1 24 3 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/0a5e74ab39ed767c9c2324ddc05eed25.pdf 5257a82ecff82ff95d205b4d527e54bc PDF Text Text On the Celebration of The Golden Wedding Anniversary Of Norm and Maureen Campbell Prayer offered by Richard A. Rhem September 2012 Oh God, Eternal One, in whom we live and move and have our being, in the midst of this happy celebration we pause consciously to experience and to acknowledge your Presence, present to us. We do so naturally at life’s critical junctures, life’s moments awash with meaning – those moments that cause our hearts to sing or to break, our minds to be radiant with light and illumination or numb in somber darkness. We pause; we are still. We are present to you who are present to us – the presence of Mystery in whom and before whom our lives are played out. In the quietness of this moment, we pause to give thanks for the fifty years of life together shared by Norm and Maureen – (two-thirds of their respective 75 years of life!) – for their love and faithfulness, for the richness of their experiences, for the model they are of strength and steadiness, of faith and devotion, of kindness and gentleness. We celebrate their years as lovers, partners, friends, and we give you thanks that, as children, grandchildren and a large circle of friends, we can share these moments with them. Memories wash over us of special times and seasons. The film of fifty years flashes through our minds – times when we laughed until the tears washed over our cheeks; �Anniversary Prayer Richard A. Rhem Page 2   times when the struggle was intense, and the goal far off; times when dreams came true, and times when dreams were shattered; times when joy burst the soul, and times when grief filled the heart; times of health and strength; times when health seemed threatened and the future put in question. Oh God, we remember with laughter and with tears, and we own it all, the whole long, wonderful, fragile, perilous, beautiful journey. For it is the tapestry of two lives lived well, lived fully, authentically, before your face – a tapestry with entwining threads of all the colors of the rainbow: brighter and more somber tones, light and shadow. And through it all your presence, your faithfulness, even your presence in absence. We give you thanks, O God, for your grace that has enabled them to be all they are, and we seek your benediction upon them as they move beyond this significant landmark. Fill their future years with the richness of harvest, enabling them to savor the fruits of their love and labor. Favor them with good health and even new adventure. Surround them with the loving care of their children, the happy exuberance of their grandchildren, and embrace of the circle of their friends. May your mercy be experienced with every breaking dawn and may peace mantle them with every golden sunset. And as they gaze on the grandeur of the night’s starry heaven, may they know themselves enwrapped together in the Mystery of the abyss of your steadfast love. With gratitude we gather around these tables, acknowledging the gifts of bread and wine. And in the midst of this joyous feast, we remember the one who broke bread and poured the cup, and has become for us the Bread of Life, the Wine of New Creation, Jesus Christ our Lord. �Anniversary Prayer Richard A. Rhem Page 3   It was my lucky day when Norm and Maureen showed up at CCC. Obviously they cared deeply about the church, about the faith, about compassion and justice. Intelligent, thoughtful, engaged, and just as nice as could be! With them we shared weddings, baptisms, funerals, and simply friendship. Nancy and I are blessed by them; to be their pastor a great privilege. Norm and Maureen, you have earned our respect and, more than that, our love. It is with great joy that we celebrate with you 75 years of life and 50 years of marriage. � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a9b7f30d7f2c7c615a316ef40295e1b8.wav 85525626d159b13a57dac6104b5b23da 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 Family Gathering 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 RA-1-20120901 Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf audio/wav Title A name given to the resource On the Celebration of the Golden Wedding Anniversary of the Campbells Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University 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> Language A language of the resource eng Description An account of the resource Prayer created, delivered, or published by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on September 1, 2012 entitled "On the Celebration of the Golden Wedding Anniversary of the Campbells", on the occasion of Family Gathering. Tags: Family, Faith, Life Journey, Grace of God, Celebration of Life, Anniversary, Prayer. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2012-09-01 Anniversary Celebration of Life Faith Family Grace of God Life Journey Prayer https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/4883af53d56efc566c789f4caf7ec729.mp3 b4a698e6c9da53893de962398d4c8507 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d5d1c2ecc3ff012667cbc32e6f564024.pdf 6ade73e6faecbaef8851e52091aa9a88 PDF Text Text Honestly Human From the series: Religion and the Human Story Romans 7:14-25; Mark 2:18-28 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan March 2, 2003 Transcription of the spoken sermon Religion has damaged as many people throughout the centuries as it has healed. I say that not as a shocking opening statement, I say that not to be provocative, I say that because I really believe that. Religion has had a tendency to become oppressive and to lead people into depression rather than into liberation, freedom, and joy. I met a person, in this case a woman, this past week whom I had not seen for over forty years, and over forty years ago she was what one would call a deeply spiritual person, and I say that positively, a woman of prayer, prayer circles, missionary activity, great piety and devotion. When I saw her this week after forty years, I was surprised at her face. Someone has said you could tell a great deal about a person from his or her face. Her face did not reflect to me joy, pleasure, delight, or a certain lightness of being. Her face, her visage communicated to me a certain heaviness, even grumpiness. I thought to myself that all of the intense, sincere and serious cultivation of the spiritual life, for all of that, she did not strike me as being very happy. Not so long ago I took a book down from the shelf that I hadn't touched in a long time, blew the dust off and it flopped open to a spot where there was a small brochure. It was produced in the early 60s when I was here the first time. We weren't called Christ Community at that time; the other name will not be mentioned. There I was with my picture on it, of course, just fresh out of seminary, and my visage communicated in that picture, a serious, moral, completely dedicated, young man, young old man, and in that little brochure we had a number of affirmations, all very orthodox which we surely believed. I was embarrassed and amused as I looked at it. So, I took it to Duba's on Tuesday to the luncheon and gave it to Duncan Littlefair just so he would know the kind of persons he, was hanging out with. The next week he came to the table and said to the table, "I want to show you a story of salvation," and he held up that brochure with my picture and he said, "This man was lost." And then he pointed at me and he said, "Look at his face. He has been saved." That's a true story and I know existentially that it is true. © Grand Valley State University   �Honestly Human Richard A. Rhem Page 2   To be human is to be a creature in conflict. It is to be a creature living with a constant tension. The Apostle Paul knew that and that famous seventh chapter of Romans I can never read without feeling the intensity of Paul's own inward struggle. There is a long history of interpretation of that passage. It is amazing what people get out of that passage. I am not going to bore you with all of that interpretation all over the map. I think it is enough to read it and to say Paul knew the excruciating pain of being a creature living in tension. W. H. Auden, in the little quote in your liturgy, says, "There are times when wouldn't we like to be unreflective animals? Or disembodied spirits?" because either way, no problem. Don't we know in the depths of our being that about which Paul was writing? Of course we do. Krister Stendahl says that for Paul this was a midrash on the Genesis story of the fall, because Paul was trying to understand how he could affirm the Torah, the way of life, the law of God, how he could affirm that in his inward being and do such a miserable job of fulfilling it. How could he will to do one thing and do another? Have you ever been there? Don't we know? Is not there that within us that would soar and love and grace and bless and affirm, and that within us which is dark, mean, and that which makes us blush? That is the human situation. St. Paul would say it is because we are fallen creatures. I don't happen to agree with Paul on that one. I don't think it is because we are fallen creatures, I think it is because we are human creatures. Here we are, after eons and eons and eons of time, of evolutionary process that has brought about creatures like us who carry with us all of the animality of our background rooted in the dust of the earth, and creatures who have become aware, conscious, susceptible to the lure of love, able at times to soar into transcendent realms and ecstatic joy. We are not fallen. We are just human, and to be honestly human is to recognize that conflict within which is a given, with being human beings such as we are. In the wisdom of the ancient church, it was that tension within that gave rise to Mardi Gras. I became aware of that rather late in life, too. It was the covering of the parade in New Orleans, I suppose some few years ago, when the commentator spoke about the wisdom of the ancient church in giving people an opportunity to cut loose, to blow off steam and get it all out of their system before they entered into the darkness and the solemnity of that season of Lent when they were called to self-denial and contemplation. It immediately made sense to me that the church jn its best wisdom has understood the nature of the human which it is explained as a term of being fallen or whether it is understood, as we do today, with psychological insight and behavioral sciences, etc., that it is simply the given with being what we are. Nonetheless, in the wisdom of the church, the whole being needs to be recognized and ownership taken. Some years ago when Gertrud Mueller Nelson was here and we were introduced to her wonderful book on the celebration of the seasons, Dance With God. I was struck with her description of Carnival, and the purpose of Carnival and the © Grand Valley State University �Honestly Human Richard A. Rhem Page 3   acknowledgment of that shadow side that is within all of us and that need for ownership thereof and release of, but release of in some measured and controlled manner. Martin Marty says that the church is afraid to allow us ecstasy, because ecstasy actually from the Greek sfotis, out of that state in which one is, or to be out of oneself; or to be beside oneself, to be crazy. The suggestion is that now and again we should be given permission simply to be crazy. In the rituals of the church, to the extent that they are healthy and human-enhancing, they will provide those channels whereby we can tap our feet and be ushered into delight and know the taste of sheer joy. I love to watch the children when the jazz ensemble or the musicians are singing on a day like this. I saw Greg Martin's little daughter doing her thing. She's got the rhythm, Greg, she was replicating you right there in the pew, and when I see that happen, I know there is something right about that. In contrast to the little child who, sitting next to her mother, was turning around and making eye contact and smiling with all those around until her mother reined her in, gave her a squeeze and said, "Remember you're in church." Gordon Cosby, who is the founder of that well-publicized and marvelous ministry in Washington D.C., the Church of the Saviour, tells about a time when he was invited by a New England congregation to come up and preach at a midweek Lenten service, and he said the service was so dull and uninspiring, the only thing that moved in the whole service were the offering plates. He and his wife left rather down and dispirited and the congregation had secured for them a room in the village, and it happened to be over the tavern, and he and his wife retired to their room and beneath them were emanating the sounds of music and laughter and joy, and he looked at his wife and said, "You know, if Jesus came to this village tonight, I think he'd join the crowd at the tavern rather than the crowd at the church." And I know that existentially also, because that young man who was in the pulpit here for those early years of 1960s, oh, it is painful to remember. But, I went to Williamsburg, Virginia not so long after that and, in a tour of the colonial buildings, there was this lovely hall on a second floor in the middle of that little village restored, and the guide spoke about the fact that in this room – which was light with windows and chair stacked and here and there great barrels of wine vats, nice hardwood floor – the guide said here the social life of the community took place. There were often Saturday evening dances, he said, and then the chairs would be set up for divine worship on Sunday morning. I thought, "Bingo! The only part of that story I know is Sunday morning, because I've never danced a step, let alone a two-step, and wine never touched my lips apart from the Eucharist." I know I am not preaching to many of you. There are a few dinosaurs like me out there, but just let me get this off my chest. You can just go out of here and thank God that you didn't know that kind of repressive religious experience, © Grand Valley State University �Honestly Human Richard A. Rhem Page 4   and yet I know I also speak for a good measure of religion which is in control and which, as Martin Marty says, is afraid to let us experience something of the divine madness which honors that part of our humanity which is also authentically human. Jesus, it seems to me, had the balance right. He was accosted by the religious guardians of tradition for the fact that his disciples didn't carry on the fast. Maybe they didn't keep Lent. He said to them, "Look, you can't fast when the bridegroom is here." And then he was trying to say something new is a-birthing and you simply cannot take that which is new and cram it into old containers because it bursts the containers. And then they were going through the grain fields and the disciples picked the grain for their own need on the Sabbath, which again brought that conflict situation: why do they do that which is not lawful on the Sabbath? Jesus said there is precedent for that. The meeting of human need transcends the ritual prescription for the keeping of the Sabbath. And then he said, "Look, the Sabbath, this marvelous gift of God, has been for humankind, not humankind for the Sabbath." It is so easy in our religious observances, it is so easy for those of us who are in charge, it is so easy for us to forget that it is all for the enrichment and the enhancement of your humanity lived before the face of God. With Jesus, there was that ability to discriminate between the authentic observance and the honoring of that which was even deeper, which was authentic human need. The church doesn't live very easily with that kind of freedom because Luke and Matthew we are told followed Mark a decade or two later. Mark's gospel, that we read this morning, has that statement of Jesus, the Sabbath was made for the human, not the human for the Sabbath. When Matthew and Luke picked up that particular story, in both Matthew and Luke that statement was deleted. I think the elders got together and said, "You know what? That is just too dangerous. You can't trust the people to make that decision, and so we had better delete it." It is a beautiful thing, really, when one can celebrate the full spectrum of being, to come in here this morning to the sounds of joy. I caught you smiling and tapping your feet because something deep down in you was being tapped, because there is something marvelous about the experience of sheer joy and delight. And then, it will be also a goose-bump experience on Wednesday evening at the opening of Lent when you will come here to a dimmed sanctuary and kneel and I will place the ashes on your forehead in the sign of the cross reminding you that dust you are and to dust you will return. So, you see, to be honestly human is to be able on Tuesday night to have pancakes dripping with butter and sloshing with syrup, bacon deep in grease and sausage that won't quit, raise a glass and party a while, and then come here to identify with the lamb of God who loved us and gave himself for us. It is not either/or. It is both/and. That is to be honestly human. That is to be all that God intends us to © Grand Valley State University �Honestly Human Richard A. Rhem Page 5   be, and when we live that way, then I suspect that increasingly with age, with wrinkles and creases, our visage will reflect joy. © 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 Epiphany VIII Series Religion and the Human Story Scripture Text Romans 7:14-25, Mark 2:18-28 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-0-20030302 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2003-03-02 Title A name given to the resource Honestly Human 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 2, 2003 entitled "Honestly Human", as part of the series "Religion and the Human Story", on the occasion of Epiphany VIII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Romans 7:14-25, Mark 2:18-28. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Celebration of Life Nature of Religion https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e135833ad88e1f62206874f07b80aaf9.mp3 894f7a71026c8ff47282e675fa4ee6a6 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2c01c39fd02c38e6204cade9dce08527.pdf 8b5abddc36a9f754c1290e759f949c87 PDF Text Text From Feast to Fast: Honoring the Human Epiphany V Scripture: Psalm 103:1-18; Matthew 11:2-19 Text: Psalm 103:14 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan February 10, 2002 Transcription of the spoken sermon Last week I, as I suppose many of you, watched the Super Bowl taking place in New Orleans. Because of 9-11, the game was moved back a week, consequently right into the center of Mardi Gras. And, as we have come to expect with television these days, it is a string of commercials interrupted occasionally by football. And then, even less frequently, there may be an interview of some interest, and with Mardi Gras being on in New Orleans, the capitol, and all of that in the midst of the Super Bowl celebration, one of the television journalists interviewed a local New Orleans person who talked about the celebration of Mardi Gras as he had experienced it growing up as a second or third or fourth generation New Orleans person. He made the point that it was a wonderful festival, a wonderful family time, that it was really a time for family and friends to enjoy each other and to celebrate together and he made the point that what the media camera catches about Mardi Gras is not really what it's all about. It is not, after all, he said, one big orgy. It is just a good, decent family celebration, and I'm sure that he is right, and I'm equally sure that the cameras will try to find whatever is at its naughtiest to bring us from New Orleans and the Mardi Gras celebration. But, as the interview was going on, I thought to myself, "Native of New Orleans who celebrated many Mardi Gras, I wonder if you really know the deep background of Mardi Gras." He gave no indication of knowing that place out of which it arose, or the reason for it arising, which is the fact that, in the wisdom of the ancient Church, there was a recognition that it is necessary to have a certain rhythm and balance in life, and so the Christian Year is structured such that one moves from feast to fast to feast to fast. (C. S. Lewis, in his Screwtape Letters, has the old Devil commiserating about God's wisdom and giving people that rhythm, feast to fast to feast to fast, where it is always the same, yet always new.) In the interview, I didn't see any acknowledgment of that background, really, in the ancient Church where, on the threshold for example of moving into the solemn and sobering period of Lent of forty days, license was given to have a grand party, to pull out all the stops and to celebrate. © Grand Valley State University �From Feast to Fast: Honoring the Human Richard A. Rhem Page 2 This morning we have a taste of it with some foot-tapping music and there are Paczkis, and you're invited to indulge to your heart's content, but in the real celebration of Mardi Gras, there is this full release of all that is a part of the human person, the human animal, the recognition that to honor the human is to give opportunity for the expression of the full gamut of that which constitutes us as human beings. So, Mardi Gras was a party that started out as an opportunity to let go and to release and to get it all out of your system as you moved into the somber time of Lent which was marked in the tradition of the Church by self denial, which we have come to mark more in terms of the cultivation of some added dimension of our spiritual experience, not necessarily repression or self-denial, but spiritual enrichment. Nonetheless, in the ancient practice of the Church, there was this emphasis on self-denial and prior to it, on the threshold of it, a grand party, and there was wisdom in that, because we are, after all, creatures who are composed of body and soul, soul and spirit, material ,physicality, sensuality, spirituality - all dwelling within our skin. But, of course, the Church has always also recognized the risk and has been squeamish about the expression of our humanity in such a fashion. I was reminded of this in a book I read while I was gone, Constantine's Sword, by James Carroll. You'll probably be hearing me quote this thing a time or two every week for the next ten weeks or so. It has to be one of the ten best books I've ever read. James Carroll was raised a very observant Roman Catholic. In his childhood and his adolescence, he had a very devout mother who led him on pilgrimages and exposed him to the finest and the richest of spiritual experience in the Catholic tradition, to the extent that he eventually became an ordained priest and even a member of the Jesuit Order. Eventually, James Carroll came to his own personal conviction that that was not what he was cut out for. He left the order. He is a writer, a journalist, married, with a son and a daughter. He continues, according to his own description of himself, as a faithful, if critical, Roman Catholic. The point of my story is this: the Church has always been squeamish about the expression of the human, particularly in its sensuality, its physicality, in its bodily expression, and James Carroll, wanting to bring his wife and his two children on a pilgrimage to Europe where he had grown up, where his father had been in the upper echelons of the military in Germany after the Second World War. They came eventually to St. Peter's itself, in Rome and, as they approached, the Vatican guard stopped them and would not let them enter because his little daughter, just a child, had her knees exposed, because she had a little mini-skirt on. James Carroll, who was raised in the very heart and center of the Church, deeply traditioned, priest and Jesuit, and all the rest, says in this book that he saw his little daughter humiliated at the doors of St. Peter's. Suddenly it rushed over him – everything of which he had experienced a failure of the Catholic Church, that © Grand Valley State University �From Feast to Fast: Honoring the Human Richard A. Rhem Page 3 failure being the denial of the human, that squeamishness before the full humanity and its expression. I could identify a little bit with him because I had been turned down at St. Peter's myself for wearing Bermuda shorts and, taking many people there over the years, I always warned them to bring a scarf and have their shoulders covered, and fully covered kneecaps. Nonetheless, what he experienced was a moment of insight. He credited his non-Catholic wife with being more adept at dealing with situations like this than himself. The wife took the little girl off to the side and kind of skinnied her little skirt down until it covered her knees, and then took her sweater and covered her bare midriff and they went through with flying colors. The story, of course, simply points to that which has marked so much of the Church, its moralism, its inability to deal with the flesh. Now, I started out by saying the Mardi Gras was particularly that opportunity to do that. But, on the other side of the coin, the Church has been so crimped and so cramped in the full expression of human being. When I read Carroll's narration, I was reminded of a story of my own which happened over thirty years ago down in Williamsburg, Virginia, looking at some of those old Colonial buildings and taking a tour of Williamsburg. We came to this building, a lovely building, an upstairs hall, lots of windows, nice wooden floor, and over in the corner there were some wine vats and then some chairs stacked up. The tour guide said, just matter-of-factly, that in this hall on Saturday evenings the community would gather for a dance and enjoy a glass of wine together in this space. And then, on Sunday morning, the chairs would be set up and the community would return for divine worship. As I heard that, there was an experience, a moment for me precisely like the moment for James Carroll at the door of St. Peter's. For at that advanced age of my life, wine had never touched my lips, nor had I ever danced one step or the two-step, or whatever they danced when I was growing up, out of religious and moral scruples. It wasn't just that I am clumsy, which I am, but I could not dance. It was one of the things I could not do. As I stood there that bright, summer morning in this hall flooded with light with its wine vats and its dance floor and the chairs that on Sunday were filled with worshipers, I had one of those "Aha" moments, one of those Epiphany moments when I realize that I was living a truncated existence, that there was a whole spectrum of life of which I was not a part, which was civil and decent and lovely and grand, and I had been so crimped that there was no balance in my life, no balance between Saturday night spent in an enjoyable fashion and Sunday morning spent in religious devotion. I didn't know those things could go together. And so, for me, it was also a moment of insight and I realized that there was something lacking in my own traditional experience and nurture, and frankly, in my ministry. This morning, I tell these stories simply to make the point, as we are on the threshold of another Lent, that it is in the honoring of the full spectrum of our © Grand Valley State University �From Feast to Fast: Honoring the Human Richard A. Rhem Page 4 humanity that we best honor God and best find our own human fulfillment, for we have in the Church not done a very good job of honoring that full spectrum. The Psalmist speaks so profoundly in this regard when he speaks of the love of God. Certainly there is sin and transgression, but he says, as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is God's love for those who fear him, and as far as the east is from the west, so far has God removed our transgressions from us. And then he goes on in what I think is just so profound: "For God knows our frame; God remembers we are dust." And, of course, it is a reference to the Creation story where the Creator in the midst of a garden of delight, Eden, a garden of blessing, forms the human being out of the mud, the stuff, the earth, and then breathes in the breath of life so that that mud becomes a living being or a living soul. What the Jewish people have known and maintained in terms of balance so much better than we in the Christian Church is that the whole human being is made up of that physicality and spirituality, and that both must be honored and allowed to come to expression. What happened in the New Testament, and you can take a line from Paul to Augustine to John Calvin, and you have a terrible distortion of the human being. Paul hinting at original sin. It was Augustine who formulated the doctrine of original sin, and of course, it was trumped by Calvin, as well, in the Reformation period. But, to take the Creation story which in its Jewish format is a story about the Creator creating a creature who has physicality and spirituality, who is put to a test, who fails the test, but who is tested again and fails again and tested again and fails again. There are about four falls in those early chapters of Genesis. There is not a "Fall," as though there was an original couple that ate an ancient apple that marked forever the rest of the human race. To do that to the story is to miss the story and all of its profundity. But, that's what happened in the Christian Church so that, to be human became synonymous with being sinner, and so to be human was not something to be trumpeted, but rather almost something to be ashamed of, something that needed to be screwed down and restricted and repressed and, consequently, many of us have lived with a bad conscience about that shadow side, to use Jung's term, and have lived with the denial of much of our humanity that is simply a part of being a human being with physicality and spirituality. Mardi Gras at its best was the attempt to allow people to kick over the traces and have a ball, to be just a little bit naughty, if you will, but to enjoy themselves fully, fully cognizant of the fact that they were entering into a period when they were called to more sober reflection and the pursuit of spirituality. If we would honor the image of God within us, if we would allow humanity in its wholesomeness and healthy fullness to come to expression, then we'd have to recognize that rhythm from feast to fast, from party and celebration to serious intention and disciplined spiritual experience, and to do this is to allow the fully human to come to expression. © Grand Valley State University �From Feast to Fast: Honoring the Human Richard A. Rhem Page 5 It isn't easy. I think the Psalmist, as I said, expressed it as well as it could be expressed. God made us human. Why would God condemn what God created in the human that is physical and spiritual? Jesus ran into it. John, good old John, fire and brimstone preacher looking for the end, all torn up by all of the degeneracy around him, John who had introduced Jesus now has questions. There was too much joy in Galilee for John's liking. There were stories about too much joy connected with Jesus' ministry for John's liking. He sent his disciples to ask, "Are you the one, or was I mistaken? Aren't you the real item?" And Jesus gave him a very ambiguous response. He didn't defend himself, just didn't define himself except by his deeds. He said, "Go tell John what you see - the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame are walking, the prisoners are released." And then he said a very interesting thing, "Happy is the one who is not offended in me." There have been a lot of very sincere, devout, religious people who have been offended in other religious people who have had too much fun, who have enjoyed life to the fullest. And Jesus couldn't have affirmed John more than he did, but he said, "You know what, the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than great old John." And then he said to the people, acknowledging the fact that this is not an easy thing, "I don't know what to do with you, because it is like children in the marketplace saying, 'Hey, we wanted to play weddings and you didn't want to play weddings. You didn't want to be happy. So, we said, 'Well let's play funerals,' and you said, "We don't want to be sad, either.'" He said, "I don't know what to do with you. John comes neither eating or drinking and you say he has a demon. I come eating and drinking and I'm possessed." It is not easy. Happy is the person who is not offended in another person's joy and expression of their spirituality in a celebration. It is ironic that this morning between services one of my dear old friends came up to me and said, "I got a letter from a friend of mine telling me how awful is Christ Community and how terrible are you. You wouldn't believe it." I said, "Oh, yes, I would." Happy is the person who is not offended in the joy and the celebration as we seek to give expression to the fullness of our human nature, after all, in the image of God. Lent is coming, but in the meantime, have another Paczki. References: James Carroll. Constantine’s Sword: The Church and the Jews: A History. New York: Houghton Miflin Company, 2001. © 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 Epiphany VI Scripture Text Psalm 103:14 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI References James Carroll. Constantine's Sword: The Church and the Jews: A History. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2001. 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-0-20020210 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2002-02-10 Title A name given to the resource From Feast to Fast: Honoring the Human Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on February 10, 2002 entitled "From Feast to Fast: Honoring the Human", on the occasion of Epiphany VI, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Psalm 103:14. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Celebration of Life Epiphany