source, the conservative point of view, rejects that idea and resists the movement toward monarchy. I list these two sources so that you could feel the two of them that are interlaced together in these chapters. First, the ninth chapter of I Samuel, the fifteenth verse: "Now the day before Saul came, the Lord had revealed to Samuel: 'Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines; for I have seen the affliction of my people, because their cry has come to me.'” Doesn't that remind you of Israel in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh? The cry comes to God, God raises up Moses, and the people are led to freedom. Now here they are in Canaan, but they are in a situation again of danger, and so God says to his leader, Samuel, "I hear their cry. Anoint this man. I will, through this man, deliver them." Samuel saw Saul. The Lord told him, "Here is the man of whom I spoke to you. He it is who shall rule over my people." Now that happens. Then in the tenth chapter and the first verse, Samuel took a vial of oil, poured it on Saul's head and kissed him and said, "Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the Lord and you shall save them from the hand of their enemies round about. And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord had anointed you to be prince of his heritage." If you go on to read the eleventh chapter, Saul gains a great victory and everyone says, "Wow, what a man. He's our man." They are all ready to go. They are excited. The other point of view is expressed in the Samuel source, the eighth chapter and the fourth verse: "Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, 'Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint for us a king to govern us like all the nations.' But it displeases Samuel when they say, 'Give us a king to govern us.' And Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, 'Hearken to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. According to all the deeds, which they have done to me, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. Now then, hearken to their voice; only, you shall solemnly warn them, and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.' " Then follows a serious indictment of monarchy — In a word God says, "Tell them that once they get a king, the king will be on the take. Take their money. Take their sons and daughters. Take their animals. Take their property. They are in for trouble because governments tend eventually to become oppressive and coercive. Just let them know what they are in for." Then in the nineteenth verse of that chapter, the people refuse to listen to the voice of Samuel and they said, "No, but we'll have a king over us." © Grand Valley State University �Battling for the Soul of a Nation Richard A. Rhem Page 3   I set for you this Biblical story because you have two traditions next to each other, and it was a hinge-point in Israel's experience. We know about the confederacy, the tribal union. It was very much like the early colonies in this country. Those thirteen colonies did not have a strong central government. They were a confederacy. They each yielded of their sovereignty some of their power and some of their rights in order that there might be a central government to do certain things for them that they couldn't do for themselves: national security, for example – trade, commerce, that kind of thing. To this day in this country that tension continues to exist in our nation. Do you remember Alexander Hamilton and the Federalist Papers, and how he argued for a strong central government. There was a conflict at that time. In the nineteenth century this country went through the terrible tragedy of the Civil War and, though it was really over the question of slavery, what was being tested was this form of government, a federal government where they could instruct the states to give rights to people or could instruct all states to release their slaves. The governors of some southern states back in the 60s, in the Civil Rights days, argued for states rights over against the interpretation of the constitution from the federal government which said that it is wrong to segregate in schools and all of those so called Jim Crowe Laws that demeaned and dehumanized the black race. So we know about confederacy. It is a kind of government that has power on the periphery and less so in the center, as opposed to the federal form of government where there is power at the center that can dictate to the respective units of government. That was what was going on in Israel. They were a confederacy. A charismatic leader would arise on occasion to meet a specific crisis and then go back to the farm. And they had a central shrine where they worshiped together, and where they renewed their covenant. But God was their king, that was their understanding, and they had no strong central government or strong national leader, no dynasty, no imperial house. But as a kind of loose tribal confederacy they were vulnerable to the attacks of people on their borders, and once they got established people began to get some possessions. They built barns, and had fields and oxen and one thing and another. They said, "We don't want to be vulnerable to these attacks. Every six months or so somebody comes in and burns our fields. We need a strong leader. We need a strong government. We need security. We need secure boundaries." Sound familiar? So they came to Samuel who had been the greatest spiritual leader in Israel since Moses and they said to him, "Your sons aren't following in your steps. You are growing older. We need to move on to another form of government. We need a king." Well, if you read the one source, it sounds as though that was a movement that was not only approved by God, but initiated by God in response to the cry of the people and who said, "Through this man whom you are to anoint, I will deliver this people." © Grand Valley State University �Battling for the Soul of a Nation Richard A. Rhem Page 4   But if you read the Samuel source you see that God not only does not initiate it, God doesn't even approve of it, but sort of reconciles God's self to the inevitable, and says "Go ahead and do it, but warn them because they are in for trouble. Just wait until the king really establishes a royal house." That's the situation. That's the focus of the morning as we think about the culture wars, the battling for the soul of a nation. There were conservatives who said, "Foolish people, you want a king? Don't you remember that it was Moses who led us out of the oppression of Pharaoh out of the bondage of Egypt? Don't you realize that in establishing a royal house you will be bringing yourselves right back into a situation where there is oppression from on top? The conservatives had a point. They did remember. That was the best thing about the conservative mind. It remembers the values of the past. It has a memory of those things that were valuable and important and significant and that had a shaping determination of a people. But there were progressives as well, and they said, "To be sure. But on the other hand, look, we simply can't survive this way." The conservatives said, "Trust God," and the progressives said, "We do trust God, but look what's happening. We are being assaulted, invaded. The marauders come in. We are at a loss, we are victims. And, it's not going to change." So they went at it, these conservatives and progressives, and the Biblical story allows both of those voices to be heard. Now it is interesting that on Reformation Sunday we should have a scripture lesson that has two traditions that are at variance with each other because one of the models of the Reformation was sola scriptura— Scripture alone is our authority. But I would raise the question: If scripture alone is our authority, which of the traditions are you going to buy into? Where would you have been in this discussion? Are you a conservative or are you a progressive? Do you remember the values of the past and try to preserve them and perpetuate them, or are you one who believes in the movement of history, that new times demand new forms and new structures? Do you set things in concrete or do you remain fluid and flexible with the ongoing movement of history? The Reformation was a time that gave us this insight, which ought never to be forgotten–the Latin model I can't repeat but its translation is– the Church re-formed according to the Word of God and always being re-formed. In the sixteenth century there was a situation where the Church, not the nation Israel in the thirteenth century B.C.E., but now in the sixteenth century C.E. you have a church that had become a mammoth world power. There was a union of throne, and altar, and thus times during those centuries of Christendom, a medieval age when the Church was the most powerful human institution. It was not simply a religious institution. It was cultural, it transcended national boundaries, it was powerful, and it became decadent, just as decadent as any imperial house that has no checks on it. And the reformers said, "Something has © Grand Valley State University �Battling for the Soul of a Nation Richard A. Rhem Page 5   to change. The Church needs to be renewed. We need a reformation of the Church." Institutions don't change until something blows sky high. Martin Luther, of course, was the one who blew it. Martin Luther, brilliant, powerful, vulgar, a bull in a China shop, was excommunicated. He returned the favor and excommunicated the pope. And we were off and running. At that time, just as in the experience of Israel, it was a hinge-point in human history. It was Luther who said, "We must re-form and we must become the body of Christ in a total new structure. The other is the Babylon, the harlot that is in bondage, and God has turned away from it." A humanist scholar, a Dutchman named Erasmus was a faithful son of the Church. He and Luther communicated. Erasmus was a renaissance scholar. He was a part of the fifteenth-century revival of learning in Europe where they rediscovered the classical culture of Greece and of Rome and the old language of the Semitic peoples. And in that renewal and revival there was a whole blossoming of the human spirit in the fifteenth century, and it was a preparation for that breakthrough in the sixteenth century, the religious Reformation. Luther wrote to Erasmus, "Join me." Erasmus said, "No, I am going to stay." Luther said, "You can't stay. That Church is decadent and it is dead." Erasmus said, "You want to break it, rend the Body of Christ. For your renewal the price is too high. I will stay within the Church of the Body of Christ. We must not rend this institution that is, after all, in all of its corruption and decadence (which Erasmus readily admitted), nonetheless still the Church of the Living God." Luther left. Protestantism is the consequence. Erasmus stayed and in the following century the Roman Church reformed itself, as always happens in human culture. It's action and reaction. As the Reformation identified or created its identity over against Rome, the reforming Roman Church reformed itself over against the Reformation. Yet we have had this tragic split for all these years. Who was right, Luther or Erasmus? The conservatives who came to Samuel and said, "Don't do this." or the progressives who said to Samuel, "Give us a king." Who was right? Who was wrong? In human history, there's not right and wrong. There are wise choices, foolish choices. There are marvelous breakthroughs and dead ends. It's not a simple question of something being right or wrong. In the ambiguity of the human situation, in the ambiguity of the text of history at any particular time there are a lot of factors that have to be factored in. Erasmus was right. The price was too high. It was tragic. Luther was right. Nothing would happen without the break. Of course, some four or five hundred years later for us to continue to reiterate the sixteenth-century insights is to fall into the pattern of fundamentalism. For us to continue to talk about Reformed distinctions is to forget that we, with history, continue to move. We inaugurated a new President at Western Seminary, and you can hear him preach tonight. As Peter said, "He's a great guy, a good scholar, a good preacher." The Reformed and Christian Reformed Churches are getting together for that © Grand Valley State University �Battling for the Soul of a Nation Richard A. Rhem Page 6   service, and I think that's nice. But if you really want to celebrate Reformation Day today, then why don't we get together with the Roman Catholic Church and all the other churches in the community to recognize that the split back then was tragic, as well as necessary. Then, of course, if we really want to be prophetic, next year let's gather all the churches across all the barriers and also some people from Islam and our Jewish friends and let's have an inter-faith service of worship that recognizes that the future does not lie in the perpetuation of the divisions of the past but the overcoming of those decisions and the healing of relationships. What we need in this world is reconciliation. We live at a hinge-point in culture, which is as critical as that faced in Israel when they were trying to decide whether to have a king or stick with the old forms. We are at a hinge-point in history, which is as critical as the sixteenth century. We are in this nation today in the midst of a culture war. If you had the misfortune of listening in one evening to the Republican Convention a couple of years ago when Pat Buchanan said, "we are in a warfare." If you listen to the rhetoric of Randall Terry, the anti-abortion person, if you receive the propaganda of the religious right, you will find that what they want is the restoration of yesterday, failing to recognize that history is a stream that moves on. Now the conservatives back in Israel had remembered some important things that ought never to be forgotten — and that is the value of the conservative. But the progressives knew that new times demanded new forms — and that is the value of the progressive who recognizes that history is movement, and that yesterday's answers reiterated become fundamentalism today. Today's crises and dilemmas demand deliberation and decision today, in the light of the Biblical story, in the light of the Church tradition, with the exercise of human intellect, and in the evaluation of human experience. It not sola Scriptura. If we really want to be true to the Reformation and continue being Re-formed then we've got to stop throwing those models around, as though once that model is set, everything is set. That is not sola Scriptura. It is one witness. It is a valuable witness. This is our Book. This is our story, but the story has been lived out over centuries of time. We take that tradition seriously. Rome was right about that. Rome has always been right about that. This Book ought always to be a prophetic critique of tradition. But we weren't born in a vacuum. We take seriously the roots from which we come, and we use our heads. For God's sake, we use our heads, we think. To have an external authority that we simply clamp onto ourselves without being able to think, to liberate ourselves, is to deny we are made in the image of God, to think, for God's sake. Then, of course, human experience. You can't just speculate in the abstract. You make decisions in the concrete context of human experience. For example, the people who are pro-choice are not necessarily pro-abortion. They have other values they are looking at. What does it mean to be human? There are other human values that they weigh over against the value of the fetus. It's not easy folks. It's not simple, you see. To get up with all kinds of violent rhetoric and to © Grand Valley State University �Battling for the Soul of a Nation Richard A. Rhem Page 7   make out as though there is a simple easy course, and every God-fearing person would go that way is to deny the reality of the whole course of history in which we see it even in this Biblical example today, where there were Godly people who were trying to find out what it meant to be the people of God in the twelfth and thirteenth century B.C.E. Some said, "Don't you dare anoint a king." And others said, "You'd better anoint a king." And both of them had a text. And we have a text for both of them. Some of us will tend to be conservative. Some of us will tend to be progressive. But in the culture war of this nation today, what is so absolutely imperative is that we begin to talk to each other and to listen, that we be done with this sloganeering and just thinking that once you've said the cliché the argument is over. Look at the data, listen to each other, be in dialog, respect each other, esteem each other. Modernity was born in the French Revolution actually. The Renaissance detoured by the Reformation of the sixteenth century and came to full flower in the eighteenth century with the Enlightenment. The French Revolution, which overthrew the authoritarian divine rights, etc. had as its slogan, "Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity." If we remove the sexist language, "Liberty, Equality, and Community." That was the birth of the modern. Unfortunately, the modern came to birth in reaction. It had to come in reaction. These things always move in history by reaction. You bust something open, and consequently modernity has been colored with secularism and it has given birth to atheism, which is a recent phenomenon of modernity. But we are moved beyond that. We are in a postmodern age. We know that modernity lost mystery, transcendence. But now, before the face of God, in serious reverence and deep engagement, it is time for us to spearhead a new movement of reconciliation. Some of us recently, had an opportunity to stop in Coventry at the Cathedral. Perhaps you've read the story of how Churchill had gotten possession of the machine by which the Nazis coded their messages and he learned that Coventry was to be bombed a couple of days hence. It was a great industrial center with this great cathedral. Churchill had to wrestle – Do I simply give away the fact that I can break the code or do I simply let it happen and preserve the code and the ability to break the code? He did the latter. Coventry was terribly bombed. The Cathedral was in ruins. And they have allowed the ruins to stand. In the midst of the ruins they have built a magnificent new Cathedral. The morning after the bombing someone went in to take two of the old timbers from the roof that were smoldering and tied them together in the form of a cross. And with the char wrote on the stone ruin, "Father, forgive." If you would go there today, you would find there is still a charred cross. Behind it, etched in stone of the ruins, in gold now, "Father, forgive." There is a magnificent chapel off to the side. It is the Chapel of Reconciliation. Someone, the morning after the bombing, took the old square nails out of the beams and wired them together into a cross. The nailed cross, which perhaps you've seen, has become a symbol of reconciliation. © Grand Valley State University �Battling for the Soul of a Nation Richard A. Rhem Page 8   It is time for Christ Community to lead in a ministry of reconciliation. It will not try to reinvent yesterday, but believe in tomorrow when all God's children will kneel and embrace each other. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/1f8ace430c49ad2039781db4b7e16e45.mp3 31f476273ee8681425944f84ce35a08d Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XXIII Series The First Testament Scripture Text I Samuel 8:7, 9:16 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-0-19941030 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-10-30 Title A name given to the resource Culture Wars: Battling For the Soul of the Nation 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 October 30, 1994 entitled "Culture Wars: Battling For the Soul of the Nation", as part of the series "The First Testament", on the occasion of Pentecost XXIII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: I Samuel 8:7, 9:16. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Covenant of Grace Hebrew Scriptures History of Israel Justice Liberation https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/4e9f60a375d2f729ab7d8dc79453a6b1.pdf f513cd5db928d66dccd187ffcbc1cd6c PDF Text Text Speaking Truth to Power Pentecost XXV Text: Amos 7:15-16 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan November 13, 1994 Transcription of the spoken sermon "… and the Lord took me . . . and the Lord said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel. Now therefore hear the word of the Lord." Amos 7:15-16 In our survey of the story of Israel, the Hebrew Scriptures, we came two weeks ago to Israel having moved into its Promised Land, into Canaan. It was after a century of more of existence in that land as the tribal confederacy where the tribes lived pretty much independently, but came together annually to renew the covenant, at a time of crisis, and where God would then raise up a leader for the occasion. After that period of time of settling in, there were voices being raised that they wanted a king – they would be like other nations. The great spiritual leader, Samuel, prophet, priest and judge, gave them a stern warning. He reminded them that they were a people who had been born in the exodus, set free by God from the oppression of tyranny, and he warned them that to put a king on a throne would be to put themselves in peril of returning to that same kind of tyrannical rule. The king would tax them, take their sons and daughters, conscript an army. They would come under the heavy hand of a ruling power. But nonetheless, the people said, "Give us a king." So the tribal confederacy moved into a monarchy and Israel began to reflect the same kind of life as the nations around it, but with this exception. With the rise of the monarchy there arose in Israel a voice of the prophet. The thing that made Israel's history unique was the fact that there was a prophet to speak the Word of God into the social context, into the political arena. The prophet was not a predictor of the future. The prophet was a preacher who addressed the contemporary situation in the name of God. So Israel was spared that which was true of nations around where the king considered himself sovereign, accountable to no one. The prophet never failed to remind the king that he was king according to the grace of God, and that he was accountable to God. So the prophet arose in Israel to keep alive the Word of God in this new situation. The prophet was one who was not interested in power, who had no political agenda, but rather was consumed by the Spirit of God. © Grand Valley State University   �Speaking Truth to Power Richard A. Rhem Page 2   We speak of the inspiration of the prophets. The word itself, inspiration, means to be inspirited, to breathe in. We often speak of the Spirit of God, knowing that it is the same word in Hebrew as the "breath of God" or the "wind of God." The wind of God rippled the sails of the prophet. And often times the prophet would rather not have opened his mouth, but as Jeremiah said, "The word of God was like a fire in my bones." The prophet was consumed with the word that had to come to expression. It was a risky business and a costly business. Think of one who followed in the steps of those Old Testament prophets, Jesus himself, who died the way he died because he lived the way he lived. In our own century, think of a Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who dared to stand up against national socialism in that Nazi regime, and paid for his prophetic ministry with his life. The role of the prophets and martyrs goes on and on. The prophet that arose in Israel with the rise of monarchy was Israel's greatest gift to the world, shaping Israel's tradition more than any other institution and, I believe, shaping western culture, western civilization probably more than any other institution I can think of. The prophetic word that reminded all arrangements of power that they were provisional, that they were transitory, and that they were not ultimate, that ultimately every arrangement of power on the right or on the left was accountable to Almighty God, who alone is sovereign Lord in the arena of history. The prophet believed that God observed. The prophet believed that God cared. The prophet believed that God was concerned. The prophet believed that God had structured reality such that wrong action would bring dire consequences, and therefore, the prophet stood in the arena, the marketplace of his day and proclaimed a Word of God to whomever was in power. The example that I use this morning to show the rise of this office in the history of Israel was Amos. We could go almost anywhere in those prophetic books, but Amos was particularly classic in the clash between the prophet and the king. Amos began his ministry in the north, probably around 760 B.C.E.. Jeroboam II was on the throne of Israel. The great world empires were engaged with their own affairs and it gave breathing room to Israel. Israel, the northern tribes now, prospered, expanded, grew affluent, and the social structure began to rot. The words of Amos were directed at a social condition in Israel that did not reflect God's requirement of justice and righteousness and mercy in the land. Amos was a preacher. And, he had rather good technique. If you would read the book of Amos, you would find that Amos begins his prophetic preaching, "Thus says the Lord: 'For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four I will not revoke the punishment.' " And the crowd began to gather. Then he went on, "For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment." The people began to feel the energy flow. He moves to Tyre and to Edom, and to the Ammonites, and finally he moves to Moab. The people at this point were already to break out in a standing ovation. "Give it to 'em Amos. Give them the Word of the Lord." But then he gets close to home. He said, "For three © Grand Valley State University �Speaking Truth to Power Richard A. Rhem Page 3   transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment." Those of the north nodded their heads, "That's right. That southern kingdom. Give it to 'em, Amos." Then, he paused a dramatic pause and said, "For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment." It is at that point that the congregation says to the preacher, "You just stopped preaching, and you started meddling." Now he was beginning to touch a raw nerve. But it was really always Israel that was the object of Amos's ministry. The Word of God that came to Amos was for Israel. All the rest was simply periphery. Now he was dealing with his target audience, and as he preached he said, "I hate, I despise your festivals. And I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. The offerings of wellbeing, of your fatted animals, I will not look upon them. Take away from me the noise of your songs. I will not listen to the melody of your harps. But let justice roll down like water and righteousness like an overflowing stream." He documented the sins of the society of his day. Finally word got to the royal court itself, for Amos didn't stop at the villages of the northern kingdom, he went right to Bethel, right there to the royal court with the temple as the accoutrement of its power and glory. Now every king has his own people on the dole, even religious flunkies. The king, Jeroboam II, had his core of priests who offered sacrifices for the prosperity of the policies of the northern kingdom. Amaziah was among them. He heard Amos preach and hurried back to the court and told the king, "This preaching has got to stop. He is saying that you will die by the sword, and that we will be exiled from our land returning no doubt with a mandate." He said to Amos, "Oh seer, go flee away to the land of Judah and earn your bread there. Prophesy there. But never again prophesy in Bethel, for it is the king's sanctuary. It is the temple of the kingdom." Well, Amos answered, "I am no prophet, nor prophet’s son. I am a herdsman and dresser of sycamore trees, but the Lord came to me and said, 'Go prophesy to my people Israel. Therefore, hear the Word of the Lord.' " Risky business that, daring to speak truth to power. But that was the function of the prophet, of the prophetic voice that arose along with the monarchy in order that the king of Israel and all of Israel's people would never fail to remember that God was still king, and that God still cared, and what happened to society was of great concern to God, because God cares about people, because God had set this people free, because God demands in the human community justice and righteousness and mercy. Wherever those are violated, there are dire consequences to follow. The prophet was a preacher. He often spoke of judgment because he was convinced that the world was so structured by the Creator of heaven and earth that wrong would be visited with wrath, not as an end in itself, but in order finally to effect the purposes of God. Amos was a prophet, and the prophets dared to speak truth to power. © Grand Valley State University �Speaking Truth to Power Richard A. Rhem Page 4   Last Sunday I was in Amsterdam on an absolutely beautiful Lord's Day, where I worshipped in the great Westerkerk. If there is a national church of The Netherlands, perhaps that's it, where the queen is crowned and so forth. The pastor is Nico TerLinde, who two years ago visited Christ Community on a Wednesday night and spoke to us. The church was filled for this powerful preacher, who has a great work going in that secular city of Amsterdam. When he was with us he told us the story of his early pastorate in north Holland, where they invited him to come into the public school to tell Bible stories to the children. Now, if you can believe, in Holland with all of its Christian heritage, there is now a generation that doesn't even know the Bible stories. So in the public school they were inviting a pastor in, not to evangelize, not to present the Gospel so to speak, but simply to tell the stories so that the stories stay alive, as works of literature. He decided to begin with the story of Abraham. He said, "And God said to Abraham," and a little nine year old raised his hand and he said, "Does God still say something?" TerLinde said, "That's a profound question." Well, what do you think? Does God still say something? Was prophecy an institution of ancient Israel, or is the office of the prophet still alive and well in our present experience? From the New York Times of October 29, I have the picture of one who looks every bit the part of a prophet — long beard, hand over forehead, eyes closed. Of course, it’s Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, and the report is of his address to the Russian Parliament in October. Having visited so much of the Russian people, he stood before the Parliament to tell them the people are discouraged, they have lost hope, they have no faith in the government, and they don't believe the reforms are serious. The people are in despair. He pleaded with the leaders of Parliament to be genuine about the reforms. He said, "This is not a democracy, it’s an oligarchy, the rule of a few." There was a little applause, but mostly there was silence. There was some muttering, and visible exits by politicians going out for a smoke. He went on to make his plea and, although he is Russia's finest historian who has put his own life on the line and has dared speak truth to power at the jeopardy of his own life, nonetheless, when he closed with a call for speedier advance toward real democracy there was a smattering of applause, but no more. I would say that Solzhenitsyn is a prophet in our time. I would say that most often you'll look outside the institutional church for the prophetic voice. It is so often the case that the Word of God sounds from other arenas because the institutional church itself gets co-opted into the whole cultural process. No, prophecy was not simply a phenomenon of ancient Israel. It is a desperately needed office to be exercised in our day. I can understand the rise of prophecy in Israel. After all, they had been a theocracy. They had understood that God was their king. So the rise of the prophet in that tradition can be somewhat understandable. But what about our own nation? What about today? We have to remember that as a nation we were founded in a reaction. We were founded in a reaction to the European scene, the old medieval structures, the feudal structures, the often © Grand Valley State University �Speaking Truth to Power Richard A. Rhem Page 5   collusion of throne and altar. This nation's founding documents intentionally and deliberately separate church and state. That was a reaction. It was an experiment. And it has borne fruit. In the intention of our founding documents there is the preservation of the guarantee of the free exercise of religion. There is to be no domination of religion in the political arena where there are many interested parties who are all vying for their rights and their privileges, where the political situation demands accommodation and compromise and rational discussion. That has all been a positive experience in our national experience. But in the last few decades that whole separation of church and state has come under criticism. We don't really understand how to handle it today. There have been judicial decisions that have been detrimental, I believe, to the moral fabric of the country. And there have been decisions that have not only separated church and state, but have trivialized religious devotion. Stephen Carter, the brilliant black law professor at Yale University, a couple of years ago published a book The Culture of Disbelief, in which he pointed out case after case of judicial decisions that not only honored the separation of church and state, but were actually prejudicial to religious commitment. Well, you say, "Maybe that's why we have the anger in the body politic today." And, I suppose it is. Maybe you are thinking now that the Christian Coalition, the organization of the religious right has taken upon itself the mantle of a prophet. I suspect that that's what would be claimed. But I deny that that's the case. I do not deny the right of the religious right or any group to organize and to make its claims. I do not question the sincerity of these people, nor fail to understand the reason for their frustration. But I want to say to you that the technique that is being pursued by the religious right is wrong, and it is contrary to the Biblical, prophetic tradition. The prophet was disinterested. The prophet did not have a political agenda. The prophet was not seeking power. The prophet spoke truth to power. The prophet stood over against the power, whatever the organization may be. It doesn't matter whether it is right or left, whether it is socialist or free enterprise. It doesn't matter what the governmental structure may be. It doesn't matter what the economic system may be. The prophet stood for justice and righteousness and mercy and compassion in the midst of the market place, speaking to king or priest or prophet, never co-opted by the king, or the people in general. The prophet was a lonely voice, disinterested, seeking no power. My argument with the Christian Coalition, with the religious right, is that, in order to address the wrongs that it sees, it is seeking power, and if it should gain power it will lose the possibility of being prophetic. A society that does not have a prophetic voice that is disinterested and stands over against all arrangements of power is a society in peril. History is replete with examples of religion in power, and there is no more perilous place for power than in the religious establishment. A secular ruler may be careless, may be godless. But a religious ruler with a sense of a mandate from God is absolutist like no secular ruler would ever dare be. A society will be in © Grand Valley State University �Speaking Truth to Power Richard A. Rhem Page 6   trouble when there is a collusion of throne and altar. It will be in serious trouble when the altar becomes the throne. If you ever elect a prophet, you'll take away his power and he will lose his soul. The prophet stands over against every human arrangement — right or left and says, "Hear the Word of the Lord." No amount of religious observance will substitute for justice and righteousness and compassion. The prophet called people and king to love mercy and to do justly, and to walk humbly with God. Don't empower the prophet. But let the prophet continue to speak truth to power. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a1461b8863d2067aaf3ea50f75e9ea01.mp3 8a3fb9831572eb7e5fb127c230a7fec7 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XXV Series The First Testament Scripture Text Amos 7: 15-16 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-0-19941113 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-11-13 Title A name given to the resource Speaking Truth to Power 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 November 13, 1994 entitled "Speaking Truth to Power", as part of the series "The First Testament", on the occasion of Pentecost XXV, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Amos 7: 15-16. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Hebrew Scriptures History of Israel Justice Prophetic Voice https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ad3714b2e8f6d3762f130322913347d6.pdf 4fd033f50ae55d8c70be0fdd814b33a4 PDF Text Text Trust That Survives Tragedy From the sermon series on the biblical story of Israel Text: Habakkuk 3:17-19; Psalm 137:1 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Pentecost XXVI, November 20, 1994 Transcription of the spoken sermon Though the fig tree does not blossom, and no fruit is on the vines;…yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the God of my salvation. Habakkuk 3:17-19 By the rivers of Babylon—there we sat down and there we wept when we remembered Zion. Psalm 137:1 Israel's story—we have been following in broad strokes the story of that people. We have been following the story of the people of Israel because it is our story. The Christian movement that follows in the wake of Jesus is a movement that comes out of the womb of Israel, for Jesus never intended to be more than an observant Jew. The God of Israel was his God. The scriptures of Israel were his scriptures. The hope of Israel was his hope. So for us to understand ourselves, we need to understand that story. For it is that story that has shaped our identity as well. We have followed in broad strokes that story, seeing the beginning of Israel created in the exodus event, when under the leadership of Moses, Israel was set free from the oppression of Egypt's bondage. We followed them through the wilderness and into the promised land, into Canaan or Palestine, as we would call it. We saw them move from a loosely connected tribal confederacy to a monarchy in order that they might be a nation as other nations. But there was a difference because, with the rise of the monarch, there was also the rise of the prophetic word, the prophetic voice that was spoken into the social, economic and political arena of the life of Israel. The king of Israel was reminded ever and again that he was not really absolute, not really sovereign, for he served by the grace of God and under the sovereignty of God, who alone is the sovereign of heaven and earth and the course of human affairs. We find them now after that kingdom had gone on for a couple of centuries with a moment of glory, a golden age, and then downhill all the way. We find them in 722 B.C., the northern kingdom dispersed by the great Assyrian empire, the © Grand Valley State University   �Trust That Survives Tragedy Richard A. Rhem Page 2   southern kingdom, Judah, remaining yet for a time. But in 587 Judah too, is ripped from her roots, the temple burned, the walls of Jerusalem thrown down, and the cream of the crop of Judah brought in exile to Babylon. That's where we find them today. And, it's not the end of the story. But with Advent Sunday coming next Sunday, the season of Advent, I'll have opportunity to tell you more of the story. For the Advent hope is really a reflection of the hope of Israel. The amazing thing is that, although Judah is in exile in a foreign land, what might have been the end was not the end, for Judah survives and indeed Israel survives. And that is the amazing truth that I would have you focus on today. The fact that out of the tragedy and disaster, the natural catastrophe that overcame this people whose sorrow and sadness was expressed so plaintively in Psalm 137, there is yet a continuing people because, paradoxically and surprisingly, it happened as it happens so often that, in the midst of tragedy, trust is kindled, and out of trust hope is born, and hope lays hold of newness. That's an amazing truth. It is one of the wonderful learnings from the whole Biblical story that tragedy rather than being the end so often becomes prelude to a new beginning. That in tragedy trust is born, and from trust hope springs, and out of the hope, newness arrives. It is really an amazing paradox. It is one of the great values of learning the Biblical story, of being steeped in that Biblical tradition. There's nothing there that denies the darkness. There's nothing there that denies the tragedy. The plaintive tone of Psalm 137 expresses the despair of a people who are being mocked by their conquerors, who say, "Sing us a song." And they say, "We can't sing a song in a foreign land." Then they begin to remember Jerusalem. And isn't it often the case in our experience that we begin to remember and to value what we have lost? It was in the tragedy of the exile that they began to remember, and caused them to dig deeper into the spiritual depths of that tradition that had shaped them as a people. Psalm 137. The last verses were not sung for you, for how can you sing expressions of raw anger. The last couple of verses of Psalm 137 are verses that those of us of delicate taste would wish were not even in the Scripture. They are expressions of anger and hatred so violent that they could hardly be duplicated, the hatred and the anger focused at the conquering Babylonians. The awful expression that chills us. "I would that your little ones were dashed against a stone." But, it's there and it is true to human experience. No, don't hear me saying this morning that the darkness isn't really so dark, or the coldness not so cold, or the tragedy not so bad. That's not being faithful to the Biblical story. Habakkuk, for example. Habakkuk looked about him also. He was living right at this hinge-point also. He looked about and he saw the chaos and the corruption and the violence. He cried out to God, as we have done as well, have we not? "Oh God, how long... how long?" The mystery of the world is the absence of God when all goes