783 24 26018 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/178ce7bb325fa13f78a5e71f3beea7c9.pdf edb3f70e3677f8e092479cb6b431de4f PDF Text Text Come, Lord Jesus Advent I Scripture: Revelation 22:8-13; 16-21 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan November 27, 1994 Transcription of the spoken sermon If you had a Bible like mine, you would find that the words of Jesus are in red. If you looked at that last chapter of Revelation that was just read, you’d find three red passages. In the vision John hears the voice of Jesus, and three times over Jesus says, “I am coming soon.” He did not come soon, of course. It’s been now nearly two thousand years. Is it possible really for one to sit on the edge of one’s seat, to be, as it were, on tip toe waiting for a rift in the sky and the appearance of the Lord from glory? It is not possible for me to do that. Certainly, in all honesty, we have to say these words – that John at least sensed he was hearing from the Risen One – these words were wrong. For to speak of an imminent return, after two thousand years, is to make nonsense of language. What then is our Advent hope as we continue our earthly pilgrimage and move toward whatever end may be? What can one yet believe, and what can one put one’s heart upon in terms of this Advent hope—this conviction of those immediate followers of Jesus that they must be on the edge of the end, and that very soon their Lord would return? What is it in Advent 1994 that the Church can still hold to? Well, it seems to me that if we can acknowledge that the expectation of an imminent return was wrong, then what we must do is to jettison the form of that hope and expectation, and try to discover the inward essence of what that form pointed to. What we need to do is to try to discover the source, not only of Christian hope, but of the fact that it seems that hope continues to bloom within the human heart against all evidence to the contrary. Why do we hope? Why do we continue to hope? We cannot believe as they did, as John did, that at any moment our Lord would return. Oh, I know there are those who do. I am amazed over and over and over again at some movement or other announcing the day of the end or still calling Christian people to prepare for the coming of the Lord. I suppose as we come to the end of another millennium there will be even more of that. But in all honesty I cannot say that to you. I believe that that timeline, that calendar of events, simply was the form, which now obviously has been proven wrong in terms of a literal form. But the hope that lives within that form, what is that hope? Is it not simply this: is it not our continual © Grand Valley State University   �Come, Lord Jesus Richard A. Rhem Page 2   experience of the disparity between the dream and reality? Is it not that in our experience we constantly come up against that which is so contrary to the dream? Don’t we know that the prophet’s dream was true? Don’t we know that it could be, and should be that they would not hurt or destroy in all God’s holy mountain? Don’t we long for and believe in the possibility and even in the ultimate reality of the Peaceable Kingdom? Don’t we believe what that early church believed that is recorded so vividly in the images of the Book of Revelation: the righting of all wrongs, and the city whose center is coursed through by a river of crystal with trees whose leaves are for the healing of the nation? Don’t we know that that is the reality which must be, which ought to be, which should be, which could be? Are we not people of hope because in the disparity between the reality we live and the dream we dream, we refuse to give up the dream? It seems to me that that is the source of that indomitable hope with which we live. So that, even though it seems to me that the calendar, the dating, and all of that has fallen by the wayside through just hard-nosed historical experience, I refuse to give up the dream. I tried to think, in preparation for this morning, what can one really experience, what can one really believe and hold on this first Sunday in another Advent? A recent experience of mine came to mind as perhaps a parable of what this might be. I wrote of it in the Courier recently. Three weeks ago I was in the Netherlands in order to join in the celebration of my old professor and dear friend, Hendrikus Berkhof, in his eightieth year. The celebration was to be on Monday but I was able to go the Saturday before to him in the nursing home and to spend an hour and three-quarters with him—just the two of us. And in intimate connection and intense conversation we spoke of the past and our memories floated through the room . . . his father, his professor, his university days, the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, his having to hide because of his own preaching, his coming in the wake of the Second World War into prominence in the Netherlands with a shaping of that theological posture of the country at that time, calling the Church to faith and renewal, our time together, those four years when we studied together and struggled together and wrestled with questions. We spoke of it all and I, as it were, probed into the treasure of this dear friend of mine, trying to wrest every last bit I could of his wisdom and his understanding, and after an hour and three-quarters I had totally exhausted him. When he moaned a bit, I said, “Henk, put your head down and rest awhile now.” He said, “Ja, we must quit.” And I took his hands and I offered a prayer, a Eucharistic prayer. The Greek word Eucharist means thanksgiving. It was a Eucharist prayer, thanking God for the time we shared, thanking God for the memories of which we had just spoken – but not only memories – thanking God in those moments that this was not all, this was not an end, that there was something more, something better, that the best was yet to be, and in that moment there was grace, and there was the presence of the One of whom we spoke together. At the end of my prayer which was a bit interspersed with his “Ja . . . Ja . . .Ja,” there was his “Amen. Amen.” © Grand Valley State University �Come, Lord Jesus Richard A. Rhem Page 3   I left him and I walked the old streets of Leiden, the old haunts, the old University Center, the Roppenberg, the canal that courses through the center, stood on a little hump bridge and listened to the bells in that ancient building of the twelfth century where I had gone to lectures and had my doctoral exam, stood there in the misty, deepening darkness of that Saturday evening and let it wash over me. And as the bells tolled from that old bell tower, I said, “Yes, the bell tolls for him, for me, but that’s not all there is.” It has nothing to do with calendars and dates. It has nothing to do with images and models. It has everything to do with the deep intuition, which I believe lives and thrives in the depths of the human being, a deep intuition that it is not the reality, so disparate from the dream, but it is the dream that is true, the dream that will not let us go, the dream that continues to be dreamed again and again. And I thought to myself, having been so poignantly aware that maybe this was my last moment with him, that it wouldn’t be the last moment at all, but that someday, somewhere, somewhere beyond where we’ll have a thousand and a million years in some starred galaxy, that we’ll laugh together about our shabby dreams, and our little hopes, and our groundless fears, and the conversation will continue as we probe the inevitable mystery of the good and gracious God. When I cry from my heart, “Even so, Lord Jesus, come,” that’s what I mean. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/66c671fdf0fd67eb1013fdf16a40a00d.mp3 ad9fab12d493d31e77e30659dbb903f1 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Advent I Scripture Text Revelation 22:8-13, 16-21 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19941127 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-11-27 Title A name given to the resource Come Lord Jesus 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 27, 1994 entitled "Come Lord Jesus", on the occasion of Advent I, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Revelation 22:8-13, 16-21. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Advent Grace Hope Shalom https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/02a4a6830bef855c8eb4be7f1d046bc1.pdf d35ab9fc9abc951cbb59199d1a88e154 PDF Text Text Longing for Home “Our Hearts Are Restless Till They Find Their Rest in Thee” Text: Jeremiah 29:11-13; Matthew 1:23 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Advent II, December 4, 1994 Transcription of the spoken sermon The Christmas carols are playing. The anticipation of the children is rising. The season of preparation is well under way, and we await the celebration of the King of Glory. It’s such a lovely time of the year. It’s a time of the year that is so filled with memories, filled with all of the great traditions that have surrounded us throughout all of our days. Yet, if you are a pastor or a therapist, you would find that this lovely season is also a season of an increased caseload because, for all of its loveliness and all its joy, it seems also to be a season in which there is an acuteness of sadness and melancholy. So many experience in these holiday days the aching loneliness that overcomes them, perhaps suddenly without warning, and one is deluged in deep feeling. It may be because the season triggers in us memories of home, of childhood. It may be that we recognize that our dreams have been shattered, or that our hopes have been crushed, or maybe in a moment of reflection we simply know that we’ve traveled a long way from home. That’s the experience of exile. The word itself beginning with “ex” from the Latin means “out of,” and it means out of home. If you’ve ever made application for a passport, you’ll know that they want to know your domicile. Domicile is a permanent address, a home address. But in exile, one has no domicile because one has no permanent address. The experience of exile is familiar to us who are traditioned in the biblical story. Just a couple of weeks ago, concluding our trip through Israel’s tradition, we found Judah, the southern kingdom, in exile in Babylon. The southern kingdom had ended in 586 as the Babylonians had come in and torn down the walls, burned down the temple and removed the finest of Jerusalem’s residents. Eight hundred miles to the north and east, there they were in exile. You may remember that the Psalm lesson of the morning was sung for us by Greg Martin, Psalm 137, “By the rivers of Babylon we sat down and wept. We hung our harps on the willows. For they said to us, “Sing us a song of Zion. © Grand Valley State University   �Longing for Home Richard A. Rhem Page 2   But how could we sing a song of Zion in a foreign land? If I forget thee, O Jerusalem. May my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth.” The deep grief, the awful ache that comes through so poignantly in that Psalm was an expression of a literal exile, which many in our day know as well. Refugees in Rwanda, the terrible tragedy that continues to go on in the former Yugoslavia, the nation seeming paralyzed to do something about that awful situation. So, there are many in our day who do know literal exile, as did Judah. Exile, the experience of it out of the scriptures has become a central metaphor or image for the human condition, because we are all vulnerable. It happens to us all at one time or another. It overtakes us unawares and we seem drowning in melancholy and sadness for which we can really find no immediate cause. It is a longing for home. We are all vulnerable to it, even though we may give our domicile as a very fine address. Because, finally, home is not a matter of geography. Finally, home is a matter of places of the heart. I suppose that it is because home is that place that we come from and that place that we go to that we know in the meantime we are homeless. For we come from God and we go to God. God is our whence and our whither, and in the meantime we are simply not home. St. Augustine’s words are so often quoted because they say it better than any way I can think of saying them: Thou hast created us for Thyself, O God, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in Thee. None of us is home yet because, finally, home is not a matter of geography. Home has to do with the places of the heart, and we will therefore sense that none of us are home yet and will, now and again, have a strange longing for home. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/36d818ebaeddd9ecc97989d88b809414.mp3 ddcf04da82be7967cb45e5dedc1347a5 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Advent II Scripture Text Jeremiah 29:11-13, Matthew 1:23 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-0-19941204 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-12-04 Title A name given to the resource Longing for Home and Home Away From Home 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 December 4, 1994 entitled "Longing for Home and Home Away From Home", on the occasion of Advent II, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Jeremiah 29:11-13, Matthew 1:23. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Advent Exile God Shalom https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/9884fed57d10a2d2cdd3d81bb4c64745.pdf 0a13e1061f5df9798816819d2b65c765 PDF Text Text Going Home From the Advent Series on “Home” Text: Isaiah 40:1, 11; I Thessalonians 4:17 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Advent III, December 11, 1994 Transcription of the spoken sermon I have chosen the texts and the themes for this season in the light of the course that we have followed through the fall in surveying the Biblical story of Israel. We left Israel in exile in Babylon, and I did that purposely because I knew Advent was coming. It’s a marvelous time to pick up the prophetic promises and themes that were addressed to that people in exile. Israel, Judah, in exile was in despair and in the midst of their despair where they were weeping on the banks of the rivers of Babylon, where they could not sing the Lord’s song, in the midst of that despair they received a surprising word of hope. The prophet Jeremiah sent them a letter in which he said to them, in effect, get on with your life and know that the Presence of God is not a matter of geography, but the location of God’s Presence is the heart. “And if with all your heart you truly seek me, you will surely find me,” find the Presence of God even in that situation of exile. Now, after some decades in which indeed they had settled in, there was another word from another prophet. We don’t know who he was, but his work is in Isaiah 40 to 55. This prophet’s word broke the silence and pierced the despair of this people who had given up on the covenant of grace and the promises of God, this people who had finally considered Babylon to be their home, this people who had really forgotten Jerusalem even though they had vowed never to do so. This prophet arose and spoke these words, “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people. You are going home.” This prophet who was a part of that exilic community observed the shifting of the balance of power on the international scene. This was characteristic of Hebrew prophets, for you will remember that it was Habakkuk who saw in the rise of Babylon the instrument through which judgment on Judah, God’s own people, would be brought. Now this prophet sees in the rise of another world power an instrument, not of judgment, but of grace, an instrument of liberation. Indeed, if we would go over just a few more chapters, to the 45th chapter, this is how God addresses the king of Persia, whose name is Cyrus. “Thus says the Lord to his anointed,” to Cyrus. Anointed. God’s anointed. God’s messiah. This king. © Grand Valley State University   �Going Home Richard A. Rhem Page 2   “Thus says the Lord to his anointed,” to Cyrus, “whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him.” Why will God anoint a Cyrus in Persia in order to subdue nations? Well, the fourth verse says, “For the sake of my servant Jacob and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name. I name you though you do not know me.” You see, it was the conviction of the prophets in Israel’s tradition that God was a major player on the scene of history. It was the conviction of these prophets that the decisions were not made in smoke-filled cloakrooms, but rather that God was the invisible player, a major player of the dreams of history. So now we have a prophet bringing comfort, announcing liberation, saying to Judah, “You’re going to go home.” He didn’t immediately respond to the message. As a matter of fact, he resisted the message. He heard a voice that said, “Cry,” or as Martin Luther has translated it perhaps more effectively, he heard a voice that said, “Preach.” And he said, “Preach, why should I preach? The grass withers. The flower fades. Why should I preach?” The word comes back, “Preach. For it is true the grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.” So this prophet in the dialogue heard the call and was confirmed in his conviction that the word of God after all was a liberating, saving word, and he announced that word in the midst of his people in exile. He said to them in effect, “Be comforted. You are forgiven. You are going home. Announce to the cities of Judah, behold your God.” They went home. They went home and the prophet’s word was confirmed. But it never lived up to the glorious image that he had set. They went home, a remnant. Oh, there was another temple, but it lacked the glory of the former temple. They rebuilt the walls, but that community was nothing more than a worshiping, waiting community in poverty and often in sorry straits. Yet, they went home. The prophet believed that God would bring God’s people home. His vision, his dream was a dream of a fulfillment and the consummation of the whole historical drama that would issue in that messianic kingdom, that kingdom of shalom where lion and lamb would lie down together, and where they would not hurt in all God’s holy mountain. It was a prophetic conviction that God is a major player in history. Do you believe that? For some nineteen hundred years the Jews in dispersion after 70 AD celebrated their Passover wherever they were and in the liturgy there were the words, “Next year in Jerusalem.” Rabbi David Hartman of Jerusalem says that, after nineteen hundred years, today they celebrate Passover in Jerusalem. Do you think that that has anything to do with God’s involvement in the drama of history? Did Habakkuk see behind Babylon’s rise the judgment of God? Did the prophet of this morning’s lessons see, behind the rise of Cyrus, God’s engagement? I suppose we © Grand Valley State University �Going Home Richard A. Rhem Page 3   could talk about that all day and not solve it, but that really is not the question of this Advent Sunday. The question that I would rather focus you on is this. Is it possible within history to be at home? Is it possible in the midst of our human experience, in the stream of history, is it possible to be home? Maybe Israel’s best gift to the world is the possibility of being home in history. If you read the Hebrew Scriptures there’s not much about anything beyond. There’s not anything about heaven. There’s not any discussion of life after death. Maybe Israel’s best gift to the world was the call to celebrate here and now. Israel delights in life—celebrates life. I think that it has a real gift to give us in calling us not to miss this life, to enjoy God in the land of the living. The Christian emphasis, in contrast, that has put the focus on heaven, that has been somewhat other worldly, has often removed from us the valuing of this life, and not enabled us to celebrate this life, I think, as perhaps God the creator of all would have us celebrate it. Israel celebrates God in this present life. History within history. Yet, I wonder if it’s enough? Bertrand Russell the English philosopher and avowed atheist writes this, “Brief and powerless is man’s life. On him and all his race the slow, sure doom sinks pitiless and dark, blind to good and evil. Omnipotent matter rolls on its relentless way, for man condemned today to lose his dearest, tomorrow himself to pass through the gates of darkness. It remains only to cherish ere yet the blow falls the lofty thoughts that ennoble his little day.” Sounds almost like the pessimism of the prophet who said, “All flesh is grass. The grass withers, the flower fades.” Bertrand Russell says, I may lose the love of my life unless for me the bell tolls first. That being the reality of our human situation, is it enough? Can one be home within history? It wasn’t enough for the people in Thessalonica. Paul had gone there preaching the Gospel. He preached a crucified, risen, ascended, reigning, coming Lord. And he preached it with such urgency and he pointed to the imminence of that return with such power that the people in Thessalonica began to expect that any moment the heavens would open and the clouds would be illumined and the Lord of Glory would appear. Then someone lost the love of her life. Then someone received the death sentence and they began to wonder, if I should die before the clouds sparkle with the appearing Lord, will I miss out on it all? Paul wrote to them to say, “No. We who are alive at the coming of the Lord won’t have an advantage over those who have died. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so those who fall asleep in Jesus, God will bring with him. So I write these things to you that you sorrow not as those who have no hope. I write these things to you; comfort one another with these words.” Paul’s pastoral concern for this people was to assure them that the entrance of death before the advent of the end did not mean that one would miss the party. He went on to describe the scenario of the end. Archangels, trumpets, clouds. And it didn’t happen. © Grand Valley State University �Going Home Richard A. Rhem Page 4   The messianic kingdom hasn’t come either. As I observe our history in our day it doesn’t seem that we are any closer to seeing the lion and the lamb lying down together than when the prophet dreamed the dream. And when I read Paul’s dramatic presentation of the end event and realize that it’s two thousand years later, frankly, I’m not going to hold my breath. Interesting, isn’t it, that both the prophet and the apostle had this intuitive sense of some kind of completion? But the images in which they set it forth, the symbols with which they presented it, the pictures that they painted in both cases—they haven’t come to be. They may still, and yet I wonder if perhaps the prophet’s dream and the apostle’s vision are not rather pictures of an intuitive conviction and truth that within history no one can finally be home. Oh, to be sure, the prophet’s dream had the culmination within history. The apostle, who was nurtured on that dream, had a vision of a culmination beyond history’s end. But, never mind. Both of them had to believe. In the case of the Hebrew prophet, the end could not be the chaos of history, but rather its resolution. And in the case of the apostle, the end could not be a gaping grave, but a meeting with God the Lord, the presence of God’s people with God everlastingly. Both the prophet and the apostle were simply wrong in the portrait that they drew or painted. So what? How would you have drawn it? They were stumbling, stammering humans trying to give some expression to something that was deep within them, that the end could not be history’s chaos nor the cold and open grave, but rather that there was yet something, something more. You see it seems to me that both the prophet and the apostle had that deep sense that yes. . . yes, the grass withers and the flower fades, yes . . . human life ends with history still in chaos and those who have loved experiencing loss, but there must be something more. I think both the prophet and the apostle, and I think probably you and I as well, know that God has made us such that we will always, always break down those end points. We will not be satisfied. There is something insatiable within the human mind and within the human heart. Within the human being there’s something that will not be satisfied until finally there is an expansiveness that we have not yet dreamed of. There is something in us that says there are places I have not yet gone, there are words I have not spoken, there are loves I have not yet expressed. There is not the possibility in the brief span of this historical existence to satisfy all of that that is within me. I’ll never, never, never rest with the contingency of history’s whirlpool. I will believe, I will hope that beyond somewhere, someway, sometime all of this that is in me that yearns for expression, for expansiveness, for eternity will be satisfied. Probably not with lions and lambs lying down together. Probably not as the issue of some flaming deity from heaven. But there must be something more. For down deep within us, when surrounded with the blackness of the darkest night, Oh how lonely death can be. At the end of this long tunnel there shines a light where death is swallowed up in victory. Can you imagine stepping on shore and finding it heaven? Of touching a hand and finding it God’s? Of breathing new air and finding it celestial? Of waking up in glory and finding you’re home . . . finally home? © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f5dd3e967c8f36104f7ce83aa4a2cc68.mp3 4be04070436fd41993994f6c0dc26761 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Advent III Scripture Text Isaiah 40:1, 11, I Thessalonians 4:17 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19941211 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-12-11 Title A name given to the resource Going Home 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 December 11, 1994 entitled "Going Home", on the occasion of Advent III, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Isaiah 40:1, 11, I Thessalonians 4:17. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Advent Grace Hope Liberation Prophetic Voice Shalom https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/bc96d45be517659fcfd1f16df1009521.mp3 40eaa7cbb4964a83e293640765ed2a93 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Advent IV Scripture Text Isaiah 54:1, Luke 1:35, 37 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-0-19941218 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-12-18 Title A name given to the resource Home Is Not a Human Possibility 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 December 18, 1994 entitled "Home Is Not a Human Possibility", on the occasion of Advent IV, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Isaiah 54:1, Luke 1:35, 37. 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/2e31a4b702d0cb9f5551cf93fd77a735.pdf 2e4e68e4d92dc1970b084ad89b322a27 PDF Text Text The Dream of Peace Christmas Eve Service Text: Micah 5:5; Luke 2:15 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan December 24, 1994 Transcription of the spoken sermon "... and he shall be the one of peace." Micah 5:5 "... and on earth peace..." Luke 2:15 The Christmas Gospel seems to be such a warm and cozy message. But as a matter of fact I think, if we really see it in its context, it was a strong political statement. Luke pitted the Gospel of peace that came through Jesus over against the peace of the Roman Empire—the Pax Romano, that two hundred year period of relative peace in the ancient world that was made possible through the government of imperial Rome. Peace has been an ancient dream. I wonder how old it is? I suppose it goes back to the very first folk who experienced violence and terror, and began to live with insecurity. There must have always been something in the depths of the human soul that yearned for peace. It is a very deep primal longing of the human heart— the longing for peace. Personal peace surely, but wellbeing and peace in the community of people, the nations. Israel's dreamers dreamed of peace in a world that was very much like our world, the rise of one empire and the fall of another, the smaller people squeezed between the paws of the great powers. There were those poets and dreamers in Israel who had a vision of a different kind of world. Micah was one such. In the fourth chapter of his prophecy we read, "In the days to come the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established as the highest of the mountains." And then he goes on to envision Mt. Zion as that highest point of the world toward which all of the nations would flow and learn the law and the truth of God. He goes on to say,"they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; and nations shall not lift up swords against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." One of Israel's poets, one of the ancient world's dreamers who looked about him and said, "You know, there's a different kind of a world that is possible. There's a different kind of a world that ought to be." © Grand Valley State University   �The Dream of Peace Richard A. Rhem Page 2   It's interesting that it wasn't only Israel's dreamers and poets, but the great Roman poet Virgil, in the year 41-42 BC in his fourth epilogue, announces the birth of a World Savior. He announces in this poem the coming era of peace. It comes through the birth of a child he says, and probably the child that he had in mind was Octavian. Octavian was the great nephew of Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar adopted Octavian as his own son, and when Virgil wrote this poem and gave expression to this vision of a child being born into the world to save the world and bring it peace, he very likely had Octavian in mind. But as he wrote, Julius Caesar was assassinated. There ensued fifteen years of terrible civil war. It was only in 29 BC when Octavian came back to Rome, the victor, having defeated Anthony and Cleopatra, that he becomes ruler and Caesar. Whether or not Octavian took the poem of Virgil as his destiny, I don't know. But his very first official act in 29 BC was to close the temple of Janus, the double-faced God of war. And he continued to strive to create peace. In the year 9 BC Octavian Augustus, called Augustus Caesar now, dedicated the great Augustine Altar of Peace and what ensued was what the historians call the Pax Romano, the Roman peace. In 1890, in Asia Minor, there was discovered an inscription, an inscription to Augustus the Son of God. Julius Caesar had been elevated to the status of a state god after his assassination and his adopted son Augustus, thus was Son of God. This inscription that was discovered in 1890, and subsequently in other places as well, proclaimed to the eastern world, peace through this Savior who would fulfill the dreams of humankind. Ancestral hopes would be realized, and the broken world would be mended and healed. If this proclamation came out of Asia Minor, and if Caesar Augustus dedicated the Great Altar of Peace about 9 BC, we can be fairly certain that Luke, who writes the story of Jesus was aware of it because, when he tells us about the story of Jesus, he tells us that Caesar Augustus was in power and Quirinius was the Roman Governor, and all the world was called to be taxed. Luke sets the birth of Jesus in the context of a Roman world, in the context of a Roman peace, in the context of an ancient world in which had been proclaimed the Saviorhood and the peace-bringing of one, Caesar Augustus. It was a legitimate dream of peace. It was an expression of a universal, human yearning, longing for a different kind of a world. But the peace of Caesar Augustus was a different peace than the peace of Jesus. So I have to believe that Luke was making a political statement. I think he was juxtaposing the peace of Jesus over against the peace of Caesar Augustus, because the peace of Caesar Augustus was not the peace of Micah, the prophet. The peace of Caesar Augustus was an enforced peace; it was a peace that was a consequence of the heavy hand of Rome that could enforce its edicts with its legions. It kept the world at bay. There was some great benefit of that, to be sure, but it was not the peace that comes from human community built on justice of the heart, of which the prophets dreamed. It was not the peace in which swords are changed to plowshares and spears to pruning hooks. It was not the world in which the nations learned war no more. © Grand Valley State University �The Dream of Peace Richard A. Rhem Page 3   No, Luke was writing of the birth of One, from the other end of the story, because remember, Luke wrote about the birth after the death. Luke wrote of the birth after the resurrection. Luke knew the hell that Jesus had gone through, but Luke's gospel of Jesus, which speaks of peace in the beginning, is a peace that was a peace to be secured only in the Way of Jesus. It was the Way of Jesus, as opposed to the way of Rome. It was a peace based on the end of all human domination. That, Luke was telling us in his gospel, was the peace that came through Jesus Christ. It was not the peace enforced by the power of Rome, but the peace that comes from God, to those who follow the Way of Jesus. Two thousand years later the peace of which Luke spoke, peace that would come through this Jesus, has not been realized. There may be relative peace in Bosnia Hertsogovenia tonight, but it’s a very fragile thing. We all have been disturbed by the anguish of those people suffering because of an ongoing war. Strife, violence, killing. The earth is soaked with blood. A couple of months ago I visited the shores of Normandy, the fiftieth anniversary of the scarred earth where that horrendous battle was fought. A week ago, perhaps some of you saw as well the special by David Brinkley on the Battle of the Bulge of fifty years ago. Did you hear in that special a recording of the voice of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who said fifty years ago at Christmas, "It is not easy to wish the nation a Merry Christmas this year, nor to those who are standing for us around the world." It was a world at war, and a terrible price was exacted. There are those that suggest that maybe the past fifty years were better. But what was it? Just five years ago? We were so euphoric at this time of year because the Berlin wall had fallen and we thought that maybe the world was taking a significant step toward peace? The collapsing of an impasse of terror that held the world at bay for fifty years evaporated, allowing these ancient feuds to surge forth again. So in 1994 at Christmas we speak of the peace of Jesus. But there is no peace. You see, we think of peace in terms of the balance of power and of political possibilities, but there is only one way to peace—it is the way of human community. It is by the ending of all human domination. Will that peace ever come? I really don't know. I am not so sure that we are moving inevitably toward that universal Shalom. It doesn't seem that we are a lot farther along than the ancient Roman world, the Pax Romano, peace by dent of force. Will the prophet’s dream ever be realized? There is a song we sing sometimes, "Let there be peace on earth," and then it says "and let it begin with me." Maybe it has to begin in the chambers of the human heart of each one of us, where we give ourselves unreservedly to the building of community and to standing against all forces of human domination, standing against all of that that robs any person of their humanity. For Luke, the telling of the Christmas story from the perspective of Easter, from the perspective of Good Friday and Easter, was telling of the Gospel, that peace is © Grand Valley State University �The Dream of Peace Richard A. Rhem Page 4   possible for those who were willing to die—to self, to all selfish pursuit, to all domination of another, who will live in community. That is the only way to peace. Isn't it interesting that as far back as we go, whether in biblical lore or in the poetry of the rest of the world, there has been a dream, a longing dream of peace. Why can't we make it happen? Maybe we will never be able to do more than to make it happen within our own lives and let it ripple out from there. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/99dedec21546006c5014a7c124655484.mp3 0f9de7633fea45038484decf9947bd01 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Christmas Eve Scripture Text Micah 5:5, Luke 2:14 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-0-19941224 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-12-24 Title A name given to the resource The Dream of Peace 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 December 24, 1994 entitled "The Dream of Peace", on the occasion of Christmas Eve, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Micah 5:5, Luke 2:14. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Christmas Eve Community Justice Peae Prophetic Voice Way of Jesus https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/fc7aab70eab7737a64cb1ff24e2b0143.pdf 9f13becf1aa9ced24403c50169eaef2c PDF Text Text Birth: The Way Home From the Advent series: Home Text: John 1:12-13; John 3:3 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Christmas Day, December 25, 1994 Transcription of the spoken sermon In his poem, “For The Time Being,” W. H. Auden writes, “Nothing can save us that is possible. We who must die demand a miracle,” and so we do. The Advent theme of “Home” culminates today as we note that birth is the way home. And birth is a miracle. Birth is not a human possibility; it is the gift of God. Not this morning that we celebrate the literal birth of the Christ Child, but the birth that the Christ Child pointed to and made available to us: that birth from above, or being born again as it is popularly referred to. It is that birth and only that birth which is the way home. We’ve noted the yearning for home in the human heart. Last week we established the impossibility of home, the impossibility as a human possibility. But let me celebrate with you this morning the reality of spiritual birth—that new birth which is the gift of God. It is that miracle that we who must die demand, for nothing humanly possible can save us. New birth – that’s the way that John describes it in the Christmas story that he tells, which is not with all the familiar accouterments of stars and angels and bright shining song, but rather in a cosmic eternal drama. In the prologue to his story of Jesus, he begins in the beginning, in fact before the beginning. He says, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Then he tells how that Word was in human history, in the history of that special people that God had called. But that Word, coming to his own, was not received. “He came to his own, but they received him not.” But there were a few, John tells us. Some received him and some believed, and to them he gave power to become the children of God. John is very clear that that is not a human possibility, for he stresses that those who believed in his name were born not of the blood or of the flesh, or of human will, but of God. For birth, the way home, is not a human possibility. It is God’s gift and it is all of grace. In order to explicate the themes of his prologue, John tells us in the third chapter the story of Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a respected leader in Israel, a rabbi, a great teacher. Nicodemus was curious about this one Jesus who had caused such a stir and to whom the common people listened gladly. He came to him by night to learn the secret of that spiritual reality, that world that seemed so foreign to © Grand Valley State University   �Birth: The Way Home Richard A. Rhem Page 2   Nicodemus. Jesus said to him, “You must be born from above.” And Nicodemus, as the foil for this mysterious teaching, says “How can one enter a second time into his mother’s womb?” Jesus replies, “I’m not talking about literal physical birth. I am talking about that miracle that happens to one. That miracle that no one can manipulate and no one can force that is not at our disposal. I’m talking about that birth from above, where the breath or the wind of the Spirit of God blows where it wills. You see the effects of it, but you don’t know whence it comes of whither it goes; the mystery of the movement of God who has invaded our space and our time in the miracle of the Word become flesh, whose Spirit continues to riffle our hearts and create newness within us.” Nicodemus probably stands for the classical, institutional religion, that institutional religion which is so very valuable because it keeps the story alive and it continues in a community like this where the story is cared for and nurtured, and where the rituals are enacted, and where we baptize children, and take bread and cup. The institutional religion is so very important because the Spirit always needs form. But Jesus in his conversation with Nicodemus made it very clear that institutional religion and ritual and form such as we are all participating in is not an end in itself, but only a means to an end. And, the end in itself is new birth. It is a spiritual life. It is newness that is created that comes upon us silently, mysteriously; that new spiritual reality that opens up whole new worlds before us and brings us home wherever we are in whatever circumstance. When one has been born from above, one is birthed into a whole new reality and that is the end of Christmas. That is the end of incarnation. And that is the glad Good News that has come to the world in the birth of one who said, “You must be born again.” To be born again. That phrase has entered into popular terminology in our day, hasn’t it? Wasn’t it Jimmy Carter who in his presidential campaign brought the term to common usage? I think perhaps it was, and since that time don’t I remember a cover on Time Magazine some years ago that talked about the “Born Again” phenomena. Since it has become so popular, everybody gets ‘born’d again’ now and again—athletes, celebrities; any kind of a peak experience is now referred to in common parlance as being ‘born again.’ Of course, when that happens it tends to drain such an ideal, or such a reality, of its deep spiritual meaning. Yet, maybe the very usage of the term is the way people at large get the idea that it dawns upon them that there is something more than just getting up in the morning and going to work and coming home and going to bed to get up in the morning . . . and all of the routine of our ordinary days where we can live such one-dimensional lives, unaware of rumors of angels and intimations of transcendence. Maybe the fact that being ‘born again’ has entered into common parlance is a sign that people are becoming aware, that there is another whole world and the possibility of newness into which one might be created. Nicodemus, thank God, I think had the experience because if you read further on in John’s Gospel (after the crucifixion as a matter of fact), you’ll find that it was Nicodemus, along with Joseph of Arimathea, that took down the body of Jesus © Grand Valley State University �Birth: The Way Home Richard A. Rhem Page 3   and embalmed it an put spices upon it and laid Jesus to rest—at some great risk, of course. We are told also by John that there were many of the leaders who believed in Jesus but secretly, daring not to say anything because they loved the honor of men rather than the glory of God. I think Nicodemus had the experience, and it wasn’t something that was contrary to the ways of a great religious teacher in Israel, a great rabbi, but it was something more . . . more than just the institutional forms, more than just the thing in itself and the practice of religion. I think Nicodemus as an old man experienced new birth, and that’s the wonderful possibility, and it’s the promise of Christmas. And it’s the promise for all of us as well in our day. We live in a most exciting time. We live in an age of transition. When did it begin? I don’t know exactly. When will something jell? I am not at all sure, but we’re living in a hinge period. We are living in a fascinating time, and for some a very anxious time, because some of the old forms and structures have been shaken a bit. Some of the foundations are crumbling a bit. You see, a culture goes along on its way rather thoughtlessly and almost automatically for a long time, maybe centuries. Then the myths and the ideas and the common assumptions that are held by everyone lose their grip on the human imagination. People begin to think that perhaps there’s something other, and perhaps it is that there are angels that hover about and send messages, perhaps in the intuition and the depths of the human being. Then old ways are questioned and institutions begin to falter, and the guardians of the law, and the guardians of the old tradition hang on with desperate clutching fear, trying to buoy up structures that no longer will carry the freight. We live in such a time as that. There are a lot of people that are afraid and are anxious. You always at times like that hear the cry that we ought to go back to a former day. Nostalgia fills the air as though there really were “good old days.” If we really describe the “good old days” we would find that we’ve moved a long way beyond those “good old days,” those common assumptions that everyone took for granted. We live in a day when there are many people and whole nations, and whole groups of people that are coming to consciousness and to self-awareness and are saying, “We too are human. Look at us. Give us our day, our ‘place in the sun.’ ” We live in a day that is full of the rising of expectation and of dreams and desires. We live in a time when the old ways simply won’t do it any more. It’s a time of transition. It’s a fascinating time. The cover story in Newsweek Magazine, November 28, 1994,“The Search For The Sacred,” gives accounts of all kinds of people who are searching for something that, perhaps without their knowing it, has been born from above. A spirit has taken hold of them and they are simply not satisfied any more to live in that old way, some of them very successful in the old way of the world, the commonly accepted way. Some of them are getting ‘off the trolley’ as it were and simply saying, “There must be more.” They must have had a sense of angels and intimations of eternity coming to birth in their heart. Some of them are seeking © Grand Valley State University �Birth: The Way Home Richard A. Rhem Page 4   that spiritual reality in the most bizarre fashion. But we live in a day in which there is a widespread and general spiritual awakening. I want to say that very clearly because we hear so much of the opposite. We hear so much that denigrates our present day, that there is so much wrong with our world, and that society is so filled with ills and all of that negative talk. God knows there are enough problems to deal with in the social structure of our society and our world, but I believe that Christ has come and light has come, and the yeast of the Spirit is continuing to permeate the history of humankind. And I believe that we live in one of the most fascinating times that it has ever been possible for anyone to live. We live in a time where spiritual openness and curiosity and sensitivity have emerged, such as have never been known before. I do believe that. When you have a news magazine covering this spiritual quest of a multitude of people in great diversity, then you know that there is something afoot in the world. There is so much in the dreams of humankind spoken by the poets in great beauty with all kinds of images that the world has never yet realized. Will we always simply live with dreams and never come to reality? Or will those dreams, will the poets finally get through to the marrow of our bones? Will this world be transformed one day? Oh, not in a superficial optimism, but look about you. Recognize that you have brothers and sisters around this world who are not satisfied any longer to live in a closed world, one story with no angels, no transcendence, no love at the core of things, no beating of the heart to the needs of the other, those who would simply dominate rather than build community. We live in a fascinating day. There are great possibilities in our day as we stand at the edge of the future, the third millennium, a time that seems to bring out the fear and anxiety of people, but rather ought to be for us an invitation to invite the newness that is created by the eternal Spirit of God. Home is through birth. It is not a human possibility. But, by God, it happens here and there, and it is happening, and I believe it will happen in widespread fashion as the millennium comes around. It’s a wonderful time in which to be alive. For example, I think there are people all over in different religious traditions who are beginning to wake up to one another. We live in a decade that is on the edge of the third millennium. I do believe that the next millennium will be not a millennium of religious absolutism, but of a pluralism that is open to the other, where we share the spiritual riches and the endowments that we have all received, where together we grow into a greater understanding of the reality of life and the depths of love. This is a world in which a statesman such as Vaclav Havel of Czechoslovakia calls on world leaders to wake up to the spiritual reality and to build a global world community, which is obviously necessary. This is a day in which to come alive to the riches of our own tradition, to be ready to share them, and to be ready as well to receive the riches of others – rather than closing ourselves off, opening ourselves up to the reality of spirituality that is being © Grand Valley State University �Birth: The Way Home Richard A. Rhem Page 5   created by the one true God who has come to us, sharp focused in the face of Jesus Christ. Or, if you want to go into another area, the area of the sciences. If you would trace as you’ve heard me say many times, the history of the science of physics, you would find that, in the wake of new physical theory, there has always been a breakthrough in theological understanding. It was in the rise of the Age of Reason, the Modern Age, the Enlightenment, with Newtonian physics that we’ve got this closed cause and effect universe. And rationalism dominated the scene. The human mind was the measure of truth and reality. Then along comes an Einstein with his Theory of Relativity that I don’t understand, but which I know really threw a wrench into the Newtonian machine that had so neatly described reality. Then, of course, building on Einstein was Niels Bohr, the Scandinavian, the Danish physicist, who comes up with Quantum Theory. He and Einstein were friends but toward the end of their life they couldn’t communicate any more because Einstein couldn’t quite go along with the indeterminacy, the unpredictability, the randomness, the mystery of this physical universe. Einstein said of God, “The Old Man doesn’t play dice.” Bohr said, “Oh yes, the Old Man does. This world is filled with more potential, more infinite possibility than any predictability on the part of anyone who has yet thought about these things.” Then if you read the implications of Quantum physics you know about the possibility of parallel universes. We hear of black holes and no one knows what black holes are, but what if you could go through a black hole and find yourself in another whole universe through a time warp, in another whole age, in another whole reality? You think that’s poppy cock? It’s the stuff of science fiction and the stuff of science fiction usually is the prelude to what everybody knows in another century or two. There will be a day when our enlightenment thought, our heavy rationalism, our bowing down to the God of human reason will look so shoddy and so shabby, we’ll laugh at our silly smallness in the light of the infinity of the universe that has been created by the Eternal God who can never be defined and will never be brought into a corner. This God who creates and continues to create in an expanding universe whose deepest minds, probing it, stand in wonder of it all. There is more wonder and awe in the natural sciences today than in those of us who are people of the Book, who know it all, have it all wrapped, all sealed up, and have the definitions down pat. No, home is a way of birth. Home comes by opening oneself up to a miracle. It comes silently. It comes unpredictably. It comes without being able to demand it. It comes . . . and when it comes . . . and when it has happened . . . one says, “Oh, my God! I never would have thought . . .” and then all of our hopes and dreams and all of our creeds and scientific propositions are like child’s play in the face of the reality that breaks through and comes within our grasp. Ah! It’s a fascinating time in which to be the people of God. It’s a fascinating time to acknowledge the © Grand Valley State University �Birth: The Way Home Richard A. Rhem Page 6   possibility of new birth, of being born from beyond ourselves, of being born into newness such as we’ve never yet dreamed of. I want to interrupt this sermon with a commercial. I want to tell you that you have a Team whose quartet of voices are ready to lead you into the newness and the excitement that lies beyond the horizon. You have in Colette one whose faith formation will tell the children the “Old, Old Stories” with question and wonder and awe, so that the children we baptize will know the stories that have shaped us. Then you have, in our young friend Bob, one who will care for you and also challenge you and lead you into social engagement in order that the world of which the prophets dreamed where lion and lamb will lie down together, where they would beat swords into plow shares and spears into pruning hooks, where they would learn war no more, where they would not hurt nor destroy in all God’s holy mountain not because of an enforced Roman peace, but because of justice and equity and compassion and community – you have in young Bob Kleinheksel one who will lead you to the edge and push you over. And if you are hungry, if you are looking for something more, if you would see a rift in the heavens, if you would be born again, come to Peter who will lead you with prayer and meditation, and a cultivation of a spirituality which is the wave of the future where we are all going. And I . . . I hope, simply, to skid into the next millennium on their coattails. This is a wonderful day in which to be alive. Nothing can save us that is possible. We who must die demand a miracle. And the miracle has happened. It happens and one breathes deeply and everything so familiar and known and ordinary is transformed with a radiance that shines out of the depths of eternity. The light has come for those who have eyes to see it. The Word has been enfleshed in those who would touch it . . . for just a moment. For just a moment let’s have the lights dimmed. The evangelical church has missed the point so often because it has said that if you would believe, or if you would assent to this, or if you would have faith you would be born again. It’s backwards. Being born again is not a human possibility. It is not the end of some human effort. It is not the will of the flesh or human will. It is of God. But in just a moment or two, be open to the miracle. Just breathe deeply, for who knows, there could be in this moment the intersection of eternity with time, and the likes of us might be born from above. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5602ab8006105ca2be395c30f23cc4f1.mp3 e5d450ab7aafd6dbe73cd9732743cd25 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Christmas Day Scripture Text John 1:12-13, John 3:3 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-0-19941225 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-12-25 Title A name given to the resource Birth the Way Home 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 December 25, 1994 entitled "Birth the Way Home", on the occasion of Christmas Day, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: John 1:12-13, John 3:3. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Christmas Incarnation Mystery Spiritual Quest Transforming Grace https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/285ffa64475e4b871e28d333de0388e9.mp3 ad691fcbd7348b6e1979e6e9bab1c23c 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 New Years Eve Scripture Text Isaiah 43:1, 14, 18-19 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19941231 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-12-31 Title A name given to the resource Remember... Remember Not 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 December 31, 1994 entitled "Remember... Remember Not", on the occasion of New Years Eve, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Isaiah 43:1, 14, 18-19. 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/8de484398ddb136691adb4df48646a9a.mp3 bdc9dda7e52313fd360dc3812d32503b Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Epiphany I Scripture Text Luke 2:32-35 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-0-19950108 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-01-08 Title A name given to the resource Good News! The Light Has Come! Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on January 8, 1995 entitled "Good News! The Light Has Come!", on the occasion of Epiphany I, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Luke 2:32-35. 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/efbe7c22dea14e702a994e50bb99fb83.mp3 823327da166234c0978b2522e5b6f9ca Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Epiphany II Series New Testament Series Scripture Text II Corinthians 4:6, John 14:6, 9 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19950115 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-01-15 Title A name given to the resource Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the 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 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on January 15, 1995 entitled "Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life", as part of the series "New Testament Series", on the occasion of Epiphany II, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: II Corinthians 4:6, John 14:6, 9. 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/4272f840692e1d088f176a1b30d32d45.pdf 5514c588e131844ea296192885b43962 PDF Text Text A Charismatic and Open Future From the series: The People of the Way Text: Acts 1:8; 3:19-21; 10:34; 11:2, 4 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan January 22, 1995 Transcription of the spoken sermon The Lesson from the Epistle is a reading from the Book of Acts, in fact several passages, in my attempt to give you a sense of how the Jesus Movement was founded and continued, and how the New Testament document was put together. We have spent a couple of weeks looking at the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, the founding story. Those stories were written a long time after the event itself and they were not biographical in the sense of simply telling the story of Jesus. They were faith documents. They were written with a selective vision in order to create a portrait that would elicit faith in people. Those four Gospels come first in the New Testament, I suppose, because it would seem logical that the founding story would be there first. The other large piece of the New Testament are the letters, particularly the letter of Paul. Between the letter of Paul and those gospels you have the Book of Acts. Sometimes we call it the First Church History. Well, that’s as erroneous as to call the gospels the lives of Jesus. Just as the gospels were proclamations of faith in a narrative form, so the Book of Acts was a proclamation of faith in a narrative form. It does in a sense create a bridge, but it really is volume two of the Gospel of Luke. If you would read the opening verses of Luke and then the opening verses of Acts you would see that it’s the same hand, the same intention to set forth these things in orderly fashion. But, just as the gospel was the founding story in narrative form to tell about the life and ministry and resurrection of Jesus, so Acts was the continuing story to show how the Jesus Movement developed and spread. So, as I read, I want you to see that this Jesus Movement was the movement empowered by the Holy Spirit of God, and was thrust out into the world, not without conflict and resistance, but finally breaking the narrow bounds of Israel and going to all nations, or to the Gentiles. There are those who say this may be one of the earliest formulations of the conception of Jesus that the Church eventually came to. This was a very primitive © Grand Valley State University   �A Charismatic and Open Future Richard A. Rhem Page 2   understanding; this Jesus that they all knew, this Jesus, God has made Lord in Christ. There’s a dramatic healing at the temple and everyone wonders about it, and then Peter has another chance to preach. On that occasion he says, “Now, brothers and sisters, I know that you acted in ignorance as did your rules. But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets that Christ should suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent, therefore, and turn again that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that God may send Christ (the Messiah) appointed for you. Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for establishing all that God spoke by the mouth of the holy prophets from of old.” It is as though Peter is saying, “Come now, turn. If you’d just turn, then God could get on with it, you see, and this Jesus could come, Messiah, Lord, and wrap everything up.” Well, it wasn’t to happen. The community continued to grow and to develop and it was very much a Jewish community. What Luke does is to give us some models, or some paradigms of how that movement developed and took shape. The Cornelius story, Peter and Cornelius, was certainly a classic paradigm of how this gospel broke the bounds of Israel and was brought to the non-Jew. It happened simply because Peter was given a vision that he couldn’t deny and an experience that simply overwhelmed him. So he has a vision, hears a knock at the door, there are men beckoning him from Cornelius who has had a vision, and he comes to Cornelius’s house and he says, “You know I shouldn’t be here. This is contrary to everything I’ve ever been taught, associating with the likes of you. What do you want?” They asked, “What’s God telling you? Tell us.” Peter opened his mouth and said, “Truly, I perceive that God shows no partiality.” [Pretty good for Peter.] “But in every nation, anyone who hears him and does what is right and acceptable to him. You know the word which he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace by Jesus Christ. He is Lord of all. The word which was proclaimed throughout all Judea beginning from Galilee after the baptism which John preached, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth of the Holy Spirit and with power. How he went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses to all that he did, both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him on the third day and made him manifest—not to all the people, but to us who were chosen by God, as witnesses. Who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead, and he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he was the one ordained by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness and everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins in his name.” © Grand Valley State University �A Charismatic and Open Future Richard A. Rhem Page 3   While Peter was still saying this, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard and the believers from among the circumcised who came with Peter were amazed because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. They heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God, and Peter declared, “Can anyone forbid water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” He commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and they asked him to remain for some days. Now the apostles and the brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem the circumcision party criticized him, saying, “Why did you go to uncircumcized people and eat with them?” Peter began to explain to them step by step. About the same time, sometime between 70 and 100, the Gospels were written: the Book of Acts was written and the Gospels as well, the Gospel of John maybe toward the end of the century. But John, too, was trying to shape the future by understanding the present. So he tells the story of Jesus, and in the fourth chapter of the Gospel of John is the familiar story of the woman at the well in Samaria. She’s a woman. She’s a Samaritan. Jesus talks to her, already shattering the preconceptions of his day. Then he indicates to her that he knows a thing or two about her, and she thinks to herself, “This is getting too personal, let’s talk theology.” So the woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where we ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know. We worship what we know for salvation is from the Jews. The hour is coming and now is when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. For such the Father seeks to worship.” The problem with following the course is not that Jesus has failed us, but that we failed Jesus—over and over and over again. So there’s a Christian church instead of simply the blossoming of Israel into a great world religion with a message of light and salvation for the whole world. The Gospels tell the story of Jesus, but as I said, they’re faith documents trying to create faith in those to whom that story, that narrative form of that faith commitment is woven, and the Book of Acts as well. Often we see Acts as a bridge between the Gospels and Epistles, as I said at the scripture reading. As a matter of fact Acts is not a history, although it is in the shape of history. What the Gospel writers were doing and what the author of Acts was saying was the same as the Gospel of Luke, Volume II. What they were doing was telling the story not simply recording the past. You know, historians are sneaky people. You think they are sort of harmless because they just grub around in the past. But you know what historians are? They grub around in the past until they can understand the present so they can © Grand Valley State University �A Charismatic and Open Future Richard A. Rhem Page 4   determine the future. There’s not a historian alive who is an objective observer of what really happened, because most of the time we can’t really determine what really happened. So, there’s data back there. There’s a connection with concrete events, but the historian is one who weaves that data into a story. And that story becomes compelling. That story interprets the present and it shapes the future. This story was written sometime between 70 and 100. We are four decades, minimally, away from the event. The Jesus Movement has started with some considerable success already. It has permeated the ancient world, and it’s in crisis. The Church is always in crisis; it’s nothing new. The crisis is that the Jesus Movement starts out very understandably as a Jewish movement. Jesus was a Jew. Sorry to tell you, folks, Jesus wasn’t a Christian. I don’t think Jesus ever intended to be anything other than a Jew, a faithful son of Israel—the fulfillment and the blossoming and the culmination of all that marvelous tradition. So it is understandable, as well, that the first movement, the Jesus Movement, was a Jewish movement you could call People of the Way. In the story of Paul’s conversion, from Saul to Paul, in Acts 9:2, you’ll read that he went after the People of the Way. Acts 19:23: once again, when the talk in Ephesus was about some controversy, these are People of the Way. How do you characterize new movements? No one knows quite what to call them and so they were called People of the Way. So it’s a Jewish movement, those who believe that this Jesus of Nazareth was indeed God’s anointed one, God’s Messiah. It is a community in Jerusalem in which Jesus’ brother James becomes a dominant figure. But the intention, Luke tells us, was that this thing go in concentric circles out to the whole world and so it started in Jerusalem, a Jewish community, where it gets some opposition. There was a good solid Jew named Saul, who was on his way to persecute the People of the Way. Bingo, he receives a vision, a light from heaven, and he turns around—a dramatic conversation – and he becomes St. Paul, the apostle of Jesus Christ. Now, his vision entails a ministry beyond the limits of Israel. He begins to go out into the Roman Empire. He tells the story at the synagogue to the Jews first but, when he gets turned away there, he preaches in the marketplace to anybody who will listen. Before long there’s a community there: the cities in Galatia, Asia Minor, etc. Now there’s trouble brewing. This I think is what the Book of Acts is really about. It is not a bridge between the Gospels and Paul’s letters. It is attempting to be a bridge between the Apostle Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles or the nations, and James—the Lord Bishop of the First Reformed Church of Jerusalem. That’s the tension. You see, there were a limited number of Jews to evangelize in the world, but there was a whole world of Gentiles. And when the consistory met in Jerusalem at the First Jewish Christian Reformed Church, they said, “You know this fellow, Paul? If he keeps doing what he’s doing, saying that those Gentiles can be members © Grand Valley State University �A Charismatic and Open Future Richard A. Rhem Page 5   with us in the community of faith without first becoming Jews, the whole character of our church will be changed. It will no longer be like it has been. They don’t know our customs. They don’t know how to act. They don’t know the inside jokes of the family when they gather. They’ve got a lot of strange things about them. It doesn’t feel comfortable. How can we be a family when people are coming right out of all kinds of pagan practices and expecting to sit down at table with us?” Anybody with any insight could see that, if Paul was successful and the mission to the Gentiles should prosper, it was going to be a whole new ball game. There was sharp tension because the things that have been for us, the mediators of grace, the things that we have grown up with, the things that we feel in our depths without having to think intellectually about, those are precious to us. We don’t let those go easily and we don’t open ourselves up to that which might threaten that very easily. Well, poor Peter got caught in the crossfire between James and Paul. And what Luke does as an author, as a spinner of a literary tale, is to give us marvelous paradigms. The central paradigm, the hinge-point of the Book of Acts, is the story of Peter and Cornelius. We read it earlier together. Peter, kind of against his will, finds himself in a setting and doesn’t know what to do but to tell a story of Jesus—his ministry, his death, his resurrection. Bingo, the Spirit zaps these nonJewish listeners and Peter says, “I can’t believe this, but it would appear that God shows no favoritism, there’s no partiality with God.” So he says, “Go ahead, baptize them.” Well, it’s one thing to have a vision as Peter had, it’s one thing to have one’s concrete experience confirmed, the intuition, but it’s another thing to have to go back to headquarters. And he got it in the neck. They said, “We understand you had ham and eggs?” So Peter started to tell the story, step by step. Now folks, that isn’t just an interesting little tale. Today when I’m preaching the truth, which isn’t always the case, of course. (Laughter) But, preachers are like historians, they are also trying to understand the present in order to shape the future out of the facts of the past. That’s what was going on. So, this People of the Way, a Jewish movement, was developing a People of the Way, a Gentile movement. The People of the Way, Jewish movement, were able to be brought around to where they could see that this Way [involved more] than they first dreamed of. Unfortunately, not much of the leadership of the Jewish church at the time was able to do that 180-degree turn like Paul did, and like Peter did, and maybe the 110-degree turn that James did. James never quite came around, but he turned around enough to get in and stay in. But what happened is that a Jesus movement within Judaism began to get an identity and then it got connected to this Gentile movement of Jesus. Before long, even though these people were so close together, as history developed they separated because what happens in human groupings is that when there’s a lot at stake we need to © Grand Valley State University �A Charismatic and Open Future Richard A. Rhem Page 6   justify our separate existence. And we justify our separate existence over against the other. It works both ways. Before long the People of the Way were comprised of Jewish and Gentile people, but it becomes a separate movement from Israel, the womb that gave it birth. That Jesus movement was a charismatic movement, which means that it was a movement gifted by the Spirit. In the Christian church today we talk about certain charismatic churches. Well, I want to tell you the whole church is charismatic or it’s nothing. Now, in the whole church some groups come alive suddenly and they experience the power and presence of the Spirit, and they begin to sing and dance and stomp their feet. Then we say, “Oh, they are charismatics.” Well, so are we, although we’re kind of dull and boring. Because what was happening, what moved that Jesus Movement out, was the gust of the Spirit. As Luke tells the story in the Book of Acts, it is the risen Christ whose presence, not in flesh but in Spirit, whose power was still on—the power, the presence, everything that they had experienced with Jesus – was still there. It was within their community. It was a movement of the breath of God, the wind of God, the Spirit of God. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b3336e016660cf125f204f20b8ac97ec.mp3 5bf932278e3edd7385616bf57b0067cc Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Epiphany III Series New Testament Series Scripture Text Acts 1:8, Acts 3:19, Acts 10:34, Acts 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-0-19950122 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-01-22 Title A name given to the resource The People of the Way: A Charismatic Community, An Open Future Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on January 22, 1995 entitled "The People of the Way: A Charismatic Community, An Open Future", as part of the series "New Testament Series", on the occasion of Epiphany III, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Acts 1:8, Acts 3:19, Acts 10:34, Acts 11. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Followers of Jesus Historical Jesus Liturgical Calendar Spirit of God https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/961ed34ab6dd8fae60fa3c324886fe27.mp3 afaf45b3262d0581801075baba06683e Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Epiphany IV Series New Testament Series Scripture Text Luke 4:18, Romans 1:16, Acts 28:23 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-0-19950129 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-01-29 Title A name given to the resource And The Story Goes On Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on January 29, 1995 entitled "And The Story Goes On", as part of the series "New Testament Series", on the occasion of Epiphany IV, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Luke 4:18, Romans 1:16, Acts 28:23. 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/5aef2875694ad811a80c7336baaf4819.mp3 fa9dd2db6b0dae372ad9a1f76da08273 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Epiphany V Scripture Text Ephesians 1:17-19 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19950219 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-02-09 Title A name given to the resource Epiphany Eyes Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on February 9, 1995 entitled "Epiphany Eyes", on the occasion of Epiphany V, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Ephesians 1:17-19. 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/f2bc2074584740741352551f0f40583d.mp3 cd922a8aa2af1f4a1fe8708882462bb5 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 Mardi Gras Sunday Scripture Text Psalm 148:1-14, Psalm 149:1-5, Luke 7:18-35 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI References Gertrud Mueller Nelson, To Dance With God: Family Ritual & Community Celebration, 1986 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-0-19950226 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-02-16 Title A name given to the resource From Feasting to Fasting Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on February 16, 1995 entitled "From Feasting to Fasting", on the occasion of Mardi Gras Sunday, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Psalm 148:1-14, Psalm 149:1-5, Luke 7:18-35. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Community of Faith Liturgical Calendar Psychology https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/0c44f3ff4e643059ad1d617633841d41.pdf 2e7b1517d1db6030b57c4eb7fbf1bf18 PDF Text Text Retrieving a Dangerous Dream From the sermon series: The Dream Text: Luke 22:19 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Lent I, March 5, 1995 Transcription of the spoken sermon My life and ministry has been changed through the observance of Lent. It is in the observance of Lent that I began to focus rather intensely on the story of Jesus, and in the last few years that focus has been transforming. I grew up in the church and in a wonderful Christian home and was taught as a child to love Jesus, and I was taught the whole story of Jesus and identified Jesus as Son of God, the One Who came into this world to die for us. My piety was expressed in the old hymn, "Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe. Sin had left a dreadful stain, He washed it white as snow." Then I began to realize that, while I should love Jesus and admire and trust and adore Jesus, as a matter of fact, there were people in the course of history who moved me more than Jesus. It's a strange thing to confess to you, but it's true. It began to bother me somewhat. Why is it that, for example, as a kid having to do a book review on a biography, I read a biography of Gandhi, and I was so impressed with that person? And then later, studying the while Civil War and recognizing the leadership of an Abraham Lincoln, I was really impressed. And in the 60's, with the Civil Rights struggle, Martin Luther King and the non-violent leadership patterned on Gandhi's methods -I was moved by this human person and began to realize that Jesus did not affect me the way some of these people affected me. And then it was such that in the study of the Gospels there was a development or movement that looked at Christology from below. You see, my Christology, my understanding of Jesus Christ, was from above, from God's point of view. That's the way you've learned it, too. I can remember struggling with that at some points. For example, at seminary one studies Christology. And I can remember studying that section in the Gospels about the temptation - you remember, Jesus was tempted in the Wilderness - and, according to our good Reformed theology, Jesus was really tempted, but Jesus could not have sinned. Now, maybe you didn't know that, but believe me, that's true. In our good theological systems, Jesus is tempted, but Jesus could not sin. Jesus was not only human, Jesus was divine. If Jesus Christ, human and divine, would have sinned, God would have sinned. That's impossible, so the temptation was real, but Jesus could not have © Grand Valley State University   �Retrieving a Dangerous Dream Richard A. Rhem Page 2   sinned. When it came to exam time, I had to write the answer to the question, "Could Jesus have sinned?" So, I wrote the right answer, because uppermost in my life was always to get all As. My father had taught me that. I wrote the right answer. But, then I wrote what I really felt. And I let the professor have it. I mean, the page smoked. I said it disgusts me, this kind of game we play, when you read the Gospel story and you've got Jesus in the wilderness in temptation, and then later we observe that and say he could not really have sinned. I really got rid of all my passion. I got my exam book back and the professor wrote across my answer, "Feel better?" And, indeed, I did feel better! So, there were those times that I struggled with the fact that my Jesus Christ was second person of the Trinity, Son of God come down to earth to live and to die, to take care of the atoning necessity and to go back to reign, and I treated Jesus Christ as a kind of divine interloper, one who dipped down here for a time. But, Jesus, for me, lacked something of that flesh and blood passion that I experienced in my own human experience. He was not really my brother. I was more impressed by Gandhi. To be sure, Jesus was pretty heroic. After all, he had a leg up on us. Then came to me that development of Christology from below, where there had to be some research into the real historical setting of Jesus and, as I began to reflect on that, I came to see that God certainly embodied Jesus, or Jesus was embodied with the Spirit of God, but Jesus was my brother. Jesus was flesh of my flesh and bone of my bone, and then I began to reflect on the whole Gospel story from that angle. On April 15, 1984, Palm Sunday, I preached a sermon entitled, "Jesus, You're Really Somebody." And that was a turning point for me. I was invited to come to Western Seminary to lead a Lenten preaching seminar and there were about 40-50 colleagues gathered there and I shared with them my excitement about how my preaching during the Lenten season had come alive with my understanding of Jesus as genuinely human. Well, it wasn't very well accepted, frankly. But, no matter. I continued to pursue that line, until in 1991 during Lent, I preached about The Way of Jesus, the Sign of the Cross. And then the next year the same thing, and the next year - The Way of Jesus, The Way of the Cross, the way of a human being fully open to God who proclaimed a different world and who died for the way he lived. And I come right back in 1995 and I want to say in these Lenten weeks, that Jesus had a dream. He had a dream of a new world, of a different way of being, and in dying he asked those who followed him to remember, to keep the dream alive. So, this morning we begin with the retrieval of a dangerous dream. Retrieval is a technical word. If you were in literary circles and engaged in the interpretation of literary documents of the past, which of course is very critical to interpretation of the Bible and very critical to the interpretation of the Constitution, but it's also done broadly in the literary field. Interpretation of documents of the past. How do you bridge the past and the present? The endeavor to do that is called the science of hermaneutics. Hermes was the messenger of the gods. Hermes was the god of communication. How do you take an ancient story and have it come alive © Grand Valley State University �Retrieving a Dangerous Dream Richard A. Rhem Page 3   so that it impacts us today, shaping our future? Well, in the study of literary documents in today's world, which is quite a broad endeavor being carried on by many, many people, there is what is called the hermaneutics of suspicion. You go to an ancient document and you don't just take it at face value, but consider, "What was going on in the society and the culture? What was the political situation? The economic situation? Why would this author put things this way?" An example of this in the New Testament is when the interpreter will go to the Gospel of John, where you have a whole controversy between Jesus and the Jews, and say, "At that time, when John was writing, there was real conflict between the Jesus movement and the ongoing Jewish community. There was real tension." And that tension will probably reveal itself in a document written at that time. Hermaneutics of suspicion doesn't just take it at face value, but asks what was going on behind there? But there's another hermaneutics, and that's what I really want to use in our Lenten discussions, and that is the hermaneutics of retrieval, where there is an honest effort made to retrieve, to bring back, to elicit from the past that meaning, that disclosure in order that it may become a disclosure experience for us today. The kind of thing when you read an ancient document out of another time and another place, a whole other world, and suddenly a light goes on and that which came to expression there, comes to expression again. That's retrieval. And what I hope we can do and where we want to begin this morning, is to try to retrieve that dream of Jesus. It's more possible to do it today than has ever been possible before, because there's been such intensive research into the Gospels and into the life of Jesus. One of the books that some of you have read and we've passed around is by Marcus Borg, Meeting Jesus Again For The First Time. Marcus Borg is a member of the Jesus Seminar that gets a little press once in a while, and he makes a very interesting and helpful distinction between the pre-Easter Jesus and the postEaster Jesus. They're not the same, you see. The pre-Easter Jesus is the Jesus that lived, ate, slept, sweat, taught, wept – the actual, historical Jesus. Pre-Easter Jesus. The post-Easter is that Jesus remembered after Easter, some decades down the line, in terms of the present experience of the risen, living Christ. Our Gospels are post-Easter Jesus remembrances. But, through research today, we have access more than ever before, to that preEaster Jesus. Studying his times. Studying his cultural situation. What were the politics of the day? What were the economics of the day? Does it matter, for example, that Jesus was at the lower end of the peasant scale, that Jesus' family had lost their property? Does it help us to understand Jesus if we understand in that day that life was organized according to a kind of holiness code, where you ate with some people and you didn't eat with other people. You followed certain practices in your diet and your ritual life. There were all sorts of ways in which life was structured then, just as there are now. But, what we're able to do now is © Grand Valley State University �Retrieving a Dangerous Dream Richard A. Rhem Page 4   to go back and paint some of that, to understand some of that which was going on. So, we're looking at the pre-Easter Jesus. But, to remember Jesus is to recover a dangerous dream, because Jesus is not just the pre-Easter Jesus of history, Jesus is the living Lord of the Church, and throughout all of these centuries here and there, now and again, someone or some movement has remembered, has been captivated by the memory of Jesus and that energized them and changed them and they have become transformative agents in the world. For example, in the Second World War, in France, when the Nazis overcame the French government, there was a French puppet government put in place that cooperated with the Nazis, specifically in rousing out the Jews and sending them off to the concentration camps. There was a French Reformed pastor named André Trocmé. His story is told in the book Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed. Trocmé struggled with what he as a Christian had to do in the face of his context in time in France - should he cooperate? He could not cooperate. But the thing that shaped Trocmé in his very concrete decisions in that very existential situation was his memory of Jesus. He writes, "If Jesus really walked upon the earth, why do we keep treating him as though he were a disembodied, impossible, idealistic, ethical theory?" You see, if Jesus is just some kind of impossible ideal, then Jesus can be admired, but not necessarily followed. Trocmé says, if he were a real man, then the Sermon on the Mount was made for people on this earth. And if he existed, God has shown us in flesh and blood what goodness is for flesh and blood people. What's dangerous about remembering Jesus that way? It put Trocmé in danger of his life. But it's dangerous in the deeper sense; it's dangerous to the collaborationist government. It's dangerous to the ruling regime. The memory of Jesus is subversive. When Jesus gets a hold of one, when one says, "Oh, I see. I see a different world. I see a new possibility. I see the contradiction of my life, I see the contradiction of my society, of my church," when one is energized by that dream, that memory, one can become a dangerous person. One becomes a destabilizing person then. One becomes as Jesus was, a thorn in the flesh of the status quo and the established structures of life. Jesus' memory is dangerous, but it is precisely in the Lenten season that we are called to remember, and how better to enter the season than around the Table, the Table of our Lord, the Last Supper. As I said at the Table, it was his custom to eat with all people. To eat with all people was a political statement. It was counter to the accepted ways, the conventional wisdom. It was radical and it was disruptive. People were offended by Jesus. Particularly the religious people were offended with Jesus. When he came to his last night, it was as natural as breathing for him to say to his disciples, "Join me at table." And knowing that he was going to die, he broke the bread and he said to them, "Remember me. Don't let the dream die." That's really what it was. It was really no more than that. The dream has so many applications and we can't begin even to scratch the surface © Grand Valley State University �Retrieving a Dangerous Dream Richard A. Rhem Page 5   this morning, but let me just give you a concrete illustration of what it would mean if we remembered Jesus at the Table. This Table, my friends, is here because Jesus gathered at table with all sorts of people. He scandalized the righteous because he would break bread with anybody. But this Table in congregations in churches all across the world, rather than being the Table of Jesus that invites all, has become one of the great divisions even within the Christian church. There are Christian churches that gather and I'm not allowed to come to the Table, because I don't believe just the way they believe, or believe and live just the way they believe and live, or recite just the right words. Isn't it ironic? Isn't it ironic that the Table, which for Jesus was the radical sign of inclusivity, could become a means of division even among Christian people? The Table was simply a sign of that broader inclusivity of Jesus who welcomed all, who ate with publicans and tax collectors, accepted the devotion of prostitutes, reached out and touched the leper. And yet the Church is a Church of walls and barriers. It is not simply the people who are hungry for grace and forgiveness. We have our walls up and our barriers erected. Isn't it ironic? If we really remembered the dream, it could be dangerous, couldn't it? For the Christian Church. For my life. That's what this season is all about. Remembering that Jesus died because he had a dream of something different. Remembering that world that he conceived of - a world of grace, of compassion, of inclusiveness, and seeking in this season to be transformed by the memory in order to keep the dream alive. Lent has changed my life and my ministry. I love Jesus. And it is the passion of my life to follow him. Will you join me? © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/bba37b8b7fd09140f674483e96a10446.mp3 f1403830e5d4d9483d93b18e1d3f124b Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Lent I Series The Dream Scripture Text Luke 22:19 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19950305 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-03-05 Title A name given to the resource Retrieving a Dangerous Dream 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 March 5, 1995 entitled "Retrieving a Dangerous Dream", as part of the series "The Dream", on the occasion of Lent I, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Luke 22:19. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Historical Jesus Inclusive Justice Lent Way of Jesus https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/184314e9c3f068b5aaf9d5e32a71117d.pdf dce74f92362da7668d1328d1a4087a11 PDF Text Text A Dream Declared From the Lenten sermon series: The Dream Text: Luke 4:18-19 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Lent, March 12, 1995 Transcription of the spoken sermon Are you a dreamer? Do you have a dream? Is there something in the depths of your being, some deep yearning, longing? Do you have a dream? Do you ever think about it? Or wake up in the middle of the night and suddenly come to consciousness that there is something really in the depths of your being that cries out for realization? Do you have a dream? Maybe it's a dream that doesn't extend too far beyond the circle of your immediate life; maybe you have a dream about your relationship or about your children. Maybe a young person would dream about a career, and as I look into the eyes of a few of you here, I can see a dream dawning in your eyes about the ideal retirement. Well, I think probably we all have certain dreams that live in us, but do you ever dream on a broader scale? Do you ever paint on a wider canvas? This nation was built on a dream. There were people who had a dream of a different kind of government, casting off that European culture with the divine right of kings and the privilege of nobility. Probably the biggest dreamer that I know personally is Bob Schuller. Bob went out to California at age 30 with a 40-year dream. His only problem was he realized the whole dream in 25 years. By that time he had the Crystal Cathedral and the Hour of Power. The last time I talked with him a year or so ago, he told me since that he has become depressed. And when he stopped to think about it, it was because he was in year 39 and he realized that he hadn't dreamed any further. And so, dreamer that he is, he simply set up a new ten-year dream, and the energy came back to his life. He's probably the biggest dreamer that I know personally. Do you ever dream about something on a broader scale? People have dreamed about institutions and founded a great hospital, or a college, or maybe even a congregation. Do you ever dream about a different world? Does your dream ever extend that far? How about when the television screen flashes pictures like in the © Grand Valley State University   �A Dream Declared Richard A. Rhem Page 2   year or two past, the tragedy of the former Yugoslavia, when you see the old women in babushkas and leather faces, with the tears over the death of a husband or a son? Or the atrocities of Rwanda? So far in the past. Or Haiti? Poverty. The Middle East, when a terrorist has just exploded human bodies? Do you ever dream of a different world then? Are you ever overcome with the fact that it doesn't have to be that way, that it could be different? That the world could be other than it is? Last week there was a conference in Denmark or Sweden on children who have been traumatized, and their little faces, their little beings were on the television set, little children who have stood and watched their parents being gunned down, who have watched such horror that you and I could hardly conceive of, horror at their little lives, scared, wounded souls. Do you ever feel something stir within you and say we could dream of a different kind of world? Israel's prophets were dreamers. In the Advent season we heard the voice of what the scholars call Second Isaiah, the one who begins "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, says your Lord. Make a highway for the King. Get into the mountain and the cities of Judah and behold your God, a dream of salvation." These people in exile had a dream of their return to Jerusalem. And they did return, but they returned not to the glory of the dream - they returned to grinding poverty. They returned to political intrigue. They returned to walls torn down which remained torn down. They began laying a few blocks for a second temple, but finally it got to them. You know, it does after a while. It can wear you down. And then there was another voice. The scholars call this voice Third Isaiah, Isaiah 56-66. Another voice and another singer, and he enunciated another dream. He said "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me and God has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to the captive, to bring a garland instead of ashes, to bring joy and rejoicing to God's people, to bind up the wounded." And he enunciated his dream because the earlier dream hadn't been realized and people had lost the dream. And then the dream sounded again and it wasn't realized, either, wonderful dream that it was, but a different kind of world. Five hundred years later Jesus came to his home synagogue and stood up in the midst of his own people and said, "I have a dream." Jesus declared his dream, and it was the dream of Third Isaiah who had brought to life the dream of Second Isaiah, the dream where the wolf and the lamb lie down together, the cow and the ox and the bear are all at peace with each other, and where no one hurts or destroys on all God's holy mountain. Jesus stood up in his own hometown and he said, "I have a dream. Let me declare my dream to you." And they said, "Wow, what amazing wisdom! Where did this man come from? Isn't this Joseph's son?" Then he must have begun to draw out the implications of the dream and that amazement of the people turned to anger. Isn't it strange that a dream like that should elicit anger from people? It was a wonderful dream. Isn't it a wonderful dream? A new world where wounds would be bound up or broken hearts would © Grand Valley State University �A Dream Declared Richard A. Rhem Page 3   be healed, where people in despair would find hope, where people, the prisoners of their guilt, would be told of the forgiveness and the grace of God. Isn't that a wonderful dream? Why would they grow angry? Well, from the biblical references that he made in his defense, he went to their own scripture. He said, "Look, let me quote your own Bible to you." He said, "What about the days of Nahum and the Syrian? It was he who was healed of leprosy. What about the widow of Sidon? It was she to whom Elijah brought food. Don't you see, the God of Israel, our God is a God for whom there has never been any outsiders? Don't you see that the God of Israel is a God of mercy and compassion?" Their amazement at his wisdom and power turned to anger. They wanted to kill him! Isn't it strange? We probably know more about his dream today than we've ever known before because there's so much data available - cross-cultural studies, the context of Jesus' life, the political and religious and social conditions. We know that Jesus' own family was at the lower end of the peasant scale. Jesus' family had been dispossessed of their land, which was the case of so many in that day. The occupying Roman power demanded a tax. And then the collaborating temple cult demanded a tax. And the whole temple system was organized around social categories of purity and impurity. You know, folks, poor people can't keep all that ritual up. They can't pay the temple tax, let alone the Roman tax. These folks didn't have a prayer. They were simply out. They were excluded from the temple and the sacrifice, and they were just outsiders. And Jesus had a dream. He had a dream of a world where there were no outsiders. He had a dream of a world where the wounded were healed and the hopeless given hope and the saddened given joy. And when he declared the dream, they wanted to kill him. Doesn't that strike you? How do you explain that? Jesus wasn't violent. Powerful, I think, but peaceful. And what he dreamed - isn't it wonderful? Wouldn't that be a great world? Can you dream of a different kind of world where nobody is excluded and where everybody knows that with God there is mercy and forgiveness? It's a miracle that people still can dream. Because it's dangerous to dream. If the dream goes beyond your particular retirement, if it extends too far beyond the circle of your family, if you start dreaming bigger dreams, if you should dare to dream about a world transformation - it's dangerous to dream. And it's a tricky thing to dream, too. Is the dream maybe just one's fancy? When someone says, "I have a dream," someone else might say, "You're on an ego trip." And how do you separate those threads in the tapestry? I don't think you can. How does one defend oneself who feels compelled to declare a dream about a different possibility? One needs a lot of courage because to declare a dream is to create the possibility of being shown to be a fool. To declare a dream is to create the possibility of suffering rejection. To declare a dream can put one in jeopardy of one’s life. And how does one know, how do I know the things about which I dream - whether they are of God or simply a matter of self-interest and selfpromotion? © Grand Valley State University �A Dream Declared Richard A. Rhem Page 4   It's a miracle that people still dream. After all these years and all these generations, through all these centuries, people still dream. Isn't it a miracle? Do you suppose that it's because God won't let the dream die? Do you suppose that there's something that God continues to cultivate in the human heart and imagination and that God won't quit? That God won't let it rest? That God won't let it die? The prophet who declared that Judah would go back - the dream wasn't realized. The prophet who announced 500 years before Jesus that this wonderful new world would be created - this dream wasn't realized. And yet, that dream doesn't it get you, doesn't it move you? It moved Jesus, you see, so that he picked up the words of one 500 years earlier and he said, "I have a dream." I wonder if it's because when dreams die, God finds another dreamer. I wonder if God is in those moments when we know it could be other than it is. Well, this is true - to dream is really to live. It may be a tricky business and a dangerous business, but I'll tell you, to dream is a wonderful thing. Have you ever lived with a dream? Have you ever felt the enthusiasm rise within you? Have you ever been captivated by something that just made all the juices flow? Have you ever been just ripped out of yourself, done with self-absorption and self-interest and self-preoccupation, and self-introspection, and just gotten lost in something wonderful? To dream is really to live. I think that's what Jesus meant when he talked about the seed falling in the ground and dying in order that it might bear fruit. You know, if you clutch your life and preserve your life, you lose your life. But, if you invest your life, if you'll lose your life, you will find your life. It's the paradox of the Gospel. And to dream is really to live; it's to live with enthusiasm. It's to be able to be free from all boredom and numbness and all of that that makes life so vacuous for so many! To dream is really to live, it's to live with passion, it's to live with hope, with expectation, to be alive, really alive! But, this is true, also. Dreamers die. Dreamers die, and that's so sad. Last week I mentioned the biography of Gandhi that impressed me as a young person. Gandhi, who brought passive resistance into our world, who led the Indian nation in that resistance that led to the removal of British rule so that India could be for Indians, only to find out that that nation, once on its own, was being torn apart by religious strife, war between great religions, hunger fasts. Willing to die in his appeal to people to say, "Don't do this. Come together." The movie of a few years ago showed it vividly. The dreamer Gandhi cut down by an assassin's bullet. And I suppose "I have a dream" will always be synonymous with Martin Luther King. The dream of a different world where little black children and little white children could play together, color blind. Where the color of a person's skin wouldn't be a deciding factor about anything but rather the virtue and integrity of a person's life would count. Dear God, isn't it a good dream? Isn't it a wonderful dream? Can't we dream of a world where that really could be true? But the dreamer, Martin Luther King, cut down by an assassin, and Jesus looked at those around him and saw the masses like sheep without a shepherd - he was moved with compassion and declared a dream of another kind of world, and they crucified him. © Grand Valley State University �A Dream Declared Richard A. Rhem Page 5   Dreamers die. Dear God, isn't it sad? It seems that the more wonderful the dream, the greater the reaction. Why, I wonder, the anger? Why do we kill dreamers? But, thank God that's not the last word. Because dreamers die, but dreams don't die. For somewhere in the human heart a dream will be reborn and someone will feel moved by the Spirit to say, "I have a dream." Jesus, the night before he was crucified, gathered with his friends and broke bread and said, "Remember me, and don't let the dream die." And down through all these centuries when so little of the dream has been realized, so little of the dream has been realized, but I still dream it, don't you? I have a dream. I have a dream. I had only a very little part to play in the first 100 years of this congregation. It's always a fine congregation. But I came back in the wake of the celebration of the centennial, and now this year we are in the celebration of our 125th year, and on that March Sunday of 1971 when I returned, I declared a dream. For I had learned at that point in my life that I could not win the world or change the world. Couldn't change the Church, but determined that we could create here an oasis of grace. That we would center on the grace of God for the healing of persons. That was the dream. On the local radio station at one point we even had a little jingle - Christ Community Church, the church that cares about people. That was the dream. That was all it was about. The grace place. God's emergency ward. The place for people like me, broken. And the dream has been consistent all these years. There are times when you complain that I take you into ethereal flights of theological speculation, but I want you to know that to think theologically is not in order to satisfy some speculative curiosity, but it is to uncover the foundations to make sure that a community of compassion is rooted in Jesus who is rooted in the heart of God! That's what it's all about. Theology is not an end in itself. It's a means to an end, which is to create here a place where the dream is embodied. Dream of Jesus. Dream of God. Dear God, it’s a good dream. Will you dream with me? © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ab5dfd1f013aca015d3282d0926a2de4.mp3 93920680c41694c474fa5b7914798d4d Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Lent II Series The Dream Scripture Text Luke 4: 18-19 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19950312 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-03-12 Title A name given to the resource A Dream Declared 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 March 12, 1995 entitled "A Dream Declared", as part of the series "The Dream", on the occasion of Lent II, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Luke 4: 18-19. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Lent Shalom Transforming the World Way of Jesus https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e65f1609f85fd619d754717c86bd1a62.mp3 1d62ba6b0956655087f938f2143d2b53 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 Midweek Lent Series On Being Human Scripture Text Psalm 103, Ephesians 3:14-21, Matthew 5: 43-48 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-0-19950315 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-03-15 Title A name given to the resource It Is All Right Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on March 15, 1995 entitled "It Is All Right", as part of the series "On Being Human", on the occasion of Midweek Lent, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Psalm 103, Ephesians 3:14-21, Matthew 5: 43-48. 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/588b99d438b1bf4edeb1a4a63a6f2e76.pdf a70652caf985f5da4c566316cf1e7faa PDF Text Text A Dreamer’s Portrait of God From the Lenten sermon series: The Dream Text: Luke 15:20 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan March 19, 1995 Transcription of the spoken sermon I love books and I have many books. One of them is a book by Henri Nouwen, the Dutch Catholic contemplative writer. Henri Nouwen has written many books, but this book is special. It is entitled The Return of the Prodigal Son. It's beautifully bound and it has reproductions of Rembrandt's painting of the return of the Prodigal. And the picture returns throughout the course of the book as Nouwen writes about the wonder of the love of God that embraces this son, and speaks also about the elder brother who stands on the sidelines. It is a beautiful book. The portrait struck Nouwen back in the early 80's. He purchased a poster reproduction of it, put it wherever he was living at the time, and then had opportunity to go to Leningrad to the Hermitage Museum, where he saw the original. The picture is one of an old father, nearly blind, with his hands on the son as he kneels, and Nouwen contemplated that picture for over four hours on two different occasions; he sat before that picture and just absorbed it. It became for him a portrait of God as it was a rendering of the portrait of God that Jesus painted in words in the Gospel lesson of the morning. As Nouwen contemplated this picture, he noticed that the left hand was masculine and it was firm on the shoulder of the son, but the right hand was obviously not a match. It was a more feminine hand, and Nouwen contemplated what Rembrandt was expressing near the end of his life after he himself had suffered such deep loss of his wife and of children and of dear friends. The aged Rembrandt painting an aged father receiving a child, one hand obviously masculine, the other as though it would caress, a feminine hand. I suppose that Rembrandt was familiar with that word from Isaiah, where Judah says God has forsaken us; God has forgotten us, and the Lord responds, "I have not forsaken you. I have not forgotten you. Could a mother forget a child at her breast? Could a mother lack compassion for the child of her womb? But even if these should forget, I will never forget you. I have engraved you in the palm of my hands. Like as a mother comforteth, as a father pities his children ..." I suppose all of those images were in Rembrandt's mind as he painted this magnificent portrait of the father receiving the son to his home. And I suspect that all of that imagery was also in the mind of Jesus. © Grand Valley State University   �A Dreamer’s Portrait of God Richard A. Rhem Page 2   We noted last week that he came to his hometown and declared his dream, and the contours of that dream he took from the Prophet Isaiah, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor, the release of the captives, to bring healing, to cause the lame to walk and the blind to see and the deaf to hear, to proclaim the year of God's favor." This was the declaration of the dream of Jesus. Where do dreams come from? What is it that settles in on one, that takes possession of one, that causes one's whole life to be shaped, and energizes and empowers one's life to live out that vision? A transforming moment? Certainly in Jesus' case, the deep mining of that tradition of Israel that had shaped him. Some encounter perhaps, some human encounter that made it all come together for him. A Rosa Parks climbs on a bus and sits where she is not supposed to sit because she is a black woman. And they tell her to move and suddenly she says, "No." Because suddenly in a moment, her own human dignity takes possession of her and she resists that code that was written in concrete. Martin Luther King picks up the story and stands eventually before the Lincoln Memorial and sings, "I have a dream." What was it that triggered a Gandhi to become the leader of passive resistance that had such earthshaking effect? What was it that caused a Nelson Mandela to be willing to endure years and years of incarceration for what he believed to be right and true? What was it that enabled Jesus to live out so faithfully that vision he had of who God was and what God was calling him to be? He was a dreamer, and it's dangerous to dream. Because it's so possible that the dream will fail, or that we'll be rejected. Remember the story in Genesis of Joseph - he was a dreamer. And he came one day approaching his brothers with supplies, and they said, "Here comes the dreamer." It's so easy to write off the one whose life is consumed by a vision. They make us nervous, I suppose. It's unsettling. The dream is too bold, too daring. If it demands change and transformation, dreamers die. Jesus was a dreamer. And his whole life was the living out of a dream, and he said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. He certainly claimed the authorization of God. He must have been totally convinced that his vision of God was rooted in reality and in truth. It was a vision of God, a portrait of God that ran contrary to the accepted wisdom of the time. He ran into conflict because he lived out his vision of God full of mercy and compassion, a God who would not exclude, but include, a God who caused him to sit at table with anyone, a God who would break through all of those dividers between people that we call alienation, that would make some people inside and some people outside. There were so many people outside in Jesus' day. He saw them all. They were like sheep without a shepherd, harassed, and Jesus was moved with compassion for them because he must have been convinced that there was compassion in the heart of God for these people because they didn't really have a chance. They were ruled out from the beginning. People wear down after a while, if they get continually reflected back to them that they don't amount to anything, they are ritually impure, they are in a class that is not acceptable, finally people just wear down. © Grand Valley State University �A Dreamer’s Portrait of God Richard A. Rhem Page 3   The worst thing in the world we can do to people is to reflect to them that they don't count, that they have no value, that they belong on the outside. Finally, one begins to imbibe that in the very marrow of one's bones and one begins to take for granted that that is what one is - just one no-account. And Jesus broke through all of that and he had relationship with all kinds of people, he sat at table with and he invited them to his table and he scandalized those who were responsible for keeping society orderly. That's the setting of the story he told. I didn't read the first three verses of Luke 15, but you'll find there that it was the religious leadership of his day that was grumbling because he communicated with tax collectors and sinners. Now, sinners – they weren't bad people. That was a class of people, people that were simply outclassed. And they grumbled and they said, "Look, he sits at table with people like this!" And so, he told his story. It had three parts - about a lost sheep, and a lost coin, and about two lost sons. We call it the parable of the prodigal son, but even in that we misname it and we resist what is really there. It is not the parable of the prodigal son. Neither is it the parable of the elder son, although there is a prodigal son and an elder son, two brothers, but it's not about the boys. It's about God. It is about the father. This is a story about God. This is Jesus' understanding of God. This is the dreamer's portrait about God. He tells the story about the father who gives to the younger son his inheritance, knowing that it will be spent in the far country away from the father's home. And Jesus tells about the young man coming to himself and coming home. To show how we resist the real truth of this parable, you probably have heard it preached on as the parable of the prodigal son illustrating conversion, the son out in the far country having sinned grievously, comes to himself. Oh, my dear friends, he was not converted in the far country. Coming to himself in this story only means that he wised up. He sat down and took account of his circumstances and he said, "Look, I'm hungry and destitute. No one is giving me anything. And the hired servants of my father are better off than me." So, he memorized a speech. He was still scheming. He was still strategizing. He still wanted to be in control. He was not going home to love the father; he was going home to get a bunk bed and three square meals. That boy wasn't changed until he felt the salty tears of his father. Because Jesus knew. And Jesus believed that God knew that it is only unconditional love that can transform a human personality. And the transformation took place in the light of this old father who gathered his skirts and ran down the street contrary to every good social conduct and code, and embraced the son without recrimination; rather, he threw a party. That is Jesus' understanding of God. That is the dreamer's portrait of God so beautifully captured by Rembrandt, continuing down through the centuries to be the most profound image of God that we have as a body of Christ, as the people of God. © Grand Valley State University �A Dreamer’s Portrait of God Richard A. Rhem Page 4   Can you hear it without being moved by it? As many times as you have heard it, is not that God, is that not amazing? Is it not true that that transforming love alone can change a person? Or change the world? But, Jesus, of course, painted the portrait because he was encountering the anger of those who purportedly were the advocates of God. And so he told of the elder son, as well, the elder son who came in from the field and saw the party and, finding out that the father was throwing the party for the son who had returned, was offended and grew angry. I'll give you a mystery to think about. This is a mystery. Why is it that unconditional love and grace proffered elicits such anger? Jesus painted the picture of the elder son as well to whom the father went out and pleaded, without recrimination to him, saying, "Son, everything I have is yours. Come in! It is simply good that we celebrate. Your brother is home and he's safe." Why is it that grace and love promiscuously offered in the name of a prodigal God elicits anger? Jesus must have understood this, as well. Maybe the elder son has his counterpart in the Prophet Jonah in the Old Testament. Remember that story? God says to Jonah, "Go to Nineveh, a foreign city and a pagan people, and preach there." And Jonah took a boat and went the other way. Not because he was afraid to preach, but because he knew that if he preached and Nineveh heeded, God would forgive Nineveh. And Jonah didn't really want God to forgive Nineveh. Jonah really wanted God to damn Nineveh. But finally, you know, when you're in the whale of a belly, ... you reconsider, and so he went and he preached. And it's just like he suspected. Nineveh heeded the word of God and repented. And just as he suspected, God being an old softy, spared the city. And if you take that little book of Nineveh, if you can find it in the Minor Prophets, only four chapters, look at the 4th verse of the 4th chapter - Jonah is pouty, and God comes and says, "Jonah, do you do well to be angry?" "Yes!" So, Jonah takes his place over in the hill overlooking the city and the sun is hot. God causes a gourd to grow up to give him shade. Jonah's happy. Next morning, God creates a little worm that gnaws at the gourd and the gourd wilts and falls down and the sun blasts Jonah in the face again, who is angry. God says, "Jonah, do you do well to be angry at the gourd?" "Yes!" "Well, Jonah, if you're angry about a gourd that was here yesterday and is gone today, how do you think I feel about all the people of Nineveh? Don't you know that I care for them, too? Don't you know that they, too, are my children? Don't you know that my heart of compassion would embrace them as well?" Jesus was consumed by his understanding of God, which was a God that would exclude no one, that would embrace everyone, Whose compassion knows no limit, Whose mercy is as broad as the whole human family. And so, in the face of the anger, he told this story, and the story is just this, dear friends. God has one deep passionate desire - God wants you home. God wants you home. That's all. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/205861631cd00d22bcd7326ef6ecd82b.mp3 41176c4ee9e66e91d2f9c5ee0852cba0 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Lent III Series The Dream Scripture Text Luke 15:20 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-0-19950319 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-03-19 Title A name given to the resource A Dreamer's Portrait of God Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource 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 March 19, 1995 entitled "A Dreamer's Portrait of God", as part of the series "The Dream", on the occasion of Lent III, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Luke 15:20. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Inclusive Nature of God Transforming Love Way of Jesus https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3b36f3f8eb2abc5bf9ce58123933c1ca.pdf ee4d501aefa3bc12bd1649791fbec4a9 PDF Text Text A Dream Embodied From the Lenten sermon series: The Dream Text: Luke 23:34; I Peter 2:23 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Lent IV, March 26, 1995 Transcription of the spoken sermon Lent 1995, remembering Jesus. The way he was. The way he lived. The life that he lived leading to the death that he died. During these Lenten weeks we are seeking to retrieve the dangerous dream, the dream that he declared in his home synagogue, when he said, "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to the captives, giving sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free." A dream that he declared because he had struggled and wrestled with his own ministry, his own calling, and came out of the wilderness filled with the Spirit of God, with an image of God imprinted indelibly upon his heart, an image, a dream - a dream of the heart of God which he would begin then to embody in his ministry. Jesus had a dream. It was the dream of a different kind of world. It was a dream that was characterized by compassion and mercy, in which every person was attributed human dignity and valued as a child of God, created in the image of God. It was a dream in which there were no outsiders and insiders, but only all God's children embraced in the grace and compassion and mercy of God. That was the dream that he dreamed. And dreams shape the world. Dreams too bold create fear and elicit anger and can issue in violence. But the dream that Jesus dreamed he continued to embody in the way that he lived, the style of his life, and the teaching that he offered. Jesus had a dream. And dreamers die, but dreams don't die. Because God keeps raising up dreamers to keep the dream alive. Because the dream is a mirror of the heart and the purpose of God. Wouldn't it be fascinating this morning if we could have the charter members here with us? If we could ask them what was in their hearts 125 years ago? What were their hopes? What were their dreams? Certainly they must have been people of faith and people of vision and people of devotion and people of courage. And they founded in this village a community of people for the worship of God and the ministry of Christ. I wish we could have them with us this morning and let them tell us of their dream. I cannot this morning relate the history of 125 years, but I can relate the history that I have lived in the last 25 years. I can tell you of the © Grand Valley State University   �A Dream Embodied Richard A. Rhem Page 2   dream that was born, the new vision that captivated us 25 years ago, 1971, when I returned to this place. It was a dream of a different kind of congregation, rooted in a fine traditional Reformed congregation. We dreamed of becoming an ecumenical community where the blending of traditions would enhance and enrich, and where diversity would be celebrated. We dreamed of creating here an oasis of grace, where the bruised and the broken could come and be healed by the grace of God. We dreamed here a wonderful dream and, of course, there were some who said it was an impossible dream. But at the Institute for Successful Leadership in April of 1971, at the final communion service, I was deeply moved as Robert Schuller told the story of the Man from LaMancha, and concluded with those moving words of the song, "The Impossible Dream." It became for us somewhat of a theme song. An appropriate song it is for the story of Jesus - one who would fight for the right and who, though covered with scorn and scars, would march into hell for a heavenly cause. It's a stirring song, and the impossible dream became the dream that together we committed ourselves to realize here and, in many respects, we've realized the dream. It was a dream that captured our imagination and energized us and caused us to move out into a bold venture, for then 25 years ago, it was a radical dream. Jesus had a dream. And he lived out that dream. He lived it out in the manner of his life, and he articulated it in the teaching that he offered to the people. But a dream too bold elicits fear, which moves into anger which can issue in violence and tragedy. And so, when he stood by his dream, they conspired against him and they arrested him. They tried him and condemned him, and they crucified him. And as he was being crucified, suspended upon the cross between heaven and earth, receiving the torments and the taunts of those who mocked him, he prayed, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do." In the midst of the excruciating extremity of power, Jesus prayed thus, a prayer almost too much to take in. But in praying thus for those who were murdering him, he was embodying the dream, the dream that he had portrayed in the word picture of the parable of the father who waits to receive his prodigal son and beckons his elder son, as well, to join the party. If he painted in unsurpassable strokes the portrait of the love of God in that story, then in this prayer that he offered, he exemplified that love supremely. In his prayer for those who were murdering him, for their forgiveness, we see the supreme embodiment of the dream. He had taught his disciples and the people gathered around him to love their enemies, for he said in loving your enemies you will be imitators of God, children of God. And he taught the disciples in response to Peter's question that they ought to forgive not seven times, but seventy times seven, saying thereby that forgiveness is not an occasional act, but a permanent state of spirit and mind and heart. And when he was crucified and put to the test, the life that he had lived and the teaching that he had articulated gave supreme embodiment to the dream. And he could do no other, really. Such was the nature of the dream. You see, it was the dream that had permeated his whole being. A dream that mirrored his understanding of the nature of God. And believing as he did, that God was like © Grand Valley State University �A Dream Embodied Richard A. Rhem Page 3   that, well, we could have understood if he had done any less but, in order to be true to all that he had claimed, he had to respond out of his depths believing that it was the response out of the depths of the heart of the love of God. "Father, forgive them." Incredible. Amazing. Defying every human instinct resident within the human heart. Possible only by one transformed by love, by the love, which alone can so transform that one can so pray. Can you believe it? "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." They know not what they do. It was not a statement of arrogant superiority. It was a sad recognition of human reality. Jesus was saying "Father, forgive them," because they're not really evil people. They're not really bad people. They are, for the most part, sincere people, but they are ignorant, they're blind to the deepest truths that emanate from the depths of your being. Forgive them for they don't understand, they don't know. It wasn't some statement of arrogant superiority. It was a sad recognition of human reality that has been repeated over and over again throughout the course of history. Appalling blindness. A feeling of threat. The rising of fear. The engulfing of anger, and the consequence of tragic violence. Dreamers die. But dreams don't die, because God keeps raising up dreamers in whom the dream comes alive again because the dream can never die, for the dream is a mirror of the heart of God. It was a dream in 1870 when some Dutch immigrant folk founded here a Christian congregation. The dream took a dramatic turn in 1971. We changed our name to Christ Community, and opened our minds and hearts to fresh winds of the Spirit, celebrating diversity, being marked by grace, beckoning all of those who were broken and bruised and weary and despairing. But now, it's 1995. One hundred and twenty-five years have passed. And it's time for the dream to take on a new dimension. It is time for the dream that has been realized in this community of grace where so many have found healing to become a dream that now moves outward in ways we've not yet dared to do. To those of us who have been beckoned in by grace, it is time for us to be turned inside out. To this community and to the world. It is time for us to pray. Jesus, in the hour of his extremity, with his body screaming with pain, said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." It is time for us to pray, "Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is sorrow, let us sow joy; where there is hatred, love; where there is brokenness, wholeness; for it is in giving that we receive. It is forgiving that we are forgiven. It is in dying that we are born again to eternal life." God calls us on this anniversary year to dream the dream and to embody the dream in order that finally, ultimately, the impossible dream may become the reality of the whole earth. Dream with me. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/09a1b260da5e7149d51900dab23e3aed.mp3 4d6e007ab46c93d8d01dd8e16ff8502f Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Lent IV Series The Dream Scripture Text Luke 23:34, I Peter 2:23 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-0-19950326 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-03-26 Title A name given to the resource A Dream Embodied 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 March 26, 1995 entitled "A Dream Embodied", as part of the series "The Dream", on the occasion of Lent IV, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Luke 23:34, I Peter 2:23. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Community of Grace Forgiveness Inclusive Grace Nature of God https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/66fff228797d08a5c4f18035898bc2c4.mp3 950275ff7908036b17291963d6174b2e 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 Midweek Lent Series On Being Human Scripture Text Psalm 40, Mark 14:32-42 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-0-19950329 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-03-29 Title A name given to the resource Longing to Learn the Will of God Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on March 29, 1995 entitled "Longing to Learn the Will of God", as part of the series "On Being Human", on the occasion of Midweek Lent, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Psalm 40, Mark 14:32-42. 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/6896032617f5d3f12bb1874168e36bf5.pdf 4e8d687ea2557f4b2525e6b6e7145097 PDF Text Text A Dreamer’s Final Appeal From the Lenten sermon series: The Dream Text: Luke 19:41-42 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Lent V, April 2, 1995 Transcription of the spoken sermon Jesus was a dreamer, and it is dreams that shape the world. Dreamers die, but dreams don't die. Jesus, in his experience of God, was convinced that God was full of mercy and compassion, that God's love would reach out and embrace all sorts and conditions of humankind. After his wrestling with his calling in the wilderness, filled with the Holy Spirit, he declared his dream in his home synagogue, and in his teaching told stories which revealed his understanding of God, a God Who received the prodigal home without recrimination, simply embracing, weeping, loving, and restoring. The dream was embodied in his life, in what he taught, and in how he lived, and it was brought to supreme expression as he was being crucified and he looked at those who tormented him and he prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Such amazing love and grace, the epitome of the incarnation of the dream. He made one final appeal. After ministering throughout Galilee, after those months of his itinerary, he knew finally he must set his face toward Jerusalem, and he did. And in our lesson this morning which anticipates Palm Sunday next week, the Gospel reading tells of his final appeal to Jerusalem, his entrance into that city, and his endeavor one last time to effect a radical change, a revolution that would change the nature of that society and all human relationships. His final appeal for the embodiment of his dream in the life of the people of Israel. He went to Jerusalem because that was the center of it all. He went to Jerusalem because there was the temple and the cult and the priesthood and the temple establishment; there was the center of established power, and it was there that he must address his final appeal. My understanding of the nature of the Gospel and the ministry of Jesus has changed in recent years, and I am so keenly aware of that in the season of Lent when we are focused on his life and ministry. I have confessed to you before that I have never known what to do with the Sermon on the Mount, and if you would have a computer readout of all those texts that I've treated over all these years, you would find a great dearth of treatment of that central body of teaching of Jesus. That might seem a paradox, but it is true. And the dearth of treatment is © Grand Valley State University   �A Dreamer’s Final Appeal Richard A. Rhem Page 2   because I didn't know what to do with it. The Beatitudes - the counsel about going the extra mile, turning the other cheek, offering the second garment when one was requested, and of course, culminating in that call to love one's enemies and to pray for those who despitefully treat one. I never really knew what to do with that, to be very honest with you, because on the one hand, it is so impractical. I've been hesitant to simply say what it so obviously says, because it is so obviously contrary to our whole manner of life. It cuts against the grain of every survival instinct that we have; it's contrary to human nature as we know it in ourselves and in society. The Sermon on the Mount which was the central body in the teaching of Jesus, which was embodying that dream which motivated his life, was simply too foreign to everything I knew about myself and about all of us. I understand now why a certain biblical interpreter, Charles Scofield, interpreted the whole biblical story as he did. Maybe some of you possess a Scofield Bible, which I associate with the Bible School movement and more Bible type churches. The Scofield Bible is still being printed, as a matter of fact. Charles Scofield divided the biblical story into seven dispensations. It was his contention that we really don't even have to deal with the Sermon on the Mount. In fact, in the more radical expression of that whole school of thought, you don't even use the Lord's Prayer because the contention was that Jesus came to offer the Kingdom to Israel and, when he was rejected, then the Kingdom was postponed until a future date, and this interim period, the period of the Church Age, is a period in which that ethic of the Kingdom is not applicable. Well, I certainly don't think that Scofield has correctly interpreted the biblical story, but I do understand now what he was dealing with. He was facing the same problem that I have faced, and that is, what do you do with that ethic? Isn't it contrary to the way you live, to be honest? Don't we really know that if we follow Jesus literally as it would seem the text would call us to follow, don't we know we would come in last? Wouldn't we be gobbled up? Can you really live that way? Can you order a society that way? That was the problem he was trying to handle, I suppose. The way it’s been handled in my background and training is not that radical claim that it simply doesn't apply now, but we have been as effective in blunting Jesus' teaching by making it refer to a kind of spiritual attitude and posture of the heart, so that you don't literally turn the other cheek. You don't literally go the extra mile, but that sort of spirit washes over us a bit and does temper our human behavior. We spiritualize it. We take the sharp edge off it by saying that it is a spiritual matter and Jesus' Kingdom is a spiritual kingdom. The Kingdom of God refers to a spiritual kingdom, and haven't we honestly now been schizophrenic? Haven't we really spoken of a spiritual kingdom, those ideals, and then gone on to live our practical life, (could I even say our secular existence), in quite another fashion, if we would be honest? Well, one of the things that has changed my ministry in recent years has been the large amount of research that has surfaced about the times of Jesus, the social © Grand Valley State University �A Dreamer’s Final Appeal Richard A. Rhem Page 3   situation, the politics and the economics of the life of his time, and what is becoming evident is that Jesus was not talking about some spiritual kingdom in heaven by and by. Jesus was addressing very concretely the life and society of his day. When he said these things, he meant them. He was serious. He was talking about quite another way to live out one's human existence, and quite another way for a society to be in community together. The cultural studies of that time will reveal that Jesus was taking the side of the poor and the disaffected and the alienated and the outcast over against an established official temple religion with a holiness code that managed the social arrangement of society, and which excluded large numbers of people. And what Jesus was interested in and concerned about was the concrete life of the people of his day, particularly the disenfranchised. Particularly the poor, the landless, the voiceless, and the powerless. Jesus was serious. Jesus was speaking about real people and real social relationships in the concrete history which he was living. Jesus was reaching back to an old tradition of his people. There really are two traditions in the Hebrew scriptures. You may perhaps remember last October when we were going through that survey of the history of Israel. When we came to that section in I Samuel, Israel had entered into Canaan. They were now in and settling the Promised Land. They were under the leadership of judges. That Hebrew biblical book by that name tells the story of various of those judges. These judges were the spiritual leaders, but they had no continuing authority. They had authority when the spirit of God came upon them; they were raised up by God to meet a crisis and, once the crisis was met, they went back home to the farm. You remember Samuel, the greatest of those spiritual leaders, how some came to him and said, "Samuel, this just isn't going to do. You have stature and authority, but your sons are not following in your steps. We need a king; we need to be like other nations." And you remember Samuel said, "You are rejecting God." However, in those chapters in Samuel 8 and 9, you have two traditions side by side, and one says let them have a king, and the other says to have a king is to reject God. There were two positions, two traditions; they were in tension with one another, one wanting to maintain that relationship with God directly, and the other wanting a human figurehead on the throne. And the one tradition, the Sinai tradition, coming from Moses, is the tradition that says let God be our king. Moses had led them out of Egypt. What was Egypt? Egypt was slavery. Egypt was empire. Egypt was a place of the royal throne, and that royal consciousness permeated Egypt and it oppressed people, and the Israelites were a part of that oppressed people. And God set them free. Moses led them out of bondage, into their own land. Here they were, free. Their own people. And then some came and said to Samuel, "We'd like a king." Samuel said, "You got such short memories? Don't you remember what kings do? Kings tax. Kings raise armies with your sons and daughters. Kings oppress. Are you crazy? Having been delivered from that, do you want now to go back to that?" And they said, "Yes," and they did. © Grand Valley State University �A Dreamer’s Final Appeal Richard A. Rhem Page 4   The second tradition is called the Zion tradition. The great king of Israel was David. We really love David because we think about David as a shepherd boy. David was one clever individual - very charismatic, very strategically smart, acute, and the first thing David did was conquer Jerusalem, which up to that point had not been conquered because it was a natural fortress. He established Jerusalem as Mount Zion, and he built his house there and made it the center of this new monarchy. He wanted to build a temple, too, because every throne needs the legitimacy of the temple. But God said, "No. You've been a man of war." So what did he do? He gathered the building fund, so that when Solomon and his son came, they could build the temple. Now you have the royal house and the temple on Mount Zion, and you have all kinds of references in the Hebrew story and Israel's history in the Old Testament of the exultation of Mount Zion. Don't hear me as saying one of these traditions is biblical and the other isn't - they are both there. The Sinai tradition, the wilderness tradition, the Mosaic tradition where God is king- and the Zion tradition where the House of David is supreme, and where the house of David which is the reigning family occupying the royal house is in collaboration with the temple of Zion, temple of our God. Now, you see, when Jesus came teaching, he talked about the Kingdom of God. So often in the church we have blunted what he was really saying because we have spoken of the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven as a spiritual reign above us, not connected with our concrete reality. But as a matter of fact, when Jesus spoke of the kingdom of God, Jesus was speaking about the rule of God, the rule of God in my life and in your life and in our life together. The kingdom of God was not some far off future ideal. It was that which Jesus was calling his people to, here and now. And when he came to Jerusalem, he was serious. He was making one final appeal. Jesus did not go there without hope. He didn't come there without expectation. He came there because he knew that, until he had entered Jerusalem, to the very temple court itself, and offered this alternative, he would not have fulfilled his mission. And so, he came, and in this final appeal, there were two dramatic acts. The one was simply the entrance itself on a donkey. He came on a donkey, not a war horse. It was a symbolic action. In Zechariah 9, you'll find that the man of peace comes riding on a donkey, and Jerusalem is rid of its war horses. Jesus came as a peace candidate. Don't we hate peace candidates? Aren't they pains in the neck? Peace candidates. Chairman of the Peace Party. Coming into the city, Jesus went right to the temple and, as we speak of it, he "cleansed" the temple. I'm believing that I've preached that one wrong all my life, too. I always thought that he came in to cleanse the temple because they were turning the Temple Court into a bazaar and overcharging the poor pilgrims. But, it wasn't that they were doing business in the temple court. Doing business in the temple court was a part of the whole temple structure. Those who were doing business in the temple court were simply serving the temple system, which was a holiness system. A holiness system determined who was in and who was out. Who was right and who was wrong. When you came to the temple, you had to pay your temple tax, but you © Grand Valley State University �A Dreamer’s Final Appeal Richard A. Rhem Page 5   didn't pay your temple tax with a coin that had an image of Caesar on it. So you had to turn your temple tax, your coin with Caesar on it, into the treasurer there and get a holy coin so that, in turn, you could take the holy coin to pay your temple tax. And in the meantime, the temple skimmed a little off. You know, maybe only 5%. (I'm thinking about instituting that.) And if you were a pilgrim from far away you cannot bring a ritually pure animal in for sacrifice, and so, wonder of wonders, they're available. It was part of the system. It was perfectly legitimate. And those who were doing it were doing it in the service of the whole temple structure. It was not that they were doing business or having commerce. What they were doing was they were reinforcing a system that said to the poor that had no coin at all, "You can't come in." What they were doing was reinforcing a system that said to the poor who had no bird, "You can't come in." What they were doing was keeping intact a system that said, "You're in; you're out." Jesus went to the very heart of the temple cult and he said, "Your separateness, your separating, your dividing, your choosing, your setting those outside, alienating, your determining who can and who cannot -this is wrong! It's contrary to what God would have. This temple is for all people." And he quoted from Isaiah 56:7. You read that chapter and in that chapter the prophet says as a mouthpiece for the Lord, "Do not say, you foreigner, that you are separated from my people. And you who are eunuchs who are supposed to be outside because of dysfunction, don't say you were outside. You come in, because my house will be for all people with joy." That’s what Jesus was after. That's why he went to the temple. He went to the temple because it was the very center of a society that excluded the broken and the bruised and the bloodied, that excluded the poor and the hopeless and the powerless and the voiceless. He went to the very temple and he said to those who were in authority there, "You are collaborating with the occupying power in order to maintain the status quo of a society that is on its way to death. And if you maintain this posture, you will lead this people to disaster." That’s why when he came to the city he wept over it as he saw it in all of its splendor and beauty. He wept for it because he loved it. He wept for it because, in solidarity with all who had no access to it, he felt their pain. He wept for it because those who were the very guardians and the custodians of the city were so blind as to what was the consequence of their course of action. He was full of anguish, not anger. Anger only elicits anger in return. But genuine anguish has the possibility of permeating through the shell of a heart. Jesus wept. And what he appealed for was so radical that they had to kill him, because in the Gospel reading this morning, it says that the people were hanging on his words because, with the people, what he was after rang true. And every regime, whether of church or of state, fears when the people hear another drumbeat and find resonance in their soul. But Jesus wasn't a victim. There was no self-pity, and there was no recrimination. Jesus was a dreamer, and he couldn't rest until he had brought his dream right to the heart and center of all of that that kept the dream from being realized. But © Grand Valley State University �A Dreamer’s Final Appeal Richard A. Rhem Page 6   making his appeal and being crucified, he was born again onto eternal life. He was a free man. He lived by a grand dream. He lived with power, with dignity, with integrity. He lived with joy because, when one is captivated by a dream and lives the dream faithfully with passion, then come what may, one is free. Then one knows joy. Next Sunday marks 50 years since the death of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I like what he says about his own learning what it means to be a Christian. Later I discovered and am still discovering to this very moment that it is only by living completely in this world that one learns to believe. One must abandon every attempt to make something of oneself, whether it be a saint or a converted sinner, a churchman, the priestly type so called, a righteous or an unrighteous person, a sick man or a healthy one. This is what I mean by worldliness. Taking life in one's stride with all its duties and problems, its successes and failures, its experiences and helplessness. It is in such a life that we throw ourselves utterly into the arms of God and participate in his sufferings in the world and watch with Christ in Gethsemane. That is faith. That is metanoia, or repentance. And that is what makes one a Christian. A human being. And then these words, Can success make us arrogant? Or failure lead us astray when we participate in the sufferings of God by living in this world? No. No room for arrogance. No room for despair, but following the dream and being true carries its own reward, and that reward is freedom and it is joy. I still don't know what to do with the Sermon on the Mount. Don't test me by cuffing me on the cheek. But what you are doing, here and there, in small ways, and what we're trying to do together, to be a community of compassion, that's at least a small step on the way, trying to live out the dream of the one whom we say we follow. Jesus. Really something. Really somebody. What a way to go! © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f938a7b64bb9e6420deb58093213e62f.mp3 d1bd095de738a46ba684b8354436da57 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Lent V Series The Dream Scripture Text Luke 19:41-42 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-0-19950402 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-04-02 Title A name given to the resource A Dreamer's Final Appeal 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 April 2, 1995 entitled "A Dreamer's Final Appeal", as part of the series "The Dream", on the occasion of Lent V, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Luke 19:41-42. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Forgiveness Historical Jesus Sermon on the Mount Way of Jesus https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7546d8b4384e4d0b1380d9891bcf41f0.mp3 e3b8251ddc7bf9ac47075269b57200c4 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 Midweek Lent Series On Being Human Scripture Text Psalm 88, Job 38:1-18 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-0-19950405 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-04-05 Title A name given to the resource When God is Absent Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on April 5, 1995 entitled "When God is Absent", as part of the series "On Being Human", on the occasion of Midweek Lent, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Psalm 88, Job 38:1-18. 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/fa502e6703b2801448fdd7b36f73882d.pdf 2df1ee9b45b5d1fceca5166a5b3d5f7c PDF Text Text The Death of a Dreamer From the Lenten sermon series: The Dream Text: Mark 15:34 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Palm Sunday, April 9, 1995 Transcription of the spoken sermon In addition to the scripture, we hear a contemporary reading on Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was hanged 50 years ago today outside the Flossenburg prison camp in Germany. One of his companions of the last days, an Englishman, Payne Best, who had been captured and was also incarcerated, wrote, Bonhoeffer was different. Just quite calm and normal, seemingly perfectly at his ease, his soul really shone in the dark desperation of our prison. Bonhoeffer was passing the last landmarks in his spiritual journey. The struggles of the Tegel prison days had ended in victory, and he seemed to have attained that peace which is the gift of God and not as the world giveth -the struggle to abandon to God his rich and treasured past, the struggle with the last vestiges of his pride, the struggle to suffer in full measure and yet in gratitude, his human longings and to remain open to others in the midst of his pain. All this had led him to that experience of the cross in which at last, through a grasp of reality so intense that it fused all the elements of his being into a single, shining whole, he learned what life can be when we throw ourselves completely into the arms of God, taking seriously not our own sufferings, but the sufferings of God in the world. Out of this death to the last vestiges of self Bonhoeffer seems to have been raised up quietly, unspectacularly into the last stage of his life in which he was made whole, made single, finally integrated in Christ in a way more complete than any that had gone before. The Christian had become the Man for Others, the disciple as his Lord. From his own writings toward the end of his life, Stations on the Road to Freedom, Bonhoeffer gives four stations - discipline, action, suffering, and finally death. Of death, he writes: Come now, Queen of the Feast, on the road to eternal freedom. Oh, Death, cast off the grievous chains that lay low the thick walls of our mortal body and our blinded soul, that at last we may behold what here we have © Grand Valley State University   �The Death of a Dreamer Richard A. Rhem Page 2   failed to see. Oh, Freedom, how long have we sought thee in discipline and in action and in suffering. Dying, we behold thee now and see thee in the face of God. This, too, is the word of the Lord. It was a cold day in January when I was trying to figure out what I would preach in this Lenten season. It was the Thursday before we left on vacation that I ascended to my loft early in the morning and descended from my loft at eleven o'clock in the evening. I realized that the worst case scenario would be that I would ruin the whole day and still come up empty. And that's exactly what happened. Eleven o'clock at night, blurry-eyed and not a word on the paper. But, wonder of wonders, and it has happened before, I awakened on Friday morning and went to the loft again and within a matter of a few minutes, wrote out the themes and the texts for the Lenten season, and THE DREAM was born. And in the unraveling of this dream, I have found that perhaps as never before, the series has preached itself. It's been an experience of the sermons almost writing themselves. And as I come now to this Palm Sunday celebration, I realize in all of the themes and the texts, there is just one word that I would change. And it is a word in the title of today's message, "The Death of a Dream." The thing that has really struck me in this time of reflection on the theme is the fact that dreams don't die. Dreamers die. But, dreams don't die. And so, were I to publish the series, there would be that one minor but very significant change. The title of this message should rather be, "The Death of a Dreamer," because Jesus died. And so many of those throughout the course of human history who dreamed the dream have died, as well. It is one of those great, profound truths that has washed over me again and again in these days that, though the dreamer die, the dream does not die. As I have reflected on this course of messages, I have come to a deeper sadness, I think, than ever before. I've come to a sadness about things that are not new, for I have known them, but a deeper sadness because I seem to be struck more and more with the fact that in the human story we do kill the dreamers. We crucify those who dare to dream too boldly. It's not a new fact, of course. We've known it all along. We can go back into ancient history and we read the story of the great philosopher and human being, Socrates, who was condemned at a public trial as an enemy of the people and drank the hemlock and died. And we know that Jesus was fully aware of the fact, for on one occasion he said, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem that kills the prophets!" He was not unaware of that into which he had moved. And during the course of these weeks we have mentioned some of the contemporary dreamers of our century - our century, the most violent and the bloodiest century of human history. We know, for example, of Gandhi, with his revolutionary, non-violent resistance, gunned down, Dag Hammerskold, the Secretary General of the United Nations, a great Christian visionary who was brought into an "accident," Martin Luther King, who led the revolt of his own people claiming their rightful place. © Grand Valley State University �The Death of a Dreamer Richard A. Rhem Page 3   No, it's not really anything new. It's ancient history. It's as current as yesterday. We kill; we crucify dreamers. But I think I've come to a deeper sense of that, somehow. It makes me sad. I wonder why. And the anger and the violence of the human family is so, so sad. Because it could be so different, and it's so sad because it doesn't seem to change. Even in the 2000 years of Christian history, the Christian Church itself has been implicated in the violence itself! It doesn't change. It's so sad, because people suffer. And it's so sad, because the very best of humankind reaches a violent end through appalling blindness, ignorance. Jesus dreamed a dream of a different kind of a world. Dreamed a world of compassionate community. He declared his dream and portrayed his dream of that marvelous picture of the father who received his children home. He lived out, he embodied the dream and, in what he taught and in his concrete behavior, he went right to the center of the establishment, right to the temple court itself, and in symbolic action cleared the court of those who were conducting commerce because they were supportive of a system, the system itself, the established system of Church and State that was responsible for the excluding of some, of growing the divisions between people, of saying who was in and who was out, a system that was violent in its abuse of those who were voiceless and powerless, a system that in the name of God was denying the very dream of God. And they killed him. They crucified him. And I suppose that, when I entitled this message "The Death of a Dream," I was thinking of the way he died. The way he died - it was an awful death! Luke and John modify a little bit, but if you readjust Mark, the earliest account, followed by Matthew, Jesus cries with his last words, "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" I guess when I was thinking about that in the first place, it seemed as though, indeed, the dream died! "My God, my God, why?" I wonder if Jesus died with such dereliction, such desolation, such despair. I wonder if it was because Jesus so believed right to the end that even then God would intervene. Did not Jesus believe that God would create newness? Did not Jesus believe that he was absolutely called and compelled by God to announce the dream, and was he not confident that it would happen? I really think that probably was why his death was so awful. I think Jesus died trusting, but trusting in the midst of the darkness and trusting with his dream crushed. So, it's a very sad realization. It's sad because it's about me and it's about us; it’s about the world, it's about humankind. It's not about some ancient episode. It's about an ongoing story, which we're still writing. But if I have been saddened by that, and I really have, the more I've thought about it this year, I've also come back again and again to a wonderful realization that, though dreamers die, the dream doesn't die. That’s the amazing thing - the dream doesn't die. The dream won't die! Jesus may have died thinking that the dream was dead, but it was in the very act of his dying, in the very faithfulness to the end in his having lived it out fully, it was in that very action, that very concrete action in the midst of our history, that that dream was born again. Born again and again and again. The © Grand Valley State University �The Death of a Dreamer Richard A. Rhem Page 4   dream that won't die. And that's been encouraging to me. In fact, it is a wonder the dream will not die. And I have to believe because God authors the dream, because the dream is indeed the reflection of the heart and center of reality, that the dream bespeaks reality at its center. The dream is a dream of what will be, because God will not abandon Creation. It is God Who puts the dream in the human heart, and though the dreamer may die, the dream will not die. I've been struck by the fact that the great dreamers are drunk with God. They are drunk with God! Oh, there have been certainly noble people with high ideals and great programs who have not claimed the authentication of God, but I sense that, if it is simply a human program, if it depends on human imagination and human passion and human commitment, it will run out of gas, it will run out of steam. But if there is one who is truly a dreamer - that one is drunk with God, compelled by God. That one has a sense of destiny that will not let go. It was certainly that way with Jesus. We are reminded in the contemporary research. Jesus is called a holy man, a charismatic figure. That doesn't mean that he simply had a powerful personality that sparkled but, rather, that Jesus was in touch with another dimension of reality, that Jesus was filled with the Spirit of God. There was something about Jesus that was permeated with God and that radiated God. Jesus was drunk with God! It was true, as well, of that French Reformed pastor, André Trocmé. I've mentioned him - he resisted the collaborationist French government; he created a safe place for Jewish refugees from the Holocaust; he was responsible for the saving of thousands of Jewish lives. Out of his obedience to Jesus, and in his existential moment of decision he decided not to be complicit with a plot to assassinate Hitler because it might separate his soul from Jesus. His obedience took that form. But it was true, as well, of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. If you read his Letters and Papers From Prison, you will find that this man was drenched with God. He was a truly, truly spiritual man. He read his Psalms and his scriptures; he said his prayers, he sang his hymns, and he loved to worship. He was a man whose life was filled with God, God-consciousness; he lived before the face of God. I'm convinced that it is God who puts the dream in the human heart. One does not choose to be a dreamer. Oh, in the old mystical days of my youth, my dear father would speak about his prayer that I would go into the ministry, and he would always add, "But I know that God must call," and I have to admit that I've become a bit cynical about that. I see all too many in my profession who are choosing a profession as much as they may, with pious platitude, say they are called. And I realize the temptation of a dreamer like myself is to get my own ego all tied up in the business, to build a great church, to build a great empire. Egocentricity so subtly sneaks in so that one thinks and, even in the name of God, makes all kinds of pious sounds when down deep one simply needs to be successful, to be a hero or something like that. But I see Jesus, and I see Bonhoeffer, and I know that when it's the right thing, one doesn't choose it! © Grand Valley State University �The Death of a Dreamer Richard A. Rhem Page 5   Bonhoeffer resisted it. He was a fully human being, he was full of humor, he was full of wonderful cultural background, he loved life! He resisted. He took aggressive action, political action in his day in the name of Jesus Christ. He was a wonderful human being. As Payne Best said, "You felt something different when he came into the room." Those imprisoned with him said he was a source of strength, of comfort, of joy. He couldn't help himself. He was chosen. Bonhoeffer said, "I learned that you don't try to make something out of yourself." A pious person, a religious person, a churchman, or whatever. No. Too many of us try to make something out of ourselves. Too many of us get captivated with some kind of self-serving dream or profession. Too many of us get too selfimportant. We get puffed up. We think somehow or other that the world depends upon us and that the kingdom of God depends upon us. And I want to tell you - it doesn't work that way. The real thing is to be resisted. And the real thing cannot be resisted, because it is given by God. God chooses. God makes dreamers. And when God lays God's hand on one and the dream is there, one cannot get loose from it. The dream doesn't die, because God won't let it die. God takes some and God says, "Dream!" And this, too, I've learned - that if one lives faithful to the dream, if one lives in integrity with the dream, then thus to live is enough. To live true to the dream in this life is enough. And that, too, is an insight that is not always apparent. It's certainly not apparent in the Church; it's certainly not what we've done with the Christian Gospel, for we've gone throughout the world promising the Christian Gospel and calling people to have faith and to be obedient because there would be death and there would be judgment, and then there was heaven or something else. We have spoken of the immediate response to Jesus Christ in terms of the future, some future reward. And I want to say it's wrong! When I see Jesus, when I see Bonhoeffer, then I know, if one has a dream and one is true to the dream, then one has lived true to the dream, and it is enough. Jesus did not stay faithful to the dream because he knew that Easter would follow Good Friday. He followed true to the dream because it was true! He was true to the dream because it was right! There's no other reason to do it than if it is right. If it is true, then you do it! You walk that path; you don't ask "What if?" Bonhoeffer did the same thing. True to it because it was right to do it. He realized in his terrible suffering that it was in suffering in this life that one finds communion with God. It is in this life when I have given up myself and joined in the sufferings of God in the world that I find communion with God. In other words, the cross was not the end of Jesus' life. It was at the beginning. The cross was not in Bonhoeffer's martyrdom; it was in his beginning when he followed the path of discipleship. If one is called and follows the path of discipleship, if one with passion lives true to the dream, then at the end it's enough. We don't need more. © Grand Valley State University �The Death of a Dreamer Richard A. Rhem Page 6   At the end of his life, with the Gestapo at the door, when they called Bonhoeffer's name, he said to the Englishman, Payne Best, "This is the end. For me, the beginning of life." And Bonhoeffer believed that. And I believe that, too. But I want to say as forcefully, as passionately, as seriously, as I can say to you - that if it is only Easter that beckons us on, then we haven't yet learned the Gospel. If it is only a promise of resurrection that keeps us faithful to the dream, we haven't yet followed Jesus. Jesus didn't go through Good Friday because Easter was coming. And Bonhoeffer didn't live faithful to the dream because there was heaven by and by. It is enough to know what God calls one to do here and now and to do it, and to do it with all one's heart and all one's passion, and having done it, it is enough. It is enough. That's what it is to follow Jesus. And it is such that God continues to seduce with a dream, to compel with a dream. And it's not sad. It's really, really wonderful, because suddenly one wakes up and says it's not some future reality it's here and now, it's communion with God, it's freedom. My God - it's joy! © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/dd20c44e33a6bc2746f7dcdc8d17dbc1.mp3 825dc65d30d1880dfab3e712067ccdf5 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Palm Sunday Series The Dream Scripture Text Mark 15:34 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-0-19950409 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-04-09 Title A name given to the resource The Death of a Dream 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 April 9, 1995 entitled "The Death of a Dream", as part of the series "The Dream", on the occasion of Palm Sunday, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Mark 15:34. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Compassion Followers of Jesus Inclusive Palm Sunday https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ebf8372ced3741e2f5179ad43a9607e2.pdf 7b83dbc41ee9e14e7c25455219585b08 PDF Text Text Dream On! From the sermon series: The Dream Text: Acts 10:34-35 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Easter Sunday, April 16, 1995 Transcription of the spoken sermon Throughout these long weeks, if you've walked this way with me, you've heard me say repeatedly that dreamers die. And that's a sad and tragic fact. Dreamers die. But, we've also discovered as we've looked at the dreamers that the dream, the vision, doesn't die. The dream doesn't die because the dream is rooted in the heart of God, and Jesus gave expression to that dream. Being confident that he was expressing the deepest intention of God, Jesus dreamed of another kind of world. Jesus dreamed of another kind of society. Jesus dreamed of a world that was a community, that was laced with compassion, a community that had no barriers, so that there was no inside and outside. There was no inclusion and exclusion. There were no lines drawn, but rather, a circle that embraced all God's children. This was Jesus' dream. And Jesus brought that dream to expression in a way that brought him to death, but in a way that has also enabled us to continue to dream on. If I were to ask you what was the central symbol of Jesus' ministry, what would you say? Well, I suppose because we're a part of the Christian community, you would say, obviously, the Cross is the central symbol of the Christian faith. And that's true. But it's also not true that the Cross is the central symbol of the life and ministry of Jesus in the days of his flesh. You know what it was? It was the Table. Table fellowship. You've heard me say many times in these past weeks, Jesus' ministry was marked by table fellowship. The meal was central in the ministry of Jesus. That sounds so innocent. It sounds almost innocuous. That doesn't really sound like something substantial enough to be the central symbol of the whole life and ministry of Jesus. Let me see if I can establish that from the scripture itself. Jesus had a vision of a different kind of world, a world in which there was no division, in which there were erected no barriers, and so in his life and his culture, for him to have a meal and to invite all comers was a radical statement. It was a statement of social protest. It was a political action. It was a religious act. It challenged the structure of the society of his day that was reinforced by the temple cult and was guaranteed by the occupying Roman power. That society was © Grand Valley State University   �Dream On! Richard A. Rhem Page 2   structured; there were custodians of the tradition; there were guardians of the law. They were the responsible and the respectable people of the society of which he was a part. They were all invested in that system that was able to demarcate very carefully who was in and who was out, who was pure and who was impure, who was given access, who was excluded. And for Jesus to have a meal with just anyone was, therefore, an action of protest. You might say, "Well, still, a table? A meal? Is this whole thing about with whom one eats?" And I want to say, "Yes." Because social protest and prophetic actions are that which become catalysts for transformation. You see, it was no big deal when Rosa Parks sat down in the front seat of a bus in Alabama. No big deal: just one black woman. Why didn't they simply disregard it? Why didn't they just let her have her nickel's ride and be done with it? But, you see, they couldn't. That is, those who were invested in maintaining the status quo of a society that was oppressive, of a society that was not founded in truth, of a society that denied the dream in the heart of God. For Rosa Parks to sit there had to be dealt with, or the whole system would become exposed. And isn't that precisely what happened? Was not that the action that became the catalyst for the whole Civil Rights Movement? Was it not then Martin Luther King who paid with his life, who led that people to call for their own rights and dignity in the human story? Just a black woman who sat in the front of the bus. Social action of protest, when the time is right and the Spirit of God moves, can change the world. Ask Robert McNamara. I really don't want to do a commercial for his book but Robert McNamara in a vibrant old age reflects, in retrospect, on the 60's. Do you remember the 60's? Well, some of you are young enough to have been a part of the 60's. And some of us are old enough to have been very angry with you! Wasn't it during the 60's that the world started to unravel? Wasn't it during the 60's, with flower children and hippies and young people marching on campuses, marching at the White House, and the Vietnam protest – wasn't that the time that our society began to unravel, to deteriorate, to degenerate? Aren't all of our problems now because there were some of you in the 60's who sat in and protested and maybe burned things? I think so. That's the problem, you see. In McNamara's book you'll see an elder statesman who looks back on the 60's, who in his interview with tears in his eyes, says, "I was wrong. We were wrong. Those of us that stood in the center of power, we were wrong. We were full of arrogance and pride so that we would not hear logical argument. We would not hear ethical appeal." And so now, in his vibrant old age, a very comfortable Robert McNamara says, "I was wrong. And we were wrong." I want to say, folks, they were wrong. And the kids are often right. Those of us who are settled and steeped and stuffy and stultifying - it is we who maintain repressive structures. It is we who defend with self-righteousness that which is, maintaining the status quo in a world that knows no justice and has no compassion and is not at all a community. We support and reinforce and perpetuate a world that continues to kill the dreamers. © Grand Valley State University �Dream On! Richard A. Rhem Page 3   Robert McNamara justifies his not criticizing Lyndon Johnson when he left in '67, though he himself was coming to understand that the war was wrong, because of protocol. This is what the good and the proper and those in power do they don't say anything. Unless you're a Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and then you raise your voice, then you act, then you see your government going in the wrong direction. You see the powers that be leading the world toward destruction and death, then you take your stand. You do your political thing; you act and you give your life. Jesus did what appears to be almost an innocuous, non-threatening, simple act setting a table and sitting with all sorts of people. And it is that action that is the very center of his ministry, which is the expression of a dream that could change the world. If you don't believe me, this afternoon take the Gospel of Luke and find that, more than any other activity, Jesus is at meal. He is at meal with sinners. He goes with those who invite him. He's going through a tax office one time and there is Levi, and he says to Levi, a tax collector who was on the outside, "Follow me." And the guy follows him, and Levi is so thrilled about it that he throws a party, and whom do you think he invited to his party? Others just like himself. And the leaders, the guardians, those who were invested in establishing and maintaining the status quo, grumbled at him. They said, "Look with whom he eats." If you go again to the 15th chapter of Luke, you will find that he was eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners, and they grumbled at him, and he told a story - The Prodigal Son - which is really the story of the waiting father who waits simply weeping, watching, hoping, eagerly anticipating the return of all his children. That beautiful story comes because Jesus was eating with those with whom one ought not to eat. And in response to the grumbling, he told the story. Or, if you would go to the 14th chapter, you would find that he was willing, as well, to sit at table with the Pharisees, those who were devout and serious and deeply concerned and, when he sat there at table with them, he saw that they were vying for the top seats, for the best seat in the house. And he said, "Don't do that. In fact, when you have a feast, don't invite your friends and your relatives, don't invite the rich; invite the poor and the lame and the halt and the blind. Invite the people that'll never have a chance in the world to pay you back." And someone said, "Oh, my, wouldn't it be wonderful to break bread in the Kingdom of Heaven?" Jesus said, "You know what? The Kingdom of Heaven is resisted by those who have obviously received the invitation." And so, he tells the story of the lord of the house who sends his servants out into the highways and into the byways, out in the bush, out in the street, and he said, "Find the riff-raff of society and tell them to come in, compel them to come in because I want my house filled!" You think that the table wasn't central to Jesus? Do you think that was not the central prophetic act by which he embodied the dream, which was a dream rooted in the heart of God? That was it, you see? And throughout that Gospel, © Grand Valley State University �Dream On! Richard A. Rhem Page 4   he's always eating, drinking with somebody. He gathered with his disciples on the night on which he was betrayed, when the shadow of the cross hung heavily over him, and he took bread and he blessed it and he broke it and he said to them, "This is my body, and when you eat bread, remember me, and don't let the dream die." Is it any wonder, then, that on Easter eve the risen Lord, joining two disciples on the way to Emmaus, invited to come into their house as a guest, proved to be the host at the table, who took the bread and blessed it and broke it and shared it with them and was gone? Then they looked at each other! They said, "Did not our hearts burn within us? Oh, my God!" They said to each other, "He was made known to us in the breaking of the bread." It was in the breaking of the bread. Because that, Luke says, was the link, the hinge. The dream goes on, Jesus was saying. Luke was saying in telling the story - all those meals back there - they're not over! The meals continue to be the symbolic moment at which the world becomes community. And Jesus on the evening of the Resurrection once again came to table, broke bread, blessed it, gave it to them, and he was known to them. His presence, his power, his transforming, dreaming power was known to them in the moment of the breaking of the bread. The Gospel of Luke was written by Luke and so was the Book of Acts, and if you move on to the Book of Acts, you find that the Jesus movement was characterized by community, a community of the Holy Spirit, a community in which there was no human need; every need was ministered to. We are told that they went from house to house, breaking bread, singing hymns with great joy! That was what it was all about! It was about table fellowship! A meal that was the symbol of community laced with compassion. And if you want one more instance, there's old Peter. Peter would have thought that he understood. But, as a matter of fact, Peter didn't have a clue as to the dramatic dimensions of the dream. So, one noontime on a rooftop, he fell asleep and had a vision of a sheet or something like a magic carpet coming down and there were all sorts of animals. In the temple system that was a social system and a political system, as well, they knew which animals they could eat and which animals they weren't to eat. And the voice said, "Rise and eat." And Peter said, "Not me. I am a Jew. I stick to the tradition. I am observant. I have been obedient to the fathers of the faith. I have followed every prescription. No, I will not rise and eat." And a voice said, "Rise and eat." And Peter said, "I cannot." And the voice said, "Don't call unclean what I've made clean." And just then there was a knock on the door and there was a delegation from Cornelius, the Roman centurion, a military man from the occupying power, a Gentile, one from the nations. There were two kinds of people in Peter's world - Jews and those who were not Jews. The Chosen, the elect, the community, and the rest. Now here's one from the rest! © Grand Valley State University �Dream On! Richard A. Rhem Page 5   And behold, this guy is a dreamer, too, because when Peter finally cannot resist and goes to Cornelius' house, Cornelius tells him of a dream. He saw a bright and shining angel and the angel said, "Your prayers are heard. Your alms are received." Here's one from the outside whose prayer God hears, whose offerings God receives, and is blessed now with the presence of none other than Peter, and Peter says, "I shouldn't be here. This is against the catechism, against the Bible; this is against everything I've ever been taught; this is against the tradition. I am breaking the tradition. In breaking the tradition and going over this threshold, the whole tradition is shattered!" But he did it. And he told them the story of Jesus. He told of Jesus' mighty deeds and all that he did, and how he was crucified and raised and made manifest. And the Holy Spirit fell with power and they were drunk with God together! Peter, the Jew, follower of Jesus and Gentiles - they were all drunk with God together. Ah, do you believe me? The Table. This central motif for our life, this central image for the ministry of Jesus. To follow the way of Jesus is to take up the cross by embodying a ministry of inclusivity. Do you remember where we started in Lent? The first week, also around the Table? You remember, the meditation was "Retrieving the Memory: A Dangerous Dream." Do you remember that I pointed to the Table and I said, "Dear friends, there are Tables in Christian churches to which I'm not welcome." Do you remember? The Table, which Jesus used as a central symbol of community, has become in the Christian Church, a symbol of division. When the World Council of Churches tried to celebrate Holy Communion for the first time in Sweden, in the 50's, they could not have just one Table. The World Council of Churches had to set up three Tables. Some went to one room and some went to another room, and some went to yet another room! I want to ask you, where are you activists of the 60's? Why do you tolerate it? Why do we allow the Church and its ecclesiastical leaders, its arrogance, its dogmatism, its blindness, why do we allow it to go on? This Table, this Table that Jesus set in the middle of the world, inviting all, this Table has become once again the instrument of the old temple cult! This Table says to some, "You may come." And to others, "You're not welcome!" It is a scandal! A scandal of the Christian Church! And if there's a scandal in the Church, there's a scandal in the world of religions. Japan is on the alert because the fundamentalist Buddhist cult may attack again. And there are Israelis grieving because Muslin fundamentalists have once again struck with their terrorism, killing, killing. And tomorrow we may read of the retaliation of the Jewish fundamentalists, and we will read, as well, of the violent actions of American fundamentalist Christians. The scandal of the world of religion that has made this world dangerous, filled with violence, doing precisely that which denies the dream of Jesus, which he believed was rooted in the heart of God, that there be no inside and outside, no exclusion and inclusion. There is a scandal of those who, in the name of God, © Grand Valley State University �Dream On! Richard A. Rhem Page 6   while saying their prayers to God, continue to play God, saying who is in and who is out! It is a disgrace! But, it's Easter. And when we have admitted that scandal in the Church and in the world of religion, then let me go on to say that today is a bonus. You see, it was in the breaking of the bread that they recognized him and knew his presence. It was Luke's way of saying that now, post-Easter, the living Lord will be made known in the breaking of the bread. It was Luke's way of saying that this feast is not really a feast that focuses on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. There is no day in all the Christian year when it is so important to celebrate this feast, which is really a feast, not of crucifixion, but of resurrection. This is a feast that says, Dream on! I know that there are those of you who are celebrating your first Easter since having loved and lost a while someone so dear. And right now you can't even think about the scandal in the Church or the scandal in the world of religion. Your heart breaks because of the loss you've sustained. But let me be very clear the Lord lives. We, too, shall live. And those who have moved through death have passed into light eternal. And for them all is well. All is well. But for us, the presence, the recognition, the manifestation of the living Lord does not come as we passively try to get through unscathed, hoping for heaven by and by. This is the insight of Bonhoeffer - for us who are still on the way, though we take up this cross, it is at this Table that we follow Jesus. And it is in the following of Jesus, living out the dream, embodying the dream that paradoxically we find communion with God. This is what Bonhoeffer learned - it is in joining God in His sufferings in the world that one finds oneself in the arms of God, communion with God. Recognition of the living Christ who is crucified and raised again - this comes to those who follow the dream, who follow the way, who walk in the steps, who risk, who commit, who dream and will not quit dreaming until the dream is realized in the eternal purposes of God. Dream on, believing that Easter assures us that all will be well and all will be well, and all manner of things will be well. Thanks be to God. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/84a4ead8b5a208c4209468bcf1a368bc.mp3 c851d9247f23668272b4b4de99dd098a Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Easter Series The Dream Scripture Text Acts 10:34-35 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-0-19950416 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-04-16 Title A name given to the resource Dream On! 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 April 16, 1995 entitled "Dream On!", as part of the series "The Dream", on the occasion of Easter, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Acts 10:34-35. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Community of Grace Divine Intention Easter Inclusive Table Fellowship https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ee4bdd9692f009925d8104472ec50071.mp3 fb847646dda9eba1466312a470676cee Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Eastertide I Scripture Text Genesis 1:1, Isaiah 65:17, Rev. 21:1, Matthew 28:20 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-0-19950423 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-04-23 Title A name given to the resource The Dawn of a New Age: The Ground of 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 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on April 23, 1995 entitled "The Dawn of a New Age: The Ground of Hope", on the occasion of Eastertide I, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Genesis 1:1, Isaiah 65:17, Rev. 21:1, Matthew 28:20. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. 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