805 24 26018 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/16dd2ff5245dadf2f636d112ef2e7e02.pdf 9407e0b0c1ca8b8a6a0575953663d5d0 PDF Text Text Jesus: Episode or Epiphany? From the series: Varieties of Religious Experience Text: John 1:1, 14, 17; II Corinthians 4:6 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan April 11, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon I find that it’s really wonderful to grow old; actually, every decade has been better than the one before. But, there is a downside, too - one doesn’t necessarily go right off into dreamland immediately, as sometimes one wakes up two or three times during the night, for whatever reason. When I can’t get to sleep, I do a little late night surfing. When Jay Leno’s having a bad night and when I’m really, really desperate to sleep, I’ll tune into a TV preacher because preaching, you know, has been defined as one man talking in another man’s sleep. Of course, I’m always thinking about what’s coming up to preach and I just happened a couple nights ago to see a rather well known TV preacher and he was preaching about the resurrection of our bodies and, toward the end of the service, as these services tend to go, there was the presentation of the Gospel, the invitation aspect where one is invited to become a Christian, to believe in Jesus, and so forth, and the ritual is pretty much the same. I’ve done it myself in years past. I know it pretty well; I know all the Bible verses that go with it. We are sinners; we cannot help ourselves; we stand under the condemnation of God; God sent Jesus, God’s son, into the world to bear our sin as a penalty for our sin on the cross, and God raised him up as indication that the sacrifice had been received and now there was forgiveness and there was heaven for all who repent of their sins and believe in Jesus. And that was all very familiar. I’m sure it’s very familiar to almost everyone here. At one point the TV preacher got down on his knee, and he said, "If you will say, ‘God, I believe Jesus was Your Son, I believe Jesus died for my sin, I give myself to him, forgive me and make me Your child,’" and then he said, "It’s done. If you do that, it’s done. You are a new creation and you are no longer under condemnation and you have the promise of eternal life." I tell you that story because I’ve been thinking about Jesus - whether or not Jesus is an episode or an epiphany, and I thought to myself that that is the traditional Gospel paradigm of evangelical, conservative Christianity really in all of its aspects, all of its branches. Jesus is an episode. Now, the word episode comes from the Greek language, and it refers to the entrance of something in-between, such as in the Greek tragedies, with two great © Grand Valley State University   �Jesus: Episode or Epiphany? Richard A. Rhem Page 2   choral pieces and an act, a part of the play between separating the two great choral pieces, and so an episode is something complete in itself, but a part of a larger picture. I thought to myself that is the traditional understanding of Jesus Christ and what Jesus has done. Jesus is an episode in God’s grand creative sweep of things. Jesus came in from outside because God is outside. Jesus becomes the Divine Intruder; God sends Jesus who intervenes into our history for a brief time in order to do something, in order to effect our salvation primarily, supremely, in his death bearing our sins, taking our guilt, making a sacrifice acceptable to God, making us, thereby, who believe in him, acceptable to God. Jesus comes in, accomplishes that work, and departs. He’s in again, out again. It’s an episode. That really is the way traditionally that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been presented. And like the TV preacher says, that was good news because we are fallen, under condemnation, incapable, and therefore in need of being saved. Now, there’s nothing new in that. That’s just "old hat." You learned it first in Kindergarten. But, what if the world is not fallen? What if creation is not fallen? What if humankind is not totally depraved and totally incapable of salvaging itself? What if there was not a moment of pristine perfection in paradise from which everything fell to this present abysmal state? Then, how would one understand what Jesus did? Then why would Jesus come? What if we are not fallen from some pristine perfection but, rather, what if we are clawing our way out of the jungle? What if we are slithering out of the slime? What if we, in our animality and our bestiality, are trying to move by the nudging of God’s creative Spirit toward the manifestation of Spirit? What if we are as humankind on a long trajectory which began billions of years ago in an inanimate state, moving to animate state, to life, to self-conscious life, to human life, to tribal existence? And what if we do not so much need to be redeemed from a fallen state, but continue to be beckoned to that intention of God for us? What if, in the midst of our human darkness, we saw a face, we encountered a human being, and we saw there something that was deep and true, and we said, "Oh, I see." That, of course, would be an epiphany, wouldn’t it? For epiphany also comes from the Greek language, and the epi begins it as episode, but that’s the prefix which can be moved around a bit in terms of the context of the root word of the intention of the statement. An epiphany is manifestation; it is that moment of intuitive insight. It is that flash of insight. It is that "Aha" moment. It is that which we speak of when we say, "It dawned upon me. Suddenly it dawned upon me." We see something and we see deep down into the truth and the nature of things. What if Jesus was not sent from outside in to assume our human nature, but what if Jesus, in the intention of God, became that moment in our history when there was full-blown a human being whom to look upon would be to say, "My God!" and whom to look upon would lead one to say, "And there, by the grace of © Grand Valley State University �Jesus: Episode or Epiphany? Richard A. Rhem Page 3   God, I ought to be. I must be." What if such a manifestation were not coming into the historical drama, but arising within the historical drama? (Even now that I say that, I can hear Karl Barth rolling over in his grave, so intent to deny that history could lead to the manifestation of anything divine. Nonetheless, down, Karl, listen to me.) What if the historical, biological, evolutionary track on which we find ourselves at that point, call it the fullness of time, if you will, but at that point, emerged in the humanity of Jesus who, according to the intentions of God and through the creative Spirit of God was that epiphany of what God is all about, what God is and what God is about? Then Jesus would not be simply an episode, sent, then, to do something, a grand transaction, leaving again, preparing for us a kind of salvation that would spring us loose from this veil of tears, this realm of darkness, promising to us peace with God and eventual home in heaven. But, what if Jesus came into the midst of history according to the purpose of God in order to show us what history was to be all about, what the intention of God was for our history? What if Jesus wasn’t just an episode? What if Jesus was that manifestation of what is true everywhere at all time, what God has been about from the beginning and what God will be about to the end? What if Jesus was the epiphany, a realization, an incarnation of God’s eternal intention? I think Paul and John were trying to say that, but let me be honest. Paul and John were episodic. Jesus was an episode for Paul and for John and I don’t try to make John and Paul into something else. Jesus came in from outside and left again, and in the Gospel of John, the 14th chapter, Jesus says, "I came from the father and I return to the father." John understood Jesus as an episode. Paul understood Jesus as an episode. Paul understood Jesus as an episode coming in to effect the salvation of the world which was going to end very soon. Now, I grant you that. What if we read them and if we understand them better than they understood themselves? What a presumptuous thing to say! But, what if we see what was operative in them? What were they saying? John starts his gospel by saying, "In the beginning was the word," in the beginning obviously referring us to Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." John is talking about the one true and eternal God, Creator of all. He is connecting the word, the intention, the idea of this Creator God with, in the 14th verse, this word, idea, intention becoming flesh, and he says we beheld him and behold, we saw in him the glory of God. He says no one has ever seen God, that Ultimate Mystery of things, but the son has revealed God from an eternal realm into the realm of our history, John episodic at that point, nonetheless understanding that Ultimate Mystery of God landed in our history and in our history became incarnate so that we could look upon the flesh of Jesus, look into the face of Jesus, and we could see the nature of God. In fact, this is what Paul says explicitly in the second letter to the Corinthians, the fourth chapter, the sixth verse, where the God who said, "Let light shine out of © Grand Valley State University �Jesus: Episode or Epiphany? Richard A. Rhem Page 4   darkness." Whose God is it? Of course, it’s the Creator God Who in the beginning created the heavens and the earth and said, "Let there be light." The same God John is talking about Paul is talking about. They want to be very clear. We’re not talking about some little tribal deity over here; we’re talking about God! And this God Who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shined into our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus. Fantastic claim, but again both of them suggesting that in the midst of the trajectory of history which has behind it that biological evolutionary development which has behind it all of those eons of cosmic development. At this point there arose in this process one whose very flesh became the incarnation of God and it is no wonder that, when the Church for several hundred years struggled to understand who Jesus was, what happened in Jesus, what in the world God was doing, the Church came finally to make a contradictory statement in the Council of Chalcedon, 451, but that’s where we get that famous phrase with which the Church has rested for all these centuries, "Jesus Christ, true God, true human." What they’re saying is, I see Jesus and I say, "Oh, God!" I see Jesus and I say, "There’s the human in the midst of this historical, biological, evolutionary continuum upon which we are traveling; there has been a moment in which there was a face that shined the light of the eternal God into our hearts as we beheld him." That, I think, is Jesus as epiphany who in his incarnation was telling us what is true about God and what is true about humanity and what is true about human history. In Jesus we get the clue as to the grain of the universe. When I see a preacher do as admittedly I myself have done in earlier years, boil it all down to a Jesus coming from outside in order to die for my sins in order that I might have heaven, I want to say to myself that’s really not terribly important. That’s awfully self-centered and frankly, simply irrelevant to what’s happening in my world. I don’t think Jesus would even recognize himself, for was Jesus about getting us to heaven, or was Jesus about changing the world? Was Jesus about some future age, or was Jesus about the here and now, the rough and tumble of history? Was not Jesus that non-violent resister of the world as it is in order to bring it to the intention of God, the God of justice and mercy? And I am so struck by it because our world is again in the convulsions of war. A couple of weeks ago I said to you if you were meeting with the President this morning, how would you vote - do we bomb or not? And last week it seemed as though that bombing which was the decision was simply violence eliciting greater violence. And now here we are on a third Lord’s Day and I really can’t gather you in worship and speak to you of eternal things without constantly having before my mind and putting before your mind what’s going on in the world because I think that’s what the Gospel is about; I think that’s what God is about; I think that’s what Jesus is about, and it would seem today, in spite of all the spin doctors and all of the critique that we have to do with the filtered news that we get in quotation marks, it would seem that there is a horror being perpetrated in our world. It would seem that there are some resemblances, not in numbers, but © Grand Valley State University �Jesus: Episode or Epiphany? Richard A. Rhem Page 5   nonetheless in intention and in consequence to the Holocaust of the Second World War, and it would seem that in a world where we would follow Jesus who stands for the God of justice non-violently, that our world has not yet come to a point where non-violent protest will stop the slaughter, and so in this world which is still so much in darkness, so marked by brokenness, we are having to use violence on behalf of humanity. I say to myself it’s Easter Sunday in Orthodox country, it’s Easter Sunday in Serbia Yugoslavia, and I think about not only the orthodox church, but the Roman Catholic Church and all brands of Protestant church and I think for 2000 years we have made Jesus Christ into a salvation figure; we have made Christian faith into a salvation cult; we have made the Church into an institution of salvation, and we have done precious little to effect the things that Jesus was about. The darkness continues, and we are satisfied to have a Savior when that one who was the epiphany, the manifestation of the intention of God in our history was about the concrete stuff of history. We do our liturgy and we let our incense flow heavenward and repeat our creeds and we have, in my opinion, missed it so drastically that Easter can be celebrated in Serbia today with not much connection with ethnic cleansing that is going on over there. But, wasn’t Jesus simply the exemplification of the intention of God? Didn’t Jesus say to his disciples, "As the father has sent me, so send I you. Receive the Holy Spirit." Did Jesus ever say, "I am unique and have a monopoly on this?" Did not Jesus rather say, "As I have been, you are to be. Go forth, do this as I have done. Be what I have been." We in the evangelical Church have been so concerned about the uniqueness of Jesus. Tell me why. Why is it so important that Jesus be the only way? Why must Jesus be unique? Of course, if he is a salvation figure, if he’s someone from outside who came in to do this thing, I can see, I suppose, that you need to hedge him around and make him unique. But for God’s sake, he didn’t want to be unique. He wanted to be one of us in order that we might be one with him. I think what Jesus was about was for all of us, more and more to manifest that spirit, that fullness that dwelt in him in order that we might stand in solidarity with him, in order that we might make our world a different place. So, here we are in Europe again, in war. I was reminded of the book, A Man Called Intrepid, I read several years ago by William Stevenson about Sir William Stephenson, the Englishman who ran the secret war in the Second World War. He writes about November 5 of 1940, shortly after Franklin Delano Roosevelt had been elected to his third term, Roosevelt gathered with his neighbors in Hyde Park. His opponent that year was Wendell Wilke who had said that electing Roosevelt to a third term would mean, "dictatorship and war." Roosevelt had said, "I will not send our boys to fight a foreign war." But Roosevelt saw more than the American people. For two years he had been working with Churchill and the English, and then the English were able to break the Nazi code and in order to © Grand Valley State University �Jesus: Episode or Epiphany? Richard A. Rhem Page 6   make that a valuable accomplishment, they couldn’t let the Nazis know that they had broken the code, and so now Hitler, irate, was ready to begin to bomb cities, non-military targets. November 14, 1940, Churchill learned through the breaking of the code, the decoding of the message that it was to be Coventry, England. If you go there you will find a grand contemporary cathedral on the ruins of the old, bombed out cathedral. Coventry was to be bombed. Did Churchill let them know so they could evacuate the city? That would have tipped off the Nazis that they had the code. And so, a sleepless night he tossed and turned and while Coventry was bombed, he knowing that they would be bombed, not able to let them know, lest they faltered in the larger picture. You see, this world of darkness where there is all this ambiguity, and FDR said to Sir William Stephenson shortly after that, "We are being forced more and more to play God." And I would say, "Exactly, exactly. We are called to play God!" God is not the God of the quick fix, dipping in here and there, fixing that, healing that, saving this one. Damning that one. God of infinite patience has come to full expression in humankind in a human face; we have looked into the face of Jesus and we have seen the light of the knowledge of the glory of God and Jesus said, "As I am in this world, you are to be." God is waiting for us to play God. We are making those hard decisions with particular judgment and not enough knowledge, fallible and flawed that we are, we are called to be that, the Church of Jesus Christ, the people of God in the midst of this world to break that cycle of vengeance and retaliation and hatred. What’s going on in the Balkans is the result of centuries of tribalism, us against them, nursing old wounds, blood feuds. We have to stop it. We have to address it. We have to deal with it gently, kindly, now firmly. But, we cannot sit by and allow evil to happen. It has happened with the knowledge of the Holy Father and the President of the United States during the Holocaust. And maybe, eventually, maybe more and more will come to a dawning of the truth if they see it, that which came to expression in Jesus, coming to expression in more and more who are not nearly so concerned about heaven as earth, about the next life as this life. In last night’s news there was a note about millions being raised in Israel for relief because they remember, you see. They remember when it was them. And there was the flash of 75 Israeli doctors at the Macedonian border ministering to Kosovars who are Muslims who, during the second World War, supported Hitler. You see, that’s what has to happen. There has to be a forgiving; there has to be resistance to violence; there has to be a refusal to do any harm; there has to be where possible that manifestation, that epiphany, that grace that came to expression in Jesus, and here and there, now and again when someone in solidarity with Jesus decides to heal and forgive and to embrace in order that the world may be changed. Heaven can wait. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/64dc013092819ee8444e5cb6b8d53b4c.mp3 97738b02ec3ff25b16f6666788c8d2b9 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Eastertide II Series Varieties of Religious Experience Scripture Text John 1:1, 14, 17, II Corinthians 4:6 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-0-19990411 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-04-11 Title A name given to the resource Jesus: Episode or Epiphany? 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 11, 1999 entitled "Jesus: Episode or Epiphany?", as part of the series "Varieties of Religious Experience", on the occasion of Eastertide II, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: John 1:1, 14, 17, II Corinthians 4:6. Cosmic Evolution Divine Intention Epiphany Incarnation https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/86deabe2a1764b120a9f44f4ccac802e.pdf 2fd3f8468b2e3ed7649e09e3c319fb70 PDF Text Text Paul: Civil War; The Human Dilemma From the series: Varieties of Religious Experience Text: Acts 8:1, 8:3, 9:14; Romans 7:19, 24-25 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan April 18,1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon In 1902, William James, considered by many to be America’s foremost philosopher who had moved into the field of psychology, delivered the Gifford Lectures in Edinburgh, Scotland, one of the most prestigious lecture series still in the world today, and he entitled his lectures, "The Varieties of Religious Experience." His lectures have become a classic, The Varieties of Religious Experience, a very fine read if you ever see it on the book shelf. I read those this week, because in Eastertide I want to be thinking about some of the different responses to Jesus Christ, to his death and resurrection and the expectation of his coming. People are different, and our religious response varies from individual to individual, and I was somewhat interested in what William James had to say about Paul, for example. Paul’s story is familiar to us. I didn’t read the account in Acts, but we know that he was a Pharisee, the strictest sort of observant Jew, who were very fine people, but who get bad press in the New Testament because of the antagonism. Paul was also so committed to the Jewish faith and its propagation that he saw the Jesus Jewish movement as a threat, so he was on his way to stamp it out, on the way to Damascus, for example. He was knocked off his horse with a bright light and a voice said, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" Going into Damascus, received with fear and trembling by the little community of Jewish Jesus people there, he receives baptism and he becomes the great Apostle, St. Paul. St. Paul is one of the significant figures in the whole of our western history and has had a tremendous shaping affect on our understanding of the Christian gospel. Paul did see something. Paul was a radical in that he went to the root and he had a vision, an understanding of the gospel of God in Jesus Christ which has shaped the whole Christian tradition, subsequently. There are those who say Jesus was not the founder of Christianity, but Paul was, and one can make a case for that, actually. Paul saw something and he spent the rest of his life telling the story of Jesus, proclaiming faith in Jesus Christ, establishing churches, and so forth, and we © Grand Valley State University   �Paul: Civil War, Human Dilemma Richard A. Rhem Page 2   speak about that Damascus Road experience as Paul’s conversion. But, that really isn’t right, for Paul wasn’t converted. Paul never thought of himself as anything but a Jew. Paul never served or worshiped any God but the God of Israel. What happened to Paul in that Damascus Road experience was not so much a conversion as a calling, and it was in that experience that he felt called to take the news of Jesus to the Gentile world, because what Paul believed, what he saw, what so startled him was the fact that Jesus Christ was the means by which God was overcoming that ancient separation of the Jew and all the rest of the people. Jew - Gentile. If you weren’t a Jew, you were a Gentile. In his Letter to the Ephesians, he uses the term, "That middle wall of partition" that separated the Jew from all the rest. In Jesus Christ, Paul was convinced that that wall was taken down and the grand vision that Paul had was this sense that, in Jesus Christ, what God was doing was creating one new humanity. That great gulf was being bridged, and Paul had as his passion to be the instrument by which that Gentile world would come to God through Jesus Christ and, in that, be united with Israel, with the Jew, and there would no longer be that great separation, but one community of the people of God. He began to see that he was the instrument of the bringing in of the Gentile, and the bringing in of the Gentile was literally bringing into the covenant of grace, bringing into the aegis of the God of Israel. That’s really what was happening. There were congregations that he founded all over the place and they were composed of Gentile converts and Jewish Christians, or we can say Jesus Jews. And in any community where he went, that was the makeup and in such a makeup there was the beginning of the realization of his great hope and his vision, but also there was great tension. Paul had no argument, really, with the Jew. Paul remained a Jew. Paul was an observant Jew when he was with Jews, according to his own word. Let’s just say, for example, that this half of the house are Jewish Christians, Jews who have come to believe that Jesus was the Messiah. This half of the house, Gentiles. Any kind of a mix of religious experience was pagan, whatever you want to call it. Now, Paul, when he’s with this crowd, is kosher. When he’s with the other crowd, he has ham on buns. And he does that with good conscience, because he realizes that all of those religious rituals and ordinances and regulations are finally inconsequential. He has had an experience of God in Jesus Christ that transcends all of his religious observance. But, he doesn’t derogate it; he’s not negative about it, and he continues, in order to win the Jew, to be a Jew when he’s with Jews, and to win the Gentiles, to be a Gentile when he’s with the Gentiles. Problem: As long as you stay on your side of the house and you stay on your side of the house, no problem. But, what happens when we have a banquet, a potluck, and the Gentile Christians say, "Ach, we’ll cook this time?" Menu? Ham. What are you going to do? You’re observant Jews, even though you believe in Jesus as the Messiah. Now there’s a little kink in the community, and we can laugh about it, © Grand Valley State University �Paul: Civil War, Human Dilemma Richard A. Rhem Page 3   but it was a serious problem. We know that it was so serious that Peter and Paul had a confrontation in Galatia, and those good Jewish people who came to believe that Jesus was the Messiah continued to think of themselves as Jewish, they continued to follow Torah, they observed Sabbath, they observed the dietary laws, they practiced circumcision. Nothing really changed so much, except that they saw in Jesus God’s onward movement, Jesus the Messiah who eventually will come and finish it all. But, over here, there is no knowledge of that background, no sensitivity to that background, and now you’re trying to forge one new community, a people with that kind of diversity, and there was tension. Paul had been a happy Jew. Sometimes we think of Paul as having this bad conscience and burden of sin, but that’s not Paul. If you read Paul through Martin Luther and St. Augustine, then you get the bad conscience and the heavy burden of sin and heavy guilt and all that. Augustine with his profligate life, never got over it, and screwed us up in the West in our understanding of sexuality ever since. And Luther with his tormented soul, learning from Augustine. Tormented soul: "How can I find a gracious God?" Both of them went back to Paul, and we read Paul through Luther, through Augustine. But, that wasn’t Paul. You read in Philippians, the third chapter, Paul’s autobiographical notes, he says in regard to the law, "I was blameless," and as Krister Stendahl says in his discussion of Paul, Paul had a robust conscience. Paul didn’t go mealy-mouthing around, groveling in the dust. Paul had a very good sense of who he was and what he had been as a Jew, and he is not really responsible for what has been done to him and the interpretation through Augustine and Luther and into Protestantism, especially Reformed Protestantism. Paul, himself, Krister Stendahl says, according to his character and his academic achievements, was a very happy Jew. But, he had seen something more, and what he had seen is that it was possible to transcend his highly respected Judaism into a more spiritual, transforming relationship with God, and his concern was to get these two groups together. He knew that in order to get them together, that this group could not go over here and become Jewish. He fought that to the death. And he knew that these people couldn’t simply come over here and give up their Judaism, but he knew both of them could find a meeting place in the grace of God in Jesus Christ by faith, not by religious observance. Now, you may ask, "If Paul wasn’t one of these guys groveling in the dust, what about chapter seven of Romans that you read?" Well, let me tell you about chapter seven of Romans. You have to read it in the context. To whom is Paul speaking? Paul is speaking to Jewish Christians. If you read the beginning of the chapter, he’s speaking to those who know about Torah and all that stuff. And so, he wants to show them that the Torah way won’t finally get the job done. He’s come to see that, and he wants them to see that so that they can let go of it, so that they can move here. And so, he gives them a little commentary on Genesis, chapter three, verses 7-12 of the seventh of Romans. He © Grand Valley State University �Paul: Civil War, Human Dilemma Richard A. Rhem Page 4   says, "You remember the story - in the beginning when God formed a garden, created Adam and Eve and said to them, ‘Now look, there is orchard after orchard after orchard. You can eat any of the fruit. But, there’s one tree in the middle. Don’t touch it.’" Paul says, "What happened? They touched it." I mean, what happens to you when I say, "No?" You say, "Yes." Or, when I say, "Yes," you say, "No." Paul said, "I’ve discovered there is something in the human being that is contrary and you say you can’t have it, covetousness begins to generate, and I want it." And so, Paul says there is nothing wrong with the command, nothing wrong with the Law. But the Law exacerbated the human situation. The old serpent, the liar, comes and says to Eve, "What did God say?" Eve says, "Well, God said we could have a lot of stuff." "Oh, but not that one, eh? You know why? Because God knows that the moment you eat that fruit, the moment you go against the command, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, and you will have the knowledge of good and evil." For once, the old liar wasn’t lying, because that’s just what happened. She took the fruit, she shared it with Adam, and their eyes were opened, and they looked at each other and knew that they were naked, which is not a statement about having no clothes on, but is a statement about their real condition. They took the fruit and awareness dawned on them. They took the fruit and they became like God, knowing the difference between good and evil, they gained a moral sense. They came to consciousness and awareness and their mind blew. That is a parable. It is a profound parable, and Paul says, "That’s what the Law does. It exacerbates that in the human person which is contrary and it excites the opposite response." Well, we call that the Fall. I think it’s Milton in his Paradise Lost who speaks about the paradox about the fortunate Fall. Now, tell me, if you were Eve and you had it to do all over again, what would you do, knowing what you know? Would you live in blissful ignorance, unconscious, unaware, like the rest of the animals that Adam named? Or, would you also, knowing the consequence, take the fruit and have your eyes opened and come to awareness and find in the wake of that all of the hell on earth, from Kosovo to the Holocaust to broken promises and the tragedy that stalks our steps? What would you do? Garden of Eden? Garden of Eden in Paradise? Unaware so that, well, excuse my language, like a dog you could urinate, defecate or copulate at ease, any time, any place, with total unawareness. Do you ever look at a dog and envy the dog? That © Grand Valley State University �Paul: Civil War, Human Dilemma Richard A. Rhem Page 5   beautiful innocence, unaware. Or, would you, too, bite the apple and pay the price of human being? Now, Paul paints that picture in order to say to Jewish Christians who are following Torah, "Look where following religious observances finally leads. Legalism, moralism, obligation, dotting the i, crossing the t, can keep you hedged in, but it will never transform you inwardly so you are sprung free to soar with the Spirit." He was trying to say to the Jewish Christian community there is another way than Torah. He says, "Look, Torah? It is good and righteous and holy. It is of God. With my mind, I affirm it. Everything that it entails, I affirm with my mind. But, this mental, spiritual part of us," Paul says, "is housed in a body and because it’s housed in a body with all of the drives and all of the coercions and all of the temptations and all of the seductions, there’s a civil war going on within the human being. With the law of my mind, I serve God. With the law of my flesh, I serve sin." Paul says flesh battles against spirit and the spirit battles against flesh, and I don’t understand my own actions. The good that I would, I don’t do, and the evil I would not do, I do, oh wretch that I am. Who will deliver me from this body of death? Can any of you identify with that? Don’t tell me. Don’t raise your hands. I wouldn’t want your spouse to know. Can you identify with that? Is that not the human dilemma? Are we not the battleground? Are we not caught up in a civil war between that which we affirm in our spiritual selves and that which we actually live out in this body of death? Paul was trying to say to the Jewish Christian community which was still observing Torah that that’s not the answer, and we could get you all together if you could see what I see, if you could see that there is the possibility for a freedom in the spirit of Jesus Christ. The eighth chapter of Romans is that marvelous chapter on life in the Spirit and it is Paul’s answer to that civil war that he finds within himself. I read William James and found him fascinating. Paul is Paul. Augustine was Augustine; Luther was Luther; John Bunyan of Pilgrim’s Progress, with the load on his back, was John Bunyan - we all respond differently. We all come with a different set of hormones and genes and backgrounds, environments, but William James did say there were two distinct kinds of people: there were the healthy-minded and the sick soul. The healthy-minded, the sunny personality, like a Walt Whitman who revels in this life, revels in the world, revels in the grass and the flowers and the trees, who never seems to have a cloud in the sky. And then there are the Augustines and the Luthers, such like, that seem tormented always with this sense of failure, of condemnation, the burden of guilt they never seem to get rid of. There are different people and religions can exacerbate it or reinforce one or the other. © Grand Valley State University �Paul: Civil War, Human Dilemma Richard A. Rhem Page 6   But, William James says, in regard to the healthy-minded like a Whitman, there is finally a superficiality there because, he says, it won’t do for one to just whistle a happy tune. It will not do for one to whistle in the dark, to deny the darkness. We are not isolated individuals. We cannot be cognizant of what’s going on in Kosovo without our being caught up with it, and if we think long enough and deeply enough into our own hearts and look around us, we know that there is a certain tragedy that is a part of the human scene. There is suffering; there is misery; and finally we die, and anybody who thinks long and hard about that, knows that it is not enough simply to whistle under a sunny, blue sky as though that’s all there is. There’s more to it than that, and Paul knew that that "more to it" was the very kind of nature that we have, this human nature that can affirm the law of God with the mind and get all caught up in selfishness and greed and hostility and hatred and anger and create a Kosovo or a Holocaust and the impossible darkness that is a part of our human scene. So, William James, very sensitively dealing with these things, says, "Healthy-mindedness has its limits." And while he would not advocate that we all become examples of the sick soul person, nonetheless, we do recognize that also within us there is raging a civil war which sometimes we win and sometimes we lose, and I suspect that Paul, who had this vision of one grand humanity, and the possibility of it by seeing this salvation by faith in the grace of God, may have overplayed his hand. If you read the eighth chapter of Romans, it will give you goose bumps. There are marvelous passages there, but I’m not sure that one moves chronologically from Romans seven to Romans eight and ever gets rid of Romans seven. I think to our dying day we will live as divided personalities. I think to our dying day we will struggle with this body of death which will not cooperate with the nobility and the magnificence that this mind can envision, and our soaring with the Spirit of God in the heights will never pull us free fully from our anchorage in the mud and the physicality of this body that is the house and the ground of the Spirit. Paul may have promised more than any of us will ever realize, but he did see that it is not in religious observance, it is not in the fulfillment of heavy obligation, it is not in prescribing to legalism or moralism, but it is in catching a glimpse of grace that there lies the possibility for some freedom from the struggle. He did understand that what we all need to hear is that we are accepted. This is the point at which traditionally and still too often in the Church the minister takes the occasion to exacerbate the load of guilt and the sense of failure of the people. This is the point in this message when this preacher would like to say to you, "Drop your guilt. Let it go. It doesn’t help. There’s nothing positive about it. It will do you no good, except keep you bound at a point at which you will not know the freedom of grace." © Grand Valley State University �Paul: Civil War, Human Dilemma Richard A. Rhem Page 7   We’ll never shed this shell as long as we live. We’re never going to get beyond the human dilemma. But, it’s a human dilemma. It’s a human possibility, and it’s a humanity embraced by God, Who, after all, as the Psalmist says, "Knows our frame and remembers that we are dust," making us thus. Maybe the finest statement of what I am trying to say was written by Paul Tillich: It strikes us when our disgust of our own being, our indifference, our weakness, our hostility and our lack of direction and composure have become intolerable to us. It strikes us when, year after year, the longed for perfection of life does not appear, when the old compulsions reign within us, as they have for decades, when despair destroys all joy and courage. Sometimes, at that moment, a wave of light breaks into our darkness and it is as though a voice were saying, "You are accepted. You are accepted." Accepted by that which is greater than you and the name of which you do not know. Do not ask for the name now. Perhaps you’ll find it later. Do not try to do anything now. Perhaps you will do much later. Do not seek for anything; do not perform anything; do not intend anything. Simply accept the fact that you are accepted and, if that happens, you have experienced grace. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b63efb6c4c3ceec0e2825ef99eb719b0.mp3 e8ab868094ec9b7909183b74d5e4190e Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Eastertide III Series Varieties of Religious Experience Scripture Text Acts 8:1, ,9:14, Romans 7:19, 24-25 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19990418 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-04-18 Title A name given to the resource Paul: Civil War; The Human Dilemma 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 18, 1999 entitled "Paul: Civil War; The Human Dilemma", as part of the series "Varieties of Religious Experience", on the occasion of Eastertide III, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Acts 8:1, ,9:14, Romans 7:19, 24-25. Forgiveness Grace Inclusive Transcendence https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b9a293fd373dc0a6b7b58b0923580fff.pdf b5c3ab4334ea60fc6feabb2d2758b308 PDF Text Text Paul: Simply Wrong About History From the series: Varieties of Religious Experience Text: I Thessalonians 4:16-17; I Corinthians 15:22-24 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan April 25, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon Nancy and I have finally succeeded in securing our future just in case Jesus doesn’t come in the year 2000. We consolidated our pension funds. We have a very fine financial advisor who lives in New Jersey and we’re so very happy with him. Michael is not only competent and honest, but he is also a committed churchman, a Christian, who seems to have a real personal concern for us, and he comes through once or twice a year to hold our hand and say, "All will be well." Michael came through this week. He is just finishing a term as Moderator of a large Presbytery in New Jersey, and so he’s really interested in the Church and he has been interested in Christ Community and in case anybody is at all interested, I have a dozen or two tapes I have at all times at the ready. (Silver and gold have I none, but sermons I have aplenty). And so, I share these around; they grow legs and crawl all over the globe. He must have gotten a tape from Advent, this past Advent when I announced rather boldly in the season in which we celebrate the fact that Jesus came and is coming again, that Jesus wasn’t coming. Remember that? Jesus isn’t coming again. Michael said he was listening to that as he was driving along on the New Jersey Turnpike and he almost ran off the road. He said to me, "Could you get me a printed copy? I’d like to study that." And he sort of still had a dazed look. Well, what I’d like to do today is to say that Jesus is not coming again and the reason we’ve been confused about that for so long is that Paul had it all wrong. Paul was wrong about history. Paul was wrong about history in terms of the time line, where he thought he was in the time line of universal history, and that caused him to be wrong about the meaning and significance of world history. Now, I understand it’s a bit presumptuous to take on the great Apostle, but hear me out this morning. Paul was obviously wrong about the time line. I have said that here for a long time. I mean, you can’t deny that. Paul had it wrong about where things were in the whole cosmic journey. Paul didn’t even grasp, through no fault of his, but simply that the information was not available about the whole nature of the unfolding of the cosmos and billions of years and this bio-historicalevolutionary trajectory on which we find ourselves. Paul thought that the End © Grand Valley State University   �Paul Wrong About History Richard A. Rhem Page 2   was very near, the end of his world as he knew it, the world as it was organized at his time. He thought the End had come, and he believed that in the death and resurrection of Jesus the climax had been reached and all that was left now was a brief interregnum, that is, a brief interim period in which Jesus was reigning from heaven, soon to return and bring all things to their consummation. Now, as I said, I have said for a long time here that Paul had that wrong. That’s obvious. Paul said Jesus was coming soon. Jesus hasn’t come yet. You can’t very well get the Apostle off the hook on that. He expected the imminent return of Jesus to wrap up all things, and that’s obvious in the readings of this morning. The first kind of labored paragraph that I read beginning with verse 12 shows that in Paul’s mind there was an intimate connection between the resurrection of Jesus and the general resurrection. If one didn’t happen, the other wouldn’t happen. If one happened, the other would happen, and they were intimately connected, and in order to maintain that intimate connection, even though Jesus was resurrected and glorified and the rest hadn’t happened, Paul used the figure of speech, the "first fruits." Jesus was the first fruit of those who would rise, but the first fruit, you know, is the first ear of corn that is ripe, the first tassel of oats that is ripe, the first apple, the first strawberry, that is the first fruits. You say, "Ah, we got one ripe." But, the first one ripe doesn’t precede the rest by very long or you have a problem, and when there is a hiatus between the first one ripe and the rest, something is out of kilter. That was the image that Paul was using Christ the first fruits, and then the rest at his coming, and his coming has to be rather soon in order for him even to conceive of first fruits, and he had to conceive of it that way because there was an intimate connection between the resurrection of Christ and the general resurrection, in Paul’s thinking. Paul goes on, then, to give us the scenario of the End in his understanding at that time, for Christ is presently reigning, subduing all contrary powers after which he will yield up the kingdom to the Father in order that God may be all in all. All of that, obviously, is to happen in relatively short order. Jesus will return after he has subdued all contrary power. The dead in Christ will rise, and he will turn it all over to God, big "G." That he believed that and that he preached that is obvious from his letter to the Thessalonians. He went there, founded a congregation, then kept in touch with them, as he did with the congregations he had founded, dealing with the problems that cropped up, and at Thessalonica, the problem that cropped up was that he had taught them so well that Jesus had come, died, was resurrected in order to give them eternal life, and would soon return, that they got up every morning and said, "Maybe today is the day," and they looked skyward hoping there would be a rift in the sky and the appearance of the Son of Man on clouds. Then, a loved one died, and then another loved one died, and they began to look at each other and ask, "Will our loved ones who died before the grand event miss out?" © Grand Valley State University �Paul Wrong About History Richard A. Rhem Page 3   So, Paul said, "I write these things to you that you grieve not as those who have no hope, for if we believe that those who fall asleep in Jesus God will bring with him," and then he gets into the apocalyptic imagery of the trumpet and the angel and then we who are alive at the time, Paul expecting still to be a part of that company who would be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, who has brought with him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus before the grand event, and so he says the only thing that’s really important in that paragraph, "We will be forever with the Lord. Comfort one another with these words." He was dealing with a very concrete, pastoral problem that was precipitated by his preaching of the imminent coming of Jesus who didn’t come soon enough in order to get there before Aunt Bessie died. Obviously, this is what Paul believed. This is what he proclaimed, and he was wrong. He was wrong about the time line of history. And being wrong about the time line of history, which is beyond refute, he gives us a distorted sense of the significance of history, of our present experience, of our human experience, of our ordinary experience before the face of God, and I think that you will see that quite readily when you will remember that Paul was obviously in the apocalyptic mode and the shorthand for explaining that is simply to say that Paul was a throwback to John the Baptist. We’ve looked at that, time and again here, most recently in our Lenten series where we saw how Jesus distanced himself from John the Baptist because John the Baptist was calling down fire and judgment from heaven and the outpouring of the wrath of God and the vengeance of God on all that was evil and in opposition to God, as well as the salvation of the chosen. John participated in the very widespread and pervasive apocalyptic expectation of his day, and so did Paul. If we had time, we could read on in the second chapter of Thessalonians, and you would see all of the apocalyptic imagery is there, including the vengeance of God. Paul is talking now about the vengeance of God being poured out at the coming of Jesus from heaven who has been received into heaven for this little brief period of time. Paul was apocalyptic, and apocalypticism was in the air between 200 before Christ to 100 after Christ. During that whole 300-year period, Jewish thought was permeated with apocalyptic expectation; it was in the air. John the Baptist was the one who was waiting for God to do something, and Paul knew that God had done something but hadn’t finished it yet and would soon take care of the rest, bringing all things to consummation - God’s vengeance on the unbeliever, God’s chosen justified. Thus for Paul and his contemporaries, life between Jesus’ ascension and his coming again was an interim. They were cooling their heels and waiting for the end to come. To Corinth he writes, ... the appointed time has grown short; from now on, let even those who have wives be as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not © Grand Valley State University �Paul Wrong About History Richard A. Rhem Page 4   rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no possessions, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away. I Corinthians 7:29-31 So, sit loosely, don’t get encumbered. That was counsel for an interim, temporary experience and that must be a limited, less than normal kind of human existence. Paul was quite uninterested in everyday ordinary human life. And Paul was not really interested in the life of the historical Jesus. Once he says we knew him after the flesh, but we know him thus no more. The reigning Christ about to return was Paul’s total focus. Jesus’ life and concrete existence played no part. Now, this is the opposite of the case with the Gospels. There God’s salvation is embodied in a very real human life. Incarnation is key and the historical Jesus is concerned about very concrete human life, about justice and mercy, about table fellowship and healing of the body - in a word, about transforming the human situation dominated by power issuing in violence. For Paul, the present was a time of feverish activity - proclaiming the Gospel, calling to repentance, getting as many into the number of the saved as possible before the end arrived. Now to make Paul’s understanding of the time between the two comings normative would miss the meaning and significance of human existence and human history which comes to expression much better in the life of Jesus, where we claim the eternal God was embodied, incarnate. What’s an alternative to Paul’s missed reading of the times, which led to a misunderstanding of the nature of things? Well, the alternative, I think, is what we see currently in the research on the historical Jesus. Dominic Crossan introduced us to a Jesus whose life was a non-violent protest in the name of the God of justice. The Jesus who distanced himself from John the Baptist who had said, "God can’t you do something," and Jesus rather representing a God Who said, "Why don’t you do something?" The difference is a God in the face of Jesus, as Marcus Borg will speak of Jesus, a Spirit person, concretely in human existence, healing and embracing. I mean, you have to sense that this is so. Obviously, if the curtain of history is going to ring down very soon, as Paul thought, then you adjust your life one way. You certainly don’t celebrate birthdays. No need to plant a seedling or to clean up a river. I suppose you might celebrate flowers, but you’d see a cut flower as a symbol of everything that was soon to wither away. The alternative would be to see that God is to be known and served and worshiped in this life, that it is not "out there," but right here and right now that I am to live before the face of God, that it is here and now that I am to find © Grand Valley State University �Paul Wrong About History Richard A. Rhem Page 5   meaning for my human existence, that it is here and now that I am to be the continuing embodying of the Spirit of God as was uniquely embodied in Jesus. It makes all the difference in the world how I look at my world, how I meet my day, how I live my life, whether I think that I have to simply endure and hold on until ..., or whether I recognize that this is the place, for God’s sake, where God has placed me to live before the face of god, to love justice, kindness, walk humbly with my God, embrace my neighbor and to find meaning and significance in my ordinary days. "Ah," you say, "this world? This life? What of shootings and violence in Colorado? What of bombings in Kosovo and Belgrade? What of the constant eruption of evil and darkness? This world is that to which you would point us for meaning and significance and communion with God?" I would say, "Yes," for this life is not only violence and darkness. It is also a marvelous spring morning in which there are blossoms with the prodigality of color to delight the eye. It is also a world of an Olivia and Alexandra, beautiful creatures, children who smile, as well as dirty diapers. It is also a world in which one can look into the eyes of another and say, ‘I love you.’ It is a world that has all the potential to self-destruct and lie in ruins, or a world that has all the possibility of being a human community, a family where hands are joined and hearts entwined and peace reigns. NATO at fifty? Bombing, but bombing in order to say "No" to an inhumane monstrosity because we have come to see that we cannot stand by and allow that to be. Haclav Havel, addressing the NATO leaders, said, "Peace is something which we must be willing to defend." I can understand the temptation to cry: “God, can’t you do something? Take me out of here!" The answer is "No, I have put it in your hands. You do something." Paul was wrong in the time line. He is not a prophetic voice to follow in wringing the best out of human life and history. There’s something so much better. David Hartman, the Rabbi who has taught me so much, is the first person who incarnated for me one who could live fully today without all of that eschatological baggage and all of those questions about the future that we really don’t know anything about, but could well just leave to God. I got a letter from him recently and in a lecture that he gave, the Cardinal Bernardin Jerusalem Lecture, he concluded it with these words, My primary interest is in being alive and in finding significance in everyday reality. History has holiness, not because it points to the messianic kingdom. History has holiness when it provides opportunities to © Grand Valley State University �Paul Wrong About History Richard A. Rhem Page 6   live in a covenantal relationship with God. History has significance when we can bring God into everyday life. And all God’s people said ... Amen. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/28a24b66e41746f4045e6e1be44a5921.mp3 720078e80e231a9ee2639b9563fb845c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Eastertide IV Series Varieties of Religious Experience Scripture Text I Thessalonians 4:16-17, I Corinthians 15:22-24 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19990425 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-04-25 Title A name given to the resource Paul: Simply Wrong About History? 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 25, 1999 entitled "Paul: Simply Wrong About History?", as part of the series "Varieties of Religious Experience", on the occasion of Eastertide IV, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: I Thessalonians 4:16-17, I Corinthians 15:22-24. Compassion Eschatology Justice Resurrection https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c683d499784cd6ea888f5a633a573be3.pdf 6b63068b7d4658c1281d86474b60e216 PDF Text Text Peter: A Rocky Road From the series: Varieties of Religious Experience Text: Acts 10:9-16; 34-35; Galatians 2:11-14; Matthew 16:13-23; 26:69-75 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan May 9, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon A gentleman visited a congregation on Sunday. He was quite taken with the service and really got into the sermon. He shouted "Amen," and a little later, "Hallelujah." People around him felt a bit uncomfortable, distracted, and some were annoyed. Then came the outburst of enthusiastic affirmation, "Amen, praise the Lord!" An usher approached the gentleman and tapped him on the shoulder, suggesting he restrain himself to which the man replied, "But, I got religion!,” to which the usher replied, "Well, you didn’t get it here!" That is a humorous way of saying that there is a variety of religious experiences and there is a classic study of religion by the American philosopher William James. He delivered the Gifford Lectures in Edinburgh in 1901-02, nearly a hundred years ago, and entitled his lectures The Varieties of Religious Experience. This Eastertide season we are looking at several examples of religious experience and the insight or understanding that marks the respective expressions. I am particularly focusing on the variety aspect of religious experience today because, along with the celebration of Mother’s Day, we broaden the focus to the Christian family and especially today, the welcoming of a group of young people who have completed a course of study about Christian faith and life as we understand it here. We have called this moment of recognition The Rite of Christian Identity, a rite of passage which we mark here in their lives - and not only theirs, but others of our youth who may not have followed this particular path of group instruction and experience. What we are doing is very intentional and it represents a significant change from the more traditional way we have viewed this moment in the past, a way that is still standard in most congregations. What we are doing is affirming our young people as members of this community of faith, this faith family, and encouraging them to assume responsibility for their ongoing faith journey along with us. © Grand Valley State University   �Peter: a Rocky Road Richard A. Rhem Page 2   In our ritual, what we do symbolically is transfer the candle to their hands. As an infant in arms they receive the sign of belonging; they are family - we baptize them and a candle is given to parents as a sign that they belong and as a sign that parents can use to nurture them in the consciousness that they belong - to God – to the family of God. Now a candle is placed in their hands as a sign that the time has come for them to assume the responsibility to nurture their own flame of faith. We have made two very significant changes as Christ Community. The first we made some years ago. Someone told me that at St. Peter’s Church in Geneva, Switzerland, where John Calvin preached, the pastor baptized the infant and then asked the parents to speak vows of faithful nurture. This was just the opposite from our practice, which I think reflected the practice of most congregations namely, asking the parents to speak their vows before baptizing the child. Upon hearing of the practice at St. Peter’s, I knew immediately that was the proper order, for it placed the baptism in the grace of God before any human intention or obligation. Sheer grace is bestowed in baptism; the child belongs because God claims the child - not because parents promise to be faithful. The second change we are enacting this morning. The traditional way of receiving young people into the Church was through the personal profession of faith in God through Jesus Christ, which in recent years we called Confirmation. Confirmation is a good word; we may yet resurrect it. The idea of confirmation is that the promises spoken over the infant at baptism are confirmed as true in the life of the youth. That is not so different from what we are doing this morning with this significant change. Today, as their pastor, I am not saying, "Do you believe this and that?" "Will you promise this or that?" Today I simply welcome; I declare to them what is already, in fact, true: they belong. They are members of this community of faith. Today I do not ask them to declare anything or step over some line. I do not call them to be converted, or to be saved, or whatever. Today we make one significant shift; we put the responsibility for spiritual growth and development in their own hands. Not that we abandon them now. They continue to live in our love and our prayerful concern for their wellbeing. But, we face them with the fact that we have done what we could for them. Finally, there is no force-feeding in the Christian life. They are a vital part of this community; they belong. But how they live out their life and develop their spirituality is now shifted to them, to their determination. These two significant changes are deeply rooted in our theological and biblical understanding. They are rooted, as well, in our understanding of human development. © Grand Valley State University �Peter: a Rocky Road Richard A. Rhem Page 3   Let me say a word about human development first. We have come to realize that these adolescent years are precisely the time young people do not need to be pressured to make a life decision. I do not claim to know much about developmental psychology, but this seems very clear to me; our young people in these tumultuous years with all the pressures of growing into young adulthood need to be embraced, included, assured and told quite clearly in word and ritual that they belong, that they are loved, respected, and cared for. There was a time, and in most places it is still the practice, when what we did was draw a line and invite them to step over to join us by some faith profession. And what if they weren’t sure intellectually, or secure emotionally? What if pressure of parent or pastor caused them to do it, but with some question or resistance? What if peer pressure said do it or peer pressure said don’t do it? And what of those who resisted the pressure and did not go through the routine? Or, going through the routine, decided not to proceed? All such considerations finally convinced us that this was not the time to put our sons and daughters through that kind of experience. Now is the time they need our warm, assuring embrace. That’s what we do today. You belong. Theologically, I believe that is proper. These young people have in their baptism the sign and seal of God’s Spirit. That is not a conditional promise with a time limit. There is no sunset clause connected with their being part of the family of God. A child baptized in infancy, nurtured in the biblical faith and Christian tradition cannot "join the Church." They are the Church. And I believe the best way to ensure their spiritual well-being is to let them know that, feel that, and to let them know that we are all together on a path of spiritual adventure and experience. Toward what do we point them today? Toward the movement from secondhand to firsthand spiritual experience. In the Gifford Lectures of William James, to which I referred earlier, James distinguishes secondhand religious experience and firsthand religious experience. What is secondhand experience? Let me quote him: I speak now of your ordinary religious believer, who follows the conventional observances of his country, whether it be Buddhist, Christian, or Mohammedan. His religion has been made for him by others, communicated to him by tradition, determined to fixed forms by imitation, and retained by habit. (Lecture I) That is an insightful analysis. What can we say but that that is the description of most religious observance of most religious people: someone else’s vision and awareness, transmitted over the generations by tradition, expressed in fixed forms which are imitated, ongoing through habit or custom. Secondhand religion © Grand Valley State University �Peter: a Rocky Road Richard A. Rhem Page 4   has its value; it has given structure to human existence as well as understanding and meaning to life. I suspect most of us who continue in religious observance do so in the secondhand variety. But, there is something more; something richer and more compelling - there is firsthand religious experience, religious experience that consists of my own insight, conviction and passion. It is the difference between saying, "The tradition or the Church teaches," and "I believe, I am convinced!" That it is to which we point our youth and, indeed, not only our youth, but all of us. For all of us the spiritual life is not a static set of beliefs and practices. If it is a vital part of our life, it is an ongoing adventure of fresh insight, deepening trust, sometimes the desert, the wilderness, the dark night of the soul. Sometimes a period of refreshing joy like the rain, rebirth. It is not a matter of being saved or lost - or being lost until one is saved by repeating the right words and phrases or praying "the believers prayer." Spiritual life is a journey with highs and lows, sunshine and heavy skies, and in it all is the God Who embraces us and through it all we are never abandoned. I think Peter is an example of the topsy-turvy ride of religious experience. In the Gospels, he seems to be the spokesperson for the disciples. In Matthew’s Gospel there is a critical juncture in the 16th chapter - Jesus asks who the disciples think he is. Peter blurts out his confession, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God." Jesus says, "Blessed are you, Simon bar Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my father in heaven." Then Jesus gives him a new name, or, perhaps better, a nick name. He calls him in Greek Petros, which is in the Greek language, "Rock." His father’s name was Jonah or John. Bar Jonah means son of John or we would say, John’s son, or simply Johnson. So, instead of being Simon Johnson, Jesus names him Rocky Johnson. Was Jesus endeavoring to give to Simon a new identity - of being like a rock? And if so, was it because Simon was shaky? After the question, "Who do you say I am?" Jesus went on to tell of his suffering and again Peter jumps in, not at all sensitive to what Jesus was saying, denying it in fact, so that Jesus rebukes him. "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me ..." From Rocky to Satan in one afternoon! © Grand Valley State University �Peter: a Rocky Road Richard A. Rhem Page 5   And then we read the story of Jesus’ arrest and Peter’s denial that he knew Jesus. Jesus had warned Peter of his proud presumption saying Peter would deny him three times and now Peter had done it - and he wept bitterly. Of course, in John’s Gospel, Peter is restored to service by Jesus, but it is interesting that when Jesus asks if Peter loves him, he uses the old name, Simon, son of John. Perhaps we shouldn’t make too much of that, but it is interesting. The lessons from Acts and Galatians are simply further indication of the unsteadiness of Peter. He has a vision on the rooftop, the message of which is that nothing is unclean. The vision has to do with foods clean and unclean - the ritual food laws of Judaism, but the message has to do with the wiping out of the distinction between people - Jews and Gentiles. Peter has the vision, is invited to the house of Cornelius, the Roman Centurion, and realizes God’s Spirit has been there before him. He gets the message: I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.... Acts 10:34-35 Great insight, Peter. Paul learned that, too, and he was preaching the Good News throughout Asia Minor. Peter visited him in the Galatian congregation and sat at table with the Gentiles - until some church visitors, Jewish Jesus folk from Jerusalem, arrived. Then Peter got up from the table of Jews and Gentiles and joined the Kosher only table. I use these snapshots from the life of Peter simply to illustrate my contention this morning that the Christian life is a spiritual journey with peaks and pitfalls. It is uneven, knowing periods of passionate engagement and lean seasons when there is little joy or passion. If it was true of Peter - or, should I say, Rocky Johnson, it will be true for most of us sometime. This is what I want our young people to know - that throughout their journey, whether it be faith’s springtime or winter chill, God keeps them. God was at your beginning, God will be at your end, and God will be with you . . In the meantime. That is so critical to know, to believe. You will hear other messages. And maybe other approaches to the life of faith will move you and attract you. And that is fine. We are not all the same; we respond to a variety of approaches and appeals. © Grand Valley State University �Peter: a Rocky Road Richard A. Rhem Page 6   Reading the Saturday newspaper, I read an article about a March for Jesus to be held in this community and the nation this month. I am not inclined to be a part of that, not because Jesus is not for me the way, the truth and the life, but because I sense something in the movement that doesn’t feel right to me. It is almost as though we need to hit the world over the head with Jesus. There is a militancy, a triumphalism about it that makes me uncomfortable. And that gives me occasion to say that the Grand Haven City Manager, Mr. Cotton, is absolutely right - constitutionally, of course, but even in terms of civility and sensitivity, in recommending that the cross be not raised on Dewey Hill in what is a national holiday. Thank God for our nation, our freedom, but do not connect cross and nation. It is to denigrate the cross, to identify its universality with a national celebration. That is sacrilege. Is that not part of what is happening in Kosovo and other points of conflict resulting in ethnic cleansing? Again, are we so insecure that we must become so blatant? Next month an evangelist, John Guest, will conduct an evangelistic crusade in Grand Haven and there will be a youth dimension as part of the crusade. There you will hear quite a different word than you’ve heard from me. John Guest is a friend, an honorable Christian leader. Some years ago he preached here and some of you knew and came to love him during the 60s when he carried on a beach ministry. There will be a straightforward preaching of the traditional Gospel of salvation and an invitation to turn one’s life over to Jesus, to be saved, to use the old language. And some of you just might need such a clear call and challenge. But, hear it as a further challenge on your spiritual journey, not as one lost in danger of hell. I read the publication of a high school youth ministry in this area, First Priority, which also clearly distinguishes the saved from the lost and seeks to use the "saved kids" to win "the lost kids." Apparently they are successful. But, I wince at the easy classification of the saved and the lost. Who has a right to determine that, and on what basis? Again, there are varieties of religious experience; different people respond to different approaches and appeals. I do not want to be understood this morning preaching against anyone or any organization. But, I do want to be clear with our own youth. I want the message of this community to be loud and clear because I do believe we offer an alternative variety of religious experience. You belong. God loves you. God’s grace includes you. And you are invited to the rich spiritual adventure of living in this faith community and finding your own firsthand experience. © Grand Valley State University �Peter: a Rocky Road Richard A. Rhem Page 7   We have done what we can do. We have given you the ingredients of a secondhand religious experience. Now, with that as part of you, find your way to your own personal experience, knowing all the time you cannot fall out of the love of God. And you will know when you are well on the way when the fruit of your life is marked by compassion, joy, peace, love, gentleness, kindness, and self control. You are beautiful. We believe in you. Find your way and know you will always be home here. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/afa8ffbd76f1258321a6515a8341cc2d.mp3 50b691dc8b2f94cb6f6b78b10082ec77 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Eastertide VI, Mother's Day Series Varieties of Religious Experience Scripture Text Acts 10:9-16, 34-35, Galatians 2:11-14, Matthew 16:13-23, 26:69-75 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-0-19990509 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-05-09 Title A name given to the resource Peter: A Rocky Road Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on May 9, 1999 entitled "Peter: A Rocky Road", as part of the series "Varieties of Religious Experience", on the occasion of Eastertide VI, Mother's Day, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Acts 10:9-16, 34-35, Galatians 2:11-14, Matthew 16:13-23, 26:69-75. Community of Faith Inclusive Mother's Day https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2918a555c90130bbfa04aa564b0907a7.pdf f3ffc870db418f1f3e51b81c82310bb5 PDF Text Text James: The Best of Conservatism From the series: Varieties of Religious Experience Scripture: Acts 15:1-21; James 2:14-26 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Eastertide, May 16, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon We have been noting in the Eastertide season that there is a variety of religious experience. When one surveys the landscape of the Church, that must be obvious. And it is obvious, as well, in the early leaders of the Christian movement as we find them in the New Testament documents. I have dealt with Paul in regard to his recognition of the Spirit/flesh civil war that rages with the human being and in regard to his misreading of the time line of history where his generation was in the unfolding drama of history. I will come back to him in a few weeks, but I mention him now because today our focus is James, and James and Paul are studies in contrast. Both were of the strictest observants of Judaism. Paul was encountered by a vision of the risen, ascended Christ and made a radical departure from his former Pharisaic Jewish observance. James was given an appearance encounter by Jesus after Easter, according to Paul, convincing him that Jesus was the Messiah, but he remained an observant Jew until his execution in the 60s, having become the Bishop of the Jerusalem Mother Church, a "Christian" Church of observant Jews who believed Jesus was the Messiah, crucified, raised from the dead, ascended to the presence of God from whence they expected his imminent return. Paul, the radical innovator. James, the conservative guardian of tradition. Reflecting on these matters is not simply for the purpose of historical interest; it has everything to do with how we today conserve the core insights and truths of the Christian tradition and at the same time incorporate the ever growing knowledge available to us from ancient times, from historical study of Christian origins, from biblical research, and the exploding knowledge of the world of © Grand Valley State University   �James, Best of Conservatism Richard A. Rhem Page 2   which we are a part, and how we accommodate the tradition to new understanding. Think with me about James, the brother of Jesus, whom I point to as representing the best of conservatism. Conservatism has become a label we put on political parties or parties within an institution such as the Church. Conservative is usually paired with liberal as its opposite. But, that is really unfortunate. I have carried with me since the 60s when I first read it, a statement by Walter Lippmann: Every truly civilized and enlightened man is conservative and liberal and progressive. He is conservative because the roots of our civilization lie in those three ancient kingdoms of the Mediterranean: Israel, Greece, and Rome. He is liberal because the laws must be administered with charity and magnanimity. He is progressive because the times change and we must act in the world as it is and as it is becoming. Here, liberal points to a liberal spirit as open and magnanimous, while the word progressive is probably what we think of as liberal - at least in the Church. If we agree, then we would see Paul as progressive and James as conservative. But, if we believe Lippmann, a civilized and enlightened person will hold in tension conservatism and progressivism and that, because we are shaped by a tradition that is rooted in history when certain core values and understandings come to expression, and we are in the stream of history whose one constant is change, evolution, and emergence of the new. Unfortunately, in times like ours, marked by culture wars and in the Church by the rhetoric of the religious right and defensiveness of the mainline, we tend to label and to engage in name calling and we fail to recognize that there are truths and values that shape the tradition that must be preserved and yet must be allowed to evolve with the changing landscape of history. I use conservative in that proper sense of the word as the concern to learn the roots of the tradition and preserve the core values and insights in order that they may be passed on and not lost. Note: Such an understanding of conservatism is not at all fundamentalism which is simply the reiteration of yesterday’s answers to today’s question. James was a Conservative in contrast to Paul who was a Progressive, but both James and Paul were both conservative and progressive - one more this, the other more that, but both struggling with a very real and still present struggle preserving the best of the past while opening to the needs of the present and openness to the future. © Grand Valley State University �James, Best of Conservatism Richard A. Rhem Page 3   The James we are talking about is the brother of Jesus, the author of the Letter of James in the New Testament, called James the Just or the Righteous. I’ve never really thought about James in terms of his religious experience, but it is fascinating to think about where he came from and where he moved. Because it is so difficult to think about Jesus as a real flesh and blood human being, I suspect we don’t think much about what it must have been like in the home of Mary and Joseph while he was growing up. James grew up with him. They must have played together, worked together, argued, fought. All of that is without record. We do know, however, that when Jesus left home for his ministry he proved embarrassing to the family. Mark 3 tells how the word was out that he was mad and Mary and his brothers came to take him home. He did not go out to talk to them. Rather, he said, "Who is my mother, my brother, my sister - the one who does the will of God." Obviously, there was alienation and estrangement. From non-canonical sources we know that James was an ascetic, perhaps a Nazirite, one who life long follows a very strict rule of holy living. If James was a Nazirite, would he not have been shocked and incensed at the loose practices of his brother? Would he not have been scandalized by Jesus’ overturning the conventional wisdom of the day - his open table fellowship and his disregard for the ritual purity laws? While we have no way of knowing, I find it fascinating to think about how contrasting were these two brothers out of the same home. Of course, we can simply say the radical newness Jesus proclaimed and lived out was the consequence of the Spirit that filled him. He saw something; he acted on it. James remained faithful to the whole tradition that was part of their parental home. But, Paul tells us the risen Christ appeared to James and we know from Paul’s letters and the Book of Acts that James became the leader of the Jerusalem Church. If we follow the story in Acts, Paul goes on the missionary journey with Barnabas, sent out by the Church in Antioch. Now, Antioch was a great metropolitan center. It was there that non-Jews, Gentiles, were first evangelized and it was in Antioch that followers of Jesus were first called Christians. Now you have a mixed congregation, an integrated congregation - Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians. The burning issue was whether the Gentiles would have to become Jews by practicing circumcision and observing the food laws. Some Jewish Christians came to Antioch from Jerusalem, saying there was no salvation except by observing the Jewish law. Paul strenuously objected. He had quite another vision. © Grand Valley State University �James, Best of Conservatism Richard A. Rhem Page 4   To settle the issue, a Council was called in Jerusalem. Each side presented their case – Peter told of his experience with Cornelius and the obvious lesson that God showed no partiality. Paul and Barnabas told of their experiences of God’s grace experienced by Gentiles on their mission trip. It was then James, leader and conscience of the Council, who spoke. He went to the Hebrew scriptures which pointed to a time when the Gentiles would be included and he made the decision ... we should not trouble those Gentiles who are turning to God – He did counsel that they abstain from certain practices that would be especially offensive to the Jewish Christian congregants. The decision was affirmed. There you have James the Conservative who was also progressive – a new situation, new times, therefore modifications - Gentiles received as members of the Christian Church, recipients of the grace of God, possessors of the Holy Spirit, but not having to become observant Jews. James was conservative in that he searched the scripture tradition and found a basis for this innovation. But, what of James; what of James’ religious experiences? I am looking forward to the weekend in November when the Jewish scholar, Amy-Jill Levine, is with us. Her theme will be the breakup of Judaism and Christianity - What was lost? What was gained? We have in Paul and James the dilemma of two differing visions – Paul remained a Jew and the God of Israel was his God. But, the traditional religious observances came to be for Paul, and I suspect Peter, matters of indifference - to observe or not to observe; it was not something of critical import. Not so for James; he remained to his death fully observant and he was the leader of a Jewish Christian community, fully observant. He has an Epistle in the New Testament. It is interesting to read it next to Paul’s letter to the Galatians, for example, or Romans. James’ famous claim is Faith without works is dead. Paul claimed we are saved by grace alone through faith alone without any religious observance. Good works follow, worship follows, righteous living follows, but no religious observances or good works are elements of our salvation. Paul said Faith without works; James said Faith was demonstrated in works. What James calls for is certainly what we would claim as the proper response of grace - if a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, you supply those bodily needs. Faith without such works of compassion is dead. Certainly Paul would agree. But, where then was the difference? © Grand Valley State University �James, Best of Conservatism Richard A. Rhem Page 5   It was nuance; yet it was not without consequence. It created two different tone qualities in the religious communities. James was the best of the conservative end of the Christian spectrum because he made room for new practice and conditions in a new situation. But, he was conservative in that he remained in the original mold. Martin Luther with his explosive experience of God’s grace loved Paul and strongly disliked James. He called his letter an Epistle of Straw, although later in life he wondered if he had been too hard on James. Human society, political institutions, educational establishments, religious traditions are always in tension because all are enmeshed in the stream of history which is ever moving into new territory, gaining fresh perspective, discovering new information, creating novel experiences that call for innovative solutions and creative adjustment. For example, one of the great institutions of this nation is under siege - the Public School. Governor Jeb Bush has apparently succeeded in his intention to make Florida a total voucher system state. The Walton Foundation, created by the success of Wal-Mart, is behind a scholarship program to provide money for some 40,000 students to afford private schooling. These are simply examples of a sharp debate going on currently and destined to become more intense between advocates of public education ad advocates of private schooling. Where will it lead us? The conservative impulse warns about losing what has been a great shaper of the American ethos. The progressive reformers point to the weaknesses and failures of the public school. The Conservative will not stand pat, refusing change, but will insist that certain values and truths not be lost. The Progressive sees much that could well be left behind in the realization of a new vision. It is not so dangerous to speak of education in the Church; it is a step removed from the center of the religious community and thus not of such emotional intensity. But, what if we speak of confessional loyalty, biblical interpretation, congregational practice? It is the same kind of tension. That is why we have established the Center for Religion and Life and that is why we are bringing in the best of scholarship and people on the cutting edge of theological reflection and historical research. We are committed to conservatism and progress in a spirit of liberality. James lives here. He says with a sigh and some fear and trembling, "Well, okay. But remember, don’t forget!" He knows movement, evolution of knowledge and practice is the rule of life, but he is committed to preserving the light and truth of the founding vision. © Grand Valley State University �James, Best of Conservatism Richard A. Rhem Page 6   Marcus Borg, who will be with us next weekend, is not a James; he is rather a Paul in terms of a new vision. But, while his scholarship pushes him to a new vision, he clearly brings to that scholarship the experience of communion with God; he is a deeply spiritual person. His most recent publication is in collaboration with an English scholar, N. T. Wright, who is James all over again. In The Meaning of Jesus, they each write on the same question in each chapter, for example, "What Did Jesus Do and Teach?," "The Death of Jesus," on resurrection, virgin birth, "Was Jesus God?," "The Virgin Birth," the Second Coming and the Christian life. They were students together at Oxford University and they remain good friends, holding each other in high esteem and affection. And they take differing views on all the cardinal points of these biblical and theological questions. Thus, they are a model of civil discourse, of civility and humane value. From their conversation comes insight and fresh understanding. I read The Meaning of Jesus and have no question but that Marcus Borg has pursued the critical analysis of Christian origins, discerned the implications and created a fresh paradigm of the Christian vision. Wright’s scholarship is not in question, but he refuses to follow the data and continues to hold to an understanding of the Christian message not much different than I held when I left seminary 39 years ago this month. What makes a James, a Paul, a Marcus, a Tom Wright? What determines how we receive fresh insight, new information? How we respond to the implications of new knowledge? Some of us have conservative genes, some progressive genes, perhaps. Some of us float above with no earth-shaking experience; for some of us the earth moves beneath us and we see something radically different than we ever saw before. We need each other. We need to be in conversation. We don’t need fundamentalists, those who refuse to open themselves to new knowledge, refuse to think and simply reiterate yesterday’s answer to today’s question and most often with defensiveness and hostility born of insecurity. But, we need those like James who recognizes the need for new ways for new situations in the unfolding of history, but who holds to the ways of the past, finding there still that which keeps him in conscious communion with God. James was a really good person, serious, faithful, trustworthy - and you could talk to him. He was the best of conservatism. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c5e92c2efeb003348d8a10bed0dcfe50.mp3 188182a38f3a3f02ede6491c19500da4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Eastertide VII, Ascension Sunday Series Varieties of Religious Experience Scripture Text Acts 15:1-21, James 2:14-26 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19990516 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-05-16 Title A name given to the resource James: The Best of Conservatism Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on May 16, 1999 entitled "James: The Best of Conservatism", as part of the series "Varieties of Religious Experience", on the occasion of Eastertide VII, Ascension Sunday, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Acts 15:1-21, James 2:14-26. Conservative Grace Inclusive Progressive https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/bd49ff8d266b2b0adfd855c7c5811cab.pdf 8258595388722de2a946ce5176b0d3a0 PDF Text Text The Experience of God is Salvation From the series: Varieties of Religious Experience Scripture: Acts 10:34-48; I John 4:7-16 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Trinity Sunday, May 30, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon In the liturgical year that we follow, this is Trinity Sunday. It is the Lord’s Day following Pentecost which we celebrated last week, the Festival of the Holy Spirit, and it concludes another cycle of the Christian Year that begins four Sundays before Christmas with the Advent Season. There is a certain logic to designating this day Trinity Sunday because we have gone through the cycle that moves through the history of God’s revelation in Jesus Christ and presence in the Holy Spirit. There is probably no more philosophically difficult theological discussion than that which deals with the doctrine of the Trinity, or the Triune God - that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are one God. The originating language was the conceptuality of Greek philosophy and the long history of dispute was in part the fact that the Eastern Church used Greek while the Western Church used Latin. The problem the doctrine of the Trinity was attempting to solve was how these Jewish monotheists who brought the Gospel to the Gentile world could maintain that monotheism, that God is One, while speaking of Jesus as God in human flesh, God incarnate. And not only Jesus Christ as God incarnate, but as with them still as Holy Spirit or the Spirit of God or the Spirit of Christ. The discussions were philosophically sophisticated, often acrimoniously asserted and politically motivated. We do not think any longer in the philosophical language and conceptuality of the Greek world of those ancient times. Yet, what those early thinkers were trying to bring to expression is still critical to our understanding of God and the Divine-human relationship. And stripped of its philosophical terminology and mode of thought, what the early Church was trying to say is quite simple. It is that God is the Absolute, Ultimate Mystery, the ground and source of all that is. God is beyond our knowing, beyond our capacity to know. God is Mystery, not as we speak of a mystery that baffles us, that we are © Grand Valley State University   �Experience of God is Salvation Richard A. Rhem Page 2   working on, and expect someday to solve, to explain. God is Mystery in the sense that we cannot comprehend the being of God. The older theology spoke of God’s incomprehensibility. But we speak of God. How can that be? We speak of God because God reveals God’s self in our human flesh; indeed, God identifies with our humanity. We see, we hear, we touch the Word made flesh. To use our Lenten language, God is mirrored in a human face. That is the Christian claim. Something can be known of the nature and character of the ultimate Mystery of God because it has come to expression in the human. The Christian idea of the Trinity goes one step further; it claims that that ultimate Mystery whose nature and character are expressed in a human life is really the life of all that is - that the whole of reality is in-spirited with God. Nothing exists but the life, the breath of God. All of that is not so difficult; in fact, it is quite obvious – The Ultimate MysteryGod must hold all things in being, must be pervasively present in all things, the Source, the energy, the creative center, moving the whole along the emerging, the unfolding of the bio-historical, evolutionary process, thus God’s Spirit - the wind, the breath that is enlivening. And the Ultimate Mystery, if it would be known, must show itself - communicate its nature and intention. Thus, the intention or idea of the Mystery "lands," so to speak, in history, takes on flesh, shows itself and so it is the claim of the Christian revelation that the character and nature and intention of God can be read off the face of Jesus Christ - flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone. That is what the Christian religion claims. That is, Christian theology, or doctrine, or dogma is an attempt to articulate the experience that grounded and founded the Christian movement. We are thinking animals; we want to understand our experience and so we reflect and we do our best to put experience in word and concepts. Those words and concepts are not the experience; they are a step or more removed from the experience – To understand the doctrine of the Trinity is not the same as having the experience of God. Yet, the concept arises out of experience. Look at I John 4:7-16. The letter begins, We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life. © Grand Valley State University �Experience of God is Salvation Richard A. Rhem Page 3   Now remember this is John or the community of John, the Gospel of which begins, In the beginning was the word ... Which calls to mind immediately Genesis 1:1, In the beginning God ... Now, is that accidental or is this writer intentionally connecting what he is writing about with the word made flesh that emerged from the Creator of all? And what is he trying to say? Well, among other things, in the lesson I read from the fourth chapter, he is calling those to whom he writes to love one another. Why? Because God is love. How does he know? Because he believes Jesus Christ was a revelation of the character and nature of God. And this writer claims that one can know the love of God by loving another; in the love of one person for another is experienced the love of God. God is love. If we love one another, God lives in us ... How do we know? By this we know that we abide in God and God abides in us because God has given us his Spirit. Again: God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. This is my point: the raw material of the Trinity which is a theological construct lies in experience, the concrete experience of that early Christian community. The theological formulation of the Trinity is sometimes criticized because it is not in the Bible. Well, the term is not, but the experience that grounds the concept that points back to the experience is in the Bible. One more illustration - Peter at the house of Cornelius. We come back to this passage often because it is a paradigmatic story from the early Church. Cornelius is a God-fearing Gentile, a Roman officer. He prays and has a vision in which he is instructed to send for Peter. Peter has a vision to prepare him for this call. © Grand Valley State University �Experience of God is Salvation Richard A. Rhem Page 4   Peter goes to Cornelius’ house, contrary to his religious training and conditioning, and says, "Why did you send for me?" Cornelius responds by asking that Peter tell them what the Lord has commanded him to say. Peter tells the story of Jesus - quite amazed that all this could be happening. I truly understand that God shows no partiality but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. Can that be you speaking, Peter? And what does he say? The message ... how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power ... There it is again - God, Jesus, Spirit. And before Peter was through preaching, the Spirit fell on all who heard ... The experience demanded a modification in the construct of God for Peter. Now, this is my point. The idea of a Triune God or the Trinity is a theological construct - an intellectual articulation of an understanding which resulted from reflection on experience. The doctrine of the Trinity was not thought up by some ancient Christian or church council to confound and mystify the faithful forever. Rather, a community of folk gathered around Jesus of Nazareth had this experience. Paul knocked off his horse; Peter had a vision; James had an appearance of the brother he couldn’t countenance, present to him after he was crucified. What can they make of it? Jews all, they believe God is One - but did they not experience the Holy, the Sacred, indeed, God - when they were with Jesus? And now that he is no longer in the flesh, having been crucified, dead and buried, do not their hearts burn within them yet - his Spirit is a living presence with them. How does one express what one experiences? Words, concepts. But, they are inadequate; in fact, they distort; they becloud as much as enlighten. What now; must I believe in the Trinity? No, of course not. It is a human conceptual scheme that points beyond itself to the Ultimate Mystery whose nature and character can be read off from the life of Jesus whose spirit is the Spirit of God which is God’s pervasive presence in all that is. What do I have to believe? Nothing. God is not about our believing something. God is to be trusted, experienced, rested in. This is where we’ve done such a poor job in the Church, © Grand Valley State University �Experience of God is Salvation Richard A. Rhem Page 5   insisting on right belief, as though we know, as though our ideas correspond to reality, to the Mystery that is God. Right belief - that is orthodoxy. The philosopher Santayana said, Orthodoxy sanctions and supports the natural man while remaining open and congenial to the possibility of his spiritual development. Do you "hear" that? Orthodoxy - careful doctrinal delineation - that has a place, just as the early Church attempted to bring some order and structure to its experience. But, our finest articulations of the experience of God are but crooked fingers pointing beyond word and concepts. Think of all the words I’ve used to point to the limited usefulness of words and concepts. Of course, we desire to understand, but even more, we must understand that we cannot understand - Then we will perhaps be silent; then we will perhaps learn to wait on the Lord. Then in the silence, we may see, as I did this morning, a silver moon hang over a glassy sea, creating a path of light - or see the sun rise and hear a cardinal sing a celebration of the dawn, and simply be still, and know that God is God, and all is well. Then we will understand that, in the moments of silence that follow my speaking, there is more possibility of experiencing the presence of the Holy than in all the chattering of my voice. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7f588bfc8fbf193ecde0525add9af5c8.mp3 7b165db200675363dad52238281029c9 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Trinity Sunday, Pentecost II Series Varieties of Religious Experience Scripture Text Acts 10:34-48, I John 4:7-16 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-0-19990530 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-05-30 Title A name given to the resource The Experience of God is Salvation Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on May 30, 1999 entitled "The Experience of God is Salvation", as part of the series "Varieties of Religious Experience", on the occasion of Trinity Sunday, Pentecost II, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Acts 10:34-48, I John 4:7-16. Mystery of God Trinitarian Nature of Religion Trinity Sunday https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d9a267c353d6ef7061aaf5a3ea3f5ed6.pdf 54e6d912d2492721cab44c8b1ee4928b PDF Text Text Paul: A Larger God and a Grander Vision From the series: Varieties of Religious Experience Text: Ephesians 2:14-16; 4:4-6 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan June 13, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon In the sermon this morning, I am going to return to Paul and try to redeem him somewhat. The last time that we thought about Paul, a few weeks ago, I said that he was simply wrong about history, and he was. I won’t take anything back from that. Paul had a religious experience in which he not only experienced the presence and the glory of God, but also was drawn into a kind of apocalyptic understanding of history whereby he expected the end to occur very soon. And he was wrong about that. But, what he experienced in that encounter with God, what he came to understand, gave him a sense of a larger God and a grander vision, and that is still a tremendously important understanding for us to gain from St. Paul. We have recognized that Paul is probably one of the great formative, shaping persons of mind and spirit in the whole of the Western tradition. Paul impacted St. Augustine, who probably would rank right there with Paul, and, on the basis of that experience, Martin Luther’s 16th century experience of the grace of God has put another filter through which we see Paul. And even in our own century, Karl Barth gives us a certain perspective of Paul that creates a lens by which we read him. But I came across a rather interesting source that gives me some fresh eyes with which to read Paul. A young Jewish scholar, Alan Segal, in a book, Paul, The Convert, returns to the first century and reads our New Testament as a source of information about first century Judaism, which, of course, was not only Paul’s context, but also Jesus’ context, and Alan Segal sees him, not through that Protestant experience of justification by grace through faith which Luther made to stick and to which Augustine had pointed; but, rather, Alan Segal as a Jewish interpreter of Paul, sees Paul’s struggle to create one new community or one new humanity out of the Jewish community and the Gentile community who Paul saw united in Jesus Christ. Segal would make the point, along with some others, that justification by grace through faith, which is so very Lutheran and very Protestant, was not really the center of Paul’s passion at all. He was saying that salvation is to be received by faith or by trusting God because God is gracious, and that means that the © Grand Valley State University   �Paul’s Larger God and Vision Richard A. Rhem Page 2   respective religious communities, trusting that grace and receiving it, not through any ceremony or any particular religious ritual, but rather, that grace received by faith could be that common entré to God for this diverse community of people in the first century. I think that there is some fresh insight that Segal brings us in a perspective on Paul. It’s understandable that the Jewish community for centuries has not fussed with Jesus and has not fussed with Paul because Jesus and Paul have been a source of the Church’s anti-Semitism and triumphalism and, therefore, there was a block. But, Alan Segal says if you read Paul in the New Testament, it’s the best source we have of information about first century Judaism which is so critical to understand if we want to understand both the message of Jesus and the ministry of Paul. So he begins by pointing to Paul’s authentic religious experience, and I want to begin there, too, this morning. There is such a thing as an authentic religious experience, and this spring I’ve been using William James’ classic text, The Varieties of Religious Experience, in order to say to all of us just that: that there is a variety of religious experience. Alan Segal says Paul had an authentic religious experience. He can say that 2000 years later as a Jewish commentator. There was reality, there was honesty, there was integrity, there was authenticity in Paul’s religious experience. We had here two or three weeks ago Marcus Borg and if you were here that Sunday morning and you stayed for the Perspectives hour afterwards, you heard Marcus Borg share on request a recent spiritual experience that he had which was a kind of mystical sense of the sacred, of the holy at the presence of God, and I could see that some of you were saying, "Oh, I feel like such a deadhead," that I reminded you that I’m a deadhead, too, when I told you, as I say many times, my little pinky’s never even tingled. Well, Marcus Borg wrote a note commending all of you as a community and speaking of the good time he had here, and he added this: P.S. And I like your theology. You say that you’ve never had so much as a tingle in your pinky finger, but you know about the sacred. We both know that religions are imaginative human constructions. [You’ve been hearing me say that, and one time he wrote me a note about where did that come from, and I said Gordon Kaufman was the author of that idea that religions are human imaginative constructions.] We both know that religions are imaginative human constructions, to sound like Kaufman/Rhem, and I sense that you know there is the sacred behind all those constructions. Not all, perhaps not very many "liberal" theologians know that, but I sense that you do, and I’m happy to be called a liberal theologian myself. Now, the nice thing about Marcus is that he not only shared his own experience in a very gentle way, in a way that really didn’t make anyone who didn’t have that © Grand Valley State University �Paul’s Larger God and Vision Richard A. Rhem Page 3   particular experience feel that they were sort of outside the tent. He has a very fine way of communicating that authentic religious experience that he has had. The nice thing about this little note is that he acknowledged that I can be in the tent with him, even though my pinky doesn’t tingle. The point is this, and I think it’s so important that you hear this, that there is a variety of religious experience, because what we’ve done, particularly in Protestantism, is we have taken this unusual experience of Paul and we’ve made it normative so that anybody who didn’t get it like Paul got it might suspect whether or not they really have it, and that’s just not the point. Authentic religious experience comes in lots of different forms through a lot of different experience, and I think that none of us ought to lust after the experience of another, but perhaps just breathe deeply and relax and trust that we are embraced by the grace of God. Sometimes there is a Paul who has a vision and it is so compelling and wedded to such a passionate personality, that that vision grows legs and begins to walk across the earth, and of course, this is what happened with Paul. He had an authentic religious experience; he had a vision of the holy and of the sacred; he saw the glory of God and the glory of God took the shape of Jesus, and in that experience, he felt himself called, particularly to the nations or the Gentiles or anyone who was a non-Jew. Now, the interesting thing is that Paul was a Pharisee, and we’ve gotten such bad press on the Pharisees from the New Testament which comes out of a conflict situation, but the Pharisees were the most sincere, the most serious, the most engaged of Jewish observers. They were careful, observant Jews who were deadly serious about observance of the ritual, of the ceremony, of the law, and Paul was one of those. In the wake of Paul’s encounter with this glory of God in the face of Jesus, he went off for a while simply to assimilate all of this and to put it all together, and then, sensing himself to be called particularly to the non-Jew, to the Gentiles, he began to hang out with them, and, as he hung out with them, he found that here were non-Jewish people who heard the story of Jesus Christ and the grace of God in Christ who came to the same kind of insight, understanding, and experience that he, Paul, the former Pharisee, had. I don’t even want to say "former Pharisee." I want to say Paul, the Jew, who continued to have high regard for Torah. In fact, Paul, in his letters, which Alan Segal tells us from a Jewish perspective are very Jewish in his argumentation and his reasoning – not systematic like John Calvin made him, but very Jewish in the concrete situation to which he was addressing Jewish Rabbinic kind of reasoning and so forth – begins to indicate that God’s intention is for one new humanity, that in Jesus Christ that middle wall of partition was torn down, that wall of hostility, and I think there is some basis at least in the Letter to the Ephesians that was read a while ago. But, even in the other writings of Paul, his biggest concern was to find out how to get people like him, with all that Jewish background, into community with people from all of the respective paganisms of the nations, all the non-Jewish religious observances, © Grand Valley State University �Paul’s Larger God and Vision Richard A. Rhem Page 4   how to get those people together, because the Jewish system had certain ways of preparing food and of eating at table and, of course, there was that sign of the covenant community, circumcision. How could you get those two groups into a unity? In the Letter to the Ephesians, he says this is the purpose of God hidden through the ages, this mystery of God hidden through all the ages, now coming to expression through me, through the gospel, through the church. There was an incipient universalism in the institution of the covenant of grace with Abraham. In Abraham the word was, the understanding of that calling of Israel, was that in Abraham, all peoples of the earth would be blessed. The particularity of the call of the Jew was on behalf of the universality of God’s claim on all. And Paul, now, begins to hang out with these Gentile Christians, and he sees they have the same kind of authentic experience that he has. It seems to be the same God, the same grace, it seems to be the same kind of response in life, and this is what Paul saw: God is bigger than ever I thought, and all of the religious observances, structures, forms, all of that is relative and relatively unimportant. Let’s just take the case of circumcision. A few weeks ago we looked at Acts 15, which is the Jerusalem Council where this dilemma of Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians was to be resolved, how they could live together. One of the people at the Jerusalem Council whom Paul and Barnabas brought along was Titus, and Titus was a Gentile, and Paul makes a point of the fact that they didn’t require that Titus be circumcised in order to sit at the table of the Council of Jerusalem in deciding these matters. But, if you would go to the 16th chapter of Acts, you would find Paul meeting Timothy and wanting Timothy to go with him and finding out that Timothy’s mother was a Jew and Timothy had never been circumcised and so, Paul has Timothy circumcised in order to make him properly marked as a Jew who now is a believer in Jesus. Now, if you’re thoroughly confused on all that, let me say what it means. It means that Titus was never circumcised and it didn’t matter. It didn’t take away anything. And Timothy was circumcised later on as an adult, and it didn’t add anything. It was purely a pragmatic matter of sensitivity to the social, religious context in which Titus and Timothy, respectively, were to minister. And this is what Paul saw. This stuff doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter. We have a baptismal shell there; we put water in it and we baptize infants; we cross their forehead with the water. We could really drip their big toe in paint thinner and, pointing to the same reality, it would be as effective. We have in the 8:30 service the Eucharist, the bread and the cup. We use grape juice. I’d rather use Gallo. But, it doesn’t matter. All religious observances and structures, according to Paul’s insight, do not matter. What matters is that the forms and the words and the structures are freighted with meaning, and are engaged in with authenticity, and then a community can be shaped in a wide variety of ways. Jews with Pharisaic background can come to the table of the © Grand Valley State University �Paul’s Larger God and Vision Richard A. Rhem Page 5   Lord, joining with Gentiles with no religious background or some Greek mystery religious background, coming to the table of the Lord and they can break the bread and pour the cup and know that they are one humanity because throughout all ages, God had no other intention, according to the insight of Paul, than to create one new humanity. And I think to Paul it was a larger God and a grander vision. Isn’t it strange how our respective religions crimp God and try to package God? It’s like having a pail at the seashore. We take our pails to the water and dip our pails in and the pail is a container for the water, but the pail, the container, cannot contain the ocean. God is so much more than our respective visions, our respective manners of worship, our mode of organization, our doctrinal systems. Paul saw that and, in seeing that, he became this passionate person. Now, if you read his Letter to the Galatians, an early letter, he got rather testy; he got rather nasty, because the thing he saw was that all of the things we do that are all relative are not the things that bring us into the experience of God. His own experience was that God is given to us by grace, and we simply trust that; we simply accept that, or we have faith that that is the case. We don’t do anything to earn or gain or secure that experience. We simply open our lives to whatever spirit, whatever rift in the sky, whatever manner in which God might come to us. There is a variety of religious experience, and we ought not to pigeon-hole anybody or have the sure set of dies by which a Christian can be cast, but the important thing is that, whatever that immediate experience, we see it as that which brings us into the community under the one God Who would create one new humanity, one human community. Paul prays for them powerfully in this Letter. And then in this third chapter, particularly, he prays in the name of the God for whom every family on earth is named. You get it? The God for whom every family on earth is named - this God will give to you an experience of God’s love that you’ve come to know its breadth and its length and its height and its depth. To know the love of God which is beyond knowing, you see? That what God wants is for people to have the experience of an ultimate, absolute love that is the Mystery of all things. Paul says, "Now, to God who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above anything I can ask or think, to God be glory in the church ..." and then he goes on to a practical application of it all in that fourth chapter, "with all humility and gentleness, patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace" for, he says, "there is one body and one spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is above all, through all, in you all ...." Almost sounds like Stoicism, almost sounds like Pantheism, or maybe better the Panentheism of a more contemporary expression, God who is not "out there" stirring the world with a stick now and then, but a God who is permeating the whole of reality, that dwells within us and binds us together and makes us one, © Grand Valley State University �Paul’s Larger God and Vision Richard A. Rhem Page 6   because there is no division in the whole of reality, be it cosmic, physical or human. That’s what Paul saw. That authentic religious experience saw him, enabled him to transcend the respective religions. The secret, folks, is to be serious about the religion you pursue without absolutizing it and without fear, somehow or other, of being threatened that if you don’t dot the i or cross the t, you’re out of luck, to be able to see the variety of religious experience and the diversity of religious expression. One must be passionate, following one’s own experience, knowing the love of God in all of its dimensions, with humility, gentleness, patience. We see the critical nature of things in the Balkans right now, as was alluded to in the prayers. It’s the old human story - the wounded Russian pride that will make its statement. So, shall we in NATO stand up to it and make it back down? Shall we put the barrel of the gun to the temple of that wounded giant? If we would do that, we would only be acting out what has been acted out in the respective religions, Orthodoxy, Roman Catholic, and Muslim, which fuels that ethnic division that nurses hurts and grudges and wounds over centuries. You see, Paul’s vision was not about religion. Paul saw religion, finally by the grace of God, as simply a means, relatively important, legitimate in diversity, but just a means to come to the experience of God Who is every dimension of love, Who calls us to peace. It’s a larger God; it’s a grander vision. References: Alan Segal. Paul, the Convert: The Apostolate and Apostasy of Saul the Pharisee. Yale University Press, 1992. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ac30452f91e2a3996cc4530290801d2c.mp3 3b38cc29e6b14334d2eb1fa187d9c1ea Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost IV Series Varieties of Religious Experience Scripture Text Ephesians 2:14-16, 4:4-6 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI References Alan F. Segal. Paul the Convert, 1992 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-0-19990613 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-06-13 Title A name given to the resource Paul: A Larger God and a Grander Vision Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on June 13, 1999 entitled "Paul: A Larger God and a Grander Vision", as part of the series "Varieties of Religious Experience", on the occasion of Pentecost IV, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Ephesians 2:14-16, 4:4-6. Compassion Inclusive Theology of Grace https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d9397a8111f101b8047b544ba8948967.pdf 2383a35c056f5bbaf40e57dfd3ab26ea PDF Text Text Jesus: The Grain of the Universe From the series: Varieties of Religious Experience Text: Genesis 1:2, 15-19; John 1:14 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan June 20, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon We talk a lot about Jesus here. We’ve given a lot of emphasis this year to the quest for the historical Jesus. We’ve had Jesus scholars, Dominic Crossan and Marcus Borg, here. We have focused a good deal on the historical Jesus to the extent that Jesus is recoverable through historical research, not only of the scriptures, but of the sociological context of his life, cross-cultural studies, and so forth, and we’ve done that because it is our claim here that, if we get Jesus right, we’ll get God right, because it is the claim of the Christian tradition that we see the heart of God in the face of Jesus. We see Jesus as the historical human embodiment of that which is true of God, deep down. We hear the fourth Gospel, that witness that says in words given to Jesus, "If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the father." And so, we talk about that a lot here because if we would have a proper understanding of God, if we would have an accurate insight into the nature of God, and if that comes and is derived from our understanding of Jesus, then obviously it is important that we do the best we can to learn who Jesus was in his life, his teaching, his actions, in his death and resurrection. So, we put a lot of stress on Jesus because we find Jesus as the clue to God - God, that Ultimate Mystery, that Absolute Mystery, that God beyond our comprehension, that God Who is the Creative Source of all things in the beginning and throughout, and the ultimate goal of all things, that God hidden from our eyes beyond our ability to comprehend, that Mystery we claim has come to expression, embodied in Jesus. We spend a lot of time with Jesus, and I want to say in this message, which gathers some of those loose ends up, that in Jesus we see the grain of the universe. By the grain of the universe I mean the way it’s all moving. I mean the divine intention. I mean from its origin to its consummation, that which it is all about according to the purpose and the intention of God. The grain of the universe. Where things are tending, where they are going if they are going to realize what God is all about. That’s what I mean by the grain of the universe, and I want to say that in Jesus we in the Christian tradition find the grain of the universe. © Grand Valley State University   �Jesus the Grain of the Universe Richard A. Rhem Page 2   That’s the intention of God for its consummation. In Jesus, in the face of Jesus, we come to an understanding of what everything is all about according to the intention of God as we believe. Now, there’s no question that the New Testament points us to Jesus as the clue to the nature of God. John, in his Gospel, opens up with words that remind us of the Genesis account, which says, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." John says, "In the beginning was the word; the word became flesh and dwelt among us." The law came through Moses in that historical revelation in Israel, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but Jesus has revealed God, and Paul, in his letter to the Colossians makes stupendous claims in that paragraph I read. He said Jesus is the image of the invisible God. The Greek word behind image is ikon; Jesus is the icon of God. He says that in Jesus, all of the fullness of the Godhead dwelt bodily. He says that in all things Jesus is to be preeminent. Paul believed that, but the way he expressed that in that cosmic terminology, in that cosmic context, was the consequence of those to whom he was writing because in that Colossians context they had ideas of God. They had ideas of deity; they had ideas of what the world was all about, and there obviously was a strong strain of Gnosticism there, and the gnostic from the Greek word gnosis, knowledge, had what they claimed was a secret, revealed knowledge, and for the initiated, this esoteric knowledge gave them insight into the secrets of the universe. Paul is bringing to them a counter claim. Paul is trying to use their terminology to say that all of the stuff that you claim about those various spiritual emanations, angels, dominions, powers, etc., all of that is wrapped up in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the icon of the invisible God, and all of the fullness of God. One doesn’t need all that "stuff" coming down from God and going back to God in order to get God moved far away from matter which is evil. Paul said that the eternal God who is light took flesh in Jesus, matter, the "stuff" of the world, the cosmos, and there this God was revealed. Paul makes stupendous claims for what came to expression in Jesus of Nazareth. I was reading a rather liberal, but somewhat old, commentary on this text and the commentator makes the point that the people to whom Paul was writing claimed they had a secret revealed knowledge, and Paul says to them, "Look, I’ve got the truth," and the commentator I don’t think really understood what he was saying, but he was saying, "... as though those people to whom Paul was writing claimed to have a secret knowledge of revelation and it didn’t matter what they observed in their human experience or what they reflected on, they had this secret revelation," and I thought to myself, "Commentator, what do you think Paul was saying?" Paul was doing the same thing as the Gnostics to whom he wrote. Paul said, "I have a revelation. I have a knowledge, and let me tell you that knowledge." This Christian biblical commentary says of course, this knowledge © Grand Valley State University �Jesus the Grain of the Universe Richard A. Rhem Page 3   that Paul had was revealed by God and it’s true and it scattered the darkness of those who said they also had a revelation. How does one discriminate? I don’t know. We are so arrogant, aren’t we? We take for granted that our knowledge is true and everybody else’s knowledge must be in error. But, be that as it may, what Paul was claiming is right central core Christian tradition. You want to know who God is? Look at Jesus. Jesus, the way of Jesus, is the clue to the nature of God. And my message this morning is that what we see in Jesus is the clue to the grain of the universe. The way everything is tending, the way everything is intended, Jesus standing for justice, non-violently, embodying love, grace, inclusiveness, marked by compassion, this Jesus in concrete humanity, the Christian tradition claims is an insight into the intention of God. There are those who would doubt that we can know anything about the intention of God. In the field of science, the natural sciences, there is a debate. Recently in April in the National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. there was a three-day conference on cosmic questions - was there a beginning? Is there any purpose? Are we alone? As a part of that conference which was sponsored by the Association for the Advancement of Scientific Studies and the Templeton Foundation, there was a debate arranged between John Polkinghorne, a physicist trained and who has taught at Cambridge who became an Anglican priest, and Stephen Wineberg, who is a Nobel Prize winning scientist-physicist, and the two of them debated these questions. Is there any evidence for God? Is there any evidence in the analysis of reality from what we can do? Is there any evidence for God’s purpose? Polkinghorne, of course, left the field of science for the ministry. Strange, but he did. Because he did see something that he wanted, obviously, to share. Stephen Wineberg says, "I don’t even think about religion enough to be called an atheist. I don’t see anything." But, there’s a very interesting discussion going on in the scientific field itself as to whether or not the universe was sort of planned and engineered so that there would eventually be 15 billion years down the line creatures like us who could be conscious of the fact and could talk about the fact that maybe the universe was planned and programmed with us in mind. The discussion is within science itself. Even within the Church, though, there are those who wonder whether or not we can be so cocksure about an ultimate purpose of things. An interesting discussion in the recent Christian Century by James Gustafson over against William Placher, James Gustafson saying, "You post-liberals, you think you’ve moved beyond liberalism, you’re just playing fast and loose with those terms. The old liberalism, for whatever it lacks, still uses critical rationality and asks the right questions and some of you are just brushing those questions aside." There’s discussion not only within the field of science, but within the field of theology about how much we can discern about an ultimate pattern, that ultimate purpose, an ultimate intention of all things. © Grand Valley State University �Jesus the Grain of the Universe Richard A. Rhem Page 4   Well, that’s my claim this morning, that Jesus is the clue to the grain of the universe. Now, that’s been the claim of the Christian tradition. But, I don’t do that simply because that’s what the tradition claims. I don’t do that, either, just because Paul thought so and the fourth Gospel says so, because there are a lot of things in the Bible I don’t believe. They are limited to their particular time and context and the Bible is not a divine book. The Bible is a human book, people struggling to give expression to that experience of God, and some of it is still compelling, and some of it doesn’t touch us anymore. So, I don’t say this this morning because the Bible says it. I say this morning to you as my message that Jesus is the reflection of the grain of the universe because I believe it, because as I learn what I can learn from all the sources that are available, to the extent that shadowy figure of the past takes on flesh and blood and form, to that extent, that Jesus is still a compelling figure. That Jesus moves me, motivates me, calls me, beckons me, and to the extent that I will follow Jesus, to that extent I do believe I will be in the flow of things, in the intention of God, running according to the grain of the universe, because what I see in Jesus is what makes humans humans, and what makes humanity humane. What I see in Jesus is that underscoring of compassion and mercy and grace and love and truth. What I see in Jesus is that one who is giving of himself for the sake of the other and the building of community on behalf of all those who have otherwise been excluded. I see that inclusive embrace which is embodying the embrace of God, that God Who includes all and excludes none, I see in Jesus that to which I say, "Yes, that’s true! Yes, that’s good! Yes, that’s the way it ought to be." Jesus compels me, motivates me, moves me. I do believe, to the extent that we would follow Jesus, we would be flowing with the cosmic flow of things. Fifteen billion years, starting with a big bang and an explosion of elemental matter, the cooling down, coalescing, coming to inanimate material to animate material to conscious life to self-consciousness, to human existence, to today. It only took 15 billion years in dimensions of space that I can’t even begin to comprehend, and then I am saying that in that Jew named Jesus from Nazareth, from his life, his actions, his words, from what was seen in him, confessed about him, believed about him, from that I get a clue into this 15 billion year unfolding, evolutionary, biological, historical trajectory into the future. That is a stupendous claim and it is a claim of faith and I do it, not because as I said it says so in the Bible, I do it because when I think about it and I reflect on my human experience and human community and world history, then I say that’s where it is - that one, that way, that would lead to a humane existence, a human community marked by justice, mercy, grace, love and peace. And then I would say that I believe that that creative source of all things and that creativity that moves through all and that spirit that enlivens all is that way. Can I verify that? Of course not. But it does make sense; it feels right. It’s consistent with my human experience; it resonates with my human experience; © Grand Valley State University �Jesus the Grain of the Universe Richard A. Rhem Page 5   that Jesus, that’s where it is, that’s where God wants things to be going, moving, coming more and more to expression, and finally, to consummation. And if that’s true, if Jesus is, indeed, the expression of the grain of the universe, no wonder the Gospel cuts against the grain, because everything in me that got me here, all my survival instincts, all of that self-centeredness, all of that self-concern, all of that lust for certainty and security, all of that that would make me all that I can be - all of that drive to be number one, to be on top, all of that which is so much a part of this being of mine that has come out of the slime and out of the jungle - all of that needs to die. When the time arrived and the Greeks wanted to see Jesus, Andrew and Philip came and said, "They want to see you," and all at once he went into a funk and he began to get philosophical and he said, "Except a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone." Trying to talk himself into it you see, trying to convince himself that it really was worthwhile going through with. If I hold on to my life, I’ll lose it, but if I give my life, I’ll bear fruit unto eternal life. Ah, Jesus is the grain of the universe. That’s the way God would intend things if I have any sense at all of what God might be about. But, it cuts against the grain of everything in me. No wonder Paul also said not only that in him all things hold together, but also that it was necessary to die with him. You see, Jesus is totally fascinating, more complex than we’ve yet begun to probe. Jesus, before whom it is better I should cease speaking, and the choir should begin singing. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ec33fbd2f2cbe0b60d1d6f5fed2ce657.mp3 4a945e3ba460956647ee3617b525c527 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost V Series Varieties of Religious Experience Scripture Text Genesis 1:2, 15-19, John 1:14 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19990620 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-06-20 Title A name given to the resource Jesus: The Grain of the Universe Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on June 20, 1999 entitled "Jesus: The Grain of the Universe", as part of the series "Varieties of Religious Experience", on the occasion of Pentecost V, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Genesis 1:2, 15-19, John 1:14. Compassion Divine Intention Mystery Way of Jesus https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/21e0333f8480149ab7da9b8d664ff8c9.pdf 4e18b48e4094c4aee7a752a5ff50c47a PDF Text Text All Are Welcome Here Scripture: Isaiah 42:1-4; Luke 15:1-2, 25-32 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan June 27, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon All are welcome here - to this congregation; to our worship; to this Table of our Lord. Shouldn’t that be obvious? Isn’t that taken for granted? We are a Christian Church, after all; of course, all are welcome here, or should be. But, of course, it cannot be taken for granted and in practice it simply is not true for the Christian Church at large – All are not welcome, at least not unless they conform to whatever the prevailing ethos of a given Church may be. This is what made Jesus’ behavior so revolutionary - he broke the social customs, overturned the conventional wisdom, embraced all manner of persons and excluded none. That is old hat at Christ Community. The gracious acceptance of all has been a hallmark of this place for nearly three decades and the grace we have purveyed is the grace I personally received when in 1971 this congregation invited me to return to be their pastor, even though I was at that time going through a divorce and in a struggle for the custody of our children. In 1971 that was a daring decision. Divorce was still stigmatized in the Church and clergy divorce almost unheard of. I experienced grace tangibly; it changed my life and it became the mark of my ministry. When we speak of Christ Community as an alternative to Church as usual, that is what we point to - the grace that we offer to all and any who desire to be part of this community. For all these years I have been working out a theology of grace, discovering the implications of grace. Acceptance, embrace without fear of rejection - that’s what everyone desires and needs. Whether our lives unfold without a wrinkle or whether we find ourselves in a situation we never intended or could even conceive of, the one thing we desperately need, and the only thing that can heal us and move us on toward wholeness is the unconditional love and gracious acceptance by another and by a community which enables us to believe in ourselves and know we are valued. © Grand Valley State University   �All Are Welcome Here Richard A. Rhem Page 2   The Church has been very slow to learn this, act it out and thus mirror the grace that was lived out by Jesus. The Gospel lesson from Luke 15 portrays a conflict situation. Jesus’ open table fellowship, which was a hallmark of his ministry, demonstrating his embrace of all, caused the religious leaders to grumble and their grumbling triggered perhaps Jesus’ most memorable parable, called the parable of the prodigal son, although it is really a story of the unconditional love of God. The story is familiar; the younger son asks for and receives his portion of the father’s estate, goes off to a far country, spends all in reckless living and finally, hitting bottom, returns to the father to plead for mercy to be accepted as a hired servant. You know the story - the father sees the son coming while he is still afar off, runs to him, embraces him with tears of joy. No talk of servanthood; rather, the father orders a great party because his son has come home. The Gospel lesson then records the reaction of the elder brother who had stayed home, faithfully worked the farm and done it all right. He comes upon the party and he is angry, protesting to the father that in all his years of faithful service there had never been a party for him. And now this wild one returns and there is joy, music, dancing and a great feast. The elder brother, in spite of the father’s assurance of love and pleading that he join the party, refuses to go in. That was Jesus’ response to the religious leaders who grumbled at his open table, his inclusion of the excluded ones. And that story is the heart of the Gospel of the grace of God as understood in the Christian faith. It is also the understanding of God in what I think is one of the most beautiful portions of the Hebrew scripture - II Isaiah, where we find the Servant Songs, poems describing the mission of God’s servant. In 42:1-4, the servant is one who will not break a bruised reed or quench a dimly burning wick. It is not an accident that Jesus found his identity and the nature of his mission in those Servant Songs. Why is it that the Church acts more often in the spirit and posture of the elder brother? Why has the Church so often been marked by a judgmental spirit of condemnation and exclusion rather than by the gracious inclusivity that marked the life of Jesus? Why are we so threatened by those whose race or ethnicity or sexual orientation differs from ours? Why can we not see the common humanity that transcends such superficial and accidental differences? The religious grumblers of Luke 15 criticized Jesus for eating with tax collectors and sinners, but that was not a moral issue; rather, those excluded were ritually impure according to the religious practice of the day. In other words, they were different, they didn’t fit the mold. Why is grace so difficult to come by? © Grand Valley State University �All Are Welcome Here Richard A. Rhem Page 3   I mentioned the grace extended to me when I was called here, even though going through a divorce. A young couple came to me to be married; one from this congregation, one from another. The one from the other congregation acknowledged he had asked his pastor about being married by a divorced minister and he assured me that his pastor said that he could rest easy because in divorce, I must have been the innocent party. And I knew at that moment that that was wrong - I knew in that moment that a minister of the Gospel of the grace of God should have known that in human relationship there are no innocent parties, but even so, had I been the chief offender, would that have forever after made me a moral leper, unable to be a servant of Christ? Some years ago a fine Christian gentleman, a professional, came to me to acknowledge alcoholism. He sought treatment and was experiencing a solid recovering mode. He related how hurt he was when a Christian friend, a professional man, took him aside, assuring him that there was forgiveness. He didn’t need forgiveness; he needed recovery and, as AA demonstrates so powerfully, that comes best by the gracious acceptance of others who lay on no guilt, but give encouragement on the road to sobriety. I suspect there is no more volatile issue facing the institutional Church in its respective denominational groupings than the matter of sexual orientation. Denominations are in turmoil, threatening to split over the issue, clergy are being put on trial in ecclesiastical assemblies for blessing same-sex unions, and Church synods become battlegrounds between those who advocate the full recognition and rights of gay/lesbian people and those who condemn them. A week ago there was a piece in the Grand Rapids Press about the Christian Reformed Synod which called the Church to repentance for its failure to minister to gay/lesbian folk. But, the Synod affirmed a 1973 report on homosexuality that, for its time, was ahead of its time, but which still held that the expression of one’s sexuality in a same-sex relationship was sin. And then one of the more compassionate spokespersons explained the Synod’s counsel to the churches love the sinner, not the sin, and I just shook my head and murmured, "They just don’t get it." That won’t work. If my sexual orientation is a given and my expression of it is reflective of my person, you can’t love me but not my expression of who I am. What hurt, what pain we have inflicted on persons simply for being who they are. Professor David Myers of Hope College’s Psychology Department and a deeply committed Christian, has just written an excellent piece in Perspectives which I would be happy to pass along to any of you who honestly wonder about this matter. © Grand Valley State University �All Are Welcome Here Richard A. Rhem Page 4   ... Can we, should we, relax and believe that, regardless of our sexual orientation, God loves us "just as I am"? Can we accept our own and others’ sexual orientation without excusing promiscuity, exploitation, or self-destructive behavior? Can we regard bathhouses and brothels, gay bars and strip joints, as similarly degrading? Can we accept gays who, not given what Catholics call the gift of celibacy, elect the functional equivalent of marriage (which society denies them) over promiscuity? To merit our acceptance must they live alone? Can our family values include love, care, loyalty, and respect for a son or daughter who may be predisposed to homosexuality? And might we Christians benefit from praying Reinhold Niebuhr’s serenity prayer? God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things that should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other. This is Gay Pride Month. I’m sorry there needs to be such an observance, but until persons of homosexual orientation are treated as they are, simply human beings reflecting the diversity of human sexuality, such observances will be necessary. We’ve seen that lady of great dignity, Rosa Parks, in the news recently. She received the highest civilian award from the President for the part she played in the Civil Rights Movement, being the catalyst for black protest when one day she refused to go to the back of the bus. Can we even imagine the indignity of Jim Crow laws today? Look how long we lived with that horrible injustice inflicted on black people. And while racism is alive and well, no normal person with a modicum of humanity would think of reinstituting such racist legislation. And one day I trust it will be the same for people of homosexual orientation. Until then, the cause must be carried on by all people of good faith. We didn’t like Civil Rights marches and black power activity in the 60s’. We don’t like gays/lesbians acting up. We would rather coexist with injustice and inhumanity. But, the time is long overdue, and until the time comes, I will wear a ribbon as a sign of my commitment to equal rights for all people, in this case, for the gay/lesbian community. Martin Luther said, 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. © Grand Valley State University �All Are Welcome Here Richard A. Rhem Page 5   This is not an optional issue for the Church; it is a test of its authenticity, of its commitment to justice and the grace of inclusiveness. Let me tell you honestly - I am sick at heart at the ignorance and arrogance of the Church. I nearly despair. I am torn, deeply torn. Were it not for this community and thus my experience of what a powerful influence for good, for human healing and well-being a faith community can be, I would leave the Church. I am so blessed to have this ministry. It is who I am; my best gifts are utilized, my passion given focus. But, were it not for you, I would give up. Yet, the one we follow would not give up and for that he got executed, But that was not the end of the story, for those who followed remembered him as he said and in the center of the Church has been a Table with bread and wine symbolizing body and blood, body and blood separated which points to execution - violent death - and we are invited to take bread and cup as sign of our solidarity with him, with his cause, and in solidarity with all who desire to gather here, making a renewed commitment to be the body of Christ, a sign of God’s reign, a community of justice, grace and peace. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3e7c6c082eb591c5377236d1f6df29ad.mp3 9da3f4c5907438bee574c7557a0c886e Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost VI Scripture Text Isaiah 42:1-4, Luke 15:1-2, 25-32 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19990627 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-06-27 Title A name given to the resource All Are Welcome Here Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on June 27, 1999 entitled "All Are Welcome Here", on the occasion of Pentecost VI, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Isaiah 42:1-4, Luke 15:1-2, 25-32. Compassion Inclusive Theology of Grace https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a282073125ad06716d898081fd9342b9.pdf c9ef93ce3a4d2744c467cac32b437074 PDF Text Text The Heart Cannot Rest Where the Mind Cannot Follow From the series: Moving On To Maturity Text: Isaiah 44:18; Ephesians 4:13; Matthew 5:48 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Pentecost VIII, July 11, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon As the children leave the sanctuary, the words of the old Spiritual come to me, "Give me that old time religion; give me that old time religion; it was good enough for my mother; it was good enough for my sister; it was good enough for my brother, and it's good enough for me." Well, we've all sung it and I think we can understand and feel some of the emotion that is behind that old Spiritual, but I will say this morning quite clearly and straightforwardly that the old time religion isn't good enough for me. It's not really that it's not good enough for me; it's just simply that it no longer works for me. The old time religion can no longer resonate with my knowledge and my human experience, that manner in which it sought to express the reality of the living God and the embrace of God, of the cosmic reality of which we are a part. It no longer tracks with what I understand about myself, about the world, about history, about God. And so, the old time religion comes up short in my experience and I want to speak about that this morning as I begin a new series of messages on "Moving On to Maturity." Moving on to maturity, or growing up as people of faith. I have experienced a freedom to address these issues in the last year and a half, which is a freedom that I didn't know that I didn't have before. When people ask me, "How are you doing," I say, "Just great," and they say, "Really, how are you doing?" And if they really want to know, then I use the phrase which many of you have heard me say, "I have a freedom that I didn't know I didn't have." That's quite a remarkable experience, because I had always felt free in my thinking and in my preaching, and you as a congregation had always encouraged and affirmed that freedom to probe and to wrestle and to question and to wonder. But I now recognize, in retrospect, that I was not totally free because I was always trying to express my best understanding and insights within a certain box, within a certain confessional home. There were certain parameters against which I was always testing my struggle to understand, and, of course, that's not all bad. In fact, such freedom as I have now in this independent status in which we find ourselves has perils that go along with it. There is a real danger in the non-accountability of my © Grand Valley State University   �The Heart Cannot Rest … Richard A. Rhem Page 2   present situation. I am aware of that and you need to be aware of that, too. There is the voice of an old professor always ringing in my mind who used to say, "Beware of the perils of independency." I have always affirmed the importance of ecclesiastical connection, but I must say to you, for the time being at least, I am savoring the freedom and enjoying it very much. I got a visit from my computer son from Florida who got me the computer against any indication that I would ever be able to use it. It has sat moribund on my desk for a couple of years. But, since he was just here, once again he forced me to learn how to read my mail and, thinking that perhaps having just learned it anew, I probably ought to practice it a couple of times, last night in order to avoid working on the sermon, I punched the computer on and I read my mail, and I had this long letter from Pilgrim out east in Maine, a Congregational minister who said that you are a marvelous community of people, and he said, "For a year and a half now I've been taking your sermons off the Internet and while I don't agree with everything, they're always stimulating and provocative," and he went on to affirm us and then he went on to say, "And why I am now contacting you is that we were a congregation who forty years ago as a Congregational Church didn't go into the union with the Reformed, German Reformed Church to form the United Church of Christ." And he says the Congregational churches that didn't go into that merger formed an alliance called the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches, and he said, "From what I sense on the Internet about Christ Community, it's a place where you could feel at home. It has great diversity of theological opinion, and the reason we didn't go into the merger was because we value congregational autonomy." Well, it's a very nice letter and I will respond to him. I will say to him, "Thank you very much, and it sounds as though you have the best offer going. But now, in the springtime of my senility, sliding toward summer, I am having the time of my life, and I have no right to determine the future of this congregation forever, but just for a little while I want to be free." Now, that's a kind of freedom that I didn't know that I didn't have, and I acknowledge its perils and its dangers because a person in my position can lead a people astray, can abuse, can exploit, and without a system of accountability, where might one go? The only thing that causes me not to worry too much about this congregation is the fact that nobody's going to lead you blindfolded anywhere. I wish you could all know all the stories of the people that joined this faith community today. You are people who are here very intentionally and very deliberately precisely because you want to think and wrestle and struggle and come to your own religious experience, your own Christian experience, and you have thrown off that mantle of authoritarianism that has marked the Church traditionally. You, I believe, are mature and maturing people, and I think it's time for us to move on to maturity altogether, and in doing that very deliberately and very self-consciously, moving on. © Grand Valley State University �The Heart Cannot Rest … Richard A. Rhem Page 3   The title of this first sermon in the series indicates what I want to say and that is that the heart cannot rest where the mind cannot follow. The heart in terms of the whole being, our whole being, our intuitive sense of what is and what is true and what is real - that heart cannot dwell or rest where the mind cannot follow. I put the title in quite a long time ago and I was remembering the statement that I read in a book a lot longer time ago and I thought I was quoting the statement correctly. Last night I pulled the old book off the shelf and paged through to see if I could find that statement again. I found it and I found out I had misquoted it. The statement really is, "The heart cannot finally find true what the mind finds false." That's a better statement; that's sharper and that says precisely what I want to say to you this morning as we think about moving on to maturity. The heart, the being, our total being cannot finally find true what our minds find false. And that's the problem with religion. It's the problem of the Church. It's the problem of every religious institution and every world religion. It is endemic to the religious experience, that tension between what the heart finds true and what the mind knows. The mind deals with the stuff of everyday reality and there has been an explosion of knowledge and a cumulative human learning by this time in the cosmic journey. It is just fantastic and it continues to float all over the place. And the mind takes all that in, but then, also plays it off against the faith structure, the creedal condition, the confessional statements, and there is conflict. And what I want to say to you this morning as an expression of the freedom that I am sensing is that I delight to address these things, not in some manner in which I would imply that I have grasped all the facets of truth or that I sort of have a handle on this thing, but this morning I want to say to you that I will never preach to you what my heart cannot finally find true. And my heart will not be able, finally, to find true what my mind finds false. Now, it's taken me 39 years to say that. All of the past time trying always to translate that Gospel message within certain parameters and then suddenly to come to this giddy experience of saying, "What do I really believe?" and daring to share it, hoping to encourage you, maybe even inspire you, stimulate you, to be provocative in your own experience, but not as an authority. Ah, you say, "You're an authority figure and you can't get away from it." I refuse the office. I'm a pilgrim with you. I will not be your authority. I'm going to think with you; I'm going to share with you the best insights I have, but you can listen and you can filter and I hope that you will be stimulated in your own pilgrimage to move from secondhand religion to firsthand experience. That's the problem with religion, of course. It begins with an explosion, with a fire. Someone has a vision. God knocks someone off their horse, prostrate on the ground, a burning bush, whatever it may be. A word made flesh, and that explosion, that fire, that flame engulfs and sweeps, but eventually the initial fire begins to dampen, to be banked, to die down, and then those who have been caught in the explosion begin to wonder what in the world happened, and the © Grand Valley State University �The Heart Cannot Rest … Richard A. Rhem Page 4   experience, then, begins to be distilled for certain truths that can be stated rationally, reasonably. So now, we have an experience that cannot really be communicated, but, having to be communicated, having to be told, shared, and so we do the best we can to distill what we can from the explosion and say this and that and so forth. There is a real tension in the beginning, differing opinions, alternative systems. There's a conflict going on, but eventually, some party or some person gets the upper hand and the truth is defined. That's what we call orthodoxy. You know what orthodoxy is. Well, you know what orthodontists do? They straighten your teeth. You know what orthopedic surgeons do? They realign a cracked bone. You know what an orthodox preacher does? He keeps you thinking right. Ortho - straight or correct. Doxa - from dokein, to think. The orthodox church is a church in which people are nurtured, trained, schooled and controlled to think right. Orthodoxy has the truth defined rationally. This explosion, this experience that burst forth gets domesticated to a creedal statement, a confessional statement, and there is a right way to believe or to think. That is orthodoxy, and it is the inevitable movement of every religious movement. It is the necessity of every institutionalization of a religious movement and, to the extent that the distilled truth of the experience is clear and concise, to that extent it can be passed along and it will be successful and it will build a community of people, followers, and it will be a means for many for the stimulus of fresh experience. But, it will be the case with many, many more that it will simply be the second-hand creed that one received, that one inherited that was passed along to one and which one passes along. The problem with orthodoxy is the problem with secondhand religious experience that shuts off the possibility of continuing thought and growth and new adventure. Oh, there have been instances of movement. For example, the Genesis stories. If you have an Old King James Bible around, look in the column between the columns and you will see there 4004 B.C.. Bishop Usher, an English Bishop, went back and added up all the years of all the genealogies and he concluded that creation had to be 4004 B.C. And it was really a matter of creedal conviction for generations, and when Darwin came along in the 19th century and the whole evolutionary hypothesis was set forth, there was this intense struggle between science and religion. In fact, orthodoxy has had a tremendous problem in the whole modern period in the last four to five hundred years because orthodoxy is a rational statement of what is. It's no longer simply the experience, the fire, that which is deeper than the rational. It is a rational statement of what is. Now you have the whole advent of the natural sciences whose principle of verification is able to determine what is, empirically through experimentation. Religion and science have been in conflict and science will win every time as long as you are dealing on the rational basis, as long as you are dealing on propositional truths, claiming what is, what is reality, what is the human person, what has happened in history, etc., etc. © Grand Valley State University �The Heart Cannot Rest … Richard A. Rhem Page 5   The Church has made some progress because we have come to see the symbolic nature of those Genesis creation stories, and the roof hasn't caved in. Yet, here in 1999, there's a whole fundamentalist Christian movement that would have Creationism taught in the public schools. It seems impossible that that discussion could still be going on, but it is. In terms of the apocalypticism of the New Testament in several of its expressions, expecting the soon return of Jesus Christ - well, we've had to make adjustments to that because nothing has happened. But, here we are on the threshold of the third millennium and there are those who are still talking about the second coming of Christ in terms of this millennial turn. So, we are able to continue, to perpetuate anachronistic understandings and outmoded manners of faith to a remarkable degree in a world that is as open as ours where there is as much information around. This has been the ongoing problem of the orthodox Church, the orthodox expression of any religion. Correct thinking. But the world doesn't stop; history doesn't stop; human experience continues to go on and there is an accumulation of knowledge and experience, which finally has to shatter that little box of faith that has been given to us. And when that happens, one either leaves and drops out, and that's happened en masse, or one shuts off the mind, or one says, as I am saying to you this morning, my heart cannot dwell and affirm as true that which my mind finds to be false. But, if my experience, if the reality to which my whole being is drawn, in which it is grounded, embraced, if that total experience transcends my rational understanding, then I have to try to find a new way to say reasonably, understandably what that deeper experience is. That's my hope for all of us - that we will move on to maturity, that we will come to a deeper expression of our faith in order that we need not jettison that deep religious experience of the grace of God, nor live with our heads in the sand, failing to acknowledge that the old paradigms and stories are simply shot out of the water with everything that is coming to light in what we know about our world, about our history, about our person. Maturity, moving on with fresh experience and fresh faith expression - that's the goal. There is precedent for doing this. Jesus said, "It has been said, but I say unto you ...," and he called the people in the culminating point to that portion of the Sermon on the Mount where he calls for the loving even of enemies, saying, "Be ye therefore perfect..." a terrible translation filled with all the moralism that has been oppressive throughout all the centuries, "Be ye therefore perfect, as God is perfect?" No, that's not it. Telios is the Greek word. Be therefore mature, be ye therefore complete, as God is mature. Jesus is talking about a new being - a kingdom person in that Sermon on the Mount. He comes to this culminating point and says, "Be inclusive, not exclusive. No more tribalism, no more drawing circles around my little people, no more over-againstness, no more 'us and them.' For God's sake, love your enemies, as God loves all, for the rain falls on the just © Grand Valley State University �The Heart Cannot Rest … Richard A. Rhem Page 6   and the unjust and the sun shines on the good and the evil because there are no good and evil, just and unjust, but all human beings in various states of disarray who are embraced by the eternal God who created us." Jesus says love your enemies, embrace, be inclusive. Paul uses the same word, Telios. Jesus says be like God, be complete, be mature. Paul says in the 13th verse of Ephesians 4, "Come to maturity." Grow up. No more children blown about by every wind of doctrine. Grow up! Think! Because the passion of Paul, the vision of Paul came to expression in that third chapter, the 14th verse following where he says, "I pray for you that you be rooted and grounded in love, that you'll come to know the length and the breadth and the height and the depth of the love of God, that you will come to know all the fullness of God. That's what I want for you." He recognizes that it is a process, but he says, "Move on to maturity; be mature in Christ Jesus." I don't know, but I wonder how long – even with the institutional structures and the momentum that they create and the power they possess and the control they have over many – many people can go on. Can the heart find truth where the mind finds falsehood? Do we not have to enter this world of ours and open our eyes and take it all in and then know that, beneath it all, above it all, and beyond it all is the eternal God whose grace is an experience of the heart far beyond a set of rational propositions? If I were to put it in sum this morning, I would say, on the basis of what Jesus says, and what Paul says in our text – "Be open-minded." “It has been said, I say to you ...” – to make that transition you have to have an open mind. Don't tell me it was Jesus, the son of God and therefore, it doesn't apply to the rest of us. Jesus, with all of the limitations of his humanity, had the courage to give expression to something new. "It has been said, I say unto you ..." Be of broad and liberal spirit, embrace, do not exclude, love your enemies, be done with tight tribalism, narrow ethnicism, destructive nationalism. Stop drawing lines unless the circle embraces the whole human family. And, trust deeply. Trust deeply. Let it wash through your mind and over your heart that you are rooted and grounded in love, that love is the ultimate reality. The French thinker, Pascal, said it better than I can say it. "If one subjects everything to reason, our religion will lose its mystery. If one offends the principles of reason, our religion will be absurd and ridiculous. There are two equally dangerous extremes - to shut reason out and to let nothing else in." Let us go on to maturity. No more studied ambiguity; no more word games; just plain-speaking, because the deepest truth of this place, for better or for worse, because it is the deepest truth of this preacher is that the heart cannot finally find true what the mind finds false. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/efa3f6cd9f7580faa58c1ffe4278378d.mp3 2140889e936e676e5c7e71bde19602d8 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost VIII Series Moving On To Maturity Scripture Text Isaish 44:18: Ephesians 4:13, Matthew 5:48 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19990711 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-07-11 Title A name given to the resource The Heart Cannot Rest Where the Mind Cannot 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 July 11, 1999 entitled "The Heart Cannot Rest Where the Mind Cannot Follow", as part of the series "Moving On To Maturity", on the occasion of Pentecost VIII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Isaish 44:18: Ephesians 4:13, Matthew 5:48. Critical Thinking Inclusive Grace Orthodoxy https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2f5dbeea1e8e116d5a62918554c69200.pdf 11c2508024f7c570f806f2af36093130 PDF Text Text Religion: Binding or Setting Free From the series: Moving On To Maturity Text: Isaiah 46:3-4; Ephesians 1:17-19; Matthew 23:15 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan July 18, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon I hope you got up this morning and said, "Ah, Sunday. We get to go to church." If you got up and said, "It’s Sunday; we have to go to church," I hope you feel a little guilty for about five minutes, but not much longer than that. Religion ought to be an experience of joy and liberation, and Sunday worship ought to be the crown of it all, the time when we find inspiration and encouragement and new reason to live zestfully. I find that what I am dealing with this morning pops up on my chart quite often. The fact that religion ought to be a source of freedom. I would like to be known as the singer of the song of the soul set free. Some Lents ago I preached a rather strange sermon, admittedly; it was a sermon about the insurrectionist that was crucified with Jesus. Now, not the good one, you know. Everybody preaches on the good one. After all, the good one pleaded for mercy in the end and got this wonderful promise from Jesus. But I preached on the one that remained belligerent, cursing through his teeth to his last breath, finding therein something I thought rather heroic. I suppose because of my own Libertarianism and contrariness, perhaps. But I thought it was probably not biblically accurate, but interesting. However, someone got really angry with me about that and came in to see me, and said to me, "All you preach is freedom and grace and in my work, I find out that what people need are rules and guidance and discipline." And it was a moment of awakening for me. I think I didn’t react defensively, I just smiled and I said, "Well, they won’t get it from me." And it was a moment of awakening wherein I recognized that I am not a complete preacher. No one has ever accused me of balance. I think balance is boring, and balance ends up in making no point deeply, and I can’t be everything. I have been shaped in a certain way and had certain kinds of experiences, and that has enabled me to put my finger on what I discern is a very important niche to be filled - that is to seek to save people from religion, to set people free, free from religion, especially religion. And I have been doing that now for a long time and as this morning we continue in this series, "Moving On To Maturity," I simply want to say what I’ve said here many times but find that it needs to be said again and again because © Grand Valley State University   �Religion Binding or Setting Free Richard A. Rhem Page 2   there is something intrinsic in religion that tends to bind and cripple the human personality rather than setting a person free. So, this morning, let me say I am the herald of good religion that releases and sets free, and I would speak a word against that religion that binds the soul and becomes a burden to be borne, because there is a lot of religion that way. We need to recognize how religion arose in the first place. It didn’t just drop down out of heaven, and it is not something that God gave to us, but it is something that we have created in our attempt to respond to God in the early beginnings of what we call the human, the beginnings of consciousness, of selfconsciousness. There was the growing awareness of one’s existence, how fragile it is, how perilous it is, and inevitably with the emergence of the human come questions of meaning and of purpose. From whence have we come and whither are we going, and what is the meaning of it, anyway? Life with its passages and its perils is not easy to negotiate, and in the early dawning of human consciousness these deeply existential questions began to be asked, and then someone saw a bush that burned and wasn’t consumed. Someone entered the temple and it was filled with smoke and the pillars of the temple were shaking. Someone looked at a man and said, "The Lamb of God." Someone was going on the road to Damascus and a bright light encountered him and a voice spoke to him. In our own tradition, but we could duplicate that in all the great religious traditions, there was someone sometime who had some kind of experience and, to the extent that that experience spoke to the reality of his or her situation, and to the extent that as it was shared, it resonated with the experience of others, there was a gathered community and then a gathered community that became a tradition, and that experience was reduced to a teaching and a ritual through which one worshipped and a way of life. And so, we have the great religions that are based on a founding experience and have taken on a certain institutional form, and those great religions continue to serve people as life maps, to give orientation, to answer those alternate questions of life as we live in the mystery of our existence before that Ultimate Mystery that bears us. That’s the nature of religion. If you were here in May when we welcomed our eighth graders into the continuing pilgrimage of faith, you heard me say to them that all we could give to them was secondhand religion and that really is what institutional, traditional religion is - it’s secondhand religion, and I quoted a statement of William James in his Varieties of Religious Experience, where he said, "Such an ordinary religious person, his religion has been made for him by others, communicated to him by tradition, determined to fixed forms by imitation, and retained by habit." And that’s really true, when you think about it. There is the experience that someone else had. There’s the tradition that conveys it. There is the form by which it is fixed by imitation or repetition, and continued by habit. So, most of us are what we were born to be; we are within the tradition and that understanding with which we were born and nurtured, and our religion secondhand. Now, hopefully it becomes the occasion for fresh experience, for firsthand experience. But, institutional religion is, after all, a commodity which inevitably tends, in its © Grand Valley State University �Religion Binding or Setting Free Richard A. Rhem Page 3   institutional forms which are necessary, it tends to become a burden rather than that which lifts the burden. It tends to become another obligation for which we feel responsible and it becomes burdensome. Second Isaiah, with the Jews in exile in Babylon, gives us a marvelous picture of religion that has become a burden. Baal and Nibo were the chief gods of the Babylonians and the Jews in exile would see on New Year’s Day the grand processions of the images of the gods, down from their pedestals, taken on parade around the walls of the city. The problem with the Jews in exile was that it seemed to them that these gods must be the chief gods because where was their God? They were in exile; they were in captivity. So, the prophet has to remind them that their God is the creator of the heavens and the earth. He has to have them remember who their God really is, and in drawing this picture with a little satire and humor, he pictures the images of the gods being taken from their pedestals and put on beasts of burden and carried out of town, not in a New Year’s feast, now, but because the enemy is at the gate and what they’re trying to do is save their gods. Now, if you don’t get a little laugh out of that, you see, their gods are going into captivity; they’ve got to rescue their gods! For gods’ sake, they have to take care of their gods! And the prophet says to them, "Look at them, carrying off their gods in order that they not be taken into captivity and their images can’t say a word, they can’t save, they become a burden to be borne." And then, in contrast to that, he sets forth these words from the Lord, "Listen to me, O house of Jacob and all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from your birth, carried from the womb, even to your old age, I am God. Even when you turn gray, I will carry you. I have made and I will bear. I will carry and I will save." God is not a god that needs to be rescued or a burden to be borne, but a God Who carries, a God Who lifts, a God Who rescues, and a God Who saves. Now, we can laugh at the silly Babylonians for putting all that stock in those images that they put on beasts of burden. Can’t you see the idols sort of tipping off because the poor, old beast can’t handle it and the idol’s nose is dragged in the dust as it’s going out of town in order to be rescued. And we can laugh at that, and the prophet intended this satire to be biting, but our religion so easily becomes that. Take, for example, the Church. Ask me about the Church. It’s not so easy to keep the machinery going; it’s not so easy to keep the budget up to snuff, and then all of the programs of the church - how many pulpit announcements don’t jerk you just a little bit, add just a pinch of guilt? And if you didn’t get up this morning and say, "Oh, thank God it’s Sunday; I get to go to church," maybe you were saying, "Oh, what a beautiful summer day. But, I suppose we’d better go to church. There was poor old Dick slaving all Saturday and he’s going to sit on his stool and nobody there, we’d better go." There’s so many good people who support religion for all the wrong reasons. I’ve known a lot of good church leaders that way. They remind me of what Mark Twain said, "A good man in the worst sense of the word." Think about that. © Grand Valley State University �Religion Binding or Setting Free Richard A. Rhem Page 4   I do thank God for responsible people and serious people and people who bear the burden in the heat of the day and who keep it going, but I have to tell you - it can turn religion into a burden and it misses the intention. It makes religion an end in itself rather than a means to the end of setting the soul free and finding a way to sing and shout and dance. Religion is a means to an end, it’s not an end in itself, and when it becomes organized and institutionalized and established well, it becomes something that has to be kept up. Just look around us today - all the stuff about religion in the newspaper, about plastering the Ten Commandments on every wall in the schools and in the courts. We want to have children pray in school. Why? Not because we’re so concerned about the spiritual life of people, but rather because we are afraid the morality of the nation is unraveling and we have to keep the Ten Commandments up there, and we’ve got to get children praying and we have to expose them to all this. We have to utilize religion in order to keep society from disintegrating and that makes religion oppressive; it uses religion; it makes religion a tool, and it sours us. Religion used for any other purpose than the worship of God, dancing before God Who sets the soul free, is bad religion, good for family values, good for community values, good for maintaining the civilization in the West, and all of that misses the point, and all of it abuses and misuses religion, and all of it makes religion a burden to be borne. In the Church, my philosophy over the years of programming has been do only as much as you have to. I never try to scratch where people don’t itch. The things that will meet human need are the things that will be supported, people will be there. Otherwise, you have an elaborate program and you plead with people to participate in these good things we have prepared. The whole society today is organizing all kinds of good things for me to do that I don’t want to do. I don’t need to do them, and the Church can be as guilty, and maybe more guilty than any other social organization in providing all sorts of "stuff." It becomes a burden, and the more serious you are, the more conscientious you are, the more you are inclined to support this project. It’s like the PTA - everybody ought to support the PTA, everybody ought to support the United Fund, everyone ought to support Boy Scouts in America, everybody ought to support the Cancer Drive, whatever drive there may be, and, for God’s sake, we ought to support the Church. A community needs a church. It makes for a good community. It just makes for better people. All such reasoning misses the point completely. We imitate the Babylonians hoisting their gods off the pedestals onto the beasts of burden and trying to guide them and keep them from falling, trying to get them out of town so the gods can be saved. I don’t think anyone here is into that kind of religion, but if there is, you really need a sabbatical - get cleansed of it or you’ll never be able to enjoy God. If your religion is heavy with obligation under the tyranny of ought, the musts, and the shoulds, you are burdened. Jesus certainly knew that. When I read the 23rd chapter of Matthew, as other Gospel passages of conflict, I always want to say the controversy is probably © Grand Valley State University �Religion Binding or Setting Free Richard A. Rhem Page 5   between Matthew and those he was in conflict with rather than reflective of Jesus in his time. However, certainly Matthew was reflective of the spirit of Jesus and the intention of Jesus, and one of the reasons that Jesus got into such serious trouble was that he didn’t support that kind of institutional religion that had become a burden, and in the 23rd chapter of Matthew we read, "You bind heavy burdens on people that they cannot bear and you don’t yourself." He said the scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat so when they teach, they are teaching you Moses, the Mosaic tradition, that’s fine. But, don’t do as they do." And in the conclusion to that chapter he says, "Woe to you. You go all over the world and make a proselyte and once you have a proselyte, you’ve made him twice over the child of Hell, binding heavy burdens on people, trying to make them religious and all of it turns upside down what it’s really all about, which is setting the soul free." Jesus was so strong against the conventional wisdom of his day that put people in their places and through their paces, and he violated all of the taboos in the interest of people with that sense he had of the graciousness of God. What we do with bad religion is scandalize God. What kind of a God is it, anyway? A stern, demanding parent who created us and then keeps us in our adolescence, treating us as naughty children. The biblical paradigm of paradise and fall adds to that. We’re guilty sinners. Are we guilty sinners? Well, let’s go to Kosovo, or let’s look into our own heart. Of course, we are. But, not because we have fallen from some pristine perfection, but because we are still clawing our way out of the jungle, and we haven’t made as much progress as we should have made. But, I will tell you what - that stern, demanding father doesn’t help any. Rather, it binds us in our rebellion and it keeps us in our immaturity. God is for us! This is what Paul was trying to say. If I had more time this morning, I could have read the whole first chapter of Ephesians, those first fourteen verses fairly soar as Paul talks about the eternal, everlasting grace of God, His loving us, knowing us before the foundations of the world and working things out according to his purposes. A grand, grand passage. And then Paul comes to address his people in Ephesus personally, where he says, "I pray for you that God will enlighten the eyes of your understanding, that the inner being will be illumined that you might come to know what is the hope to which he calls you. What are the riches of the inheritance which is yours, what is the power available to you, the very power and resurrection." Paul says, "Oh, I hope you’re getting it. I pray to God that He will help you to see it." You see, Paul was the one who had that pounding vision; Paul had his soul on fire and he said to these people, "It’s so grand, the grace of God is so big, so rich, so wonderful! I hope that you have come to see it." When religion is used as a means for everything else other than dancing before God , it becomes a burden to be borne rather than a gift to be celebrated, and it binds the human soul rather than setting free. © Grand Valley State University �Religion Binding or Setting Free Richard A. Rhem Page 6   I want to say this clearly this morning - there are religious observances that are important and helpful. Talking about religious observances, which I’ve been rather hard on this morning, C. S. Lewis said, "When we carry out our religious duties, we are like people digging channels in a waterless land in order that when at last the water comes, it may find them ready. There are happy moments, even now, when a trickle creeps along the dry beds, and happy souls for whom this happens often." Obviously I know that there are certain religious observances that we go through and sometimes going through them, there’s no electric shock, no lightning strikes, but we do have a pattern of religious life, and we do that because we know that, now and again, here and there, there will be a trickle of water, fresh breath, new insight, deep resting in grace. And so, we keep coming and we keep opening ourselves, and we keep practicing. But, all the time we know it’s not to keep the community healthy or the nations sound or our accounts square with a stern, demanding God, heavenly parent. But, we do it because now and again we’ve tasted grace. We know the taste of cool, running water, and we long more and more to be lifted by that experience. There was once a pastor who had a little boy who used to come down from the parsonage to the study on the parking lot here every morning to say to his father who was the preacher, "Daddy, what day is it?" The father would say, "Tuesday." "Oh, good." He would come down again, "Daddy, what day is it?" "Thursday." "Oh, good." "Saturday." "Good." "Sunday." "Ahhhh," and he would go into a wailing temper tantrum. Sunday; ugly Sunday. Well, God has a special grace for preachers’ kids, and the preacher was a stern father and a demanding heavenly parent type and he broke the child’s will and the child eventually came to church. But that story always amused me because I think it reflects the experience of many of us growing up. Sunday. Church. You don’t have to come, but come when you need to. Come, like digging up channels in a waterless land, and just maybe, just maybe there will be a trickle of water. And, if it’s rules and guidance and structure that you need, check down the street. But, if you need a shot of grace, I’ll see you every Sunday. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b417c72aa6ccfad27784669355fff6bc.mp3 2059f0baa4782ca6c32032d7e3b106fc Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost IX Series Moving On To Maturity Scripture Text Isaiah 46:3-4, Ephesians 1:17-19, Matthew 23:15 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-0-19990718 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-07-18 Title A name given to the resource Religion: Binding or Setting Free? Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on July 18, 1999 entitled "Religion: Binding or Setting Free?", as part of the series "Moving On To Maturity", on the occasion of Pentecost IX, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Isaiah 46:3-4, Ephesians 1:17-19, Matthew 23:15. Presence Religion as a Human Construct Ritual https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a2e38fdb797723284428329263faf3ab.pdf 0e8b34c48b6c6670d8cc2489a6b38f98 PDF Text Text The Word That Wounds and Heals From the series: Moving On To Maturity Text: Hosea 10:12; 11:8; 14:4 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan July 25, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon This spring I had several messages on the general theme, "The Varieties of Religious Experience," and, thinking about that, I was reminded again of the fact that that is precisely true, there is a variety of religious experience. The variety is determined somewhat by the way one is raised or nurtured, but on the other hand, there is a certain something in all of us that makes us more attuned to one approach than another. That is the impossibility of a congregation at worship because you have all kinds of people who respond differently to different stimuli and out of different backgrounds with different nurture, and then one tries to weave that all together. Some of you who have been with me for a long time know that some years ago it was a very telling moment for me when at a seminar at McCormick Seminary in Chicago, a Presbyterian school, they brought the venerable old Lutheran theologian Joseph Sittler in as a guest lecturer, and he was needling the Presbyterians there, thinking that they were all Presbyterians there, which I suppose most of them were, and he said, "You know, you Presbyterians always route it through the head, always approach through the mind, in an intellectualistic approach to faith, whereas the Catholic tradition is more of an intuitive approach using symbols, sacraments, incense." (We used incense here once but everyone started coughing; we have to get accustomed to incense before we can use it full-blown.) When I came home from that seminar, it was a moment of awareness for me to realize that there was actually more than one legitimate way to worship and some people can be approached more fruitfully in one way and some in another, and I thought to myself, "Why must one choose?" and from that moment on it has been our intention here to weave a tapestry of worship in such a way that there are those moments when various people can be approached, where the entré to different kinds of responses to religious stimuli can be honored, moments when the word is addressed, as now, which has been the characteristic of our tradition, but an enrichment of the rest of the service so there are those moments, even moments of silence. Marcus Borg, when he was here, thought we were a bit wordy, although he affirmed our worship, but he spoke, perhaps you will remember, even for a place of silence in worship. © Grand Valley State University   �Word That Wounds and Heals Richard A. Rhem Page 2   We have been a wordy people, and it has been the tradition that has shaped me, and consequently, the tradition that shapes this congregation probably most forcefully. I want to look at that this morning; I want you to think with me about the word that wounds and heals, and in so doing, I go to Hosea because the Hebrew prophets were the ones who majored in this idea of the word of God as a word of address. In fact, that is that which distinguished Israel from its neighbors at the time, and the conception of the word of God spoken through the human voice is a conception that formed and shaped the people of Israel. The eighth century prophets, particularly, were these marvelous expositors of a word of God in the midst of the concrete historical situation. The prophetic ministry of the Church, the address to the world in its time and in its context derives from that Hebrew prophetic tradition, Hosea, certainly one of the best. I love him because of the things that I read this morning, a selective reading. I could have gone anywhere in the prophetic corpus of the Hebrew scriptures, but I read Hosea because there is so clearly the wounding word and the healing word, and the word of God ought always to be understood to be wounding and healing, and wounding in order to heal. There is no purpose in a wounding word of God that does not bring, finally, the word of grace and healing. Hosea had to confront the northern kingdom in the last period of their existence before the Assyrian empire removed them in 722 B.C.E. Hosea prophesied in a time of public turmoil, social unrest, the exploitation of the poor and the vulnerable. In that sense, Hosea’s ministry was very much like most of the other Hebrew prophets. They called Israel to account for its failure to live faithfully in covenant with God and to have justice mark their social life. And so, he called Israel to repent. It’s time to break up the fallow ground. It’s time to sow righteousness and reap the steadfast love of the Lord, and in the 12th chapter there is a summary, as it were, Hosea being the spokesperson for God, who speaks about how tenderly God had nurtured Israel when Israel was in Egypt, "I called my son," and how he picked him up and how he fed him and how he cared for him and how he nurtured him, and then the statement, "But Israel continues to turn away." They turn away and so they’re going to go back into exile. Once again they are going to become the victims of Assyria; they are going to go back to Egypt. "I’m done with them," God says. Then those very tender words, "How can I give you up? How can I give you up? I can’t give you up. A human being would give you up, but I’m not human; I am God." The closing verses of the 14th chapter speak about Israel flowering as a garden with the dew of heaven falling upon it, the fragrance of Lebanon’s wines marking it, a picture of the healing. "I will heal you of your faithlessness." I use that only illustratively. It is characteristic of the prophetic word. It is a word that exposes. It is a word that tells the truth. It is a word that calls a spade a spade. It is a word that makes us uneasy, uncomfortable in our ambiguity and equivocation of our lives. It is a word that exposes our self-centeredness, our selfishness. It is a word that calls us to right living, to the practice of justice and to © Grand Valley State University �Word That Wounds and Heals Richard A. Rhem Page 3   the ministry of mercy. It is a word that addresses us in our humanness and tells us in the name of God to clean up our act, to get on with the work, to do the task, whatever it may be, in whatever concrete situation, wherever there is compromise, with our accountability to the faithful God. There the word of God in public address dresses us down, but only for our own good, only in order to say to us, "I’ll never let you go. The steadfast love of the Lord will never let you go." It is a word that wounds and heals, and it wounds, not taking any satisfaction in the wounding, but in order to awaken, in order to break through to the dullness of a heart of stone, in order to call us up short, in order that we might be consciously embraced, conscious of that unconditional love that will keep us forever. That is the prophetic task of the prophetic word of God in the midst of the people of God. I use Hosea, as I said, simply as an illustration of that which has shaped and marked our tradition, that which is a big part of our Sunday morning experience. I have in your liturgies a rather extended excerpt from an address of Karl Barth in 1922. Now, that is Karl Barth. When you look at the bibliographical reference, I want you to know that Karl is not Carl, but Karl. Karl Barth cannot be with a "C." And it is Barth, but there’s an "h" on the end, and we knock the h out of Karl Barth. In the European pronunciation, the h is silent, but when I looked at that, Carl Bart, I thought, "Oh, my gosh. I am embarrassed. I am humiliated. I don’t want one of those to go anywhere out of this church." I want you to take them home and read them several times, but I want you to change it to Karl Barth. I thought everybody knew about Karl Barth, but my mistake. I should have faxed it in. I did it on the telephone. It’s correct phonetically, but don’t let anybody know we did that. Anyway, Karl Barth was probably the greatest theologian of the 20th century, and where did his theology come from? Where does this huge production come from? It came from the task of preaching. Karl Barth, in the early part of this century, graduated from the finest European institutions of learning. He was deeply indebted to and steeped in the culture of Europe, and he went to a little Swiss village to preach. He got into the pulpit, this highly educated, highly cultured genius and brilliant man, and he had nothing to say, and he began to struggle with the word of God. His theology, the Bartian theology, was called the theology of the word because, in his experience of having to preach, he found he had nothing to say, and when you have nothing to say and you have to preach, you’re in deep trouble. So, Barth began to study and he studied the Epistle to the Romans and after ten years of preaching in this village and working with a good friend, seriously wrestling with the faith, he published The Epistle to the Romans. It started such a stir that he was asked to come and speak about his theology to a ministers’ conference. He was embarrassed by the very thought, and he said, "I don’t have a theology. I have a theology just like it came to me, nurtured through my teachers until I had to preach, and then I needed something to say, and I began to study and think biblically and theologically in order for the sermon on Sunday morning." © Grand Valley State University �Word That Wounds and Heals Richard A. Rhem Page 4   You see, there’s really nothing that is more important than this moment. Now, I said a moment ago that I recognize a variety of religious experience and more and more I have come to appreciate the aesthetic and the sacramental and the silence. That is so terribly important. Maybe God can even touch us more easily then, I don’t know. Maybe it would be better if I would shut up, but for better or for worse, this is the moment of the sermon, this is the moment of the address of the word of God and I want to say to you it is a terribly important moment. Karl Barth recognized that his people were coming and he needed to have something to say, and he came to realize that all theology ought to be nothing more than in service of the sermon in order at this moment we can have something to say. He speaks about Sunday morning, about the strange architecture of the place, the furniture, the appointments, and then the expectation. Oh, he recognizes that maybe someone came lazily, lollygagging in, not really expecting anything, and yet, he said, the whole situation speaks of expectation. Some event, some event in the past or perhaps in the future, some event, God is present. And then he says here is presumption, here is daring - one prays, someone begins to preach, and it’s done on the conviction that God is present. That is what this moment is about - that God is present. Barth says the people come with a question, and the question is, "Is it true?" He says that the preacher had better understand people better than the people understand themselves. The preacher better know that down in the depths of the human heart and soul there’s a question that says, "Is it true?" In other words, can I live with trust? Can I believe, somehow or other in the midst of the world that has gone crazy with all of the darkness, where in Kosovo 14 farmers baling hay are shot at close range, where there continues to be this vengeful cycle of revenge, the violence where it’s symptomatic of the human condition, where I look into the human soul, I look into my own heart and I see the darkness there, the compromise there. I see the ambiguity there. I see the self-centeredness there, I see all of that which keeps me from fulfilling that calling of God, that beckoning of the spirit. Is it true? Is anything true? Is God at all here? Is God present? Can God be trusted? Is God involved at all in the world, in history, in nature, in my life? Barth says that’s what Sunday morning is all about. That’s what this moment is all about. The people have come and even when they don’t realize it, even when they just come because it’s Sunday morning and haven’t even thought about it, even when they come with very little conscious expectation, down deep in their heart, he says, there’s a question - Is it true? Can God be trusted? Is God? Is it true? Karl Barth says Sunday morning is that moment in which all theology should be focused in order to give the preacher something to say and to be able to touch that deep place in the human heart where there’s doubt and fear and anxiety, deep questions, where there’s a cry, "Is it true?" That’s what Sunday morning is all about. © Grand Valley State University �Word That Wounds and Heals Richard A. Rhem Page 5   I came across this work of Barth when I was in Europe and if I had ever been tempted at all, following post-graduate study, to go into the academic community, I think it was this piece plus Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Letters and Papers From Prison that convinced me that this is the most important place in the world and this is the most important hour of the week, this hour, preaching. My God, it’s important, people. Do you realize how important it is? Presumptuous. Daring. One flawed and failing human being trying to say a word that is the word of God. That’s what Calvin understood it to be, and Barth, in following Calvin, clarified very, very nicely the three forms of the word of God, the center of it all the word made flesh: the word made flesh, the word of God embodied, and all of Israel’s prophetic word, words of anticipation, and all of the apostolic witness following the word of recollection or remembrance. So, there’s the word in flesh and the word written, but then, here’s daring, the preached word, and the preached word is nothing more or less than the word of God updated for this place and this time and this people. Even when we read Hosea’s words, we’re reading an 8th century prophet into which have been layered some 6th century words because the 8th century prophet became the text for a 6th century preacher, and the text now that we have in 1999 is the text of the word of God written out of the 8th century Before the Common Era, and the 6th century Before the Common Era, and here it is 1999 and it becomes the occasion for the preaching of the word in this place at this time, because the word preached is the updating of the word written that is spoken on the word in flesh, because Barth understood so clearly that revelation is always an event. You don’t have revelation in a book; you don’t have revelation in an institution; you don’t have revelation in a confessional creed; the word of God speaks. God reveals God. Never at our disposal. Never to put in our pocket. Never for us to domesticate and have in a neat little box, packaged. The word of God will speak when God will speak, and when the human voice is speaking a word of address based on a written text pointing to the word in flesh, it just might happen. And it might not. It probably doesn’t happen more often than it happens. But, that’s why this is such an electric moment. That’s why this could potentially be a world turning upside down, transforming moment for someone, and who knows how it will happen, because the Spirit blows where it will. But when the word made flesh, witnessed to by the word written, becomes the text for a word of address, it just might happen. Even here and now someone might see a rift in the sky, someone whose burden is heavy might feel it lift, someone might see a light in the darkness, someone might feel themselves exposed, laid bare in all their selfishness compromised and all of the flawedness of their existence, someone might cry out, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner," someone might say, "I heard the voice today that said, ‘I will heal your faithlessness; I’ll never give you up.’" I don’t know how it happens, when it happens, but I know that it is absolutely serious and critical that it happens where we find an honest word today. Will you find it in the political arena? Why can we not pass campaign reform? Is it not © Grand Valley State University �Word That Wounds and Heals Richard A. Rhem Page 6   because our political system is for sale? Where has the word "spin doctor" come from? Do we believe anything we hear, or is it always something with a spin, or an ulterior motive satisfied by an ambition for human acquisition or aggrandizement, for the undercutting of something or other, for the setting up of a project or a person? Is there any truth in the land? There had better be truth here. Do I presume to be one without bias or prejudice? Of course not. That’s the presumption of preaching. But I had better not speak a word that I speak not consciously before the face of God. If there is to be truth to be told in the earth, then it must be told here, where there is nothing to gain, where there is no ulterior motive but the well-being of humankind and the glory of God and the mending of creation. The religious right has joined the political game. Recently Ed Dobson of Calvary Undenominational, and Cal Thomas, the journalist, wrote a book about Blinded By Power, because when the Church gets enmeshed in those structures, then it has another agenda, then it can’t tell the truth. Only the free pulpit and a free person who has nothing but the concern to speak a word from God is the salvation of the world. It is here that you can still hear a word of truth, in spite of the flawed nature of the voice, but the voice is tied to the text and points to the one, and your deep question, "Is it true?" can be answered from the written word that pointed to the word in flesh that lived out the fact, "Yes, it’s true. God is love. A fierce love that will expose you only in order, finally, to heal you." I don’t know of another stop along your way this week where you have a better chance of hearing the word of God than in this hour, and that’s why you come, and it’s that word in which you can trust, and by God, it’s tough. It’s presumptuous. It’s daring, and it doesn’t get any easier, because I take it so seriously, do you know that? God have mercy on us. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e91cb8e5f39953b6a135edf8cc9093c2.mp3 86f5b841026b1e528a430f6c561221cb Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost X Series Moving On To Maturity Scripture Text Hosea 10:12, 11:8, 14:4 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19990725 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-07-25 Title A name given to the resource The Word That Wounds and Heals Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on July 25, 1999 entitled "The Word That Wounds and Heals", as part of the series "Moving On To Maturity", on the occasion of Pentecost X, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Hosea 10:12, 11:8, 14:4. Justice Prophetic Voice https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/1d4f143520a043be029200762d159c5f.pdf e095ab928f4350f93a4ac915ca0f254d PDF Text Text The Church Must Die or Die From the series: Moving On To Maturity Text: Ezekiel 37:14; John 12:24, 43; 13:5 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan August 1, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon On Thursday, the Grand Haven Tribune called my secretary, Jane, and asked if she had made a mistake in the newspaper ad. Jane asked, "Why?", and they said, "Well, the sermon title is listed as, ‘The Church Must Die or Die,’" and Jane said, "No, unfortunately, that’s what he means." I think, upon a little reflection, you might understand what I mean. The Church must die to itself, its institutional forms, its prestige, its power, its selfaggrandizing tendency - must die to all of that, or it will die because it will fail to fulfill the purpose that God has for the Church. The death and resurrection image is a very common New Testament image. Paul says, "I have been crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live." In the 6th chapter of Romans, he talks about being buried with Christ in baptism in order that he might be raised again to newness of life. Dying to self, rising to new life in the Spirit of God is a very central image, the idea that we do come to the end of our self, our self project, our self-centeredness, dying to that, we become open to that which would open us to the eternal, to God, to the sacred, to the Holy. While I know that the references in the New Testament are personal references, I don’t think I’m stretching it too far to apply that to the community, the body of Christ, in our case, to the Church. It is true, just as an individual has to come to the end of self in order to be filled with that which is beyond, so the Church needs not just once, but again and again, to die to its forms and its structures and its formulations and rules and regulations and modus operandi in order that it might experience the freshness and newness that the Spirit would continue to create. I want to say that this morning. I was intending to deal with that in the fourth of my presentations on Tuesday night about "How My Mind Has Changed," but I never got to that one, so I’m going to take it up this morning, nonetheless, because I do believe it is so critical to our experience, our experience of being Christian, our religious life, our spiritual life. It is so important that we understand that our diverse religious experience and expression is the © Grand Valley State University   �Church Must Die or Die Richard A. Rhem Page 2   consequence of the fact that it is a human response, that religion is a human phenomenon. My mind has changed about that because I grew up, was nurtured and trained and began my ministry thinking quite differently about religion. In the first place, I thought there was only one true religion and I had it. But, more than that, I thought religion was dictated from God, that it was divinely arranged, and that it was incumbent upon us to determine, to discern that which was true and absolute because religion was the product of divine revelation, rather than recognizing that the vast diversity of human religion is the consequence of the fact that religion is human response to that initiative from beyond, that sense of the holy or the sacred. It is our human response to the encounter with God in the mystery of our existence. Those questions that obtrude themselves upon us, particularly at those critical moments of life, draw from us questions and lead us on a quest, a quest for that ultimate mystery that defies our attempts to neatly package and domesticate it. Human religion is response to the Ultimate Mystery, and the diversity of religious forms and shapes and creeds and practices reflect the diversity of humankind and the diversity of human experience, and it is not as though my response is right and true and yours somewhat questionable, but rather, that being different people with different experiences, we respond out of the depths of our being with a wonderful diversity that marks human religion. That makes a huge difference in how we understand the pursuit of our own spiritual life and how we relate to others individually and institutionally. The institutional Church is a necessity. No movement of the Spirit can ever perpetuate itself without institutional forms. But, the very moment that the institutional forms take shape, the seeds of death lie in the movement of the Spirit. That’s just the way it is. I don’t know how it could be any different than that. But, at least the awareness of that can alert us to the danger of absolutizing the respective religious forms which cover the face of the earth. The Church hasn’t taught us that, by and large, for we have claimed divinely grounded revelation and divinely shaped institutional forms, creedal forms, liturgical forms, the way the Church is organized and structured. And the Church has taught us that kind of absolutizing. It was in July of 1049 or so that the delegates from the Pope in Rome went to Constantinople and stood before the altar at St. Sophia and excommunicated the Patriarch who was the head of the Eastern Orthodox wing of the Church. Within a few days, the Patriarch in Constantinople returned the favor, and we had the first major schism within the Church. Then it was the western Catholic Church, the Roman Catholic, the Latin right and the Eastern Orthodox right. And then, of course, in the 16th century the catalyst, Martin Luther, but other reformers besides, led that movement that we call the Reformation of the Church and once again we could get language many places about how they mutually excommunicated each other. With the advent of Protestantism out of the 16th century, the Church continued to splinter and it © Grand Valley State University �Church Must Die or Die Richard A. Rhem Page 3   splinters still, and I do believe that the problem is that we fail to recognize the human dimension of our religious experience. I know there is something endemic in all of us that really wants to have the truth, the last word, absolute security. There is something human in us that wants our way, our truth, our institution, our society to be infallible and inerrant and absolutely trustworthy. As a matter of fact, in the human scene, that doesn’t happen. And, as a matter of fact, if we demand that that happens or have the illusion that ours is "it," we’ll be in a situation of constant conflict and mutual excommunication, and the whole scene will be what it has been over nearly 2000 years. Church history is not a pretty story, and I really think at the core is that inclination to absolutize my vision, my view, my form, justifying it on the basis that it is divine rather than simply recognizing that there is this tremendous diversity of religious expression which points to the universality of the religious quest, the question deep within, and all of that diversity reflecting the diversity of humankind and human experience that forms that response in all of the respective ways that we find. I think it’s a very crucial insight to see that our religious expression is a human, creative, imaginative construct. It is not sacred, it is not holy, it is not inerrant or infallible, and it didn’t come from God. It is because God has come to us, but the varieties of religious experience are reflected in the varieties of religious institutions, forms, and structures, and if we could just get there, religion could become a part of the world’s solutions rather than the volatile fuel to continue to be part of the world’s problems. This, I think, is what was going on with Jesus. That’s why I read these selected passages. His movement creates a stir. There’s life; there’s passion; the people hear him gladly; his words resonate with something deep within them, and in that climactic sign that makes them call a Council, they say, "What are we going to do?" and Caiaphas, spokesperson for the established Church, with a bit of cynicism which is peril for those of us who are in this thing professionally, says, "Look, don’t be silly. With one man gone, everything stays intact. Simple." Let me say a word for Caiaphas. There are authorities, leaders within the institution, necessarily so, and there are concerns for the well-being of the institution, for its faithful perpetuation and its fruitful life. But, the danger is, and we can see it here, that that fresh voice will be stifled and that movement be killed. Jesus comes into the city, they hail him, and the cry is, "Look, we can’t do anything. The whole world’s going after him." The Greeks want to see him and that triggers with Jesus the realization of where he is on the calendar of his life. The hour has come, and now it’s his struggle. Will I be true? Will I be true to that newness that I see and embody? Or, will I buckle and allow the old to go on undisturbed? A grain of wheat falls in the ground and dies, yet bears fruit. The one who grasps unto his life loses it. The one willing to give his life away gains life eternal, life in a whole other dimension. And John sums up the end of that first half of the Gospel by saying, "In spite of everything they saw, they didn’t listen." Even some of the leaders knew it. Even some of the leaders believed. But, for fear © Grand Valley State University �Church Must Die or Die Richard A. Rhem Page 4   of being put out of the synagogue, loving human glory more than the glory of God, they didn’t join the movement and Jesus was executed. It is a paradigm, a picture, a model of what has happened over and over again. Because we identify our forms, our structures, no matter how loved they may be, no matter how precious they may be, we tend to make them gods which we just happen to possess rather than our poor stumbling, stammering attempts to respond to the one who has encountered us. In a recent issue of Christianity Today, the conservative journal, there were some 130 signatures to a declaration of doctrinal definition straight out of the 16th century, the evangelical, fundamentalist group who signed that document declaring once again what has been declared right down the line. And in the journal of more liberal Christianity, the editorial in The Christian Century, after discussing that declaration from the fundamental group, says the believers with such questions about the atonement or about evangelical landmarks such as the infallibility of scripture and the lost state of non-Christians will not find their questions addressed or acknowledged by the document, either on biblical or theological grounds. They will only find the old claims reasserted. Such a summary of doctrinal claims can be a rather empty gesture, if not accompanied by a deep engagement with the real questions that are on people’s minds. I find it very interesting that, in a time when certainly the Church is in great difficulty there is this retreat, this attempt to define, to dot the i and cross the t, and all they can do is assert it, and there is no engagement with our contemporary situation or the questions that are in the minds and hearts of people because they are people, not because they are Christian or not or evangelical or conservative or liberal. And, of course, the mainline denominations, likewise, are struggling with some critical issues that threaten to tear apart two or three or four of them and again I think it is because we’re all knotted up in this problem of authority. If what we have always been is divinely sanctioned, then I’ll fight for it. But, if we could just come to look at one another in the eye and understand the authenticity and the passion of one another’s hearts and believe one another and recognize that, out of diverse human experience and diverse kinds of people, these diverse responses are made, if we could live together under the canopy of love, it seems like it would be so simple. Ezekiel’s wonderful vision - Israel is in tough shape. They said our bones are dried up; we’re dead. And the voice of the Lord comes to the prophet, "Can these bones live? O, Lord God, You know." Then there was the coming together of the bones and the sinews and the muscles and they were a standing army, but they were still dead until the Spirit of God, the breath of God, blew and brought them alive, and the promises, "O, House of Israel, you shall live by my spirit," says the Lord. I concluded the Gospel readings with those five verses from chapter 13 of John’s Gospel as the passion story opens with Jesus at supper with his disciples, taking a © Grand Valley State University �Church Must Die or Die Richard A. Rhem Page 5   basin of water and a towel and washing their feet, because I think there’s a picture, a symbol, a model of authenticity that is not based on any authoritarian claims. It won’t work anymore simply to quote a verse, recite a creed, or call the Church to witness. The authenticity will be demonstrated or the Church will die. The Church must die to its absolutizing, to its divisions that point to human diversity that are claimed the consequence of divine revelation. The Church must die to its vested interests, its power structures, and it must allow the Spirit of God to blow through it, take a basin and a towel and wash the world’s feet, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, be a community of compassion, of passion, of love, and it will not need absolute claims, it will not need an infallible Bible, it will not need some creed that can never again be touched. It could live! It could be real, it would be powerful, and the jaw of the world would drop and say, "My God, behold how they love one another and all God’s world." It’s as simple as that. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/43865dc48d6c2eddfbf735e1aaa6a084.mp3 fdf14723498f3354fc9e539a6c8ec7e3 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XI Series Moving On To Maturity Scripture Text Ezekiel 37:14, John 12:24, 43, 13:5 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-0-19990801 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-08-01 Title A name given to the resource The Church Must Die or Die Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on August 1, 1999 entitled "The Church Must Die or Die ", as part of the series "Moving On To Maturity", on the occasion of Pentecost XI, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Ezekiel 37:14, John 12:24, 43, 13:5. Authority Compassion Spirit https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/200cee898d3f9ceacd7fc34f0976025f.pdf 060b4d5af548a0f092ba358f54b9d434 PDF Text Text When God Fails Our Expectations From the Series: Good News Then and Now Text: Isaiah 2:4; Matthew 24:34; II Peter 3:4 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan August 8, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon I inaugurate a new series of messages today that will take us to the end of October and Reformation Sunday, the day we remember the major event in Christian history when the Protestant tradition emerged out of the Roman Catholic tradition in the 16th century. That Protestant tradition in its Reformed expression is my background and the tradition in which this congregation was founded in 1870. It is the tradition of a majority of this congregation still, I believe, although I suspect over the last decade or more we have received in membership more folks from the Roman Catholic tradition than from any other. It seems to me that the idea of reformation is an important idea to keep before us on the threshold of the 21st century and the Third Millennium, and I am hoping that this Reformation celebration will be our most significant ever because we will have traced the Christian faith development through 2000 years. On the heels of Reformation, we will have the Jewish scholar on Christian origins, AmyJill Levine, here for the weekend, speaking here on Sunday, November 7, and then Bishop John Shelby Spong on November 12-14, speaking on "Why Christianity Must Change or Die." That should prepare us for an informed and intelligent movement into the new millennium. In order to prepare the congregation for this experience, I will in this series go back not to the 16th century, but to the first and second centuries of the Common Era and trace the development of the Christian faith story over 2000 years. My first choice for series title was, "Christian Faith and the Climate of Opinion: A Two Millennia Retrospective." The Team cried, "No way! No one will come!" Then I came up with what I thought was really fascinating and even a bit poetic: "When Symbols Break and Myths Dissolve." The verdict - "Scary." So, finally, bowing to pressure of those who hope to keep this place alive, I entitled the series, "Good News Then and Now," meaning thereby what I’ve meant all along – © Grand Valley State University   �When God Fails Expectations Richard A. Rhem Page 2   that the Gospel - the good news - has continued to be proclaimed in every succeeding age in changing expression reflecting the historical context into which it is spoken. My purpose must be obvious; I believe we must find a fresh translation of the good news for the day in which we are living. We all know this happened in the 16th century when the Western Roman Catholic Church was rent and Protestantism emerged, but I hope to enable you to see that, although that was perhaps the most dramatic and certainly the shift that has most impacted us in Western Christendom, it was but one instance of what has been happening for 2000 years, although not always with such major institutional repercussions. This is important for this congregation to realize because we are endeavoring to find the medium and the message that will bring good news to our community and our world at the turn of the millennium. The Gospel means good news - good - that is, encouraging, hopeful, life enhancing. News - that means updated, fresh, for now. Thus, Good News then in the first and fourth and 12th and 16th centuries and all points in between, Good News now: How do we bring a helpful, hopeful, encouraging word to our moment on the timeline of history? It is my sense that if we are going to feel the freedom to re-imagine the faith and do it with passion and seriousness, we must realize that we stand in a line of those who have wrestled with the faith, have come into times that called for fresh insight on the emerging human experience, on the unfolding drama we call history. As the human situation changes, faith formulations must address new circumstances and new human experiences. I have hammered away at this until you perhaps tire of hearing it. But, I am now embarking on a rather ambitious undertaking: to lay the foundation for the perspectives we share here. I suppose one might say this is an apology for my ministry and for the posture of this congregation, providing historical justification for daring boldly to revision and re-imagine the faith. One more word - my purpose is not to provide an academic lecture series; this is worship and the sermon should have practical, spiritual import for the life of the congregation. In the significant shifts through 2000 years, behind the shifts have always been existential concern - faith matters that matter for living. Thus, today my sermon is "When God Fails Our Expectations." I think that expresses the experience of the early Church as the Apostolic generation was dying off. The whole Jesus movement was posited on the expectation of the imminent return of Jesus Christ from heaven. They held to the conviction that Jesus who was crucified was risen from the dead, ascended into heaven and was soon to return to judge the living and the dead. © Grand Valley State University �When God Fails Expectations Richard A. Rhem Page 3   Imminence was the operative word - Jesus would come a second time soon. The New Testament references are too numerous to cite. Let me simply remind you of the final words of the Revelation of Jesus to John just prior to the final benediction: "Surely I am coming soon." Paul in I Corinthians 15:51, "We will not all die, but we will all be changed." In I Thessalonians 4:13f, "... then we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord ..." And, of course, from the Gospel reading,"Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place ..." Matthew 24:34. Let me say here that some of the Jesus scholars today attribute these apocalyptic passages to the early Jesus community - not to Jesus himself. That is currently a rigorous debate. But no matter; my point is that this was the expectation of the Jesus movement in the wake of his life and death. And Jesus did not return. That was the first major crisis of faith of the Jesus movement - or as it came to be known - the Christian Church. It takes little thought or reflection to realize how traumatic was the delay of the parousia, as this fact is spoken of. Parousia is a Greek term for coming, advent. The "delay" points to the early sense that surely he is coming, coming soon, but obviously not as soon as we expected. There has been a delay. Now, if this was at the heart and center of the early Church’s hope and expectation, waiting for the glorious appearance of the Lord from glory, then non-appearance, at first spoken of as delay, created some urgent questions about loved ones who died in the meantime, for example, would they miss out? But, for the most part, faith held on. But, when the whole Apostolic generation died, which was to be the terminal generation, the crisis deepened. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians that those who died would be included with those who are alive at the Lord’s coming, but eventually they all died. Now, widescale defection began and the faith of many was put on the defensive. This is the situation we find in the Second Letter of Peter which was not written by the Apostle Peter, but is best dated after 90 CE and perhaps as late as about 150 CE, that is, 70 to 120 years after the death of Jesus. That a crisis exists we can read from II Peter 3:3ff, "... in the last days scoffers will come. They will ask mockingly, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since our ancestors died all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation!’" In other words, the believers were taunted with the fact that it was "business as usual" in the world. Nothing happened. What, then, of the claims of the risen, ascended Lord coming in glory and power to judge the world? © Grand Valley State University �When God Fails Expectations Richard A. Rhem Page 4   It is obvious that the delay of the Lord’s appearing must have created an extremely difficult situation for the early Christian movement. That movement was composed of two distinct groups - the Jewish Christian community located largely in Palestine and the Gentile Christian community, the result of Paul’s mission. These two groups had sharp differences. New Testament study sees Luke’s writing in Acts as an attempt to show how these two were reconciled, but there was a sharp division. Yet, both groups held essentially to the apocalyptic hope that was rooted in Jewish apocalypticism that was anticipating the end of the age, and both saw the life, death and resurrection of Jesus as the beginning of the End, which would be consummated with his return from heaven to judge the living and the dead. The imminent return of Jesus did not happen and that significant fact necessitated a major transformation of Christian understanding. It was Albert Schweitzer who called biblical scholarship and theological inquiry to the recognition of the fact that there occurred in the immediate past Apostolic period a transformation of understanding of the Gospel. The transformation moved the early Christian movement to what is called early Catholicism. That, in fact, was a move not only to create a new understanding of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, but also toward the creation of the Christian Church as an institution, a regularizing of the faith, mode of worship (liturgy, sacrament) and structure of the Church. This was the beginning of doctrinal formulation and the formulation of orthodoxy. It was not a simple process. There were strenuous battles fought over the right interpretation of the Gospel and it did not happen smoothly or at all places at the same time. There were now groups and views designated as heretical and after a long, tortuous process there emerged what was designated the regula Fidei, the Order of the Faith. In the process, Jewish Christianity was reduced to a sect and eventually faded from the scene and St. Paul’s theological understanding was transformed into the faith of the early Catholic Church. It is not possible for me in the sermon format to document this or set forth the conflicting path by which it was accomplished. Perhaps, however, you can sense what was happening if I describe the whole movement as the eschatology of the Apostolic faith. This must be plain to see, for the problem was the imminent return of Jesus which did not happen. Eschatology is the teaching about the last things, the end of history. It derives from Eschaton, a Greek word meaning “End.” In sum, the post-Apostolic movement had to create a new scenario - a scenario which took into account ongoing history and the living of life in the world which obviously did not pass away. © Grand Valley State University �When God Fails Expectations Richard A. Rhem Page 5   This was the first and major shift in understanding made imperative for the Christian movement by the delay of the parousia. In his Formation of Christian Dogma, Martin Werner, a Swiss historian of dogma, taking his cue from Schweitzer and others, claims this was the womb out of which all Christian dogmatics must be understood. So what? Remember, my purpose in this series, to demonstrate that the point in history at which we have arrived as the third millennium dawns calls us to revision and reimagine the faith, in continuity with the tradition but in fresh expression which takes account of the new world which is our historical context, and that need not cause fear or anxiety because this kind of development has been going on from the very beginning. The second letter of Peter was a plea not to yield to the inevitable. Those who realized that Jesus’ return was delayed were not all scoffers, although I am sure some were. There were also those who took up the challenge to try to make sense of the Gospel in new historical circumstances. The author of our text was an early fundamentalist, pleading yesterday’s answers to today’s questions. I find it fascinating that that writer still has voices crying the same thing. Two thousand years later there are those claiming the days are counting down. In Grand Rapids, as reported in the Press yesterday, the TV evangelist John Hagee signed his most recent book. He was pictured with a considerable article. The new title is From Daniel to Doomsday: The Countdown Has Begun, and Hagee claims he is speaking the Gospel and telling people what the Bible says about the "terminal generation." That is remarkable. That is precisely what St. Paul thought he was doing. It was precisely the fact that the Apostolic generation was not the terminal generation that created the crisis that necessitated the major revisioning of the faith that led to the development of early Catholic tradition. This week I viewed a catalogue from Christian Book Distributors. On the back cover is advertised the novel series Left Behind, by Tim La Haye and Jerry B. Jenkins. Six volumes out. Millions of copies sold. You can get all six at the bookstore for $134.92 or discounted from CBD for $88.50. The same catalogue has a centerfold advertising seven titles on Y2K, titles such as The Road to Armagedon and Jesus’ Final Warning. And, of course, there are t-shirts emblazoned with such slogans as "Don’t Be Left Behind," and "Trib Force." The lack of taste is one thing. The economic exploitation is another. But, the abysmal ignorance of such guilt-imputing, fear-inciting abuse of the Bible is simply incredible. My pastoral concern rises from the damage such misuse of the Bible and ignorance of the development of theological understanding creates. The biblical story tells of the God Who has created all, sustains all, and embraces all full of grace with the purpose of love. It is Good News. It was Good News then, © Grand Valley State University �When God Fails Expectations Richard A. Rhem Page 6   when Paul was overwhelmed by the grace of God and the hope that appeared in Jesus. It is Good News now, recognizing Paul’s misconstruing of history, but recognizing, as well, his marvelous sense of being in Christ, in grace. If we can see through the limitations of Paul’s knowledge of the created order, beyond his limited understanding of world history, human development and the ongoing evolutionary unfolding of reality, we can still hear his witness to the God Who in Jesus drew near, was embodied, and Who invites us to trust, to rest, and to continue the 2000-year process of updating the Good News. It was not easy to realize that Jesus was not imminently returning. It was a curse. Many lost their grip, gave up, sought another way. That is part of being human. It felt like God failed their expectations. That happens to us, too, when we use God as a magic genie to protect us or secure for us some favor, when we make God too small, a "fix it" person keeping us from harm’s way, free from the tragedy and suffering that is part of our human lot. But that is to use God, and such a God sometimes will fail our expectations - our prayers will be to no avail. The problem, of course, is not God, but our expectations. God calls us to maturity, to responsibility, to the way of Jesus, to the life of compassion and community and, in all of that, God is Emmanuel - God with us, today and always. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d9cabf84d73ee8d9fb2f9c75de3a210c.mp3 c804448cc56f91f5ee82871da8a8c83c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XII Series Good News Then and Now Scripture Text Isaiah 2:4, Matthew 24:34, II Peter 3:4 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19990808 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-08-08 Title A name given to the resource When God Fails Our Expectations Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on August 8, 1999 entitled "When God Fails Our Expectations", as part of the series "Good News Then and Now", on the occasion of Pentecost XII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Isaiah 2:4, Matthew 24:34, II Peter 3:4. History of Church Re-imagining the Faith https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/4725abaf212ba5c3815eca98ae282e2f.pdf 51a6a7459d9b02b982a0d307c3824872 PDF Text Text Religion and Power: A Deadly Combination From the series: Good News Then and Now Text: Amos 7:13; Romans 13:1; Matthew 15:18 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan August 15, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon I initiated last week a series of messages that will bring us down to October 31, if we survive. That’s Reformation Sunday, and it is the week prior to the first two weeks in November, which will be special events here. The West Shore Committee for Jewish Christian Dialogue will bring Amy-Jill Levine, who will speak here on Sunday morning. Her theme for the weekend is "When and Why Did Christianity and Judaism Separate?" Amy-Jill teaches at Vanderbilt Divinity School, New Testament, although she is a Jewish scholar. Then, John Shelby Spong, Episcopal Bishop of Newark, will be here the following week to talk about re-imagining Christian faith and "Why Christianity Must Change or Die." Those two weeks will be the bookends of this series of messages. Amy-Jill will tell us how it all got started, and Bishop Spong will suggest where it must be going and, in the meantime, prior to their coming, I hope that I can help you to understand that change and transformation has been the rule for 2000 years. Often the Church would like to give the impression that it has a deposit of faith given once for all, that it is guarded down through the centuries untouched, but such is not the case. We started last week going back to the Apostolic community itself, recognizing the expression of that faith in the New Testament documents that give from beginning to end the impression that the whole of that Jesus movement was posited on the premise that Jesus would return as the Lord of glory very soon. The Gospels, the letters of Paul, the Revelation at the end of the book all give witness to the fact that there was an apocalyptic expectation, that is, that the heavens would open and that the Son of Man, the Son of God would appear to judge the living and the dead and bring to consummation all things, the imminent return of Jesus. And, of course, it didn’t happen, and it hasn’t happened for 2000 years, and reflecting back on that, there is a growing awareness and recognition over the last century or so that it was that disappointed expectation that provided the womb out of which the whole Church as an institution developed in its organizational structure, in its liturgical forms, in its creedal formulations. How we are, how we live, how we believe is the consequence of that disillusion because of the delay of © Grand Valley State University   �Religion and Power Richard A. Rhem Page 2   the parousia. The fact that Jesus did not return, that imminent expectation was shattered and, consequently, they found themselves in a world whose history was going on. They found themselves in a life that they had to learn how to live as followers of Jesus. It’s all very understandable, all very normal, all very natural. But, it was a very great crisis, and out of that crisis we have the early emerging catholic tradition, catholic meaning simply universal, and that tradition in its early stages was full of conflict and tension, it was all over the board, it was very chaotic, as you can understand, everyone trying to make sense of that great event followed by the trauma of disappointment. What in the world is God doing? The early catholic tradition was the consequence of sorting all that through. What I want to do this morning, and I can only do it briefly, I have a two-hour sermon here, but fortunately you only have ten minutes, so I have to give you huge chunks of stuff and you’ll just have to take my word for it, although I could read to you all morning here. But I want this morning to suggest to you that, what appeared to be a very great providence - that this persecuted minority, this band of followers of Jesus became the established religion of the Roman Empire, and that establishment brought it great power, position, and prestige, and that which appeared to be such a blessing, as a matter of fact, was a great seduction which ended in the wedding of power and religion, so that for nearly 1000 years during the whole medieval development up to the eve of the Reformation, a Church in power became a very corrupt institution. Religious leaders don’t handle power any better than secular leaders. I think it was the British statesman, Lord Acton, who said, "All power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely," and what the Church became in the wake of that tremendous transformation, was an absolute institution. It was absolute in the control of salvation. It had the imperial sword to back up its claims and it is a chapter with dark shadows because the religion of Jesus, the servant, became the religion of a very dominant, prestigious institutional Church. I can’t possibly document that for you this morning. Let me simply point to, for example, St. Augustine, who early on was still looking to the sky for Jesus to return, but then he lived into the 5th century; he lived long enough to experience the sack of Rome by the barbarians, the fall of Rome. He wrote the first Christian interpretation of history called The City of God, and Augustine moved from an expectation of Jesus to return anytime to an understanding of Church history as being the millennium for that 1000 years which is referred to in Revelation 20. Now, I don’t recommend you go home this afternoon and try to understand the Book of Revelation, nor the 20th chapter, but there’s been a lot of "stuff" that’s come out of the 20th chapter which would appear to be a thousand years of peace on earth ruled over by the Messiah who returns. There are some who think he’ll return and take the Church out of history first. Those are pre-Millennialists. And there are some who think that he’ll come only at the end of that thousand years, which was kind of Augustine’s position, so post-Millennialist. The Reformers didn’t know what in the world to do, so they became a-Millennialists, and of © Grand Valley State University �Religion and Power Richard A. Rhem Page 3   course, I’ve tended to become a pan-Millennialist, that is, living with the confidence that everything will "pan out" in the end. I recommend that. But, Augustine made a move from expecting Jesus to return to dealing with the reality of the fact that history was moving, and of course, his idea of that millennium as the thousand years of Church history created all kinds of millennial fever as the year 1000 approached. Fully as much, maybe a bit more than we have today with all the Y2K hysteria. Augustine I point to simply as one for whom the reality of history, the reality of his human experience, forced him to adjust his understanding of that biblical story of the return and the reign of Jesus Christ on earth. But, what really happened to the Church, and my point this morning, is that it was brought into a position of domination. I know you’re familiar with the fact that the Emperor Constantine saw a sign in the sky and he believed it was the cross, and he heard a voice saying, "By this sign you will conquer," and he won the battle the next day at the Milvian Bridge in 312, and from that point on he converted to Christianity, although he wasn’t baptized until near his death; he was hedging his bets. But, his successors established Christianity as the state religion and, in so doing, created a powerful institution whose history is not a nice story. John Dominic Crossan, who was here in February, in his Jesus, a Revolutionary Biography, writes, Finally, about three hundred years after the crucifixion of Jesus, ... the Roman Emperor Constantine, believing that victory over his imperial rival ... near the Milvian Bridge had been obtained by Christ’s power, converted to Christianity. ...Constantine, wanting a unified Christianity as the empire’s new religion, ordered the Christian bishops to meet, under imperial subsidy, in lakeside Nicea... Obviously, resorts were popular then for conferences, as well. And Constantine had just one purpose and that was to rule out any theological differences. I imagine he said to the bishops, "Now, look boys, the accommodations are great, the food is wonderful, Happy Hour overflowing, I have only one concern - come out of there with a statement on which you can all agree. Eusebius, a historian of the times, is quoted by Crossan: Detachments of the bodyguard and troops surrounded the entrance of the palace with drawn swords, and through the midst of them the men of God proceeded without fear into the innermost of the Imperial apartments, in which some were the Emperor’s companions at table, while others reclined on couches arranged on either side. One might have thought that a picture of Christ’s kingdom was thus shadowed forth, and a dream rather than reality. © Grand Valley State University �Religion and Power Richard A. Rhem Page 4   But, Dom Crossan says, A Christian leader now writes a life of Constantine rather than Jesus. The meal and the kingdom still come together, but now the participants are the male bishops alone, and they recline, with the emperor himself, to be served by others. Dream or reality? Dream or nightmare? It is, of course, an example of the dialectic just proposed between the historical Jesus and the confessional Christ, of peasant Jesus grasped now by imperial faith. Still, as one ponders that progress from open commensality with Jesus to episcopal banquet with Constantine, is it unfair to regret a progress that happened so fast and moved so swiftly, that was accepted so readily and criticized so lightly? Is it time now, or is it already too late, to conduct, religiously and theologically, ethically and morally, some basic cost accounting with Constantine? It was the Constantinian establishment that brought the Church into a prominence and a dominance which eventuated in a decay and a corruption which brought about, eventually, a rending again of the body of Christ in the 16th century. The Church became the absolute institute of salvation. There was total control over the lives of people. Clergy such as Peter and myself through the authority of the bishops, through the mediation of the pope, who was the vicar of Jesus Christ on earth, would hold you totally in our control. We held the spigot of grace. We could determine to whom to offer the sacrament, and it was only with the sacrament received that salvation was possible. Cyprian, the great bishop and his famous phrase in Latin translated outside the church? No salvation. It was an absolute institution, infallible and inerrant in all of its teaching and all its action. It could not be questioned. Throughout that period there was even a struggle between the throne and the altar, the princes and the Church. And there was a period in which the Church dominated the secular powers, as well, until those secular powers eventually broke free and became dominant. The Church was an absolute institution and it dominated and it was its death. The great historian, William Manchester, in his book, A World Lit Only By Fire, describes the eventuation of that Constantinian establishment and that absolutizing of the institutional form of religion in the Church at the eve of the Reformation. He writes, ... The center of the Ptolemaic universe [still the universe where the earth is the center of everything] was the known world - Europe, with the Holy Land and North Africa on the fringes. The sun moved round it every day. Heaven was above the immovable earth, somewhere in the overarching sky; hell seethed far beneath their feet. Kings rules at the pleasure of the © Grand Valley State University �Religion and Power Richard A. Rhem Page 5   Almighty; all others did what they were told to do. Jesus, the son of God, had been crucified and resurrected, and his reappearance was imminent, or at any rate inevitable. Every human being adored him (the Jews and the Muslims being invisible). During the 1,436 years since the death of Saint Peter the apostle, 211 popes had succeeded him, all chosen by God and all infallible. The Church was indivisible, the afterlife a certainty; all knowledge was already known. And nothing would ever change. The mighty storm was swiftly approaching, but Europeans were not only unaware of it; they were convinced that such a phenomenon could not exist. Shackled in ignorance, disciplined by fear, and sheathed in superstition... That, my friends, was the state of the Church and the abuses that I cannot begin to recount here, are legion because the religious institution with human leadership had power. That, of course, was a total betrayal of the biblical faith. It was already in Paul’s day a question of how to live in accommodation with the secular power, the governing power. Romans 13 talks about that. And in the Gospel of Matthew we have already Matthew writing some 50 years after Jesus this little scene at Caesarea Philippi where Peter has the keys of the kingdom given to him, the preeminence of Peter. This was already the dealing of the authority question within that early Jesus movement. So, we’re dealing with things here that are part and parcel of anything human. But, Jesus, after he gives the keys of the kingdom to Peter and would seem to put such authority in his hands, follows that by saying "If anyone would follow me, he must take up his cross. If anyone would hold onto his life, he must lose it. If anybody would lose his life for my sake, he will find it." And when it finally came down, when the rubber hit the road, Jesus had a banquet quite in contrast to the one at Nicea in which he took bread and broke it and said, "This is my body," and he took wine and poured it out and said, "This is my blood," because Jesus was in the tradition of the Hebrew prophets who spoke truth to power and refused to be co-opted by power. Amos was just a farmer, he came to the royal palaces one day and began to preach and he said God is letting down a plumb line to measure the integrity of this kingdom, and that began to scare the counselors to the king, and so they called Amaziah, who was a hired lackey (a good king always hired a priest), and the priest came out and he said, "Hey, you farmer Amos, what are you doing here?" And Amos said, "The word of the Lord came to me," and the priest said, "We don’t need the word of the Lord in the royal palace. Go back and preach to your sycamore trees and never come here again." When you preach truth to power, you end up in the possibility of being crucified, but then you are only following the way of the one who even this morning says to us, in an open table, "This is my body; this is my blood," for the way of the Gospel is not the way of domination, control, and abuse, but is the way of grace, of © Grand Valley State University �Religion and Power Richard A. Rhem Page 6   compassion, offering the accessibility of God to all who are hungry and all who are thirsty. This is not the table of this congregation. This is not Peter’s table nor mine, nor these elders. This is the table of our Lord who invited those who would stand in solidarity with him to take bread and cup and go forth strengthened, not to dominate, but to die that the world might live. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/97f2cc0d348566bec0d848b170d9ed4c.mp3 001e11e8ce2bcd6a5618c2e8fa656bca Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XIII Series Good News Then and Now Scripture Text Amos 7:13, Romans 13:1, Matthew 15:18 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-0-19990815 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-08-15 Title A name given to the resource Religion and Power: A Deadly Combination Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on August 15, 1999 entitled "Religion and Power: A Deadly Combination", as part of the series "Good News Then and Now", on the occasion of Pentecost XIII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Amos 7:13, Romans 13:1, Matthew 15:18. Authority History of Church truth to power https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f5e9e7e81d9540b9cb3d7f45b34cbe4f.pdf c163693eaa6d4e74bfa4e331b9a3bb73 PDF Text Text Where Do I Stand When the Foundation Gives Way? From the series: Good News Then and Now Jeremiah 7:4; Luke 20:2 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan August 29, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon We are on a 2000-year journey, a 2000-year survey of the history of Christian doctrine, or as it is called, the history of dogma, and we are looking at the history of doctrinal development because I want to demonstrate to you that, if we are about the re-imagining of the faith for our day, we are only doing what has always been done, not always voluntarily, but out of necessity, the need to continue to reinterpret the event of God in Jesus Christ in every new age and historical context in order that it might make sense, in order that it might be meaningful, in order that it might be transformative. We noted three weeks ago that the formation of Christian doctrine arose out of that first great crisis of the Christian Church, the Jesus movement poised for the imminent return of Jesus as the Lord of Glory to judge the earth, which didn’t happen. And that early Church, confident that the end of the age was so near, had never contemplated having to live in history. What did the event of Jesus Christ mean, if history was ongoing? What did it mean, then, to be a Christian, a follower of Jesus in a world that obviously wasn’t ending? Out of that initial crisis came the formation of the early Catholic tradition, which did not come about easily. To read those stories of the post-Apostolic Church is to read of tremendous conflict, tremendous division, great tensions, outstanding leaders on respective sides of issues trying to hammer out what in the world God had done in this Jesus. The Church eventually regularized itself. It took some centuries, and finally it established what it believed about what God had done in Jesus: thus, the appearance of orthodoxy, that is, proper belief, correct belief. And also, the possibility of heresy, for now there was a line set down, there were boundaries drawn, and those who were outside of the pale were marked as heretical to the established, accepted faith of the Church. That early Church, we noted a couple of weeks ago, began to take on some stature and it was greatly enhanced when the Emperor Constantine converted and when a successor established Christianity as the religion of the empire. The establishment of Christianity, which I was taught was a great providential act of © Grand Valley State University   �When the Foundation Gives Way Richard A. Rhem Page 2   God, might well have been the point at which the Church began to lose its soul because, with its establishment, now having the power of the throne behind it, it grew not only in its faith understanding, but in power, and with power came eventual degeneration and decay and corruption (you learned about that last week), an institution that became so insensitive to the needs of people that it could no longer deal with the human experience of one like Martin Luther, whose experience was the catalyst for the shattering of the institution and the emergence of the Protestant tradition. Now we have three major Church families. In 1054, Eastern Orthodoxy and the Roman Catholic Latin tradition came apart; the Pope excommunicated the Patriarch, the Patriarch returned the favor, and from that point on, 1054, the 11thcentury, the Christian Church, which until that time had been one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, became Eastern and Western. Now in the 16th century, with the shattering of the Western Church and the emergence of Protestantism, there was born a third major family and we have it to this day, three major groupings, Protestantism having continued to splinter until we could sing the song, "It’s a Many-Splintered Thing." But, while there were differences between those three bodies, they maintained the core that was arrived at in those early centuries, the doctrine of the Trinity, the two natures of Jesus Christ, truly God, truly human, and much else they shared. But, there were differences, as well, and good reason for division, of course. But, there was one thing in which Orthodoxy, the Roman Catholic Church and Protestantism were totally agreed, and that was that they were institutions with absolute authority. If you ask an Orthodox Patriarch, he would say the authority is in the ongoing tradition of the Church. If you would ask the Pope in Rome, he would say the authority is in the teaching office of the Church which he embodies. If you would ask John Calvin or Martin Luther, they would have said the authority lies in the written word of God. Whether it was tradition or Church or Bible, the whole Christian Church in the 16th century was a Church that was marked by authoritarian claim, the claim that the content of its faith was the consequence of a supernatural revelation from heaven, and what the Church taught was to be accepted on the basis of authority, believed, and obeyed, not questioned. You did not need to think; you only needed to understand what was already given, what was proclaimed, what was declared, the dogmatic foundation of the Church. Then the modern era dawned. Whenever one does a periodization of history, there will be fuzzy boundaries and some disagreement, but I think that we can say without too much fear of refutation that the modern era of which we are still a part, although people talk about the post-modern phase we’re in, nonetheless, we are modern people and the modern era began about 1650, the middle point of the 17th century to the present, and the modern period was marked by the throwing off of all forms of authoritarian claim and the insistence on the empirical observation and investigation of all truth claims. While that modern movement © Grand Valley State University �When the Foundation Gives Way Richard A. Rhem Page 3   began with the advent of the natural sciences, and Francis Bacon formulated the scientific method in the early stages, those scientific investigations did not seem to challenge Church doctrine, but what happened immediately was a new way of thinking, a new way of knowing, and the movement from the medieval world to the modern world represents a seismic shift in human history and human culture. Modernity, of which we are a part, is marked by critical thinking. We don’t take statements, dogmatic statements or claims just because they are uttered on the basis of some authority, be it tradition or Church or Bible. We investigate; we experiment; we think critically about the question, and this is so much a part of us that we don’t even think about it. It is that which marks the whole modern period and it marks you and me in all the rest of our lives, except not always in our religious experience. But that seismic shift in culture, in the way of knowing and what could be known, marked the beginning of a serious challenge to the Christian tradition. Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher of great fame, demolished the proofs for the existence of God, the philosophical proofs for the existence of God. His purpose was positive; he was not anti-religious, but he wanted to show that that way of thinking, thinking then that we had proved God’s existence, was a dead end. He said, “I have destroyed knowledge in order to make room for faith.” There was a young preacher in Berlin at that time who read Kant, imbibed Kant, and recognized that the nub of the problem for the Christian tradition, now that the modern age had dawned, was the question of authority. Friedrich Schleiermacher was a brilliant, witty, socially desirable kind of an individual who was assigned to be the preacher in a great hospital in Berlin, and was invited into the social circles of that great city. He was a preacher, he was a Christian, he was brilliant (sounds like an oxymoron, but in this case, that was true), and the cultured, educated, sophisticated society of Berlin invited him to be a part of their circles. They enjoyed him, and he ran with them very well. But he was a Christian, he was a preacher, and on his 29th birthday they surprised him with a party and they gave him a challenge and said, "Write an account of how you can still be religious, Christian, a preacher." He accepted the challenge and at the age of 31 published what is now a classic, On Religion: Speeches to Its Cultural Despisers. He knew his friends. He knew what they thought of him; he knew they thought religion was passé, and he took the challenge right to them. He began in the first speech, of which there are five, by saying to them, "Look, relax. I’m not going to quote the Bible; I’m not going to quote the Church; I’m not going to quote the tradition. I am going to speak to you as a human being; I am going to speak out of my experience, and what I am going to say to you is rooted in my own being, in my own experience." Then he took off, and in so doing, what Schleiermacher did was to turn the whole tradition of the Christian Church 180 degrees for, up until that time, until the modern era, and even at his time and even to the present, the Church, by and large across the board, has operated on the basis of authoritarian claims, some divine revelation that has come out of heaven embodied in a tradition, in a Church, in a book. © Grand Valley State University �When the Foundation Gives Way Richard A. Rhem Page 4   Schleiermacher gave all of that up, stood, as it were, naked before his friends, and claimed his faith and his religion as the authentic and deepest expression of his humanity. Schleiermacher recognized that Kant had blocked the road to dogmatic speculation and therefore if one was going to be religious after Kant, the ground of that religious experience would have to rest in the believing individual. And in very brilliant and sophisticated fashion, he argued for the rooting of religion in the human subject. His claim was that to be human is to have the feeling of absolute dependence. We didn’t create ourselves; we can’t sustain ourselves; we are totally dependent, totally dependent on some gracious ground that has given us life and supports and keeps us, and it was Schleiermacher’s contention that, in those moments when that sense of dependence comes into focus, one knows oneself to be in communion with God. God is that foundation, that infinite mystery that upholds all, the origin and foundation of all that is and, in the moments of our human dependency, almost mystical moments of awareness, one knows oneself dependent which, Schleiermacher says, is to know oneself to be in communion with God. That synopsis hardly does justice to what Schleiermacher did in a very profound fashion, but what he had done was radical, for he had moved from an authoritarian claim for religious truth to a personal testimony to its reality in his own experience. He is called the Father of Modern Theology because, in that significant shift, he made the whole game new, and he paved the way for the theological development of the last 200 years. You can cite all of the great names of the theologians who have spoken and written and you will find traces of Schleiermacher; he was the initiator. Of course, there was a counter to him; he was rejected by many. There was a reaction, a conservative reaction and an orthodox, confessional Church reaction against him, but nonetheless, he had sounded a new note and he had put his finger on the problem of modernity, an era in which we, as naturally as breathing, think, use our heads, use common sense, and he said that goes not only when you are sending a rocket to the moon or structuring a community education program, but that goes, as well, when you are seeking the communion of God. He would have agreed with the statement we used here a few weeks ago, that the heart cannot finally find true what the mind finds false. I find it fascinating, as I in my 64th year visit Schleiermacher seriously, that no one ever told me that the long and tortuous pilgrimage that has been my own to try to be a true believer with my mind engaged, was engaged and set forth powerfully and eloquently 200 years ago. There has been in the Eastern Orthodox tradition, the Roman Catholic tradition, and the Protestant tradition, and all of its forms, mainline and fundamental (this is my contention now), there has been a continuing within a medieval mind set never yet facing the acids of modernity. I do not think the institutional Church as a whole has ever come to terms with the modern era marked by critical thinking, even though it was done beautifully 200 years ago. © Grand Valley State University �When the Foundation Gives Way Richard A. Rhem Page 5   Why didn’t Schleiermacher carry the day totally across the board? A question well worth contemplating. I really don’t know, but I know this matter of authority is absolutely critical and it’s not a new issue. The Hebrew prophets spoke a word from God, a word that possessed them. Jeremiah stood up on the Temple steps and said, "The Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord, you repeat this like a chant. You think your safety and security lies here. Let me tell you, God doesn’t need this institution. God doesn’t need your religious ritual. Go to Shiloh and see its ruins. See what I did there, and I’ll do it to your temple, too, because of a lack of authenticity in your religious life." Jesus was in the line of the prophets, and when he was engaged with the leaders of the religion of his day, they began to cross-examine him. They were lying in wait to catch him in everything he said. He cried out against the sterile formalism of that institutional religion and he became a very threatening voice in the midst of Jerusalem, coming finally to that last prophetic action when he cleansed the temple and that triggered the religious authorities to come and say just that, "By what authority do you do this?" And Jesus said, "Well, tell me about John the Baptist. What was his authority?" They didn’t dare answer because if they said from heaven, he would have said, "Why didn’t you follow him? Why didn’t you believe?" And if they said it’s a human authority, they would have been stoned by the people because John the Baptist also had a voice that had authenticity that resonated with people’s experience, that spoke to them where they were and they believed that he was a prophet of God. If you read through the Gospels, you find more than one reference where Jesus is spoken of as having the people spellbound because he spoke as one who had authority and not as the scribes and the Pharisees. Of course, it’s not an easy question; it’s not an easy problem, my friend. If you have an institutional church and you are responsible for the institution, then you can’t let any crackerjack come rolling through who has a vision. Or, at least, you have to discern whether or not this voice is a voice that rings with authenticity, or whether it’s just some fanatic. The question of authority is a critical question. How do you know? I submit to you that the problem of authority was dealt with in the only way it can be dealt with in a healthy fashion by Schleiermacher 200 years ago, whose authority, he said, rested in his own religious experience. Anything other than that will tend to sterility and rigidity and will end up killing the prophets. Schleiermacher is a marvelous figure, one of a small handful of truly great spirits in 2000 years and, as he spoke to his friends, the cultured despisers of religion, he laid his heart bare, and he said to them "You’ve rejected something, but what you have rejected is not the real thing. The real thing is that which makes you human; the real thing is that which gives depth, dimension to life; the real thing is that which unifies your experience and creates meaning; the real thing is the verve and the center and the joy of life. Without religion, you are simply an animal with reason." And he also believed in preaching; he was a great preacher, © Grand Valley State University �When the Foundation Gives Way Richard A. Rhem Page 6   a loved preacher, and he filled the Church in Berlin. He said to his people, "My preaching is simply my testimony, and that testimony triggers in others who desire a like kind of experience, and there is formed a community," and that very positive sense of his Christian experience and the shared experience of the community for which he was the preacher was so dynamic and so powerful in his day, and when at the age of 66 he died of a lung infection, there was weeping throughout the city; 20,000 to 30,000 people lined the streets as his coffin was moved through the streets, and they wept from every window and every balcony because this man had spoken to them, not of some hollow religious experience, but something that touched them in the depths of their being, enabling them, in a modern age marked by critical thinking, yet to find experience of that intimate and mysterious ground of all being, full of grace, which for Schleiermacher and the Christian church was embodied in Jesus. Why? Why have we not been able in 200 years to do as he did? Why, out of fear and reaction, do we trundle back into fundamentalism and absolute claims, when if we would only trust our experience, we would know the touch of grace of the living God and live with hope and joy? References: Friedrich Schleiermacher. On Religion: Speeches to Its Cultural Despisers, 1797. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2c686ac5433457c1ac38324b75975dd7.mp3 44884c4ec4abf724bc282b6c589769d3 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XV Series Good News Then and Now Scripture Text Jeremiah 7:4, Luke 20:2 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI References Friedrich Schleiermacher, On Religion: Speeches to Its Cultural Despisers, 1797. 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-0-19990829 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-08-29 Title A name given to the resource Where Do I Stand When the Foundation Gives Way? Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on August 29, 1999 entitled "Where Do I Stand When the Foundation Gives Way?", as part of the series "Good News Then and Now", on the occasion of Pentecost XV, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Jeremiah 7:4, Luke 20:2. Authority Critical Thinking History of Christian Dogma Modernity https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b55a0f733428766ac73137ce3d25c433.pdf 58f5bdc29cec175d03e30e6ddb40f684 PDF Text Text Scheduled to Death With Good Things Text: Joshua 4:6; 24:15; Psalm 78:4-7; Matthew 18:14 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan September 12, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon There has been a long debate about when life begins. There are those who say that life begins at the moment of conception. I think John Calvin argued that the soul was invested in the fetus at 40 days. (On most things he was smarter than that.) Others say that life begins at actual birth. It is an ancient debate and it continues into our contemporary situation. But, I tend to agree with the person who said life begins when the last kid is out of the house and the dog dies... (Your laughter is all too revealing.) Raising children is a very, very great task and responsibility. It takes the very best that we have of our time and our energy and our resources, and it is not easy, and it’s not getting any easier. I think that it becomes more difficult. As I have the luxury of being in the position of a grandparent, I can now from safe distance watch my own children raise their children, and I honestly believe that they are much better parents than I was. I don’t even think I knew that I was supposed to be a parent. After all, I was in the Lord’s work, you know. But, I have the privilege of watching my children in those marvelous years when they have adolescents, and I have a couple who are dealing with two-year-olds. So that whole spectrum is rather interesting to me to observe. I think that it is much more difficult than when I grew up and when I was raising my children, not only because there are more perils and pitfalls available, but also because there are more wonderful options and opportunities available, and I recognize the possibility of being scheduled to death with good things. I knew that I would probably be preaching in September on opening Sunday, and it was already in June when Time magazine came out with a cover that caught my eye and gave me today’s sermon. I knew in June this is what I would deal with. The June 12 issue has a cover with a Little Leaguer on it, in his helmet, swinging a bat, his tongue out, Michael Jordan style, and the cover says Sports crazed kids: Year ‘round play, summer clinics, pushy parents - is this too much of a good thing? Well, it’s a typical media type of presentation; not everybody is like the people who are described here and there are some pretty extreme cases in terms of the time invested and the money invested and the obsessional level with which it is pursued. But, nonetheless, I knew from my own observation that there are © Grand Valley State University   �Scheduled to Death Richard A. Rhem Page 2   many wonderful things that are available to children and young people today and I sense that it is not so easy to know how to set the priorities and determine the agendas in order that there might be balance and in order that that which is done would be life-enhancing and not, on the other hand, life-defeating. In the article there is one paragraph that I thought I would share with you. After recounting all of this tremendous outlay of money and time and energy and commitment, the writers say, So, what are parents to do? We do what Americans have always done. This is, after all, a country that systematizes. We create seminars on how to make friends, teach classes in grieving, and make pet-walking a profession. In that light, Greg Heintzman’s praise of unstructured play seems almost un-American. Any activity, no matter how innocent or trivial or spontaneous, can become specialized in America. So, if our children are to have sports, we will make leagues and teams, write schedules and rule books, publish box scores and rankings, hire coaches and refs, buy uniforms and equipment to the limit of our means. We will kiss our weekends goodbye and maybe more than our weekends. That is a voice from the broader culture and, as I said when I saw it last June, I thought there is a word there for the people of God, because we have not only the ongoing responsibility to do what we can to protect our children and ourselves from the perils and pitfalls that are open, but also from the multitude, the plethora of good things hereby we can be scheduled to death, and find that we are being determined by all of those things that play upon us rather than determining our own lives, the course of our lives, the way we spend our days, our time, and our resources. And so, this morning I simply want to engage in some consciousness-raising with you. I don’t have any special wisdom. I just think that together we need to be very self-aware and self-conscious about that to which we give our lives, and how we structure, to the extent that it is possible, the lives of our children and our youth. And I want to say, first of all, that we should be intentional about it. We should be self-aware and self-conscious; we ought to have thought about it in order that we are doing that which we intend to do, that which we really want to do, that which is reflective of the things that we believe most deeply and value most highly. We should be conscious; we ought to live consciously. There’s a story told of Jesus and the Gospel of Thomas, that he saw a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day, and gathering sticks on the Sabbath day could get one stoned. But Jesus, in typical fashion, said to him, "If you understand what you’re doing, blessed are you. But, if you don’t understand what you’re doing, you are cursed," for Jesus knew that the law of the Sabbath was not simply an external legalism to be observed, but it should come out of the inward motivation of the heart. If you know what you’re doing, even though you are breaking the law, if there is an intentionality about it for a proper purpose, then © Grand Valley State University �Scheduled to Death Richard A. Rhem Page 3   you’re blessed. But, if you’re just willy-nilly without even thinking about the Sabbath or knowing what the Sabbath is all about, you’re cursed, and to live without intention, without self-knowledge and awareness is to be cursed. So, that’s simply the first thing that I want to say this morning, on a day of new beginnings, to have us for a moment ask ourselves, "What are our priorities, and do our activities reflect our values and the things that we really want to be about for ourselves and for our children and our grandchildren?" Raising that question, I want to put in a word for the programming in of those things that point to the spiritual dimension, the shaping of the life, the mind and the heart of ourselves, of our children, and our grandchildren, because in our day, with our freedoms, with our affluence, and with that plethora of opportunities that are out there, it is very easy to let slide the things that require a certain discipline and commitment and I think especially in a place like Christ Community where no one hounds you to do anything, where we have majored in an attitude of grace. One of the nicest compliments that we receive here, and it comes again and again, is the compliment, "Most of my life I went to church because it was Sunday and I felt that I ought to go, and now I look forward to Sunday in order that I may go to church." That’s beautiful. That’s I want it to be. That’s the way it should be. I met a friend this week whom I hadn’t seen for a while; he’d been traveling, stopping at a child’s home in another part of the country and the son-in-law said to him, "Do you want to go to church with us Sunday?" And he said, "What is it? How is it?" The son-in-law said, "I don’t think you’d like it. I can hardly stand it, but I go for little Johnny." I don’t want you here for Johnny’s sake. If you can’t be here because this place is reflective of who you are and what you believe and what you feel, then you ought not to be here for the sake of your child, because your child will pick it up in a minute. Your child will know. I always think of a friend of some years ago. I remember how angry she was as she spouted out the fact that she went to church every Sunday, every morning and every evening, and she had a bad back, to boot, and she had to sit on a straight chair back of the choir, but she said, "I went every Sunday, every service, to set an example for my children and as soon as they grew up and got out of the house, I don’t think any of them has ever been to an evening service, and they hardly make morning." She was so angry, not really because they weren’t going, but because she had put in all that effort going when she didn’t want to go, so finally when they got out of the house, they simply did what she always wanted to do because they knew what she really wanted to do! Of course. This place is not a place to come for the sake of your children unless it reflects your heart and your passion. Then, your children will find this to be a fine place © Grand Valley State University �Scheduled to Death Richard A. Rhem Page 4   that will be positive, that will give them good experiences. So, a place like Christ Community, a place of grace, where you’re not hounded, where you’re welcomed whenever you show up and never questioned when you don’t, is a place where you really need to be mature enough and responsible enough to make those decisions and to make them in such fashion that there will be the spiritual formation of your children as well as your own lives. I think it’s so important that we are authentic and consistent in the exercise of our spiritual discipline. I want to tell you a little story. I was a Professor of Preaching at one time, a very short time, and the textbooks say never to make any personal references, but then I don’t do anything else I was taught in the seminary, either, so I’ll tell you a little of my own story. Growing up as a kid, my home was so devout and so serious about it all that, for me, I absolutely was saved by going to the public school. Christian education advocates say that it shapes a Christian, biblical world and life view, and if you send your child to the public school, they won’t get that. Well, in my case, I needed enough fresh air to breathe and a little light because I was so shaped in my home and in my church that it was in the public school that I had any kind of exposure to anything else. For me, it was saving. But, as a kid, all I wanted to do was play ball. Now, my parents were so devout and so consistent in my spiritual nurture. There wasn’t anything of church life I didn’t ever attend. They did make one little sortie into the cultural field when they tried to give me music lessons, piano lessons. I sat there and I doodled, and I would go week after week and I made no progress and finally, thank God, the teacher was a Christian, who called my mother and said, "In good conscience, I can’t take your money anymore." My mother said, "Dicky, you’re going to be sorry," and I said, "I really believe you," and I am, but I just didn’t want ... I wanted to play ball. In the ninth grade, the superintendent of the schools, a very rather austere man who intimidated the daylights out of us, pulled me out of class. Now what? Well, it so happened the week before it was the opening day of baseball practice, but it was also the tryouts for the spring play which he directed for the junior high, every spring. Big deal. And I didn’t show up. I went to baseball practice. He pulled me aside because, as a matter of fact, he was trying to say to me, "You need to be broadened, Boy. I’m going to talk to you about values." He asked me who were the heroes of the Kalamazoo Maroon Giants a year or two or three ago. Well, I did know some of them. But, he was saying to me, "You’re not cultivating a broad enough spectrum." It was an honest attempt. It was good. But, I still went out for baseball. There was one time in the ninth grade when I just made the starting five. Now, this was a small school and you have to be really poor not to make the team, but I just made it because I wasn’t a very good athlete. The coach was my salvation. He was a fallen Catholic, shanty Irish, had a good sense of humor; he liked me very © Grand Valley State University �Scheduled to Death Richard A. Rhem Page 5   much and I liked him very much. He knew I was a good student, he had me in math, but he would always tease me about my piety and that was so healthy for me. On Tuesdays I had to go to Catechism. Now, when you’re hanging on by your fingernails to stay on the first team and you have to miss one practice a week, that’s tough. We’d take a shower on Monday night and he’d say, "Well, Charlie (everybody called me Charlie), say a ‘Hail Mary’ for me tomorrow night and I hope you start Friday." Well, we could handle that. Then one noon hour at the table I told my mother and father that next week I couldn’t go to Catechism because we had one game on a Tuesday night all season and I, of course, had to go to the game. Guess what? I went to Catechism. It wasn’t a big argument. It wasn’t even an argument! I tell you that a lot of years later, and I can tell you that I think my parents were wrong. I think they should have let me play that game. But, I never rebelled and I honor them to this day because they were simply being consistent. They were totally authentic, and they never asked of me what they had not first modeled out for me, and I can say I think they should have let me play ball, but in their good judgment, I went to Catechism. I have been very conscious of the fact that I have not been able to replicate with my children the way I was raised. I didn’t even try. I mean, it wouldn’t have worked anyway, but I didn’t even try because I knew that what they did was the reflection of the authenticity of their heart and their passion, and if I would try to replicate that, my heart wouldn’t be in it. I would be a slave to a particular mode that wasn’t really mine, even though it had been that to which I was raised. I had to make my own way with my own children, stammering and stumbling along, but trying to be at least honest and authentic. And it seems to me that is key, the spiritual disciplines, and they are disciplines, take discipline, and while in this place that is left to your own mature judgment to pick and to choose, to engage or not engage, I want to encourage you to be self-aware, self-conscious, deliberate, authentic, and then committed to it. There are fifty-four involved in our Worship Center program for young children and, again, I use this as an illustration. It is very unusual. I want to say in all my years of ministry, I have never known a committed group of people who come back here year after year after year in a beautifully conceived educational nurturing experience. But, they can only do it if the children are there. And if it is to be a genuine educational experience, then there has to be consistency, a regularity. The curriculum is set out in order to shape and to form the child, but it’s conceived as a whole, and I think, I have to say to you we’ll have probably the record attendance down there today and then it will drop off. Now, in my courses, my adult courses, I usually have about 50 the first time, and 25 the second time, but that’s because I’m the kind of teacher I am and deal with the kind of esoteric stuff I do. But, that’s not an excuse for down there. They are © Grand Valley State University �Scheduled to Death Richard A. Rhem Page 6   teaching and leading the children week after week after week in a well-conceived program. It does take the kind of discipline that it takes to make the Striker soccer team. When I saw the Time article I thought I want to call my people to consciousness about being self-aware, self-conscious, intentional, authentic, and then committed. Israel is still a people of God because they continued to tell their story. There’s no magic in it. They were on the threshold of entering the Promised Land and Joshua, their leader said to a leader from every tribe, "Take a stone out of the river bed and make a stack of stones on the other side as a sign so that when your children say, ‘What do these stones mean?’ you have a story to tell them." I love Psalm 78. The second verse can be translated, "I will tell you a story with a meaning." That’s precisely what is happening in the lower level today. A story with a meaning. Why? So that they may come to set their hope in God. It’s beautiful. And, of course, we have the image of Jesus who says, "Bring them to me because the kingdom of God is made up of the likes of them." And as Bob said to all of you, you are a child of God. So, let me simply invite you today to do as Joshua did. They got into the Promised Land and they had been pretty slipshod about everything, but this was the time for covenant renewal and he said to them, "You choose. But, as for me and my house, we’re going to get into this thing." I invite you to do the same. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/aa040c682a8bb7e2dbfefa375539fec3.mp3 595a91bc19be66e8d2b5f8ffafeb86ca 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 Education Sunday, Pentecost XVII Scripture Text Joshua 4:6, 24:15, Psalm 78:4-7, Matthew 18:14 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19990912 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-09-12 Title A name given to the resource Scheduled to Death With Good Things, Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on September 12, 1999 entitled "Scheduled to Death With Good Things,", on the occasion of Education Sunday, Pentecost XVII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Joshua 4:6, 24:15, Psalm 78:4-7, Matthew 18:14. Community of Faith Consciousness Intentional https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d85ebfe78b79d44c3c7eed8529ff1ca2.pdf a6c0c476ec08c5c7b8bbdb6d426a3b24 PDF Text Text Living By Yesterday’s Truths From the series: Good News Then and Now Text: Acts 21:21; Mark 2:22 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan October 3, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon After a month's hiatus I pick up again a series I initiated in the month of August. That was probably since many of you were not here for the first four messages and then we left off the series in September, which means those who were here have very little recollection of what we were attempting to accomplish. So, let me run through briefly my purpose and what we have pointed to thus far. The title is GOOD NEWS THEN AND NOW, by which I want to say that the Gospel or the good news of God's revelation and grace that appeared in Jesus Christ was Good News in its initial expression and as it has been in every age since, so it is now Good News. But, in order for that to be true, the formulation of that Good News has had to develop in ever-new expression. In order for the good news to be understood as good news, the Church has had to find fresh formulations in the ever-changing landscape of history's unfolding. Christ Community is bringing the grace of God to new and fresh expression in an intentional manner not happening in many places and we are doing it because we believe we have in the Christian tradition a treasure which it is incumbent upon us to translate into the idiom of our day so that it can address us and our generation with its gracious, redeeming truth as it has generations for 2000 years. We have a very special opportunity in November when Bishop John Shelby Spong, Episcopal Bishop of New Jersey, will be with us for a weekend dealing with his bold and prophetic claim that Christianity must change or die. Bishop Spong is controversial; prophets always are. And his book, which I will begin to discuss Wednesday evening, is a challenging address to the Christian Church, is criticized widely and rejected by most. But we will hear him because what he is calling for has been going on here for a long time. We are on the threshold of Century 21, the third millennium, and we will remember as we always do at the end of October the Reformation of the Church in the 16th century. What better time to think seriously about the need for © Grand Valley State University   �Living By Yesterday’s Truths Richard A. Rhem Page 2   reformation anew, for at the heart of that significant event in the Church in the 16th century was the conviction that the Church must be re-formed according to the Word of God and always be being reformed. That word reformed has become a name, a label, but in its emergence it was a verb, an action word that spoke of the ongoing necessity of re-forming the Church. In the 16th century, I suspect the need to ongoing reformation was affirmed in light of the recognition that the Church becomes stagnant and even decadent in its institutional life. The thrust of that call to ongoing reformation was thus the need for inward renewal, the Church's forms and structures to be open to fresh words of the Spirit and the renewal of spiritual life. What was probably not in view was the need for reformation, reformulation of the messages and content of the faith, a fresh translation of the Gospel because the world would drastically change: the understanding of reality, the physical universe and a transformation of human consciousness. That, however, is what faced the Church as it moved into the modern age and the last two centuries have been a period of great conflict within the Church as it has tried to come to terms with a transformation in human consciousness and thinking. My study of the 18th and 19th centuries has focused on Protestantism, and particularly Protestant Liberalism, but it has been true of the Roman Catholic Church, as well, that, as has been said, the story of Liberal Protestantism can be seen as a series of salvage operations, attempts to show how one can still believe in Jesus Christ and not violate the ideals of intellectual integrity. The reason the battle has raged especially in the Protestant Church is that there has not been the hierarchical, authoritarian structures in place to shut down dissent. And the reason the battle has raged in the Liberal Protestant Church is that the conservative evangelical Church still adheres to the orthodoxy of the 17th century; that is, to this day churches in the conservative Protestant tradition operate, as does the Roman Catholic Church, with a medieval mind-set and with a faith understanding that has not faced up to and dealt with the questions which the modern world has put to the orthodox understanding of Christian faith. Let me review for a moment. This series began by pointing to the severe crisis that arose in the early Apostolic Church because the expected imminent return of Jesus Christ to judge the world and bring the present age to an end did not occur. Rather, as we read in II Peter 3, the mockers who made sport of those early believers asked, "Where is the day of his appearance? Everything seems to be going on as it has since Creation." Rather than the end of the age, history was continuing. Now, how were those, who saw the last of the Apostles die and Jesus not coming, to understand what the meaning of the Gospel was? © Grand Valley State University �Living By Yesterday’s Truths Richard A. Rhem Page 3   But, as we noted in the second sermon, eventually, after several centuries and severe conflict, there was established the orthodox faith. Orthodox means right opinion or right thinking. In the emergence of early Catholic tradition there was achieved an agreed-upon doctrinal formulation, including the two natures of Jesus Christ - truly God, truly human – and the doctrine of the Trinity. In the meantime, the Church moved from persecuted minority to being the established religion of the Empire. But for our purposes today, let me simply say that the core content of the faith, the orthodox faith, was established and maintained through the centuries to the 16th century and the Reformation, which broke the unity of the Western Church and from which emerged Protestantism. In that renewal movement there was a fresh return to scripture and a fresh understanding of the grace of God, but really no break from the orthodox Christian faith. The structure of the Church was shaken, but orthodoxy remained as did the authoritarian character of the Church. The authoritarian center of the Roman Catholic Church was the teaching office of the Church whose head was the Pope, while the fledgling Protestants claimed their authority in the Bible. But in both cases, the Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches claimed a divinely revealed faith with, in the case of Rome, infallible dogma and, in the case of the Reformers, an infallible Bible, guaranteeing the truth of revelation. And then the world changed - changed radically, and the modern world was born. The modern era in Western Civilization began with the scientific revolution in the 17th century. A mere listing of the names: Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton, tell the story. Francis Bacon formulated the scientific method of empirical investigation and John Locke's philosophical writing on human reason set the course for the modern understanding of critical thinking. The 18th century is the century of Enlightenment and the philosopher of the Enlightenment par excellence was Immanuel Kant, who understood the Enlightenment as the human movement toward emancipation from the "tutelage" of medieval times; it was the human coming of age. It was Friedrich Schleiermacher who, studying Kant, was convinced that, for there to be a future for religion and for theology, including Christian theology, it would be necessary to discover a new foundation on which to stand. No longer would it suffice to cite Church dogma or scripture, for the authoritarian claim of both had been undercut by the critical thinking that arose with the scientific revolution. In Friedrich Schleiermacher, Pioneer of Modern Theology, in the series, The Making of Modern Theology, Keith W. Clements describes Schleiermacher's context, The Enlightenment, thus: Schleiermacher was born into the world of the Enlightenment ..., that period of European thought and culture occupying roughly the whole of the eighteenth century and, with the latter half of the preceding century, © Grand Valley State University �Living By Yesterday’s Truths Richard A. Rhem Page 4   comprising what is often called the "Age of Reason." As the name implies, it was the period when the innate and universal endowments of human thought were adjudged to be capable to providing men with whatever knowledge of nature, morality, and religion was necessary for his welfare. It marked the beginnings in Europe of the exile of orthodox Christian theology towards the periphery of intellectual and social life, as both the credibility of, and necessity for, supernaturally inspired doctrines were challenged by rational, anti-dogmatic modes of thought. (P. 8f) Schleiermacher proved to be the greatest Protestant theologian between Calvin and Barth. He is called the Father of Modern Theology and he set the course for Protestant Liberal theology for the next century, and still today he is not without influence. In 1797 in a work entitled On Religion: Speeches to Its Cultural