wrong. Where is God? How long, O Lord, will you cause me to see this violence? How long will you withhold your hand? Where are you? in other words. Then there comes to the prophet this consciousness: I am doing a work in your © Grand Valley State University �Trust That Survives Tragedy Richard A. Rhem Page 3   day that you wouldn't believe if you knew it. I am doing a work in your day, invisible, unknown to peasant and king alike. But be sure that history is not simply unraveling apart from my presence. So the prophet says, "I'll go into the watch tower of faith and I will wait to see the vision. The Word of the Lord comes to him saying, "Write this vision large so that one running will be able to read it. Wait for the vision for it will surely come. Know this that the unjust will fail, but the righteous one will live by faith." Then the vision comes and in panoramic view he sees, as though the film is flashing through his mind, the history of his people. In response to that vision we have that marvelous expression of devotion and praise: "Although I am stripped bare of everything, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will exalt in the God of my salvation." How do you figure it? How do you figure it? Will you note this morning that I am not trying to explain it, but I am pointing to it. I am pointing to a phenomenon concrete in history, Israel's history. As I said a moment ago, Israel survived. And then I added, "and survives." Israel survives. When there was no human reason for it to survive except that it remembered and began again to believe and to hope and to grasp a new beginning. Ah, a conviction that somehow or other there is some presence or some power engaged with this whole historical process which we cannot discern or explain, and yet in which we trust. Was that it? Wasn't that it for Habakkuk? Wasn't that it when he was able to say, "Take everything away - the crops from the field and the herd from the stall - take it all away and I will yet rejoice in God, my strength. I will exalt in the God of my salvation." How do you explain it? That indomitable trust that issues in hope, that waits for newness. It is not naive. A faith that has as its center a cross on which one was crucified cannot be naive. Israel that survives cannot be naive when it looks back in its own recent history to the cremation of six million of its number in the Holocaust, standing there as a hard knock in human history. Who can believe after the Holocaust? Who could believe after the son of God was crucified? Who could believe? That's the mystery of faith. I can't explain it. But it's not head-in-the-sand stuff. It's not pie-in-the-sky stuff. It's the stuff of human experience out of which amazingly the human spirit yet trusts and hopes and grasps the dawning of a new day. That's the miracle, which I cannot explain, but to which I point you and why it's so important that we know that story. That's why some weeks ago I began this whole tale, because I remember my old professor Berkhof who told me that he couldn't speak to the younger generation in secularized society because he said, "They are not prodigals." The prodigals still knew there was a home and a parent. They are not prodigals; they are the children of the prodigals. The children of the prodigals don't even know there's a home or a father. They have no center — homeless. The sign of the end of the end of the twentieth century, masses of people homeless, adrift, estranged and © Grand Valley State University �Trust That Survives Tragedy Richard A. Rhem Page 4   alienated, exiled. One of the Biblical images that best bespeaks our own day is homelessness. No rootage. No place to stand. The story, which continues to be told, doesn't explain, but it points us to a reality and that is there is no night so dark but what the dawn will follow. Trust is that which enables one or a people to survive tragedy, to experience loss, to come to total despair only to find indomitable faith rising, hope springing, newness dawning. That's the wonder of the tradition, which has shaped us and given us birth and which we keep alive by telling the story to those brought to the baptismal font today, in order that with us they may place their trust in the God, the God of Israel, the God of Jesus. Next Sunday, Advent I, we'll sing, "O come, O come Emmanuel and ransom captive Israel that mourns in lonely exile here." And it will be our cry. We'll speak the Advent word, "Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people says your God." And we'll find our faith renewed and our hope restored that that same God will surely bring us home. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2480aff3003169db610f067eecaeae80.mp3 ee5c3bae483e74953e3a9919e94304d1 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XXVI Series The First Testament Scripture Text Habakkuk 3:17-19, Psalm 137:1 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19941120 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-11-20 Title A name given to the resource Trust That Survives Tragedy 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 November 20, 1994 entitled "Trust That Survives Tragedy", as part of the series "The First Testament", on the occasion of Pentecost XXVI, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Habakkuk 3:17-19, Psalm 137:1. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Faith History of Israel Mystery Tradition Trust https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/4aa2f0cf88ce50e34f0cb0f58d62338b.mp3 1041f19210dbf8d81c5a1e083efa4b51 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 Deuteronomy 6:5, 20, 7:8 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19941124 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-11-24 Title A name given to the resource Traditioning: Memory, Humility, Gratitude and Generosity 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 November 24, 1994 entitled "Traditioning: Memory, Humility, Gratitude and Generosity", on the occasion of Thanksgiving Day, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Deuteronomy 6:5, 20, 7:8. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives