957 24 26018 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d4a9ae5f246964ffa35845405dba3fed.pdf d2a3cd92c4149ce0d1d0b31550c4d933 PDF Text Text The God Who Forgives From the series: The Faith Of Jesus; Trust in a Gracious God Text: Psalm 130:4; Luke 23:34 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Lent V, March 28, 1993 Transcription of the spoken sermon But there is forgiveness with you…. Psalm 130:4 “Father, forgive them….” Luke 23:34 Jesus died the way he died because he lived the way he lived, and he lived as he lived because of that which he believed in. The faith of Jesus - that’s what we have been trying to get at these weeks. What did Jesus believe? That is an important question because what he believed shaped how he lived, and how he lived issued in the way he died. So to understand his death we need to know what he believed. We’ve been saying that at the heart of it was a belief in the nearness of God. Trust in a gracious God. Or, for today, trust in a God who forgives us. Sometimes, in the Christian Church, we tend to think that we have a monopoly on forgiveness. It is not so. I have been trying to say in these weeks that Jesus lived out his Jewish faith, and it was as a believing Jew that Jesus believed in the God who forgives. Jesus is sometimes claimed by us as the first Christian and that is not true. He was a believing Jew. And if he believed in the God who forgives, then it is because in his own Jewishness, Yahweh, the God of Covenant, was a God of grace. We do a great injustice if we think of the Old Testament as being over against the New Testament. In fact, even that terminology is a put-down for Israel. For it is not as though there was an old covenant, and then a new covenant, as though there are two covenants. There is only one covenant of grace. There was its form in Israel, and its form in Jesus. To be sure, Jeremiah, speaking to Judah in a time of its own rebellion said that a time would come when God would make a new covenant. But it is the same covenant. It is new in the same sense as we speak of the new moon - the new moon that has appeared recently this week in a small sliver. It’s not a new moon at all; it is the new appearance of the old moon, the same old moon. Thank God! Israel knew that God is a God who forgives and probably nowhere does that come to better expression than in the Psalmist, the Psalter hymnbook of the Old Testament, particularly in the seven Psalms, the group Psalms 32, 51, 102, and © Grand Valley State University   �The God Who Forgives Richard A. Rhem Page 2   130, as we had it this morning. There we find this marvelous statement. “There is forgiveness with Thee,” the Psalmist cries out of the depths. The depths are the chaos, the watery chaos, the chaos that always threatens the world and humankind, and one, in whatever experience he may have been in, feels the foundations shaking, and he is being sucked down. He cries, “Out of the depths. Out of the depths, I cry to you, O Lord. Lord, hear my cry. Let your ears be attentive to the supplications.” And then, conceding his guilt, making no rationalization, no parade of excuses, he simply says, “Lord, if you should mark iniquity, who could stand?” Lord, if you kept books, who of us could stand? But then this amazing, wonderful Gospel declaration, “But with you there is forgiveness.” Jesus lived that way. That’s what he believed. And we can tell, because that’s the way he acted. He was one who, going through Jericho one day, picked out the leading entrepreneur, the wealthiest man in town, the one who had gotten the franchises on the tax-farm system, Zaccheus, by name. He may have been short, but he was big. And he was curious, for whatever reason we don’t know. Maybe just curious. Maybe some hankering need, some unfulfilled yearning that all of the taxes that he could skim off could never satisfy. Jesus said, “Come down. I want to dine with you today.” And in that story we have what we’ve been talking about all these weeks. The table fellowship of Jesus. He sat down at table. He sat down at table and thereby mediated the grace of God. He said to Zaccheus, “I’m going to your house today,” thereby indicating an acceptance that amazed Zaccheus. It’s a lucky thing that he didn’t fall out of the tree. “I’m going to your house today. I’m going to sit at your table today. I’m going to be in solidarity with you today. I’m going to speak the grace and the forgiveness by my very presence in breaking bread with you today.” Luke probably adds the story recorded in the 8th verse that tells us about Zaccheus’ amazing response to this amazing grace. Zaccheus claims that he is going to make restitution far beyond the law would require, but Luke probably adds that verse 8 - it was a story without that verse at one point, but Luke uses the story as a paradigm, as a model which shows the results of conversion. But if you just take out the fact that he was going to make all this restitution, read the story without verse 8, then you will find Jesus at his table gracing Zaccheus with his presence and saying, “Today salvation is come.” If you put verse 8 in there, the thing that tends to happen to us is that we tend to see Zaccheus making restitution and then Jesus saying, “Today salvation has come,” as though it is salvation that has come in the wake of the restitution that has been made. But that is not so. Jesus simply embraces this man, and it is in the embrace that this man is transformed. Grace always grants the acceptance, and whatever follows is a consequence of the initiative of the grace of God. It is the announcement of forgiveness that is the catalyst of repentance and penitence. And in the church, and in religion in general, all sorts of religions, that’s what we never keep straight. Somehow or © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Forgives Richard A. Rhem Page 3   other when we get organized, and we get institutionalized, and we get our prescriptions and our formulas, and we have our way in and our processes and our structures, then it becomes a matter of believing certain things or doing certain things, behaving a certain way, making a certain response, on the basis of which we are embraced. That is simply the way of religion - all religions, because as Walter Brueggemann says in his commentary on Psalm 130, “This premature announcement of forgiveness scandalizes all of our calculating religion.” I wonder, is that enough? The story from the instance of the Psalmist, the story of Zaccheus, and I could add the stories of the prodigal son or the Publican and the Pharisee or I could multiply the stories of Jesus, but in the Zaccheus story is what we have been talking about - the God of the abandoned, the God of the outcast, the God of the excluded. Jesus undercutting the religious institutions, the institutional forms. I don’t think he had anything against religious forms, as long as they were recognized as the medium through which the presence of God and the grace of God came. But not as absolutes. Not as though, somehow or other, the organized religion, or church, or temple, or the mosque held the spigot which could turn on and off the grace of God. No! No, Jesus spoke of an immediacy of the forgiveness of God, announced ahead of time, before there was any evidence of faith or repentance, or penitence. And I wonder, is that enough? A couple of weeks ago on Wednesday night I raised the question about whether or not “That’s Enough?” Is it enough just to say, “I forgive you?” God knows that there is something in us that disallows that, calls for something more. I think there’s something primal in us that wants something more. I think it is true of all religions. Religions speak about appeasing God, or expiating God, or atonement. Religions have a means by which to put people back into communion with God, and there is always a sacrifice or an offering, or a price to pay. There is, it seems in religion, be it Islamic, Jewish, Christian, some bookkeeping that has to go on. God can’t simply forgive. I think there is something in us that demands that, because we structure our religions with that same “tit for tat.” Paul uses the image of the Roman law court. This is his metaphor, at least one of his metaphors. He has more than one for the atonement, but essentially, Paul’s metaphor claims that Jesus “takes the rap” for us, so that there isn’t really forgiveness pure and simple. Something has been paid. Someone has paid. Is that important? Is that necessary? There must be something in us that senses that that must be necessary. That’s the way we operate. I mean, you can’t run a world on any other basis, can you? But look at our world. Last night on the NBC News there were two clips about the escalating violence, the IRA, the bombings, the capricious bombings in England. A three year old killed and then a twelve year old killed. There was a funeral yesterday, and services being called in Ireland out of deep concern, and the Protestant extremists in northern Ireland not having anything really to do with Protestantism, but they killed four Catholics again, gunned them down, dead. You see the terror on the faces of the people. Then the clip from Israel where the © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Forgives Richard A. Rhem Page 4   Palestinian issue escalates, the violence is greater, stabbings, shootings, a young man named Martin Fletcher, I think, who goes to the store and buys his pistol and takes some target practice, hating to do it and yet feeling he must do it. This terrible thing going on in Bosnia Herzegovina, the genocide where as a military strategy the soldiers rape and impregnate the Muslim women. Dehumanizing. Terrible things! Do you just say, “You are forgiven?” But, you see, what’s going on in our world is the festering, and the festering again of ancient feuds, and old, old hurts that will not be let go of. It’s true in Bosnia. It’s true in the Balkans - what is going on is a result of ethnic pain out of the past. It’s true in Ireland. It’s not just Catholic/Protestant. It’s deep wounds in the culture, centuries back, continuing to come between because there is something primal in us, I am sure, that demands retribution and vengeance and retaliation. Where retribution and retaliation and vengeance operate, there is no end! It never ends! So, I wonder. I ask this question. You think about it with me. Was God with Jesus on the cross just dying? Was Jesus’ breakthrough the thing he was reaching for, was that what got him killed? The fact that he undercut the religion tit-for-tat and the neat bookkeeping of people in mosque and church. Was he crucified because he tried to say, “Retribution, vengeance, retaliation, tit-for-tat will not work? There is only one way to break through, through this accursed human plague, and that is to take it on the chin?” I wonder. Jurgën Moltman, in his book, The Crucified God, claims that God does not need a blood sacrifice to forgive us. I think he needs to show us that that won’t work. It is only love that becomes the transformative catalyst that changes people. It is only if I can forgive you before you say, “I am sorry.” It is only if I can enwrap you in my arms while you are still alienated that something happens inside out. I wonder if God, in Christ, was taking it on the chin? And all the darkness, and all the atrocity, and all of the horror of the human story crashing in upon God, in Christ, on the cross, and God absorbing it all, just absorbing it all. Then hearing Jesus who lived out his faith in concrete action and died saying, “Father, forgive them.” I suspect if that won’t do the trick nothing will. And I suspect that Easter is the sign that that love may be crucified, but never finally defeated, and that finally, either here or there, God won’t quit until we get the picture. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/06a12ea6a0b0f3e6e9a2db90335d2c6c.mp3 888cc70b03c46bad22818cbeddf5a36e Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Lent V Series The Faith of Jesus: Trust in a Gracious God Scripture Text Psalm 130:4, Luke 23:34 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19930328 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1993-03-28 Title A name given to the resource The God Who Forgives Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on March 28, 1993 entitled "The God Who Forgives", as part of the series "The Faith of Jesus: Trust in a Gracious God", on the occasion of Lent V, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Psalm 130:4, Luke 23:34. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Forgiveness Nature of God Transforming Grace https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/fe84308f8c827e539c1872fa95336bfd.mp3 f16030dfcac039db2a0043f1bdfa5a28 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/cd717ff899bf7a876f53b7e956fd3be5.pdf 3aa232682bbb0d719974b213d55d09ef PDF Text Text The God Who Forgives Us From the sermon series: God, Our Ally Text: Micah 7: 18-19; Romans 11: 33-36 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan July 28, 1985 Transcription of the spoken sermon God is our Ally. That is the center of our faith, the heart of the biblical revelation. He is there for us, our friend, at our side, on our side. Our lives are undergirded by His faithfulness and mercy, overshadowed by His love. Even when we cannot sense it amidst tragedy, in the darkness, He holds us still. Even when our conscience condemns us and our guilt threatens to overwhelm us - even then, God is our Ally, for He is the God Who forgives us. That is the theme of this message. We recite the familiar Apostles' Creed and we affirm, I believe the forgiveness of sins. That is a great affirmation. That speaks to the deepest need of the human heart to be forgiven, to be accepted, to be right with God. That which is our deepest need is that which God has provided, for He is a God Who forgives us. Micah ends his prophecy with a great exclamation of hope and confidence, an expression of sheer wonder at the grace and mercy of God. Who is a God like Thee? Thou takest away guilt, Thou passeth over the sin of the remnant of Thy people... Thou wilt show us tender affection and wash away our guilt, casting our sins into the depth of the sea. This amazed exclamation comes at the end of a prophetic book that had dealt seriously with the sin of God's people, Judah. Micah prophesied near the end of the Eighth Century, B.C. With Amos, Hosea and Isaiah he formed the quartet of Eighth Century prophets that represents the golden age of Hebrew prophecy. The social structures of Judah were in a state of deterioration. The nation lacked moral integrity and Micah realized that this people was ripe for judgment. © Grand Valley State University   �The God Who Forgives Us Richard A. Rhem Page 2   He was a contemporary of Isaiah and although Isaiah, too, knew of the sin of the nation, he could not yet conceive of the fall of Jerusalem. Micah, however, predicted that fall, believing that Judah was not immune to the righteous judgment of God. He did not whitewash the estate of a people who had left the paths of righteousness. But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin. (3:8) Micah was no "soft touch." But true to the prophetic tradition and the whole biblical perspective, judgment was not the outpouring of the wrath of a vengeful God Who found pleasure in destroying but rather the disciplining hand of a loving Father Whose purpose was always and forever the redemption of His children. For Micah, then, the last word was not judgment, but grace; not wrath, but mercy. He does not retain his anger forever because he delights in steadfast love. The forgiving grace of God is the last word and the psalm that concludes this prophetic book sings it beautifully with a sense of wonder - the wonder known and understood by all who know what it is to be forgiven. Let us attempt to understand the wonder expressed in our text by acknowledging the biblical diagnosis of the human condition - the condition of sin. We can get this diagnosis from Micah or any other biblical writing. The text is a statement that takes this human condition for granted; it is an expression of amazement at the forgiving grace of God, given the human condition of sin. Paul cites a Psalm and puts it bluntly: All have sinned. To be in a state of sin is to be in a state of alienation from God and one's neighbor. In the Old Testament the Genesis stories portray the human person doubting God's word and God's goodness, the unwillingness to live as creature trusting the Creator, but rather wanting to usurp the place of God and to be Lord of one's own destiny. It was Israel's lack of trust in God that is portrayed as the root of their alienation and separation from God, which led to all the disastrous consequences of their corporate and individual lives. Sin is an old fashioned word. Its reality has been soft-pedaled, its seriousness denied. Yet its manifestation is universal and its devastating effects everywhere to be seen. Anyone with a pinch of common sense must acknowledge that something is wrong. Those profound stories in Genesis, full of symbolic meaning, © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Forgives Us Richard A. Rhem Page 3   tell us that something is wrong indeed, because we are out of relationship with the God Who created us for Himself. Modern psychiatry recognizes that something is wrong. A few years ago Karl Menninger of the famed Menninger Clinic wrote a book that was titled, Whatever Became of Sin? in which he implored the pulpit to preach on human sin because this was to recognize the humanity of persons - that they are free and responsible beings, accountable, with the need and capacity to repent. Otherwise we rob persons of their unique humanness, their freedom and responsibility, making them marionettes in a cosmic drama of fate. This is the biblical perspective... God is good and not the author of evil. We make wrong choices, foolish and brazen, and create chaos for ourselves and our world. We get entwined in a web of wrong and we are wrong-headed and wrong-hearted. We must own our wrong but we cannot unwrite the record of our deeds. Therefore, we need to be forgiven or our situation is hopeless. Ernest Becker, in his book, The Denial of Death, gives a fascinating analysis of how the biblical picture of human sin parallels the findings of depth psychology and psychoanalysis. He compares the work of the psychoanalyst, Otto Rank, with the insights of the Christian thinker, Soren Kierkegaard. He writes: Both men reached the same conclusion after the most exhaustive psychological quest: That at the very furthest reaches of scientific description, psychology has to give way to "theology" - that is, to a worldview that absorbs the individual's conflicts and guilt and offers him the possibility for some kind of heroic apotheosis (to be exalted to the rank of a god). Man cannot endure his own littleness unless he can translate it into meaningfulness on the largest possible level. Here Rank and Kierkegaard meet in one of those astonishing historical mergers of thought: that sin and neurosis are two ways of talking about the same thing - the complete isolation of the individual, his disharmony with the rest of nature, his hyperindividualism, his attempt to create his own world from within himself. Both sin and neurosis represent the individual blowing himself up to larger than his true size, his refusal to recognize his cosmic dependence... In sin and neurosis man fetishizes himself on something narrow at hand and pretends that the whole meaning and miraculousness of creation is limited to that, that he can get his beatification from that. Rank's summing up of the neurotic world-view is at the same time that of the classic sinner: The neurotic loses every kind of collective spirituality, and makes the heroic gesture of placing himself entirely within the immortality of his own ego ... (p. 196) © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Forgives Us Richard A. Rhem Page 4   There is not only the neurotic and the sinner's unreal self-inflation in the refusal to admit creatureliness, but also a penalty for intensified self-consciousness "The failure to be consoled by shared illusions." The result is that the sinner (neurotic) is hyperconscious of the very thing he tried to deny: his creatureliness, his miserableness and unworthiness. (p. 197) But there is a significant difference between the classical sinner and the modern neurotic. Both of them experience the natureliness of human insufficiency, only today the neurotic is stripped of the symbolic world-view, the God ideology that would make sense out of his unworthiness and would translate it into heroism. Traditional religion turned the consciousness of sin into a condition for salvation; but the tortured sense of nothingness of the neurotic qualifies him now only for miserable extinction, for merciful release in lonely death. It is all right to be nothing vis-à-vis God, who alone can make it right in His unknown ways; it is another thing to be nothing to oneself, who is nothing. (p. 197) In Rank's own summary: The neurotic type suffers from a consciousness of sin just as much as did his religious ancestor, without believing in the conception of sin. This is precisely what makes him "neurotic"; he feels a sinner without the religious belief in sin for which he therefore needs a new rational explanation. (p. 198 in Becker from Rank, Beyond Psychology p. 193) Thus declares Becker: Thus the plight of modern man: a sinner with no word for it or, worse, who looks for the word for it in a dictionary of psychology and thus only approaches the problem of his separateness and hyperconsciousness. Again, this impasse is what Rank meant when he called psychology a "preponderantly negative and disintegrating ideology." (p. 198) And sounding like a biblical prophet, Rank concludes, according to Becker, that if neurosis is sin, and not disease, then the only thing which can "cure" it is a world-view, some kind of affirmative collective ideology in which the person can perform the living drama of his acceptance as a creature. Only in this way can the neurotic come out of his isolation to become part of such a larger and higher wholeness as religion has always represented. (p. 198F) © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Forgives Us Richard A. Rhem Page 5   That is the conclusion of the best insight of the science of psychoanalysis and it is a striking conclusion. Believing religion an illusion, Rank nonetheless believed that human health could be achieved only by living in that illusion. Only thus could the isolation and alienation of creatureliness be overcome by one being caught up in a larger framework of meaning and purpose. The diagnosis of the human condition is the same whether read from the Bible or from the journals of psychiatry. The terminology differs but the meaning is the same. The human being turned in upon himself, rejecting the status of creature, grasping for autonomy - that person is in biblical terminology a sinner, in the parlance of modern psychology a neurotic. Probably as much as anybody, Robert Schuller has attempted to utilize the findings of the psychological science in his presentation of the Gospel. In his book, Self Esteem, he contends that we are born with a lack of trust. This is suggested by Erik Erikson in his studies in child psychology. Thus Schuller contends we are by nature fearful, anxious, but not wicked. However one responds to Schuller's dialogue with classical Reformed theology, he does make an important point. For too long in the Church we have assaulted the dignity of human personality and have ground persons even deeper into the paralysis of their sinful condition with our heavy handed preaching of human sin. The question is not whether we are sinful and thus commit sins for which we are guilty. That is plain for anyone to see. The question is rather how can we understand the human predicament and meaningfully bring the Gospel to that predicament so that human transformation will result? Somehow we must recognize that all the wrong we do, all the hell on earth we create, is a reflection not of the human nature God created in his own image, but of a negative response of that human nature which fails to understand God, itself, and the way to wholeness. This is not to downplay the havoc wrought by the person. Schuller uses the image of a golf ball. Outside is a thin, dimpled cover. Beneath are layers and layers of rubber wrappings. The core is a hard rubber ball. To describe a golf ball simply in terms of the outer cover is superficial. The real nature of the golf ball is still unknown. The outer cover he compares to human rebellion. But whence comes that rebellion? Schuller claims we are like that golf ball. At the core is a natural lack of self-esteem, a negative self image - all coming from a lack of trust. From that core come all those rubber wrappings: anxiety, fear and all negative emotions resulting in a face that appears angry, mean, rebellious. At the core of our being we are non-trusting, insecure, defensive and our response to life is angry, negative, destructive. Projecting our fear and suspicion outward, we ruin our interpersonal relationships and generally make a mess of our lives and the community. © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Forgives Us Richard A. Rhem Page 6   Berkhof in his Christian Faith sees our sin "rooted in the creaturely structure of the risky being called man." We do seem to live in two worlds; we are part of the animal kingdom and we are created in the image of God. There is both our misuse of freedom and therefore our guilt and there is a gravitational force from below. In Berkhof s terms: Sin is not a fall from a higher form of existence, but the refusal to rise to the higher form of existence of loving fellowship with God. Sin is contrary to nature precisely because it is a yielding to the pull of our inherited nature. Man falls victim to it if he does not in confidence, in surrender, and in obedience open himself to the call from on high as it invites him to join unconditionally and with his whole being in God's venture of a joint history with man. (p. 207) While not contending that Schuller and Berkhof are saying the same thing or share a common analysis of the human condition, this much can be said - and needs to be said - it is possible to understand the sinful behavior of persons, acknowledging the seriousness of the wrong that we do, without painting the human being as a monster, wicked and incorrigible. Invited to friendship with God from above, pulled by a gravitational force from below, the human being is both guilty and tragic, wonderful and capable of transformation. What, then, is the deepest human need? Is it not unconditional love, unlimited grace, full acceptance and free forgiveness? What we most need God provides, for He is the God Who forgives If the rather long path we have taken to diagnose the human condition is accurate - the biblical picture, the insight of psychoanalysis, of Schuller and Berkhof, then what is it that can effect human transformation? How can human nature be changed? Simply stated: An encounter with unconditional love and grace. If it is true that at our core we are lacking in trust, fearful and anxious and if all forms of negative behavior are the consequence, then it is precisely in the experience of being encountered by an all-embracing grace and a nonthreatening love that we will find our anger dissolved, the shell of our hostility shed and our defenses fall away. The Gospel is the good news about God whose nature is love and Whose love in action toward us is grace. And God encounters us in Jesus Christ. It is when we encounter God in Jesus Christ that we know what it is to be unconditionally accepted and embraced by grace. We meet God when we meet Jesus and we meet Jesus when we meet a brother or sister in whom he lives and through whom he loves. © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Forgives Us Richard A. Rhem Page 7   Then we may well exclaim with Micah, Who is a God like thee? Thou takest away guilt... casting our sins into the depths of the sea. Is it that simple? Yes, it is. But it is not cheap. The story of Jesus reveals the costliness of that forgiveness. His life, his death. He lived a fully human life in total harmony with the Father. He bore our sin in his body on the tree. God made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. We are forgiven through Jesus Christ our Lord. We are accepted in Jesus. When we can receive that, "hear" that, really appropriate that, we are changed, transformed, inside out. The Gospel announces forgiveness through the grace of God; He the God Who forgives us. No wonder Micah exclaimed in wonder, Who is a God like thee? Paul was awestruck, too, at the forgiving grace of God offered in Jesus Christ. In Romans 9-11 he struggles with Israel's failure to believe in Jesus as their Messiah. He finally concludes that in the mystery of God's ways Israel's disobedience has resulted in the salvation of the Gentile world but he never gives up on Israel either. Quoting from Isaiah 27:9, From Zion shall come the Deliverer; he shall remove wickedness from Jacob, And this is the covenant I will grant them, when I take away their sins… He contends that God will one day remove Israel's sin as well because he is certain of the faithfulness of God and the unconditional nature of his promise. "... God's choice stands, and they are his friends for the sake of the Patriarchs. For the gracious gifts of God and his calling are irrevocable." (11:28-29) He can only conclude - even though he cannot fully fathom For in making all mankind prisoners to disobedience, God's purpose was to show mercy to all mankind. (11:32) This leaves him breathless. In a mood similar to Micah's, he breaks out in grand doxology: O depth of wealth, wisdom and knowledge in God! How unsearchable his judgments, how untraceable his ways! ... Source, Guide and Goal of all that is - to him be glory for ever! Amen." (11:33-36) © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Forgives Us Richard A. Rhem Page 8   What a doxology! What a God! And what calls forth that irrepressible praise of the whole human being? The marvel of a grace that forgives! God is a God Who forgives us! Now if only we could believe it; if only we could receive it. Let me speak of God's forgiveness lifting up some aspects of it that may cause us to sense more deeply its wonder and to appropriate more fully its blessing. The first thing 1 would point out is that God's forgiveness has already been provided - it is a reality now offered unconditionally to all who will receive it. God does not hold us at arm's length, seeing first if we measure up, if we are worthy, if we will do it all right now and not abuse His free grace. We do not deserve it. It was while we were yet enemies that we were reconciled - while we were yet sinners that Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-8) Forgiveness is not conditional on good behaviour; there is no parole system with God - just a declaration of undeserved mercy and freedom from the guilt of our sin. Forgiveness is not a future possibility if in the meantime we keep our nose clean. Forgiveness has already been procured through the one offering of Jesus and is ours now. There is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1) The Gospel is not a religion. A religion has a teaching, a ritual, a way of life. Christianity is a religion, but the Gospel is the announcement of what is true now because God has acted: Forgiveness is provided already - secured, forgiveness is freely offered, forgiveness can be now received - received only as gift. A second reflection I would share is that it is those who need it most who find it the most difficult to receive it and personally to appropriate it. Certainly there are those who bulldoze their way through life with seemingly little sensitivity to the havoc they produce and the hurt they inflict. But I am more concerned about the one of sensitive conscience, the one who longs to be right but senses her failings and perhaps even despairs, feeling simply a failure. That one tends to withdraw from the grace of God and from the fellowship where that grace is extended. Such a one feels unworthy which is true enough; yet it is precisely there that the misconception of forgiveness manifests itself. For if I do not allow myself the luxury of grace, being unworthy, then I must be saying that those who do receive it are worthy and then, of course, grace is no longer grace. When I feel wrong, then I feel I do not belong. Withdrawal, isolation, alienation the bitter fruits of failure and despair not dispensed by God's unconditional grace that will never be defeated, will not give up or let go. © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Forgives Us Richard A. Rhem Page 9   I wonder if in this state we do not take ourselves too seriously. Are we so allimportant and our sin of such cosmic dimension that even God can not forgive us and create for us a new beginning? Is not such withdrawal really the last holdout of pride that says, "I will do it on my own or I will not do it"? This leads me to a third observation which follows as a matter of course: Forgiveness is only for the helpless, the hopeless, the one who cannot help himself. We know that; it is a truism of the Gospel. But we find it difficult to keep that truth before our minds. That is inevitable in the Church, I suppose. In the Church you hear about the "oughtness" of life. Certainly there is an "oughtness" in Christian existence: We ought to love God. We ought to love our neighbor. We ought to live truthfully, honestly, nobly, purely, faithfully, etc. Thus the Church becomes the society of oughtness, the place where duty and obligation are set forth, the place where discipline and censure are applied and where failure is not easily tolerated. It is the last place one would dare be honest about his life. Thus develops the paradoxical situation that the place of grace becomes a place of judgmental spirit and the place of Good News becomes the place of bad news. And what kind of people do we form? People grim-faced, tightly wound, anxious, masking their real life full of conflict and ambiguity behind a facade of community respectability, lacking real spontaneity and joy. Are you a hopeless case? You are very near the Kingdom; you are forgiven; breathe easy and begin to enjoy the journey. Finally, I can hear a chorus of dissent: You make the Gospel too easy; you make a mockery of the Christian life. To that I can only say I will take that risk if only I can help one suffering, sensitive struggler to hear and receive the Gospel of forgiveness. And further, religion doesn't work anyway; it only binds another burden on people and places one more monkey on their back. Religion never transformed anyone. It controls, manipulates, keeps one in line (in public,) but it can never free and heal and make whole. If I am accused of announcing a grace that might put in jeopardy duty and obligation and law, then I am in good company; St. Paul was likewise objected to. He spoke glowingly of the triumph of grace in his Roman letter: But where sin was thus multiplied, grace immeasurably exceeded it, in order that, as sin established its reign by way of death, so God's grace might establish its reign in righteousness, and issue in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:21) © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Forgives Us Richard A. Rhem Page10   That "immeasurably exceeded" follows an earlier "vastly exceeded by the grace of God" in verse 15 and an "in far greater measure" -verse 17. Thus Paul knows what will be countered. What are we to say, then? Shall we persist in sin, so that there may be ail the more grace? (6:1) He answers sharply, "No, no!" And his answer contains the key to mystery of human transformation; it is precisely the reality of an unconditional love and gracious acceptance that triggers inward change; this is the reality that by the Spirit effects new birth. Law can point the way, Law can indicate duty, Law can carry with it threat, Law can hem us in, bind us up, keep us in tow, effecting an external conformity to righteousness, But Law cannot change us. Law will never make us dizzy with wonder, speechless in awe finally to exclaim, “What a God!” Who is a God like Thee? God is our Ally; He is the God Who forgives us. References: Ernest Becker, The Denial of Death. First published in 1973. Hendrikus Berkhof, Christian Faith: An Introduction to the Study of the Faith. Wm Eerdmans & Co., 1979. Robert H. Schuller. Self-Esteem: The New Reformation. Word Books, 1983. © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost IX Series God Our Ally Scripture Text Micah 7:18-19, Romans 11:33-36 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI References Ernest Becker, The Denial of Death, 1973 Hendrikus Berkhof, Christian Faith, 1979 Robert H. Schuller, Self-Esteem: The New Reformation, 1983. 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-0-19850728 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1985-07-28 Title A name given to the resource The God Who Forgives Us Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on July 28, 1985 entitled "The God Who Forgives Us", as part of the series "God Our Ally", on the occasion of Pentecost IX, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Micah 7:18-19, Romans 11:33-36. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Forgiveness Grace Hebrew Scriptures Judgment Micah Nature of God Prophets Sin Transformation Trust https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/41b5ccbba30dc99bb95b475b85d48aa6.pdf a8dbd4eb13137d177876b84e2c92dcd1 PDF Text Text The God Who Heals and Gives Us Peace From the series: If God Be For Us… Scripture: Isaiah 57:19; Romans 8:31 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan July 14, 1996 Transcription of the spoken sermon We begin today a four-part series on the theme "If God Be For Us ..." Let me introduce the theme with some explanatory remarks. “If” is “Ei” in Greek and is called a conditional particle. It expresses a condition thought of as real or denotes an assumption relating to what has already happened. This is the case in the text of the morning. Paul set forth his understanding of all God had done in Jesus Christ. He deals in Romans 8 with suffering and hope. He points to the Spirit praying through our groanings that defy utterance. He concludes with that declaration of profound trust - God working in all things for our good. Romans 8:31 is one of the greatest statements of trust ever penned and it begins with Paul's words, "What then are we to say to these things?" His answer to his question: If God is for us, who is against us? Thus, my first comment. The "If" points not to uncertainty but to certainty. We could perhaps better translate it "Since." Since God is for us ... This is not a tentative statement; rather, it is an affirmation of deep trust and solid conviction. God is for us, or as the NEB translates, "God is on our side". That particular translation brings me to my second comment. The claim, the conviction that God is on our side is the source of a very great comfort if properly understood and may be the source of a very dangerous arrogance if not understood correctly. Let me address the latter first: Claiming God on our side can be a dangerous arrogance; it misses the point of Paul's claim. The human situation is full of conflict; conflict between nations, ethnic groups, political parties, cultural movements; conflict between individuals. Our present cultural situation has been marked by the descriptive phrase "culture wars." In human conflict situations, it is presumptuous and arrogant to claim God is on our side. God does not take sides in those conflicts; our human perspective may be sincere and even responsible, but it is too much to claim God on our side. © Grand Valley State University   �God Who Heals and Gives Peace Richard A. Rhem Page 2   A story is told of Abraham Lincoln during the tragic days of the Civil War. A Calvinist minister in a time of prayer thanked God that God was on the Union side. Afterward, Lincoln was heard to say the question was not whether God was on the Union side, but, rather, whether the Union was on God's side. When Paul claims God is on our side, he is pointing to something other than God being for one party over another, one nation over another. Rather, Paul is making the great claim that God is for the human family – even broader, that God is for Creation in all of its wonder and complexity. God is for, is on the side of, the wellbeing of Creation. As I indicated above, Paul prefaces this claim with the question, "What then shall we say to these things?" That is, are the things Paul has been pointing to – the whole movement of God's Spirit to effect salvation - salvation which means wholeness – liberation? Liberation from bondage of every sort. Paul was convinced that God was engaged with, involved in, the whole of creation and the human situation in order to effect salvation or wholeness or Shalom. It is clear from this letter to the Romans that Paul saw the whole world in bondage - the Jew, the Gentile - indeed, in this chapter he even speaks of the bondage of creation, but it is also clear that he did not see the present state of things as the final word. There was plenty of trouble. He lists famine, nakedness, peril, sword. We might make a list with different items - ethnic feuds, religious wars, cancer, terrorism, urban decay, youth gang wars. Paul did not put his head in the sand; yet, he was convinced of something else - an ultimate power for the wellbeing of Creation and the liberation of humankind, rooted in the love of God. That is the ground of the claim of our text. God is on our side - the human side, creation's side - because the ultimate reality of the world, of the whole grand scheme of things, is the love of God. Paul saw this demonstrated in the event of Jesus Christ. Jesus, who died the victim of the world's darkness and evil, was raised from the dead, brought into God's very presence and was there praying for us. When it seemed the forces of darkness had carried the day, that the human No to God had prevailed, God said No to our No and Yes to life, to the future, to the final triumph of God. Thus, Paul says, "What can separate us from the love of God?" And he answers, in a word, "nothing." That is the biblical picture - the big picture. God is love. God is for us. That was Israel's faith. The reading from Isaiah 57 comes from what scholars speak of as Third Isaiah. The whole book in the Hebrew Scripture is called Isaiah, but it is generally recognized that there are writings from three hands and three periods 1-39, 40-55, 56-65. The first is from an 8th century prophet Isaiah; the second from a prophet during Judah's Exile in Babylon - the one who assumed the return © Grand Valley State University �God Who Heals and Gives Peace Richard A. Rhem Page 3   of the Exile to Jerusalem; the third a prophet who wrote during the period of the return, around 530 BCE. Things did not turn out the way the Exile prophet had envisioned. There was no restoration of the glory of Jerusalem. Poverty and despair marked the post-exilic period. In that situation, the one we call Third Isaiah called Judah for laxness in religious observance and failure to create a just and compassionate society. God's anger was experienced as God's judgment on that failure. Yet, true to the spirit of Israel's prophets, it was declared that God's anger was but for a moment with the purpose of turning the People back to the Lord. And the prophet speaks these words that form our text: "I have seen their ways, but I will heal them ... Peace, peace to the far and the near, says the Lord". That is always the last word in the story of God's People - I will heal them ... Peace, peace ... This is the deep substructure of the whole biblical drama - A God Who is for us - A God Who heals us - Who gives us peace. That is the nature of God, according to the Scriptures of Israel, according to Paul as he contemplated his faith in God in the light of Jesus - and it is still the picture that sustains us and heals us and gives us peace. Yesterday I attended the Bat Mitzvah of the daughter of Rabbi and Mrs. Alpert at the Muskegon Temple. Eliza, at age 13, went through the rite of passage; she moved into adulthood. For three years her father, the Rabbi, had been preparing her. She read from the Hebrew Torah (beautifully, I must say). She delivered the sermon - a very thoughtful one. She led the worship of that congregation. The Temple was nearly full, a quite amazing statement of community, of love and support. After experiencing that, I do not wonder that the Jewish People have continued a destined people through the millennia. I was not only experiencing the worship, but also reflecting on my theme for this morning - The God Who heals and gives us peace. I was struck by the fact that God's people are always looking for closure, for God to come and bring things to a proper conclusion. Second Isaiah in Babylon's exile cried, "Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem ... A voice cries out: In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord ... Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings, lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem ... say to the cities of Judah, Behold your God." If you would go through chapters 40-55, you would find some of the most moving passages of the Scripture. Judah will return and the glory will return, for God is coming to redeem and glorify the People of God's Covenant Love. The reality: a small remnant returned. They lived in poverty and despair, disillusioned that the © Grand Valley State University �God Who Heals and Gives Peace Richard A. Rhem Page 4   glory was absent. Along comes third Isaiah. He picks up the stirring words of the earlier prophet, but explains the poor situation as the consequence of Judah's disobedience. Yet, he holds before them the promise of our text: healing, peace. Finally a second Temple is built, but they weep because it has not the glory of the first. They remain for the most part an occupied territory, never realizing the promises of the prophet in exile. Five hundred years later and Jesus is born. Again the ancient world senses it is on the edge of the End. And we have noted in past weeks how that early Jewish Jesus movement waited expectantly for the return of the Son of Man, of the Messiah from heaven. But, it did not happen. Yesterday Eliza Alpert spoke of the Journey and the Dream. She spoke of Israel's founding leader, Moses. He led the People to the borders of the Promised Land, but could not go in. Joshua was the one who finally brought them over. And she pointed to Rabin - a man of war who became a man of peace, but in the midst of the peace process was cut down by an assassin's bullet. And she appealed to her people to do Joshua's work - to take up the peace initiative of the fallen leader. Well, as I said, I was thinking of this long, ancient tradition - this people of whom we, too, are a part, for we were born from Israel's womb. We pray, we long for the consummation of God's purposes in history. The images of Shalom play before our eyes. We read of terror on the street, of the awful conflict fanned into flame again in Northern Ireland, of the excavation of more graves in Bosnia, of terrorism in Saudi Arabia and Moscow and who knows where next. Or we have experience of the word "cancer" spoken over us, or of the failure, the disappointment of one on whom we counted. Or we see starkly our own tragic flaw. And where do we turn? To whom? And for what do the groanings of our inward being long? All of this I contemplated in light of the God spoken of in the text as “the God Who heals and gives us peace.” I experienced that healing and that peace in that Bat Mitzvah service. There was a young woman surrounded by her family, extended family, community of faith. The family was smaller than it might have been because her mother's family suffered great loss in the Holocaust. She spoke of Moses who had a dream, led the journey, but failed to enter the Promised Land. She spoke of Rabin, the warrior become peacemaker, cut down by an assassin's bullet. And she called her people to take up the cause of peace and human freedom. I find that quite remarkable. It would seem that the prophetic images of the new Creation, of the reign of Shalom when lion and lamb lie down together and they do not hurt or destroy in all God's Holy Mountain are not really future states of history, but rather, the ever present judgment on our discord and tragic warring – and not only images of judgment on our present, but also promises of present possibility because God is not so much the future binder up of present wounds as © Grand Valley State University �God Who Heals and Gives Peace Richard A. Rhem Page 5   the present healer and peace giver to those who open their lives to the Spirit to love and to grace. I experienced the healing, the peace of God in that moment. The long story of the ages, the images of Shalom, the longing, the yearning, the repeated failure of history's reality to measure up to the promise - all of that coalesced in the moment of a young woman claiming her place in the line of generations of a people who live lives in dialogue, in communion with the living God. It is quite something, this being human. Many are broken on the rocks of human reality. Dear God, the suffering. Many have become cynical, embittered because the prayer was not answered, the promise not fulfilled. Many are hollow persons, empty and void of meaning or purpose. And the usual posture, I suppose, of the Church has been to condemn those whose hopes have been shattered and whose prayers left hanging in the air. But, when I experience God's love and grace and presence so tangibly as I did yesterday in the faith of a beautiful young person supported by the love of family and community - when I let the words of Paul wash over me, then I know a healing and a peace that nothing can take away. Then I know something of the present Presence of the God Whose ways are past finding out, but Whose healing grace and gracious peace are here and now. It is not out there, dear friend, it is right here. Oh, I do believe there is more but God will take care of that. But, the real possibility is the present possession of a peace that passes human understanding. To experience that peace is to be healed here and now in the midst of bombings and strokes and cancer, and all the tragedy that laces the human story. And this is the care we trust because we trust the loving center of things - the God Who said "Let there be," the God Who says, "I will be with you," Whose Presence we experience in the presence of the other, in the community of faith, the God Who heals us and gives us peace. God knows it is not easy to be a creature, to be human. God knows and God promises “nothing shall ever separate you from my love.” So, then, what shall we say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us! © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/81bb01c687b00ee973e72301c10466d2.mp3 8b98515d34d1223ea3d7a43fce02de93 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost VII Series If God Be For Us Scripture Text Isaiah 57:19, Romans 8:31 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19960714 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1996-07-14 Title A name given to the resource The God Who Heals and Gives Us Peace 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 14, 1996 entitled "The God Who Heals and Gives Us Peace", as part of the series "If God Be For Us", on the occasion of Pentecost VII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Isaiah 57:19, Romans 8:31. Nature of God Shalom Trust Universal Love https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ab4238bb9bbb8bb6147c93b98f68d0b6.mp3 33ea2e940926a57988d6155d29c5a27f Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XIV Series God Our Ally Scripture Text Isaiah 58:13-14, Mark 2:27-28 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19850901 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1985-09-01 Title A name given to the resource The God Who Invites Us to Sabbath Refreshment Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on September 1, 1985 entitled "The God Who Invites Us to Sabbath Refreshment", as part of the series "God Our Ally", on the occasion of Pentecost XIV, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Isaiah 58:13-14, Mark 2:27-28. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a5c3dd8cdbdc7a4bba84cd5bc77959db.mp3 52d943478e33fd6439667712dd27344d 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 Trust in God Scripture Text Isaiah 58:13-14 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-0-19900902 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1990-09-02 Title A name given to the resource The God Who Invites Us to Sabbath Refreshment (Who Punctuates Our Ordinary Days With a Taste of Heaven) Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on September 2, 1990 entitled "The God Who Invites Us to Sabbath Refreshment (Who Punctuates Our Ordinary Days With a Taste of Heaven)", as part of the series "Trust in God", on the occasion of Pentecost XIII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Isaiah 58:13-14. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f60998192905d443efa05e6dcbf72d98.mp3 72ab03bb0dac595433ebbbb6277f69e0 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/72a4b4af1a415396820fe1e1b4e7f0bd.pdf 8e3bdb0a270e803101a6a54b663fd6b3 PDF Text Text The God Who Is Absent From the sermon series: God, Our Ally Text: Job 23: 3, 10; Mark 15: 34 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan July 21, 1985 Transcription of the spoken sermon Oh, that I knew where I might find him… Job 23: 3 But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. Job 23: 10 …My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Mark 15: 34 God, our Ally. That is the focus of this series of messages. The reiteration of that theme over a sustained period of time will write it indelibly on our minds and weave it into the fabric of our hearts. With such a conviction being foundational to our lives, we will be able to negotiate life's perilous way with confidence and hope. At no time will that be more important and necessary than at those times when it seems that the God with Whom we have to do is absent. It is such times that this message addresses and it is with such times that Christian preaching must honestly deal lest it become superficial sentimentality, a kind of religious "whistling in the dark." The proclamation of the Gospel, the announcement of Good News, must never be an upbeat, positive message of good cheer that communicates the idea that one should simply keep one's chin up because it is really not as bad as it seems. If the Church conveys that impression; if Christian preaching is no more than cheerleading, then it will serve well those who live on the surface of life with no depth of experience and certainly no encounter with suffering, but it will fail miserably and soon alienate more serious souls who have been brushed with the mystery of evil and suffering in the world. Not only will such superficiality offend those who know the experience of darkness; it will also fail to do justice to the full spectrum of biblical truth, for the © Grand Valley State University   �The God Who Is Absent Richard A. Rhem Page 2   biblical message never makes light of the darkness but rather announces a Light the darkness can never overcome. But, darkness there is. Real. Devastating. Causing fear and trembling. God is our Ally. God is there for us. That affirmation of faith I am attempting to declare from Scripture, approaching that truth from various angles. But certainly one of the most critical situations from which to trust that truth is the experience of God's absence. One of the greatest concerns I have in preaching is that the Truth declared may leave the one who needs it most in a worse state than before, simply because the dark night of the soul is so deep, the pain so great, the feeling of desolation so overwhelming that a message that promises joy and triumph simply cannot be received. That may sometimes happen in spite of the sensitivity of the preacher. But it will certainly happen if the message fails to acknowledge the hell of experiencing the absence of God. If Scripture is faithfully taught, there will be no danger of soft-pedaling the darkness, the horror of being alone, lost, in a world from which God is absent. Let us look then for a moment into the soul of Job. This Old Testament drama deals in classic fashion with the problem of suffering. Its theme is familiar and its purpose well known. The book was written to counter the prevailing idea that there is always a connection between human sin and human suffering. It is a drama. The opening verses present the greatness and prosperity of Job. Then scene one takes place in the Court of Heaven. God speaks of Job's righteousness; Satan, the accuser, says it is not surprising that Job is so good - see how he has prospered. God says, "Go ahead, remove everything, test him." So Job loses everything; great calamity and loss are his. But through it all Job remains faithful. His classic response: Naked I came from the womb, naked I shall return whence I came. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord. (1:21) Scene two: Again the Court of Heaven. Obviously God won round one. Job was stripped bare but yet worshiped the Lord. Satan says that the real test comes when Job’s own health, his flesh and bone are touched. God says, “Go ahead, test him but do not take his life.” And it happens. Job suffers terrible physical disease. His wife cries out angrily, Are you still unshaken in your integrity? Curse God and die! (2:9) But Job remains a rock. © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Is Absent Richard A. Rhem Page 3   If we accept good from God, shall we not accept evil? (2:10) The suffering was massive. Friends came to comfort but for seven days simply sat there, numbed by the magnitude of the horror. Now we have the setting for the lesson of the drama. Job finally breaks out in bitter complaint. He curses the day of his birth. He lets it all spill out. His friends had been silent, quite overwhelmed by the magnitude of his suffering and as long as he bore it in silence they too said nothing. But now that he has finally broken out in bitter complaint, they find their own preconceived notions and pre-set judgments threatened. Now they feel constrained to answer because what they believe - their little systems of making sense of the world - was being challenged. They would have claimed that they were coming to the defense of God, of truth, of the proper view of things. In reality of course they were coming to the defense of their own dogmatic opinions. They had certainly come with good intentions of being comforters to Job in his affliction, but they had also come knowing the answer to the mystery before they heard the question. Their religious system was now under attack and so their intention to bring comfort was now overcome by their need to preserve intact their own world and life view. Listen to Eliphaz go on the attack: ... now that adversity comes upon you, you lose patience; it touches you, and you are unmanned. (4:5) Then he comes to the point: ... what innocent man has ever perished? Where have you seen the upright destroyed? (4:7) That was the prevailing opinion. That is what everyone took for granted. It was a life axiom, no longer even questioned. But Job questioned. He refused to bow to popular opinion - "What everyone knew." He was a good man. There was no secret iniquity he was hiding. His probing of the mystery is eloquent. The dialogue continues: Job's friend defending God for punishing Job, convinced that whatever Job gets he has coming to him; Job defending himself against their insensitive taunts. Finally Job cries out in despair at the blindness and obstinacy of his friends and makes his appeal to God. Oh, that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his seat! I would lay my care before him ... Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him; by the left hand I seek him, but I cannot behold him; I turn to the right hand, but I cannot see him. (23:3-4, 8-9) Job found no comfort or understanding from his friends whose insensitivity has gotten them the label "miserable comforters." He refuses to accept the popular © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Is Absent Richard A. Rhem Page 4   wisdom. He refuses to believe God is doing this to him as a punishment. He refuses to believe that God would not solve his terrible dilemma. But, God is absent. He cannot find him. This is the point I want to make for the purpose of this message. Sometimes God is absent. Let me simply summarize the resolution of the drama of Job. There is never given an answer to the why of suffering, the suffering of the innocent, the pervasive presence of Evil in God's good creation that brushes us all at some point. What is soundly refuted and persuasively denied is that there is a correlation between sin and suffering. God does reveal Himself to Job. Job is quite overwhelmed by the majesty of God. His persistent questioning seems almost silly in the light of the revelation of Who God is. He bows and worships. No answer is given. But the absent God does reveal Himself. And Job finds that God is enough. A light scatters the darkest darkness when the Presence is known. But let us remain with Job in his anguish for a moment. It is so very real and so very terrifying. In the midst of that darkness, no light is visible, not because there is no light, but because one is so numbed by the pain that one simply cannot penetrate the shroud of darkness that envelops the soul. Perhaps in the Church we do not deal well with the darkness because it makes us nervous - like Job's friends we rush to God's defense - not that God needs to be defended but the darkness threatens our own little security systems. We are really defending ourselves against that darkness. We grow anxious when someone close to us in a time of great trauma seems to question God or even to deny that God is, is good and merciful, is there for us. Job's friends did not do wrong in coming to Job. They did well in coming and being silent before the awful reality of his suffering. They seriously erred when they spoke, trying to explain, to rationalize, to defend God. God needs no defense. We often simply have no answers. It is our proper posture just to be there and wait in silence, bringing the comfort of a presence that cares even when it cannot fathom. Sometimes God is absent. Sometimes we must simply trust, holding on with white-knuckled grip. Job did not give up on God. But he could not find him. Thus his piercing cry, © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Is Absent Richard A. Rhem Page 5   "Oh, that I knew where I might find him!" Job's darkness was terrible indeed; yet it did not match the darkness of another whose cry is differently expressed, yet essentially the same; a cry of total abandonment and utter desolation: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Still there was a clinging to God - the address is a personal address, "My God." Yet there was a sense of being abandoned, of being alone in the darkness. The darkness is real. There is a mystery of Evil in the world. Sometimes there is no clue - no answer to the anguishing, "Why?" Let us simply acknowledge that. Perhaps the most horrible instance of such darkness and suffering of the innocent occurred in our own time. The Holocaust, which claimed the lives of six million Jews in Nazi death camps, can never be fully taken in. The most eloquent statement of the darkness I have ever encountered is in Elie Wiesel's account of his own childhood nightmare in the camps, seeing the smoke rise from the gas furnaces that consumed his mother and sister and watching his father die by inches. His account is entitled simply Night. He writes, Some talked of God, of his mysterious ways, of the sins of the Jewish people, and of their future deliverance. But I had ceased to pray. How I sympathized with Job! I did not deny God's existence, but I doubted His absolute justice. (p. 55F) One day a young boy was executed, hung from a gallows with the whole camp marched out to witness. Elie Wiesel watched, too, himself only a boy. As the child twisted in the air suspended from the noose, someone behind Wiesel said, "Where is God? Where is He?" Again, as he was marched by the child dying agonizingly, he heard it again, "Where is God now?" And he writes, And I heard a voice within me answer him, Where is He? Here He is - He is hanging there on the gallows... (p. 76) The Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, was at hand and on the eve of that day is a great Jewish festival celebration. In the prison camp the Jews gathered for worship. Wiesel writes his thoughts. © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Is Absent Richard A. Rhem Page 6   "What are you, my God," I thought angrily, "compared to this afflicted crowd, proclaiming to You their faith, then anger, then revolt? What does Your greatness mean, Lord of the Universe, in the face of all this weakness, this discomposition, and this decay? Why do You will trouble on their sick minds, their crippled bodies?" (p. 77) … "Blessed be the Name of the Eternal!" Thousands of voices repeated the benediction; thousands of men prostrated themselves like trees before a tempest. … Why, but why should I bless Him? In every fiber I rebelled. Because He had had thousands of children burned in His pits? Because He kept six crematories working night and day, on Sundays and feast days? ... How could I say to Him: "Blessed art Thou, Eternal Master of the Universe, Who chose us from among the races to be tortured day and night, to see our fathers, our mothers, our brothers, end in the crematory? Praise be Thy Holy Name, Thou Who hast chosen us to be butchered on Thine altar?" (p. 78) … This day I ceased to plead. I was no longer capable of lamentation. On the contrary, I felt very strong. I was the accuser, God the accused. (p. 79) And what was the sensation of this awful situation? My eyes were open and I was alone - terribly alone in a world without God and without man. Without love or mercy. (p. 79) Elie Wiesel has become a strong advocate of the Jewish cause. I do not know where he is now in relation to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But certainly the poignancy of the pain could hardly find more powerful expression than he gives it in his account. In his book, The Meaning of Christ, Robert C. Johnson records an incident from the ministry of H.H. Farmer. Many years ago I was preaching on the love of God; there was in the congregation an old Polish Jew who had been converted to the Christian faith. He came to me afterward and said, 'You have no right to speak about the love of God, until you have seen, as I have seen, the blood of your dearest friends running in the gutters on a gray winter morning. I asked him later how it was that, having seen such a massacre, he had come to © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Is Absent Richard A. Rhem Page 7   believe in the love of God. The answer he gave in effect was that the Christian gospel first began to lay hold of him because it bade him see God - the love of God – just where he was, just where he could not but always be in his thoughts and memories - in those bloodstained streets on that grey morning. It bade him see the love of God – not somewhere else, but in the midst of just that sort of thing, in the blood and agony of Calvary. He did at least know, he said, that this was a message that grappled with the facts; and then he went on to say something the sense of which I shall always remember though the words I have forgotten. He said, "As I looked at that man upon the cross, as I heard him pray, 'Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,’ as I heard him cry in his anguish, ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’ I knew that I must make up my mind once for all and either take my stand beside him and share in his undefeated faith in God ... or else fall finally into a bottomless pit of bitterness, hatred, and unutterable despair. (p. 46F) That I submit to you is a profound and moving response to the incomprehensible mystery of human suffering. The darkness is real. Wiesel’s God died in the onslaught of senseless suffering, human cruelty and the absence of God. The Polish Jew found the love of God in a similar life situation because he sensed that in the awful agony of another Jew, Jesus, who expressed that absence, there was yet an undefeated trust in God - even in the depths of hellish torment. He sensed that Christian faith, the Gospel, if you will, was not a superficial pep pill that asserted God was in His heaven and all was right with the world, but was an invitation to trust in the God of love in the deepest darkness, not because an explanation was offered for the suffering, but that the God of Jesus and the Cross is a God present in the moments of most acute abandonment. He trusted God in the darkness because the alternative was horrible beyond description – a bottomless pit of bitterness, hatred and unutterable despair. That is the choice we must finally make. The darkness is real. Biblical faith never denies its reality. Sometimes one finally cries to heaven, "Oh, that I knew where I might find him!" Sometimes one's God dies on the gallows of human evil as did Wiesel's. Sometimes one cries, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Sometimes - realizing this God invites us to trust him at the very point of history's darkest hour, one comes to find the love of God just there, as did the Polish Jew. © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Is Absent Richard A. Rhem Page 8   Biblical faith never takes lightly the darkness; Biblical faith declares a light that the darkness cannot overcome - the Light of Easter, of resurrection, of the promise of God's final triumph over the darkness. Good Friday was not the last word. Had it been the last word, there would have been no further word. But Good Friday found its answer in the Easter wonder of Jesus' resurrection. That is the one supreme moment of God's revelation - within history, a moment from beyond history, illuminating history's meaning. An event of the End happening in the middle of history, throwing its light forward and backward, giving meaning to the whole and filling the whole with meaning - that life is not a cruel joke, a cosmic mistake; that life is not a tragic moment bracketed by oblivion before and oblivion beyond; that life with all the vicissitudes of our human experience is undergirded and overshadowed by the Presence of the God Who sometimes seems absent. St. Paul said it well: "God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself." The French Christian writer, Francois Mauriac, wrote the foreword to Elie Wiesel's Night. This is how he ended: And I, who believe that God is love, what answer could I give my young questioner, whose dark eyes still held the reflection of that angelic sadness which had appeared one day upon the face of the hanged child? What did I say to him? Did I speak of that other Israeli, his brother, who may have resembled him - the Crucified, whose Cross has conquered the world? Did I affirm that the stumbling block to his faith was the cornerstone of mine, and that the conformity between the Cross and the suffering of men was in my eyes the key to that impenetrable mystery wherein the faith of his childhood had perished? Zion, however, has risen up again from the crematories and the charnel houses. The Jewish nation has been resurrected from among its thousands of dead. It is through them that it lives again. We do not know the worth of one single drop of blood, one single tear. All is grace. If the Eternal is the Eternal, the last word for each one of us belongs to Him. This is what I should have told this Jewish child. But I could only embrace him, weeping. (p. 10f) The Gospel we proclaim points to a gracious God, our Ally, Who will overcome the darkness with His light. God is our Ally; God is God. The darkness is real but it is not final. But Mauriac was quite right not to speak but to embrace the suffering one, weeping. That sensitive silence was the most cogent invitation to trust in the darkness. © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Is Absent Richard A. Rhem Page 9   If that is where you are, or if tomorrow that should be your lot, cling to God Who seems absent but Who feels our pain more deeply than any human support and who promises that dawn will yet break and light break through. Amen. Reference: Elie Wiesel. Night. English translation, Hill & Wany, 1972, 1985. © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost VIII Series God Our Ally Scripture Text Job 23:3, 10, Mark 15:34 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI References Elie Wiesel, Night, 1972, 1985 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-0-19850721 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1985-07-21 Title A name given to the resource The God Who is Absent Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on July 21, 1985 entitled "The God Who is Absent", as part of the series "God Our Ally", on the occasion of Pentecost VIII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Job 23:3, 10, Mark 15:34. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Grace Hebrew Scriptures Job Nature of God Sin Suffering Trust https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/eaffc0ebda3e36798ccf63eb121224ea.mp3 cfafb7a9ff11dc0c63fe34be26ef2ae8 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/71e0200e982e076d0c2c422109477cc6.pdf a1256cc3cd868296042b959a9ac521a8 PDF Text Text The God Who Is There For Us From the sermon series: God, Our Ally Text: Isaiah 57: 15; Hebrews 4: 13, 16 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan July 14, 1985 Transcription of the spoken sermon God, Our Ally. That is an affirmation of faith. It is certainly one of the most significant and meaningful statements one could make and to live with such a conviction is to be in possession of one of the most necessary truths for human happiness and wellbeing. God is for us. Human existence is embraced by grace. So to live is to have a foundation for the present and hope for the future. Who is this God? How do we know Him? These are deep questions whose answers are shrouded in mystery. God is not "at hand." He is not simply available. To know Him is beyond human capacity; yet He has made Himself known. This series of messages is an attempt from a variety of biblical texts and a variety of angles to say "God is our ally; He is for us." But to speak of God, let alone to speak of Him in a whole series of messages seems almost presumptuous. How dare one presume to speak of this One Who is hidden in mystery? Would one not do well simply to be silent? Yet that cannot be the answer, for God has revealed Himself; He has made Himself known. Thus He wills to be known and He wills that we have knowledge of Him. On the other hand, as I reflect on this task, I am quite certain most sermons purport to know too much. I am certain as well that there is often a craving in the human mind and heart to know more than can be known of God and, rather than acknowledging the limits of our thinking in proper humility, we tend to cut God down to a size in which we can handle Him. © Grand Valley State University   �The God Who Is There For Us Richard A. Rhem Page 2   I make this confession early on in this series because I want to admit to the impossibility of speaking about God even as I attempt to do so, simply to make you aware that I am aware of how inadequate are these stammering attempts to speak of Him. Thus we look to the Spirit to reveal to us truth too deep for us to grasp through our own power of reason and intuition. "The God Who Is There For Us." That is the focus. "There for us" in the sense of being the solid foundation of life, the sustainer of our life, the strong support and source of comfort for the human pilgrimage which is our life. I. Let me begin with the simple assertion that we need God. The consciousness of that fact must be why we are here. Of course, for some of us this appointment is not a matter of decision. We have made that decision long since - this is the Lord's Day and it is a day first of all for worship. And so it is not as though we awoke with a conscious longing for that encounter and communion that happens in this setting and therefore we have come. Yet, however we happen to be here, it is reflective of some deep-seated sense that we need God, that we long for His presence, that we find a fulfillment of life not within ourselves but only in relationship to One Who is beyond the limits of our time and space and human rationality. Were I to make a list of the dozen most influential books that have shaped my thinking, one would surely be Ernest Becker's The Denial of Death. It won the Pulitzer Prize for general non-fiction in 1974 and it is one of those works that gives an overview and summary in lucid fashion of a vast area of human thought and endeavor. In this case the book focuses on the insights gained from the movement of psychoanalysis from its beginnings in the work of Sigmund Freud through the modification of those insights in the work of Otto Rank. What gripped me in this summarization of the best insight of psychoanalysis into the nature of the human being was the acknowledgment that what a human being most desperately needs to be fully human is precisely what the Christian Gospel offers. Through the work of Freud, the work of an earlier philosopher and Christian came to be appreciated for the depth of truth it contained. That thinker was Soren Kierkegaard. Kierkegaard summarized the human situation profoundly and found the answer to the human dilemma in the leap of faith, casting oneself into the arms of God. Kierkegaard held that Once a person begins to look to his relationship to the Ultimate Power, to infinitude, and to refashion his links from those around him to that Ultimate Power, he opens up to himself the horizon of unlimited possibility, of real freedom. This is Kierkegaard's message, the culmination of his whole argument about the dead-ends of character ... One goes through it all to arrive at faith, the faith that one's very creatureliness has © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Is There For Us Richard A. Rhem Page 3   some meaning to a Creator; that despite one's true insignificance, weakness, death, one's existence has meaning in some ultimate sense because it exists within an eternal and infinite scheme of things brought about and maintained to some kind of design by some creative force. Again and again throughout his writings Kierkegaard repeats the basic formula of faith: one is a creature who can do nothing, but one exists over against a living God for whom "everything is possible." (Becker, The Denial of Death, p. 90) From a life-long study of the human psyche in the discipline of psychoanalysis, Otto Rank concluded Kierkegaard was right. ... Rank joins Kierkegaard in the belief that one should not stop and circumscribe his life with beyonds that are near at hand, or a bit further out, or created by oneself. One should reach for the "highest beyond of religion. ... (p. 174) Rank recognized that the scientific study of the human being could strip him bare, expose his delusion and defense mechanism, but could not allow the person to find out who he is and why he is here on earth, why he has to die, and how he can make his life a triumph. (p. 193) He declares, Modern man needs a "Thou" to whom to turn for spiritual and moral dependence, and as God was in eclipse, the therapist has had to replace Him. ... Becker indicates that these two disparate thinkers, one a Christian of the 19th Century and one a psychoanalyst of the 20th, ... reached the same conclusion after the most exhaustive psychological quest: that at the very furtherest reaches of scientific description, psychology has to give way to "theology" - that is, to a world-view that absorbs the individual's conflicts and guilt and offers him the possibility for some kind of heroic apotheosis. Man cannot endure his own littleness unless he can translate it into meaningfulness on the largest possible level, (p. 196) Rank was not a Christian believer nor is Becker. Neither of them espoused the answer of the Christian faith. Yet they saw that the lostness of the modern person is precisely that she has been robbed of faith in transcendence. The one thing modern man cannot do is what Kierkegaard prescribed: The lonely leap into faith, the naive personal trust in some kind of transcendental support for one's life. (p. 200) © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Is There For Us Richard A. Rhem Page 4   The characteristic of the modern mind is the banishment of mystery, of naive belief, of simple-minded hope. (p. 200) Perhaps I could summarize Becker's view and Rank's by saying that they believe that the Judeo-Christian faith provides precisely the view of Reality which a human being needs to be happy but they also believe it is an illusion. What they call illusion we hold to be the truth. God is and God is Who we need. The analysis of human nature and the scientific study of the human psyche confirm that to be human is to be frustrated and restless as long as one is turned in upon oneself or imprisoned within the structures and meanings of this world. There is something intrinsic in the human spirit that longs to leap beyond itself, to commit itself to a transcendent Reality - in a word - to God. Israel's God provided a resting place for the soul. In Isaiah 57 God speaks of His coming in judgment on His people but that judgment here, as is always true, was in order to turn his people back to Him. The prophet knew there was no peace except in Him. God expresses His gracious way thus: I cured him and gave him relief, and I brought him comfort in full measure, brought peace to those who mourned for him, ... peace for all men. ... But the wicked are like the troubled sea, a sea that cannot rest, whose troubled waters cast up mud and filth. There is no peace for the wicked, says the Lord. (Isaiah 57:19-21, NEB) Wickedness in the Old Testament is unbelief. It is life lived on a purely human, secular plane. It is life without trust in God. Such a life says the Lord knows no peace. We do need God - to be fully human, to know peace. II. The Good News is that the God we need is the God Who is there for us. We have in the text from Isaiah a marvelous capsule summary of the biblical God. God speaks. He tells Who He is. For thus says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite. There is a portrait of the God we need. We see in this statement both the otherness of God and His nearness. God is the Wholly-Other. That is a designation made popular by Karl Barth. He had been schooled in the classic Liberalism of the 19th Century. Christian faith had become pretty much a © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Is There For Us Richard A. Rhem Page 5   man-centered affair. The Gospel was reduced to the limits of human reason. It was Barth who sounded the alarm and called the whole European continent back to the Otherness of God - the Godness of God; the One Who contradicts us. He is a God beyond us. He is not like us only a little more so. He is other than we are. He is the Creator, we the creature. He is not of one being with us but the source and ground of our being. God is the exalted One - high and lofty. God is the Infinite One, the Absolute, the Ultimate Power. God is the Eternal One - beyond the limits of our time and space. It would be difficult to find a more exalted conception of God. Yet in the same breath we are told that He dwells with him who is of humble and contrite spirit. He dwells with the one who is crushed. And he draws near to revive. He is thus not only the Wholly-Other, but He is the God Who is near. He is the God Who in gracious condescension has come near to us to revive and redeem. In the classic doctrine of God the theologians have spoken of God's transcendence and God's immanence. In so speaking they have sought to let God be God - to honor His Otherness, to recognize that He is beyond us. Yet, in faithfulness to Scripture, they have spoken of His drawing near, of His being with His people. We must never lose that tension. God is God and, as we have already seen from the analysis of the human psyche, nothing less can satisfy the human heart or provide a resting place for the human spirit. God is a mystery. He is not at our disposal. Could we fathom his depths He would not be God and we would be restless still, striving on to find that Ultimate One Who limits our existence and grounds our being. Barth called the world back to the Otherness of God. The 19th Century had domesticated God and formed Him in the human image. About the same time another theologian, Rudolf Otto, wrote a book entitled The Idea of the Holy. In a forward to the English translation, Otto wrote, This book ... makes a serious attempt to analyze all the more exactly the feeling which remains where the concept fails. ... The English translator, John W. Harvey, in his Preface raised the question addressed in the work. © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Is There For Us Richard A. Rhem Page 6   Is religious experience essentially just a state of mind, a feeling, whether of oppression or of exaltation, a sense of 'sin' or an assurance of 'salvation;' or is it not rather our apprehension of 'the divine,' meaning by that term at least something independent of the mental and emotional state of the moment of experience? (p. XIII) Obviously Otto believed that in religious experience we apprehend the divine or God. But he recognized that God is not at our disposal. That a God within the limits of human reason is not God at all. Otto studied the history of religions and found a common thread. There was an apprehension of the divine which could only be described as a knowing beyond knowing. ... a unique kind of apprehension ... not to be reduced to ordinary intellectual or rational "knowing" with its terminology of notions and concepts, and yet - and this is the paradox of the matter - itself a genuine "knowing," the growing awareness of an object, deity. ... The primary fact is the confrontation of the human mind with a Something, whose character is only gradually learned, but which is from the first felt as a transcendent presence, ‘the beyond,’ even where it is also felt as ‘the within’ man. There you have the text from Isaiah. Otto's classic study names that transcendent presence the Holy, but the word Holy carries with it such a strong, ethereal connotation that he needed another word to describe that residue of experience. He chose the word "numinous" from the Latin numen, the most general Latin word for supernatural divine power. 'Numinous' feeling is, then, just this unique apprehension of a Something, whose character may at first seem to have little connection with our ordinary moral terms, but which later 'becomes charged' with the highest and deepest moral significance. (p. XVI) 'Numinous' and 'Numen' will, then, be words which bear no moral impact, but which stand for the specific non-rational religious apprehension and its objects, at all levels, from the first dim stirrings where religion can hardly yet be said to exist to the most exalted forms of spiritual experience, (p. XVII) It was Otto's contention that in Christianity The numinous elements, such as the sense of awe and reverence before infinite mystery and infinite majesty are yet combined and made one with the rational elements, assuring us that God is an all-righteous, allprovident, and all-loving Person, with Whom a man may enter into the most intimate relationship. The paradox of Isaiah's text is maintained. © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Is There For Us Richard A. Rhem Page 7   It is a real knowledge of, and real personal communion with, a Being whose nature is yet above knowledge, and transcends personality. (p. XVII) One could not hope for a better commentary on the text than the explanation of the thesis of Rudolf Otto and his book did greatly impact theological development. The text itself is simply a condensation of the experience of Isaiah recorded in the sixth chapter of his prophecy where he entered the temple and saw the Lord "high and lifted up." He heard the angels sing the Sanctus, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts." The vision left him awestruck, smitten with his own unworthiness. But through the ministry of the angel he was cleansed and through the voice of God called and commissioned to service. In the midst of awe and wonder he was addressed, cleansed and given a task. The high and lofty One stooped to grace His servant. III. The God Who is there for us is the God with a human face. If we leave Isaiah we find in the New Testament the same gracious God Whose glory is now revealed in the face of Jesus Christ. The writer of Hebrews was concerned for Jewish Christians who had responded to Jesus, received him as the Messiah, the fulfillment of the Old Testament hope. They left the Temple and recognized the provisionalness of the Law and ceremony of the Old Covenant and embraced the Gospel. But now they were experiencing persecution and they were living under pressure. How normal for them to wonder if they had made a mistake, if perhaps this was a judgment on their offering of allegiance to Jesus. This letter addresses that question showing that Jesus is indeed the fulfillment and the culmination of the whole Old Covenant system. He warns them against drifting away or falling off in slackness and disobedience, as had that generation that was delivered from Egypt's bondage only to lose faith in the wilderness. He points them to the word of God that is, in this case, the message of God by which they have been addressed. It is, he claims, ... alive and active. It cuts more keenly than any two-edged sword, piercing as far as the place where life and spirit, joints and marrow divide. It sifts the purposes and thoughts of the heart. There is nothing in creation that can hide from him; everything lies naked and exposed to the eyes of the One with whom we have to reckon. (Hebrews 4:12-13) That is a call to faithfulness couched in a word of warning. The One with Whom we have to do is no marshmallow God, no passive deity or dumb idol. The words resonate with a seriousness that the thought of God calls forth. In a word, the writer is saying that one's whole life and existence is an open secret before the eyes of the living God Who judges according to absolutes of truth, righteousness and justice. There is no game of charades with Him. In the © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Is There For Us Richard A. Rhem Page 8   presence of one another we mask the deep intent and purposes of our hearts and even before our own minds we hardly dare face the truth of our personal ambiguity, faithlessness and meanness. But He knows us - better than we know ourselves. What a frightening thought! But no; it is not so. In the very next paragraph the God Who searches the heart is described in magnificent fashion as the gracious God Who has drawn near to us in Jesus and Who bids us come to Him through Jesus to find in his grace timely help. Once again as in Isaiah 57:15, we have a marvelous juxtaposition -the Judge Who might be thought to instill fear and trembling is the God Whose seat is a throne of grace. To be sure, He is God; to be sure, He is pure light; to be sure, to be in His presence must inspire awe and wonder and certainly there is a proper reverence described in Scripture as the fear of God which must be part of any experience of His presence. But "fear and trembling" are not the last word; the last word is grace. For the God with Whom we have to do is the God with a human face. Did not Jesus say, If you have seen me, you have seen the Father. (John 14:9) Did not Paul write, For the same God who said, "Out of darkness let light shine," has caused his light to shine within us, to give the light of revelation - the revelation of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (II Corinthians 4:6) Quite consistent with the whole witness of the New Testament our writer points us to Jesus who brings us to God. Since therefore we have a great high priest ... Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast to the religion we profess. For ours is not a high priest unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who because of his likeness to us, has been tested every way, only without sin. Let us therefore boldly approach the throne of our gracious God where we may receive mercy and in his grace find timely help. (Hebrews 4:14-16) One could meditate on that gracious invitation for a long time and never fathom the mystery of love and depth of mercy there set forth. The Eternal God, the Infinite One, the Ultimate Power, the King of the Universe is full of mercy, ready to give grace in every time of need. The way is open; access is available at any moment. The invitation is come. © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Is There For Us Richard A. Rhem Page 9   The God we need is the God Who is there for us - the God with a human face - the God we see in the face of Jesus - the God of grace without limit and mercy without measure. That is the message - God, our ally is full of Grace. His anger is for a moment, the other side of His love in order to turn us and return us to Himself. His love is everlasting and His Grace will finally conquer us with gentle wooing and steady faithfulness. But these are words, expressed in stammering fashion, attempting to express the inexpressible. When all this has been said, it must be said further that words cannot convict us. That is the Spirit's work. Yet we have this encouragement that, if with all our heart we truly seek him, we shall surely find him. The longing of our hearts is already the sign of His early work and those who thirst for God will be satisfied. God is our Ally. He is there for us. Come to Him through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. References: Ernest Becker. The Denial of Death. First published in 1973. Rudolf Otto. The Idea of the Holy. Translated by John W. Harvey. Oxford University Press, 1958. © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost VII Series God Our Ally Scripture Text Isaiah 57:15, Hebrews 4: 13, 16 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI References Ernest Becker, The Denial of Death, 1973 Rudolf Otto, The Idea of the Holy, 1958 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19850714 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1985-07-14 Title A name given to the resource The God Who is There for Us Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on July 14, 1985 entitled "The God Who is There for Us", as part of the series "God Our Ally", on the occasion of Pentecost VII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Isaiah 57:15, Hebrews 4: 13, 16. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Awe God of Grace Immanence Meaning Mystery Nature of God Revelation Spiritual Quest Transcendence https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e36fda4ea5e4e7ed0dc3aa36de21510f.mp3 79d2cc95110a9714dabf16ebe74ceba3 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Trinity Sunday Scripture Text Genesis 1:31, Ephesians 1:9 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19910526 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-05-26 Title A name given to the resource The God Who Laughs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on May 26, 1991 entitled "The God Who Laughs", on the occasion of Trinity Sunday, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Genesis 1:31, Ephesians 1:9. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/464b1eb62053df6c35ed462ef8342aa9.mp3 cf9d4b8d96760f9368f21d4cf4eaff11 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c74e44ab7a3365f9c7fad18100cc5c86.pdf e134ceba68982673df8ef23e77c70d87 PDF Text Text The God Who Never Gives Up On Us From the sermon series: God, Our Ally Text: Hosea 11: 8-9, 32; Hosea 14: 4 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan August 25, 1985 Transcription of the spoken sermon God is our Ally. He will never give up on us - not because finally we will come round and deserve His love, but rather because His love, flowing out of His own depths, will never let us go. That is the theme of this message: He will never give up on us; He will never let us go. This is a message about the unconditional love of God. It is a message about what is translated from the Hebrew word hesed as God's "steadfast love." This is a message about God our Ally Who has called us into a covenant relationship to which He remains faithful even when we prove unfaithful. This message is a love story, the story of a love beyond compare, a love beyond human conception. This is the story of a love that will never give up, never let us go; a love that will finally heal us and bind us to the bosom of God. The message comes from Hosea, a great Eighth Century B.C. prophet who experienced deep pain in his own marriage and therein discovered the pain of God at the unfaithfulness of His people Israel, but discovered something more amazing - that God's love is unquenchable. The first three chapters of Hosea deal with biographical material from the prophet's own life. There has been much debate about the interpretation of these chapters. I cannot give you the whole discussion, but will summarize what I believe is the most adequate understanding of Hosea’s experience. In Chapter 1:2, we read, …The Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of harlotry, for the land commits great harlotry by forsaking the Lord.” This was probably a reflection after the fact. Hosea married Gomer and she proved unfaithful. The verse above summarizes what happened rather than indicating that Gomer was a harlot before Hosea married her. The first chapter © Grand Valley State University   �The God Who Never Gives Up On Us Richard A. Rhem Page 2   records Goner's unfaithfulness. Although it is not clearly stated, it would appear that Hosea divorced Gomer because of her wantonness. (cf. Hosea 2:2a, 4-5a). Then in chapter 3:1, we read, And the Lord said to me, "Go again, love a woman who is beloved of a paramour and is an adulteress; even as the Lord loves the people 0f Israel, though they turn to other gods..." So, Hosea redeems Gomer - buys her back out of the bondage of her harlotry and restores her as his wife. In his own experience, thus, he found a "lived parable" that pointed to the unquenchable love of God. He was tormented by his separation from Gomer, he felt maimed and incomplete, and he realized that however little Gomer might deserve his love… yet she retained it to an undiminished degree, and he was constrained even against his own judgment to attempt to restore the old marriage relationship. The mystery of the compulsive power of his own love for Gomer made Hosea reflect upon the love of God for erring Israel. It was thereon that he founded his message of hope for his people… (Interpreter Bible, Vol. VI, p. 562) Martin Buber writes, That a particular person should be bound to love another particular person in utter concreteness, is there such a thing as this? The word can only be spoken to one who already loves. He loves, he still loves the faithless one, he cannot suppress this love, but he does not want it, for he feels himself degraded by it. ...Into this state of soul God's word descends, "Continue loving, thou art allowed to love her, thou must love her; even so do I love Israel." (The Prophetic Faith, p. 113) Hosea loved Gomer still. He redeemed her and brought her back. She did not deserve such love and grace. But if Gomer did not deserve such merciful treatment as Hosea felt constrained to give her, no more did Israel merit the mercy and love of God. Her redemption from sin and shame was an act of God’s grace and of his love that would not let her go. (Interpreter Bible, p. 562) The statement of God's unconditional, unquenchable love is beautifully stated in the first verse of the eleventh chapter. Now the figure is not the marriage relationship, but that of God the Father and Israel the son. When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Never Gives Up On Us Richard A. Rhem Page 3   But Israel was unfaithful; she worshipped the Canaanite gods. Tenderly, God nurtured her. I led them with cords of compassion, with the bands of love… (11:4) But still they failed to live faithfully in that covenant love. They succeeded only in eliciting God's anger. Judgment was surely coming; Hosea could feel it. Hosea prophesied around 745 B.C. Jeroboam II had brought the Northern Kingdom to prosperity, but Hosea could see the dry rot in the soul of the nation. Judgment would come and judgment did come. In 721, the Assyrian Empire came in and overthrew Israel, dispersing the ten northern tribes. But judgment was not the final word. Judgment was only a means to the end of finally bringing His people to their senses and causing them to return to Him. Listen to the "last word:" How can I give you up, O Ephraim! How can I hand you over, O Israel! How can I make you like Admah! How can I treat you like Zeboiim! My heart recoils within me, my compassion grows warm and tender. I will not execute my fierce anger. I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come, to destroy. (11: 8-9) There you have the text, a text to ponder. There you have a statement of God's unconditional, unquenchable love, a love that will never give up on us, a love that will never let us go. In God's relationship to Israel, we see mirrored His relationship to all nations. God created the nation Israel in the event of the Exodus. Israel was a chosen nation. God elected Israel to be a representative people for all peoples. We cannot fathom the mystery of that choice, that election. It was not an election of one nation cutting off the rest of the nations, but the choosing of one on behalf of the rest. It was a particular choice with a universal purpose. Remember the call to Abraham: …by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves. Genesis 12: 3 The basis of God's choice of Israel was simply love: It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love upon you and chose you…but it is because the Lord loves you… Deuteronomy 7: 7-8 © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Never Gives Up On Us Richard A. Rhem Page 4   Israel was the representative of us all. Berkhof calls Israel God's "Experimental Garden." In her concrete history – thus in the arena of our history – it has been demonstrated that the human covenant partner will never prove faithful. ... in an experimental garden the soil and what can be done with it are tried out, so that other fields, to which these experiments are applicable, may benefit from it. ... in the Old Testament, Israel, in distinction from other nations, is more than once pictured as a specially cultivated and tended vineyard, from which might thus be expected a greater yield, but whose unproductivity arouses the greater anger of God. (Christian Faith, p. 245) Pointing to Israel's election, Berkhof shows that as a People she had a special privilege and a special task; the outcome of the Old Testament is the demonstration in our history of the faithlessness of the human covenant partner and the faithfulness of the Divine covenant partner. Berkhof writes, And we who are witnesses of this way know that Israel is no better or worse than the other nations, but that her guilt and fate disclose the way of the whole human race. The abiding relevance of the Old Testament is that the experimental garden Israel has shown once and for all how unfruitful we humans are in our faithfulness to God and our neighbor; and then, too, how unimaginably faithful God remains to mankind which ever and again seeks life apart from him. (p. 245f) What is the solution? Certainly there is no hope from our side; there is no solution possible from the human covenant partner. When God moved to effect a solution through the gift of Jesus in whom He dwelt in fullness, we crucified him. This is the New Testament history that corresponds to Israel's failure. Thus we have in both Old and New Testaments the concrete history of radical human guilt. What is the solution? The solution is the radical grace of God, which flows from the unconditional love of God. It was this insight that gripped Hosea, written indelibly in his own soul through his personal experience. God says, in effect, “You deserve to be given up; I should give you up. But how can I give you up? I will not give you up.” In his book Unconditional Love, John Powell writes, In the Old Testament God reveals himself to the People of Israel as a God of unconditional love. His gift of himself in the choice and creation of "My People" is totally unsolicited, undeserved and unmerited. ... God decides, God chooses, God offers his gift of love. He is by his own free act forever committed to his People. The prophet Hosea uses the image of God taking a bride: "And I will betroth you to me forever." (2:19-20) Through the prophet Isaiah, God says, "Even if a mother should forget the child of her womb, I will never forget you." (49:15). © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Never Gives Up On Us Richard A. Rhem Page 5   The unconditionality of God's love for his People is a constant refrain in the Old Testament. God has promised and God will always be faithful to his promise. Jeremiah writes of God's constant willingness to forgive: "With an eternal love I have loved you. Therefore, in loving-kindness I draw you to myself." (31:3) (Unconditional Love, p. 97F) Hosea understood the faithfulness of God to his covenant which was rooted in a love that would never give up. As Bernard Anderson writes, Just as Gomer played the harlot, so Israel had broken the covenant. According to Hosea, this was the real historical tragedy, and all the contemporary troubles of Israel were only symptoms of it. The "wife" whom Yahweh had chosen and betrothed to himself had become a whore. A "spirit of hostility" had inflamed the people, and they had become estranged from their God. (4:12) Hosea's critique of Israel's society went far deeper than a mere condemnation of social immorality, political confusion, or religious formation. He was concerned with men's motives, with the devotion of the heart, with the things in which men place their trust. (Understanding The Old Testament, p. 247) Sounding the keynote of Hosea's message, Anderson writes, The deepest note struck in the book of Hosea is the proclamation that God's "wrath" or judgment is redemptive. God's purpose is not to destroy, but to heal. Through historical crises that shake the very foundations of human self-sufficiency, Yahweh acts to free his people from their enslavement to false allegiance and to restore them to freedom in the covenant loyalty. Just as Hosea's love was greater and deeper than Gomer's infidelity, so Yahweh's love for Israel is truly steadfast. It is a divine love that will not let his people go, despite their fickleness and harlotry. His "wrath" is not capricious, vindictive, and destructive; it is the expression of a holy love which seeks to break the chains of Israel's bondage and to emancipate her for a new life, a new covenant. (Ibid., p. 251) ... divine judgment is not the last word ... (verses 8-9). For even in the hour of catastrophe Yahweh does not abandon his people, nor does his love for them cease. It is not his will that Israel be destroyed as Admah and Zeborm were leveled during the holocaust of Sodom and Gomorrah, (cf. Gen. 19:24-25; Deuteronomy 29:23). Rather, the purpose behind Yahweh's judgment is love, like that of a parent who lovingly disciplines a wayward child. These verses passionately describe a struggle, as it were, within the heart of God - a struggle that doubtless reflects the agony of Hosea's experience with Gomer. But the triumph is on the side of the love that will not let Israel go. (Ibid., p. 252) Thus Hosea ends his prophecy with words of healing, © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Never Gives Up On Us Richard A. Rhem Page 6   I will heal their apostasy; of my own bounty will I love them. (14:4) The secret of such love lies in God. We cannot fathom it; we can only bow before its majesty. It is beyond human comprehension. God points to His own "Godness" as it were, differentiating Himself from us. ... for I am God and not man. Such is the amazing story of the love of God. It is interesting to relate Hosea's sense of God's love that never gives up on us to Paul's struggle with Israel's rejection of Jesus. Romans chapters 9-11 relate that struggle. Paul cannot understand how to put together God's faithfulness to his covenant promise with Israel's disobedience. His final conclusion is that, through Israel's rejection, the Gospel is being brought to the Gentiles. He concludes that section of struggle with these words: For in making all mankind prisoners to disobedience, God’s purpose was to show mercy to all mankind. (11:32) Then he breaks out in a great doxology, praising the God of so great salvation. What are we to make of this amazing love story, this tale of unconditional, unquenchable love? Must it not seem too good to be true? If it seems too good to be true, it is because we are not accustomed to hearing this message stated simply and straightforwardly. As the message has come to us filtered through centuries of Church tradition - our own Church tradition included - the message has been garbled and the unconditional love of God has been hedged in with numerous qualifications and conditions. I think it accurate to say that for the most part the message that has come through is that of a conditional love of God, conditional on our response, conditional on our good behavior. We speak much of grace, but we operate on the basis of good works and self-righteousness. Is it not perhaps that we are afraid to let the truth of the radical grace and unconditional love of God out because people might really believe it and presume upon it, take advantage of it? Do we dare tell people that the love of God will finally overcome their disobedience, their unfaithfulness, their unworthiness, their fickleness, in a word - their sinful rebellion and self assertion? Do we not rather make God's gift of salvation conditional on saying the right words, confessing the right beliefs, conforming to accepted morality? Have we not transformed the Gospel of God's radical grace and unconditional love into a morality game? Has not the message of the Church been strongly flavored with "Santa Claus theology" - that is – not "You better be good 'cause Santa's coming to town," but "You better be good 'cause Jesus is coming again?" © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Never Gives Up On Us Richard A. Rhem Page 7   That is so very human, just like us. We use reward and punishment on our children; good behaviour gets a reward; bad behaviour gets punishment. That seems only reasonable; that seems like a just mode of operation. Is that not also the way God operates? The answer is simply, "No." Is that not why when He makes His amazing declaration about not being able to give up on Israel, He explains, ... for I am God and not man. Similarly in Isaiah 55 we read after the gracious invitation to return to Him Who freely forgives, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways… For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts; and as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return until they have watered the earth, making it blossom and bear fruit, and give seed for sowing and bread to eat, so shall the word which comes from my mouth prevail; it shall not return to me fruitless without accomplishing my purpose or succeeding in the task I gave it. (Isaiah 55:8-11) God is God. God is other than we are. In His dealings, Love always triumphs. God will never give up on His People. His anger burns. His judgment falls. But His love wins out and the last word is grace. We hardly dare let this good news be known for we fear then we will lose our hold on persons, we will lose our control factor. A good dose of threat and a pinch of fear, the reinforcement of the guilt that is present and well deserved tends to keep the Church in the driver's seat and the people subservient and docile. What would happen if we really let it out that God's love is the final reality, the last word? A great Christian leader and spiritual giant of an earlier day, A.W. Tozer, wrote a beautiful essay entitled, "God Is Easy To Live With." He writes, Satan's first attack upon the human race was his sly effort to destroy Eve's confidence in the kindness of God. Unfortunately for her and for us he succeeded too well. From that day, men have had a false conception of God, and it is exactly this that has cut out from under them the ground of righteousness and driven them to reckless and destructive living. (These Times, 1-74, p. 10) He points out how our notion of God must always determine the quality of our religion. Instinctively we try to be like our God and if He is conceived to be stern and exacting, so will we ourselves be. We can speak of salvation by grace, but we reduce the glory of the Gospel to the drudgery of legalism. Tozer goes on: © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Never Gives Up On Us Richard A. Rhem Page 8   From a failure properly to understand God comes a world of unhappiness among good Christians even today. The Christian life is thought to be a glum, unrelieved cross-carrying under the eye of a stern Father who expects much and excuses nothing. If we think of Him as cold and exacting we shall find it impossible to love Him, and our lives will be ridden with servile fear. ... The truth is that God is the most winsome of all beings and His service one of unspeakable pleasure. He is all love, and those who trust Him never know anything but that love. Unfortunately, many Christians cannot get free from their perverted notions of God, and these notions poison their hearts and destroy their inward freedom. These friends serve God grimly, as the elder brother did, doing what is right without enthusiasm and without joy, and seem altogether unable to understand the buoyant, spirited celebration when the prodigal comes home. Their idea of God rules out the possibility of His being happy in His people, ... Unhappy souls, these, doomed to go heavily on their melancholy way, grimly determined to do right if the heavens fall and to be on the winning side in the day of judgment. We please Him most, not by frantically trying to make ourselves good, but by throwing ourselves into His arms with all our imperfections and believing that He understands everything and loves us still. Tozer had read Hosea. He makes such an important point. It is precisely the knowledge of God's unconditional love that has the power to change us inside out. What have we produced in so much of the history of the Church? Not happy, grace-full persons, but fearful, guilt-ridden persons whose external conformity to the Law is a mask over seething hostility and rebellious resentment. James Sandeishas written a book with the interesting title, God Has a Story Too. He points out that the Bible is a story about God's action first of all, not about human reaction. He argues that we moralize the Bible when we should theologize the life. By this he means that the biblical narratives are stories not about human achievements, human obedience, human goodness. We are not given a series of models to emulate in the Bible. Abraham lied about Sarah being his wife and laughed when God said they would have a child. Moses murdered and was a fugitive from justice. David was guilty of murder and adultery. Paul persecuted the Church. Peter denied Jesus. The Bible is the story of what God can do through the likes of such people - in spite of them. The story is God's story - a love story, a story of a love that never quits, a love that never gives up on us, a love that will never let us go. © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Never Gives Up On Us Richard A. Rhem Page 9   Thus when we become wiser than God, feel we must guard the morality of persons and keep their religious practice in line by qualifying the burning passion of His unquenchable love, we not only distort the amazing wonder of that love, we also miss the greatest single catalyst for transforming human personality and the greatest motivation for a life of trust and devotion lived in the light of His grace. Moralism produces self-righteous, proud and judgmental persons. Legalism produces tense, guilty persons lacking joy and assurance in the freedom of grace. Stressing a conditional acceptance produces fear and finally despair. In a word, the shading of the truth of God's love that knows no limits simply backfires; it does not accomplish the purpose. It does not work. In a quarter century of pastoral ministry, I must say that it is grace that is most difficult to receive and God's unconditional love that is most difficult to believe. We do not deserve it. We know we do not deserve it. We are guilty people and we know it. We despair of ourselves; why wouldn't God despair? We condemn ourselves; why wouldn't God condemn? We are faithless and fickle; we resolve, we perform, we fall away again, we have done it a thousand times; will the pattern ever be broken? And here is the greatest peril of spiritual existence: We despair and give up. Rather than responding to the call of the higher, we give up and yield to the lower. We write ourselves off: "Hopeless Case." The old Baptismal liturgy contains great insight and wisdom. Explaining the meaning of the sacrament, it teaches that Baptism is a sign and seal of our ingrafting into the body of Christ... By this assurance we are called to new obedience: to hold fast to this one God, ... to trust and love him with all our heart and soul and mind and strength; and to forsake the world, crucify our old nature, and walk in a new and holy life. Fine. That is what we are committed to. But who can realize that high calling? The Saints, right? Abraham, Moses, David, Peter and Paul? Maybe the Elders. Maybe even the Deacons. But that holy life is hardly within the range of ordinary mortals, is it? Maybe for some. Some folks seem full of goodness and steadiness and from all outward © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Never Gives Up On Us Richard A. Rhem Page10   appearance it would seem they are walking the straight and narrow. But as for me ... Then our liturgy comes with profound spiritual insight: And if we sometimes, through weakness, fall into sin, we must not therefore despair of God's mercy, nor continue in sin, since Baptism is the sign and seal of God's eternal covenant of grace with us. There you have it! Again, the liturgy does not at the point of our weakness issue a warning, but reminds us of a promise. It does not focus on what we ought to be, but on what God has already established. Baptism is a sign and seal of an Eternal Covenant of Grace. That Eternal Covenant of Grace flows from the heart of the Eternal God, which is Love; unquenchable love, unconditional love, love that will not quit, love that will not give up on us, love that will never let us go. Radical grace. Radical love. That is mind-boggling. If that is Who God is, then He is easy to live with, easy to love, a joy to serve, a delight to please. God is our Ally. He will never give up on us. His love will finally triumph. I do not know how; sometimes through judgment, sometimes through adversity, sometimes through death. That is His prerogative; for us the "how" remains a mystery. But the "that" is clear: Love is the last word. God is love. He will never give up on you! References: Bernhard W. Anderson. Understanding the Old Testament. Prentice-Hall, 2nd edition, 1966. Hendrikus Berkhof. Christian Faith: An Introduction to a Study of the Faith. Wm. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1979. John Joseph Powell. Unconditional Love: Love Without Limits. Resources for Christian Living; first printing edition, 1978. A. W. Tozer, “God Is Easy To Live With,” These Times, 1, 1974, p. 10. © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XIII Series God Our Ally Scripture Text Hosea 11:8-9, 14:4, Romans 11:32 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI References Bernhard W. Anderson, Understanding the Old Testament, 1966 John Joseph Powell, Unconditional Love, 1978 A.W. Tozer, "God Is Easy to Live With," 1974 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-0-19850825 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1985-08-25 Title A name given to the resource The God Who Never Gives Up On Us Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on August 25, 1985 entitled "The God Who Never Gives Up On Us", as part of the series "God Our Ally", on the occasion of Pentecost XIII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Hosea 11:8-9, 14:4, Romans 11:32. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Covenant of Grace God's Unconditional Love Hebrew Scriptures Hosea Judgment Prophet Transformation https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f8d9dffd16d55d2e46a79eedfdb6b8b5.pdf a43783504610be0e3930aae802a82ee6 PDF Text Text The God Who Never Gives Up On Us From the series: If God Be For Us… Text: Hosea 11:8-9; Romans 11:32 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan August 4, 1996 Transcription of the spoken sermon Hosea was a prophet who learned in personal experience the nature of the love of God, for Hosea loved a woman and married her, only to find her eventually falling into prostitution and unfaithfulness. And yet, he loved her. And then he heard the Word of God that said, "Keep on loving her. Reclaim her. Redeem her and take her to yourself." Out of that experience of personal love, he understood the love of God for an erring Israel, a love that would not give up. The great Jewish thinker, Martin Buber, comments on Hosea's experience in these words: That a particular person should be bound to love another particular person in utter concreteness - is there such a thing as this? The word can only be spoken to one who already loves. He loves. He still loves the faithless one. He cannot suppress this love, but he does not want it, for he feels himself degraded by it.... Into this state of soul, God's word descends: Continue loving. Thou art allowed to love her. Thou must love her. Even so do I love Israel. The lesson from the 11th chapter: When Israel was a child I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. The more I called them, the more they went from me. They kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning incense to idols. Yet, it was I who taught Ephraim to walk. I took them up in my arms, but they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of compassion, with the bands of love. And I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws. And I bent down to them and fed them. They shall return to the land of Egypt and the Assyrians shall be their king because they have refused to return to me. The sword shall rage against their cities, consume the bars of their gates and devour them in their fortresses. My people are bent on turning away from me, so they are appointed to the yoke and none shall remove it. How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How © Grand Valley State University   �God Who Never Gives Up On Us Richard A. Rhem Page 2   can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me, my compassion grows warm and tender. I will not execute my fierce anger. I will not again destroy Ephraim, for I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst. And I will not come to destroy. The Word of the Lord. The Epistle Lesson, Romans 11, commencing to read with verse 25: Lest you be wise in your own conceits, I want you to understand this mystery, brothers and sisters. A hardening has come upon part of Israel until the full number of the Gentiles come in. And so all Israel will be saved. As it is written, "The deliverer will come from Zion; he will banish ungodliness from Jacob. And this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins. As regards the Gospel, they're enemies of God, for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. Just as you were once disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you, they also may receive mercy. For God has consigned all to disobedience that God may have mercy upon all. Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are God's judgments, and how inscrutable God's ways. For who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been God's counselor? Or who has given the gift to God that he might be repaid? From God and through God and to God are all things. To God be glory forever, Amen. The Word of the Lord. We conclude this morning the series, If God Be For Us..., taken from the 8th chapter of Paul's letter to the Romans and the 31st verse, which is a paragraph between all that Paul had said about the grace of God that appeared in Jesus Christ and that terrible struggle that Paul had with the Jewish people, his brothers and sisters according to the flesh, and their rejection of the grace of God in Christ. If you had asked me about the outline of the Epistle to the Romans, I would have most all of my life told you that, as far as I was concerned, it could have stopped at the end of the 8th chapter. There is no more profound or beautiful statement of the love of God than Paul pens in those words. And I had always assumed that that's where he came to a grand climax. Chapters 9 through 11? Well, that struggle between the Jews, Israel and the Church and Christ - I've never made much of that. Paul's argument is labored, torturous, tedious as he struggles with the mystery of his own people not seeing Jesus as he saw Jesus. And then, of course, there's some good ethical stuff in chapters 12 through 16. But, I wouldn't have minded too much if we lost the last half as long as we had the first eight © Grand Valley State University �God Who Never Gives Up On Us Richard A. Rhem Page 3   chapters. Give me the eight chapters and give me that final paragraph and that letter comes to a magnificent climax, I had always thought. Then I came across a little book by Krister Stendahl, the New Testament scholar, who will be with us in October. Krister Stendahl has a little, thin book called Paul Among the Jews and the Gentiles, and as I was reading, I came to his assertion that the heart of the Letter to the Romans is chapters 9 through 11, that Paul's struggle with Israel's failure to see Jesus as the Messiah was what that letter is really all about. And therefore, that my grand climax at the end of chapter 8 is rather a critical prelude to the real heart of that Letter to the Romans, for Paul was so distressed by the fact that his brothers and sisters in the flesh did not come to faith in Jesus and see there displayed magnificently the grace of God. I reflected on that and I had to conclude that Krister Stendahl is right; that really is what the letter is all about. And what that last paragraph of the 8th chapter is about is a summation of God's grace in Jesus Christ and the foundation for Paul's confident faith that, in spite of the fact that at the present moment Israel was blind to Jesus, nonetheless God was not done with Israel, that the promises to the fathers and mothers of the faith, that covenant of grace that had bound Israel to God's self, was not to be revoked. That God was of such a nature that God could never give up on Israel. Israel in its present disobedience, Paul says, is beloved for the sake of her forebears. Out of covenant faithfulness to Abraham and Sarah and Isaac and Jacob and all of those who had gone before, God will not now give up God's people. It was the foundation of the love of God, which is expressed so beautifully in that last paragraph of chapter 8. "If God be for us, who can be against us?" As we have noted, it's not really "if", it is an assertion - "Since God is for us," or, as the New English Bible translates it, "Since God is on our side." Not on our side as over against those who are against us. Since God is on the human side, since God is for people, since God is for people as is demonstrated in all that God has done in Jesus Christ, therefore, since God is for us, who can be against us? And then, he goes on to say, who can lay any charge to God's chosen ones? He recites the events of Jesus' life and death and resurrection and enthronement and Jesus' intercession for us, and he says, what then can separate us from the love of Christ? Can all of the things that can go wrong in the world: famine and peril and nakedness and sword - all of the disasters that are possible in the human scene? Can any of that alter that foundational reality of the love of God in Christ? No, he says. No, not anything in our present experience, not anything in the past, not anything in the future, not anything in the heights, not anything in the depths - nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. That I thought was climax. That I find, is prelude, foundation for what he is going to finally conclude in the 11th chapter and the 32nd verse, which is that Jews and Gentiles alike are all consigned to disobedience in order that God may have mercy on all. © Grand Valley State University �God Who Never Gives Up On Us Richard A. Rhem Page 4   Those chapters are tedious and strained and they are worked out under the supposition that very soon Jesus will come and the end of the age will be brought to pass. Nonetheless, what was deepest down in Paul was the conviction that God would never give up on God's people. He admitted his bafflement that his own people did not see Jesus as Messiah, as he had experienced Jesus. He acknowledged the fact that now they were blind to the Gospel; they were in a state of disobedience. But, was it all over for Israel? Not on your life. I don't think that Paul had figured it out accurately, but he was struggling with it. He didn't really know what God was doing, but of this he was certain - God would not let go of that people. God would not abandon that people. And so, he says, well, maybe it's this way. Maybe the disobedience of the Jewish people has given entree to the grace of God to the Gentiles, and he really speaks to Gentiles here. He warns against arrogance. He reminds them that, in the analogy of an olive tree, if Israel is the natural branch ripped off in a state of disobedience, the Gentile believers are grafted on, but they're grafted on to the pre-existing tree whose roots are Israel. And he reminds them, also, to have a proper humility because, he says, if grace has reached you, then Israel's return will be life from the dead. All Israel will be saved. He had recognized the universal human situation. Earlier in the letter he had said all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, which is another way of saying if anything good is going to happen to people, it will be by the pure grace of God. And now in chapter 11 in verse 32, he sees Jew and Gentile alike, consigned to disobedience in order, he says, that God may have mercy on all. That's the way Paul struggled through in order to make some sense of what to him made no sense at all; that he who saw in the face of Jesus the heart of God, that he who saw in the face of Jesus the revelation of the glory of God, when he presented that story to his own people, they saw it not at all. Could he conclude, therefore, that somehow or other that covenant of grace with the forebears, that long history of God nurturing that people, had come to an end? Paul said, "I can't believe that. I can't believe that God ever gives up on us. I don't know exactly how, and I don't know when, but I believe that, just as all are disobedient, so all will experience the mercy of God." Where did Paul get that kind of an idea? Well, Paul was a Jewish scholar. Paul had sat at the feet of Gamaliel. Paul knew the Hebrew scriptures, and I could go most any place in that old book in order to demonstrate that what Paul was holding forth here for Jew and Gentile was rooted in that Hebrew conception of the love of God. But, let me take you to what may be my favorite story, my favorite prophet, Hosea, whom I said had that poignant experience of loving a woman who proved faithless, and of having the sense of the Word of God coming to him saying, "Love her still; bring her back; claim her for your own. Love her into faithfulness." © Grand Valley State University �God Who Never Gives Up On Us Richard A. Rhem Page 5   Hosea was an 8th century prophet speaking to the Northern Kingdom in those years before the Assyrian empire came in, conquered Israel and dispersed the ten northern tribes. He was an authentic prophet in the best sense of Hebrew prophecy. Hosea was no pansy. Hosea was a prickly prophet, as are all prophets. He accused Israel of faithlessness, of forgetting the God Who had brought them out of Egypt and through the wilderness and into the Promised Land, Who had healed them and fed them and nurtured them. In tenderest phrases he describes the relationship of God with Israel. "I picked them up. I held them to my cheek. I bound them with bonds of love. But they have forsaken me. They are bent on turning away from me." And he pointed out all that was wrong with the society of those ten northern tribes that would eventuate in the judgment of God, for the Hebrew prophets saw historical events as the movement of the God Who judged and graced, and so he spoke quite directly to that society of which he was a part. If he had been in the United States of America this past week, I think he probably would have taken a jet to Washington. He probably would have stood on the steps of the White House and held a press conference and then moved to the Capitol building and held another press conference, and CNN would have been there. And he would have said, "Nice going, Mr. President. Nice going, members of Congress. You have ended welfare as we have known it. Congratulations. You have dealt with a problem that measures 1% of our national budget. You have done it under the cloak of not wanting people to be spoiled by welfare, and thereby, you have saved enough dollars to build one wing of a Stealth bomber. Congratulations, Mr. President. Congratulations, members of Congress, for you are hailing a new day. You have dealt with the little problems. Now when will you deal with political action committees and the pandering to favored classes and election practices and all of that that is so deleterious to our democratic processes?" And, of course, he would not have taken a jet back to Michigan to run in Ottawa County for anything. (And don't expect me at the door following worship. I'm slipping out the side.) But that's the kind of stuff the prophets did. That's why most of them ended up slain; not many of them died in bed. So, Hosea was no sweet, simpering voice laced with sentimentality. There was none of this kind of superficial love, you know, chirpy "God loves you and I love you, too." There was sweat and blood and tears in Hosea! And he spoke to his people the Word of God, he addressed them in their concrete reality, and, as he was portraying all of their sin and as he reflected what must have been rising in the heart of God, he said, "They'll go back to Egypt; Assyria will be their king; they are bent on turning away from me." And what would be the logical next phrase? "I will give them up!" But, what is the Word of God that the prophet hears? How can I give you up? How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I make you like the cities of Abmah and Zobeiim, the cities of the plain that perished with Sodom and Gomorrah? My heart churns within me. My © Grand Valley State University �God Who Never Gives Up On Us Richard A. Rhem Page 6   heart grows tender. My compassion warms. I will not give you up, for I am God and not human. In his own experience of a compelling love that he could not deny in spite of the faithlessness of the one loved, Hosea gained a window into the heart of God Who will never give up on us, in spite of the fact that the exercise of justice and even good judgment would simply cut us off. That is Hosea's conception of the unrequited, unconditional, unrelenting love of God that will never give up, never give up on us. Paul, steeped in that tradition, when he struggled with the fact that his own people were blind to the grace that he saw, could nonetheless not bring himself even to begin to think that that blindness would result in a final rejection. And so, I've learned that his statement at the end of the 8th chapter of Romans, "since God is for us," was the prelude to his tortured, labored, tedious argument on behalf of his own people because he did not believe, disobedient that they were, that God would give up on them. For Hosea, it was Israel. For Paul, it was Jews and Gentiles. And Paul thought the end of the age would be very soon, when Israel en masse would move into the grace of Jesus Christ. And that, of course, didn't happen. Paul, along with the whole New Testament, was wrong in that expectation of an imminent end. So, what are we to do? It's 2000 years later, now. Would we see the love of God differently than Hosea and Paul, and would we claim at this point in history that the 30% of the global population that is Christian is the exclusive focus of the love of God? Has God changed? Has God narrowed focus? Has God now crimped God's love to become very particular in the life of the vast human family? If Paul were here today, 2000 years later, he would struggle not only with Israel's immediate rejection of Jesus as Messiah, but with what in the world the Spirit is doing in the world today. He would struggle with the fact that 70% of the world's population does not see the glory of God in the face of Jesus. And yet I suspect that the same kind of fundamental consideration would move him to find a way to suspect that the Spirit of God was blowing in ways that we've not yet dreamed of, for as Jesus said, the Spirit blows where it wills and we know not its whence nor its whither. But we can be sure that the Spirit of God is the Spirit of God whose unquenchable, relentless love Hosea experienced in his own personal experience and applied to Israel, that Paul experienced in regard to Israel and the Gentiles, and it wouldn't be a great feat for him simply to embrace this whole globe and say, "I don't know how. I don't know when, but I believe that God's love is such that God will never give up on anyone." On my way here this morning I saw the billboard of a church. The sermon title was, "Heaven's Gates and Hell's Flames." I suspect the message was a bit different from the one you've just heard. But, let me ask you - Where is the © Grand Valley State University �God Who Never Gives Up On Us Richard A. Rhem Page 7   powerful, persuasive, compelling news? Is it to make you inside feel secure that you are loved and lucky, that you are not outside where the flames of Hell lick? Or, might it better be for us who have experienced the love of God, to go out of here with a body language that is set free by that love and to embrace our brothers and sisters everywhere? And even in their unbelief, to have a spirit over against them such as Paul had over against his own brothers and sisters? Would not the most powerful, compelling evangelistic effort in the world be to let the world in on the magnificence of the Love of God? Is it any wonder that when Paul was all through with his contorted reasoning and strained thinking - is it any wonder that he could not but break out into doxology? Who has searched the mind of God? Source, Guide and Goal of all there is - to God alone be glory!" Worship, lost in wonder, love and praise, in the light of such love. Can we help but respond, "O God, we love you?" © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e552d7e8d0422bc870dd37721d597f6f.mp3 6009d26561288660e4c9bb25391d4c97 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 If God Be For Us Scripture Text Hosea 11:8-9, Romans 11:32 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-0-19960804 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1996-08-04 Title A name given to the resource The God Who Never Gives Up On Us 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 4, 1996 entitled "The God Who Never Gives Up On Us", as part of the series "If God Be For Us", on the occasion of Pentecost X, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Hosea 11:8-9, Romans 11:32. Inclusive Grace Love Nature of God Prophetic Voice https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/987962fba05120b0cb7955a04199bd5b.mp3 6f3443d80d2a7dd3d3e9b51c24405bb0 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Trinity Sunday Scripture Text Isaiah 45:22, 46:4, John 14:9, 16-17 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19880529 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1988-05-29 Title A name given to the resource The God Who Satisfies Our Deepest Need Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on May 29, 1988 entitled "The God Who Satisfies Our Deepest Need", on the occasion of Trinity Sunday, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Isaiah 45:22, 46:4, John 14:9, 16-17. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/bf54456a97fb95779eaa39070d16d5fa.mp3 e2219ef36adcf4cdfeb6ff3d1dc7e05f 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 XVI Series God Our Ally Scripture Text I Chronicles 29:9-13 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19850915 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1985-09-15 Title A name given to the resource The God Whom We Worship Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on September 15, 1985 entitled "The God Whom We Worship", as part of the series "God Our Ally", on the occasion of Pentecost XVI, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: I Chronicles 29:9-13. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f9ba920c845c3de98447932c4f4018a8.jpg a0820aaf1d66cc5014d0d974eb174ff5 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 Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History Description An account of the resource Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1910s-2010s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Various Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Douglas (Mich.) Michigan, Lake Allegan County (Mich.) Beaches Sand dunes Outdoor recreation Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Saugatuck-Douglas History Center Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Text Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2018 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. 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 DC-07_SD-FosterR_0002 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Foster, Raymond Title A name given to the resource The Gold Bug Description An account of the resource Photograph of a trio of people standing in shallow water next to their sailboat with "The Gold Bug" written at the bottom of the picture. Two individuals are bent over reaching into the sailboat, while another stands off to the side with their foot resting on the side of the boat. The photograph is slightly blurry and in black and white. Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich) Allegan County (Mich) Outdoor recreation Sailing Black-and-white photography Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file contributed by Raymond Foster as part of the Stories of Summer project. Relation A related resource Stories of Summer (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/863d5f74d00fc49fa8be514823904ab3.jpg 456756b9b1d05e827ce00264457543e3 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 Decorated Publishers' Bindings Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Description An account of the resource From the early 1870s to roughly 1930, many publishers issued their commercial book covers with a remarkable variety of graphic designs and illustrations. This sixty-year period saw many artists and designers contributing to this art form. While some can be identified from their style or initials, others remain unknown. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seidman Rare Books Collection Michigan Novels Collection Regional Historical Collection Lincoln and the Civil War Collection Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-08-30 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>, <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Source Seidman Rare Books. G232.V3 1916 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 DC-01_Bindings0319 Title A name given to the resource The Golden Book of the Dutch Navigators Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Decorative Designers (Designer) Description An account of the resource Binding of The Golden Book of the Dutch Navigators, by Hendrik Willem van Loon, published by The Century Company, 1916. Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1916 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/286c4c23f4152b75d8ce498877035201.jpg f147c949a85b77bc802af0725ca97a8e 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 Decorated Publishers' Bindings Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Description An account of the resource From the early 1870s to roughly 1930, many publishers issued their commercial book covers with a remarkable variety of graphic designs and illustrations. This sixty-year period saw many artists and designers contributing to this art form. While some can be identified from their style or initials, others remain unknown. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seidman Rare Books Collection Michigan Novels Collection Regional Historical Collection Lincoln and the Civil War Collection Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-08-30 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>, <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Source Seidman Rare Books. PR4859.K15 G65 1903 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 DC-01_Bindings0345 Title A name given to the resource The Golden Dog Description An account of the resource Binding of The Golden Dog, by William Kirby, published by L.C. Page & Company, 1903. Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1903 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/601c609fc298a6d349c60b9bea0d6010.jpg 158120383e9e599252be6377c1b3a0eb 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 Decorated Publishers' Bindings Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Description An account of the resource From the early 1870s to roughly 1930, many publishers issued their commercial book covers with a remarkable variety of graphic designs and illustrations. This sixty-year period saw many artists and designers contributing to this art form. While some can be identified from their style or initials, others remain unknown. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seidman Rare Books Collection Michigan Novels Collection Regional Historical Collection Lincoln and the Civil War Collection Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-08-30 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>, <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Source Seidman Rare Books. PR6003. AS247 G65 1903 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 DC-01_Bindings0353 Title A name given to the resource The Golden Kingdom Description An account of the resource Binding of The Golden Kingdom, by Andrew Balfour, published by L.C. Page and Company, 1903. Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1903 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b1f4b942dc028da7676702299162eeaf.jpg b49c6d80d77950e3ade3048d2204163b 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 Decorated Publishers' Bindings Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Description An account of the resource From the early 1870s to roughly 1930, many publishers issued their commercial book covers with a remarkable variety of graphic designs and illustrations. This sixty-year period saw many artists and designers contributing to this art form. While some can be identified from their style or initials, others remain unknown. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seidman Rare Books Collection Michigan Novels Collection Regional Historical Collection Lincoln and the Civil War Collection Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-08-30 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a>, <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-01 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Source Seidman Rare Books. HB831 .G6 1914 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 DC-01_Bindings0144 Title A name given to the resource The Goldfish: Being the Confessions of a Successful Man Description An account of the resource Binding of The Goldfish: Being the Confessions of a Successful Man, by Arthur Cheney, Train, published by The Century Company, 1914. Subject The topic of the resource Book covers Covers (Illustration) Graphic arts Publishers and publishing Pictorial bindings Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1914 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2e531f5f123c149f2d9a298f610fc68e.jpg cc7f3ced1d39941a2896dfbc17965bbc 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 GVSU Theatre Photos Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Description An account of the resource Photographs of Grand Valley theater productions from the 1980s to the 2010s. Photos include shots of performances, backstage, casts and crewmembers. Included in the collection are Shakespeare Festival productions and small acts such as Bard to Go and the Greenshow. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Copyright Grand Valley State University Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV058-01 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-2017 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01) Subject The topic of the resource Theater Performances Plays Musicals College Students Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives. Allendale, MI 49401 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. 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 GV058-01_2013W-A-Good-Person-of-Setzuan_003 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013 Title A name given to the resource The Good Person of Setzuan (theater production), 2013 Description An account of the resource Color photograph of Grand Valley's 2013 production of "The Good Person of Setzuan." This depicts a poster for the production. The name of the show is at the bottom in magenta font. The cast is shown and they are holding up a woman in a blue sweater and jeans. Subject The topic of the resource Theater College students Plays Performances Acting Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/754">Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives 2013s https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/80b24b867522a3df058af4b726a84cf8.jpg 8b3a72c36675d7a7cab7af0f1df6a80d 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 GVSU Theatre Photos Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Description An account of the resource Photographs of Grand Valley theater productions from the 1980s to the 2010s. Photos include shots of performances, backstage, casts and crewmembers. Included in the collection are Shakespeare Festival productions and small acts such as Bard to Go and the Greenshow. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Copyright Grand Valley State University Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV058-01 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-2017 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01) Subject The topic of the resource Theater Performances Plays Musicals College Students Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives. Allendale, MI 49401 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. 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 GV058-01_2013W-A-Good-Person-of-Setzuan_007 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013 Title A name given to the resource The Good Person of Setzuan (theater production), 2013 Description An account of the resource Color photograph of Grand Valley's 2013 production of "The Good Person of Setzuan." From left to right there is a man dressed as a Viking holding a spear. Next there is a man dressed as a pharaoh. Finally there is a woman dressed in all white and gold holding a scepter. They all have face paint on. Subject The topic of the resource Theater College students Plays Performances Acting Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/754">Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives 2013s https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2afe9007e172e948023a80883997ee3b.jpg b26620d9d87a596cbba29a11d6f9e765 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 GVSU Theatre Photos Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Description An account of the resource Photographs of Grand Valley theater productions from the 1980s to the 2010s. Photos include shots of performances, backstage, casts and crewmembers. Included in the collection are Shakespeare Festival productions and small acts such as Bard to Go and the Greenshow. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Copyright Grand Valley State University Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV058-01 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-2017 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01) Subject The topic of the resource Theater Performances Plays Musicals College Students Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives. Allendale, MI 49401 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. 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 GV058-01_2013W-A-Good-Person-of-Setzuan_014 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013 Title A name given to the resource The Good Person of Setzuan (theater production), 2013 Description An account of the resource Color photograph of Grand Valley's 2013 production of "The Good Person of Setzuan." There are three people on the floor who look very distressed. One man has his head in his hands and the woman is begging. There are three people standing. The woman in the middle is leaning against the man and he appears to be in pain. The man to the right is curling his hands together and looks to be frightened. Subject The topic of the resource Theater College students Plays Performances Acting Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/754">Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives 2013s https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b0da1188611be9d579f7d17aba31e4a8.jpg fae78f7ac832eb64d67cd5f088ea63fa 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 GVSU Theatre Photos Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Description An account of the resource Photographs of Grand Valley theater productions from the 1980s to the 2010s. Photos include shots of performances, backstage, casts and crewmembers. Included in the collection are Shakespeare Festival productions and small acts such as Bard to Go and the Greenshow. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Copyright Grand Valley State University Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV058-01 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-2017 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01) Subject The topic of the resource Theater Performances Plays Musicals College Students Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives. Allendale, MI 49401 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. 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 GV058-01_2013W-A-Good-Person-of-Setzuan_019 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013 Title A name given to the resource The Good Person of Setzuan (theater production), 2013 Description An account of the resource Color photograph of Grand Valley's 2013 production of "The Good Person of Setzuan." A man in orange has his arms around two girls. One is wearing a pink tube top with a mini skirt and tights. The woman to the left is wearing orange velvet leggings and a lacey red top. There is a lantern in the background. Subject The topic of the resource Theater College students Plays Performances Acting Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/754">Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives 2013s https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/bc99d3e1f5b3c1dcf7c0caacbde067b5.jpg 11d2678507d41b52fb3279c519cd0bbb 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 GVSU Theatre Photos Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Description An account of the resource Photographs of Grand Valley theater productions from the 1980s to the 2010s. Photos include shots of performances, backstage, casts and crewmembers. Included in the collection are Shakespeare Festival productions and small acts such as Bard to Go and the Greenshow. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Copyright Grand Valley State University Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV058-01 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-2017 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01) Subject The topic of the resource Theater Performances Plays Musicals College Students Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives. Allendale, MI 49401 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. 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 GV058-01_2013W-A-Good-Person-of-Setzuan_023 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013 Title A name given to the resource The Good Person of Setzuan (theater production), 2013 Description An account of the resource Color photograph of Grand Valley's 2013 production of "The Good Person of Setzuan." The person is wearing a bright pink jacket and a floral patterned skirt. They have large ringlets that fall to one side of their head. They are holding a basket and their mouth is open. Subject The topic of the resource Theater College students Plays Performances Acting Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/754">Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives 2013s https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ddcfe0b8160f53bbf34718bbdf3b3227.jpg 93dbce6b41a5d70be561dc66d1e1deb0 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 GVSU Theatre Photos Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Description An account of the resource Photographs of Grand Valley theater productions from the 1980s to the 2010s. Photos include shots of performances, backstage, casts and crewmembers. Included in the collection are Shakespeare Festival productions and small acts such as Bard to Go and the Greenshow. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Copyright Grand Valley State University Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV058-01 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-2017 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01) Subject The topic of the resource Theater Performances Plays Musicals College Students Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives. Allendale, MI 49401 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. 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 GV058-01_2013W-A-Good-Person-of-Setzuan_024 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013 Title A name given to the resource The Good Person of Setzuan (theater production), 2013 Description An account of the resource Color photograph of Grand Valley's 2013 production of "The Good Person of Setzuan." From left to right there is a man slightly hunched with a big grey beard. He is talking to the two women, the next woman is holding her hand to her face in shock, and has chopsticks in her hair. The final women is wearing buns in her hair, dressed in pink and looking at the man. They all have face paint and crisscrosses on their clothes. Subject The topic of the resource Theater College students Plays Performances Acting Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/754">Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives 2013s https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/6a9c7288a06bbc4ae97a6d3b339213ab.jpg 2503dcdea45bd7fc919eacfec56332da 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 GVSU Theatre Photos Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Description An account of the resource Photographs of Grand Valley theater productions from the 1980s to the 2010s. Photos include shots of performances, backstage, casts and crewmembers. Included in the collection are Shakespeare Festival productions and small acts such as Bard to Go and the Greenshow. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Copyright Grand Valley State University Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV058-01 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-2017 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01) Subject The topic of the resource Theater Performances Plays Musicals College Students Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives. Allendale, MI 49401 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Language A language of the resource eng Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. 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 GV058-01_2013W-A-Good-Person-of-Setzuan_038 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Theatre Department Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013 Title A name given to the resource The Good Person of Setzuan (theater production), 2013 Description An account of the resource Color photograph of Grand Valley's 2013 production of "The Good Person of Setzuan." There is a man in a pilots jacket and goggles laying on the floor in front of a table with his mouth around a hose attached to a trash can labeled "Wine". There are two women sitting behind the table and one of them is holding onto to the hose. To the right there is a man sitting and holding bubbles. There is a woman dressed in pink with tight ringlets blowing the bubbles. Subject The topic of the resource Theater College students Plays Performances Acting Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/754">Theatre Department photographs (GV058-01)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives 2013s