804 24 26018 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/514721b9ec747b2102d2b4f7d658ce8f.pdf 14faa1fd3e31c82fbb7357de1b6367fc PDF Text Text The Church: Has It a Place in the Spiritual Life? From the series: The Church: Critical Questions Text: Mark 7:8; I Corinthians 12:7; 12:27; 13:13 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan October 11, 1998 Transcription of the spoken sermon The question this morning in this month of October, when we are thinking together about the church, is whether or not the church has a place in the spiritual life. A rather strange question, isn’t it, because one would assume at least superficially that the church is precisely the place for the development and cultivation of the spiritual life. Of course, at its best, that’s exactly what it is, and yet, the question is not ridiculous at all for, if you stop to think for a moment, the church as an organization, as an institution that is ministered to and over by flawed human beings, that is full of structures and traditions and all sorts of diverse baggage - the church as an institution can be a detriment to the spiritual life. It can dampen devotion and undercut the freshness of faith. Christ Community over the years has been a place that has collected all sorts of birds with broken wings, wounded in the struggle of religion in its organizational and institutional forms. So I think probably it is perceived here immediately, that it is a legitimate question, the church can be a detriment to spiritual life. There are those who would say, "The church has no place in my spiritual life, and it was in finally shucking off the church that I found my spirit beginning to sing." Unfortunately, that has too often been the case. That is understandable because, whatever else the church is, as the mediator of the Spirit, as the arena in which God moves upon us by the Spirit, it is also a human organization and institution and, to that extent, it is a flawed body, and it can do damage. Religion has been the source of great nobility and marvelous movements on the part of the human spirit, and it has a shadow side which has been to be a participant in some of the horrific experiences in the human story. So, to ask whether the church has a place in the spiritual life is an effort to get us to think together about the distinction between the spiritual pursuit, the pursuit of God, the experience of God, and our life together in an organized, religious institution. Obviously, it is my hope and my intention that a community like this foster spirituality and not hinder it or become a barrier to it. That can never be taken for granted and I think that we ought always, anew, to ask the question, "Is this © Grand Valley State University   �Church’s Place in Spiritual Life Richard A. Rhem Page 2   community such that it enhances human beings and inspires people and brings them into the experience of God, or has the institution moved into a phase in which, rather, it drains and detracts from the Spirit of God?" That’s the question asked this morning. As one looks back over the history of the church, obviously there have been those times again and again when the church became, not an institution inspiring, but an organization dominating and exploiting. If we simply think about the rise of religion, think of our own biblical tradition, the Jewish-Christian tradition (someone hears a voice, Abraham and Sarah move out, knowing not where they’re going, and eventually out of that family comes a people enslaved in Egypt, and another one named Moses encounters a bush that burns but isn’t consumed and has a sense of divine mission and calling, brings that people out of slavery through the wilderness, into their own land), we see that it is a movement, dynamic, alive. But, before too long, in that land, organization happens and structures are developed. Eventually, there’s a king named David, a great politician, a savvy leader of the people, who organizes the nation. His son, Solomon, builds the magnificent temple, and before long this people who had heard the voice of God on Mount Sinai become a people who are domesticated, as it were, in the organized structures of religion with a priesthood and a temple and altar and sacrifices and all of the accouterments of organized and institutional religion, and all of that arising out of the founding vision, all of that a sort of natural and inevitable development and yet, a development which loses the spontaneity and the freshness of the first love, that driving vision that sweeps people along and lifts them up, and it becomes ordinary, it becomes pro forma, it becomes highly structured, routinized, and loses its soul. And through all of the experiences of that people here and there, now and again, a prophet’s voice is raised, raised about the dominance of this institution, raised about the lack of soul and the emptiness. The prophets are silenced because their message is not popular. One day on the banks of the Jordan River, a man named John stands up and becries the situation of his people, their religious life, the temple crowd, the collaboration with the Roman occupying power, and he points to another one by the name of Jesus and Jesus, with his own vision, his own particular fire and his own particular spirit, filled with the Spirit, challenges the institution, challenges the tradition of the elders to such an extent that they know they have to silence him, and in collaboration with the Roman authorities they put him to death because he had the audacity to stand up in the face of the whole temple establishment and say, "You’ve lost your heart; you’ve lost your soul; you’ve lost your way." The religious institution, with all of the vested interests of those who are a part of it and who eat out of the trough has every reason to keep the status quo, but that which begins with a fresh blush of the winds of the Spirit, that which is, first of all, the experience of a new love, the freshness, the spontaneous movement of the © Grand Valley State University �Church’s Place in Spiritual Life Richard A. Rhem Page 3   Spirit, that which is inspiring, liberating, and causes people to sing and to dance, becomes domesticated, ordinary, forgets the fact that it is a means to lift people heavenward and becomes an end in itself that uses people for its own ends, always justifying, of course, as being this divine institution, when all the time it is human, all too human, petty, mean-spirited, losing vision, becoming protective, defensive, perpetuating itself, when all of that about which it finds its life circling around is anachronistic, out of another day, refusing to move along with the wind of the Spirit. Jesus said, "You stick to human traditions rather than the commandment of God." We have to read those Gospel passages, understanding that when they were written several decades after Jesus, they were written with the brokenness between the Jesus movement and the Rabbinic Jewish movement. I don’t believe that Jesus himself in his own day would have had the sharpness of those discussions. But, there can be little doubt that Jesus challenged the temple establishment. There can be little doubt that the Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, are reflective of that confrontation of Jesus with the religious establishment of his day, which eventuated in his death. It has always been so. The little struggling Jesus movement, persecuted, hunted down, finally in the fourth century, with Emperor Constantine, becomes the established religion of the Empire. It becomes the dominant religious expression. Cathedrals are built and the religious leaders dominate the European continent. It becomes a lush institution. It becomes wealthy; it is corrupt. And in the 16th century there is a movement of Reformation and the church is re-formed according to the word of God, and reformed is a verb, an action verb. It’s a verb of movement; it is a movement of renewal. And then, once again, just as has happened in the time of Jesus, the institutional forms of the church get rigid, brace themselves, will not be renewed, will not acknowledge that they’ve lost their first love, brokenness, the tearing, the rending of the body of Christ. The essence of that Reformation movement of the 16th century was never to absolutize any ecclesiastical form or creedal statement. But, the renewal only lasts so long and before very long, the essence of that which was a spirit that it would reform and always be reformed by the word of God, the verb, becomes a noun. Now there is a reformed presence in the world and it becomes an adjective, so there is reformed worship and reformed evangelism and reformed theology. The verb degenerates into a noun, a static thing, another institution to be protected, to be defended, to be perpetuated, to resist the winds of the Spirit. And so, it goes. Over and over and over again. And the institution which ostensibly is organized in the human arena becomes a dominating, exploiting institution that uses people for its own end, its own aggrandizement, its own perpetuation. That’s why organized religion in our day, the mainstream out of which we stem, of which we are a part, is in a survival mode, defensive and protective. © Grand Valley State University �Church’s Place in Spiritual Life Richard A. Rhem Page 4   The Utne Reader is an interesting journal with commentary on the contemporary scene. There was an article this summer entitled “God With a Million Faces,” and it began with the story of Ann Marie, who said that organized religion was, for her, dis-empowering. She said it’s bogus. She took some of the trappings of her Christian upbringing, she added a pinch of Buddhism and a little bit of this and a little bit of that and she came up with a sect of one, the sect of Ann Marie. She is on her individual quest, her quest for spirituality, her own thirst and hunger for the experience of the living God which she couldn’t find in the institution. She is an example of a very large trend in our day. We hear a lot about the vocal rhetoric, the Religious Right. We hear stories, news articles, etc., of the megachurches that are growing by leaps and bounds, and we hear about the noisy part of religion which seems to be alive and well in the US of A. But, we don’t hear much about the Ann Maries, the thousands and millions who have been disenchanted with organized religion, who have left the institutions. We hear a bit about the New Age and some of it is very bizarre, and some of it is more responsible, but all of it points to a deep spiritual hunger. It is very easy to say, "Well, the world is growing less religious, less spiritual. People are pursuing their own ends and their own pleasures," but I don’t believe that for a moment. I believe that there is as much hunger and thirst in the human heart, in the human soul as ever there was. But, there are all kinds of people who have taken the warning that institutional religion can be bad for your spiritual life, and they’ve gone off on their own quest, because the institution can be an albatross on the human spirit, and I don’t know of any movement that has been able to avoid that movement into organization and institutionalization, except maybe A.A. We’re familiar with the Twelve Steps of A.A. in terms of that personal healing and recovery, but A.A. also has its traditions in regard to it as a movement which has historically positioned itself against the possibility of becoming an institution with lands, buildings, and wealth. Maybe in the Christian movement, the Quakers have avoided it with their little white frame buildings, coming together and sitting in a circle of silence. But you, what do you do? You hire a preacher. You build a building. You have to put a new roof on it. You have a Minister of Music and a large organ - all of the accouterments that make it such a pleasure to be a part of this community. And it can become a real drain and a drag. And it can ring the zest out of your spiritual life. In the Utne Reader, in this same article, there are comments in the margins by six or eight people of all kinds of religious spiritual movements and traditions. I’ve printed a couple of them in the liturgy for you. One, in particular, Gangaji, I don’t know who she is or what she’s a part of, but I like what she says and that is that if the rituals and the forms can be the instruments by which the Mystery becomes present, then wonderful, but, she distinguishes very, very carefully between the freedom of the spirit and that ritualism that so easily comes and entraps us. And she reminds us that the people we follow were the people who © Grand Valley State University �Church’s Place in Spiritual Life Richard A. Rhem Page 5   would not follow, that the ones that we have made our leaders, the Buddha, Jesus Christ, whomever, are the very ones who shattered the forms, who broke out of the tradition, who undercut the institution, who got back to the heart and the spirit of the matter. That’s the way it is, isn’t it? Someone sees a vision. Someone breaks through the crust, the barnacles, and then everyone says, "Ha, that’s it!" And before long, that one becomes the one who’s worshipped and followed and a whole new set of things are organized, institutionalized, absolutized, and before long you have to take an offering again. Ann Marie says, "The church didn’t do it for me. I’ve taken my tray and gone down the cafeteria line and borrowed a little of this and a little of that and I am a sect of one." But, there are voices in that same Utne Reader article that suggest the difficulty of being the sect of one, going it alone. We really do need community. It is possible for human community to enhance our individual lives and our walk and our quest for the reality of the Spirit. I think that’s what Paul was trying to point out. The congregation in Corinth was exuberant, full of all kinds of gifts, and he had to write to them to calm down a bit, to recognize one another’s gifts and to do things decently and in order. He reminded them that all spiritual diversity has one Source and that is the Spirit, and that all of the diverse gifts are to be used not for personal exaltation, but for the building up of the body. And so, he encourages those people in Corinth, in that community, to recognize the unity of their spiritual gift and their calling to be concerned for their brothers and sisters and the upbuilding of the body which is the image that he uses, the body of Christ. And then he says, "When you’ve discovered your gift, when you’ve brought your gift to the service of the rest, then let me show you an even more excellent way." And he breaks out into that beautiful hymn of love, the 13th chapter of I Corinthians, in which he reminds us, as he reminded the Corinthian congregation, that the most profound proclamation, the proper creedal posture, the exuberant offering of oneself, making even the supreme sacrifice, apart from love, is nothing. And then he goes on to describe what love is and what love is not. He comes back, then, to remind them that all of the things that seem so important are really provisional, temporary, passing away, that there is finally faith and hope and love and the greatest of these is love. You see, the church so easily becomes an end in itself. It takes so much to keep it going, to keep it on track, to keep it up, organize it, regulate it, supervise it, when what we really want, what we really need is the experience of God. So, let us be very certain that this organization called Christ Community never sacrifices the life and the spirit in order to be a little more stable, a little more solid in order to have a better future, in order to perpetuate itself. We don’t have to go into the future. We don’t have to become anything. In fact, to the extent that we are willing to let it all go, let it die, only then will we be free to allow the wind of the Spirit to blow where it will. Only if we can relativize this necessary organizational life, will we be set free to open ourselves to the Spirit, to love one another, to © Grand Valley State University �Church’s Place in Spiritual Life Richard A. Rhem Page 6   recognize that everything takes second place to that community of love. When we become willing to unclench the fist and open our mind and heart, we can be free of compulsion, fear, manipulation, and the need for exploitation, finally freed up to walk the way of spirituality, the way of Jesus, in a community of love where the Spirit blows free, and where we can leave after gathering with the brothers and sisters on a marvelous Lord’s Day like this and see a leaf or hear a child’s cry, experience a lump in the throat, a tear on the cheek, and say, "That’s why I believe." © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/6a0dbb4568ea302714a36b15485d8a65.mp3 0b0eda39afd6ce2e510d6f5c52c9008c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XIX Series The Church: Critical Questions Scripture Text Mark 7:8, I Corinthians 12:7, 12:27, 13:13 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19981011 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-10-11 Title A name given to the resource The Church: Has It a Place in the Spiritual Life? Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on October 11, 1998 entitled "The Church: Has It a Place in the Spiritual Life?", as part of the series "The Church: Critical Questions", on the occasion of Pentecost XIX, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Mark 7:8, I Corinthians 12:7, 12:27, 13:13. Community of Faith Nature of Religion Prophetic Voice Spiritual Quest https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/25cd43afd152c7aa068ae26e359cf943.pdf 83d7a62c90b4b9476ba4ca2c9964ad1c PDF Text Text The Celebration of Life and Death From the series: The Church: Human Community Text: Ecclesiastes 3:2, 22; Romans 14:8 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan All Saints’ Day, November 1, 1998 Transcription of the spoken sermon The writer of the Ecclesiastes finds God inscrutable. He does not doubt God’s existence; in fact, he seems to believe God has pre-ordained everything that happens. In one sense, that is positive; there is for everything a season and life is lived with a structure and order that encompasses the wide diversity of human experience - a time to be born, and a time to die ... God has made everything suitable for its time, and God has put into the human mind a sense of past and future, but we cannot determine what God is up to. I like the translation "God has set eternity in the human heart," meaning, I suppose, that within our brief moment we sense we are part of something much grander, but again, what God is about, we cannot fathom. God is inscrutable; we simply have no clue as to what the future holds. This does not lead to the paralysis of despair. Rather, be happy, enjoy life - work, eat, drink and take pleasure - a wholesome outlook. But, when it comes to questions of the end, the writer remains agnostic because he finds God inscrutable. What is our fate? He answers, "Who knows?" Life has structure; for everything there is a season, and life should be bold - eat, drink, and seek pleasure in your labor. But this biblical writer has nothing more to say, and I think it is because he finds God totally inscrutable. I find this a fascinating contrast to the affirmation of another biblical writer, St. Paul. Paul was as Jewish as the writer of Ecclesiastes, but he was separated in time by at least three centuries and in experience by a great gulf. Between the times of these two, something had happened - the Word became flesh - God’s self- expression in the humanity of Jesus. Paul had an epiphany experience of Jesus, being overwhelmed with the truth that Jesus was God’s Word, God’s anointed - the revelation of the heart and purpose of God. © Grand Valley State University   �Celebration of Life and Death Richard A. Rhem Page 2   After setting forth his understanding of what God had done in Jesus in his letter to the Romans, he asks, "What shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Subsequently in his letter to the Romans he deals with a very practical issue about how Christians should act with each other and in the course of that discussion in the 14th chapter, he declares, If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord, so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. It is this claim by Paul that I believe we verify in our concrete human experience in community. Life’s limit situations, birth and death, and those significant passages in the meantime are marked in the community before the face of the Ultimate - the Source, creative ground, and final rest of our existence. This is All Saints Day, a day of remembering those from the community whom we’ve loved and lost awhile. It is thus an appropriate time to reflect on community, on the communion of the saints, the community of God’s people gathered in human community. I chose the hymn, "I Was There to Hear Your Borning Cry" intentionally for the theme of the day. Many have said that they cannot get through the hymn without moist eyes and a lump in the throat. Beginning at our borning cry and moving through the passages of our lives until we shut our weary eyes, the hymn is a celebration of the whole of life - and then some, for it ends with the promise of just one more surprise. The passages pointed to in the hymn are passages marked in the church baptism, childhood and nurture, adolescence and the perils of individuation into the emergence of faith and personal affirmation, finding a soul mate and the joy of human union, years of maturity moving toward old age and finally death. It is in community that we mark the passages of our lives. It is particularly then that we sense the need to belong to a faith family whose center is that Mystery that is the source of life and the gracious goal toward which our lives move. It is the witness of so many who come into this community that the birth of a child triggers the spiritual awakening and over and over again I hear comments about the celebration of the sacrament of Baptism that it brings tears to eyes. It is a beautiful moment, a moment of pure grace when we recognize the child as gift and claim the promise, "I will be a God to your children." I must skip over the intervening years of life to come to its close and there again something in us instinctively reaches out for the church, for its ministry. It is one of the high privileges of pastoral ministry to be present with the dying. It was my privilege this past week to witness the tenderness of family at the death vigil with © Grand Valley State University �Celebration of Life and Death Richard A. Rhem Page 3   reassuring words, holding the hand, stroking the cheek, being present to and with the one slipping beyond the pale. But when the final breath is taken and the loved one expires, it is not over. Again, I think instinctively we need something more - a gathering and not just a gathering, but a gathering in the context of worship, a remembering, a thanksgiving, a celebration of the life and a final commendation to the gracious embrace of the Eternal God. Over and over again I am struck by how natural it is to worship, to be lifted out of ourselves and come consciously into the Presence of the Transcendent One. The Mystery we call God in the presence of death. Sometimes one hears of a gathering of friends of one deceased where their life is remembered and spoken of and it always seems to me so lacking in ultimate meaning. That, of course, is my bias, my conditioning. Yet, I think it is deeper than that. Does not the human heart and mind with its natural limitation yearn to break out of those limits and reach for some touch of the Eternal? Here we rejoice at the wonder of a child. Our hearts meet at their wide-eyed wonder, their innocence, their total dependence, and their great potential. Here we grieve the loss of those we’ve dearly loved. Here we acknowledge honestly our pain, our loss, our guilt for words spoken or words not spoken, our sense of loss, maybe even anger, our failure to heal old wounds before it was too late. But, here, too, we await a word of grace, of forgiveness, of peace and surely of hope, believing finally all will be well. There is that within us that cries out for the sense of God’s presence, God’s grace, and God’s peace. And when we rejoice in a child or grieve a loved one lost, we do not want to be alone. Certainly we need such moments, too, but finally we need the community, family and extended faith family - the outpouring of love, care, and concern, the hug, the strong embrace, the presence of familiar faces, the sound of familiar voices and the ritual whose words and phrases leap to life, their familiarity a comfort and means of assurance. We need a place and a people with whom we can laugh and cry with no need to posture or put on false face. We need people who are the embodiment of God’s love and God’s grace. The celebration of life and death - that is at the heart of the human community that is the church. Religion arises from that deep sense of mystery that pervades our human existence, our self-conscious awareness of an ultimate source and ground of our life, and sense of a Presence toward which we instinctively reach. From some founding experience there grows a story, a tradition, a ritual that enables us to orient our lives, to find meaning and peace. It is in the religious community that we are provided the environment and the means to negotiate the most significant passages of the human experience in laughter and in tears; in compassionate and loving embrace that is the sign of the God whose we are in life and in death, Who is experienced most deeply with a lump in the throat, a tear on the cheek, and a heart tender, open and soft. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/960c43ca445574c7db98e801031ad000.mp3 d248ddacbec5974975ad526bc8325f28 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XXII Series The Church: Human Community Scripture Text Ecclesiastes 3:2, 3:22, Romans 14:8 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19981101 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-11-01 Title A name given to the resource The Church: The Celebration of Life and Death Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on November 1, 1998 entitled "The Church: The Celebration of Life and Death", as part of the series "The Church: Human Community", on the occasion of Pentecost XXII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Ecclesiastes 3:2, 3:22, Romans 14:8. Community of Faith Mystery Worship https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/edef04a75323de553ba042bdcbe9be9e.pdf 2d3d6fe277b1df9e8915da8937a528c3 PDF Text Text Carrying Coals to Newcastle Scripture: Luke 9:51-56; 19:41-48 Richard A. Rhem Fountain Street Church Grand Rapids, Michigan November 8, 1998 Transcription of the spoken sermon It is a pleasure and high privilege to be with you this morning. I am grateful to Bruce for his kind orientation and bringing me to this point. It is a privilege to stand here, and I do so with some fear and trembling, in spite of the fact that it is nearly forty years since my ordination and I have preached a sermon or two in those years. But this is not just any place, this is an historic pulpit and you are a people with a grand tradition. This is hardly a place where one would mouth banalities or come forth with trivial truisms. I come with some fear and trembling, not because I do not know that you are a gracious people and this a gracious place; you have been supportive and encouraging to me and to my people, and for that I would thank you very much. But, I do come with some fear and trembling, for this is always a very serious moment in which one would seek some word to address to a people engaged in the religious quest. I come carrying coals to Newcastle. Perhaps I should explain that a bit. There is, as some of you may know, a conversation that takes place on Tuesdays at Duba’s bar. A few weeks ago when I was wrestling with this moment, I said to an old intimate friend of mine, John Richard DeWitt, "If you were to preach at Fountain, what would you preach?" He laughed at the prospect. John Richard DeWitt is a classmate of mine from college and seminary and some few years ago he was called to become the pastor of the Seventh Reformed Church of Grand Rapids. At that time, I was serving my present congregation in Spring Lake and we were still affiliated with the Reformed Church in America and we had the distinction of being on the far left; he in Seventh Reformed Church had the distinction of being on the far right. The polls have been shaved a bit because both of us have been cut out by now. The reason that John Richard DeWitt sits at the table in Duba’s is because an older luncheon fellowship between Dr. Duncan Littlefair and Dr. Lester DeKoster had been going on for many years. And when my friend came to this city, the DeKosters became members of that congregation. Lester invited his pastor to the table. (Now, you see, Duncan was at the disadvantage. It was heavily weighted toward orthodoxy. But then my old friend invited me to the table. The scales were © Grand Valley State University   �Carrying Coals to Newcastle Richard A. Rhem Page 2   righted once again, although I had the sense that Duncan was doing quite well on his own.) But, that wonderful conversation at Duba’s was an occasion for me to say to my friend, "What would you preach?" I said to the table, "The only thing I can think of as a theme is ‘Carrying Coals to Newcastle;’ what do I have to bring to that people from whom I have learned so much, a people with whom I will spend the rest of my ministry trying to keep up?" Then my old friend, John Richard DeWitt, said, "Well, you know even Newcastle needs coals that are flaming." In that moment, of course, the sermon was born. Contrary to nature, the birth pains came afterward and have continued to the present. But, Coals to Newcastle - I, a guest in this pulpit, seeking to say something to you, a people engaged in the religious quest along with myself. I want to say very clearly in the beginning that I am conscious that I am bringing coals to Newcastle, for you have been a people for a long time on this quest. You have been a people for a long time who have been a voice in this community; you have been on the cutting edge, you have been prophetic and provocative. Thus, as I come and would say all of the things that are the passion of my life and ministry, I would only be repeating the things that have moved you and motivated you over many decades. I want you to know that I am conscious of that and that you have been for me and for many others a beacon. You have been a model of what a congregation ought to be, placed in the city as you are; I want to thank you for what you have been and express very clearly my respect for all that you are. I can perhaps demonstrate what I mean by that when I tell you a personal narrative that goes back forty years. In the irony of history and our human experience, it was forty years ago when my friend, John Richard DeWitt and I were students at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan. We were a part of a quartet that might have been called The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. We probably should have been caged up at the time, but, nonetheless, we were free to flaunt our impeccable orthodoxy. At that time my friend, John Richard, invited Dr. Duncan Littlefair to address the student assembly one evening during the year. Well, he came, and he was the adversary, he was the enemy we allowed within the camp. He was fascinating, brilliant as always, and terribly threatening. But, I was quite sure that I had managed to escape the evening without damage; I was invulnerable at those times. I had many answers, not having yet confronted the questions. It was shortly after I returned to Spring Lake in the early seventies that I was invited to be the speaker at an insurance seminar. I was some kind of a visiting fireman. I don’t know why I agreed to do it, but I told them everything I knew, and some things I only suspected. During one of the coffee breaks, my wife, Nancy, came up to me with a bit of a smile on her face with a distinguishedlooking gentleman, and she said to me, "This gentleman has just paid you a © Grand Valley State University �Carrying Coals to Newcastle Richard A. Rhem Page 3   compliment, I think." I said, "Oh, what was that?" And he said, "Well, I told your wife that any day you could step into the pulpit of Fountain Street Church." Sometime after that, I think still in the seventies, Nancy and I came and worshiped with you. I remember the day vividly. Dr. Duncan Littlefair was in this pulpit. The title of the sermon was "Honk If You Love Jesus." The text was Matthew 11:28, "Come unto me all ye who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." And Dr. Littlefair proceeded with all of his brilliance to contradict the text. He said, "There is no one out there, you are on your own." He decried the weakness of so much sick religion. Well, it was a bit unsettling to me, I must admit. But, then, before we left the service, the choir intoned those words, "The Lord bless you ..." and I thought, "Oh well, it’s all right." But then, after some years, I was invited to be a Professor of Preaching at Western Theological Seminary and I wrote an article about the extent of God’s grace, wondering out loud and in print whether or not the embrace of God’s grace might not embrace the whole human race. I found that I wasn’t simply the pastor of Christ Community Church, but I was now a seminary professor and seminary professors don’t think out loud, let alone dare to utter such a truth. I stepped aside rather than bringing down the roof, but as I left the seminary and returned to my home base, I said to my leadership and to my team members, "I must not be less radical; I must be more radical." I said to a trusted colleague of mine, "Christ Community must move toward Fountain Street," and he said to me, "You’re in enough trouble, don’t say that publically." But, I knew it, you see, I knew it ten years ago and I have watched you and I have admired you, I have respected you and I have learned much from you. I say this to you, not simply to tell you my personal narrative, but to remind you that you are being watched and you never know who is watching and you never know the impact of the integrity of your life and what it will mean to those who with you are on the religious quest. So, I carry coals to Newcastle quite self-consciously and I do it in order to remind you that what you are and what you have been is critically important. The world needs you, this community needs you, the whole church needs you. But, I say those things to you not simply that you might relax and rest on your laurels. Let me read a statement from Martin Luther: If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved. To be steady on all battle fronts besides is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point. Luther would indicate that we may be doing well all across the board, but if we have not located that one point where the battle is raging, where the fire is raging, © Grand Valley State University �Carrying Coals to Newcastle Richard A. Rhem Page 4   we will not be faithful; rather, we will be a disgrace. It is not enough once to have a vision. It is not enough to have been relevant and pertinent and powerful in the past, for it is always now and it’s always today in which we must discover that point at which the battle is raging, those things to which we must address ourselves if we would be true to our vision and faithful to our dreams. Where is the battle raging today? Well, I don’t really need to tell you. You can read it every day in your newspaper and view it on the television news. Jerusalem, the holy city, the cradle of three great religious traditions, where even this week violence, terrorism and death reign. Where people who profess to worship the same God are at the respective extremes, killing each other; where the fundamentalisms of Judaism and Islam clash. Where does the battle rage? It rages in Wyoming where a young man is strung across a fence as a sign post and a marker of that paranoia, fear and hatred that would say, "This is what we have in store for you if you are gay or lesbian." Where does it rage? It rages just down the road at my alma mater, Hope College, where the chaplaincy office advocates a position that condemns a positive response to the pluralism of religion, the recognition of the value of the respective traditions. At my old alma mater, exclusivism is being promoted in its sharpest form. Those are but symptoms, you see, for underneath, and this is my point, underneath, the greatest peril to the world, to its peace and its well-being are the respective religious fundamentalisms that are fueling the fears of people and unleashing their animal nature that result in the terrorism and the violence and the death that mark our globe every moment of every day. Where is the battle raging? It is raging in a kind of absolutist and dogmatic religion that is blind to its own meanness and narrowness, that identifies itself, its sacred book, its sacred tradition, its sacred persons with the Absolute itself, that has no sense that it is but a human response to that ultimate Mystery that pervades our lives and embraces us in a grace, and that sees its mission to promote its own particular point of view, no matter what the cost. I believe that’s where the battle rages today and I am again bringing coals to Newcastle because you’ve heard it from this pulpit for decades. But religion has never been more powerful; it has never been more volatile; it has never been more dangerous than it is in our day. And so, while I realize I am carrying coals to Newcastle, I would say to you, "What do we do about it?" We might abandon religion, wash our hands of it, shake the dust from our sandals. I’d like to do that. I cannot believe in the bigotry and the bias and the prejudice and the fueling of violence for which religion is responsible. There are times when I am so ashamed of it, I would like to leave it altogether, and I imagine you have been there, too. © Grand Valley State University �Carrying Coals to Newcastle Richard A. Rhem Page 5   Or, we might not abandon it. We might remain in it, but only in our little enclave, congratulating ourselves that we have long since left such darkness and with a kind of enlightened superiority look with disdain on those whose religious passion is misdirected. Or, we might see it as simply another social relationship, lacking all passion and significance. But, how can we? In this city where you have set such a grand tradition, the dangerous religious exclusivism to which I have referred is being preached in the majority of the pulpits at this very hour. The enlightenment that you have enjoyed over the decades has not penetrated one whit. There is still an exclusivism and a dogmatism and an absolutism which has put the whole creation in danger and is a detriment to human well-being. Well, what will we do about it? We won’t go on a social crusade. We won’t gird up our loins and march off to battle. We had better wait first, in moments like this, in an environment like this, in the attitude of prayer, allowing the Spirit to seep deeply into our being. We must be something before we do something. Let me hold up before you the model of Jesus who set his face to go to Jerusalem. It was precisely his recognition that the collusion of religion and politics was an oppression to the people that set him on his course. He set his face to Jerusalem. On the way, they went through Samaria. There was hostility between the Jews and the Samaritans and the Samaritans wouldn’t receive him. His own disciples said, "Should we call down fire from heaven and consume them?" And he said, "My God, you don’t know what spirit you’re of, for I have come to heal humanity, not destroy it." And then he came to the city and as he looked at that golden city from the crest of Olivet, he began to weep. It was anguish, anguish wet with tears. He cried out that great lament, "If you ... had only recognized ... the things that make for peace, but now they are hidden from your eyes." He could see it; he knew it. With frustration, with anger, with compassion, he entered the city and the very citadel of religion and he cleansed the temple of its bartering and its business and called it again to be what it was intended to be - a house of prayer for all people. This is why I follow the way of Jesus - not because he is some Divine Intruder invading our time and space to effect some miracle cure for our frail and flawed humanity, promising us some bliss in another world at a future time, not because he is some Savior figure of a Salvation cult. No, rather, that in that life, in that face set steadfastly toward Jerusalem, in those tears shed over that Holy City, I see the loving anguish, the passionate concern that bespeaks one who cares deeply, one who is angry with human arrogance and gracious with human weakness. I see his intolerance of human systems of domination and oppression, religious, political, economic and social. I see his awareness that it is religion gone awry that nurtures prejudice and fosters ignorance, that hides injustice in a cloak of piety while exploiting human fears and weakness to support institutionalized religion which so subtly becomes a facade behind which to hide © Grand Valley State University �Carrying Coals to Newcastle Richard A. Rhem Page 6   vested interests and reactionary forces seeking to maintain the status quo which means a societal system protecting privilege, deaf to the cry of the millions who live a less than human existence. I set before you Jesus, with all of his compassion for human weakness, in all of his anger at human dominance and oppression. I set before you one who set his face to go to Jerusalem and confronted the principalities and powers, the demons of his day. He found where the battle was raging and, after steeping himself in the presence of God, set forth to act. That is the fiery coal I would bring to Newcastle. I have no quick fix, I have no easy answer, but I’ll tell you this - a comfortable and complacent liberal religious experience will stand by while the world goes to hell and by God, we can’t let it happen! I set before you a model whose way to follow and in whose steps to walk will bring us to that point where the battle is raging. May the Spirit give you restlessness in your rest; enough humor to keep you humble, enough grace to keep you going, and joy in your journey. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/4f2fcccfb42d10740d290ad43d18217c.mp3 c6ff30e2ee6b685b270284a6aecd4203 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XXIII Scripture Text Luke 9:51-56, 19:41-48 Location The location of the interview Fountain Street Church, Grand Rapids, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19981108 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-11-08 Title A name given to the resource Carrying Coals to Newcastle Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on November 8, 1998 entitled "Carrying Coals to Newcastle", on the occasion of Pentecost XXIII, at Fountain Street Church, Grand Rapids, MI. Scripture references: Luke 9:51-56, 19:41-48. Inclusive Religious Quest Way of Jesus https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/25ea1e23df5ccb6aed633bb4bedf0ca4.pdf 78e337632ca6ed39b6157d6fadb91b44 PDF Text Text The Awe of Worship From the series: The Church: Human Community Text: Isaiah 6:1, 3; Revelation 5:13 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan November 15, 1998 Transcription of the spoken sermon I was thinking about a statement that Paul made in a discussion in his first letter to the Corinthians as I was thinking about the theme of today’s worship. It has nothing to do with the theme, actually, but rather, with some domestic matters that he was dealing with in the congregation at Corinth, and at one point he said, "Now, as to thus and so, I have no commands from the Lord, but my opinion is, as one who is faithful and trustworthy, ..." That statement from Paul, when I was being educated into an understanding of scripture and how to interpret it, was claimed to be the inspired word of God as much as anything else Paul wrote, because, after all, Paul wrote it and it’s in the Bible. The inspiration of the scripture - that’s a theological doctrine. But, as a matter of fact, I don’t believe that anymore. I want to take the words at face value. What Paul was saying is, on this issue, I don’t really have a clear word from the Lord. Paul certainly was not conscious in writing the letter to the church at Corinth that he was writing what would be considered scripture by the church, subsequently, although, certainly he had a sense of authority, apostolic authority, and I think what he was saying in this case is there are some things about which I am very certain are reflective of the intention of God, but in this case, I don’t know, but let me give you my opinion. That’s what I want to do with you today. Of course, I’m always preaching my opinion. But, it is an understanding or interpretation of a text or a theological doctrine or something. But, today, not so much so. I have certainly biblical text and a biblical basis for what I’m going to say, but I want to say up front that what I’m going to speak about, the congregation, the Church, the human community in worship, involves an opinion on my part. It involves a choice that I have made. The way we worship at Christ Community is a deliberate and intentional choice. There are assemblies all over the globe today in this hour worshiping God in all kinds of settings, using all kinds of liturgy or non-liturgy, in all kinds of feel, mood, mode, posture, and the way any community of faith worships is a deliberate and intentional choice of that community of faith. At least, it is here. In some communities of faith it may just be what has been done forever and forever © Grand Valley State University   �Awe of Worship Richard A. Rhem Page 2   and forever. It seems that that was the way it was when I was a kid. Three hymns, two prayers and a long sermon. And I don’t know that anyone ever thought about it. But, at Christ Community, we have been very intentional about the way we worship, and I want to talk about that this morning. I want to say again, up front, not as some word from the Lord, but as some intentional, deliberate choice on our part, and so, think with me about the action in which we are presently engaged, the action of worship. Now, I’ve already tilted my hand by the very title of the message, "The Awe of Worship." Awe, a little three-letter word, but it carries a wallop. If you would look it up in the dictionary, you’d find that it comes from a Greek word, achos, which is defined as fear, and you might find the word "dread" in there, and you might find the word "reverence" and "respect." The Awe of Worship is an attempt to point to that which marks our worship, that gives it its characteristic mark, its mode and mood. It is awe. Now, not fear in the sense of being afraid, but fear in the sense of reverence and deep respect. The classic study of the religious experience of worship, indeed, of the religious experience itself, was done by a German scholar who died in 1937, Rudolf Otto, and his book is entitled, in English, The Idea of the Holy. And he was one of the pioneers in the study of comparative religions and he went around the world tasting, experiencing, analyzing the religious experience of the human family, and he found that at the core was this sense of awe, that there is a deep address to the inner being of the person, there is a feeling which is a knowing, but a "knowing" in quotation marks because it is not a rational knowing, it is supra-rational. It is beyond the ability, intellectually, to analyze. It is a feeling; it is an experience deep, deep down. He speaks about the Holy, or God, using a word he coins from a Latin word, numen. Numen, in Roman mythology, was the presiding spirit or divinity, and Rudolf Otto, then, in order to coin a new word, to catch attention, and to try to say something in a fresh way, talks about the numenus, which is really God. It’s the Mystery, however you want to speak of it. But, he noted that universally there is this human experience of the numenus, of the Mystery, and he used another Latin phrase, a mysterium tremendum, and you can hear the English word "mystery" and "tremendous." Rather crassly, a tremendous mystery. But, mysterium tremendum has that kind of sense about it of mystery. Rudolf Otto says that the experience to which we are trying to point this morning, that which is universally at the core of the human experience of God which is evoked in worship, which arises, is a feeling that is beyond explanation. An encounter with the Mystery who is unapproachable. Maybe it sounds like so much gobbledygook, but I’m trying to speak reasonably, rationally, understandably about a Mystery that cannot be spoken about reasonably, understandably. But, I think you know what I mean. I think you have all, at one time or another, felt it, experienced it; you’ve known it. And Rudolf Otto says, interestingly enough, that that universal human experience, the awe of that awesomeness beyond our ability to articulate, is that which has with it the © Grand Valley State University �Awe of Worship Richard A. Rhem Page 3   sense of fear or dread or reverence or respect that almost repels us and, at the same time, draws us, allures us. There is that ironic tension within us; we are drawn like a moth to the flame and yet, it is a fearsome, an overwhelming kind of moment and experience. That’s the awe of worship. And, at Christ Community, we have made a deliberate choice and with intention seek to create the possibility of that awe happening. All we can do is build the container. Whether the fire happens or not, whether there is anything evoked in us or not is not at our command or our disposal. That is the mystery of the Mystery. But, I think you know that we are very intentional and deliberate about the way we worship, about the mood and the mode and the posture and the spirit and the feel of this hour. I’ll spend probably three hours tonight on next Sunday morning. I have the pieces from Mr. Bryson, I know what music will be involved and whether there’ll be dance or whatever, and then I will simply live into that experience, trying to weave it together in such a way that it has a certain flow, a certain naturalness. After that, I’m helpless. Then we can execute it. Then we stand waiting, praying, hoping, longing for the experience which is beyond our control or ability to manipulate. That’s how it is here, and in making that intentional choice, we have expressed an opinion that that is worship and (this is a value judgment that I’m going to say anyway), that is worship at its highest and its best. It certainly is consistent with the biblical experiences of worship that we have, for example, Isaiah’s experience. "It was in the year that King Hosiah died." Was it a crisis for the nation? Was it a personal loss for Isaiah? Was it a grief that fell over, like on the day when Kennedy was assassinated? Was it a crisis of the nation as to whether or not Iraq will finally provoke us to war? Anyway, it was in the year that King Hosiah died that Isaiah went into the temple and suddenly the foundations were shaking and the whole temple was filled with smoke, and seraphic beings were everywhere, crying out, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty. Heaven and earth is filled with God’s glory." Did you just get a goose bump? I did. And Isaiah felt his utter creatureliness, his lostness, his dependence, total dependence, and he heard a voice, and he said, "I’m unclean." The angel took a coal from off the altar and touched his lips and said, "You’re cleansed." And, being cleansed and graced, he was called and commissioned. It was an experience of deep mystery. The prophet’s life was changed in the encounter with the Holy, whatever that may be. Or, the worship in heaven, before living creatures, the elders, bowls of incense, the prayers of people symbolized in the bowls of incense. The adoration of the Lamb that was slain. And again, that chorus of myriads and myriads and thousands and thousands of angels with a loud voice saying, "Worthy is the Lamb to receive honor and power and glory and wisdom and might, now and forever," and they fell down and they worshiped and they cried, "Amen, so let it be." © Grand Valley State University �Awe of Worship Richard A. Rhem Page 4   Now, it would be a travesty to try and define the pieces of that picture. It’s a picture. It is a scene painted for us that we can feel, we can enter into, even if slightly, and we know some of it ourselves because we have felt our insides quiver. We, too, have now and again, here and there, we have known that out of ourselves and beyond ourselves we were in touch with something that was embracing us and holding us and gracing us, confronting us, lifting us. We speak of being wrapped in worship, our spirits inspired, uplifted into the Holy of Holies. Now and again, here and there, thank God, we do sometimes taste the eternal in the midst of our time, and if it is to happen, it will most likely happen where we come seeking it and where the very environment and the hour is so structured that it just might happen again. In making that choice, we are making a deliberate, intentional choice, and we are swimming against the stream. You know that, don’t you? And I don’t want you to hear me this morning as being critical or condemning, because as I said early on, I’m expressing an opinion and there are all sorts of assemblies and all sorts of modes and moods of worship, and I do suppose that, just as I’m saying that which we try to create registers in the depths of our being, that there are those who find something registered in their being through an entirely different way. On the other hand, I want to say a word about the way we worship in contrast to that which is sweeping the landscape in our day. I would call it worship as entertainment. The organ is out; praise bands are in; choruses whose words generally lack any aesthetic value cast up on a screen to be repeated over and over again, which certainly does touch something and move something. It touches the emotion, somehow or other. Nothing against those things. I love an old-fashioned hymn sing or a Christmas carol sing. I love to gather around the piano when Mr. Bryson is playing and sing my lungs out before I lost my voice. But, now, I’m talking about that holy moment in the week, this moment, and I want to suggest to you that sacred space is so terribly important. I had the opportunity last week, as many of you know, to preach in the Fountain Street Church in Grand Rapids and to walk into that grand cathedral is to have one’s breath taken away. The magnificent stained glass windows, the vaulting architecture, the space itself lifts one’s soul. You cannot help but be still, silent, tranquil, peaceful in that sacred space. And this far humbler space, yet beautiful, carefully appointed with form and fabric, in order to address that below or above your rational faculties, that intuitive sense you have to touch that aesthetic dimension of your life - I didn’t know anything about that growing up. I didn’t know how to worship; as I said, three hymns, two prayers and a long sermon and we were finally out of there. There was no sense of mystery or awe; there was no wrapping in the warm womb of fabric and smell and feel and touch. I didn’t even understand it graduating from seminary. I suppose because, being in the Reformed tradition, we were still 500 years later reacting against the mystery of worship so magnificently captured still in the Roman Catholic church or the Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox church, and the Jewish temple. I had to learn it all from scratch. But, having learned it, having come to experience it and © Grand Valley State University �Awe of Worship Richard A. Rhem Page 5   appreciate it, I am determined that it will prevail here over against that trend, that contemporary trend in which mega-churches are growing by leaps and bounds on such a diet. I’m expressing an opinion and I’m an old fossil, and I don’t have a very open mind on this question, and so you’re probably stuck with the way it is as long as you’re stuck with me. And I acknowledge that it’s a deliberate, intentional choice, but I would say that it is that medium that has the greatest possibility of reaching into your inner being and leaving you speechless, full of wonder, lost in praise. My critical question to the contemporary trend, worship as entertainment, is: Can that medium bear the experience? Can the transcendent, the Awesome One find as a vehicle for encounter the chatty, casual, informal gathering of folks? That’s a serious question. I raise it here, there, other places. I’m a minority voice. I have had many say to me, "Oh, yes, it can. The Transcendent, the Holy One can be mediated through any vehicle, any medium." I’m not so sure. There is a little song that I’ve heard a time or two. I do not know the words, I could not sing the tune, but I know the title, and the title is "Our God is Awesome." And, I mean, it really gets goin’, it’s "Our God is awesome, our God is awesome!" And I want to say, "Come on, sit down, quiet down, be silent. Stop! For, what you’re singing about is denied by the manner and the mode in which you sing! There are times to sing and dance before the Lord. But, when I talk, when I think, when I open myself to the awesomeness of God, then I shouldn’t be hopping around like a Jiminy Cricket. So, that’s what you’re stuck with. So, how do you come? Open, open of mind, open of heart, senses tingling with anticipation. Obviously, then, prayerful, alert, aware of sights and sounds and the words and the music and the way the tapestry weaves together and flows and moves, and ready, then, to be moved along in a spirit of praise and adoration, engaging with the exposition, arguing with it, sorting it through, finding that upon which to contemplate, meditate, think, but all of it an honest opening of one’s life to the Holy, to the possibility, here and now, even now the heavens might open and angels appear, in word and music, in sight and sound, in the smoke of incense - all of it, all of it the accouterments brought together in order to create the occasion in which it just might happen. And, isn’t it grand? Isn’t it grand to be here in a place like this, a space like this, with people like this, a community, a human community, the Church, in worship, where the liturgy holds up the whole of life into the presence of God, where the newborn are baptized and those who died are given the final blessing, where young couples are united in marriage and young people are heard to stand and say, "I believe," and where we have vision clarified, where we are confronted honestly with ourselves and our flaws and failings, where we hear a word of grace, where our deepest concerns can be laid bare, where we can be embraced, where we can sing our hearts out, where our souls can be released to dancing, where we can have that fully, totally human experience of the Holy Other, full of grace. My God, I love it! © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/45c779fe3b58b2a5dd1b5eba7aecdd37.mp3 cee2c629671cd9b5cd9a7382b1c9daa3 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XXIV Series The Church: Human Community Scripture Text Isaiah 6:1,3, Revelation 5:13 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19981115 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-11-15 Title A name given to the resource The Awe of Worship Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on November 15, 1998 entitled "The Awe of Worship", as part of the series "The Church: Human Community", on the occasion of Pentecost XXIV, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Isaiah 6:1,3, Revelation 5:13. Awe Community of Faith Divine Mystery Worship https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a671d50f8dd832676a913858df346e23.mp3 d59898e8e1b92e60991b991677c3325c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XXV Series The Church: Human Community Scripture Text II Corinthians 8:2-3 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19981122 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-11-22 Title A name given to the resource Mutuality in Mission Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on November 22, 1998 entitled "Mutuality in Mission", as part of the series "The Church: Human Community", on the occasion of Pentecost XXV, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: II Corinthians 8:2-3. https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/489105643f24db748d13d900521e90f9.mp3 8543217aee94c6908024a959c4ccf726 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Thanksgiving Sunday Scripture Text Psalm 116:12, I Timothy 6:17-19 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19981126 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-11-26 Title A name given to the resource Gratitude, Generosity, and the Good Life Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on November 26, 1998 entitled "Gratitude, Generosity, and the Good Life", on the occasion of Thanksgiving Sunday, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Psalm 116:12, I Timothy 6:17-19. https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a3d70fecbf0c09da682624a0bddb0ea3.pdf d0c255f9b73b60d2f5c8c28423af9757 PDF Text Text Spirit: The Now of the Future From the series: The Presence of the Future Text: Isaiah 61:1; John 14:18-19 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan December 6, 1998 Transcription of the spoken sermon We had our first Advent Midweek Eucharist on Wednesday. It is such a lovely hour - the warmth of the Parlour beautifully decorated in the festive garb of the Christmas season, the intimate setting - there is something quite wonderful about it. I hope the secret doesn’t get out, because about 75 is all that we can comfortably handle. Well, Wednesday I had a rather startling revelation for those gathered - I told them Jesus is not coming again, which, of course, is the theme of Advent - The one who came a babe in human flesh, will come again in glory to judge and rule. I just came out with it; the early followers of Jesus, including Paul, expected Jesus to return in power and glory to bring history to its close and usher in the age to come. They got it wrong; the ongoing unfolding drama of history and human culture should surely tip us off - 2000 years of subsequent history and we still hear talk of the Second Coming of our Lord from Glory. Let me suggest in this season of Advent 1998, that it is time for us to take a sober look at the biblical time line - the divine calendar as it has been understood and declared over the centuries, and recognize that it really makes no sense of the reality we live, the cosmic unfolding, history developing, and the emerging of humankind. I have been thinking about this for a few years now. When I was in Europe in the 60s, there was a circle of young scholars who were swinging the pendulum back to an appreciation of God’s action within our history. It gave me a way to return here and preach good news. One European biblical scholar, Oscar Cullman, was not of that circle, but he had written a very influential book entitled Christ and Time. He pointed out what may seem obvious to one familiar with the Bible story - that the whole biblical drama was seen on a time line. Out of eternity issues the creative word, "Let there be" and the cosmos is formed, and time and history began - a time still ongoing in © Grand Valley State University   �Spirit: The Now of the Future Richard A. Rhem Page 2   the biblical drama. The biblical understanding was that those who were living the drama were in what they called "this age" or "the present age." But, they were looking for "The Age to Come." The whole Creation/historical drama was seen under that model or paradigm. This age and the Age to Come. The Hebrew prophets longed for the Age to Come on earth in history when Shalom would everywhere prevail. Then the fortunes of Judah reversed - they returned from Babylonian Exile, but never saw the glory return. They were the pawns of conquering powers, poor, oppressed, and without hope. For them, history was hopeless; they cried out to their God to intervene, to dash the wicked and vindicate them as God’s chosen. This was a move from the prophetic with its dream of Shalom to Apocalyptic - the longing for God to ring down the curtain on history and usher in the Age to Come. This is the setting of the time of Jesus. I suspect Jesus shared that longing, although that is a matter of debate. But, certainly St. Paul was looking for the return of Jesus who had been crucified, risen, and ascended to the throne of God. That was the picture: Jesus at the right hand of God ruling from heaven and soon to come again - this time not in human weakness, but in Divine Power. In Revelation, we hear the cry of that early church, "Maranatha," which, translated, is "Our Lord, Come," and we hear the ascended Lord declare, "I am coming soon." In the calendar of the church this cry of 2000 years is remembered with every returning Advent - The one who came is coming again. And there has never lacked Christian groups that have continued to affirm: He is coming soon! It is quite amazing that such a conception, such a hope could be sustained for 2000 years. Well, as I said, in Wednesday’s meditation I said quite simply, "He is not coming again." I say it that bluntly to catch your attention because I want you to hear what I am saying and I finally say it now because we are on the threshold of the Third Millennium. As the calendar moved toward 1000, there was a large scale stirring and disturbance. Expectation was aroused and many claimed they were at the end of the age. I am beginning to hear it now again as though the turn of the calendar will bring us to the end and the appearing of our Lord in glory for judgment and the final consummation of all things. My word to you is, "Don’t believe it, don’t get worked up about it, don’t be afraid." The Jesus who came is not coming again in the sense that is understood in the biblical story. Now if you have heard that rather bold denial, I hope you will be ready to hear an alternative declaration - Jesus who came, the word made flesh, the one in whom God was embodied, has already come again - again and again and again. © Grand Valley State University �Spirit: The Now of the Future Richard A. Rhem Page 3   Let me give you the text that says this very clearly. In John’s Gospel, Jesus is purported to say: “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you.” (14:18) Just prior to this promise, Jesus promises the gift of the Spirit, the Spirit of truth. It is significant that this Gospel is late, probably in the 90s of that first century. Jesus had not returned on the clouds. Many of the Jews who had been part of the movement were returning to their Jewish spiritual home in the Synagogue. The Pharisaic Rabbinic movement was proving to be the ongoing shape of Jewish faith. As that movement gained power, there was an edict passed that said if one confessed Jesus as God’s Messiah, that one would be put out of the Synagogue. And so, it was decision time - continue to confess Jesus Messiah and be put out of the community, or give up that confession and continue in the Jewish community and tradition. That is always a crisis of great import. And what was no doubt the deciding factor? Jesus did not return. It is easy to understand that the early community expected a literal return of the ascended Lord from the throne of God. Jesus was a flesh and blood human being. Jesus lived, taught, healed, was killed - all the hard facts of historical existence. And they sensed his presence still - thus the resurrection claim - this one who died lives. God raised him up and took him "up." Why wouldn’t they expect him to come back in literal fashion? Read Acts 1:11. The scene is Jesus’ ascent into heaven. The disciples look on amazed. An angel appears and says to them: Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven. There you have it; it could not be plainer. Decades after the actual life and death of Jesus, that is how they told the story and expressed their hope and expectation. But, now John is writing even later. Now it is decision time - to remain in the Jewish Synagogue and faith tradition, or, to persist in the faith that Jesus was the Messiah who would soon return to bring the Age to an end and usher in the Age to Come. But, he didn’t come. And he still didn’t come. Nothing happened. Now, what is the Gospel writer to say? Will he say, "Hold on; he’s coming!" The author of II Peter did. He wrote, " ... in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and indulging their own lusts and saying, ‘Where is the promise of his © Grand Valley State University �Spirit: The Now of the Future Richard A. Rhem Page 4   coming? For ever since our ancestors died, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation!’ ... with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day ... The day will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed." (II Peter 3:1-13) But, the author of the fourth Gospel did not simply plead with the Jesus movement to hold on because surely he was coming soon. Rather, in the Gospel of John, we see a significant shift from the expectation of the imminent return of Jesus to a present experience of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit or the Spirit of Christ the Spirit is variously designated in the New Testament. He came: John says the word was made flesh and dwelt among us. This was the literal, historical presence of God in human form. And, crucified, resurrected and returned to the presence of God he comes again - not in human historical form this time; not in visible display of signs and wonder. No. Rather, he comes in Spirit, the spiritual presence of God abiding in the life of the one who believed and in the community that believes that he was the embodiment of God in the days of his flesh. The English biblical scholar, C. H. Dodd, whose special expertise was the Gospel of John, coined a phrase to point up this shift. He called John’s revision “Realized Eschatology." Eschaton is the Greek word for the end and Eschatology, the teaching about the end of history. Dodd, on the basis of the Fourth Gospel, claimed that the end had already occurred. The New Age Jesus ushered in was the Age of the Spirit. He understood the Fourth Gospel to be a dismantling of the future expectation and the declaration of the New Age in the Spirit. Although he was not widely followed in this claim, his point of the significant shift in focus has been acknowledged. This shift is pointed to in the Advent theme “The Presence of the Future.” For our present experience the future is not future, but present. I mean, in our human, historical experience, we have the presence of the Presence of God, the God enfleshed in Jesus, given us in the Spirit. Thus my title - Spirit: The Now of the Future. What I am suggesting is thus a shift from the commonly held assumption about the biblical teaching about the end of history. That biblical view is most commonly designated by the phrase "Second Coming." What I am suggesting is not without biblical basis, however. What we see with the New Testament itself is a shifting. There is no one consistent biblical scheme. I am picking up the hint from the fourth Gospel that we need to find another way to understand our ongoing historical experience that keeps moving into an uncharted future. We © Grand Valley State University �Spirit: The Now of the Future Richard A. Rhem Page 5   must have a fresh sense of the meaning of a key conviction of the Hebrew prophets and the Christmas story - the conviction contained in the name Emmanuel, God with us. God with us; the Spirit with us; the Presence present to us; the Mystery once enfleshed, but always the enlivening, creative Presence in the whole cosmic drama, the whole unfolding story we call history. In the beginning the Spirit hovered over the created Chaos. In Israel’s life, the prophet cried, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me ..." The angel said to Mary, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you ..." On the Day of Pentecost, suddenly "... from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a mighty wind ... all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit." Through two millennia, the church has confessed"... Conceived by the Holy Spirit." Spirit: the Now of the Future. Spirit - God’s breath, in creation of cosmos and unfolding of history - the life, the creative, energizing Presence that in the evolving of Nature finally brought to emergence a creature conscious, aware, giving the whole amazing Reality a voice full of wonder. The biblical story was clear that Creation or Nature stemmed from God’s creative word, but it was in history that Israel heard God’s voice. They divorced themselves from Nature in repudiation of the Canaanite religion that was bound to the cyclic natural order with the seasons coming round in regular order. And there was great gain in that exalted view of the Creator who spoke reality into existence and was a living, active presence in the historical unfolding. History is where Israel encountered God, or better, was encountered by God. Thus, that the Word became flesh was an amazing claim. Spirit, the instrument of creating, creates a human being who was the Mystery embodied. And is it any wonder that such a sense of Reality should then look for this embodied one to return to bring history to its consummation? But, we no longer divorce history from Nature. Rather, we see one grand process from the cosmic explosion 15 billion years ago, to the present continuing evolving of Nature which has gained a sense of history because we have emerged who are conscious, aware, recognizing the unfolding. There is not Nature and history. Rather, Nature has a history. And that created Reality we call Nature is alive, evolving because it is permeated with a creative Spirit that gives life and nudges the whole process on. © Grand Valley State University �Spirit: The Now of the Future Richard A. Rhem Page 6   Not some dramatic, cataclysmic future event, some display of power and glory. No. Rather, the future is already present in the Spirit Who mediates to us the Presence of the Mystery - Emmanuel, God with us. That was the prophetic assurance to Israel in its dark moments of crisis. Emmanuel: God with us. That was what the early Jesus movement experienced. Emmanuel: God with us - now in human flesh. And the Revelation’s final vision, chapter 21:3, reads in some manuscripts: God-with-them shall himself be their God in the context where the great declaration is uttered, Now at last God has his dwelling among humankind. There you have, of course, a climax in some near future. That, I am saying, needs revision. But, what is claimed for that future consummation is the same claim made by Isaiah, by Matthew. The claim is Emmanuel - God with us. That is the Now of the Future. The implication of that claim changes our whole perspective on our place in the cosmos. Rather that those who sing mournfully, this world is not my home, I’m just passing through," that is, I’m heaven bound, longing to divest myself of this life, this world which is a vale of tears, we celebrate the wonder of the natural world - the whole creation so richly endowed that there has emerged creatures conscious, aware, with tongues to praise, with spirit to love and care, with vision full of hope. Where is the whole dramatic venture going? Who knows? The future is open. But, what will be true, we can be sure, is that the key to it all will ever be Emmanuel God with us - Spirit creating, moving, and the whole story unfolding. Thus, we wait not with anxious expectation for suns darkened, stars falling, and all hell erupting. Rather, we live now with eyes open, ears cocked, imagination full of dreams and visions in this present moment, marked by the deep trust that God is with us, alert to the ongoing drama, watching with wonder and awe. Spirit: The Now of the Future. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3af7e14d1ee5298a6cce550659ed2e3d.mp3 ccdd93e08140521b1344c2a7d2df730d Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Advent II Series The Presence of the Future Scripture Text Isaiah 61:1, John 14:18-19 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19981206 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-12-06 Title A name given to the resource Spirit: The Now of the Future Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on December 6, 1998 entitled "Spirit: The Now of the Future", as part of the series "The Presence of the Future", on the occasion of Advent II, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Isaiah 61:1, John 14:18-19. Advent Emergence Incarnation https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a7c503237a64b9af6921e548d3afc0b2.pdf 45e95dd2e89b03109196977835877092 PDF Text Text The Threatened Present in the Presence of the Future From the series: The Presence of the Future Text: Matthew 2:3; 2:18 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan December 13, 1998 Transcription of the spoken sermon I left off last week with the question, "Where is the future going? What will become of us? Where will the process lead next?" And I admitted that we simply do not know. We do not know about the things of the beginning and that’s why the Hebrews long ago wrote stories, stories of a Garden of Eden, of a tree and a couple and a snake. Neither do we know things of the future and therefore, people have created stories about the end, visions and dreams of what might be. Visions and dreams that reflected their deep yearning and their longing. But, we noted last week that those stories of the end, the visions painted by the biblical writers, the expectation and anticipation of the Apostles simply were not realized in the way that they thought they would be, and for 2000 years now we have perpetuated those stories, even though they don’t really mesh with our understanding of reality and its cosmic form or its historic manifestation. And so, we noted that it is time for a new paradigm, for a new model of the end. We no longer really, literally, actually wait for the coming of our Lord in the sense of that Second Coming as it is expressed in the scriptures. But, the good news is that Jesus has come again and again and again and again, for he said, "I will come to you, I will not leave you alone, orphaned." And so, we noted that the key to a biblical understanding of history can better be understood under the word Immanuel, the name God With Us, God with us in the midst of the process, the Creator-Spirit from the beginning in that cosmic development of 15 billion years, emerging finally into history with the development of human consciousness and awareness, the development of human cultures. The story of human history of which we are at the vortex, moving into the future, continuing to write the story. And so, we need a new vision, a new dream, a new paradigm, a new model for that understanding of the cosmos from which we have emerged and the history in which process we find ourselves, so that we might have a life map and some orientation in order to find meaning and purpose in our present day, given the understanding we have of the human, of the world. We need a new paradigm in order that our faith vision may connect with our actual experience. © Grand Valley State University   �The Threatened Present Richard A. Rhem Page 2   To the question, "Where is it going?" as in the Advent season we think about the future, we really don’t know. I like the image of Martin Luther who gave expression to it this way. He said, if you can picture the infants baptized this morning, the secure and warm floating in the embryonic soup of the mother’s womb until the moment of birthing arrives, the pain that shoves that little embryo down the birth canal and out into a world, kicking and screaming, what infant in the womb could conceive of the drastic transformation of its world in a moment’s time, coming out into the harsh light and the chill of the real world into which it is being born? I saw a photograph someone showed me this week, taken by the Hubbell space telescope of the Eagle Nebula, which was caught exploding. I don’t know all the details, and I would be better off not even to attempt to describe what I saw in the photograph. It was like a cloud or an exploding star, I don’t know, but there were a couple of little fingers that went up at the top of this mass of whatever was happening and the person who showed me the photograph said those two little fingers each are larger than our whole galaxy. You can’t conceive of it, can you? Space and time beyond our imagination and in such a world so amazing, so full of wonder, where the future is already present in incubation, where the future is already present in the Spirit, where the present is pregnant with the future - in such a situation, we have to come to understand Advent anew as it calls us to our task to be engaged in the human endeavor. We need a new story that will energize us and motivate us to take responsibility for this history which is unfolding with us and through us, for, and I almost don’t dare say this, lest I be struck with lightning, being raised a sturdy Calvinist as I was, but, even though I almost don’t dare say it, I must say it - the future is in our hands. The future is in human hands, not apart from the Creator Spirit, but certainly in our hands now to move from that jungle survival instinct situation into which we have emerged, still having at the ready all of those survival skills that cling to us, threatened creatures that we are. It is our responsibility to move this cosmic drama, this unfolding history, this human story now, God’s story - to move it into a future, into a new day, into a brighter tomorrow. That’s the Advent task. And it’s a heavy responsibility, and of course, we’re not equal to it, we’re not up to it, and we will foul it terribly. Such is the nature of human history. Such has been the course, and will continue to be the course, because the present is not only pregnant with the future, full of promise, it is full of peril, as well, and it is our responsibility to address that reality. Let me give you a historical illustration from Matthew’s Gospel. The birth of Jesus is being recounted. The story of the Magi from the east, the astrologers who saw the star that signalled the birth of royalty, they followed the star until it came to Jerusalem and, naturally, they went to the royal court to learn of the birth. But, the birth was not in the royal court with King Herod the Great on the throne, and © Grand Valley State University �The Threatened Present Richard A. Rhem Page 3   when he heard of a star to announce a birth of one born to be king, he was terribly threatened. He was alarmed and afraid, and all Jerusalem with him, and he inquired of the scriptures where this event might be, and the scholars said to him, in Bethlehem. He sent the Magi there to seek out the child, requesting that they return to give him information, that he, too, might worship. But they, being warned, returned another way and when he recognized that he had been tricked, he was in a furious rage and decreed that all male children two years and under be slaughtered. That would fix any threat to the throne. And in the calendar of the Church, we call the event the Slaughter of the Innocents. One could write a story of human history under that title, the Slaughter of the Innocents. Matthew, in telling the story, reaches back to Jeremiah, chapter 31, verse 15, where Jeremiah holds up the image of Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted because they are not. Rachel was the wife of Jacob in the Genesis story, his favorite wife who birthed him Joseph, his favorite son, who was given a coat with sleeves, whose brothers were jealous of him, who sold him off into Egyptian slavery, bringing back the special coat drenched in animal blood in order to convince their father that a wild beast had done him in. Jacob wept for his son, and we read that he refused to be comforted, because his son was not. On his way back from his uncle Laban, where he had gotten his wives and a family, Jacob came to Ramah in Galilee, where his beloved Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin, and Rachel’s tomb is in Ramah, and centuries later the poet-prophet Jeremiah saw the devastation of Jerusalem, the torn down walls, the charred temple, the rape of the city, and he lamented over the terrible horror that had befallen Jerusalem and the people of God there, even though he had clearly foreseen it, and Jeremiah reached back to Rachel, because Rachel’s tomb was on the way that the exiles had to take from Jerusalem to Babylon in captivity. Jeremiah said, as the exiles were making their way into captivity, passing Rachel’s tomb, that Rachel was weeping in the tomb and would not be comforted because her children were not. And, when Jesus was born and King Herod decreed that the innocents be slaughtered, Matthew reaches back to weeping Rachel, weeping because her children are not, refusing to be comforted. Those images are the stories of human history. If nature is red in tooth and claw, then the human story is a veritable river of blood and violence. It is a story of brutality and unthinkable cruelty. That is the story, the history for which we are responsible. Such a history and such a story certainly makes it obvious why those who were dreamers and visionaries, who saw all of the hell on earth, longed for another world, for another day, for another reality - the prophetic vision of the lion and the lamb lying down together, therefore, the reconciliation of nature, where they would not hurt or destroy in all God’s holy mountain, therefore Peace, Shalom coming to earth. Were they not responding to the terrible violence and the hurt © Grand Valley State University �The Threatened Present Richard A. Rhem Page 4   and the pain, the Rachels weeping for their children because they were not? Certainly we can understand that eschatological hope, that yearning for something else, just as in the beginning they created stories about human responsibility because certainly the hell on earth could not be the consequences of a good God creating a good earth, therefore, stories of human rebellion. So, in the end are not those stories the human response to the harsh reality of human history, dreaming of another place and another time wherein dwells righteousness and justice marked by compassion and peace? We can understand how the stories arise. But, if it denigrates our present unfolding historical reality and our engagement with it, then we need a new model and a new paradigm, because the Herods of this world are all too plentiful yet in our day. Herod was half-Jew and half Edomite, the descendant of Esau. Herod had within himself Jacob and Esau, the conflict of brothers. It ran in his veins. He made himself useful to Rome and in 47 B.C.E. was appointed governor and then in 40, king, and he’s called Herod the Great. He was great. He at one time melted down his own gold to buy corn for the starving masses in a famine. On another time, in difficult times, he remitted the taxes in order that the people might have some relief. That disruptive, disorderly people was brought to law and order, and peace reigned for that long reign of Herod the Great. He was a great builder. People came from the ancient world to see Jerusalem and the marvels of its architecture, the glory of its buildings. Herod the Great. And he was a suspicious man. I suppose we’d call him a paranoiac today. He had his wife murdered, and her mother, Alexandra. He had his eldest son murdered, and two other sons. When he came to power, he had the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Supreme Court, slaughtered. At another time he had slaughtered 300 court officials. He had a long reign, you see. And when he was about to die, he retired to Jericho, having had the leading citizens of Jerusalem arrested on trumped up charges and imprisoned with the order that at the moment of his death they would be put to death, because Herod said no one will mourn Herod’s death, but at Herod’s death, nonetheless, tears will flow. Caesar Augustus, Emperor of Rome, said it is better to be Herod’s pig than Herod’s son. So, he was Herod the Great, at times moved with compassion, able to administer, create order and peace. And he was a murderer, taken over by brutality and violence and unspeakable horror, causing Rachel to weep in her tomb because her children are not. That’s the human story, and again, one can understand in the midst of the furnace, as was true of those early Christians at the end of the first century when the fires of persecution were burning, that they looked heavenward and said, "Maranatha. Our Lord come." Who wouldn’t want to escape the fiery furnace? © Grand Valley State University �The Threatened Present Richard A. Rhem Page 5   Who wouldn’t want release and relief from the anguish of this human experience? But, it is not so and it will not be so. It is for us to take responsibility and to change our world by the grace of God and the Spirit that is at work within us, the Spirit of the Jesus who comes again and again and again to those who are of open heart and open mind. It is for us to bring in a new day in our world, not to yield to cynicism or to bitterness, never to give up, but to work with hope unconquerable for a better world. On the 10th of December in 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is a fine document, speaking to the rights of every human being, social, political, economic, the kind of rights, the kind of regard that one, simply being human, should be accorded. It was celebrated this past week. It has only made a small dent in the realities and the brutalities of our history, and yet, it has made a mark, for this same week Jack Straw, the British Home Secretary, determined that General Pinochet could be extradited to Spain to be tried for human atrocities. And those who study these things are celebrating the fact that there is at least this one token sign that no dictator or totalitarian, evil leader of any nation can with impunity slaughter and kill. Herod is still alive and well on planet Earth, and we could point to several places on the globe where it is happening, even now. But, at least Pinochet, who was the military leader who led the coup that led to the assassination of the Socialist, duly elected Aliende some years ago in Chile - you remember the story? We were complicit in that action. We supported the coup that upended Aliende whose politics was threatening to the U.S. of A. This place of human rights and freedom and liberty has a very colored, checkered past in regard to universal human rights. We have been self-serving and self-protective, like every other people. We have had a strain of Herod in us, now and again, as I think Roosevelt said, who was instrumental in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, about some Latin dictator that we were supporting. "He’s a son of a bitch, but he’s our son of a bitch." In Advent 1998, if we want to keep Advent, if we want to be faithful followers of Jesus, it is that kind of pragmatism, that kind of politics of expediency, the kind of toying that’s going on in the Congress of the United States, even now, it is that against which we must speak as the followers of Jesus. As the angels said to the disciples when Jesus was ascending in clouds of glory, "Why stand you gazing up?" Get on with the work, because the responsibility is yours and mine, and we might be utterly frustrated if we try to change the whole world, but at least let us be certain that in this community of faith every human being is accorded dignity, that no one is excluded, no one is slighted, no one is denigrated, no matter who they are, no matter what their history, and that when it comes to the broader © Grand Valley State University �The Threatened Present Richard A. Rhem Page 6   community, let us be with clear voice taking the stand for all of the things for which the prophet longed and the church in its cry, "Maranatha," has yearned for. Jesus is not going to come back and do it for us. Jesus waits for us to follow him into the fray. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/94a321f88a80b11c6b7fef07d72756c6.mp3 f8bebd78284195863149a380e600e899 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 Series The Presence of the Future Scripture Text Matthew 2:3, 2:18 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-0-19981213 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-12-13 Title A name given to the resource The Threatened Present in the Presence of the Future Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on December 13, 1998 entitled "The Threatened Present in the Presence of the Future", as part of the series "The Presence of the Future", on the occasion of Advent III, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Matthew 2:3, 2:18. Advent Incarnation Inclusive Grace https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/1176b9f3952e7bdc571f685e86b951ab.pdf 336b528adbcaf306f9b056935b81f250 PDF Text Text Incarnation Here and Now From the series: The Presence of the Future Text: John 1:14; I John 4:12; 16 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Advent, December 20, 1998 Transcription of the spoken sermon The Advent season is a season whose theme traditionally has been "The One who came is coming again." A main emphasis in the Christian tradition and a clear biblical teaching is that the one who was born in poverty and humility is the child who will return in power and glory to judge the nations and issue in the end and the consummation. On the second Sunday in Advent, I suggested to you that we have to rethink that: that Jesus is not coming again in that sense. As someone said to me, "You’re not usually that dogmatic." I said, "Well, I’m not usually that sure." Well, I didn’t say that. Nancy said to me, "Why do you say things like that? You don’t know everything." Amen. But, I said it the way I said it because I wanted you to hear me. I could be the perfect heretic and preach all my life and you would never know it. All one has to do is fudge a bit, use vague terms, dance around, and I don’t want to do that. I’m too old; I’ve got too little time left. I want to be simple and I want to be clear. I do not think that the Christian model, the biblical model of history coming to an end with the appearing of the Lord from the clouds of heaven is, as a matter of fact, the way it’s going to be. I think history is going to continue to unfold and to develop, and going I know not where. But it is a part of a cosmic process of 15 billion years, unfolding in this cosmic wonder and majesty all those years, until finally there was the arrival of the human, the unfolding, then, of the story of history, even to the present moment, and I do not know where it is going, but I suggested to you that the good news is that, though I don’t expect Jesus to come from the clouds of glory, Jesus has come. Jesus has come again and again and again, and the key to our understanding, I believe, a more profound biblical understanding beneath that structure of things is a sense of Immanuel, God with us, here and now. Thus, Jesus with us, in spirit. "If you ask anything in my name, I will pray the Father, and God will give you the Spirit, the advocate, one to stand with you, one who will lead you into all truth, one who will call to remembrance the things that © Grand Valley State University   �Incarnation Here and Now Richard A. Rhem Page 2   I have said." And so, the present has within it the seeds of the future. The present is pregnant with the future. The vast potential beyond our conception is already incubated in the present, in the cosmos, in our history, in our humanity. But that future that is already in our present, is always under threat. We noted last week that the future that is trying to be born is always threatened by the present establishment for, if we have achieved a position of prestige and power and affluence, why in the world would we work for the transformation of tomorrow? And that’s the story of human history. As I said last week, if nature is red in tooth and claw, then human history is a veritable river of blood, violence and destruction, war and death, most often because the future that is trying to be born will be crucified by the present that is established and very happy with the way things are. Herod, on the throne, wanted to hear nothing of a royal child that might threaten his position and so, not being able to find the child, simply decreed that all children two years of age and under should be slaughtered. The Slaughter of the Innocents is the subtitle of the story of history. It has always been thus, for the future that would be born, the dawn that would break in this unfolding story of history which is the unfolding development of the cosmic reality, will always be threatened by those who would vie for power and position and stifle the spirit and crucify tomorrow. That’s human history. But, that’s not the whole story. If we are not to wait for someone to come and clean up our mess, then, as I said to you last week in concluding, it is our responsibility. History is our responsibility. The future is our responsibility. It is for us who have caught a glimpse of the vision, who’ve dared to dream the dream, to engage in the ongoing story, to stand for justice and righteousness, to live with compassion and to work for peace. The transformation of tomorrow is incubated in today and it is our task to midwife it into birth. The old model, that really doesn’t work anymore because it’s inconsistent with our experience of history and our knowledge of the cosmos, the old model would have us at this season of the year look for the big event somewhere out in the future, another place and another time. My Advent theme is a plea to you to find it here and now. Incarnation here and now. For that is the radical and profound declaration of the Gospel - that God has been embodied in human flesh. In the beginning was the word, reminding us of the first chapter of Genesis, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." John, in telling the story of Jesus, is trying to connect the whole cosmic reality from the beginning with that historical manifestation in the midst. The Creator of the heavens and the earth is embodied and enfleshed in the humanness of Jesus. The word became flesh and dwelt among us. Incarnation, here and now. Human history now manifesting divinity in the concrete. Paul said we have seen the light of the knowledge of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Jesus, in John’s Gospel, is purported to say, "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father." The © Grand Valley State University �Incarnation Here and Now Richard A. Rhem Page 3   incarnation here and now in human history, and the image that Paul uses in his letter of the body of Christ simply says that that was not a one time happening. That was not a once-for-all-event. That was an emergence into history which continues in the body of Christ, where you are the body of Christ, you are the flesh of God in the world. You are the concrete manifestation of God in this marvelous, awesome, wonderful, unraveling of cosmos and history and humanity. Incarnation, here and now. The big event is not in the future. The future is incubated in the present and the present is pregnant with the future, and it’s for us to allow it to come to birth. That’s our task as humankind, in history, the children of the Big Bang, stardust children of cosmic reality manifesting our life in an ongoing story of history. I don’t want you to lose the moment. I don’t want you to live with anything less than awe and wonder at the gift of life and the marvel of the ongoing drama. How can I speak with such glowing terms on the Sunday after the week through which we have just lived? As I thought about this message and I thought about Christmas and incarnation, I was all too well aware that, unless something is said this morning about the debacle that has been played out in our midst as a nation, then I will simply give credence to the widespread sense that the pulpit is the epitome of irrelevancy. But, how does one speak about the crisis of our times? How does one speak with some objectivity and sensitivity without partisan bias? It’s impossible. So, let me warn you at the beginning that anything I say is no word from the Lord; I have no word from the Lord. Let me speak about it, however, as one responsible to say something in the face of that which faces us, is in our face. Someone who simply broods on these things and muses on these things, let me say a word, if I may, and let me share with you something that’s been very helpful to me in giving me some perspective. Andrew Sullivan is a journalist. He writes in The New York Times Magazine of October 11 a marvelous article in which he addresses the present situation and, although he is himself a liberal, he speaks very fondly of Conservatism at its best and the great tradition of Conservatism historically. He suggests that the Conservative movement today is betraying itself and its own finest principles. Let me read you a few paragraphs, even though I know that’s a boring exercise, but it says it better than I can say it, and I want it said here. Speaking about the Conservatives, he says, ... Conservatives have always been concerned with morality - and rightly so. They have long understood that political order rests upon a vibrant civil society, and on the morality that such a society sustains. But conservatives have also always been aware of the dangers of excessively policing that morality, and of the evils that can occur when the morally certain gain power. Hence the apparent conservative paradox. Conservatives want morality but they don’t want the big government that © Grand Valley State University �Incarnation Here and Now Richard A. Rhem Page 4   could effectively enforce it. For true conservatives, the evils of moral chaos are usually outweighed by the evils of a moralizing big brother. And so conservatives have learned over the years to live with a little paradox. They have resisted the temptation either to become morally indifferent libertarians or to become morally repugnant ideologues. Although they have worried about moral and social trends, they have resisted easy pessimism and the jeremiad. And they have left the impositions of morals to the churches and preachers and mothers and fathers and teachers and friends of America to sort out. When it comes to preaching, true conservatives would much prefer to praise the examples of Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa than to demonize the likes of Dennis Rodman or Marv Albert. Above all, true conservatives have not been depressed by freedom. This, after all, is where the modern conservative movement in America started in the 1950's - in a revolt against the creeping power of the postwar welfare state. When American conservatives lose sight of that central strain in their philosophy, when their love of freedom becomes an afterthought to their concern for morality, then they lose sight of what makes them both conservative and quintessentially American. They lose sight of what distinguishes them from the darker history of European conservatism... Truly American conservatives would not recoil at the greater liberty enjoyed by women, racial minorities and homosexuals, as the truly American conservative Barry Goldwater showed. In the last decade, true American conservatives would have been heartened by the declines in divorce, crime and teen-age births, and encouraged by the move among gay people for more stable, responsible relationships. They would have been elated by the collapse of collectivism and totalitarianism abroad, and encouraged by the return of fiscal prudence and social responsibility at home. They would have seen in Bill Clinton a dangerous proclivity for dishonesty and abuse of power, but they would not have seen him as the degenerate apotheosis of an entire generation - let alone an entire nation. And they would have seen the emergence of religious dogmatists on the far right as a threat to constitutional order and political civility, not as a boon for votes. Above all, they would not have fatally overplayed their hand and tried to impeach a President not for illegality but for immorality, and they wouldn’t have shredded the virtues of privacy and decency and common sense for the emotional release of a cultural jihad. ... Well, he goes on, and I find what he says to be profoundly true, for what has happened in this nation is that, in the debacle we’ve experienced before a President that should have resigned a long time ago, I suppose, Andrew Sullivan suggests the same, but nonetheless, we have come to focus on that which is © Grand Valley State University �Incarnation Here and Now Richard A. Rhem Page 5   miniscule, in light of the constitutional tragedy that is being played out in our midst. And the Congress has stooped so low that Larry Flynt can remove the Speaker-elect of the House of Representatives, not because Larry Flynt has become a major player in the American political scene, or somehow or other risen from his normal arena of operation, but because the Congress of the United States has descended into that arena for partisan mean-spiritedness, and that decrying of the social condition of America which is rampant in conservative intellectual journals in our day fails to take seriously the Christmas miracle of incarnation. In this day, on the threshold of another Christmas, I want to speak of incarnation, here and now. I want to say that what has happened in our nation’s capital is a betrayal of that which is highest and best and most noble in the American tradition. I want to say that I refuse to join in the bitterness and the cynicism and decry this present moment. This is human history; human history is messy! Whoever said it was anything else? It is violent, it is destructive, it is deathdealing, it is power hungry, it is all of that, and it is also the arena into which God has emerged. I want to give you another image, the old Christmas image of love coming down at Christmas is an image of intervention from beyond. That won’t work anymore. It is not love came down at Christmas. It is that love emerged in the incarnation 2000 years ago in Jesus Christ, the embodiment of God emerged out of the process and has been emerging ever since. It is trying to be born, the spirit of the flesh of Jesus trying to be born in this world of ours. I don’t give up on it. I have hope in history, as did the prophets who didn’t blind their eyes to anything that was wrong, to the darkness, to the evil, to the destructiveness. But, nevertheless, because they believed that God was in the process, God was in the midst, they believed in God, trusted in God, hoped in God, and therefore, dreamed a future and a vision. I do not believe that America is going to hell in a hand basket. I know you. I know too many people. I believe in the basic decency, honesty, civility of the American public across the board as well as around the globe. I do not believe that this is the worst of times. There have been good times and bad times vying for position throughout the whole spectrum of human history. This is a time at Christmas to remember that, not an intervention from beyond, but an emergency from within has resulted in one like Jesus in whose face one could see the heart of God. The heart of God is like the face of Jesus. Jesus is the human flesh – a concrete sign of God with, Emmanuel – the same kind of human flesh that you and I possess. I believe in you. I know you well. I believe in the future; I believe in history because history has emanated from cosmology that has emanated in the beginning from the God who said, "Let there be ..." I believe in the future; I believe in Christmas; I believe in you. © Grand Valley State University �Incarnation Here and Now Richard A. Rhem Page 6   This is a great day in which to be alive; this is a day to believe. We know all too well all of the dissembling - dishonesty, lack of integrity of a William Jefferson Clinton, and we don’t know it because we’ve seen it in him. We know it because we’ve seen it in our own hearts. When will we stop this kind of moralism and judgmentalism? Isn’t that perhaps why Jesus said, "Judge not, lest ye be judged?" Is it not we need a word of hope, a word of courage? Hope in history, hope in history’s God, confidence that we’ve not come this way through thousands and billions of years to end up in some fiasco of human conjuring. Oh, I think we have the potential to ruin it all, but one of the surest ways to do it is to become meddlesome, mean, small, and forget, by God, it’s Christmas! God in human flesh! God in flawed human flesh! God in your face and mine. God is love, and if one abides in love, one abides in God. God is present where two human beings love each other. Where love is, God is. I’ve seen God because I’ve seen you. I’ve experienced God because I’ve touched your flesh, and by God, I believe! I believe. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/4d561c3f94442bddf3ebd4a11ab78d0c.mp3 f15d3cf618295bb94005e1c09d53cf50 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 Series The Presence of the Future Scripture Text John 1:14, I John 4:12,16 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19981220 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-12-20 Title A name given to the resource Incarnation Here and Now Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on December 20, 1998 entitled "Incarnation Here and Now", as part of the series "The Presence of the Future", on the occasion of Advent IV, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: John 1:14, I John 4:12,16. Advent Emergence Love Presence Spirit https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d35ad21ca9a04a7cf4b1ecce71c3cb46.pdf 2830632108a9d503a25862aa2dc3ae2e PDF Text Text The Self-Emptying of God: A Crib and a Cross Text: Philippians 2:8; Luke 2:12 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Christmastide, December 27, 1998 Transcription of the spoken sermon The Christmas story is the heart of the Christian story. That is, the Christmas story is connected to the issue of the story, if we remember that that which occurred on Christmas continued to that which occurred on Calvary. It is the emptying of God, the self-emptying of God, which is manifest between a crib and a cross. The Christmas story begins and the cross completes the picture of God as we understand it in our tradition. A crib, not in a royal palace, not a child born to royalty, but a child born to peasants in a stable. And the issue of it was not a throne and glory and pomp and circumstance, but a cross, crucifixion and loss. The Christmas story connected to the story of the cross, the crib and the cross, really is a picture of the self-emptying of God. From that story we learn the nature of God and the being of God, that it is love. That the ultimate mystery is love. That the nature of God is to give God’s self away in a reckless outpouring of love. Paul in his letter to the Philippians, where he is appealing very practically for harmony and unity within a Christian community, holds up the model of Jesus in his humility. Paul in that context pleads with that congregation to have within them the mind that was in Christ Jesus, and then he begins to portray that downward spiral - the one who, in the imagery that he uses, is one who, having been in equality with God, emptied himself, becoming obedient unto death, even death on a cross. So, we have in that hymn that Paul cites the story of the humiliation of the word that was made flesh and dwelt among us. The story, the Christian story, gives us a clue into the nature of the Ultimate Mystery, and that is love. Love is a word that is so easily used and used so broadly, one almost hesitates to say it that simply, that the Christian story, and particularly its initiation in the Christmas story, is a revelation of the ultimacy of love, but that’s what I see there, the ultimacy of love. I have been trying in this Advent season to switch some images in your mind, trying to create a new model or a new paradigm, a new framework within which to understand the happening of the Christian story. The Advent theme of the one who came will come again, I suggested, needs to be adjusted to understand that the one who came comes again and again and again, in the Spirit, Immanuel, God with us, God with us, God become human as the word became flesh. That’s the © Grand Valley State University   �Self-Emptying of God Richard A. Rhem Page 2   miracle of Christmas, that’s the mystery of it all, that Ultimate Mystery finally manifested itself billions and billions of years in a cosmic unfolding that eventuated in life, in conscious life, aware life, human life, that eventuated in human culture and human history, all of it of a piece, all of it one fabric, all of it one tapestry, all of it continuing to develop, to unfold, all of it continuing to move into a future unknown, uncharted, all of it into which we are laced, a part of one whole, a cosmic, historical reality. I think John was trying to say that when he began his Gospel with those words, "In the beginning was the word," reminding us that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, that it was the Spirit of God in the beginning that brought the cosmos out of the chaos, the Spirit of God that brought the fruit of Mary’s womb to fruition, that it was the Spirit of God that was the continuing presence of Jesus, Immanuel, in human history, and that presence of God in human history is the here and now of incarnation as the Spirit indwells the Church, the people of God, humankind. So, in the Advent season we recognized our responsibility for our world, for history, and that the only hope for the transformation of the social order, the only hope for history was to emulate the word made flesh, to follow in the way of Jesus. On this Christmas Sunday, let me just say it simply, clearly, that the Christmas story which emerged in the fullness of time with the word becoming flesh is a revelation of the Ultimate Mystery which is love. That Ultimate Mystery that overflows in creative action, that Ultimate Mystery that is the enlivening Spirit of all that is, that Ultimate Mystery that is the ground and origin and source of everything, that Ultimate Mystery is revealed in the word made flesh as love, as a love that gives itself away. As the Ultimate Mystery empties itself in creative action, so the Word made flesh emptied himself in obedience to death, even death on a cross, so that what we have in the manifestation of the mystery in the face of Jesus is a clue to the nature of Ultimate Reality which is love, and love which is so commonly spoken of and bandied about is a very rare reality in the midst of human history and in our lives, because real love, authentic love, the love that we see manifested in Jesus as a reflection of the love that is in that Ultimate Mystery we call God, is a precarious thing, because when you love, you give the issue of your love into the hands of the other. You cannot love and control. It is risky to love, because you empty yourself for the sake of another and put the issue of that action in the hands of the other. When you love, when you create the other and love the other, you no longer can coerce. True love would not manipulate. True love is precarious because it can only wait. Its issue, whether that be triumph or tragedy, rests in the one loved. Not many of us dare love that way, that total giving of self, that total emptying of self so that the expression of love will be received or not, totally out of the lover’s control. Not only is loving precarious, the lover becomes vulnerable because the lover loves so much that love can be killed, damaged, hurt, crushed, and if there is authentic love, there is no recourse. © Grand Valley State University �Self-Emptying of God Richard A. Rhem Page 3   The poet George McDonald said "They all were looking for a king to slay their foes and lift them high. Thou camst a little baby thing that made a woman cry." Precisely. The God revealed in Jesus at Christmas and Calvary is not a God we would choose. It is not the God the Church has preached and portrayed. The God of Christmas and Calvary, honestly seen, insightfully understood, is a God Who is self-emptying love, Who loves precariously and loses, Who loves vulnerably and cried out, "My God, my God, why?" "They all were looking for a king to slay their foes and lift them high." Wouldn’t we love it so? God in control. God, the Supreme Power. Don’t we love all of those latinized words, omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent? Don’t we want God to be everywhere, everywhere present, knowing all things with absolute power? Is not the old scheme in which we have been schooled through the centuries a scheme in which God comes out right, on top, right is right, justice wins, and we are the triumphant ones, ultimately? And it flies in the face of the human experience of our everyday lives. If we think again, is not the message really that of selfemptying love that gives itself away without guarantees, no guarantees, no guarantees with love? Take Shawn and Molly with their Jonathan and Megan, or Chris and Annie with their Caroline. Love created those beautiful children, and love will nurture them, and then what will the issue be? Pray God it will be the issue that we saw concretely demonstrated in our presence this morning, but is there any guarantee? Has authentic love that creates a child as truly another, any guarantee, or has not authentic love created that which is other which becomes its own center of being? Is it not true for all of us who are parents or grandparents that if we love, truly, we cannot control, we would not coerce, we will not manipulate? All we will do is love and wait, and I suspect that our relationship with our children that we create in an act of love and nurture and send on their way is probably a fair image of that which the Ultimate Mystery engaged in the act of creation, creating that which was other, that which would be waited upon for its response, that which would be loved unconditionally, precariously, vulnerably, knowing that the issue of it lies with the other and the ultimate consequence is not to be seen or predicted ahead of time. That’s a shaky way to live, isn’t it? Isn’t that to live out of control? Precisely. And the heresy this morning is that creation is out of God’s control, except the love of God that will never quit. What comfort is there, what hope is there, then, what security is there? There is none in terms of outcome predicted and guaranteed and certain. There is only this - that in every tragedy it will be encompassed in the love of God Who will not quit, Who is able to turn tragedy into triumph, a triumph which again comes into risk which may end in another tragedy before which God will not quit, but continue to love until that tragedy, too, is transcended in a greater triumph. © Grand Valley State University �Self-Emptying of God Richard A. Rhem Page 4   The clue to God is the crib and the cross. My God, how could we have gotten it so wrong for so long? How could we have had this Almighty, muscular God on a throne in control? When you look into the face of a child in a crib and the anguish of one nailed to a cross, that’s God, that’s love. It gets defeated again and again and again, but it never stops loving. That sounds like a parent. Maybe a parent is the best reflection we have of that eternal mystery whose overflowing in creative love brought us into being and Whose love, through all the meanderings of history and all of our tragic darkness, will never let us go. That’s our hope - not that things will be fine, but that God will never stop loving. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/4aa7268804238d8826f6e7499252e6ad.mp3 b9459d0c28bfebefea60e515cd833267 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 Christmastide Scripture Text Phillippians 2:8, Luke 2:12 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19981227 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-12-27 Title A name given to the resource The Self-Emptying of God: A Crib and a Cross Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on December 27, 1998 entitled "The Self-Emptying of God: A Crib and a Cross", on the occasion of Christmastide, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Phillippians 2:8, Luke 2:12. Love Nature of God Way of Jesus https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c9245356d84ed98ff9659fd6c979a504.pdf dd9730e1f7dc5a95b2797f7a468305b5 PDF Text Text The Quest From the series: Q & Q: The Religious Quest and Question Text: Micah 4:5; Matthew 2:1-2 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Epiphany, January 10, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon Since worship had to be canceled because of the weather last week, this is the first time we gather in worship in 1999, and I wish you a Happy New Year. The calendar is not all that important; we are on the threshold of the turn of the century and of the millennium, but, that really is no big deal, if you really stop to think about it, for the calendar is a rather parochial matter. It’s a human product; we’ve produced it and it’s a western Christian calendar. If you were in China, I suppose it would be the year 6000 or something. If you were in Jerusalem, last year you would have celebrated the 3000th anniversary of the city and I think for the Jewish people it’s the year 5,600 and something or other. I didn’t know where to find all that information, but it’s close. The point is, the year 2000 is no big deal. If it really were a big deal, it would have happened four years ago because there is a mistake in the calendar from when it was first put together. Anyway, what I’m saying to you is don’t get excited about going into the year 2000. Relax. Have a party. And don’t believe any of the rubbish that’s around; just don’t believe it. There are a few advanced human beings who I understand use computers - they may have a problem for a while. But, outside of that technology, there’s going to be no big deal at all. But the calendar does have this advantage: it reminds us that our life is involved in a movement and there’s nothing we can do about it. We can dig in our heels, we can fret, we can try all sorts of things to freeze the moment and hold it back. We can sing the song, "Stop the World and Let Me Off," but it won’t do any good, because time marches on and our human story marches on. We are historical people marked by the movement of time. Our days and weeks and months and years go on and the calendar’s turning. The calendar on the wall is a sign of the fact that time moves, we move, inevitably. And so, the calendar is an opportunity for us at this time of the year to take stock and to look to the future. In the Church, the 6th of January is the Feast of Epiphany which means the manifestation, the celebration in the Church of its conviction that Light has come into the world, that the child that was born who we believe was the Word made flesh, whose name in the Gospel of Matthew was Emmanuel, a name hardly ever used beyond that, and yet perhaps the finest name of all, that in the flesh of the © Grand Valley State University   �The Quest Richard A. Rhem Page 2   child, Emmanuel, God with us, that is the heart of our faith and that’s the heart of Christmas. On the Feast of Epiphany we celebrate the fact that in the child, God became human flesh and we have Light in the world, Light in the world for our ongoing journey. For that is the nature of our human existence - we are on a journey. Within us, deep within us there is a quest. We don’t pause often enough to acknowledge the quest. We probably don’t think about it very often, and then those moments intrude themselves upon us when we ask the ultimate questions, and we ask about the mystery of our existence before the face of the Ultimate Mystery - Who are we? And Why are we here? From whence have we come; whither are we going; and what in the world is God doing? We are people who have within our depths a question and a quest. It is the very nature of our humanity, and the quest that is endemic to our humanity is the religious quest. The questions are religious questions; they’re questions about the Ultimate, about meaning, about purpose, and there is that within our human nature that senses that we are on the way, that we are not where we are going, and that what we have yet experienced lacks completion and fulfillment. When we stop to think about it, we know that that’s the very nature of being human, that we are people on the way. We have a past and today we are able to have a sense of that past as no generations before us, recognizing that whole cosmic story of billions of years that emerged into a story of life, and then life at some point emerging into selfconscious life, some creature in its animality, in a moment becoming aware of itself and of the other, and at that moment, the universe became conscious, and we, humankind, are the consciousness of the cosmos, and it is that which marks us as humans that we ask those ultimate questions, that we are able to go back and to trace that long, long progression, that we become aware of ourselves at this moment and that we contemplate a future into which we are moving, a future uncharted that has surprises that we have not yet dreamed of. That’s really the nature of being human. To be human, I believe, is to be on a quest. And to be on a quest is to be asking the religious questions. Something within us, some yearning, some longing for some clue as to what this is all about, who we are, and what in the world God is doing. A beautiful statement written by C. S. Lewis entitled, “The Signature of the Soul,” found in The Problem of Pain, says very well what I want to say about that mark of our humanity as having a question embedded in its depths. C. S. Lewis writes, There are times when I think we do not desire heaven, but more often I find myself wondering whether in our hearts and our heart of hearts we have ever desired anything else…Are not all lifelong friendships born at the moment when at last you meet another human being who has some inkling of that something which you were born desiring and which amid all the flux of other desiring and passion, day and night, year after year, from childhood to old age you have been looking for, watching for, listening for. © Grand Valley State University �The Quest Richard A. Rhem Page 3   You’ve never had it. All the things that have ever deeply possessed your soul have been but hints of it, tantalizing glimpses of it, promises never quite fulfilled. But, if it should ever really become manifest, if ever there came an echo of it that did not fade away but grew louder and swelled into the sound itself, you would know it. Beyond all doubt, you would say, "Here it is. This is that for which I was made." We cannot tell each other about it; it is the secret signature of the soul, the incommunicable, unappeasable want, the thing desired before we made any conscious choices which we shall still desire on our deathbeds. To lose this is to lose all. The signature of the soul is the quest for meaning, for completion, for fulfillment, for some sense, some clue as to the mystery of our lives before the face of Mystery. That’s the nature of our human existence, and maybe the turning of the calendar, if it does nothing more, reminds us that we are a people on the way, living always with that deep question, "What is it all about? Who am I? Whence have I come? Whither am I going? And what in the world is God doing?" Micah speaks of a vision of another world where they’ll turn their weapons into farming implements and the nations will learn war no more, where Israel will walk in the name of its God and the nations will walk in the name of their God, and everyone will be unafraid, sitting under his or her vine and fig tree. That peaceful, serene setting that must be at the depths of the longing within us when we realize that what is cannot be all there is, that there must be something more, some other world, some new age. But, it was not only the Hebrew prophets who had such a longing, who had a sense of quest, for it is the symbol of Epiphany that a star aroused Magi, those mysterious astrologers from the East, to seek out the birth of one whom they felt signaled in the stars was destined for royalty, and they made their way to Jerusalem and then to Bethlehem and knelt before the child. The Church has, somewhat triumphalistically said, "You see, it was the beginning of the coming of all nations to the true God, to the true Light." Well, I would say rather, it is an indication of the universality of the longing of the quest for God, for truth, for reality. The journey of the Magi is simply symbolic in the way we tell the Christmas story of our conviction that we are on a quest for the living God, and the celebration of the fact that that God has caused the Light to dawn upon us, not to end our quest, but to whet our appetite, to dig more deeply into that quest, following the star, seeking to fill that hole in the soul that marks us as the restless ones who are ever on the move. On this first worshiping Sunday of the New Year, I’m really excited to announce the establishment of a new ministry at Christ Community. It is an adjunct ministry of The Center for Religion and Life. I have in my hands a brochure which you’ll all have in your hands before long. The Center for Religion and Life, which announces the coming in February and the first weekend of Lent, February © Grand Valley State University �The Quest Richard A. Rhem Page 4   19-21, the presence of John Dominic Crossan, who is, I think I can say without refutation, the world’s preeminent scholar in the research for the historical Jesus. John Dominic Crossan will inaugurate a lecture series in 1999 under the auspices of The Center for Religion and Life. He’ll be followed by Marcus Borg, the most popular writer and author in this whole historical Jesus quest. In the fall, we’ll have Amy-Jill Levine who is a Jewish scholar teaching New Testament at Vanderbilt University, and then perhaps the most controversial churchman in America today, Bishop John Shelby Spong coming to us, as the brochure says, to help us re-imagine Christian faith for the third millennium. This Center for Religion and Life has a logo, which is Q & Q, selected very deliberately, because today popularly you will see, "Q & A." What’s the question? This is the answer. And I think throughout the long history of the Church, Q & A would fit appropriately. What’s the question? We have the answer. Christ Community is going to inaugurate a Center for Religion and Life that will be marked not by Q & A, but by Q & Q, by Quest and Question, for we come to acknowledge, as I said a moment ago, that it is the very nature of our human existence that we are in movement, on a journey, and that within our depths there is a quest for meaning which is, I believe, the quest for God. We will honor that quest, seeking to help people clarify the questions, for to be human, to be honest is to live without absolute answers. Life is a mystery. Too often, for too long in the Church, we have promised too much. We have made premature closure on those Ultimate questions that drive our restlessness, and so we felt that it was time for a congregation to establish a Center where the quest can be honored and the questions sought to be clarified, the quest of our human existence, the questions that impinge upon our human existence, a Center where, as an adjunct to this total ministry, we can create a space, a forum, if you will, where those questions can be honestly pursued. Why? Because the Christian faith needs desperately to be translated in light of the explosion of modern knowledge. I am not being critical; I am stating a fact quite simply: The Church at large has never come to terms with the knowledge, the explosion of knowledge in the modern world. Why do it? Because our story comes out of an ancient world and an ancient framework which is not in any way to denigrate the truth that came to expression, simply to recognize that the structures within which the story was told are structures that have long since been put to rest while a whole new world has exploded, a world that needs to have the interpretation and the critique of the faith, but which also must critique the faith drawing from it new answers and new understandings and insights in order that faith and life may illumine each other. Why do it? Because the Gospel is good news, and it does need to be presented in such a fashion that it can connect with people of contemporary experience so that the Church doesn’t become a museum piece, lauding yesterday’s answers to today’s questions, but allowing the Gospel fresh expression through hard work, © Grand Valley State University �The Quest Richard A. Rhem Page 5   theological reflection, biblical study in order that we may find a way to speak good news into the future. Why Christ Community? Well, because we’ve been doing it for a long time here. You have been a wonderful congregation that has encouraged me to continue to think the faith, and Christ Community is a rather rare situation. Not many people with my passion and my interest go into the ministry or stay in the ministry. Not in the pastoral ministry. There are all kinds of places to go where one can think unfettered by the pastoral setting, but it has been who I am, but you have allowed me in this setting to continue to think and to think out loud on this stool, and we’ve always had a freedom here to think the faith, reflect on the faith, probe the edges. Why Christ Community? Because this is a most rare place where over a quarter of a century of theological reflection has been translated into preaching that has developed a community that is the laboratory by which the theology can be tested. You are the fruit of the theological reflection which has found expression in preaching, and there aren’t a lot of situations like this. But there’s another reason why Christ Community and that is that we have not only that tradition of free inquiry combining evangelical passion with intellectual integrity, but we also have a new burst of freedom and freshness. We, in our independent status, have no ecclesiastical pressures or obligations. We are free to think the faith as never before. I’ve had an interesting experience in the last year and I’ve mentioned it to you, I’m sure, in conversation, if we’ve talked about it. I’ve always felt I had a free pulpit here and you’ve been a wonderful congregation to allow me to indulge my habit, but I have today a freedom that I didn’t know I didn’t have, and that’s a fascinating experience. I have a freedom today I didn’t know I didn’t have. And so, while this is nothing new, really, we’re going to do it with a new intentionality and a new deliberateness and a new publicness. We’re going to do our best to create here an oasis where every question is honored, where there is no subject that is off limits, where in conversation, in community, we can think together in the presence of the mystery that is God. Why do it? It needs desperately to be done, and there aren’t many, either in academy or congregation, that are doing it. Why do it here? Because of the position of freedom that allows that kind of honest inquiry. Why do it now? I’m getting old. I don’t have long to go anymore. I have to get on it. If we’re ever going to do it, we’ve got to do it. I mean, if you want to do it with me, and I’d like to do it with you, so let’s do it together. Honoring the quest, clarifying the questions; breaking new ground, unafraid, because we really believe in the Good News, in the grace of God that has appeared in the Word made flesh who is the Light of the world, who beckons wise ones. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/37f08f1b5913669c88e7388e4ca19f47.mp3 f543154db5e7a11d12d3649f9b35eaed 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 Q & Q: The Religious Quest and Question Scripture Text Micah 4:5, Matthew 2:1-2 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI References Gordon Kaufman.In Face of Mystery: A Constructive Theology, 1995. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19990110 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-01-10 Title A name given to the resource The Quest Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on January 10, 1999 entitled "The Quest", as part of the series "Q & Q: The Religious Quest and Question", on the occasion of Epiphany II, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Micah 4:5, Matthew 2:1-2. Epiphany Meaning Mystery of God Religious Quest https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/dca5b6012803d657d610ab5fbc57535a.pdf 3f33dfe5aa55610c41c235afad8bc53a PDF Text Text The Question: Q & Q, Not Q & A From the series: Q & Q: The Religious Quest and Question Scripture: John 23:1-10, Luke 4:1-13 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Epiphany, January 17, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon My Epiphany series continues. The theme, "Q & Q: The Religious Quest and Question," points to the vision of the Center for Religion and Life that we are inaugurating, as I announced last Sunday. That vision assumes a religious quest as intrinsic to human existence. That quest is triggered by the questions that confront our human awareness. The particular mark of our vision is that in our quest we uncover the questions that meet us in our human experience and that the clarifying of those ultimate questions is the purpose of the quest. As the title of today’s sermon indicates, at Christ Community we understand our human journey as one marked by Quest and Question, Q & Q, rather than Q & A, Question and Answer. I touched on this last week when pointing to the religious quest. Institutional religion has been in the Q & A model, not Q & Q. The very fact that a religious founding experience - such as Moses at the burning bush, or the life and death of Jesus – ever achieves institutional form is because answers are provided to the human questions. A picture is painted, a story is woven, a ritual develops to channel devotion, a way of living is prescribed, and a people is formed who shape a tradition and there emerges: Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam. If I were to put my finger on the significant transformations in my own faith understanding in recent years, one would be in the area of the nature of religion. I learned from my mentor Hendrikus Berkhof in The Netherlands 30 years ago that every religion has three aspects -a teaching or dogma; a ritual or form of worship; and, a moral code or way of life. More recently, I have come to understand that every great religious tradition begins in a founding experience - Moses at the burning bush leading to the Exodus of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery, Jesus’ life and death and the experience of his living presence still in the community. Professor Boyd Wilson, with us again for a few weeks, could relate such founding moments for all the © Grand Valley State University   �Q & Q, Not Q & A Richard A. Rhem Page 2   great traditions and he could go on to portray how those founding experiences led to the shaping of a tradition, a world view. Some of us are studying a work by Gordon Kaufman, In Face of Mystery, in which he demonstrates that a religious tradition, be it Christian or any other, is a creative, imaginative, human structure by which a people has gained orientation for life, a life-map for the human journey. Those life-maps answer the questions raised by our human experience, give a sense of meaning and purpose to human life, and reflect God’s being and intention. For me, that understanding has been liberating, for I have come to see our respective religious systems and institutional forms as human creations rather than Divine givens. This has been a great part of my freedom to examine critically my own tradition and to be open to the insights and values of other traditions seeing them not as false paths and a threat to the one true way, but complementary ways of responding to the Ultimate Mystery that is God. If my religion, the Christian religion, was the direct result of God’s structuring rather than human response to God’s revelation as the Ultimate Mystery of our existence, then I am struck with it so to speak, no matter what further unfolding of knowledge there is about the universe or further development of human history. Then I have a religious structure that arose in an ancient time as Divinely authorized but incapable of making sense of the exploding knowledge of the world, the human being and human culture. But, if I understand it as an authentic response to the experience of God in an ancient time with a developed story and developing tradition, then I can be part of an ongoing transformation of its insights and teachings. Then I stand within my religious tradition and seek understanding of the mystery of my existence before the face of the Ultimate Mystery that we call God. Then I come to realize that I must continue the quest because the questions are mine and I must live with them because that is the very nature of being human; we are historical beings. Our lives are lived in the unfolding story of history, which is part of the unfolding of cosmic history of billions of years of spatial dimensions beyond our capacity even to imagine. How will we find our way? Let me suggest that, given the nature of being human, that is, being historical, in movement into the future with further unfolding the constant experience, we can do no more than clarify the questions that drive our quest -Ultimate Questions – another way to describe religious questions, because when they are consciously faced, we are on the religious quest which is a quest for meaning. How, then, do we live in the dynamic movement that is our history? © Grand Valley State University �Q & Q, Not Q & A Richard A. Rhem Page 3   By faith, trust in God - trust which rests without knowing. It is not that we do not think nor that we are without knowledge which arises out of our thinking and experience. And we do not begin with a clean slate as though we are the first creatures to ask deep questions. But, it is precisely our human situation of being caught up in the stream of history that makes all our answers provisional, tentative, and open to critique. Faith is a gift and a choice. A gift - bestowed by the Spirit, but also a choice before the mystery of our existence. We are not dealing with that dimension of reality that is subject to verification through the scientific method. In light of experience, through serious thinking, a religious tradition develops and we are nurtured in it, find a place to stand within it, an attitude of trust grows and we find meaning, direction; we have a life-map which gives us a sense of orientation. We trust. We live by faith. But, knowledge grows, experience widens, new questions arise, and we bring new discovery and fresh experience to our religious tradition, causing that tradition to adjust to assimilate the new. Ultimate questions keep us on the quest. The quest raises new questions that challenge our belief system, forcing us to find a more adequate understanding of our human existence. There is an interesting dialogue going on at present in the Christian Church. Some weeks ago I mentioned an article in The Christian Century by the Sociologist of Religion, Peter Berger, who addressed the question of "Protestantism and the Quest for Certainty." Berger is a sociologist; he observes what is actually going on with people and social institutions. He expresses precisely what I have been trying to describe above - that history has brought us to a situation of pluralism where much that was taken for granted and never questioned suddenly no longer can be simply taken for granted because we become aware of alternative news and responses. That is our world. We are living with this every day. Recognizing there is within the human mind and heart the quest for certainty, at least on the most important question, there is tension set up in the human soul and we may be tempted to a radical relativism, even nihilism, denying any Truth accessible to human cognition, or, to fundamentalism and even fanaticism. References: Gordon Kaufman. In Face of Mystery: A Constructive Theology. Harvard University Press, 1995. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/48390cfb7bbaa87948a1a4968b2ff271.mp3 e47b2fd43102886009e43cc2970645e1 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 Q & Q: The Religious Quest and Question Scripture Text John 23:1-10, Luke 4:1-13 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19990117 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-01-17 Title A name given to the resource The Question: Q & Q, Not Q & A Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on January 17, 1999 entitled "The Question: Q & Q, Not Q & A", as part of the series "Q & Q: The Religious Quest and Question", on the occasion of Epiphany III, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: John 23:1-10, Luke 4:1-13. Mystery Nature of Religion Religious Quest https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f6eb2e1878eaa6372f26ab1c9ba57b88.pdf 2112a69ab7ef73991b5607c0da8f5967 PDF Text Text The Quest for the Historical Jesus From the series: Q & Q: The Religious Quest and Question Text: Mark 3:20-21; Luke 4:23 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan January 24, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon The book, The Historical Jesus, by John Dominic Crossan, is rather thick, 500 pages, and it became a bestseller. In a conversation, Crossan said, "I never intended it to be a bestseller, for popular consumption. I was trying to get a discussion going in the scholarly world." But he said it became a bestseller, and he said, "I think all kinds of people didn’t really get it." So he wrote The Birth of Christianity to try to explain what he was trying to do in the last one. This has 640 pages. Since I won’t have an opportunity to speak with you prior to the weekend in which John Dominic Crossan is with us, the first weekend in Lent, February 1921, I want to take this opportunity to say a few words about him and about his work, and the importance of The Quest for The Historical Jesus, because we have a lecture series this year which really focuses there. Certainly, John Dominic Crossan is considered one of the, if not the preeminent historian and researcher in this quest. And a colleague of Crossan, Marcus Borg, is widely published in the quest. We have the Jewish scholar, Amy-Jill Levine, who will talk about the break between the Jesus Movement and Judaism, and, therefore, focus again in those early years of origination. Then, of course, Bishop Spong who will deal with the larger church and the larger theological issues in light of all the biblical research that is going on. We are very fortunate to have these people come to us, and I want to say a word about John Dominic Crossan this morning. Colette will follow up with that next week, as well, because I think it is important to set a context for someone like this. John Dominic Crossan is a preeminent scholar. He is brilliant. When I read his work, when I see the kind of material that he marshals, and how he handles it succinctly, communicating that breadth of study, I just cry and want to throw in the towel. I mean, he’s just one of those brilliant scholars. But he is also able to communicate with people in a very wonderful way, with a fine turn of phrase and memorable statements. Beyond that, John Dominic Crossan is a fine human being. I’ve only met him briefly, talked with him a couple of times, but others of you have been with him, and I want to say this to you as a congregation that, if © Grand Valley State University   �Quest for Historical Jesus Richard A. Rhem Page 2   you would expose yourself to this person, I am sure you will like him, because he’s not only brilliant, but he’s gentle. And he is a person of great integrity. That impresses me so much. In the scholarly debates, it can get rather heated at times. But Dom Crossan is a person of great integrity who seeks to set forth his presuppositions, put them on the table, set forth clearly the methods he’s following and then, on that basis, does his research so you know how he is going about what he does and, therefore, the conclusions that he reaches can be judged on that basis. He would not claim that his methods are infallible or that his conclusions are absolute. Those who work in the field of historical research know that there is always a degree of probability connected with it. We’ve known for a long time, and he is very quick to admit, that we will never get a photograph of the historical Jesus. From the documentation that we have in the New Testament, the canonical Gospels, and in the non-canonical materials that were written about that time, and other non-canonical gospels out there — from all of that study it is impossible to be absolutely certain that we have the exact contours of that mystical figure who stands behind it all. But, through that kind of research, it is at least possible to get a good feel for Jesus — that one of whom we confess, "the word made flesh," that one who, in the Christian story, is the concrete embodiment of God in our historical context, the Jesus who is our window to God, is the center of that story as a part of that Christian tradition for over 2000 years. John Dominic Crossan is, then, a brilliant scholar, a fine human being, and a person of great integrity who with great passion pursues his research of the birth of Christianity, a very important scholar, and we are very privileged that he would come into our midst. As he will share with us in greater extent, we are engaged at the present time in a very vital discussion and very vital research, seeking to find the contours of Jesus of Nazareth. A quest of the historical Jesus is going on with great passion and great intensity in our day, and it’s a very important engagement. The historical Jesus is that figure behind the Gospels, behind the Apostle Paul, behind the Christian communities, behind the Christian creedal tradition. Crossan and others have been criticized for engaging in this research by some who would say, "Well, you’ve got Matthew, Mark, Luke and John." There’s one writer who analyzes twenty such scholars and their research for the historical Jesus and says, "They’re all wrong." And they come to distorted conclusions because they never see the whole Jesus, they just look at parts, they fragment Jesus. Well to that, John Crossan would say, "The whole Jesus, which whole Jesus?" "The whole Jesus of Matthew, of Mark or Luke or John?" We know that those basic four canonical portraits differ considerably, not only in nuance; even within those Gospel records we know that Jesus makes some contradictory claims or contradictory claims are made about him. © Grand Valley State University �Quest for Historical Jesus Richard A. Rhem Page 3   You have heard me say before that, when I was going through college and studying Bible, we studied a course on the Harmony of the Gospels, and we meshed it all together. If there was a loose end dangling here, well, we had ways of getting rid of that, so we had one uniform portrait — the whole Jesus, so to speak. But when you really research the Gospels, you have varying portraits even within the Gospel. For example, within the same Gospel, Jesus will say, "The end is imminent," "This generation will not pass away before the son of man appears," and "The end is unknown, only the Father in heaven knows the time and season." Which did he mean? Did he say one thing one time, and one thing another time? Did he change his mind? Or did he say one thing and his interpreters say another thing? Those are the kinds of questions that are asked, but, as a matter of fact, you can’t just say, "Well, read Matthew or Mark or Luke or John and get the whole Jesus." You have to say, "Which whole Jesus?" So there’s work behind the scenes, because we recognize now that those Gospels are layered traditions, and each Gospel was written with a specific perspective to a concrete community in a concrete context in order to deal with certain things. What was needed to be said in John’s time, near the end of the first century, was not the same as what Mark needed to communicate around 70 A.D., all the Gospels being decades after the event itself, all the Gospels written reflecting a cumulative growing tradition, in various Christian locales, dealing with various challenges and crises. I don’t preach the same Jesus that I preached in 1960 when I came here the first time. And you can be happy about that! I don’t preach the same Jesus that I preached in New Jersey. I don’t preach the same Jesus I preached in 1971 when I came back. Part of that is my own growth and understanding, but part of that is the fact that you’re not the same, and the world is not the same. If preaching is to be in any sense relevant, the proclamation of the word of God to concrete people in the here and now, then it will be an evolving kind of message. It will be pertinent to the context, time and space, locale, community. The crises and challenges that any people face at any given time, that’s what draws preaching to its focus. And so it was with the Gospel writers, and so we have this canonical foursome that represent how that mystical figure back there was proclaimed in different places at respective times. But how do we get behind that? Well, that’s the purpose of this historical research. Why is it important? Because Jesus is our window to God, and the kind of Jesus we envision will impact the kind of God we worship, and the kind of God we worship will determine the kind of people we are. History has been replete with examples of what Crossan would say, "killer children of a killer God." If God is that way, then we are empowered and legitimized to be that way. So, it is a very critical thing. Those Gospels, when you consider them carefully and in a scholarly manner, will indicate those layers to those who are trained to do it. Colette didn’t read from Mark, but I have a text © Grand Valley State University �Quest for Historical Jesus Richard A. Rhem Page 4   printed in the liturgy from Mark 3, where the word is out that Jesus, in the blossoming of his Galilean ministry, is out of his mind, and his mother gets his brothers and they go to bring him home because he’s "gone over the edge," according to rumor. Well, that kind of material, those who research would say, "You know, that’s not really very complimentary." That must have been such a hard nugget in that tradition, that they couldn’t wipe it out, although Matthew softened Mark, and Luke doesn’t refer to it at all. Jesus’ mother going after him and saying, "Come home, boy. You’ve lost it." In the Gospel of Luke we have this wonderful inaugural sermon of Jesus in his home synagogue. There he reads from the prophet Isaiah. It was the reading of the day apparently, and he read those words of the prophet, which were read here from Isaiah 61, except he left out one phrase. He said, "To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor." Isaiah said, as was read here, "To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, the day of vengeance of our God." Jesus was a teddy bear. He didn’t like to talk about God’s vengeance. That’s why he up and left John the Baptist. John the Baptist was talking about the day of vengeance, because the year of the Lord’s favor for the righteous was a year of God’s vengeance on the wicked. So Jesus left that out. (Selective, huh, Jesus?) Or did Jesus read it, but Luke left it out? We can’t really tell, can we? Somebody left it out. Isaiah said, "To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, the day of vengeance of our God." Either Jesus left it out because it was contrary to where he was going, splitting off John the Baptist, or when he was splitting off John the Baptist, impressed somebody enough so that in the growing tradition there was a sense that Jesus was not about vengeance. How do you tell? Well, you ask John Dominic Crossan. It’s difficult to tell. We probably can’t tell, but do you see what this is all about, trying to get back as best we can to that concrete historical figure in the misty flats behind those Gospels. But if the biblical text is a problem, even a bigger problem is the growing creedal tradition of the Christian movement. Dom Crossan will tell us that Jesus was one of the dispossessed and destitute persons of lower Galilee and that his movement gathered those who had lost everything. They didn’t have to give up everything to follow Jesus; they didn’t have anything. They were an itinerant group that went about to proclaim — and this was the amazing thing about Jesus, he was able to say to the destitute of the world, "You can be kings and queens, you can live fully human. If you lose your life you will gain it; grasping life, you lose it." Jesus had something about him that made people stand and walk tall, from the inside out. So, whatever started as a proclamation of good news to the poorest of the poor, it was a social movement; it had political and economic implications. Then three centuries go by and there is a Roman vying for imperial power, and his name is familiar to you all, Constantine. In 312, he said, "Give me victory, I give you the empire." He wins, and Christianity becomes the established religion of the Roman Empire. Absolutely amazing, isn’t it when you think about it? Three hundred years and a leap from a peasant movement by the dispossessed to © Grand Valley State University �Quest for Historical Jesus Richard A. Rhem Page 5   imperial power, the religious establishment of the Roman Empire. But there were strings attached. Constantine called a church council. This is the emperor, now, calling a church council in 325, the Council of Nicaea. And like with the MBA boys, Constantine locked up the bishops and said, "Come out with a uniform statement about the nature of this one in relationship with God," and the Council of Nicaea came out with a creed, the Nicene Creed. If you are from the Catholic tradition, it’s the creed recited at every Mass. On the 21st of February here, our choir will chant the Nicene Creed. It will give you goose bumps. "Light of Light, God of God, before all worlds." Now, to celebrate their victory by coming out with a creed, Constantine threw the bishops a supper. There is a marvelous statement from the Church historian, Eusebius, who shows how the bishops walk through the rows of armed soldiers, the legionnaires. They walk into the royal apartments, into the depths, into the dining room where they recline on couches and sup with the emperor. Well, that’s seductive! I mean, it would be for any of us. When Nancy and I were watching the movie version of that marvelous novel, Thornbirds, at the part where Father Ralph is all regaled in brilliant red robes and he prostrates himself on that shiny marble of St. Peter’s, with all of the gold and glitter. I said to Nancy, "You know, I was made for glory." I mean, it’s seductive. Here we are a bunch of nobodies, and somebody invites us to a royal banquet. Well, I could distort quite a few texts, as a gift in turn. The Church tradition from that point on continually elevated its Christological statements, because, if the emperor is going to bow a knee to Jesus, Jesus better be the Lord of the universe. So he became Pantocrator — the ruling, reigning Jesus Christ, Lord of the worlds. I can understand how that happened. If it hadn’t happened, where would we be today? I don’t know. Could a poor, peasant movement in lower Galilee have ever swept the world without achieving that escalation? I don’t know. But, can you see that you would lose something too? Wouldn’t establishment take the heart out of that movement? Seems just like common sense that that inevitably is going to happen. You see, you’ve got layers in the text. Now you’ve got creedal layers in the tradition. So, how are you going to get back there? Or, why should you? Well, let me suggest that it’s important because the triumphalism of an imperial established church isn’t going over so well in our world today. Don’t we have a suspicion that the Church is not going to be the triumphant institution of the world? Don’t we realize that the great religious traditions are vying to gain their own positions in the sun? Aren’t we recognizing the necessity, the importance, the enhancement and enrichment of the interfaith dialogue? Elsie and Hung Liang are back in town, having buried their dear daughter Priscilla, and Elsie called and told about how Priscilla, being Chinese, raised in America, then living in Singapore, was part of a network in an international community, and a young Indian was so upset with her death that he went off to Nepal for a month of prayer and fasting. Buddhist friends gathered their © Grand Valley State University �Quest for Historical Jesus Richard A. Rhem Page 6   community in prayers for Priscilla and for the rest of her soul. What would you say if your daughter was dying, or if your daughter had died and somebody from another tradition said, "We’re praying for you." Would you say, "Could I check your creed to see if it has any credence?" Of course, you wouldn’t. We know these things down here. We know that all of us in the great movements of religious faith throughout the world are reaching for rest in that ultimate mystery of things. So, we live in a time of dis-establishment. That’s what Douglas Hall said to us when he was here that weekend. The Constantinian era is over. We live in a global community, in a pluralistic situation where there is mutual interfacing between the great religious traditions and a triumphalistic church, and a triumphalistic Lord Jesus Christ isn’t going to do it in our world. But, Jesus still does. The great Albert Schweitzer, concert organist, brilliant biblical scholar, theologian, by the age of thirty years had written his classic Quest of the Historical Jesus, had written about Paul and the kingdom, had been a pupil of Francois-Marie Voltaire and studied with Franz Liszt, and was a leading pupil who could have played the organ around the world. He was an accomplished theologian and accomplished musician, and he goes to medical school at the age of thirty to learn to be a doctor to go to Africa, where he lived his life out in that humanitarian gift to those people. Why? In his Quest of the Historical Jesus, from which our hymn came, because it is his poetic words, "He comes to us as one unknown." He says that Jesus was wrong, dead wrong, he got it wrong. Jesus thought the end was near. Jesus thought he could get God to act. Jesus, in a desperate action, cast himself on the wheel of history and it didn’t budge . . . and then it began to move and it crushed him. Jesus, Albert Schweitzer said, was wrong. Dominic Crossan will tell that further research has said that probably Jesus did not expect an imminent end of the world, but that’s another story. For Schweitzer, Jesus was wrong . . . a marvelous martyr. But, did he leave Christianity? No! Instead, he emulated Jesus and went to Africa. He gave up promising careers in music and in theology and he became a doctor for people in Africa. Why? Because Jesus got to him, that Jesus who was the embodiment of God, by the Spirit of God, that same Spirit moving in a Schweitzer who says, "Jesus was wrong about that," therefore, certainly not this exulted creedal Christ. But, by God, he’s what being human is all about. It is what following God is all about. It is about using world communities, which is what Jesus was all about. Schweitzer followed Jesus, and I want to follow Jesus. And, I believe you want to follow Jesus. That’s why it’s so critical that we get the best take on it we can, because the closer we look, the better he looks. References: Albert Schweitzer. Quest of the Historical Jesus: A Critical Study of its Progress from Reimarus to Wrede. Dover Publications; Dover Ed Edition, 2005. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/9707698d29a31212ad74d66c0b429689.mp3 6b8efa5c9e40c4959c8964f6c6ea3e12 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 Q & Q: The Religious Quest and Question Scripture Text Mark 3:20-21, Luke 4:23 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI References Albert Schweitzer, Quest of the Historical Jesus, 1906 2006 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19990124 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-01-24 Title A name given to the resource The Quest for the Historical Jesus Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on January 24, 1999 entitled "The Quest for the Historical Jesus", as part of the series "Q & Q: The Religious Quest and Question", on the occasion of Epiphany IV, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Mark 3:20-21, Luke 4:23. Historical Jesus Nature of God https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/9c086c421e5f9e87626dc5c7691c1dd1.pdf c85cd24fb92675ec31ff53b6b1f4469d PDF Text Text Forgiveness: Possible? Moral? Midweek Lenten Worship Text: Luke 7:36-50 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan February 24, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon The theme stated in the bulletin, "Forgiveness: Possible? Moral?" is really the theme of the evening, but there is an overall theme for this Lenten series which I failed to get printed. It’s called "A True Story: The Gospel and Forgiveness," for I want us to think on these Lenten meditations about the possibility of forgiveness, the nature of forgiveness, and the qualities of forgiveness, and what it is that we understand about forgiveness. The story is a story called The Sunflower, by Simon Wiesenthal. It is recorded in this little book, which I was given sometime within the course of the last year. His name may be familiar to you; he is the Jew who has founded a center located in Vienna with a branch in Los Angeles. It is a documentation center and Simon Wiesenthal is one who survived the concentration camps and has given himself to the pursuit of all of those Nazi war criminals who have managed to escape punishment. He has given his whole life to their pursuit; he has dogged their steps. Not so many years ago he was able to track down Adolph Eichmann, you may remember. Some call him a dangerous fanatic, and yet, Simon Wiesenthal is a man who, having gone through what he went through, is convinced that the Holocaust, that story, must be told. He wrote in The New York Times that the schools will be silent, the churches will wipe out the Holocaust with forgiveness, and parents will be in denial trying to evade and avoid the raw terror of what happened fifty some years ago. The Sunflower is his story. Simon Wiesenthal lost 89 of his relatives; he saw his aged mother crammed into a boxcar on her way to the death camp. His wife’s mother was shot in the staircase of her own home. He, himself, miraculously escaped death a dozen times. He is a man who has two engineering degrees, and was a successful architect living in Poland, a land where there had been a long history of antiSemitism. He finally was arrested in October of 1943. He made his way through various camps for the next nearly two years, finally to be liberated by the American troops in May of 1945. He tells his story in The Sunflower. © Grand Valley State University   �Forgiveness, Possible, Moral? Richard A. Rhem Page 2   I won’t go into the sunflower symbolism; can’t possibly give you a sense of this story in a few moments this evening, but the heart of the story is his recounting of an encounter with a dying Nazi SS officer. He was a prisoner in a death camp; he was in a detail that was dispatched to a makeshift hospital and, arriving there, a nurse led him into the room of this dying SS officer whose head was totally bandaged and who was obviously in his last moments, and the SS officer poured out his story to Simon Wiesenthal. This is a young German SS officer, 22 years old, knowing that he is about to die, but recounting the horrors of what he had done, the most vivid instance that of herding two to three hundred Jewish people in the village into a three-story house in which they had to carry cans of gasoline into which were lobbed grenades with the obvious result - explosions and fire, and with the SS officers around the house with their machine guns at the ready to gun down anyone who would try to jump or escape in any way. This SS officer saw a father with a little child in his arms, dark hair and dark eyes. The father put his hand over the child’s eyes and they leaped from the second story window, followed by the mother, and whether or not they died on impact or were dead because of the machine gun, he doesn’t know, and he went on to describe other horrors of which he was a part, but that particular scene he could not erase from his mind. Wiesenthal, near death himself in the death camp and his work detail, sat frozen on the SS officer’s bed. He wanted to run, but the officer held him firmly and said that Wiesenthal had to listen to it all. And then the SS officer, after completing his tale, said, "When I was still a boy I believed with my mind and soul in God and in the commandments of the Church. Then everything was easier. If I still had that faith, I am sure death would not be so hard. "I cannot die ... without coming clean. This must be my confession, but what sort of confession is this? A letter without an answer ..." No doubt he was referring to my silence. But what could I say? Here was a dying man - a murderer who did not want to be a murderer, but who had been made into a murderer by a murderous ideology. He was confessing his crime to a man who perhaps tomorrow must die at the hands of these same murderers. In his confession there was true repentance, even though he did not admit it in so many words. Nor was it necessary, for the way he spoke and the fact that he spoke to me was a proof of his repentance... He sat up and put his hands together as if to pray. "I want to die in peace, and so I need ..." I saw that he could not get the words past his lips, but I was in no mood to help him. I kept silent. © Grand Valley State University �Forgiveness, Possible, Moral? Richard A. Rhem Page 3   I know that what I have told you is terrible. In the long nights while I have been waiting for death time and again I have longed to talk about it to a Jew and beg forgiveness from him, only I didn’t know whether there were any Jews left... I know that what I am asking is almost too much for you, but without your answer, I cannot die in peace." Now there was an uncanny silence in the room. I looked through the window. The front of the buildings opposite was flooded with sunlight. The sun was high in the heavens. There was only a small triangular shadow in the courtyard. What a contrast between the glorious sunshine outside and the shadow of this bestial age here in the death chamber. Here lay a man in bed who wished to die in peace, but he could not because the memory of his terrible crime gave him no rest. And by him sat a man also doomed to die - but who did not want to die because he yearned to see the end of all the horror that blighted the world. Two men who had never known each other had been brought together by a few hours by fate. One asks the other for help. But the other was himself helpless and able to do nothing for him. I stood up and looked in his direction, at his folded hands... At last I made up my mind and without a word I left the room. The account is relatively brief, only ninety-nine pages. These are the last couple of paragraphs that Wiesenthal writes: Was my silence at the bedside of the dying Nazi right or wrong? This is a profound moral question that challenges the conscience of the reader of this episode just as much as it once challenged my heart and my mind. There are those who can appreciate my dilemma and so endorse my attitude. And there are others who will be ready to condemn me for refusing to ease the last moments of a repentant murderer. The crux of the matter is, of course, the question of forgiveness. Forgetting is something that time alone takes care of. But, forgiveness is an act of volition and only the sufferer is qualified to make the decision. You who have just read this sad and tragic episode in my life, can mentally change places with me and ask yourself the crucial question, "What would I have done?" The last half of the book is a series of brief responses from some twenty philosophers, theologians, priests, rabbis, giving the response to his question, © Grand Valley State University �Forgiveness, Possible, Moral? Richard A. Rhem Page 4   "What would you have done?" and the book ends without an answer, it remains a question. It’s a question that I would like to leave with you tonight. It’s a question that I would like to have us continue to reflect on in this Lenten season. A dying man in anguish pitifully asks forgiveness from another human being, in this case, a Jew on behalf of the Jews. He listens to the whole story, but then he leaves in silence. What would you have done? All of the respondents, Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, are very subdued in their response because we are so far from that situation that I don’t think there is anybody that would presume to put themselves in his place and answer for him. I don’t think that it is possible for us to begin to take in the horror of those years. Nonetheless, a step removed from the concrete situation in which Wiesenthall found himself, the moral question is there and that’s why I raise the question tonight. Forgiveness: Is it possible? Is it moral? I have learned in the Jewish tradition that there is a very strong tradition that no one can forgive another for a crime against a third person. I could not forgive you for something you did to another, that it is only the person sinned against that can offer forgiveness. And, as I have reflected on that particular thing, I’m also aware that in the Christian tradition and in a church like Christ Community which has been marked by grace, there is always the danger of "cheap grace." Sometime in the last year or so there was one of these awful school shootings, I think in Arkansas, and the newspaper showed signs of neighbors and young people having the name of the young man that perpetrated that tragedy saying, whatever his name was, "(Jim), we forgive you." There is a Jewish commentator, writer, journalist, Dennis Prager, who wrote a very sharp article on the dummying down of Christianity, saying that such offering of forgiveness before there was any admission of guilt or any indication of repentance was the dummying down of Christianity and an abuse. That’s "cheap grace." The attitude of "Oh, it doesn’t matter," thinking now not about that Holocaust situation, but thinking more in general, those who say something doesn’t really matter, offering easy absolution are not dealing with the reality of evil and the necessity of repentance and reformation in human life. Forgiveness can be bandied about easily if we don’t take seriously the extent to which we injure one another. Forgiveness ought not to come easily. And yet, forgiveness is rooted in our image of God, our sense of God. Forgiveness was imaged in the God of Israel. The Psalmist said, "Oh, Lord, if you should mark iniquity, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness." And that forgiveness of the God of Israel was reflected in the ministry of Jesus. The woman who came to him off the street, a woman of the night, into the Pharisee’s house, to whom he extends forgiveness, seeing in the love of her life a kind of human transformation that is affected by the touch of grace. © Grand Valley State University �Forgiveness, Possible, Moral? Richard A. Rhem Page 5   My favorite novel, drama, musical, "Les Miserables," has Jean Valjean fleeing the police inspector, taking refuge in the convent, robbing in the middle of the night the silver of the priest, only to be apprehended and brought back to the priest by the gendarmes, and the priest saying, "I gave it to him." And then looking Jean Valjean in the eye, saying, "I exorcize the evil of your heart. Go out a new man." And the story is of the transformation of the human being. Forgiveness. What darkness there would be if, when one comes to that point of self-knowledge and the honest confronting of oneself and lays it bare, that one would meet only with silence. Doesn’t it give you a chill to think of that? Not in any sense to take away from Wiesenthal or to judge him, and to recognize that perhaps he had no right to offer forgiveness to the SS officer for crimes against those who had suffered. Nonetheless, as one commentator suggested, maybe just some word of recognition and understanding short of the offer of absolution. And yet, as we will think in these Lenten weeks, it is God who forgives, but that remains abstract until we forgive one another, not lightly, not nonchalantly, but seriously in the light of honest repentance which is a change of mind and a raising of consciousness or a coming to oneself. Then the Gospel says that for such a one there is forgiveness, forgiveness because that’s the way God is, ultimately, ultimately, full of grace. References: Simon Wiesenthal. The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness. Shocken; revised expanded edition, 1998. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/712f57623b2683c126167329b9299a9a.mp3 25c97ec529099e6e194699fb5e07fe43 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 Scripture Text Luke 7:36-50 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-0-19990224 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-02-24 Title A name given to the resource Forgiveness: Possible? Moral? Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on February 24, 1999 entitled "Forgiveness: Possible? Moral?", on the occasion of Midweek Lent, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Luke 7:36-50. Forgiveness Grace Lent Nature of God https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/32f99da01ae988fc0618092601feff33.pdf 0b3ad7834c635024bb2ed81e0dc0cf0f PDF Text Text Then God Is…And That Can’t Be From the series: God in the Mirror of a Human Face Text: Revelation 14:20; Matthew 3:12 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan February 28, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon Before I left on vacation in January, I set up the sermon series for Lent and my main concern was to be able to pick up the themes with which John Dominic Crossan would deal in his presentation last week and especially on Sunday, ushering us into the Lenten season. He was, fortunately, able to come at the time of our first requested date, the first Sunday in Lent, because I thought it would be a stimulating and provocative way to be launched into Lent, but during January when I was trying to determine how I would pick it up from him, I had to hunch somewhat what he would do and anticipate how he might lead us in order that I might pick it up with some kind of continuity, and so, before I left for vacation, I had a series set with a little bit of anxiety as to whether or not we would skip a beat. Well, I’m pleased with it. Of course, if you look at the title of today’s message and next week’s message, you might think I was hedging my bets. Today, "Then God Is ... And That Can’t Be." Do you get it? Next week, "If God Is ... Then ... But ..." Now, you can see I really narrowed down where I could go with that. But, as a matter of fact, I did know what I was doing or intending to do and it’s going to work, I think. Check with me afterwards, or I’ll check with you. This morning, "Then God Is ... And That Can’t Be." Then God is what? If John the Baptist was right, then God is a God of violence with a measure of vengeance slipping in, and that can’t be. Now, that’s a rather bold and simple declaration. If John the Baptist, if his preaching, was right, then God is a God of violence in terms of the final solution and there’s a bit of vengeance there, and I’m saying that can’t be. That’s not new at Christ Community, but perhaps the simplicity and the sincerity and the boldness of the declaration is simply one more turn of the screw. I am saying what has been said in various ways and various times - that Jesus moved away from John the Baptist, rejecting the vision and program of John the Baptist and created an alternative vision or program marked by a God of non-violence. Now, that was one of the key insights of John Dominic Crossan, and it has arisen out of his research into the New Testament and documents of that time, out of his © Grand Valley State University   �God Is…That Can’t Be Richard A. Rhem Page 2   quest for the historical Jesus. It’s not new here. There was an essay by Bishop Robinson, John A. T. Robinson, the Anglican back in the 60s; it’s an essay I’ve used here several times entitled, "John and Jesus," that contrast between John and Jesus set forth by Robinson some decades ago. It struck me then and I’ve preached it here a number of times, as you well remember. But, to set forth as clearly as I can this morning that contrast, I’m going to say it as simply and as boldly as I can - if John was right, God’s final solution involves violence and that can’t be. I don’t believe it, at least. It certainly can be, but I do not believe it is that which is reflected in the face of Jesus Christ. And that’s what this Lenten series is going to be all about - the God that is mirrored in a human face. The God that is mirrored in a human face, that face being Jesus, that God is a God of non-violent justice, to use Crossan’s description. And that God is set in contrast this morning with the image of God that is reflected through the ministry of John the Baptist. There was a time when I could not have been as clear and simple as that because I would have worried that somehow or another John the Baptist was also a prophet of God and is in the Bible and, therefore, I’ve got to somehow or other be able to put together John the Baptist’s ministry and vision and program and Jesus’ ministry and program. Didn’t the one prepare for the other? Didn’t the one set up the other? Wasn’t it all in the providence of God? And I say "No," because this book needs to be handled respectfully, carefully, and thoughtfully with reason and intuition. But it must not be an inerrant, infallible word of God that fell out of heaven so that everything in it I’ve got to be able to put in its little place. I wrote an article in a theological journal one day about the Bible; I entitled it "The Book That Binds Us." Of course, everyone thought what I meant was that the Bible binds us into community, but what I really meant was that the Bible binds us like cheese binds us. The reason we have been so unable to deal with the issues that arise in the scripture in an honest manner is that we are constipated by the Bible, spiritually constipated, and I find that, in all of my nurture and all of my education, I came to the Bible knowing the answers before I opened the book, and it is so refreshing to be able to go to the Bible with fresh eyes and to say, "What is here and how can we make sense of it?" I’m going to suggest to you this morning that, within this book, there is a vision and a program of John the Baptist that was rejected by Jesus because John’s vision and program involved a God whose final solution involved violence that borders on vengeance, and Jesus said that can’t be. Why is this so important? It is so important to get a proper fix on Jesus because Jesus is the human face that mirrors the nature and character of God for us, and the nature and character of God will determine our nature and character. You get it right in Jesus, you get it right in God. You get it right in God, and you’ll get right. You get wrong in Jesus, you’ll get wrong in God. You get wrong on God, and you get wrong right here. © Grand Valley State University �God Is…That Can’t Be Richard A. Rhem Page 3   One of the great problems of our world today is that there is more religion, Christian, Jew, Islamic, Muslim, that is modeled on the God of John the Baptist than the God of Jesus. The world is in great peril today. Our state department is worried about its embassies around the world. Our government is talking about the threat of terrorism and wondering how much the public should be informed about the real threats that are afoot today in our world. And the fuel of the terrorists is religious conviction. It is religious conviction that is drawn from an image of a violent God, to use Dom Crossan’s neat turn of a phrase, creating killer children of a killer God. It is so important to get straight on Jesus because Jesus is the mirror of the character of God and the character of the God we worship will shape our character and our community. Now, I’m going to say to you that Jesus and John were both marked by eschatology. That’s that long word that means the things pertaining to the end. Now, not necessarily the end of the planet, the stars, the sun, the moon, and the physical universe, but the end at least of a world that is structured by those in power, the structure of an age. In John’s time and Jesus’ time, it was the world of imperial Rome. If you want to know about a world at any given time, ask where the power lies. Where the power lies will determine the shape of an age. John and Jesus were both eschatological in that they believed that it was necessary for the world to end, that is, that world shaped by imperial Rome with power. A person who is marked by eschatology is a person who believes that there is something fundamentally wrong with the world; it is so fundamentally wrong that it cannot simply be tinkered with and fixed up a little bit here. The whole basis on which a world, a society, is structured is fundamentally wrong and it needs to be stood on its head. John thought so. Jesus thought so. Both of them were alike also in that what they believed about the end being of this world order and the issuing in of the kingdom of God was a mandate from heaven. This isn’t something they dreamed up in their sleep; this wasn’t something they arrived at after calling together a task force about the shape of things. This was something that was burned into their souls as a mandate from heaven, as a word from God. There was to be a radical intervention by God in order to turn the world upside down and to right its wrongness. John believed it; Jesus believed it. But, if you believe the world is fundamentally wrong and if you believe you have a divine mandate to right the wrong, then it will still have to be determined how you declare the message and how you live out the vision. Jesus began with John. John must have been his mentor. It is not unlikely that there was the assumption that Jesus would pick up the reins from John. But, at some point, Jesus said, "No." At some point Jesus said I can’t go that way. At some point Jesus distanced himself from John. We’ll see next week that he did it with great respect for this great prophet, but nonetheless, creating an alternative vision and an alternative program because essentially Jesus’s God was different than John’s God. John was eschatological in believing that there was something fundamentally wrong with the world and that God had called him to do something about it, and © Grand Valley State University �God Is…That Can’t Be Richard A. Rhem Page 4   the manner in which he did it was within apocalyptic eschatology, which means, in his terms, and they were general terms at the time, that God would soon intervene in a dramatic fashion into human history and that the wrath of God would be poured out on all unrighteousness and there would be a separation between the righteous and the unrighteous, and the unrighteous would be cast into eternal Hell and the winepress of the wrath of God would overflow. John was an apocalyptic; he believed at any moment the end would come and God would make the wrong right through an intervention that involved a judgment that was full of violence and that bordered on vengeance. Matthew’s Gospel tells us about John’s ministry down at the Jordan River; we’re familiar with that. They came out to see John and to hear him and to see what was going on, and he said, "You brood of vipers," and he looked at the one who was coming and he said his winnowing fork is in his hand and he’s going to separate the wheat from the chaff and the chaff will be burned with unquenchable fire. The commentator of the Anchor Bible Series of the Revelation of Jesus Christ in John, the last book in the New Testament, suggests that John the Baptist may have been the author of that revelation. That’s not been traditionally the understanding. Traditionally biblical scholarship does not think it is John the Evangelist, the one that wrote the fourth Gospel, but just some other prophet named John. But, there’s a pretty good argument for the fact that the material in the middle of the revelation may well have come from John the Baptist and the circle of John the Baptist, and that some Christian writer later on tacked on the first three chapters and the last chapter. If you take the first three chapters of Revelation and the last chapter away, you don’t have very much about Jesus Christ in there. It could as well be a Jewish apocalyptic. They’re looking for the same thing. They were expecting the same kind of imminent event, and there’s a pretty good argument for the fact that maybe it was out of John the Baptist himself or his circle, because there was a Baptist movement that was in competition with the Jesus movement. We can still see it in the layers of the New Testament, even though it’s handled very gracefully. Nonetheless, out of that John the Baptist movement may well have come a writing like the Revelation that we have at the end of our New Testament, and what is the picture? The picture is that there is going to be hell to pay; the wrath of God is ready to boil over; the command comes to stick the sickle in, to harvest the earth, to cast it into the wine press of the wrath of God, and to trample those grapes until the wine press overflows with blood, a river which is 200 miles long and up to the horses’ bridle. That’s tough stuff! If we lived in that Roman world and didn’t have any power and had no economic possibilities and we had the heel of an imperial power upon us with its legions marching up and down the streets, if we had seen our infants slaughtered, if we had seen our whole life blown up, our dreams shattered, if there seemed to be no © Grand Valley State University �God Is…That Can’t Be Richard A. Rhem Page 5   hope, if history had lost all possibility for us, well then, I mean, I can almost feel it now, can’t you? Doesn’t the human person get driven to a point where you want hell to be paid, don’t you want the wrath of God to be poured out on those powers that have warped and distorted the human situation, don’t you want God to do something about all of those structures and all of those forms that have caused the distortion of a world that is fundamentally wrong? If you live and you suffer in a world that is fundamentally wrong, don’t you cry out, "How long, O Lord, how long?" What happens to us when we see this fellow named King who dragged a black man for three miles down an asphalt road? What do you feel in your heart? What do you feel in your stomach? Do we want justice done? Would we mind a little vengeance thrown in? What do you feel when you see Milosovich in the Kosovo situation? How do you feel when you see a world leader such as Saddam Hussein who uses the people as a human shield, caring only for the possession of his own power and the preservation of his own life and using his people as fodder - what do you feel? Don’t you want God to do something? Don’t you wonder if there’s any justice in the world? Doesn’t it turn your stomach? Isn’t it easy to slip from justice to vengeance? Isn’t death by injection for Mr. King almost too good? Would anybody here cheer for putting a chain around his neck and dragging him three miles down an asphalt road? The very fact that I could think of that tells you what’s in my heart. So, I’m not going to criticize John the Baptist. I don’t know what he suffered; I don’t know what he saw. He believed it couldn’t go on that way because he did believe that God was right and righteous, and he did believe this world was wrong, and he did believe that God would do something about this world, and it couldn’t be too soon for John the Baptist. But the justice slipped into vengeance and it’s reflected in our New Testament documents. The God of John the Baptist is the God for whom the final solution involves violence and vengeance. And Jesus said, "That can’t be." It is so important that we see this clearly because, as I began, our character and our nature and the ambience of our community will be reflective of the character and the nature of God, and the character and the nature of God we gather from what is reflected in the face of Jesus. Get Jesus right, get God right, and then we’ll be right. References: John A. T. Robinson, “Elijah, John and Jesus,” Twelve New Testament Studies. SCM Press, 1962. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/bbc687e1ddd3cacb879d5c7c03088b8b.mp3 9a4c75183ed7635736b7f56beb4993f2 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 God In the Mirror of a Human Face, Lent II Scripture Text Revelation 14:20, Matthew 3:12 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI References A.T. Robinson, "Elijah, John and Jesus," Twelve New Testament Studies, 1962 Simon Wiesenthal, The Sunflower, 1998 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19990228 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-02-28 Title A name given to the resource Then God Is...And That Can't Be Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on February 28, 1999 entitled "Then God Is...And That Can't Be", as part of the series "God In the Mirror of a Human Face, Lent II", on the occasion of Lent II, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Revelation 14:20, Matthew 3:12. Lent Nature of God Non-violent Justice https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/12eaa873cee307ab0e5107b197c78e8e.pdf 4a2cda06f12ab300dc7880077bae345f PDF Text Text Action and Attitude Have Consequences Midweek Lenten Service Text: Luke 19:42 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan March 3, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon This Lenten season we are taking our cue from a true story and listening to that story in relationship to the Gospel, and in the context or in relationship to the matter of the forgiveness of sins or the idea of forgiveness. I find that this is a subject about which it seems I’ve preached all my life, this matter of forgiveness, and yet I don’t think I’ve ever thought about it quite so thoroughly or deeply as I have in getting ready for these meditations. Forgiveness is the common fare of our Christian tradition, it is the offer of the Gospel; it is central to everything we are and everything we do, and yet I wonder how often we have really reflected on forgiveness. Last week, "Forgiveness: Possible? Moral?" And for those of you who were here, you know that I am basing these meditations, or at least taking off from the story by Simon Wiesenthal, The Sunflower, in which he records his experience during the Holocaust when he was bounced from one concentration camp to another, barely escaping death a dozen times, having lost 89 of his own relatives to the gas furnaces. Wiesenthal, on one occasion, in a work detail in a makeshift hospital, was pulled aside by a nurse and brought to the bedside of a dying SS officer who poured out his awful tale of the atrocities that he had perpetrated, and in his dying hours, looked to this Jew to offer him forgiveness on behalf of the Jewish people for all of the horror and the hell of which he had been a part, and as you remember, Wiesenthal was paralyzed as he sat by the bedside listening to this terrible, terrible tale. After hearing most of it, Wiesenthal writes, ... I stood up ready to leave but he pleaded with me: "Please stay. I must tell you the rest." I really do not know what kept me. But there was something in his voice that prevented me from obeying my instinct to end the interview. Perhaps I wanted to hear from his own mouth, in his own words, the full horror of the Nazis’ inhumanity. © Grand Valley State University   �Action, Attitude: Consequences Richard A. Rhem Page 2   When we were told that everything was ready, we went back a few yards, and then received the command to remove safety pins from the hand grenades and throw them through the windows of the house (into which they had herded two to three hundred Jews with cans of gasoline). Detonations followed, one after another. ... My God!" Now he was silent, and he raised himself slightly from his bed: his whole body was shivering. But he continued: "We heard screams and saw the flames eat their way from floor to floor... We had our rifles ready to shoot down anyone who tried to escape from the blazing hell... "The screams from the house were horrible. Dense smoke poured out and choked us..." His hand felt damp. He was so shattered by his recollection that he broke into a sweat and I loosened my hand from his grip. But at once he groped for it again and held it tight. "Please, please," he stammered, "don’t go away. I have more to say." I no longer had any doubts as to the ending. I saw that he was summoning his strength for one last effort to tell me the rest of the story to its bitter end. "... Behind the windows of the second floor I saw a man with a small child in his arms. His clothes were alight. By his side stood a woman, doubtless the mother of the child. With his free hand, the man covered the child’s eyes ... then he jumped into the street. Seconds later the mother followed. Then from the other window fell burning bodies ... We shot... O God!" The dying man held his hand in front of his bandaged eyes as if he wanted to banish the picture from his mind. "I don’t know how many tried to jump out of the windows, but that one family I shall never forget - least of all the child. It had black hair and dark eyes..." He fell silent, completely exhausted. The child with the dark eyes that he had described reminded me of Eli, a boy from the Lemberg ghetto, six years old with large, questioning eyes eyes that could not understand - accusing eyes - eyes that one never forgets. The Sunflower, S. Wiesenthal, 41-43 © Grand Valley State University �Action, Attitude: Consequences Richard A. Rhem Page 3   Paralyzed, as it were, knowing that this man was begging for some word of forgiveness, pity, Wiesenthal rose and left the room without a word, and his account ends with the request that we would put ourselves in his place and answer the question: What would I have done? Well, that, again, is the story that triggered my thinking about this thing, and the last half of this little book has about twenty responses from philosophers, moralists, rabbis, priests, every one very cautious, quite unwilling to say to Wiesenthal, "Yes, you should have given forgiveness," or "No, you did right in not saying a word." Everyone very cautious because who dares make a judgment in such extreme circumstances? What would I have done? What would you have done? Wiesenthal doesn’t claim to answer it; he leaves us with that awful question, and those who responded recognized the severity and the importance of the question. One or two say, "I would have killed the man on the spot." One or two are sure he should have given a word of forgiveness. And in between, all of the rest waffle to and fro. So, what would you have done? What would I have done? I noted last week that one thing that I have learned from the Jewish tradition is that it is a strong teaching in the Jewish tradition that I cannot forgive you for what you’ve done to another. The victim, alone, can grant forgiveness. And I’ve also come to see how easy it is for us to deal in "cheap grace," not taking radical evil seriously, or taking seriously enough the damage and the injury done to the victim, and therefore letting it just brush off. There’s also that tendency in all of us, I think, to want to be done with these awful things, simply to pass them over in silence and avoidance, not really wrestling with the depth of the issue. And yet, I concluded with the fact that it would be a bleak, bleak world, indeed, if there were no forgiveness, and that forgiveness we saw from Psalm 130 is rooted in God. "O Lord, if Thou shouldst mark iniquity, who could stand? But with Thee there is forgiveness." Tonight I want to say, forgiveness, yes, but not the removal of the consequences of our actions and our attitudes. Forgiveness does not mean that I escape clean of the consequences of my actions. Forgiveness doesn’t really have anything to do with the eradication of the consequences. The consequences will be reaped. Our actions and our attitudes have consequences, and history itself is the judgment of history, and we do reap what we sow. I’m thinking of the story in the Gospel of Jesus confronting Jerusalem. "How oft would I have gathered thee as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but ye would not." That kind of cry or plea on the part of God can be placed again and again throughout the biblical story. "How often would I, but ye would not?" And, consequently, we reap the consequences. It has always been true; it always will be true. Jesus said, "You will not see me again until you cry, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,’" and on that triumphal entry into the city, when the children were praising him, he came © Grand Valley State University �Action, Attitude: Consequences Richard A. Rhem Page 4   to the crest of Olivet and wept over that city, a city that he loved and for whom he had all of the hopes of Israel’s past, a city that he knew would be doomed because he said, "You know not the day of your visitation. If only you had known the things that make for peace." Isn’t it true again and again? Jerusalem is just a paradigm of the human experience, whether it be the secular governments of the world, or whether it be the institutions, the church, for example. We plod on our way with blindness and stubbornness and obstreperousness in spite of all of the signs to the contrary, and we reap the reward. It was the cantankerousness of the human heart and mind that disallowed the possibility of the Jesus movement and the faith of Israel to be one. It was the obstinacy and that mind set in concrete in the 16th century that rent the body of Christ into Catholic and Protestant, and it has continued to be so ever since, in the Church and in the world. Governments, leaders, the Saddam Husseins and the Malosivecs and God knows who else who will not, for whatever reason – pride of place or position or prestige.– who will push it to the limit until there is hell to pay. Actions and attitudes have their consequences. I have in my hand a rather strange and interesting magazine, a thoughtful magazine called the Utne Reader. It just came and it just happens to be on forgiveness. There are several very fascinating articles on the very thing we’re wrestling with here this Lenten season. A David Gelernter, for example, says, What do murderers deserve? A Texas woman, Karla Faye Tucker, (remember her?) murdered two people with a pickax, was said to have repented in prison and was put to death. A Montana man, Theodore Kaczynski, murdered three people with mail bombs, did not repent, and struck a bargain with the Justice Department: He pleaded guilty and will not be executed. (He also attempted to murder others and succeeded in wounding some, myself included.) Why did we execute the penitent and spare the impenitent? However we answer this question, we surely have a duty to ask it. And he goes on wrestling with that knotty question of capital punishment. Why do we murder the murderer? Should we take the life of one who has taken a life? One of the writers of the Utne Reader, Jeremiah Creedon, in an article entitled, "To Hell and Back," talks about the necessity of breaking the cycle of violence in the world. Professor Martha Minow of Harvard, in her book interestingly titled, Between Vengeance and Forgiveness, just the kinds of things we’re thinking about here, points out the necessity of reconciliation if we are to have a humane world. But, how close lie vengeance and justice, and at what point is the execution of the law more harmful than moving beyond in an attempt at reconciliation? For © Grand Valley State University �Action, Attitude: Consequences Richard A. Rhem Page 5   example, as it’s going on in South Africa, with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission which was chaired by Bishop Desmond Tutu, in which the South African perpetrators of violence in the past were offered immunity if they would come and tell their story. Is there something more healthy about having the truth being told without the infliction of the penalty? In order to have the truth stated, is it better for us to come to an awareness, victim and victimizer, of the truth? Can there then be reconciliation and healing? You see, I’m just like Wiesenthal; I’m not giving you answers. I’m asking you questions, because there aren’t easy answers. But God knows that it is true that the cycle of violence in the world must be broken. Jesus knew this. Some say that Judas betrayed him in order to push him, to show his hand, to lead the zealots, to overthrow the Roman oppressor. Jesus’ way was not the way of violence, but it was violence whose consequences were ultimately reaped. The violence of Rome, the violent response of the Jew, the violent response of Rome and the absolute devastation of the city. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Jerusalem! How oft would I, but you would not." So, actions and attitudes have their consequences, and a society desperately needs to wrestle with the question of how justice can be done without the escalation of violence, and it’s very complex. I would leave you with a picture of God, because finally we have to go back there. It is finally, I believe, the nature of God as we understand God that will determine how we live. If I could only pick out half a dozen passages of the scripture to take with me on a desert island, Hosea 11 would be one passage. The tenderness of God Who rescues his child from Egypt’s slavery and takes the child and nurtures the child Israel and brings the child to his cheek and the child turns away, and so, the very natural kind of response now is attributed to God: Destruction will come in the wake of your disobedience and your turning away from me. And then, in the midst of the meting out of the sentence, those words, "But how can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I give you up? I grow warm within, my compassions surge forth. How can I give you up? I will not give you up. Because I am God and not human." Thank God, God is that way, for God knows that we go blindly, stupidly on our way with actions and attitudes that continue to create all of the devastation and the brokenness in human relationships, personal relationships, national affairs, and there are actions and attitudes that will bear consequences. But, that’s not the last word. The last word is a God whose compassion will disallow God doing what God knows ought to be done, and therefore, going against every reasonable response, saying "I will not, I will not let you go." Thank God. © Grand Valley State University �Action, Attitude: Consequences Richard A. Rhem References: The Utne Reader: alternative coverage of politics, culture, and new ideas (Founded in 1984 by Eric Utne, purchased in 2006 by Ogden Publications) Simon Wiesenthal. The Sunflower:On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness. Shocken; revised expanded edition, 1998. © Grand Valley State University Page 6   � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/66436f163ae417a731c66d0a3e61bb86.mp3 d84a8ae2edae90088f88d9d481eb8223 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 Scripture Text Luke 19:42 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI References The Utne Reader, founded 1984 Simon Weisenthal, The Sunflower, 1998 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19990303 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-03-03 Title A name given to the resource Action and Attitude Have Consequences Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on March 3, 1999 entitled "Action and Attitude Have Consequences", on the occasion of Midweek Lent, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Luke 19:42. Compassion Lent Forgiveness Nature of God https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/bd0958e0b23468c1b0e06363637568d8.pdf 3858645f84883019c07fb74e25de0eb2 PDF Text Text If God Is…That Means…But… From the series: God in the Mirror of a Human Face Text: Luke 7:28; Luke 6:27; 35-36 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Lent, March 7, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon This is the second Lenten sermon and the second week in a row with a funny title. Last week, "That Means ... And That Can’t Be." and I filled that in for you by saying that if the message of John the Baptist was right, that means that God is a violent God and that can’t be. And this week, "If God Is ... Then ... But .." Now, it must be obvious where I’m going with that again. If God is, indeed, nonviolent, as we suggested last week, in contrast to John’s image of God, taking our cue from Jesus instead, that means that we must be nonviolent, too, but ... but I’m not ready for that kind of discipleship. I’m not capable of that kind of discipleship. That means that if God is a God of nonviolent justice, then we, God’s people, are called to be a people of nonviolent justice, but do you realize how radical that is? This is so very important because, as we said last week, the God that we worship will shape us. Over a lifetime the God that we image in our worship and devotion will determine the kind of people that we are. We’ll be killer children of a killer God, or we’ll be nonviolent children of a nonviolent God of justice, and I suggest to you that it is critical to get a proper fix on the historical Jesus because Jesus is the human face that mirrors to us God, and that which is mirrored in the face of Jesus will give us insight into the nature and character of God, and the nature and character of God will determine the kind of people we are. That’s why it’s so very important to get it right with Jesus in order to get it right with God in order to get it right in our own lives. This morning I want to try to establish the fact that my statement last week that Jesus, indeed, presents an alternative vision and program to that of John the Baptist, can be read out of the Gospels themselves. It’s like a good detective story, but as we have come more and more to understand what we have in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, the finished Gospel products have layers within them and there are pressures and forces that get pressed into a certain final portrait which still reveals the lines of some of that conflict within. And if you read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John about John the Baptist and Jesus, you get the impression, you get what was being created as the proper perspective, namely that John the © Grand Valley State University   �If God Is…That Means Richard A. Rhem Page 2   Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus the Messiah, and that there was continuity between the ministry of John and the ministry of Jesus. I want to suggest to you that, when you probe beneath the layers a bit, you will see that that was a patching over of what was break and discontinuity, that, at some point in the ministry of Jesus, Jesus moved from being a disciple of John the Baptist to creating his own alternative vision and program over against John the Baptist. John was an eschatological person. Jesus was an eschatological person. An eschatological person believes there is something fundamentally flawed about the way the world is organized. John believed it; Jesus believed it. A world organized around power with structures that perpetuate injustice, inequality, that lack mercy and compassion, that is marked by violence, is a world that a person who is eschatological, who is concerned about the end, must reject and protest against. An eschatological person is a person who wants the world to end the way it is, not the space-time world, necessarily, but just the way the world is, almost the normal way the world is. John believed the way the world is was fundamentally flawed; Jesus believed the way the world is was fundamentally flawed. And such a person, John and Jesus, both believed that there was a divine mandate to right the wrong of the world and that it couldn’t come just through human tinkering or human engineering, human ingenuity or human creativity, but rather, it had to be the act of God. There was a third element in being an eschatological person and that is how one lives out that conviction, and there are at least three ways that that has been done. The first way was John the Baptist and the apocalyptic vision, the sense of the imminent in breaking of God, to damn the wicked and establish the righteous, the winepress of the wrath of God overflows with the blood up to the horse’s bridle in a river of blood 200 miles long. We saw it last week in that vision in Revelation. The apocalyptic vision is the vision of the God Who will come in dramatically, violently. The final solution to the righting of the wrong of the world involves violence which edges towards vengeance. That was the God of John the Baptist. There’s another possible response to a conviction that the world is fundamentally wrong. You can withdraw from the world. There were communities at the time of John and Jesus, the Essenes, for example, the Qumran community, the communities connected with the Dead Sea scrolls. They left Jerusalem and went out into the wilderness, forming their own communities of prayer and fasting and waited for the appearing of the Messiah. They gave up on the world; they withdrew from the world into monastic community. There’s a third possibility and that’s the way of Jesus, staying in the heat of the battle, but making a protest nonviolently, being full of grace and compassion, making the protest obvious but nonviolently. Dom Crossan calls that ethical eschatology, and it is my conviction, and I didn’t invent this, but it is my © Grand Valley State University �If God Is…That Means Richard A. Rhem Page 3   conviction, on the basis of the study of the Gospels going back to an essay of 1962 by the Anglican Bishop, John A. T. Robinson, confirmed in current historical Jesus scholarship by the likes of Dom Crossan, I am convinced that if you look at those Gospels in the layered view, you will find that Jesus began as a disciple of John the Baptist, identifying with John’s mission, being baptized by John, but at some point rejected the vision of John, separated himself, went into Galilee and began his own mission on the basis of another vision. That’s what I believe can be established from a study of the Gospels if you weave it all together. It’s only in the fourth Gospel that we know that Jesus had a period of ministry before the Galilean ministry, a ministry down south in Judea where John was baptizing, and if you read the third chapter of John’s Gospel, the fourth Gospel, verses 22-30, you will find that John is carrying on his ministry of baptism and Jesus and his disciples are carrying on their ministry, and I would say at that time that Jesus and his disciples must have been considered a part of the Baptist movement. And then in the fourth chapter of John, in the first verse, you will find Jesus leaving the area and going through Samaria to Galilee. Then in that first verse of the fourth chapter of the fourth Gospel you will find an indication that maybe there was some competition developing between John and Jesus. (I’m so glad that in the religious life of today’s world, competition doesn’t exist anymore.) Whatever the reason, that movement from Judea in the south to Galilee in the north marked geographically a fundamental change in the vision and the mission of Jesus, and the change was the rejection of Apocalypticism and the movement to ethical eschatology, which is simply a protest carried out nonviolently. Jesus began with John and I’m sure it might even have been assumed that he would pick up the reins from John. Early in his ministry, only in the fourth Gospel does Jesus go to the temple and "cleanse" the temple. You remember that dramatic scene - Mark, Matthew, Luke tell us that it happened during Holy Week, but in Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus only goes to Jerusalem one time, and so if he’s going to cleanse the temple, it has to be during Holy Week. Now, if it was during Holy Week or not, I don’t know, but the interesting thing is that in the Fourth Gospel he goes to the temple very early in his ministry and further, during Holy Week, according to Matthew, Mark and Luke, when he cleanses the temple and they ask him by what authority, he says "By what authority did John baptize?" In other words, Jesus’ response in Holy Week with John long dead, connects his cleansing of the temple with John the Baptist. I suspect that John, the Fourth Gospel, may be right at this point, that Jesus went very early to cleanse that temple. Jesus was under the spell of John the Baptist. Jesus was waiting for God to come in dramatically to intervene and to bring about the ultimate judgment that involved violence, and his address at the temple at the early part of his ministry, according to the Fourth Gospel, is indicative that he was growing in the mode of John the Baptist. There’s another interesting thing in the early part of the Gospel. The temptation narratives – where Jesus is struggling in the wilderness according to what kind of © Grand Valley State University �If God Is…That Means Richard A. Rhem Page 4   person he is, what kind of ministry he is to have, what his identity is to be – are early in Matthew, Mark and Luke. John A. T. Robinson suggests that maybe those temptation narratives were indicative of the fact that Jesus, beginning with John the Baptist in the mode of John the Baptist, comes to a point of personal crisis and struggles with who he is to be, and he comes out of the wilderness, out of the temptation narratives. Go to Luke’s Gospel, in the fourth chapter, where Jesus is now in Galilee giving his inaugural sermon. What does he do? He stands up to preach, quoting Isaiah 61, "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor and to give sight to the blind...." and that quotation concludes, "to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord." Now, if you go the Isaiah passage from which he is quoting, you will find out that the prophet did not stop at "the favorable year of the Lord." The prophet said, "to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord, the day of God’s vengeance." That is deleted. Either Jesus deleted it or Luke interpreting Jesus deleted it, but in any case, there is a very, very clear clue that Jesus was not about vengeance, and Luke, when he writes this Gospel, knows Jesus was not about vengeance, even though the passage from which Jesus quotes to proclaim his program and his vision of healing concluded with “the day of the Lord’s vengeance.” Jesus didn’t say it because he was no longer about a God of violence that edged toward vengeance. Jesus was about healing; he was about grace; he was about the stuff we read in that passage from the Sermon on the Mount, which is in Luke the Sermon on the Plain. That impossible stuff about turning the other cheek, about lending and not expecting it to be returned. That impossible ethic that comes out of Jesus and that sermonic material that says love your enemies. Love your enemies! Love your enemies, in order to emulate God. Be ye therefore merciful as God is merciful, God who is good to the selfish and the ungrateful. Or, in Matthew’s version, who causes the sun to shine on the just and the unjust, and the rain to fall on the gardens of the good and the evil, the God who make no discrimination. Be children of God, be merciful as God is merciful. Be compassionate as God is compassionate. Well, even in the dungeon in Marchaerus where John the Baptist who had been arrested was mouldering away, they slipped in The New York Times and he read what Jesus was about. Pansy stuff: healing, forgiving, being gracious, soft stuff, stuff that seemed to lack discrimination. Where was the fire! Where was the sickle being ready to be thrust into the vineyard to reap the earth in order that the winepress of the wrath of God might overflow? John had a vision for Jesus. It was the vision of Elijah returned. It is the vision of Elijah which comes from Malachi that I read a moment ago, that messenger of the covenant that will come, who will prepare the way of the Lord, the great and terrible day of the Lord, who will be like a refiner’s fire, who will purify the righteous and damn the wicked. Elijah’s return was to prepare for the dramatic © Grand Valley State University �If God Is…That Means Richard A. Rhem Page 5   in-breaking of God. John the Baptist saw Jesus as Elijah. You may say, "No, no, no, John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus the Messiah." No. The first chapter of John’s Gospel records the question to John the Baptist, "Are you Elijah?" "No. No. I’m not Elijah. I’m a voice. I’m pointing to Elijah who is to come, who is to prepare the way of the Lord." Now, John is reading The New York Times about what’s going on in Galilee, all kinds of healing and nice things happening, gentle things happening, and he says, "What in the world is going on?" He sends two of his disciples to Jesus to say, "Are you the one? Or do we look for another? Did I get it wrong? Are you not the one I thought you were?" Years ago in the days of my youth I preached a marvelous sermon on that text. It was about John in the dungeon, almost losing his faith, full of doubt, sending his disciples to Jesus to say, "Is it going to be okay?" And Jesus says, "Sure, look what’s happening. Go tell John it’s going to be okay. I’m the one. Tell John to relax and die in peace." That was how to deal with religious doubt; it was a great sermon. And it was wrong. It’s not what this is all about at all. John is in prison. I think John was ready to die, that wasn’t the problem. But, John’s boy has it wrong! The program! Where’s the program? Where’s the fire? Where’s the judgment? Jesus, very indirectly and carefully, says to these disciples of John, "Go tell John what you see and hear. The blind are seeing, the lame are walking, the deaf are hearing, the poor have good news proclaimed to them." And then he says a strange thing. "Happy is the one who takes no offense in me." John took offense in Jesus. Jesus was a pansy. Jesus compromised the program. Jesus wasn’t preparing for the winepress of the wrath of God. He was talking about forgiveness and grace and compassion. So Jesus said, "Go tell him what you see," but actually, contrary to what I preached many, many years ago, that Jesus was saying, "Go tell John, Yes, it’s fine. Yes, I am, I am," Jesus was saying, "Go tell John No, I’m not the one. As a matter of fact, John, you are Elijah, the Elijah figure from the prophecy of Malachi is the projection of you, John. You are Elijah fulfilling that role. "Who am I, then, John? Well, in my own struggle, John, my mentor and my friend whom I respect, let me tell you there’s another part of the prophetic witness: Isaiah. There is the suffering servant, one who doesn’t snuff out the smoldering wick or crush the bruised reed. There’s the suffering servant who doesn’t lift up his voice. There’s the suffering servant who goes as a lamb to the slaughter. John, I am not the one you thought I was. I cannot fulfill the role of Elijah in Malachi. It’s Isaiah for me, because I’ve come to see, John, that your God is a God marked by violence, edging toward vengeance to effect the final © Grand Valley State University �If God Is…That Means Richard A. Rhem Page 6   solution and, John, I don’t believe that violence and vengeance can ever effect the final solution." The disciples left and Jesus began to talk about John. He said, "Whom did you go out to see? A reed? Someone dressed in gorgeous robes? Of course not. Did you go out to see a prophet? Yes, you did. Yes, and more than a prophet, let me tell you. Of all of those born of women there is none greater than John the Baptist." Great affirmation. Great respect. But then Jesus went on to say, "But I tell you the least in the kingdom of God (that is, the movement that I am leading), the least in the kingdom of God is greater than John the Baptist, because John the Baptist isn’t even in this ball game. This is a protest of nonviolent justice because I sense that God is that way." What triggered that move in Jesus? Well, of course, who knows? But I wonder if it was not simply the fact that Jesus could see that violence begets violence. Look at the generations and the centuries of the feud in Ireland and the Balkans and the Middle East. Blood feuds never die. Violence begets violence, and there is no transformation. Violence can coerce, violence can crush, violence can destroy, but violence cannot transform, and I suspect that Jesus came to see that and to see that the alternative was to face violence non-aggressively, nonviolently. Now, of course, when you do that, you make yourself vulnerable to death, and they killed him. They killed Gandhi, too. They killed Martin Luther King, too. One whose God is a nonviolent God is one who stands in nonviolent protest against the way things are and absorbs the darkness and receives the world’s verdict which is to die. If God is nonviolent, then those who see God through the lens of Jesus are called to nonviolence, but, but, but, ... I’m not ready for that. Are you? But, maybe, even the acknowledgment of that might be one moment of honesty and truth-telling in the midst of Lent. To be continued. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/9d850bd6186524b8a3dc96a21c00694d.mp3 746ff15a96876ff54e98330b05f1a6f3 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 God In the Mirror of a Human Face Scripture Text Luke 7:28, 6:27, 35-36 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19990307 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-03-07 Title A name given to the resource If God Is...That Means...But... Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on March 7, 1999 entitled "If God Is...That Means...But...", as part of the series "God In the Mirror of a Human Face", on the occasion of Lent III, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Luke 7:28, 6:27, 35-36. Historical Jesus Lent Nature of God Non-violent Justice https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/139f4481f621ddf12e571e8dcb6eb02a.pdf 380923680575ca04bb2aa81a0d07174a PDF Text Text Brazen to the End From the series: A True Story, the Gospel and Forgiveness Text: Luke 23:39 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Lent, March 10, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon "A True Story, The Gospel and Forgiveness." That’s the overall theme of our reflections during this Lenten season, midweek, and we have raised the question about the possibility of forgiveness and whether or not it’s even moral, and we have seen that attitudes and actions do have their consequences, quite apart from whether or not forgiveness is possible and moral. This evening the meditation is entitled, "Brazen to the End," and I was going to deal with the one criminal crucified with Jesus who was brazen to the end, to be followed next week by the other criminal who pled for mercy in his dying hour. But, next week we’ll have a special opportunity to hear The Rev. Dr. Mel White, our evening preacher in a Lenten service of this format, but with a special theme and emphasis. So, I’m going to have to lump the two criminals together and retitle the meditation. Perhaps I could say "Broken or Brazen at the End." That’s pretty good, eh? You get the whole thing and I only have half the work, you see. "Broken or Brazen at the End." Last Lenten season on a Sunday morning I made history; it was the first time from a Christian pulpit that a rebellious criminal got any good press. I suggested that there was something heroic about his "No" all the way to the end. (We only lost one family. No sense of humor, I guess.) Well, obviously, Luke sets us up and his intention is clear. He has that magnificent word of Jesus, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do," which will be the text for two weeks from tonight. And then he has the two criminals, the one brazen to the end, railing at Jesus with his last breath, with no intention or indication that there was anything like repentance or second thoughts going on in his life. And then the other criminal, of course, pleading with Jesus to remember him, acknowledging that what he was receiving was the just dessert of his deeds but pleading for mercy, nonetheless, which mercy was granted him by the promise of Jesus. And, of course, the Gospel intention of Luke was to show the magnificent grace of Jesus and to show two opposite reactions, one a brazen attitude all the way to the last breath, the other a brokenness that opened oneself up for mercy. © Grand Valley State University   �Brazen to the End Richard A. Rhem Page 2   If I were to deal only with the one this evening, I would simply have pointed out the fact that one can only receive forgiveness when one is open to being forgiven. I can forgive you for something you do to me, in spite of your desire for it or your openness to it or any response to it. Of course, I can do that. And it will, as a matter of fact, be good for me to do that, psychologically, emotionally, spiritually. But, I can’t effect in you the benefit of being forgiven if you are not open to it, and the reason a year ago I tried to look at the rebellious criminal from a little different angle was the fact that we are so quick to look at that snapshot from the cross and to say the one was bad and damned in his rebelliousness, the other was bad, forgiven in his plea for mercy, and premature closure says that’s all there is to it. But, that’s not all there is to it, really. The story that has triggered this series is The Sunflower, the account by Simon Wiesenthal of his experience as a prisoner in the death camps of the Nazis, who is pulled aside by a nurse to come to the bedside of a dying SS officer who pours out his awful tale of the horrendous things of which he has been a part and for which he accepts responsibility, needing to confess and, pouring out this story in the presence of a Jew because the Jewish people were the object of the terror and the violence of which he was a part. The story ended with Wiesenthal’s question, "Should I have forgiven him?" Actually, he listened to the story and he left without saying a word. No word of human compassion or pity, and certainly no word of forgiveness. He just left the room. I think the very fact that he tells the story is perhaps indicative of the fact that he needed to do what that Nazi needed to do. He needed to tell his own story because he has never rested quite easily with the fact that he left a dying man pleading for some word of compassion or forgiveness without saying a word. But there are many respondents to the story, which Wiesenthal leaves with the question asking each of us, "What would you have done?" Most of the respondents did as one particular British journalist did, saying, I cannot answer the question, what I would have done. I don’t think any of us knows what we would have done, given that circumstance, given the depths of the suffering of those prisoners in that situation. I don’t think any of us knows what we would have done. So, I’m not going to judge that. But let me deal with it in terms of the question, What should I have done? This is one of the respondents who very clearly says there should have been offered some word of compassion, some word of grace, and he, as a matter of fact, points to this Gospel paragraph that we read where Jesus says, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." When you read Wiesenthal’s story and when you see all the respondents who struggle over that question, "What would I have done?" or "What should I have done?" you realize the complexity of this matter of forgiveness in human relationships and, of course, ultimately, forgiveness in terms of God and the © Grand Valley State University �Brazen to the End Richard A. Rhem Page 3   Ultimate, the Absolute. We realize that it is just not as simple as we are wont to make it. Forgiveness is such common fare; we talk about it all the time; we use it in our liturgies and in our sermons, and yet, the more I think about forgiveness, the more I recognize what a complex matter that is, for forgiveness must affect something in the one forgiven. The reason that I say a good word about the criminal who never repented is that he was one of those, like a Simon Wiesenthal. Barabbas, the person mentioned in one of the other Gospels whom Pilate wanted to release, is called an insurrectionist, and the Romans didn’t crucify petty thieves. You can bet that all of the crosses that lined the hillsides out of Jerusalem were political terrorists, rebels, revolutionaries, threats to the peace and order of the State, and we know that Jesus made his protest against the way the world was with non-violence, but we know, as well, that there were zealots, there were guerilla bands, there were revolutionaries roaming the countryside, and who of us can say where we would have been in a case like that? Where there is the heel of the oppressor on the neck of a people. We, ourselves, American people, are the beneficiaries of those who rebelled and revolted against that which they considered unjust which was nothing compared to what was going on in first century Palestine. So, once again, the reason that I’m just not ready to damn that brazen thief is that, like with Wiesenthal, I don’t know what he was suffering. I don’t know what he went through. I think it’s possible for a human being to be so damaged and so wounded that he can never, never emotionally yield his hatred and his violence. It’s just too easy for me just to say, "Well, then he’s damned to hell." But, to die that way is a terrible way to die, and Luke was obviously setting up the other criminal as a model modeled after Jesus. What I am experiencing and suffering I have earned, nevertheless, I plea for mercy, for forgiveness. And what’s going on in these two cases? What is not going on in the brazen one is that coming to self-awareness that sets him free from his anger and his hatred and his woundedness. That’s what’s going on. And what’s going on in the other one is that same self-awareness that overtook that young German SS officer who said, "My God, what have I done?", whose repentance was deep and genuine. To come to that awareness, a certain integrity of being, an owning of one’s life and one’s story, is the prerequisite for receiving the benefit and the blessing of forgiveness. So, is that it, then? In spite of the fact that we handle gently the brazen one because we don’t know how wounded he may have been, and affirm the other one because his awareness came before his last breath, is that all there is, then? It was thinking about that that got me thinking years ago, back in the mid-80s, about the ancient Church’s teaching of purgatory, the fact that none of us at the end of our life, in spite of whether or not we may have perceived the word of forgiveness, is ready for the presence of God. That for the best of us as well as the worst of us, there is a good deal of cleaning up that must be necessary, a good © Grand Valley State University �Brazen to the End Richard A. Rhem Page 4   deal more of self-awareness and consequently of repentance and transformation. It was at that point that I began to see the wisdom of the ancient Church’s teaching on purgatory and then I came across this marvelous paragraph from C.S. Lewis in his Letters to Malcolm, who says, Our souls demand purgatory, don’t they? Would it not break the heart if God said to us, "It is true, my son, that your breath smells and your rags drip with mud and slime, but we are charitable here and no one will upbraid you with these things, nor draw away from you. Enter into the joy!" Should we not reply, "With submission, Sir, and if there is no objection, I’d rather be cleaned first." "It may hurt, you know." "Even so, Sir." I assume that the process of purification will normally involve suffering, partly from tradition, partly because most real good that has been done to me in this life has involved it, but I don’t think suffering is the purpose of the purgation. I can well believe that people neither much worse nor much better than I will suffer less than I or more, no nonsense about merit. The treatment given will be the one required, whether it hurts little or much. My favorite image on this matter comes from the dentist chair. I hope that when the tooth of life is drawn and I am coming ‘round, a voice will say, "Rinse out your mouth with this." This will be purgatory. And so, you see, I think it’s much too simple and superficial to have us live our respective lives, some a little better, some a little worse, but like C. S. Lewis said, no nonsense about merit. But, it’s too simple and too superficial to say that at the end of it all one says, "Forgive me," or one continues to say "No" and to have that be the eternal issue of our being. I heard tell some time ago of an old fellow whose funeral was conducted and the family was so delighted by the fact that two days before he died he was led to the Lord by a nurse. Well, that can be wonderful. But, I mean, the family was so happy about the fact that the old man escaped the fires of hell and was entered into the pearly gates because two days before his death he finally said, "Yes." Does that really make sense? Does that really resonate with you? It doesn’t with me, frankly. Much more, our lives are being lived out as a tale that is told and we’ll come, sooner or later, before the face of God, and some of us sooner and some of us later may find all of the stuff of our lives that’s so sour, causing such dysfunction and distortion, finally draining away, and then, then maybe that moment of awareness will come. And is not salvation finally simply awareness, honesty and integrity before the face of God? Isn’t that all God intends in the creation of complex creatures like us? © Grand Valley State University �Brazen to the End Richard A. Rhem Page 5   Christopher Hollis, the journalist who responded to the Wiesenthal story, told of an old medieval legend in which the disciples re-gathered around a table in heaven with Jesus to re-celebrate the Last Supper, and there was a vacant chair until the door opened and Judas entered and Jesus rose and kissed him and said, "We’ve been waiting for you." I don’t think God will quit until the last child has come to the table. References: C. S. Lewis. Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer. Harcourt, Inc., 1964. Simon Wiesenthal. The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness. Shocken: revised expanded edition, 1998. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/eb5708f240f6bdebb02b11ecf725263a.mp3 dd17db0daffdffa559e8e6d94d11c1c4 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 A True Story, The Gospel and Forgiveness Scripture Text Luke 23:39 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI References C. S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm, 1964 Simon Wiesenthal, The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness, 1998 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19990310 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-03-10 Title A name given to the resource Brazen to the End Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on March 10, 1999 entitled "Brazen to the End", as part of the series "A True Story, The Gospel and Forgiveness", on the occasion of Midweek Lent, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Luke 23:39. Forgiveness Lent Purgatory https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/92992b6aa3d8b5d4a4a8903f5ff9588f.pdf 3d9d78ff830b00b996f30c61a03257b1 PDF Text Text God, Can’t You Do Something? From the series: God in the Mirror of a Human Face Text: Mark 14:36 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Lent, March 14, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon It has been my contention this Lenten season that it is critically important that we get a proper fix on the historical Jesus, because if we get it right on Jesus, we’ll get it right on God, and if we get it right on God, we’ll get it right in ourselves, for Jesus is the human face that mirrors God, and the God that we worship, the God that we serve, the God that we imagine is the God that will shape us, determine the contours of our life, the attitudes, the posture of our spirit. So, it’s so very important to get it right on Jesus in order to get it right on God, in order to be right ourselves. We have seen thus far two varying visions of Jesus, one by John the Baptist and the other by Jesus. Now, both John and Jesus were looking for the end of the world, not the space-time world so much as the end of the world as it is, structured through its institutions, through its society, through the powers that be. Both John and Jesus believed that there was something fundamentally wrong with the world, that it did not reflect the justice and the compassion that were the intentions of God. Both John and Jesus believed that there was a divine mandate for world transformation. Both of them were committed totally to the bringing in of the kingdom of God, and both of them were looking for God to break in dramatically and to execute righteousness with violence, at least for a time. That was basically John’s view, and there was a time in which Jesus identified with John. He was baptized by John. He and his disciples were baptizing and carrying on a mission similar to John in the vicinity where John was ministering in the early days of Jesus’ ministry. John’s vision was apocalyptic, the in-breaking of God, the purifying of the righteous, the damning of the wicked, the setting of things right, violently. Something happened in Jesus’ consciousness. Maybe it was reflected in the temptation narratives, where Jesus was seeking his own identity and the nature of his mission. But, there was a point, at least, when Jesus separated himself from John the Baptist. He moved from Judea in the south to Galilee in the north and there he was carrying on quite a different kind of ministry. We might describe it as a ministry of grace, a ministry of healing, a ministry that proclaimed good © Grand Valley State University   �God, Can’t You Do Something? Richard A. Rhem Page 2   news to the poor, that God had drawn near to all people, including all and excluding none. It was quite a different message than that with which he began, the message of John the Baptist, of the imminent judgment of God. What happened? Well, whatever happened, John wondered, too. He was, in the meantime, imprisoned by Herod, and in the prison he heard reports of Jesus’ gracious ministry, quite out of sync with that with which he had nurtured Jesus and mentored Jesus, and he sent two of his disciples to ask Jesus, "Are you the one? Or, should we look for another?" Jesus said to the disciples that came from John, "Go tell John what you see and hear, how the blind see and the deaf hear and the lame walk and the poor have good news preached to them." But, as a matter of fact, what Jesus was saying is, "Go tell John the answer to his question is ‘No, I am not the one he thought I was.’" John’s ministry, John’s vision was that of a God of justice who affects justice on the earth violently. Jesus’ vision and ministry was of a God of justice, non-violent justice, a God of infinite patience who would wait until justice would rise in the earth. Jesus distanced himself from John the Baptist, saying, in effect, to the disciples that came to him, "Go tell John I am not who he thought I was, because I have a different vision of the nature of God which, in turn, gives me a different cast to my mission to bring in the kingdom of God." John, obviously, must have been disappointed, and we can understand that. Certainly we can identify with John. John was one who wanted God to do something. Don’t you often want God to do something? Aside now from the great affairs of nations, cosmic events, even in our own lives, don’t we often want God to do something? Don’t we want a God that does something? Isn’t there something within us that stirs when we see corruption in high places and low places? Isn’t there something within us that rises up and wants God to do something when we read of yet another hate crime, another brutal slaying, another abortion clinic bombed? Isn’t there something in us that wants God to do something about the ugliness of all of the darkness in all of the tragedy that is visited upon humankind by structures of domination and oppression, by those in positions of power and privilege who would perpetuate that privilege and power by the oppression of the rest? That was going on in Palestine at the time of John the Baptist, Roman commercialization driving the peasants off their land, driving them into destitution. There was enough reason for one like John the Baptist who believed in God, who believed in justice, who believed in righteousness, there was enough in John the Baptist, to cause him legitimately to cry out to heaven and to say, "God, why don’t you do something?" © Grand Valley State University �God, Can’t You Do Something? Richard A. Rhem Page 3   I can identify with that, can’t you? If we can’t, then we aren’t aware of our own heart in which there resides always just beneath the surface the potential for violence in all of us. But, Jesus had come to the insight that by violence the kingdom of God could never come. Jesus must have arrived at the insight that it was only non-violent protest in the midst of the battle, in the heat of the day, consistently and firmly that would ever be the means of the transformation of the world. Jesus must have come to see that violence begets violence, begetting violence and more violence, even when it is the violence of God, for the kingdom of God could be imposed upon us violently, it could be brought upon us with coercion, it could be held in place by domination, and we would be the same as we are now. A totalitarian tyrant can enforce total morality and absolute justice, but that’s not the kingdom of God. Jesus must have come to see that the kingdom of God will dawn only when there is an inward awareness and a personal and social transformation of the world, and therefore, he followed the course that he did, a course which now led him to Jerusalem, to his denunciation of the establishment of the temple, to his last supper at Passover time on the eve of his death, of which he must have been fully aware, and he went to Gethsemane with his disciples to pray. That’s where we find him, in prayer. Falling on his face on the ground, crying out, "O God, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me." "Afraid to die, Jesus?" Oh, probably not, although execution on a Roman cross is enough to create fear and trembling in anyone. "Feeling the absence of God, Jesus?" Probably not, at least in Mark’s portrait we have Jesus using the most intimate address possible, "Abba," "Pappa." "What was it, then, Jesus, this cup that you wanted removed, this foreboding, this sinking feeling, this being torn inside, this wrenching of your soul, this being totally distraught, this condition worse than death? What was it, Jesus? Was it that you were now in the position that John the Baptist had been a year earlier? When John sent his disciples with his question, when John was wondering whether he, John, had gotten it wrong, whether his whole life project had been wrong? Was it like that, Jesus? Were you wondering, did you get it right? Were you wondering in the face of the darkness that you were encountering, were you wondering in the face of the entrenched evil in the world, were you wondering whether or not your vision of God was adequate? Could a God of non-violence ever bring in the kingdom of peace? "Jesus, were you wondering whether or not that vision by which you lived that you learned in Isaiah, the suffering servant, the suffering servant who does not © Grand Valley State University �God, Can’t You Do Something? Richard A. Rhem Page 4   crush the bruised reed or snuff out the smoldering wick, the servant who goes as a lamb to the slaughter, who resists not, are you wondering whether that model of your ministry which was reflective of your understanding of God - were you wondering whether or not it was adequate to the darkness of the world that you were facing? Is that what you were struggling with, Jesus? For, certainly in the heat of the battle, you must have sensed the overwhelming power of the way things are, which is fundamentally wrong. "Did you wonder if maybe John, with his God Who affects justice through violence, might have been wrong, after all?" Whatever he was wrestling with, he finally won through to freedom when he was able to say, "Not my will, but Thy will be done." I suspect that if we could have encountered a conversation between Jesus and his Father in heaven, Jesus might have said, "Is there no other way? Can’t you do something?" And the answer would have been, "No, I can’t do anything, given Who I Am, and the intention of creation and the goal of My dream. No, Jesus. There’s no other way." "What, then, must I do?" "Stay the course." "But, if I stay the course, I’ll die." "Yes. You will die." Was it, then, the will of God that Jesus die? Absolutely not. It was the will of God that Jesus should continue to be what Jesus had been, continuing that nonviolent protest against all that was wrong, standing for all that was right, revealing the compassion and the grace of God that embraced all and excluded none. That was God’s intention and will for Jesus. But, it would get him killed, executed, the separation of his body and his blood. Was there no other way? No other way, because violence, even God’s violent, final solution, breeds violence, stiffens resistance, builds walls, and can never create community. Jesus died, but he was free, he was free, because, you see, if I look into the mirror and I see at least some semblance of similarity to the contours of the face of Jesus, then I’ll know that my face reflects what his face reflects, which is the justice and the grace and the compassion of God. And if I’m sure of that, I’m free. You can do anything. You can strip me of everything, but if I see the reflection of my face in the mirror that had all the reflection of Jesus, then I’m strong, then I’m free. © Grand Valley State University �God, Can’t You Do Something? Richard A. Rhem Page 5   "God, why don’t You do something?" "Why don’t you do something? You’re waiting for me? I’m waiting for you. It’s in your hands, this world that I’ve created." "Well, then certainly a God like You, a pansy God, a milktoast God, a passive God will never bring in the kingdom. How long will it take?" "I don’t know. How long will it take?" Is that God of Jesus too weak for you? Does it disquiet you a bit, that passive God of grace and justice? Well, let me just remind you that we know the agent of imperial power resident in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus; his name was Pontius Pilate. We know him because his name was inserted into the creed that confesses Jesus as Lord. And Jesus, the one whose blood was separated from his body, through 2000 years has continued to elicit the best, create the highest nobility and commitment of those who have followed in his steps. Of course, it will cost everything ... as Gandhi found, Bonhoeffer found, Martin Luther King found. It will cost everything, but, by God, you’ll be free. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ff945147a66586d6caf9967444e1145d.mp3 5905a82cdb590daf9f12316e116c2842 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 God In the Mirror of a Human Face Scripture Text Mark 14:36 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19990314 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-03-14 Title A name given to the resource God, Can't You Do Something? Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on March 14, 1999 entitled "God, Can't You Do Something?", as part of the series "God In the Mirror of a Human Face", on the occasion of Lent IV, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Mark 14:36. Compassion Divine Intention Justice Nature of God Way of Jesus https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3f5a00df92002a507eb429a2babad46d.pdf dbf4c2556624e1df8af1fc5a7cee8420 PDF Text Text I Really Can’t (Choose Not To) Follow From the series: God in the Mirror of a Human Face Text: Mark 8:34; I Peter 2:21 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Lent, March 21, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon My contention: We must get Jesus right, the historical Jesus, because Jesus’ face is the human face that mirrors the nature and character of God. If we get Jesus right, we will get God right, and if we get God right, we will be right. The God we imagine and worship determines the kind of people we become. In the Gospels we have two very different images of God: That of John the Baptist who, with many of his contemporaries, was living in the expectation of the dramatic in-breaking of God to end the world as it was organized, a world of oppression under the heel of Imperial Rome. God would come in fiery judgment to throw down the social structures of oppression and human abuse; the wicked would be burned as chaff, the righteous established in God’s kingdom of righteousness. That final solution involved God in counterviolence to the violence that God’s people had suffered from imperial power. Though beginning with John, at some point Jesus distanced himself from John, moved north to Galilee and inaugurated a ministry of grace whose keynote was the nearness of God to all, the unbrokered presence of God accessible to all, symbolized in the open table, the shared meal. Jesus’ vision was not apocalyptic; it was, to use the designation of John Dominic Crossan, “ethical eschatology.” Jesus, like John, believed the normal way the world was organized and run was fundamentally wrong, for the organizing principle was power - political, military, economic, religious– power that, said Jesus, is not reflective of the nature and character of God, nor of God’s intention for Creation. Not Power, but Justice. But not simply justice: rather, non-violent justice; that was the key. John wanted justice, too, and he wanted God to level the playing field any way God could - let wrath roar, but square the accounts of the world. © Grand Valley State University   �I Can’t (Choose Not To) Follow Richard A. Rhem Page 2   Not so Jesus; he came to see that justice by coercion fails to create a new world. "One convinced against one’s will is of the same opinion still," claims the old adage. As we gather, an emergency meeting of the Defense and Security people in Washington are gathering with the President about the situation in Kosovo. What are you guessing will be the decision? How would you make the call? Here is one of those terribly difficult decisions that this government is called on to make - not alone, of course - but nonetheless as the lone superpower. I mention that because, should we take military action, we may avert a human slaughter, diminish human suffering, halt an aggressor. Force can do that. But will we change anything? There would be service to some semblance of justice, but a coerced semblance of justice holds in check a greater evil while failing utterly to effect the kind of transformation that is reflective of the world order that was envisioned by Jesus. Jesus went another way - the way of non-violent protest. He did that in a very concrete cultural situation - in rural Galilee under Roman rule Commercialization was driving peasant farmers off their land. He did not need to call those who followed him to leave all. They had lost all. And if on occasion a person of wealth inquired about what he should do to enter the kingdom of which Jesus spoke, he said, "Sell all, give it away and follow me if you want to be part of this movement. Get out of the system; let your known, familiar world cease to be and join us in a “companionship of empowerment." That’s Crossan’s descriptive term, not teacher-disciple. That would still be a structure of domination, not a fellowship of equality. The best example I can give you in our century is Gandhi, who recognized that somehow or other British rule in India was focused around salt and the fabric industry. Remember Gandhi’s march to the sea? Well, they began to make their own salt and they began to spin their own cotton, and when a mass of people opt out of the way a world is running, that world collapses, it breaks down. You remember in the film the moment when the masses were there in front of the British guns and the guns began to bark and then had to be called off, because any oppressor with a modicum of humanity cannot just mow down human beings. Unfortunately, our world has known instances of those who could do that, but anyone with a grain of humanity within cannot simply gun down a mass of people who offer their bodies because they will no longer play the game that way. That’s really, I think, what Jesus was about, and if our world had known more people who would have followed the radicality of Jesus such as a Gandhi, our world just might be farther along in this emerging evolutionary movement toward humanization. © Grand Valley State University �I Can’t (Choose Not To) Follow Richard A. Rhem Page 3   Oh, it’s not easy - I really can’t follow, nor can I choose not to follow. That’s the Lenten dilemma, when I’m faced starkly with Jesus’ call to take up my cross. To take up my cross is not to buy a bathrobe and sandals and give away everything I have and go out on the street. That’s imitating Jesus in a literalistic fashion and it makes no sense. Let me be clear - following Jesus is always a culturally specific action. It is an action in light of my concrete situation. It is not the imitation of Jesus; it is doing what Jesus would do, were Jesus in my shoes, for Jesus’ enemies are not my enemies, and Jesus’ concrete instances of injustice are not mine. I’ve got to determine what it means to follow Jesus in an economy where the stock market is nudging 10,000. I have to determine what following in Jesus’ steps means in a world that is driven into consumerism by PR, advertising firms that encourage me to acquisition. I have to learn what following Jesus means in a world that is under threat of pollution, a world that is marked still by terrible racism that obtrudes itself occasionally in the disastrous brutality of the police slayings of recent times. I have to decide what it means to follow Jesus in a world of gay bashing and neo-Nazi manifestation. I have to decide what it means to follow Jesus in a world where the most shrill voice and meanest spirit– I say in the presence of God – I find in the representatives of the religious right. That’s how I have to determine the shape of following in his steps, and it’s not easy. It’s very complex. The Church should have known long before it did that it belonged on the side of the civil rights struggle of the sixties, of the feminist issue in the recent decades, and the present era of homophobia. The Church should know long before it finally comes kicking and dragging into the kingdom where it ought to be on issues like that. But, it’s not always clear. I can never get through Lent without going to my dear Bonhoeffer who was convinced in his heart of hearts that Jesus called us to non-violence, who was essentially himself a pacifist, and yet who left the safety of this country in 1939 returning to Germany, finally to be joined up by a conspiracy to assassinate Hitler, a conspiracy which failed and which resulted in his incarceration and his martyrdom. Eduard Bethke, his biographer, was asked when he came to this country on a speaking tour how Bonhoeffer, with his convictions about pacifism, could have gotten involved in that violent solution, and Bethke said, "What do you do when someone is going up and down the street killing people?" It’s not easy, you see. Because we live not in the kingdom of God. It has dawned, but it has not fully arrived and, consequently, there’s light and shadow and it’s all intertwined and we are all caught up in it, all heavily invested in the way things are. There are often situations that are not clear-cut, and we need to be patient with one another and in conversation with one another. But finally, finally I am called to follow in his steps because I do believe that the heart of God is mirrored in the face of Jesus. I believe that what Jesus was about is what God was about © Grand Valley State University �I Can’t (Choose Not To) Follow Richard A. Rhem Page 4   and that it has cosmic, historical, human implications all the way down the line. The possibility of the realization, the dream of God, that dream of a human community, of humane existence, of the humanization of society - that that is what Jesus was about because he believed that was what God was about and I do believe that is the grain of the universe moving that way. But God, with infinite patience, waits. Not full of wrath ready to bubble over, saying to us, "It’s your only possibility. Power won’t do it. Violence, even my violence, will defeat the very purpose with which I said ‘Let there be ...’ I only wait until finally here and there, now and again, someone catches the dream, the vision, the impossible dream for this world that I love, and I can imagine that when Jesus moved from Gethsemane to the judgment hall, he might well have written the words from The Man of La Mancha – To dream the impossible dream, to fight the unbeatable foe, to bear with unbearable sorrow, to run where the brave dare not go. To right the unrightable wrong, to love pure and chaste from afar, to try when your arms are too weary, to reach the unreachable star. This is my quest: to follow that star, no matter how hopeless, no matter how far. to fight for the right without question or pause, to be willing to march into hell for a heavenly cause! And I know, if I’ll only be true to this glorious quest, that my heart will lie peaceful and calm when I’m laid to my rest. And the world will be better for this: That one man, scorned and covered with scars, still strove with his last ounce of courage to reach the unreachable stars! (Joe Darton) – because God so loved the world. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e0c40486f6dbb367d29248d6492cd911.mp3 92c96e66e37e14d4fd112f5c1d35eecb 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 God In the Mirror of a Human Face Scripture Text Mark 8:34, I Peter 2:21 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-0-19990321 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-03-21 Title A name given to the resource I Really Can't (Choose Not To) Follow Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on March 21, 1999 entitled "I Really Can't (Choose Not To) Follow", as part of the series "God In the Mirror of a Human Face", on the occasion of Lent V, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Mark 8:34, I Peter 2:21. Divine Intention Grace Justice Non-violence https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/10f53f9540bd5d4d7197013a0e0c947a.pdf 238f0a5a270343cb71ff597e636b6f44 PDF Text Text “Father, forgive them…” From the series: A True Story: The Gospel and Forgiveness Text: Luke 23:34 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan March 24, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon "A True Story: The Gospel and Forgiveness," has been our Lenten theme this season. The story is the story written by Simon Wiesenthal reflecting his own experience in the Nazi concentration camp, being pulled aside at one point and taken into the room of a dying Nazi officer who poured out his confession, his terrible atrocity that he had perpetrated as one of the SS troops, burning alive a village of Jews, a horrible story, pleading to this one token Jew, as it were, to forgive him. Wiesenthal listened to the story, sat almost paralyzed, then he rose and left without saying a word, and the little book, The Sunflower, that he writes, concludes with the question, not an answer, but with the question, "What would you have done?" That’s where we began a few weeks ago and tonight we bring our reflections on that question to a conclusion. Probably not to a conclusion in terms of being finished with it, but at least for these Wednesday night considerations. The matter of forgiveness is much more complex than I had ever been aware, which may sound very strange because it would seem that being in the ministry almost 40 years now, would not forgiveness be the stuff that I have dealt with every day? In thought and reflection and in relationships, preaching and teaching, forgiveness - it seems like it is the most obvious commodity with which we in the church have to do. And yet, I think that in these weeks I have thought about it at a level at which I have never thought about it before, and it’s a much more complex matter than I ever realized. That’s why I began with the question a few weeks ago, "Is it possible, is it moral?" The Jewish traditions say I cannot forgive you for something that you’ve done to another. I can only forgive you for what you’ve done to me. It is very easy for us, with our Gospel of grace, to move into cheap grace and cheap grace would fail to take seriously the plight of the victim. It would devalue the victim and tend simply to shove everything under the rug. It’s very easy to do that. We have seen that actions and attitudes do have their consequences. © Grand Valley State University   �Father, forgive them… Richard A. Rhem Page 2   Forgiveness does not rule out the consequence of what we have done. There is a harvest at the end of our days and, in the meantime, as well. And yet, forgiveness certainly must be possible, for we are in a dead-end situation of unrelieved darkness, but it is a complex matter, and I wonder if the fact that I hadn’t really ever wrestled with the nature of forgiveness or what was involved or its possibility is not because I was raised, as I suppose most of you were, with a very traditional idea of the atoning death of Jesus Christ as the place where forgiveness was procured for us. Are you with me? God is holy; we have sinned. We cannot do anything about our situation, for we daily increase our debt. Does that sound like catechism? And consequently, if anything were to be done for us to deliver us from the weight of our sin, it would have to be by another. God provided another. Jesus came to die for our sins. He bore our sins away, thereby making possible forgiveness. That’s the way you learned it, isn’t it? And there’s something powerful about that image and when I speak about it tonight, I don’t want you to hear caricature. I hope I won’t caricature nor ridicule. I simply want you to know that, as I’m thinking about that and it’s not just in this Lenten season but in these more recent years, I’ve come to recognize that that image falls short, and I think it falls short here - that atoning death of Jesus that took away our sin and created the possibility for God to forgive us in the traditional understanding, that was a transaction that happened apart from us. Martin Luther was so strong at that point. It happened apart from us, on our behalf, and it had a very objective element about it. There was a debt to be settled, a score to be settled, and to use the phrase of another Lutheran writer, Jesus took the rap for us, and that happens in the evangelical and orthodox presentation of atonement theory, that happens apart from us. There’s an old hymn, "‘Tis done, ‘tis done, the great transaction’s done," and that imagery has been repeated in the old hymns and in our liturgies. The Reformed Church liturgy of many, many years had this statement, "He was forsaken by God that we need never be forsaken." "Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain, he washed it white as snow." "There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins and sinners plunged beneath that flood loose all their guilty stains." Something happened between God and Jesus objectively, out there, on my behalf, quite apart from any engagement by me. That’s a rather powerful imagery and one can see what was going on. Our debt, our sins transferred to another who suffered the wrath of God on our behalf in order that we might be set free, forgiven. Now, I’m suggesting that I never really wrestled with forgiveness that much because that was all so matter-of-fact and taken for granted, and so what’s the big deal? Well, that’s not quite fair, because it was a big deal. Some of us might have © Grand Valley State University �Father, forgive them… Richard A. Rhem Page 3   sung some of those old hymns with tears in our eyes. There was a deep emotional engagement with that idea because there was this gracious act of God in that God supplied the one who took the rap for us. But, think about it for a moment: In that conception of things, there is no forgiveness. That is not forgiveness. God got God’s pound of flesh. Someone took the rap for us. The penalty due was meted out. God didn’t forgive anything, which means that even God is subject to a moral absolute. Even God couldn’t simply say, "I forgive you." God had to arrange this elaborate structure of substitutionary atonement because the absolute, the moral absolute, the law is even above God, and it will be satisfied by God. And so, if God would embrace us and take us home, God has some dealing to do. But, once again, this is quite apart from anything really happening in my being. Do you hear me? You could learn this stuff in the catechism. You might on occasion even be moved at the thought that there was a love of God that provided that elaborate institution by which God could now embrace us, but God had a problem and God had to deal with it and so, as a matter of fact, there was no forgiveness. God can’t forgive, obviously. I think that that old, traditional imagery which we took for granted, had been spoon-fed from childhood up, showed us the formula by which to receive our reprieve without it ever necessarily touching us or changing us. Now, I want to suggest that that image of God has been called in question here, that image of God sitting on a super throne, that moral governor of the universe out there, apart from us, setting up these respective transactions. Haven’t we been more inclined to seek God as an Ultimate Mystery flowing out into the whole cosmic drama, this 15 billion year adventure on which we are, beginning with whatever Big Bang was with the coalescing of matter, the emergence of inanimate matter, then animate matter, life, and then conscious life, and then human being, and then human history, human culture, that trajectory on which we are ourselves as we speak? And if God is that Ultimate Mystery Whose Spirit is the enlivening, energizing, creative force moving through all that is, pushing, nudging, driving toward human humanity, humanization, then it is not as though some governor outside created us perfect, we falling, therefore taking upon ourselves the guilt for violating the law of the universe that even was above the governor, and that whole thing had to be somehow figured, but rather, we are in an emerging mode and we are still so much animal struggling for survival, clawing our way from the jungle, emerging out of the slime, moving toward human community, here and there, now and again it breaks forth, but it’s constantly driven back. We find ourselves moving in a humane fashion, only to find all of the old stuff in us rising up now and again. And it seems to me that the God of this process is not about satisfying some moral absolute that even holds God hostage, who needs some sacrifice, some satisfaction, but rather, a God who keeps pushing us, pushing us along, waiting © Grand Valley State University �Father, forgive them… Richard A. Rhem Page 4   for us patiently, a God who is not into punishment, not into retribution, for what is punishment, what is retribution in terms of where this thing is going? We bring upon ourselves our punishment. Certainly in the ordering of society it is necessary for law and order and all of that. That’s another whole complex thing. But, I’m thinking about the soul of the universe now. I’m thinking about where it’s all going; I’m thinking about that creative Spirit that’s pushing toward ultimate world community, ultimate humane existence, ultimate humanization and whatever other levels of being there may be beyond us. It seems to me that our new image of God might suggest, as the Psalmist suggests, that with that God there is forgiveness, not having to satisfy some external moral absolute out here, but with that God there is forgiveness and the image even more powerful of Jesus of the prodigal son who comes home, not to receive recrimination and condemnation and retribution, but the embrace of the father. And I come, finally, to my test. There’s Jesus dying who says, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." The most powerful, evocative emblem of the whole life and work of Jesus is in those words. "Father, forgive them." Just simply forgive them. Let it go, please. Because they don’t know what they are doing. Oh, they knew what they were doing; they knew good and well what they were doing. They knew as well what they were doing as Slobodan Milosevic knows what he’s doing, and our Administration and our Defense Department and our military know what they’re doing in these hours. They knew what they were doing in the short run. They were maintaining power and position and prestige and the status quo and business as usual and conventional wisdom. They knew what they were doing, in the short run. They didn’t know what they were doing in terms of this 15 billion year process that we’ve come to understand. They didn’t know what they were doing in terms of God’s intention and purpose, moving toward fuller humanization. They didn’t understand. They were blocking, they were hindering, they were throwing up barriers against where the Spirit would go with this whole thing of which we are a part. So, Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, because they don’t understand." Now, there he is, true God, true human. There you see it. There you see the heart of the Divine. There you see the intention of the human. And it seems to me that when we are encountered with that kind of spirit reflective of the divine Spirit, but incarnate in the human, our defenses are defeated. What happens when you are as guilty as hell and you face the one you have offended and you’re all ready to marshal your arguments, make your denials, line up your excuses, rationalize your behavior, and you meet grace and forgiveness. All of that which you have gotten ready with which to carry on a defense of your life project melts, and you begin to weep and there is a contrition that cannot be contrived that rushes to the surface, and you say, "Oh, my God." Then there’s a moment of self-awareness, a © Grand Valley State University �Father, forgive them… Richard A. Rhem Page 5   moment of honesty. There is then in the presence of such grace the capacity to own my story as my story, and then I’m forgiven. References: Simon Wiesenthal. The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness. Shocken, revised, expanded edition, 1998. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3772345027dd2f3e5dc99e5b032d623a.mp3 7f756cd38c93d8f4bba1b09847cd4738 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 A True Story, The Gospel and Forgiveness Scripture Text Luke 23:34 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-0-19990324 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-03-24 Title A name given to the resource Father, forgive them... Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on March 24, 1999 entitled "Father, forgive them...", as part of the series "A True Story, The Gospel and Forgiveness", on the occasion of Midweek Lent, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Luke 23:34. Forgiveness Grace Lent https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c66877a16ee019104e3eb13442a67054.pdf c147e2271c03ea72b369168fa1cdb35b PDF Text Text Jerusalem and Jesus: Déjà Vu Forever? From the series: God In the Mirror of a Human Face Text: Luke 19:42 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan March 28, 1999, Palm Sunday Transcription of the spoken sermon Luke’s portrait of Jesus was written over a half century after the events. By the time he wrote, the Temple at Jerusalem was an ash heap and the city no longer the center of Jewish faith nor of the Jewish Jesus movement. Thus, the words he puts in Jesus’ mouth as he overlooks the city from the Mount of Olives are not prediction but description of the actual situation when Luke wrote. But the core of Luke’s story, as well as that of the other Gospels, is most certainly true; Jesus came to Jerusalem. In the Synoptics he came only once; in John, three times. In any case, Luke, after the birth narratives, the Galilean ministry, puts Jesus on the way to Jerusalem (9:51.) The crisis will build until it spills over in his tears; he weeps for the City. He needed not to be a predictor of future events; any sensitive, insightful person might have known catastrophe was around the corner. In spite of his sense of the inevitable disaster, he entered the City and went to the heart of the religious, spiritual life of his people - the Temple. His coming was peaceful. Mark, followed by Matthew, has overtones of the Messiah King coming to claim his place. Neither Luke nor John present it as such, using instead the images found in Zechariah 9:9-10 of humility, peacefulness, non-apocalyptic, non-political. Jesus acted out symbolically his non-violent protest - he negated the Temple and all it stood for. It had become a den of thieves. The politics of domination and the economics of injustice were all tied up with the Temple as symbolic center, and Jesus’ symbolic action was the climax of his non-violent protest in the name of the God of justice. It was a dangerous, subversive action, for it called in question the legitimacy of the whole structural, religious, political, economic life of the Jewish nation under Roman imperial domination. For this action he was executed as a threat to the safety of the State. So, there Jesus is on the crest of Olivet overlooking the city - weeping, "O Jerusalem, if only you were able to recognize the things that make for peace. ... © Grand Valley State University   �Déjà vu Forever? Richard A. Rhem Page 2   but they are hid from your eyes. Devastation approaches, for your violence in response to Roman violence will bring on greater violence and you will finally be destroyed, the Temple a charred ruin." Yogi Berra said, "Déja vu all over again." Seeing Jesus and Jerusalem, one wonders will it ever be so? Will humankind forever experience déja vu, injustice creating violent reaction leading to violent response, a cycle unending? Is there no hope for the human endeavor, indeed, for the cosmic drama that has incubated the human for 15 billion years and seen its emergence over the last 10,000 years? Philip Hallie, the Jewish philosopher at Ephesus was immersed in Holocaust documents in the 70s. He had grown up in New Lenox, Illinois and, as a young child, had his face smashed in simply because he was Jewish. He had gone to World War II as an American soldier; he had fired 155 mm shells at German troops and had seen the butchered bodies of those along the road that had been slain by the artillery assault, and in the midst of the immersion in the darkness and the evil of Holocaust, he became totally overcome with despair at the evil and darkness and the seeming hopelessness of the human situation, and he said to himself, "If this is the way it is, life is too heavy a burden to bear. What lies will I have to tell to my children to give them any hope which they need like plants need sunshine?" And he went on to write, "I needed to find passionately some ground for hope, lest I succumb to the coercion of despair." In the midst of his studying of the documents of the Holocaust, he came across the story of a French village, Le Chambon, the story of the village that was led by a French Huguenot, French Reformed pastor, André Trocmé. André Trocmé grew up in northern France near the Belgian border, the child of wealth and privilege. He, however, had some early experiences. During the First World War, he hated the Germans, although his mother was German. But, he hated them because he saw the way they were treating Russian prisoners who were slave laborers. Then one day as a seventeen-year-old he saw the German wounded coming down the road in retreat. He saw a man stumbling, led by two others, his head all bandaged, his jaw blown off, and in that moment he knew that this also was a human being whom he could not hate. And then he had an encounter with another German soldier, a man named Kendler who offered him bread, and he said, "I wouldn’t take bread from you if I were hungry because you’re the enemy," and the soldier said, "I’m not the enemy. I’m a Christian. I belong to Jesus. I carry no weapon. I would shoot no one." Kendler eventually came to a religious union meeting with Trocmé, and Trocmé came to a profound experience of Jesus Christ and of Jesus’ non-violent way. Led by this German soldier into an understanding of non-violence, Trocmé wrote, "If Jesus really walked upon this earth, why do we keep treating him as if he were a disembodied, impossibly idealistic, ethical theory? If he was a real man, then the © Grand Valley State University �Déjà vu Forever? Richard A. Rhem Page 3   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." Trocmé became a pastor, eventually in Le Chambon in the late 30s, and through the four years of occupation, 1940-1944, when the Germans had occupied France and a provisional French government Nazified France, the Vichy government. Le Chambon became, through Trocmé’s leadership, a city of refuge. The network spread and many Jewish people came to find refuge there, to be hidden there or to be brought over the border to Switzerland. There was a deliberate and conscious resistance on the part of the people of Le Chambon under Trocmé’s leadership. It was not just a willy-nilly kind of thing; it was a deliberate intention to do no harm. He was informed by his own Vichy French government that he must deliver up the refugees, the Jews, and he said, "I don’t know any Jews. I only know human beings." He refused. It is a fascinating story, full of peril and risk, of heroism and dedication and commitment. He, himself, served some time in an internment camp, which was filled with all sorts and conditions of humankind, including some Communist rebels against the French national government and against the Nazis, of course, and he turned the camp almost into a revival meeting. First of all, derided because of his principles of non-violence, but finally through the integrity of his person and the consistency of his witness, breaking through even to some of the officials. The story of Trocmé, a village pastor and the village people is an amazing tale which Philip Hallie researched and finally wrote about in a book, Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed. That was in the mid-70s, about thirty years after the events themselves. He was able to meet many of the people and find out exactly what had gone on there in those years of occupation in the early 40s, when this became an oasis of grace through an insistent non-resistance and the determination to do no harm, no matter what the cost. Trocmé was a violent man himself, full of energy, dynamic, ready to burst like a volcano, but Jesus conquered him and kept him in tow, and he was able, through that commitment to the way of Jesus, to contain himself and his own emotions and the power of his person, and was able to lead that village into that kind of consistent witness. He would be called a pacifist and yet he never liked the word because of the nuance of passivity. His mother was German; he spoke German fluently. In 1939 he even writes about debating whether he should infiltrate the entourage of Hitler in order to assassinate him, in order to stave off the catastrophe that obviously lie ahead. But he decided No, because he said, "I must not be separated from Jesus." I said last week that these are very complex matters. Dietrich Bonhoeffer in 1944, likewise a brilliant and strong person who was also a pacifist in his conviction as to the way of Jesus, determined he must become one of the conspirators in the attempt on Hitler’s life. Two Christians, two followers of Jesus, two followers of Jesus convinced of the way of non-violence as being the way of Jesus, the one © Grand Valley State University �Déjà vu Forever? Richard A. Rhem Page 4   through active resistance but without moving to violence. The other fighting it all the way but finally believing he must take that violent step to end the horror of a Hitler. You see, these things are not easy; they are very complex and different people will finally have to wrestle out in the concrete situation what their response will be. But, certainly if we’re serious about Jesus and we must know that there is a calling to follow in his steps which is not passivity and standing on the sidelines. Trocmé was convinced that the most dangerous people in the world were the people who simply stood apart, unengaged, allowing evil to happen. He was active; he did not simply allow evil to happen, but in his standing the way of evil happening, he was non-violent because, we he writes, he was convinced that Jesus was non-violent and refused to defend himself in the face of the crime that was about to be perpetrated against him. And here we are in 1999 and we are at war as a nation, and one wonders, if there any hope? Will it be deja vu forever? I asked you last week what you would do if you were meeting with the President on Sunday morning. Well, the decision was made, the rockets are flying and the bombs are falling. We have ostensibly for humanitarian reasons moved to violence, and we already have the violent backlash, and whatever devastation we have inflicted has stiffened the resistance. Our violence has not caused the violence to cease, but at least at this point, exacerbated it. What is one to do in such a world? When Trocmé was in the internment camp, the Germans were defeated at Stalingrad and the Communist internees rejoiced, but Trocmé couldn’t enter into their celebration and years later he was asked, "Should the Russians simply have given up Stalingrad?" And he said, "No, it was too late. For them at Stalingrad, to have given up would have been suicide. It was too late." The way of non-violence has to be carefully laid and preparations have to be made and the groundwork has to be laid for it. The Berlin Wall fell in the late 80s after the Cold War that had ensued upon the euphoria of the victory of World War II, and we thought perhaps the decade of the 90s would usher in a whole new world order, and it has continued to be a decade of war and violence, and one wonders, will it be deja vu forever? Is there no hope? I find at least a ray of hope in that I believe that we, as an American people, are becoming more critical of the spin doctors that would shape our mind. I’m not at all confident about the veracity of the reports that come out of the Pentagon or the State Department or the Administration. I try very hard not to become cynical. I want to believe, but I think a certain self-doubt and a critical mind in receiving such reports is important for us and I think it’s happening across the body politic. And then I see an interview or two of an American pilot or a young man or a young woman on a ship from which are being launched the missiles, and I see in them not a rage, but a question - "Are we doing right? Are we doing right?" I would hope no trigger © Grand Valley State University �Déjà vu Forever? Richard A. Rhem Page 5   could ever be pulled or any rocket ever launched without that serious question, Are we doing right? And maybe, maybe the way of Jesus will be picked up here and there by a growing number of people who will commit themselves like an André Trocmé to do no harm. We cannot take on the whole world, but we live in a network of relationships in families and in communities, and if before the face of Jesus there was that inward commitment on our part to do no harm, just maybe, just maybe sometime the critical mass of humankind will come to realize that the way of Jesus was not the embodiment of an impossibly idealistic ethic, but the only viable solution to the human dilemma. Jesus may be our only hope. References: Philip Hallie. Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed: The Story of the Village of Le Chambon and How Goodness Happened There. Harper Perennial, 1997. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f5c3ae073e2582507daf2f92a9598714.mp3 e32e4311c55d597632b42270c13de9b1 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 God in the Mirror of a Human Face Scripture Text Luke 19:42 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-0-19990328 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-03-28 Title A name given to the resource Jerusalem and Jesus: Deja Vu Forever? Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on March 28, 1999 entitled "Jerusalem and Jesus: Deja Vu Forever?", as part of the series "God in the Mirror of a Human Face", on the occasion of Palm Sunday, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Luke 19:42. https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a55e8de6bf283f168ec9fbbcbc212684.pdf a1edbacaa278b4297bce40e2232af77e PDF Text Text Night Light Maundy Thursday "The Light of the World," by Jean Pasquet Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan April 1, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon I knew immediately when Mr. Bryson showed me the choral piece being performed this evening, "The Light of the World," what the theme of the meditation would be. That is a rare experience, but it came to me immediately that it should be "Night Light," and I thought of this profound statement with which the lesson ended, "It was night." John’s gospel plays on the duality of light and darkness. You can find it throughout; you heard it in the readings this evening. Light and darkness. Jesus, the Light of the world, and the darkness that continues to threaten the light. In the prologue to the gospel in that first paragraph, John speaks about the light that has come into the world and he says in words that we use so often here, "The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it." John not only played with the themes of light and darkness, but he loved to use words that could be interpreted in more than one fashion. In the translation that I read, that the darkness will not overcome the light, there is a decision made to interpret the Greek word behind it in one way, that is, that the darkness will never finally be able to crush out the light. But, the Greek word actually could also be rendered, "the darkness will never comprehend the light." There are good exegetical reasons for translating it either way, and knowledge of the Greek language would not indicate which way it should be translated. There are possible parallels throughout the gospel to either understanding. Did John mean that the darkness never got it, never understood it, never comprehended what the light was all about that had dawned in the world? Or, did he mean to affirm, as I read it a moment ago, that the darkness, though ever threatening, would never be successful in snuffing out the light? Edgar Goodspeed has a modern translation in which he tried to bridge that duality of meaning. He used the word mastered. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has never mastered the light, never mastered it in the sense of comprehending it, or mastered it in the sense of overcoming it. Or another possibility - the darkness never absorbed the light, never absorbed it in terms of © Grand Valley State University   �Night Light Richard A. Rhem Page 2   taking it in, comprehending, or absorbed in terms of swallowing it up. John loves to play with us that way and leave us thinking about it. In any case, I think an argument could be made for both meanings. On the one hand, it seems as though, although the light has come into the world, the world doesn’t get it. Indeed, to what extent do we get it? Or, did we get it so clearly that it scared us and we made it into something else? It is true that human history is a long tale of darkness. There is darkness enough, it seems, at every age and every generation. When Jesus gathered with his disciples on that last night, he gave them an example of that servanthood which was the hallmark of his life with them, he washed their feet. And then, beginning to feel the pressure of the crush, his soul in anguish, he came out with it, "One of you will betray me." And even then, he extended bread to Judas. But, finally he dismissed Judas and, perhaps seeing no change of demeanor, he said, "What you have to do, do quickly." And Judas went out, and it was night. The night of the world. That was not the first time the world knew darkness, nor the last. I have in my hands this little account of the Holocaust by Elie Wiesel. It’s entitled simply, "Night." If you’ve never read it, perhaps, for your Holy Week meditation, it would be a profitable reading if you want to understand the darkness. In the prison camp in which Elie Wiesel as a young boy was incarcerated with his father, he tells of an incident when, coming back from the work detail, the prisoners saw that the gallows had three ropes ready, and there were two men and a child. A child had been tortured for a number of weeks in order to force him to reveal the names of those that might have been engaged in some revolt against the camp authority. The child would not mention one name and was therefore condemned to die. And so, as the custom was, the whole camp of prisoners was lined up in front of the gallows and the two men and the child in the middle. The three necks were placed at the same moment into nooses. "Long live liberty!" cried the two adults. But the child was silent. "Where is God? Where is He?" someone behind me asked. At a sign from the head of the camp, the three chairs tipped over. Total silence throughout the camp. On the horizon, the sun was setting. "Bare your heads!" yelled the head of the camp. His voice was raucous. We were weeping. "Cover your heads!" © Grand Valley State University �Night Light Richard A. Rhem Page 3   Then the march past began. The two adults were no longer alive, their tongues hung swollen, blue-tinged. But the third rope was still moving; being so light the child was still alive... For more than half an hour he stayed there, struggling between life and death, dying in slow agony under our eyes. And we had to look him full in the face. He was still alive when I passed in front of him. His tongue was still red, his eyes not yet glazed. Behind me I heard the same man asking: "Where is God now?" And I head a voice within me answer him: "Where is He? Here He is - He is hanging here on this gallows..." That night the soup tasted like corpses. And it was night. As I got ready to come this evening and walked to and fro past the evening news on television, it seemed that every time I walked past, there was an unending column of humankind, men, women, children, older people, some being wheeled in wheelbarrows, their faces heavy with the anguish of the experience, the hell through which they’re going. And it is night, still night. Because we still haven’t comprehended it. We still don’t get it. I hope John meant, and I want to believe, the other nuance of that word, as well, that finally, finally the light will not be overcome. Some of us last evening joined the Jewish community in the celebration of Passover and in our program there was a toast to freedom written by Leonard Fein of the Shalom Hartman Institute. Its reference is to the Passover Feast in the Jewish context, but as I read it, I couldn’t help but think of tonight. Each cup we raise this night is an act of memory and of reverence. The story we tell this year, as every year, is not yet done. It begins with them, then; it continues with us, now. We remember not out of curiosity or nostalgia, but because it is our turn to add to the story. Our challenge this year, as every year, is to feel the Exodus, to open the gates of time and become one with those who crossed the Red Sea from slavery to freedom. Our challenge this year, as every year, is to know the Exodus, to behold all those in every land who have yet to make the crossing. Our challenge this day, as every day, is to reach out our hands to them and to help them cross to freedomland. © Grand Valley State University �Night Light Richard A. Rhem Page 4   We know some things that others do not always know - how arduous is the struggle, how very deep the waters to be crossed and how treacherous their tides, how filled with irony and contradiction and suffering are the crossing and then the wandering. We know such things because we ourselves wandered in the desert for forty years. Have not those forty years been followed by thirty-two centuries of struggle and of quest? Heirs to those who struggled and quested, we are old-timers at disappointment, veterans at sorrow, but always, always prisoners of hope. The hope is the anthem of our people (Hatikvah), and the way of our people. For all the reversals and all of the stumbling-blocks, for all the blood and all the hurt, hope still dances within us. That is who we are, and that is what this Seder is about. [And that is what this table is about.] For the slaves do become free, and the tyrants are destroyed. Once, it was by miracles; today, it is by defiance and devotion. [For us, to the way of Jesus.] From the book, A Different Night: The Family Participation Haggadah. For it is still night. But, he is our Night Light. Reference: Noam Zion and David Dishon. A Different Night: The Family Participation Haggadah. Shalom Hartman Institute, publishers, 1997. Elie Wiesel. Night. Hill and Wang, revised edition, 2006. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/93dab9db1b28d96eb6d139af32d934d9.mp3 b2bfb17347dd00f6b5432ac21b06ed96 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 Maundy Thursday Scripture Text "The Light of the World" by Jean Pasquet Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI References Noam Zion, David Dishon. A Different Night: The Family Participation Haggadah, 1997. Elie Wiesel, Night, 2006. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19990401 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-04-01 Title A name given to the resource Night Light Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on April 1, 1999 entitled "Night Light", on the occasion of Maundy Thursday, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: "The Light of the World" by Jean Pasquet. Darkness Light Maunday Thursday https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ccc94f31963d0e4caf82e54df89265b1.pdf 19d3f10da40dcbaad6336cf9e14c3a4b PDF Text Text If That’s How It Is, I Can Live With That From the series: God In the Mirror Of a Human Face Text: Psalm 82:3-4; Micah 5:8; Acts 2:44; John 20:21 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Easter Sunday, April 4, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon I suppose it may be somewhat the world situation that has caused me to be hounded by two particular thoughts and those I would share with you this morning as the Easter message. I want to speak about my problem with Easter, and then the promise of Easter. Let me begin with my problem with Easter. We have followed for forty days of the Lenten journey the way of Jesus. We have seen him move ever deeper into the darkness; we have come to that time when we knew events were culminating into a climax that would not be good. We have seen him enter the city, negate the Temple system, find himself under survey by those who would put him to death. We’ve been with him at that last supper around the table, in the garden with its anguish, the arrest and the execution, and as we have done that, we have celebrated in our ritual form, following the Holy Week events and we have sensed something of the nature of Jesus and the God that Jesus mirrored. We have known that he was on a collision course because, in a world dominated by power relationships, Jesus pointed to a God of non-violent justice. We could see that it would have to end this way because the power of this world has the power to snuff out the light. We have recognized the darkness of the world and we can identify with a John the Baptist who would say, "God, can’t you do something?" But we’ve come to see that Jesus saw something far deeper, more profound, that God was not the God of the quick fix, that God was not some God Who would come in with blinding power to damn the wicked and establish the righteous. Rather, with infinite patience, God waits for that inward transformation. Nonviolent protest against injustice was the way of Jesus, and we have a sense of that. We’ve come to this place on Thursday evening and as we’ve been at the table, we’ve come here in the darkness and that contemplative mode of Good Friday. It has seeped into our pores; we’ve begun to see something. This is the way the world is. This cosmic, historical drama of which we are a part is in constant conflict, injustice eliciting violence, eliciting more violence in an ever-deepening © Grand Valley State University   �I Can Live With That Richard A. Rhem Page 2   cycle of violence that ends in the kind of chaos that is so much a part of our Easter world today. We begin to feel it; we begin to sense it. Then barely twenty-four hours later the lights go on, the flowers come in, the bells are rung, the music sounds forth and we shout "Hallelujah!" That’s my problem with Easter. It’s just too quick; it’s too sudden; it’s too strident; it’s too triumphalistic. In that twenty-four hour period, the darkness is not dissipated. In fact, the darkness hangs heavy upon us, even now 2000 years later. Oh, I know, this is pageantry. The Christian Year is the symbolic celebration of those events that point to the very real historical happenings, and yet, the way we celebrate them is not the way they happened. But, it’s necessitated, I suppose, if we are to remember those things in some kind of liturgical fashion here as a people. So, what we celebrate is what comes to us in the four Gospels. But, the earliest gospel was forty years after the events and the Gospel lesson of this morning was some sixty-five years after the event. By that time, the meaning of Jesus’ death and resurrection in the tradition is honed to a consistent story. What we have is the finished product, and if we would take it as it’s written, one would think that by Easter morning the darkness was scattered and by Easter evening the disciples were glad to see the Lord and we could get on with life. God knows we’re anxious to get beyond the darkness. God knows there is something in us that doesn’t want to dwell in the darkness, and it is true there’s only so much truth that we can bear. Philip Hallie, to whom I referred last week, in his book, Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed, wrote about the village of Le Chambon in France, a city of refuge and an oasis of grace, because, in the midst of his researching Holocaust documents, he felt himself so mired in the darkness and evil that he said, "I was coming under the coercion of despair," and that can happen to us. We can lose our perspective and we can lose our joy. Then, too, I suppose that we’re able to make that quick transition from darkness to light, to celebrate with all of the glory of this morning because we have really transformed the message of Jesus. I was going to say we have distorted the message of Jesus, because, you see, if Jesus really was a divine intruder whom God sent dipping into this world to be the sacrifice for our sins offering us forgiveness and life beyond, then the world can reel on its way to hell and all of its darkness and it’s not really significant because then what I have done is I have blunted that radical edge, that radicality of Jesus who came to a world of darkness and protested against it non-violently, looking evil in the eye. Then I can say, "Let the world go to hell! I’m saved; I’m saved. Hallelujah!" But, that’s not really what Jesus was about. That’s too easy. It’s too facile; it’s too superstitious; it’s too superficial. It is not what he was about. It’s so easy. If I can transform what Jesus was really about - the transformation of this world through the inward illumination of persons who come to see the nature of God reflected in © Grand Valley State University �I Can Live With That Richard A. Rhem Page 3   his face, the God of non-violent justice, moving with infinite patience toward a world community marked by justice and mercy, I’m home free. The God of Psalm 82 calls the lesser gods into counsel and dismisses them because they have failed to effect justice on the earth, with the result that the foundations of the earth are shaken. The God of justice who, in the words of the prophet, calls us to do justly, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God is the God of Jesus. If I can just make Jesus a salvation figure, if I can make Christian faith a salvation cult, if I can think that it’s all about my salvation and my getting to heaven, then I can let the world go to hell and it’s a helluva lot easier! But, that’s my problem with Easter, you see, because that is not what Jesus was about, and God is not a God of the quick fix. We saw Jesus facing the inevitable, crying out, "If it be possible ..." dying in godforsakeness, and God was silent because the very God that Jesus reflected was the God Who does not send the thunderbolts that will spring Jesus free in the last moment. The God of Jesus is a God of infinite patience. When we cry out, "Why don’t You do something?" God says to us, "I’m waiting for you to do something!" That’s my problem with Easter. I wanted to stay here in Good Friday for a while. I wanted to absorb the truth that I saw following Jesus in his passion. I wanted to let that truth seep into the pores of my being because that’s reality. You don’t dissipate the darkness with a snap of a finger. But, I’ve come to see the promise of Easter, as well. You might say to me, "Haven’t you jettisoned precisely that which Easter is about?" and I would say not so, for I have come to see something far more magnificent as I have looked into the face of Jesus and have seen there mirrored the eternal God. I have seen a God Who will never abandon Creation, Who will never let us go and will never finally let the darkness overcome the light. For, think about it for a moment, have you ever felt sorry for Jesus? I don’t think so. Jesus was not a tragic figure. You don’t feel sorry for him as some pathetic do-gooder, some social reformer. Much rather, when you see Jesus, are you not fascinated with him? Are you not moved by his passion? Are you not impressed with his strength? Does not your heart cry out to be like him when you see the integrity with which he lived and with which he died? Jesus in all of the strength and wonder of who he was reflected the God who waits for us, the God of non-violent justice, whose purpose is world community marked by justice and compassion and mercy and love. And when I see Jesus, I see one who is simply magnificent because he was able to live to his death in the strong conviction about the God whom he served who would never quit and never finally let the truth be defeated. You can attempt to execute the truth, you can kill the prophet, you can crucify the prophet, but you © Grand Valley State University �I Can Live With That Richard A. Rhem Page 4   can never finally put the truth to death and you can never finally snuff out the light. We started out this Lenten season around this same table with John Dominic Crossan here reminding us that where there is bread and wine it represents body and blood and where body and blood are separated, one from the other, it speaks of violent death, execution. And then he suggested that those of us who come to this table to take that bread and that cup, thereby are standing in solidarity with Jesus in the conviction that the truth will never die and the light will never be snuffed out. Execute, crucify, oppress, repress, but finally, because God is God, the light will break forth. Some of us on Wednesday evening were at the Jewish community Passover Supper, and on Thursday evening I shared a paragraph from a writing about the meaning and significance of Passover and the Seder Supper in the Jewish community. This particular writer says of the Jewish community that we have been "heirs to those who struggled and quested, we are old-timers at disappointment, veterans at sorrow, but always, always prisoners of hope." There’s an image for us. That’s the promise of Easter. If you’re following in the way of Jesus, you can be stripped of everything, but you can finally not be defeated. The promise of Easter is that the truth will live and the light will shine and, ultimately, finally, justice will be done and will pour down the mountains as a mighty, rolling stream. We cannot change the whole world, but we can embody in this community that justice, that kindness, that love and that grace. We can stand where we must and go where we must, unflinching, with full integrity, in total commitment, saying, come what may, we stand in solidarity with Jesus who embodied God, whose Body we continue to be. If that’s the way it is, I can live with that. (The Sanctuary Choir chanting The Christ Community Church Credo) We live together in the awe of worship in the Presence of the Mystery of God Whose inclusive grace moves us to embrace all with unconditional love and gracious acceptance, irrespective of race, gender, economic status, age or sexual orientation, loving the world as God loves it, following the way of Jesus, sensitive to the winds of the Spirit, seeking to discern the Word of God in the biblical tradition, the Movement of God in the context of our culture. We are an ecumenical community in background in faith perspective in worship expression; a blending of all the great Christian traditions. We find our window to God in the face of Jesus © Grand Valley State University �I Can Live With That Richard A. Rhem Page 5   while affirming the quest and insight of other faiths; opening ourselves to dialogue and mutual enrichment in our pluralistic world. We are intentionally a community of open mind and warm heart ... Where the broken find healing, the doubting learn to trust, the anxious find peace, and the strong are confirmed, trusting God ... The God of The Beginning, The God of The End, The God with us in The Meantime ... This in-between time. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/217a354504b27eb5958e60347a3962c0.mp3 703636ec5fcd8513ace0ec0f702c1264 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Easter Sunday Series God In the Mirror of a Human Face Scripture Text Psalm 82:3-4, Micah 5:8, Acts 2:44, John 20:21 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19990404 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-04-04 Title A name given to the resource If That's How It Is, I Can Live With That Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on April 4, 1999 entitled "If That's How It Is, I Can Live With That", as part of the series "God In the Mirror of a Human Face", on the occasion of Easter Sunday, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Psalm 82:3-4, Micah 5:8, Acts 2:44, John 20:21. Community of Grace Easter Non-violent Justice Way of Jesus