Despisers, he claimed no external authority either in Church or scripture, but claimed rather that religion was rooted in the human person in the feeling of absolute dependence. With this understanding of the foundation of religion and, in his case, Christian faith, Schleiermacher gave new expression to the faith without claiming any external authority. He established a new ground of authority in the human experience of dependence, developed a new method for doing theology, and re-imagined the Christian faith, giving it fresh expression. For Schleiermacher, the feeling of absolute dependence was the experience of God, the gracious ground of all being. But there was a second stage in the movement to modernity, that being the rise of historical consciousness. A century after Schleiermacher gave his "speeches" (1797), another German theologian-philosopher-historian, Ernst Troeltsch, came to grips with the use of historical thinking and its implication for faith – religious faith in general and Christian faith in particular. In his History Sacred and Profane (1964), Alan Richardson describes this second stage in the revolution to the modern: We should never forget that it was one and the same movement of critical inquiry which first culminated in the seventeenth-century scientific achievement and later in the emergence of the fully developed historical critical method of the nineteenth century. The critical faculty, once awakened, could not rest satisfied with the successful exploration of the realm of nature; it was bound to go on from there to the critical investigation of the more intractable region of human nature, and when the idea of development was fully understood, to seek to understand scientifically how, in fact, man and his institutions have come to be what they are. Since the nineteenth century it has been an axiom of Western thinking that men and their institutions cannot be understood apart from their history, or that to know what a thing is, it is necessary to give an account of its past. This is part, at least, and a very important part, of the meaning of the statement that we nowadays live in an historically-minded © Grand Valley State University �Living By Yesterday’s Truths Richard A. Rhem Page 5   age. The historical revolution in human thinking, which was accomplished in the nineteenth century, is just as important as the scientific revolution of two centuries earlier. But they are not two separate revolutions; they are aspects of the one great transitional movement from medieval to the modern way of looking at things. That statement by Richardson points to the movement from the medieval to the modern world and I cannot stress too emphatically what a revolution that entailed. Ernst Troeltsch believed that transition took place in the Enlightenment of the late 17th and 18th centuries, not in the Reformation. The Reformers were premodern, still medieval in their way of thinking and their approach to the past. The critical element in the modern period is the rise and dominance of critical thinking, that is, the use of human reason to ask questions, to probe, to investigate and not simply to take for granted what appears on the surface or what some witness claims. Critical thinking is simply the way we think and act in our everyday life; it is the common sense view of the world and a common sense understanding of the past. An important ingredient in historical consciousness is the scientific understanding of reality, the understanding that nature works by natural laws and regular processes. The historian now begins to assume that the past is to be understood as one understands the present. This is where the rub comes in: Christian doctrine is based on supernatural intervention, miracles and events that contravene the regularity of nature. The biblical story conceives of a three-story universe and God dipping into our history from time to time. Now all of that supernatural framework was being called in question. In an excellent portrayal of the crisis of faith and history, Van A. Harvey, in his work, The Historian and the Believer, begins thus: Out of the mists of the nineteenth century, there arise again and again spectral figures that refuse to be exorcised. This is particularly true of Protestant theology. Schleiermacher, Strauss, Feuerbach, Kierkegaard, Ritschl - all continue to stalk the present because they identified and analyzed so profoundly issues that still bedevil us. Yet their presence is embarrassing because the various solutions they proposed now seem so patently dated and, in some cases, comic, that we feel justified in dismissing their work or ignoring them entirely. But just at the most important junctures of our own intellectual enterprises, we are disturbed to discover that we are wrestling with the same old issues, that the same questions have returned again in only a slightly different guise. With that realization, the possibility suggests itself in the back of our minds that the answers once proposed may not be so fantastic as we had so smugly © Grand Valley State University �Living By Yesterday’s Truths Richard A. Rhem Page 6   assumed. We find ourselves rethinking the thoughts of those whose conclusions we look upon with disdain. This is always painful. The writings of Ernst Troeltsch, particularly, evoke this discomfiture. The issue with which he wrestled throughout the greater part of his life was the significance of the historical-critical method for traditional Christian belief and theology. He discerned that the development of this method constituted one of the great advances in human thought; indeed, that it presupposed a revolution in the consciousness of Western man. To be sure, Western culture, in contrast to many others, has always been characterized by a sense of history. But only in the nineteenth century did this manifest itself in a sustained and critical attempt to recover the past by means of the patient analysis of evidence and the insistence on the impartiality and truthfulness of the historian. The distinctions between history and nature, fact and myth; expressions like the growth of language and the development of the state; the tendency to evaluate events in terms of their origins; the awareness of the relativity of one's own norms of thought and valuation; all these, Troeltsch saw, are but the by-products of a change in thought so profound that our period deserves to be put alongside those of previous cultural epochs as a unique type. This revolution in consciousness found its formal expression in the creation of a new science, history. Underlying this new science was an almost Promethean will-to-truth. The aim of the historian, it was declared, was to "tell what really happened." The magic noun was "fact," and the honorific adjective was "scientific." Description, impartiality, and objectivity were the ideals, and the rhetorical phrase and the value judgment were looked upon with disdain. This drive to recover "the facts as they really happened" has, with some justice, been criticized of late, but it should not be forgotten how revolutionary this will-to-truth was or how reactionary the forces were that needed to be overcome. Only when the question "What really happened?" was consistently and radically posed, did it become clear how much of what was previously accepted as fact was, in truth, fiction; how so many long-trusted witnesses were actually credulous spinners of tales and legends. Indeed, it can be argued, all reliable historiography rests on some such distinction as "whether or not something actually happened; whether it happened in the way it is told or in some other way ...," as August Wilhelm Schlegel wrote in his review of the Grimm brothers' Old German Songs, and it is difficult to quarrel with him and still account for the concepts of myth, legend, and fairy tale that constitute so much of the mental furniture of our age. This will-to-truth became attached to a method, and the presuppositions of that method, Troeltsch concluded, were basically incompatible with traditional Christian faith, based as it ultimately is on a supernaturalistic metaphysics. This incompatibility was most clearly seen, he thought, in the © Grand Valley State University �Living By Yesterday’s Truths Richard A. Rhem Page 7   realm of Biblical criticism. The problem was not, as so many theologians then believed, that the Biblical critics emerged from their libraries with results disturbing to believers, but that the method itself, which led to those results, was based on assumptions quite irreconcilable with traditional belief. If the theologian regards the Scriptures as supernaturally inspired, the historian must assume that the Bible is intelligible only in terms of its historical context and is subject to the same principles of interpretation and criticism that are applied to other ancient literature. If the theologian believes that the events of the Bible are the results of the supernatural intervention of God, the historian regards such an explanation as a hindrance to true historical understanding. If the theologian believes that the events upon which Christendom rests are unique, the historian assumes that those events, like all events, are analogous to those in the present and that it is only on this assumption that statements about them can be assessed at all. If the theologian believes on faith that certain events occurred, the historian regards all historical claims as having only a greater or lesser degree of probability, and he regards the attachment of faith to these claims as a corruption of historical judgment. Troeltsch poured scorn on those of his contemporaries who attacked the historical method as a manifestation of unbelief while employing something like it to vindicate the truth of their own views. The method, he claimed, did not grow from an abstract theory, nor could one ignore the cumulative significance of its extraordinary results. "Whoever lends it a finger must give it a hand." Nor could the critical method be regarded as a neutral thing. It could not be appropriated by the church with only a bit of patchwork here and there on the seamless garment of belief. "Once the historical method is applied to Biblical science and church history," he wrote, "it is a leaven that alters everything and, finally, bursts apart the entire structure of theological methods employed until the present." Christianity must, therefore, build its religious thought upon it or else be consigned to the limbo of those countless other antiquated forms of religious belief that were unable to make their own accommodation to the Zeitgeist. Actually, Troeltsch believed the church had no real option, because it is impossible even to think without the new assumptions. They have already penetrated to the deepest levels of Western man's consciousness. They are a part of the furniture of his mind. Therefore, one must be willing to see the matter through to its final consequences, to let burn what must burn, hoping that a new synthesis might emerge on the other side, a synthesis all the stronger for having been purged by the fire. Troeltsch himself tried to do this and, if his efforts now appear dated and relative to his own time, that only seems, ironically enough, to vindicate his thesis; namely, that the expressions of the human spirit - its language, art, philosophy, and © Grand Valley State University �Living By Yesterday’s Truths Richard A. Rhem Page 8   religion -are intelligible only in terms of their time, that man is immersed in history like a fish in water, that man's failure to transcend history only reveals that he is a creature whose thought is something less than absolute. The application of the principles of historical criticism to the Bible in the nineteenth century was a traumatic event in the history of Protestantism. It is true, as Emanuel Hirsch has pointed out, that Biblical criticism had been practiced in a modest way since the beginnings of the Reformation. Luther himself was a shrewd critic. But it was only in the third decade of the nineteenth century that it was possible to subject the Scriptures to rigorous analysis without dogmatic presuppositions and limitations. The attempt to do so naturally aroused the hostility of theologians and the ecclesiastical authorities. Did not the entire enterprise rest on unbelieving presuppositions? (Pp. 3-6) What developed fully as historical consciousness was already anticipated in Schleiermacher. Troeltsch was a century later and during that 18th century there was great ferment as theologians struggled to preserve a safe place for faith in Jesus Christ amidst the rising tide of scepticism about the biblical witness. Historical critical study of the scripture was now being engaged in with great vigor. In 1835 David Friedrich Strauss published his Life of Jesus, which was a bombshell. His treatment of the scriptural source was revolutionary in that he treated the Bible as any other literary work, asking questions about who wrote, why, to whom, etc., and he totally undercut the supernatural character of scripture. There were sharp reactions and condemnation of his work, but the battle was on and there was excess on the side of the new critics and defensiveness and fearful over-reaction on the part of conservative scholars. By the end of the 19th century, Ernst Troeltsch was the leading dogmatician in Europe and he took up the struggle, similar to Schleiermacher a hundred years earlier, but now in a new climate of opinion, one marked by historical thinking. He wrote, So I began like Schleiermacher by establishing the peculiar independence of religion by means of the psychology of religion, by showing that every attempt to derive religion from other basic activities (of the human consciousness) has failed. Only I did this on the basis of a psychology which is different from Schleiermacher's and in the front against different opponents - not moralists and rationalists, but modern positivists and those who see religion as an illusion. (Zth K, VIII, p. 28) Troeltsch recognized the need, as had Schleiermacher, to find a way to continue to believe and have a genuine religious experience in terms of present human understanding and experience. He wanted to be both Christian and intellectually © Grand Valley State University �Living By Yesterday’s Truths Richard A. Rhem Page 9   honest and to this purpose he gave his life. Near the end of his life he wrote of his deep and vivid realisation of the clash between historical reflection and the determination of standards of truth and value. “The problem thus arising presented itself to me at a very early age ... I was inspired by ... the interest in reaching a vital and effective religious position, which could alone furnish my life with a center of reference for all practical questions and could alone give meaning and purpose to reflection upon the things of this world. This need of mine led me to theology and philosophy, which I devoured with an equally passionate interest. I soon discovered, however, that the historical studies, which had so largely formed me, and the theology and philosophy in which I was now immersed, stood in sharp opposition, indeed even in conflict, with one another. I was confronted upon the one hand, with the perpetual flux of the historian's data, and the distrustful attitude of the historical critic towards conventional traditions, the real events of the past being, in his view, discoverable only as a reward of ceaseless toil, and then only with approximate accuracy. And, upon the other hand, I perceived the impulse in men towards a definite practical standpoint - the eagerness of the trusting soul to receive the divine revelation and to obey the divine commands. It was largely out of this conflict, which was no hypothetical one, but a fact of my own practical experience, that my entire theoretical standpoint took its rise. (Christian Thought. London, 1923, pp. 4-6) There you have the driving force for the large undertaking which would characterize Troeltsch's life passion and work. His was an authentic struggle to be intellectually honest, attuned to the best thinking of his time, and to find a place to stand that would enable a vital religious experience and provide a foundation for values. Troeltsch was convinced that theology must always seek to relate itself positively to the rational knowledge of the day - not uncritically, but in dialogue and critique. In an introduction to Ernst Troeltsch -Writings on Theology and Religion, Robert Morgan writes, The modern intellectual situation determines the form to be taken by theology. This is characterized by the intellectual revolution effected by modern science and critical history. Troetlsch's strenuous efforts to understand this modern intellectual and cultural situation led him into sustained work in the history of ideas, with special reference to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries ... Troeltsch considered that the intellectual and cultural revolution of the eighteenth century requires that theology submit itself to a corresponding revolution in method. He was to characterize this as the transition from dogmatic to historical method. What this meant was a break with the old supernaturalism which modern critical history had rendered impossible and a purely historical approach to the Bible and © Grand Valley State University �Living By Yesterday’s Truths Richard A. Rhem Page10   Christian tradition,m combined with a rational defense of the metaphysical basis of religion. (P. 7) I cannot do more within the confines of this sermon to detail the tremendous undertaking of the task in which Troeltsch engaged himself; but I hope to have given at least some sense of crisis of Christian faith as he understood it brought about by the emergence of human historical consciousness. As I reflect on the learning, the passion and the dedication of a scholar like Ernst Troeltsch, whose motivation was to find a solid basis for the understanding of religious experience, its legitimacy and the critical role it plays in human life and community, I marvel that the conservative evangelical Protestant Church and the Roman Catholic Church have continued to steel themselves against the historical method which Troeltsch proposed and against the insights which the method has brought to light - the understanding of religion in general and the Christian religion in particular. I have been immersed in the rise of modern thought and theological development of the 18th and 19th centuries over the past three months and I am beginning to get some sense of how we got to where we are. I have set before you two Christian theologians, Friedrich Schleiermacher and Ernst Troeltsch, both brilliant scholars and passionate believers, one writing 200 years ago and the other 100 years ago. Both were convinced the Church must find a basis for its faith and an understanding and expression of its faith in terms of the best intellectual understanding of its time. They have not been without impact, but primarily in the Liberal Protestant tradition. In the Roman Catholic tradition those thinkers who sought to apply the historical method to dogma and scripture were silenced and in several instances removed from leadership and even excommunicated. In the conservative Protestant tradition, which is my background and the background of many of you, Schleiermacher and Troeltsch might as well never have lived. Conservative Protestantism, and that includes not just the fundamentalist Church and Pentecostal churches, but much of the mainline Church as well, still resist what both Schleiermacher and Troeltsch believed to be necessary 200 and 100 years ago, respectively. When I consider this, I understand why there has been a mass exodus of intelligent people from the Church and why the Church has little standing in the centers of learning in the world. I understand, too, why religious scholarship has moved out of Church-related institutions and seminaries and is finding place in secular institutions of the state and, even there, one is not always totally free to pursue disinterested scholarship. Perhaps I should not be surprised. Jesus pleaded for the recognition that new wine demands new wineskins. That forms, structures, language and conceptuality © Grand Valley State University �Living By Yesterday’s Truths Richard A. Rhem Page11   need to be open to change and transformation. The religious-political institutions had him killed. Paul had a vision - a new insight that revolutionizes everything - the grace of God available to Jew and Gentile through faith in Jesus Christ – and arriving in Jerusalem he was warned by James that the Jewish Jesus people were disturbed by reports from the mission field that he was advocating dropping the Mosaic tradition. His life was in danger and finally, tried in Rome, he died a martyr. There must be something about the human creature that resists the new and especially in the area of religion. I am learning that it is not really an intellectual understanding of religious truth that is desired, but a gut level experience, a stirring of the emotions, a confirmation of absolute truths received uncritically even though that is not how we live our lives generally or what we expect from our doctors when our health fails. And so, I see congregations growing through praise music and worship as entertainment. I see Pentecostalism growing through the provision of deeply emotional experience. And I realize that there is a slim minority who value and seek religious experience which is congruent with thinking and critical understanding. But I believe that slim minority is a critical piece of the puzzle for, historically, prior to the modern period, the Church was the womb of the arts and theology was the Queen of the Sciences. I wonder if we have not sold our birthright for a mess of pottage because we have failed to engage in the hard work of holding together faith and reason. That, as I see it, is the challenge before this community. References: Keith W. Clements. Friedrich Schleiermacher, Pioneer of Modern Theology, Vol. I of The Making of Modern Theology. Fortress Press, 1987. Van A. Harvey. The Historian and the Believer: The Morality of Historical Knowledge and Christian Belief. University of Illinois Press, 1996. Robert Morgan. Ernst Troeltsch, Writings on Theology and Religion. Westminster John Knox Press, 1990. Alan Richardson. History Sacred and Profane. SCM Press, First Edition, 1964. Ernst Troeltsch (1865-1923). Christian Thought: Its History and Application. Hyperion Press, 1979. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/4dccf7bf3d169950e5505ea74166e227.mp3 be3092f2ea19dafa3e8a168f17a83674 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XX Series Good News Then and Now Scripture Text Acts 21:21, Mark 2:22 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI References Keith Clements, Friedrich Schleiermacher, Pioneer of Modern Theology, Vol. I, 1987 Van A. Harvey, The Historian and the Believer, 1996 Robert Morgan, Ernst Troeltsch, Writings on Theology and Religion, 1999 Alan Richardson, History Sacred and Profane, 1964 Ernst Troeltsch, Christian Thought, 1979 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-0-19991003 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-10-03 Title A name given to the resource Living By Yesterday's Truths 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 3, 1999 entitled "Living By Yesterday's Truths", as part of the series "Good News Then and Now", on the occasion of Pentecost XX, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Acts 21:21, Mark 2:22. History of Religion Re-imagining the Faith https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/9fcb672c2206f72e669f708fc360b7b5.pdf f02dd605cad1091807c6efa842f0b960 PDF Text Text You Can Never Go Home From the series: Good News Then and Now Scripture: Jeremiah 23:23-32; Hebrews 4:12-13; John 1:1-5; 10-14 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan October 10, 1999 Transcription of the spoken word One of the great greetings that is addressed by angelic visitors or messengers to human beings in critical situations in the biblical story from time to time is, “Fear not.” I would like this morning to say to you as a congregation on a pilgrimage of faith, in an explosive and wonderful and fascinating world, “Fear not. Be not afraid.” It’s a wonderful endeavor to traverse 2000 years of Christian history and to find that through those centuries there have been periods of vitality and life, and there have been periods of dryness and desert existence. There have been times when it would seem that the flame of faith would flicker and die. And then there have been surprising moments when the word of God sounded, some voice was found, some happening caused once again a new freedom and joy and confidence to mark the people of God. A study of the history of the Church builds one’s confidence, not in the infallibility of the Church or the infallibility of the Bible or the total accuracy and absolute truthfulness of the Christian dogmatic structure, but rather, that God goes with the Church; the Spirit of God now and again breathes new life into the Church. There are periods of dryness, but there are periods of renewal, and finally our confidence is in God and therefore, my word to you is, “Fear not,” as we continue our pilgrimage of understanding that faith that has been our heritage and that is our hope. I said last week that the Reformation of the 16th century, that critical event out of which the Protestant movement emerged, was actually a family fight. It was an intramural exercise. To be sure, the upshot of it was the rending of the body of Christ, unfortunately. To be sure, there was a fresh experience of the grace of God, the Gospel was freed, the scriptures came to new life, but it was still a family affair. There wasn’t any significant tampering with the core Christian dogmatic understanding, the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed confessed by Catholic and Protestant alike. As a matter of fact, the Reformation emerging in the Protestant movement caused to happen what Luther had hoped would happen in the first place and that was a counter-Reformation in the Catholic Church, after which there wasn’t really any reason for the two to remain apart, but fortunately,   ©  Grand  Valley  State  University �You Can Never Go Home Richard A. Rhem Page 2   after 450 or so years, we did begin to talk to each other again and we’re on better relations now. But that intramural, inter-family conflict of the 16th century was hardly a crisis at all compared with the crisis of modernity, the modern period when we began to use our critical faculties, our reason, to ask questions about the reality of which we are a part. It had two dimensions, as I have been stressing these last weeks. There is the rise of the natural sciences through the exercise of the scientific method, inductive reasoning, observation, investigation, experimentation, actually looking at what is there, testing, experimenting, drawing conclusions, hypotheses, building models. The tremendous success of the natural sciences is the verification of the usefulness and legitimacy of that method of investigation. But the 17th century scientific revolution that continued apace was marked in the 18th century by the Enlightenment, that Age of Reason with which this nation was born, the Age of Reason which saw the autonomy of the human person coming from under the authoritarian claim of Church or Bible, the monarchies, the political arrangements, the throwing off of all authoritarian structures and the human being standing in his or her own light, guided by the light of human reason. That critical rationality continued to ferment until the whole of European culture and this nation, as well, the West, was marked by historical thinking, historical consciousness. Thought was now given to the origin of institutions and to dogmatic structures - how were they put together? The Bible - how did we get this canon? Who wrote what to whom, for what reason, what motivation, when, etc. Critical thinking issued in a sense of history, the historical method being just the common sense method in which we all operate in every other aspect of our lives, and that method came to expression in a thinker such as Ernst Troeltsch at the beginning of the 20th century. The end of the 19th century brought about the obvious conclusion that all of history is relative, that all of history is development, that history is process, that all of us who are a part of the historical process have no vantage point from which to climb in order to view it all and see it as God sees it, but rather, we’re all caught up in it. Ernst Troeltsch did not deny an absolute, but he did deny the possibility of any historical person or institution having a grasp of the absolute, for what we learned was that we all have but a relative glimpse of that absolute, and that our context, our time and our place in history shape the lens through which we view reality. Therefore, in the last decades of the 19th century, there arose the History of Religions School, the first scientific endeavor in the West to come to understand the nature of religion and to, with exposure to the other great world traditions, see that Christianity was not alone, but rather there were other great traditions that had deep spiritual authenticity and, therefore, it was impossible anymore to speak of the exclusivity of the Christian faith or the absoluteness of the Christian faith over against all other faiths. These were the problems, the issues with which Troeltsch wrestled. © Grand Valley State University �You Can Never Go Home Richard A. Rhem Page 3   The nineteenth century had been a century of intense theological conversation, debate, discussion, controversy, and European culture had blossomed into the magnificent thing that it was, literally, culturally, its music, its art, its theological investigations, its great universities. And then, of course, as the 20th century dawned, the first decade of this century brought the First World War. It was as though European culture had come under judgment, that it was tired, and there was a brilliant student who had the finest of European education, a young Swiss ordained pastor called to a little village in Switzerland; his name was Karl Barth, whom we know in retrospect. If you want to take the great leaps of theological minds you jump from St. Paul to St. Augustine to John Calvin to Karl Barth, the most influential, powerful theologian of the 20th century. He came to this little village church as a young ordinand, stood in the pulpit and, as he describes it himself, he had nothing to preach. With all of the brilliance of his education and of his mind and of his culture, of his heritage, he stood before the people with an open Bible and then had no message. He probably was reflective of that generation, that century that is described by A. N. Wilson in a recent book, God’s Funeral - the lost faith, the tiredness of the 19th century in its struggle to believe in the face of modernity. And then Karl Barth began to study, to wrestle, to pray. He had a friend in another village; they began to converse and communicate together, they struggled together with trying to have an understanding of this Christian faith, trying to find a voice into which to bring it to fresh expression. After ten years of that, he published in 1919 the Epistle to the Romans, which was like a bombshell on the European scene. Barth affirmed the godness of God. Barth affirmed the reality of revelation, that God speaks, that God speaks, that there is a word of God in the midst of the human situation. With great daring, with great power, with great joy and freedom, Barth turned the theological world upside down. He flew square in the face of modernity. Whereas Schleiermacher attempted to root religion in the human being and find a new authority, whereas Troeltsch recognized the historicity of Christian faith and its relativity, Barth just plain proclaimed the word of God in the midst of history, full of judgment, condemning all that was human, and then taking it all back with the gracious embrace of God. It was a message of the word of God. Barth is the one who formulated that rather neat understanding of the threefold word of God - the word in flesh, the word incarnate, John 1:14, “The word became flesh and dwelt among us.” And he said the word written, the Hebrew Scriptures were a word of anticipation, and the New Testament documents were a word of recollection, but it all centered in the word made flesh. There was revelation. There was the incarnation of God in the humanity of Jesus Christ, the word written, anticipating, recollecting, and then the word written becoming the occasion for this moment, the word preached. Barth made a very presumptuous, arrogant claim that the preached word is as much the word of God as the word written, as the word in flesh, that the word in © Grand Valley State University �You Can Never Go Home Richard A. Rhem Page 4   flesh pointed to by the word written continues to be pointed to by the word preached. Revelation continues to happen now and again, here and there, who knows when. When the breath of the Spirit blows, the word of the preacher becomes for this one or that one the very word of God. That was Barth. It must have been a lot like Jeremiah who understood the word of God as a hammer that breaks the rock and as a fire that consumes the chaff, an understanding of the word such as the writer to the Hebrews who said the word of God is sharper than a two-edged sword dividing the bone and marrow, discerning the very thoughts and intents of the human heart. The word of God. Who knows when it will sound? Who knows where it will strike? The fact is that God speaks and with daring and boldness and joy and freedom and power. Barth announced the infinite, eternal Creator of all has invaded our space and speaks, still judging and gracing. When I went to Europe in 1967 at the University of Leiden in The Netherlands, Karl Barth was within a year of his death. I wish I had hopped a train to go down and at least try to touch the hem of his garment. But my professor Berkhof was a good friend and colleague of Barth, so I got about as close as I could without having been there. And in 1968 (I still have the newspaper clipping with his picture and eulogy from the Leiden Daily), Karl Barth died. I went to a memorial service at Leiden where a professor of the theological faculty said, whatever future theology transpires, the theologian will never be able to go over Barth or under Barth or around Barth, but will have to go through Barth. In other words, before you can speak a word theologically, you had better understand the wrestling and the struggling of this giant who was used of God in such a powerful way. By the time I got to Europe, the students of Karl Barth were filling the chairs of theology in the prestigious universities of the continent, and the students of Barth were beginning to turn back to the questions that Barth had simply obliterated. The students of Barth who were now the professors of the universities were beginning to ask again the questions with which Ernst Troeltsch had wrestled because those questions were not invented, they were not a temporary incidental kind of thing, they were the questions that had arisen out of the modern, critical mentality, the critical rationality that was marking everything else in the whole world - those questions for a generation could be silenced by the wonderful, powerful, humorous, humane, brilliant voice of Barth. But his students had to revisit Troeltsch and Schleiermacher and go back again and face the questions of modernity, because if you don’t have the power, the daring, and the brilliance of a Barth simply to overpower, then you have to engage in dialogue and conversation and before long you have to deal again with the questions that are really the questions. So, when I got there, one of the first books I had to read was entitled The New Hermeneutic. I went to Berkhof after reading it for my appointment and he said, “How did it go,” and I said, “I have never read anything so difficult in © Grand Valley State University �You Can Never Go Home Richard A. Rhem Page 5   all my life.” The students of Barth and Rudolf Bultmann, a New Testament scholar, the students were now forming a movement that was called The New Quest of the Historical Jesus, and that new quest continues to this day. We’ve had John Dominic Crossan here, we’ve had Marcus Borg here, because the questions of modernity are the questions that all of us have to face, because our world, this fascinating world of which we are a part, is so other than the world in which our faith structures came to expression. They need a new voice; they need a translation. I went back to Europe, as you may remember, in 1994 when my old professor in his 80th year was celebrated at the University. He was in a nursing home at the time and I got a chance to spend an hour and a half with him at what I knew would be my last personal encounter. He was telling me about his younger days when Karl Barth was the coming rage in Europe. He told me about his professor who heard that Berkhof was coming under the influence of Barth and he took Berkhof aside and warned him about Barth, and Henk Berkhof laughed a bit and said, “I didn’t like that very much.” I said to him, “Henk, as I see you here now, I see you looking more to Barth than I remember.” He said, “Ja, maybe so.” I said, “You know, I feel so close to you and yet, I feel like we’re in a really tight circle together, but you’re looking one way and I’m looking the other.” He said, “Say that again.” I said, “Well, I see you looking back and I have to be honest, I’m looking this way.” He said, “That’s good. That’s right. You must always go beyond your teacher.” That’s a blessed teacher to have who encourages that. Hans Küng, in his Theology for the Third Millennium, concludes with a discussion of Karl Barth. He wrote his doctoral dissertation on Barth. Barth wrote the introduction to his dissertation. Küng admired Barth very greatly and he wrote, “But, if he could do it over again, Karl Barth would begin all over again. This time he would do it on a historically, critically shaped foundation, different from that which he did in the early part of the century, because, you see, history moves and times are different and the context is different.” But, he had enough confidence in a Karl Barth to believe that if he could do it over again, he wouldn’t do it the same way because he wouldn’t be doing it in the same context, against the same fronts. He would have another word to say. © Grand Valley State University �You Can Never Go Home Richard A. Rhem Page 6   Someone gave me a copy this week of Forbes Magazine’s big issue No. 4. The theme of this one is “Convergence.” There is a multitude of literary, scientific, religious, all kinds of leading lights who write a page or six, but the theme of it all is Convergence, how everything is coming together and that the Internet on which we are only in the opening stages will continue to transform our reality into a global neighborhood such as even those who began to talk about globalization couldn’t have conceived. Edward O. Wilson, from Harvard, the biologist Nobel Prize winner, great scholar, writes one or two pages in which he suggests that everything finally will fold into biology and he says, as far as he’s concerned, even philosophy and religion will be explained eventually in terms of neuro-connections in the brain, brain science, and so forth. I read that stuff and I think, thank God I can read it without being afraid. I hear the angels’ words, “Fear not,” because if my religious experience is the consequence of some chemical reactions in my brain, then I would guess that it is consequence of some creative process of billions of years that has brought us to this point of conscious and self-transcendence, consciousness of the other, and then the question of the Other, and the Mystery of our existence. I refuse to live in any kind of denial of any kind of knowledge that is available anywhere and in any discipline. If I have to have my religion while closing my eyes or stopping my ears, that’s when I’ll give it up. But I don’t believe I have to give it up because one time, in the doldrums and the decadence of early twentieth-century European culture, there was one raised up whose voice rocked the earth with the declaration that God speaks, and that the word of God is a hammer that breaks the rock and the fire that consumes the chaff, that is sharper than a two-edged sword to discern the thoughts and intents of the human heart. Revelation isn’t over. The future - who can predict the fascinating development, the unfolding of this drama of which we are a part? Aren’t you glad you’re alive - to see it, to witness it, to participate in it? We can do it all with freedom and with joy, with confidence, always hearing the word of our Lord, “Be not afraid. Be not afraid.” Once, of course, your eyes are opened, you can never go home. Küng concludes his book, Theology for the Third Millennium, by saying we can’t go back to Augustine or Aquinas or Calvin or Schleiermacher or Barth. It’s always forward. References: Karl Barth. Epistle to the Romans. Oxford University Press, 1968. Hans Küng. Theology for the Third Millennium: An Ecumenical View. Anchor, reprint edition, 19900. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7201c2f83f5a74cbe1c5a3f139a015c3.mp3 daef7b059640c7eb558e5b56e1ef4772 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XXI Series Good News Then and Now Scripture Text Jeremiah 23:23-32, Hebrews 4:12-13, John 1:1-5, 10-14 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI References Karl Barth. Epistle to the Romans, 1968 Hans K 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-0-19991010 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-10-10 Title A name given to the resource You Can Never Go Home 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 10, 1999 entitled "You Can Never Go Home", as part of the series "Good News Then and Now", on the occasion of Pentecost XXI, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Jeremiah 23:23-32, Hebrews 4:12-13, John 1:1-5, 10-14. Church Critical Thinking Modernity Revelation https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/82ecde203bec13ba439e8109015bf2a4.pdf 5c35b6e1dc0c2bedf961d37c39ac8bfa PDF Text Text Keep Caring – It Matters Text: Jeremiah 22:15-16; James 1:27; Matthew 25:40 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan October 17, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon The fact that we seek to raise the financial support for this community, this ministry, in a party format speaks volumes. The idea arose some years ago. There was a task force gathered because this ministry needed a hitch in its level of support. The problem with this ministry is that it has always looked prosperous, and I think I can also say, at least on the part of all those who have surrounded me, it has been done with excellence. But, the appearance deceives, because we have, as long as I have been here, been hanging by a very thin thread. The problem is that this has become a rather substantial institution with a large program and a vision and it is led by one who does not effectively raise money. I am not saying that to put myself down or to be humble over much. I simply recognize that fact because I have colleagues in the ministry who, frankly, I think have less gifts than I do in many respects, and yet they raise much more money. And so, this congregation has struggled, contrary to appearances. When that task force gathered, a party was mentioned and I jumped on it immediately and said, “Now, I think that I could do. I could use a party format to raise the financial backing for the ministry.” Thus it was born - Party Sunday. I remember the first one very well - the balloons which we've already enjoyed. I love balloons, personally. I just think it's such a marvelous moment, and I think the thing I love about it most is the fact that there is such joy all over. But, after that first Party Sunday with balloons and all of the fun, children went to their respective schools and it came back to us from here and there, from the schools around the community, that the children went and told in their classes that they actually had had fun in church, and I thought that was very healthy and I still think it's a very, very good thing, because, as Ron said, I was also raised with the fact where the most significant signal in church was "Shhhhh" and it was rather sober and rather somber. So, I love the party, and the fact that we do it on this critical Sunday in which we call for your commitment speaks volumes about the nature of this community. For one thing, it keeps things in perspective. I have listened enough, long enough, to appeals for funds for Christian causes which come off as though God is holding © Grand Valley State University   �Keep Caring – It Matters Richard A. Rhem Page 2   God's breath as though if this doesn't happen, if this response isn't given, something critical will happen or something critical won't happen, and I want to say that a party format for fund-raising gives us a good perspective. You know, we're part of something really big. I mean the human drama. I mean the cosmic drama. I mean billions of years, dimensions of space that the human mind can't even take in, all of the wonder of this emerging, evolutionary, cosmic process of which we're a part, being just lately able as human beings with selfconsciousness to reflect on it and to begin to understand it. What a big thing this is! There's a Creator Spirit in the midst of it, permeating it in all of its dimensions and moving it forward, and it will go forward, with us, or in spite of us. I think taking the ministry and its financial support into a party format keeps the perspective alive that we are, after all, just human. The word human comes from a root humus, and humus is that stuff after a rain when the worms have come up and they leave little deposits. That's humus. And to be human is to be made of stuff like that. We are, finally, humus. Another word from the same root is humor, of course, and God's saving gift is a sense of humor. If we could keep in mind what we really are, if we could remember being human, that we are simply humus, then we can keep our sense of humor about ourselves. I always like to say that what I do I take very seriously, but I take myself with a grain of salt, and I think that's a rather healthy perspective to keep in church, also, because there is often such a tension created and the emotions can be stirred, and a manipulative kind of dimension easily comes along with a rather coercive spirit. No, we're going to talk about this ministry and its financial support and we're going to ask you to commit, and we're going to do it in a party format to keep our perspective. But, the party format also enables us just to do what we're doing this morning - to celebrate and to be community together. You know, that isn't very often possible for us. When I was growing up, and I'm sure many of you would say the same thing, my whole social life, the life of my family centered in the church. Every weekend was shot to heaven and several points throughout the week, as well. My family didn't do anything that wasn't connected with the church or with people of the church, and you know there was something rather wonderful about that. It was very stable; it was very solid; it was very secure and there was a lot of mutual support. Everybody knew everybody. That was wonderful. Everybody knew everything about everybody. That wasn't so wonderful. But, it was a close-knit community that was there for generations, generally, with deep roots. People didn't move around so much, and so the community was together in all kinds of situations. Not so anymore. Just look at you - a diverse group of people from diverse walks of life, from diverse backgrounds, from many areas, coming together in this highly mobile society, finding here something that draws you here. But, how do you know that we are community together unless we can punch some balloons in the air together, laugh together, enjoy one another, and let our hair down and acknowledge the fact that we are family. We belong together. I © Grand Valley State University �Keep Caring – It Matters Richard A. Rhem Page 3   think it's a very healthy way to celebrate the fact of community. If I call a big party on Wednesday night, you wouldn't show up. You are too busy. In fact, we jam as much as we can into Sunday morning. We're pretty lucky to get a lot of you here occasionally on a Sunday morning. Now, that's not a criticism. It's just an acknowledgment of the very nature of our society and of our lives. So, if we don't do it now, we'll probably never do it. I think it's very healthy to do it. I like the fact that children can go away and say we had fun in church this morning, and I hope some of you saw someone else for the first time laughing, having a good time. It builds community, which is, after all, very important. The thing we're here about this morning is to raise the same question I asked last year - what is it worth to have this kind of community? The secret will be whether or not there is enough value in this community to give it sufficient support to continue and to grow. This is about the enabling of this ministry that we have found something in that has drawn us together. I want to suggest that we must be very clear about the nature of this community, because it's an alternative community, and I want to give you two words. It's a thinking community and it's a caring community. Now, it’s a lot more things, but at least just focus on those two for a moment this morning. It's a thinking community and it's a caring community, and it may seem at first blush that thinking and caring don't have a lot to do with each other. I want to destroy that myth. I'd like to establish in your minds this morning that we are a thinking community in order that we might be a caring community with authenticity. I have mentioned in various settings from time to time the fact that on Tuesdays I have lunch at Duba's with three colleagues who are of diverse theological posture. It's a fantastic conversation; it's a very stimulating couple of hours. Recently a friend of mine was invited to join for two or three weeks, and he didn't understand that, if one of the original four is not there and a statement is made about one of them, that statement will come out in the conversation, so my friend who was a guest there, before I arrived, said, "Dick's tired." When I sat down, before very long, Duncan Littlefair looked at me and said, "Dick, are you tired?" (Maybe he said, "Are you tired of what you're doing?") There was kind of a hush, and I said, "Yes." I don't think it's the answer that they expected to hear. I said, "Yes, I'm tired. I'm tired of what I'm doing." And then I went on to explain. I'm not tired of being a pastor. I'm not tired of thinking the faith. I'm not tired of preaching. But, I'm tired of being a voice in the wilderness. I'm tired of swimming against the tide. I'm tired of caring deeply about things that so few people care about. I'm tired of being obsessed with a vision and a perspective that doesn't seem very important to very many people, and I went on to speak about that a little bit. © Grand Valley State University �Keep Caring – It Matters Richard A. Rhem Page 4   My friend who had made the statement said, "Well, you are a pastor at heart." I said, “Yes, my deepest identity is as a pastor.” "But," he said, "When you preach, you're not a pastor. You're not being pastoral." I said, "When I preach, I am being pastoral, because when I preach, it's the consequence of thinking the faith, and I think the faith in order that I may be a pastor." All of my years, I have been thinking about the faith, not in order to have some answers about the faith or to be able to find God. I have been thinking about the faith in order to stand at the deathbed of one who looks me in the eye and I've been thinking in order that in that moment I might be honest and authentic, that I might be present to that person in their dying hour. I told them, "I can tell you about a crib death 25 years ago; I can tell you about a lovely young child that died of leukemia; I can tell you about a young mother who had three miscarriages, was pregnant once again, for five months everything looked beautiful, something went wrong, something bizarre, all five months. Because of the three miscarriages, she had prayed, ‘Dear God, Dear God, make it right,’ and then it wasn't right, and then what do you say to a young woman like that?" "I think the faith in order that I might speak to people in their deepest needs and their most existential moments. I think the faith, not in order that I can have answers, but in order that I know when I don't have answers." Henri Nouwen, years ago, wrote a little meditation in which he talked about care, and he talked about the fact that no one wants to care. Everyone wants to cure. What we do is let pious clichés trip off our lips rather than being present to people in their pain and in their darkness, and he went back to the origin of the word care, the English word, in the Gothic, Kara, which means to lament, to grieve with, to cry out with, and he pointed out the degeneration of that word care. The word care has become a sign of indifference. "Do you want to go to a movie?" "I don't care." "Do you want to do this?" "I don't care." "Do you want to go there?" "I don't care." The nonchalance, the indifference that doesn't want to get involved, doesn't want to make a decision, doesn't want to make a commitment. But, Nouwen said, to © Grand Valley State University �Keep Caring – It Matters Richard A. Rhem Page 5   care is to be present with, to lament with, to grieve with, to be at the side of, because the human situation is not all parties and it's not all sweetness and light. It is marked by suffering and it is marked by tragedy, and at its best, religion is caring. Jeremiah excoriated the king for building his palace when the poor were suffering. He reminded the king of his forebears, saying they took up the cause of justice and righteousness; they were concerned for the cause of the poor. Then it was well with them. "Is not this to know me?" says the Lord. Have you every heard knowing the Lord defined that way? Knowing the Lord. Know the Lord. Do you know the Lord? That is such a superficial, facile kind of expression - knowing the Lord is being concerned for the downtrodden and the poor and the marginalized and the excluded, and I believe that James was in line with that Hebrew prophetic tradition. Some say that James was fighting Paul. I don't know whether he was fighting Paul or not. Paul was a grace junky. Dick Rhem has been a grace junky. Ron Zoet comes to this church and the first time he hears a sermon it concludes with "All is grace," and he could have come to any one of five hundred other Sundays and I would have said the same thing, because, like Martin Luther, I have experienced the grace of God that is liberating and is freeing. Grace is my theme. Martin Luther didn't like James. Neither do I like James. Luther called James an epistle of straw, and he didn't want to hear about the law and he didn't want to hear about obedience, and I recognized this week, thinking about this whole thing, that James is a lot closer to Jeremiah and Jesus than Paul was. I don't think James was fighting Paul. I think he was probably fighting a misconstruction of Paul. You can misconstrue Paul's grace and make it a salvation cult. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." Cheap grace. Mere affirmation. James says it's not enough. James says, "Be doers of the word and not hearers only." James says you show me your faith without works, I'll show you my faith by my works. Paul said, "Of course, we're saved by grace through faith without any works." James says that's not right. Paul was speaking about one situation, James another. I don't think James was countering Paul, but I think he was complementing Paul, and what he was saying, I realize today, was closer to the gospel of Jesus Christ than the gospel of Paul. Jesus said, "Inasmuch as you have done it to the least of these, my brothers and sisters, you have done it to me." James says true religion is about taking care of widows and orphans, and you can translate widows and orphans into the context of today. Who are the © Grand Valley State University �Keep Caring – It Matters Richard A. Rhem Page 6   marginalized? Who are the abused and the oppressed? True religion is about caring for them. Thinking and caring, and thinking in order to care authentically. Thinking in order to care with authenticity, integrity, and honesty. I don't think in order to find an answer. I think in the face of situations that have no answer so that I have thought profoundly in order to care deeply and honestly. Nouwen says we would like to cure. We don't care. To care is not to cure, it's to be present in the darkness, to stand there and absorb the pain without an answer, because what we all really need is that human community that assures us when we have no answer that we're not alone. This community thinks, not in order to find answers, but in order to care honestly. Keep caring, people. It matters. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/592aa85d0a8f77aee639932495f1601c.mp3 0654d23bc85ad7175d087b223a85a7d8 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 Scripture Text Jeremiah 22:15-16, James 1:27, Matthew 25:40 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19991017 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-10-17 Title A name given to the resource Keep Caring - It Matters 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 17, 1999 entitled "Keep Caring - It Matters", on the occasion of Pentecost XXII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Jeremiah 22:15-16, James 1:27, Matthew 25:40. Community of Faith Compassion Theology of Grace https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2cc681074a449040f89482829b9fa1f1.pdf 46906496104378bcca3987185f098787 PDF Text Text Love, Not Fear Text: I John 4:18; Luke 7:47 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan October 24, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon I caught an article in The New York Times about six weeks ago which said that The Rev. Dr. Mel White was going to be invited to dinner by Jerry Falwell of the Thomas Road Baptist Church in that marvelously named city, Lynchburg. I had more or less forgotten about it, and then last night I caught just a little glimpse of a newscast and there was Jerry Falwell and Mel White on the television screen together. Yesterday was the day of the dinner. I didn't get enough of the newscast to give you accurate details; I know that what was proposed was that Mel White was to bring about 200 gay-lesbian people to Lynchburg to have dinner with 200 of Jerry Falwell’s people. The reason this came about was that Mel White had been sending open letters to Jerry Falwell on the Internet, I understand. Mel heads up an organization called Soulforce. In fact, when he was here a couple of years ago, he led a seminar on Saturday morning in which some of you participated. It is a seminar on non-violence and he borrows from Gandhi and from Martin Luther King, who borrowed from Gandhi, in the use of non-violent protest in order to gain civil rights, human dignity, to change government structures, and so forth. You may remember that Mel White was a part of the inner core of what has come to be known as the Religious Right in this country. He was a ghostwriter for the biographies of Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Billy Graham, and others, and he was very intimately connected with the leaders of that whole movement. Then he declared himself to be gay after years of anguish and struggle. He had been married, had children, had gone through therapy, including all kinds of torturous attempts to prove to himself that he was not a gay person, and finally declared himself and lives openly now and is an advocate for gay rights, and particularly for his conviction that God loves all people, gay and straight and all the rest. So, the dinner apparently took place. I did hear Jerry Falwell say, "I stand where I have always stood, the biblical position on the practice of any homosexual engagement is it’s wrong, contrary to scripture." Mel White simply, on the other side of that issue, said, "I sit here with my brother in Christ and the reason for the coming together is Mel White's attempt to get leaders of the very conservative, evangelical movement to lower the decibels of their rhetoric, the kind of rhetoric © Grand Valley State University   �Love, Not Fear Richard A. Rhem Page 2   against the homosexual community which certainly has to be an element in the gay-bashing and the violence that has so tragically been experienced in the last months and years.” At the end of the first service, someone came running up to me who had already seen the morning paper and said that Jerry Falwell is in trouble and is now the victim himself of protest, being called a hypocrite by some of his religious colleagues for what they call a compromise of sitting down with Mel White, and so the story goes on. I thought of that in the context of the dinner at Simon's house. There are not a lot of parallels with that account in Luke's Gospel, but there is a sense in which what happened between Jerry Falwell and Mel White was something like what was happening between Jesus and Simon. Now, it has nothing to do with being a Jew. It really has nothing to do with him being a Pharisee. It has everything to do with Simon being a serious, responsible religious person who was very much committed to a tradition, a tradition that is very control-oriented in terms of being well structured, with all the rules in place, everyone knowing what one is to do and what one is not to do. Simon simply is a representative of the guardians of the moral, theological, the biblical tradition. A good person. I think he invited Jesus, according to Luke, because he was interested. Who is this man? And he also was not only interested, he was somewhat threatened by Jesus because it was Jesus' manner of life and ministry that was very threatening to a person like Simon. Jesus suggested that the marginalized were loved by God and had access to God. Jesus had table fellowship with all sorts and conditions of humankind. Jesus didn't play by conventional wisdom. All of this is old hat for us, I know, but nonetheless, this is what was going on. Jesus was a threat to a very traditional and tight religious system that knew who was in and who was out, that knew who was right and what was wrong. I couldn't help thinking about that story, being reminded about this encounter between Jerry Falwell and Mel White, if there were, indeed, 200 on either side of the table from each contingent, I'd like to imagine Jesus there. What if Jesus would come into the room? What do you think? What if seeing Jesus there, after all he's been through, Mel White just got overwhelmed. I've seen him cry. I can imagine him throwing himself at Jesus' feet, weeping. I think Jesus would have been very comfortable with it. I suspect that Jerry Falwell may have squirmed a little, because when you think that concretely, where would Jesus' sympathies lie? Can there be any question about that, in light of the nature of Jesus' ministry, his posture, his attitude, his spirit? I hope some good comes out of it, and I respect Jerry Falwell, no matter how much pressure was put on him, he apparently sat down with the enemy, and there's conversation, and good can come of that, and he'll probably suffer for doing it. But, I see it as a positive sign. Some of you read the newspaper with me in mind. Someone sent me an editorial, another person called me about it. It appeared in The Grand Rapids Press, © Grand Valley State University �Love, Not Fear Richard A. Rhem Page 3   written by Richard Cohen, and it referred to that leading statesman of our day, Jesse Ventura. Jesse Ventura did a body slam on religion, and a colleague of Richard Cohen wrote an article chastising Jesse Ventura for doing that, saying, "Jesse Ventura, you forgot all the sterling names of Christian leaders who have made a difference," and he named Mother Teresa and Reinhold Neibuhr, Martin Luther King, and so forth. Richard Cohen says, "Ah, but I have to say to my colleague -they're all dead. All the heroes are dead, and the celebrities today have taken quite a different tack. There was a time when the Reinhold Neibuhrs had the ear of power and could speak a word for grace and for inclusion and for integrity, but today the names that are bandied about and making news are names that are on the other side of the issue, time and again." Mr. Cohen refers to Eugene Carson Blake, a fine Presbyterian leader of the World Council of Churches back in the 60s, a time when some of you can remember the mainline church had to decide what it would do on the race question and finally, belatedly, stood up, took a stand and moved, and the nation moved, as well, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a consequence, not a little consequence of the fact that the mainline church finally said, "This is right." Cohen points out the fact that those heroes that his colleague mentioned in the column were the people who called us to be better than we are, to be done with prejudice and bigotry, to inclusion and embrace, and he contrasts that with what is going on in our own day. So, he says, maybe Jesse Ventura wasn't altogether out of line, but he points out the fact that the current crop of religious leaders don't ask us to accept homosexuality and they refuse to deal with the consequences of their rhetoric which leads to the gay-bashing, and he says what is necessary is to do what was done, for example, in the church at large recognizing that its traditional antiSemitism fed into the Holocaust. He says they also do not ask us to accept and understand modernity. They reject it almost in its entirety. For instance, in the matter of science and religion. They simply reject science and believe religion which is currently the case in Kansas, to which he points. There was a piece within the last two or three weeks about a couple in Kansas, again, very good and sincere people, who with their pastor are quoted saying if we lose Creation, we lose everything. The woman was a public school teacher who couldn't teach in good conscience anymore in the public school and so now she's in the Christian school whose library has a book with an orange sticker saying, "Warning: This book contains statements about evolution," and a book on great scientists that has the chapter on Darwin ripped out! Well, what's going on, friends? What's going on? Let me suggest that fear is going on, that all of this raucousness is consciously or unconsciously rooted in fear. If I were to read another lesson this morning, I would have read the lesson from Genesis, the third chapter, about our forbears, Mr. Adam and Mrs. Eve, who bit the apple, felt their guilt, hid in the bushes because they were afraid. And that profound myth recognizes fear as something endemic in the human person. Maybe the fear even precedes the breaking of the commandment. Maybe the fear © Grand Valley State University �Love, Not Fear Richard A. Rhem Page 4   comes from that anxiety of splashing down the birth canal into a cold, wide-open world, bright and cold. Whatever it is, there's fear in the human heart. And if I were to rewrite the Genesis myth (now, there's presumption for you), that profound story, if it were to be written today, we wouldn't have Mr. Adam and Mrs. Eve in their blissful perfection and innocence, frolicking in the garden. We would have an animal with a dawning conscience, and then a consciousness of another. We would have a story of two animals becoming human, and in that becoming human, in consciousness, self-consciousness, and consciousness of the other, we would have the first glimmerings of the possibility of relationship and community and, in the further development, we would have the first glimmerings of the possibility of love, of love in relationship, and we would understand even as far down the line as we are at this point in that evolutionary process of which we are a part, that there is a fear in the core of our being because we carry with us that whole genetic code, we carry with us that whole collective unconscious of the animal that survived because there was fear as a defense mechanism and alertness to every threat, a suspicion of every movement. Who survived? Those who had the savvy to fear and that fear, that threat to my person had to be dealt with, and consequently, in spite of the fact that we have come to the point where we have learned to love and understand Spirit and have left that primitive stage far behind, we are still people who very quickly become afraid, and what happens to an animal that gets cornered? And what happens to us when we come under threat? I do believe that we are seeing it all over the map in our time, so much threat, consequently so much fear, consequently so much violence, because, you see, what we tend to do as religious people, and religion really is a defense mechanism against the insecurities of the abyss of life, what we tend to do is structure something that is very clear, very solid, and very sure. We want it secure; we want a place to stand. We want to know who we are, why we are, whence we've come, whither we're going. We want answers. Life is full of mystery. Life is marked by tragedy. Life participates in awful suffering. How do you figure it out? How do you exist? It's scary business, and so, one of the places we go for security, for certainty, for shelter and refuge is religion, and the more certain, the better. Give me a divine revelation, gjve me an inerrant Bible, give me an infallible Pope so that in the midst of this stream of history that is ever moving, ever opening up into broader vistas, I have a rock upon which to stand. When that rock moves, I become afraid, and when I become afraid, I can't love because love and fear do not dwell together. This is what John was saying in the fourth chapter of his first letter, perhaps the most profound statement of the scriptures, perhaps the one we would take if we could have only one - God is love. Think of the implications of that statement. God is love. Think of the light that that casts on the whole human story and the whole of reality - God is love. But, you see, if John simply said that and stopped, it would be one more propositional statement; it would be one more creedal © Grand Valley State University �Love, Not Fear Richard A. Rhem Page 5   affirmation, and it would be part of that belief system that we might cling to for security, and oh, how we want that belief system to be true and how we want that belief system to be believed by everyone else, and how we want every other belief system not to be true. Isn't that true? There was an article yesterday in the religious section of The Press that said that just down here south of us in some meeting of Deacons came the idea for a Millennial Campaign, entitled, "What If It's True?" The first proposition is, "What if it's true that Jesus is the only way to God?" Gosh, we want that to be true. Why do we want that to be true? We want to be true; we want to be right: we want to be right alone. The article said that we, Christ Community, could join in. They're gathering congregations now. Do you want to be a part of it? Buttons, flyers, posters, billboards. They're going to spend $243,000 at the turn of the millennium to suggest to under-churched and religiously deprived Western Michigan that it might be true, and I asked myself couldn't we better take that effort and live out something concretely with our neighbors? Because that's what John says. He doesn't leave it with, "God is love." That is a creedal affirmation. Creedal affirmations aren't true because we believe them. You can't believe them into truth. You can't find security and certainty and peace in any intellectual formulation. It's in the experience of love, dear friends. That's what John was saying. God is love, and the one who loves dwells in God and God dwells in that one. God is love, and the one who dwells in love abides in God and God abides in that one. God is love and when that is experienced, that becomes an existential, experiential reality that puts my heart at rest when I experience concretely love. John says, don't sit in splendid isolation contemplating God and fall in love with God. Well, there have been a few mystics throughout the centuries who were able to do that, but not according to John. John says no one has seen God, but you can see one another, and when you love one another, you are experiencing the love of God and the reality of God. He goes on, then, to say there's no fear in love. Perfect love casts out fear. It seems really simple to me and I don't know what I'm missing. Honestly, I don't know what I'm missing. I want to keep saying, "What are we afraid of? Why do we fear?" Because it is true - fear and love don't co-exist. There is hostility bristling across the table; there is tension in the room; there is over-againstness, adversarial spirit, mutual condemnation, threat, and down deep we're scared to death of each other. Then somebody moves in and loves, becomes the concretization of love, the embodiment of love, the word made flesh dwelling among us. In this we know the love of God, that God sent the Son, this concrete experience of incarnation, the embodiment of God in Jesus. That's where it started. It was in that person-toperson encounter. That's where love was experienced, and where love is experienced, somehow or other the questions dissolve and the fear is scattered. © Grand Valley State University �Love, Not Fear Richard A. Rhem Page 6   Where love prevails, there God is. John is so blunt. He says, "Don't tell me you love God when you hate your brother. If you can't love your brother whom you can see, who is flesh and blood, don't talk to me about loving God." So, this is my word this morning - Let us love one another and be agents of love out there, in every situation, every conflict situation, and every place where someone is being put down or marginalized or oppressed or taken advantage of or abused, because we have seen what love is, we have seen what God is because we have seen what love is, because we have seen love embodied and we have experienced it, haven't we? Isn't love that alone which transforms? It certainly is my story. The experience of unconditional grace, the experience of being embraced rather than shunned, the experience of being healed and helped and lifted, rather than left and discarded - that is transforming. All of the rigidity and all of the sincerity and all of the responsible religious structure cannot change one human heart. It can give guidance, it can coerce, it can control, but only love can transform, and where love is, fear will not be. And where there is not fear, there will not be violence and the destruction of one another. God is love. Those who abide in love, abide in God. There is no fear in love. Perfect love casts out fear. Jesus said to the woman, "Go in peace. You have a lot of love." © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/85d354e868444d829a6a1c1af37a95dc.mp3 237a50383fec4ba71171a03ea6227e6f 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 I John 4:18, Luke 7:47 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-0-19991024 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-10-24 Title A name given to the resource Love, Not Fear 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 24, 1999 entitled "Love, Not Fear", on the occasion of Pentecost XXIII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: I John 4:18, Luke 7:47. Community of Grace God is Love https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/71a12e111240cf03d4c2eb911e48f322.pdf 77aeb20c9c9fe62ab06a2c421f3ff77e PDF Text Text Fundamental Trust All Saints’ Day; Reformation Day Text: Genesis 1:2; Psalm 104:29-30; John 20:22; Acts 2:2 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan October 31, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon There is a word that combines all the scripture lessons - Genesis and Creation, the Spirit of God or the breath of God or the wind of God hovering over the chaos. On the Day of Pentecost, it's a mighty rushing wind that brings new life. In the Psalm, the Psalm that celebrates all living creatures says, "God, when you withhold your breath, they die. When you breath, grant them your Spirit, they live, they are created." In the Gospel, the story of resurrection as John tells it, on the eve of Easter, Jesus breathed on the disciples and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit." Throughout the whole of the scripture, breath and wind symbolize the life-giving, energizing power and presence of God. The wind that cannot be seen, but whose effects one can feel, the wind and the spirit and the breath in Hebrew all the same word, indicating the fact that there is the sense that life and vitality and energy is the consequence of the outflowing of that font of all being breathing life into all that is. On this All Saints Day, I was thinking about death and dying, memory and hope, and yesterday for some reason, uncharacteristically, my eye fell on the obituary section. I never read the obituaries. Someone suggested to me recently that at my age I perhaps ought to because I may show up there. But, I simply don't. Some people always read the obituaries. I never do. But, something caught my eye; it was the death of a person announced as "leaving for the throne of God where she is now at worship," and it went on to speak about the service that would be a celebration of her life and of her eternal salvation. The question that came into my mind as I read that obituary was, "Do you really believe that?" Not, "Is that true or not," but whether those who wrote the obituary really believe it because it struck me that it was almost saying too much, it was almost shouting too loud, it was the kind of thing we do when we're not sure of ourselves, so we keep repeating it to ourselves until we finally believe it. I'm not saying that that was at all the case, but, simply what came to my mind. It seemed like there was too much affirmation of too much certainty about things about which we really don't know. I just wonder whether or not that strong affirmation did not mask a deepseated doubt. © Grand Valley State University   �Fundamental Trust Richard A. Rhem Page 2   I went on, I suppose because of today, to read more of the obituary entries and I found that it was somewhat common to say so and so went to be with the Lord or is in eternal rest or whatever. Those kinds of customs, that kind of language is so deeply rooted in us, it sort of trips off our tongue very easily, without even thinking. Those statements in the obituary underscored in my mind that of which I have become increasingly aware, but affirmed again that the Christian tradition has been very largely "other-worldly," that the big event is somewhere else, some other time, and that there is, it seems to be inevitably, a denigration of this present life and existence, where that focus is so strong on a future, another round, another act, the big event, as I said, a failure to recognize the wonder and the beauty and the grandeur of this present existence. Then, as I got to thinking about that, I started to ask myself all kinds of questions. I wonder, if heaven was the necessary counterpoint to hell, hell being the condition or place, whatever, depending on the imagery, of eternal condemnation for those who do not find their salvation through Jesus Christ. And if I've done away with hell (just a minor move on my part), I wondered whether or not that removed the necessity of heaven. I wonder if heaven was simply that counterpart if you have a system of rewards and punishment and if this life is controlled and well-controlled by ecclesiastical authorities, to have some punch there has to be something at the end. Because, the more I thought about it, the more I recognized in my dealing with people that it's very primal in people, this idea of what's going to happen in the end, or the desire for immortality or the resurrection of the body, or how ever you want to phrase it, something very primal in us, wondering about the mystery of life. Life is such a mystery. I've been with a number of people who breathed their last. What a mystery. There is a person, particularly those who are still cognizant and conscious, and then the last breath. Life is such a mystery, and inevitably, we'll wonder about it and deep down there is that primal need and desire for something more, and I recognize, too, that there is good reason for that whole structure of final judgment because, after all, life is not fair. Some people get away with murder. Some people suffer all their days. Some people leave us too soon. But yet, what is too soon? The spouse of 50 or 60 years? Certainly there are children who die who never have the opportunity to realize all of their marvelous potential. I understand. There are reasons why humankind in its various traditions of faith have had something to say about the end or something more or the final solution. But, as I thought more and more about it, thinking about today and this moment, I thought about how my own understanding and sensitivities have moved in recent years. I just have to tell you, I think you sense it, probably, that for me, the focus has moved so much more from anything beyond to this present moment, enabling me to celebrate this life, to live it with reverence and with awe and wonder-filled amazement, to appreciate this life, this world, this good earth, these human relationships, this present moment to live and to love. That, for me, has become increasingly the focus of my own fascination and attention and passion. © Grand Valley State University �Fundamental Trust Richard A. Rhem Page 3   But, finally, we don't know, do we? It is a mystery, isn't it? I was in the car the other day listening to National Public Radio and a writer read an essay and he began by saying that he had never had a vision or a trembling in his soul or any kind of a spiritual moment like that, and I thought of myself because I've often said to you I've never had a tinkle in my pinkie. But, then he went on to say, "Life is mysterious. Let me tell you about my mother. My mother died recently and when I went home at the point of her death, I visited the neighbor woman who said, 'You know, your mother came over here the day before she died, and she told me this story. She said, "I was in the living room and there was Frank, my husband, and it was all very normal, and I got up and went into the other room and I said, 'Oh, my goodness, he's been gone for eleven years,' She said, 'I rushed back into the living room and he wasn't there.'" The writer said, "My mother lived all of her life knowing that she had an aneurysm that could go at any moment. That night the aneurysm broke and she died peacefully. I don't understand it. Life is more mysterious than we could ever fathom." I would agree. I don't know. I really don't know. But, I know that what has become more important for me increasingly is to live now and to love now and to be aware now, and then to live with fundamental trust over against whatever else may be. Fundamental trust. That's a concept which comes out of child psychology. I think it was Eric Erickson who distinguished fundamental trust from fundamental mistrust. The critical first year of a child, the way a child is handled, cooed over, cherished, makes that child bodily sense that reality can be trusted. I remember Hans Küng in 1983, and I spent some time with him talking about his book Does God Exist?, where he traced modern atheism down to the nihilism of Nietzsche and then he said, "I was trying to make a turn because I didn't want to leave in nihilism, I wanted to make an affirmation of my own faith in God," and he said to make that turn, to get out of the abyss of nihilism, he found the concept of fundamental trust the means by which he began again to build the steps of faith. Fundamental trust is a pre-rational disposition of the heart. It is not to be identified with a belief system in which we have faith. "I believe in the Christian creed," or something like that. It's a pre-rational existence of the heart; it's that which one sets one's heart upon before one even begins to think. It is the setting of the soul. That fundamental trust, it seems to me, is the most precious gift for a human being who lives in the wonder of this life and faces the mystery of death not knowing, but trusting. I put three quotations in your liturgy - Hans Küng, basic, fundamental trust in reality. And then a statement from Eric Fromm who looks at it all and says my © Grand Valley State University �Fundamental Trust Richard A. Rhem Page 4   conclusion is that the human person is alone in the universe. And then a statement by Dag Hammerskjold who says I don't know when it was. I don't even remember answering the question, but at some point I said "Yes" to someone or something and from that moment I know that my life has had meaning. Well, I think what Hammerskjold witnesses to and Küng points to is not even impossible for Fromm because one could live in this universe believing one is alone and bring meaning to it, nonetheless. But, I find myself more comfortable with a rather vague affirmation of fundamental trust. We use the words of Julian of Norwich around here All will be well. All will be well, and all manner of things will be well. We use them with integrity, because all will be well does not mean all will be peaches and cream. All will be well does not mean that any particular faith structure, be it Christian or Jewish or Buddhist, or whatever, that any belief structure is the way it is. All will be well, lived out of fundamental trust, enables me to live today, to celebrate today, to live fully and to love freely, and to trust, to trust, fundamentally to trust, to be deeply settled, to be at home in this world, wide-eyed and awaiting whatever there is beyond this. That is enough for me. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ad6ebc0dba3ac42e035c021417924511.mp3 ed1893754f397aeda159149a97275601 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Reformation Day and All Saints_ Day, Pentecost XXIV Scripture Text Genesis 1:2, Psalm 104:29-30, John 20:22, Acts 2:2 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19991031 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-10-31 Title A name given to the resource Fundamental Trust 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 31, 1999 entitled "Fundamental Trust", on the occasion of Reformation Day and All Saints_ Day, Pentecost XXIV, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Genesis 1:2, Psalm 104:29-30, John 20:22, Acts 2:2. Fundamental Trust Mystery Presence of God https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/155cceca97b9dcc136bcc99177ab35e9.pdf b838883e348994ae193e82c613a4c740 PDF Text Text Awareness and Gratitude Thanksgiving Day weekend Text: Psalm 100:3; Psalm 65:11; Psalm 8:4 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan November 21, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon It was my intention some weeks ago to speak to you about awareness, that consciousness that leads us to gratitude and thanksgiving, but when I intended to do that, I didn't intend to do it the way I intend to do it today. What I intend to do today is to review with you the past three Lord's Days that we have experienced together. I don't want simply to move on without us having a moment to reflect on it together and to lift it up into our consciousness in order that through that awareness we may be led to a greater level of thanksgiving. Three weeks ago was All Saints Day; the dancers lighted a candle as the necrology was read, each person honored, and then with those lights here, they danced in community until one by one they peeled off and went out, hands joined, lights burning, but symbolizing the fact that eventually, one by one, we are all removed from the community, not into the darkness, but into the community of light. I was told, as I myself experienced, that there were not a lot of dry eyes here. Then we had Amy-Jill Levine, a Jewish scholar who had told me absolutely that she would not preach and I could not list what she would do as a sermon and so it had to be an address or a lecture, and she preached to us. A Jewish woman preaching from her scripture. The reason she said she wouldn't preach was that that is to tell the good news of Jesus and she is a Jew, but her insight into her own Hebrew scriptures and into the New Testament documents was illuminating and inspiring and we came to love her with all her humanity, her humaneness, and her humor. And then last week - what can I say of that whole weekend, culminating in a wonderful worship with Bishop John Shelby Spong? I want to bring to awareness those experiences, the presence of the bishop with us, our sensing his humanity, his grace, his positive demeanor, his pastoral sense - all of that is worth a Sunday morning's reflection, bringing it to awareness. © Grand Valley State University   �Awareness and Gratitude Richard A. Rhem Page 2   To be aware - that's a gift of our humanity, to be conscious, to be self-conscious, to be able to get out of our skin and observe ourselves, to feel and to know that we're feeling, to think and to know that we're thinking, to experience and to know that we are experiencing That's consciousness. That's what makes us human. It's a marvelous gift. Some of us have dogs or cats that we love very much, but they just go about their business of living: eating, reproducing, sleeping. They never get out of their skin to understand what they are doing, although now and again there is a dog that seems to have moments of consciousness. But, we do. To be aware. To know what we're doing and why we're doing it, to live with intentionality, to be able to reflect upon our experience, to savor it over again, awareness, consciousness, intentionality. That leads to gratitude, and I want us for a few moments this morning simply to reflect on what we have experienced together. I'll cast it somewhat in a personal mode. It’s really the only way I can do it because I'm talking about my story which is your story, but you would have to tell your story also in personal terms. As we speak personally I think we are speaking communally because we have experienced something together that cannot be taken for granted. There has been a richness here that is unusual, and I don't want us to let it go without awareness in order that we might be truly thankful. A Jewish woman preaching. A woman preaching That’s something that couldn't be taken for granted not very long ago. On the day of my ordination I got a wonderful letter from my father who said that when I was in my mother's womb, he prayed for me and dedicated me to God, if I were a boy. If I were a girl, well, what can you do with a girl? I remember in 1984 when you graciously gave to Nancy and me a sabbatical. We spent the first three months of '84 in Schenectady in old First Church, and it was an old, grand tradition and a great, old liberal congregation, and for years they had a joint service with the Jewish synagogue once a year. It happened while we were there and it was at the synagogue and we went. We were a part of the congregation. I didn't have any part to play. I remember that I felt somewhat awkward. I didn't know if it was a good thing or not. I'd never known any Jewish people. I wasn't sure whether I should join in the worship in a Jewish synagogue of my God whom I knew only through Jesus Christ, whom I thought at that time superceded the Jewish faith. I still remember my awkwardness. Now I had a Jewish woman preach in my pulpit. Well, I've come a long way, Baby, not only the fact that A. J. was here to preach, but the fact that, getting to know the Jewish community, even coming to envy a bit being Jewish, loving that culture, coming to hold in great affection those people. On All Saints Day we talked about fundamental trust. Then on that Sunday with A. J. here, the gift of the JewishChristian Dialogue committee, I spontaneously invited Rabbi Alan Alpert to come and we sang the last verse of "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" together as we embraced each other, and someone said, "You know, there were tears all over the place because that was a sign and a symbol of what this community is." I do know that © Grand Valley State University �Awareness and Gratitude Richard A. Rhem Page 3   when I ended the song , Iwanted to say to him, "Begin the Benediction in Hebrew," but I didn't have a lot of voice. It touches something very deep and it feels very right. And then the Bishop comes, purported to be the most controversial churchman in the country, certainly in the mainline Protestant tradition – in the Episcopal Protestant tradition what Hans Küng has been in the Catholic tradition - a gadfly, a catalyst, pushing and probing and needling in order to push the Church into the 21st century, in order to have a faith to express with integrity. I spent 45 minutes on the telephone with the religious editor of The Grand Rapids Press addressing all of those controversial comments that are made in newspaper articles. Read those articles and we judge people. It didn't do any good. But then the Bishop comes and here he is as I had promised you, a gentle giant full of grace who comes with that great pastoral heart and who is so impressed with you. You drew from him. On the way to the airport Sunday afternoon he absolutely crashed. He said, "You know, I could have gone another three or four hours with the people there because they energized me." You drew it out of him and he and Christine were so impressed with you. They said in all of their travels, in all of their visitation of churches, they've only had a couple of experiences that would have matched what they sensed in you, what this community has captured. And we had that exhilarating experience of having someone from the outside say gracefully and articulately all of that which we have ever hoped and dreamed to be and to become. Well, you can't take those kinds of things for granted and we shouldn't just let them pass by. So, I'm spending another Lord's Day simply savoring it in order to bring it to consciousness, in order to come to a deeper awareness, in order that we might be grateful, adequate to the gift that God has given us. As I think of all of that, let me just say it in a couple of items here, reflecting on it. I'm so very grateful for the awareness I have that fundamental trust in God is prior to, independent of, and more important than my specific belief system. My little belief system, oh, it’s a grand system, it's a grand tradition, but my little Christian faith tradition is but a pointer to a Mystery that cannot be grasped, comprehended in a belief structure. I have a fundamental trust in a God who transcends my little tradition, and the respective, great traditions of the world. They're all important and they're all good, some more adequate than others as pointers to the Absolute Mystery, but all of them simply human constructs through which one is moved to the experience of the Ultimate. The Bishop said it very simply and very clearly, that distinction between the experience of God and the explanation of the experience. The explanation is relative; the experience is the thing. The explanation is always in terms of one's immediate context and one's world view and one's understanding of reality so that it's always time anchored and limited and always needs to be restructured and refreshed and revisioned, re-imagined. The structure itself, be it Christian faith or Jewish faith or Buddhist meditation, all of those are simply human belief constructs that © Grand Valley State University �Awareness and Gratitude Richard A. Rhem Page 4   would point us beyond themselves to the God beyond all tribal gods, in whom we lose ourselves in that abyss of love. I am aware that I have journeyed a long way. I am aware that I have moved from a very conservative, exclusive, defensive Christian to an unabashed, unapologetic pluralist, and have a freedom and a joy and a celebration in my religious faith such as I never would have thought possible years ago. That is an awareness that brings gratitude, and gratitude causes one to be humble and gives one deep joy. That's the awareness that I have in reflection, and I hope you do, too, because we have traveled a long road and we've come to a beautiful place, and it is the place for which I believe the world is longing, that place of grace, full of love, where we stand before the infinite and inexhaustible ground of our being, who calls us to live fully, to love wastefully, and to be all that we can be. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8427ecf0b03c26f5faefa7e3b5da7e5d.mp3 9055bf368f8958d4595f874283e987bc 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 XXVII Scripture Text Psalm 100:3, Psalm 65:11, Psalm 8:4 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19991121 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-11-21 Title A name given to the resource Awareness and Gratitude 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 21, 1999 entitled "Awareness and Gratitude", on the occasion of Pentecost XXVII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Psalm 100:3, Psalm 65:11, Psalm 8:4. Awareness Gratitude Intentional Pluralism https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/0702a5ccd440a311ffe2f321968d7447.mp3 a54f1b9013c9d0013b83b50db0351c13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Thanksgiving Day 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-0-19991125 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-11-25 Title A name given to the resource The Freedom and Joy of Generosity 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 25, 1999 entitled "The Freedom and Joy of Generosity", on the occasion of Thanksgiving Day, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI.