1 24 3 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/1bf1c79658d6ba608868598417f756cb.pdf 3eef5df377a2b0b8579943795fe11f9b PDF Text Text Our Little Systems Have Their Day… Text: John 4:21-24; Acts 7:51 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan May 5, 1996 Transcription of the spoken sermon "Our little systems have their day, They have their day and cease to be, They are but broken lights of Thee, And Thou, O Lord, art more than they." It was my first appointment with Professor Dr. Hendrikus Berkhof in Leiden, The Netherlands. His study, every wall bookshelves from floor to ceiling, was in his home at 18 Julianalaan, Oestgeest, a suburb of Leiden. A drape separated the study from the next room. On the drape was pinned a sheet of paper with the lines of Tennyson [quoted above]. I had come to determine if I should pursue my studies with Professor Berkhof at Leiden and to determine if he would be my mentor. My question was answered immediately as I read those words. I do not remember encountering the words before. Perhaps I had sung them as we so often sing our hymns - without the words registering. I do not know. But I know that the moment I read them in that place at that time, the words leapt out at me. It was an epiphany moment. I was about to embark on a serious graduate study in systematic theology - the discipline that seeks to bring coherence to the whole biblical tradition. I had from a child wrestled with theological ideas and enigmas. My major in college was philosophy, in seminary Systematics. For some reason I had always been fascinated with, perhaps obsessed with, the knowledge of God, the systematic theological understanding of God in my own Reformed tradition. I had been preaching for seven years, four here and three in New Jersey. Those seven years of pastoral experience had challenged the neat and well-defined theological system I brought with me from seminary; I had learned that there was human experience that did not fit with my system. My European educational venture was not so much to secure a degree that would open for me the academic world, as it was an existential quest for understanding. I needed to go back to the foundations. I needed a new foundation for my preaching and my pastoral ministry. © Grand Valley State University   �Our Little Systems Have Their Day…Richard A. Rhem Page 2   My little system had reached its limits. I'm certain it was my own deeply felt need that caused my heart to beat more rapidly as the words of Tennyson met my eye and found lodgment in my soul. That was a moment of recognition - my little system had had its day. But there was more - and even now I can hardly sing the words without emotion rising within me - They are but broken lights of Thee and Thou, O Lord, art more than they. That was the realization that washed as a great wave of grace over me - Thou, O Lord, art more than they. My little system may be in trouble but I am not in trouble. The poem turns to prayer , to direct address - Thou, O Lord, art beyond all our frail human attempts to define Thee, to capture Thee. Thou, O Lord, art more than they! If Professor Berkhof, an eminent scholar of international reputation pinned such lines to the drape of his study lined with books, chuck full of "little systems," then this was the mentor I needed. The rest of the story most of you know. For four years I studied with him. Returning here, this congregation graciously invited me once again to become their pastor, understanding I would complete my dissertation. But things began to happen. Renewal, explosive growth - there was little time to get back to writing. After two years, Professor Berkhof wrote, "I no longer expect you to complete your dissertation. Theology is for the building of the Church and God has called you to do the greater work." He was a wise and great teacher. He gave me my freedom and affirmed my work. And as you know, he and Mrs. Berkhof became in subsequent years our dearest friends. He preached here in 1978, the first service held in this sanctuary, and we had Tennyson's words printed in calligraphy, matted and framed and presented it to him. It hung over his desk and, in March, when I visited Mrs. Berkhof, I took a photograph of the framed words as I was picking out books for myself from his library. I share this autobiographical sketch with you today because Christ Community is at a crossroads and, in some sense, I think we are where we are because of the personal history I've just related - My recognition of the need for a sounder basis for my ministry; Tennyson's lines as I encountered Professor Berkhof ; my formation under his tutelage; his deep faith, warm and generous heart, open, searching mind. All of that mixed with my own personal circumstances and the experience of God's grace through the love and acceptance of this congregation, set the stage for the past quarter century. Christ Community as we are now constituted is the © Grand Valley State University �Our Little Systems Have Their Day…Richard A. Rhem Page 3   fruit of my encounter with one who was the embodiment of Tennyson's poetic expression of the limitedness of all human formulations and the limitlessness of the one eternal God for Whom all our gropings strive. Now all that has been for these past twenty-five years is being challenged. This week you received in the mail a resolution for the separation of Christ Community from the Reformed Church in America. The congregation would not have to leave, but the Muskegon Classis is forcing me to leave because of my theological views. Therefore, you are faced with a choice of remaining in the RCA without me or leaving with me. The vote will be two weeks from today, May 19. Thus, I have today, next Sunday and the 19th in which to preach with this critical matter pending. I cannot act as though nothing is happening. Yet, for me, worship is sacred and preaching the most sacred trust that is mine. I have endeavored never to use the pulpit for promotion of the institution or for personal gain. How, then, can I use these Lord's Days such that God is honored, the Word is preached authentically, and you, the people, are spiritually nourished? I have concluded that this is possible only if I am open and honest with you. If I tell you honestly that this ministry and this congregation is my life and I pray that you will stay in solidarity with me. And, further, let me say that my messages will be an attempt to set forth why I am so bold as to seek your solidarity. I am the reason Christ Community has been placed at the crossroads. I am your leader. Frankly, at times I tremble at that, but I cannot now abdicate my leadership role. It was never my intention that we should leave the denomination but, faced with this situation, I believe Christ Community has a significant calling to fulfill and that there is a great work for us to do. Being thus honest with you, you will have to hear me critically, judging what you hear in terms of my own personal investment in our future. I do believe. That is the Eastertide theme, a theme for our present circumstance in which I wanted to affirm the faith we share - the great Christian convictions by which we live That the end is life, That the news is too good not to share, That good religion opens the mind and warms the heart. And now today - a mid-course correction. Our little systems have their day... Let me put that in other words, words that capture the heart and spirit of what it means to be Reformed - © Grand Valley State University �Our Little Systems Have Their Day…Richard A. Rhem Page 4   I do believe that the Church needs to be re-formed by the Word of God and always being reformed. I believe this is true of the manner in which the Church is governed, the ways in which the Church worships, and the understanding by which the Church professes her faith. It is the latter issue that is before us - our understanding of the faith. Thus, my message today will make the claim that the theological tradition of the Church needs ongoing revision so that there is available to each generation a fresh translation of the Gospel. We are not speaking of a new Gospel; rather, a fresh expression of the one Gospel of the grace of God that we have experienced through Jesus Christ our Lord, the same Gospel that Jesus proclaimed, that St. Paul preached, that has come to new expression again and again down through 2,000 years so that each generation, each historical period hears itself addressed by the Living God and is able to experience the immediacy of that address in its own context and situation. Let me point you to the Lessons from John and Acts, both familiar narratives the one, the encounter of Jesus and the Samaritan woman; the other, Stephen's speech before the Jewish High Council. The conversation of Jesus and the woman of Samaria recorded in John 4 is rich and could occupy our attention for several messages. I will limit myself to a few comments that illustrate the claim of this message that the faith tradition grows and develops and must come to ever-new expression. Let me remind you that the writer of the Gospel is in such a new situation writing for a Jewish Christian community probably situated in a center of Hellenistic culture - maybe at Ephesus. He is encouraging them to hold on to their faith in Jesus as the Messiah. It is 85-95 C.E. The expected end of the Age has not come. Jewish tradition and identity is being determined by the Rabbinic/Pharisaic Party. There is now in the synagogue liturgy a benediction against heretics and to claim Jesus as Messiah is heresy, as determined by the established Jewish authority. It is now obvious that Israel will go on its way not recognizing Jesus as God's promised one. The community for whom this Gospel is written is experiencing a crisis of faith. The writer tells the story of Jesus, not simply to teach history but, rather, to enable the community some 60 years later, through remembering, to experience in their own situation the presence of God Whose presence was experienced in the Word made flesh. The conversation with the Samaritan woman brings out the newness created by God's embodiment in Jesus. The woman senses Jesus is a prophet. She raises the critical question that separated the Jews and the Samaritans. They were sharp © Grand Valley State University �Our Little Systems Have Their Day…Richard A. Rhem Page 5   antagonists. The Samaritans' worship center was Mt. Gerizim. The Jews' worship center was Jerusalem. Who was right? Jesus answers that in the newness created by his presence - that is, God's presence in Jesus - both geographical locations were being transcended. Not here or there. Rather, in spirit and truth. Jesus does not say neither place of worship had served its purpose in the past, but he is pointing to a new reality. The time has come when the true worshiper will worship God in spirit and truth. God is Spirit. No place, no creedal formula, no sacred text, no ritual form can capture God Who is Spirit. The one who would worship God must worship in spirit and truth - that is, according to the nature and character of God - the nature and character now revealed in the Word made flesh - that Word made flesh was there speaking to the woman. In his action he was revealing a God of limitless embrace beyond the limited understanding of the Jerusalem Cult or the Samaritan Cult. The God present in the Word made flesh was in the very action of Jesus breaking down barriers: He was speaking with a Samaritan -something a Jew would not do. He was speaking with a woman - something a Jewish man would not do. He was breaking down ethnic and gender walls as he spoke. Now think of John's community - being thrust out of their spiritual home - out of the Synagogue whose true home had been the Temple at Jerusalem. John is, in effect, saying, so you are put out, you feel abandoned, homeless? Not so. That all changed in the coming of Jesus. Those historical particularities - Jerusalem, Gerizim, the Synagogue at Ephesus or wherever, have no claim on God. God is Spirit and thus Present beyond any human institutional forms or geographical locations. That was Stephen's claim, as well. His speech to the Jewish High Council was a sharply adversarial recounting of Israel's history. He was arrested for his preaching of Jesus as God's promised Messiah. He was charged with denigrating the Torah and the Temple and Jewish ritual. Luke records his defense, the longest speech in the Book of Acts and thus, in Luke's view, a critical piece. Luke's intention in Acts is to play down the tension between Paul's Gentile mission and the Jewish Christian movement headed by James. In the story of Stephen we have a Hellenistic Jew arguing with the authorities of Hellenistic Judaism, that is, the Judaism of the Jews living in the broader Hellenistic culture. The tension is the same that John's community is struggling with. © Grand Valley State University �Our Little Systems Have Their Day…Richard A. Rhem Page 6   Stephen gives an extended treatment of Israel's history showing that there was always conflict. The authorities claim to follow Moses but Stephen shows that Moses was rejected by Israel in his day. Finally he comes to the building of the Temple and then, quoting from II Chronicles 2:6, Psalm 11:2, and Isaiah 66:1-2, demonstrates from the Hebrew Scriptures that it was always recognized that God cannot be contained in a building made with hands and, by inference, we can say that Stephen was arguing against any historical, human form or structure to encapsulate the Living God. He then bitterly charges his opponents with replicating the sin of Israel throughout the generations. "You are forever opposing the Holy Spirit..." Remember this is not a Christian against a Jew. This is an intra-Jewish conflict. And Stephen's bitter words must be heard as coming from one who will be martyred for his faith, representing a small, persecuted movement of Jesus Jews. If we would hear this text in our own situation two millennia later, we must recognize that the Christian Church is now a world-dominant religious institution. We must remember that the charge against Stephen was actually innovation. The Establishment was putting down the challenge to its structures and forms. The concrete historical established religious institution was resisting the Jesus Jewish movement. Stephen claimed such resistance was opposing the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the God Who would not be captured and contained in human containers, be they Torah or Temple or religious authorities. Stephen was simply giving expression to the claim Jesus made to the Samaritan woman Not here, Not there, But in Spirit and Truth, for God is Spirit transcending all human historical creeds and institutional forms. Religious institutions have throughout the centuries lost the sense of the Spirit's freedom and thus, over and over again, the religions have been embroiled in conflict, and the charge of heresy has been leveled, often issuing in violence and even Holy War Jesus was crucified. Stephen was stoned. Jesus prayed, Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing. Stephen prayed, Lord Jesus, receive my Spirit. Lord, do not hold this sin against them. © Grand Valley State University �Our Little Systems Have Their Day…Richard A. Rhem Page 7   If you choose to go with me it will not be my intention to win an argument, to be proven right, to prove others wrong. It will be to follow Jesus' way, open to the Spirit to find new and creative ways to embody the grace of God and create here an ongoing community of compassion. The RCA cannot remove my ordination without a formal charge and trial. But no one wins in such a contest. Sometimes religious institutions must simply be left to go their way. For some of you, that is painful. Long identification with the Reformed Church has been meaningful and separation is cause for grieving. I am aware of that and I never wanted that to happen. But, faced with the alternative of leaving or denying the larger vision that I do believe is of God's Spirit, I have no choice. I do believe in what the community embodies. I do believe I have personally been faithful to the tradition that has shaped me - seeking a revision of our faith understanding in light of ongoing human and historical development. I do believe God's Spirit creates a newness and beckons God's people to an ongoing adventure of embodying and mediating God's grace in concrete community. Finally, I do believe we can trust the experience we have shared together - for it is my deepest desire that it be true of us as it was of the Samaritan village who heard the woman's witness. They said to the woman, "It is no longer what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world." I dare invite you to follow me, not simply because of my word, but because I know from your own witness that here in this wonderful, probing, searching place you have experienced the Presence of God and known God's grace embodied in this people. And as I said to the Classis of Muskegon - If you would test my theology, read my people! I am eager to see what wonders the Spirit has yet in store for us. Our little systems have their day, They have their day and cease to be, They are but broken lights of Thee, And Thou, O Lord, art more than they. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a6b44af302cb884c62fc9ae7b0fc6c66.mp3 0783da1c92a26484fe014e06a6bf2d1c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Eastertide V Series I Do Believe Scripture Text Acts 7:51, John 4:21-24 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19960505 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1996-05-05 Title A name given to the resource Our Little Systems Have Their Day Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on May 5, 1996 entitled "Our Little Systems Have Their Day", as part of the series "I Do Believe", on the occasion of Eastertide V, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Acts 7:51, John 4:21-24. Community of Compassion Inclusive Grace Presence of God Spirit https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/bbdc2e52859c10bb1c82aead0f897df0.pdf 54a02004ada197cf0fd440bad88ce153 PDF Text Text Life Broken and Poured Out From the sermon series: Now – But Then Text: Luke 15:51-52; I Corinthians 13:12 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Advent I, December 3, 1995 Transcription of the spoken sermon I am finding that I am entering this season of Advent and this new Christian year with anticipation, and my experience is that that is a growing anticipation and a growing delight in the celebration of the Christian year. I am perhaps just getting older, but I am enjoying the structure of the Christian Year, the form that it gives to my spiritual life and pilgrimage, the life of worship. Obviously, for me whose chief responsibility is worship, I suppose that's understandable, but I would hope that it is true for you, too, that as a people you might even have thought this week, "Advent begins. A new Christian Year begins. The color will be purple. Soon the trees will be dressed, the stars lighted. We'll gather around the table; the Advent wreath will be in our midst." Those things are becoming increasingly meaningful to me over the years. I had to learn all of that after the fact, because I grew up, as many of you have, in a tradition where the Christian Year was not observed. Oh, well, Christmas, to be sure. Easter, Pentecost, and I think we celebrated Ascension Day, too, because I had to go to church on Thursday night. But, in this old Dutch Reformed Church in which I grew up, we didn't observe the Christian Year because that was Catholic, and even if it'd been 500 years, you can't protest too long! Actually, I was trained that the order for preaching should be the doctrines of the Heidelberg Catechism - Lord's Day by Lord's Day by Lord's Day. And so, if you followed those doctrinal themes, you might be considering the death of Christ in the Advent season, or you might be considering the Holy Spirit during Lent, because you didn't observe Advent or Lent or Eastertide or Christmas as a season of the Christian Year. But, I'm finding the observance of the Christian Year meaningful. Obviously in the wisdom of the ancient Church, they understood that to go through this cycle was a way of remembering, the way of remembering the way in which God has touched our history. "The Word became flesh, lived among us, died among us, rose among us. The spirit came to dwell within us." You see, the Christian Year puts it in story, in a narrative, and we can live in it and live through it and I'm © Grand Valley State University   �Life Broken and Poured Out Richard A. Rhem Page 2   simply finding that I am eager to go through the cycle again. We begin this morning, the First Lord's Day of the new Christian Year - the season of Advent. Advent means "coming." And, of course, four Sundays before Christmas the focus would be the One who came when the Word was made flesh. We are preparing for Christmas. But, the real focus of Advent is not simply the One who came, but that the One who came is the One who is coming. And so, the real theme of Advent is the fact that there is a future and an end. And it is a season in which we are invited to pause, to reflect, to ask in regard to our lives, "What time is it?" In regard to our congregation, "What time is it?" In regard to the society of which we are a part, "What time is it?" In regard to the world and world history, "What time is it?" Because, as a matter of fact, what the Advent season calls to our mind is the fact that we are people on the move; we are people underway; we are people going somewhere, and something's happening. That was the insight of the Hebrew prophets. Israel gave to the world the sense of history. Over against that was that cyclic sense of reality where things come and go and come and go in endless cycle. But the Hebrews had the insight, "Not so. Beginning, movement, end." And it's fascinating to me that the most recent cosmology, the work of physics, those who study the stars and the planets and all of that deep, deep, mysterious reality of our cosmos - they tell us now that time is irreversible. That means that the best scientific sense of things is now concurring with that biblical sense of things, that there is a point of beginning. There is a movement, an emergence if you will, and an end. Emergence has become a very important word to me. I suggested this summer that it might be a word, an idea that could help us to make more sense of our lives and of history and the cosmos - more sense than the idea of Creation and Fall. I like the idea of Creation and evolutionary development with constant new emergence. And the Advent season tells us that there is not only this process of movement, this irreversible time line, but there is something out there. We're moving toward something. And so, for the theme of this Advent season, I want the phrase to burn into your consciousness and into your minds, into your heart. NOW, BUT THEN. NOW, BUT THEN. I hope every party you attend, there will be a moment in which you'll think, "Now, but then." I hope with every present you purchase, you'll think, “Now, but then.” I hope in whatever quiet moments you can find in this month of December, you'll think, "Now, but then." I was at a seminar earlier, well last week, and it was a very stimulating couple of days, thinking about our nation. The seminar was entitled, "Shall the Christian Coalition Win?" And there was an evangelical leader, Jim Wallis, who founded the Sojourners community years ago, and Joan Campbell, the Executive Secretary of the National Council of Churches, who is the voice for the mainline churches that seem to be in such trouble, and Alan Boesak from South Africa, who is so intricately involved in the dismantling of Apartheid, and as we were discussing © Grand Valley State University �Life Broken and Poured Out Richard A. Rhem Page 3   together the state of the nation, the condition of society, the polarization, the politicization of issues of social welfare and well-being, there were three young men there who were pastors, graduates of Princeton. And as we were talking about our lives and the life of the church and of society, one of these young men said, "Dear God, I can't even get to know my people. My people (he's a pastor in New Jersey, a bedroom community for the city), he said, "My people get on the train at 5, 6 o'clock in the morning, they go into the city, they work all day, they get home 7, 8,9 o'clock at night, exhausted; they get up in the morning, get on the train, go into the city, come home exhausted." And he said, "They have no time!" And Alan Boesak spontaneously responded, "They are corporate migrants!" And then he went on to explain. Where he comes from in South Africa there are migrant workers who still, out from camps, get on buses five o'clock in the morning, go into the cities, work all day, come home 8, 9 o'clock at night, exhausted, in order to get up in the morning to get on the bus to go into the cities to work in order to come home, exhausted, 8 or 9 o'clock at night. They're migrant workers. But, Alan said, your up-and-outers, your affluent New Jersey corporate executives are also migrants. They're corporate migrants. And I thought to myself, "Isn't it true of us all?" We came home in the middle of the week and I opened up the calendar to December! It is a disaster! And I thought to myself, I'll be saying to my people on Sunday, Advent is a time of waiting, of anticipating, of preparation for the feast of Christmas, a celebration that the Word became flesh, but more than that, it is a time of waiting, anticipation, preparation for the fact that there is an end out there, that in this evolving, emerging process there is something out there, an endpoint. And I thought, how will we have time, how will we take time? And then I thought perhaps the words of Paul to the Corinthians might keep surfacing in our consciousness, Now, but then, reminding us to ask the question - "What time is it?" What time is it in my life? What time is it in my nation? What time is it in this world of ours? Where are we going? And where will we end? Because we are on the way. It's just that we don't often have a moment to step back and to reflect on the whole thing - What time is it in your life on this first Sunday in Advent? I can do little more than set the theme this morning. Now Paul says, "We see through a glass darkly." We grope, we see fuzzy images, we have a sense of something, but it's not clear. We can't penetrate through the mystery, the mystery that is life, that is history, that is cosmos. Now, dimly, but then - clearly! Now, he says, we know in part. Dear God, don't we know a lot? Really? When you think of the explosion of knowledge and then when you think of the computer capacity to make that knowledge exponentially more applicable - what a world we live in! What a fascinating time to be alive! Now! Knowledge. But, the more we know, the more we know we don't know. And it's not as though we edge up to the mystery in order to dissolve it. As we edge up to the mystery, the mystery grows, doesn't it? Now we know in part, but then we will know even as we are fully known. © Grand Valley State University �Life Broken and Poured Out Richard A. Rhem Page 4   This Advent season let me try to set this into your mind, this idea - Now, But Then. Now in part; then fully. Now dimly, then clearly. Because, you see, we're going somewhere. Something's happening. There's a process under foot, and we are being moved along in that stream, either unconsciously or, if by God's grace for just a moment we could step back and realize that we are in a process for which we ought to be taking responsibility and living with intention. What is emerging? That's the other thing I want to say this morning. What is emerging? Well, if we take what Mary thought was emerging, we can look at that Magnificat. She thought what was emerging was the gift of the child that she had conceived : a new world, a different kind of world. And it excited her. She praised God! But, as I reflected on the Magnificat, dear friends, and I thought how am I going to say this to my people -I realized that the Gospel is Good News, really, for the underdog. Mary was a peasant girl. Mary was one of the voiceless ones. Mary had no power. And what did she celebrate? She celebrated the fact that in her world, in her day, folks like us would be put down so that folks like her would be raised up. Mary's song was a subversive song. He puts down the proud; he lifts up the lowly. He turns away those whose tables are full and brings food to the hungry. That's good news? Really? You got to be one of the underclass to celebrate the Gospel. Unless, unless there's a way for us, the rich and the powerful, to find a way to a new world. Unless, in this Advent season, we who have voice, we who have power, we who call the shots for our world, unless we could come to some kind of negotiation with that emerging future and perhaps even become a part of the movement to bring it into being. I know what it would cost. It only comes about through life broken and poured out. You see, the child of Mary's womb, whom she celebrated in that anthem, was a child who grew up to be crucified. If you would go into the next chapter of Luke's Gospel, you could see that Luke was already foreshadowing that, because he said to Mary, "A sword will pierce your heart because this one will be a sign spoken again, this one will be for the fall and rising of many in Israel." It's obvious that, in the Christian Church down 2000 years, we still call this the Gospel, we don't understand what it's all about. I mean, it's really obvious, isn't it? The Gospel is about the great reversal. The Gospel is about the creation of a world, a community where everyone has enough and has a voice and has dignity and can live in a community of compassion. And you know what that would cost? It cost Jesus his life. It cost Gandhi his life. It cost Martin Luther King his life. It cost Bonhoeffer his life. It cost Itzak Rabin his life. Because, you see, our world is organized to hold off the future. Our world, our politics, our social structures - they are put together in order to maintain what is. I like it the way it is. Because the way it is puts me in a place of real privilege, unbelievable privilege. If I would be true to the Gospel, I would become one of those subversives that would undercut the way it is in order that there might emerge a different kind of world. I don't have the blueprint for it. I don't really have the courage for it. But, in this Advent season, I'm going to be just a bit © Grand Valley State University �Life Broken and Poured Out Richard A. Rhem Page 5   uneasy about the fact that the cost of that emerging future may involve my life. We've been to the Table; we've taken bread and cup, the sign of life broken and poured out, the sign of our identification with that One. The Good News in all of this is that, if I ever had the courage, the wisdom, the heart to follow Jesus, I would find abundant life. Because in many ways I'm a migrant, too. Life can become that, where I no longer live it out of my insides, but am lived by the outside. Advent - wonderful time of the year to take time, to count the cost and to be drawn by the vision of that life, which is life indeed. I dare you. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/4ca906742f8a11e44b62a8b74c40b1f0.mp3 36bed7f97deac76cb3c45d52959801cc Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Advent I Series Now _ But Then Scripture Text Luke 15:51-52, I Corinthians 13:12 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19951203 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-12-03 Title A name given to the resource Life Broken and Poured Out Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on December 3, 1995 entitled "Life Broken and Poured Out", as part of the series "Now - But Then", on the occasion of Advent I, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Luke 15:51-52, I Corinthians 13:12. Advent Community of Compassion Emergence Incarnation Liturgical Calendar https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d1d1dc2a10dff0a3d4fc9de79b6b0bd7.mp3 2cfea0bb5ee9b86b72936a28ea1365c7 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/9e6421440e06cdea38dcad56c2a47ff5.pdf e2e49263b553aca6f1d110084155c423 PDF Text Text God of the Abandoned From the series: The Faith Of Jesus: Trust in a Gracious God Text: Mark 1:41 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Lent II, March 7, 1993 Transcription of the spoken sermon Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him. Mark 1:41 Religion is powerful stuff! Probably the most powerful phenomena in our human experience. It has the ability to galvanize whole communities of people into action. It has the power to solidify someone’s purpose and to lead one to heroic heights or to horrible deaths. Religion is powerful stuff! And it can be absolutely divine, or it can be utterly demonic. It may be too early to call, but the disaster at the World Trade Center may finally be traced to an Islamic Fundamentalist group. And, if that is to be the case, it is not a reflection on Islam, it is a reflection on religion in its fundamentalist manifestations, whether Muslim or Christian or Jewish. It was a week ago today that federal agents were making a move on the citadel in Waco, Texas, only to be gunned down and subsequently to have it in siege with an army of agents. An enclave led by a crazy, mad man, a religious leader, a man who claims for his authority the direct communication of God, who claims to be a son of God, a messiah, an anointed one. Religion is powerful stuff. In the events of the week past we see the manifestation of its power in that negative form. We are a part of society somewhere in the middle, I suppose, aren’t we? Christ Community, aren’t we rather decent average types? A little above average, you say. Decent and good people, reflective I suppose of kind of the mid-section of society at large. So that it is not difficult for us to look at those acts of violence and to write them off as dehumanizing, as contradicting everything that we believe that religion ought to do for one. We are able, in that extreme manifestation, to recognize it as the utilization of this tremendous power in a demonic way. But religion is a power phenomena, and those of us in the middle, able to recognize that, might be troubled and threatened by some other manifestation of religious leadership – for example, that which was exemplified by Jesus. How do you distinguish a religious leader who says he speaks in the name of God? How do you know? How do you judge? How do you discriminate? Not so hard over against the Muslim bomber or the Waco Wacko. © Grand Valley State University   �God of the Abandoned Richard A. Rhem Page 2   But how do you think Jesus would do? How do you think Jesus would do if he were a part of our community this morning? You see he made claims not so different from the man in Waco. And when you get religious leaders making radical claims on one side or the other, most of us in the middle grow rather uneasy, don’t we? I don’t suppose Jesus would last a lot longer in our society today than he did then, because we can never forget that those whom he threatened were folks like us. They were that kind of middle slice of society. They were decent, serious, devout and sincere and, in most cases, led by religious leaders who had vested interests to be sure, who were interested in keeping the status quo. But the claims of Jesus were as radical as the claims of David Koresh. How do you judge? How do you discriminate? I suppose the only way you can do is like Jesus said, “by the fruits.” When a religious leaders’ actions and calls to action result in violence, domination, dehumanization, coercion, manipulation, then we in the middle are quite quick to say, “that’s wrong, that’s an abuse of religion because it is an abuse of people.” But what about the radical claims of Jesus on the other side? Well, you say, they resulted in quite the opposite. Jesus went about doing good. Jesus went about healing. Jesus went about lifting up. Jesus went about setting free, liberating. Jesus’ whole ministry was a ministry of love and grace, and the consequence of that was quite opposite from what we have seen in our own time this past week. Jesus said, “Love your enemies. Pray for those that despitefully use you.” There was a total contrast between this contemporary expression of religion and the religion of Jesus. But we have got to remember that in both cases we are talking about individuals who made radical claims. Jesus, understood more clearly today perhaps than ever before, was a Jewish believer, rooted in his own culture, his own society, his own day, reflective of the value systems and the faith systems and structures of his people. But the point is that the people in the middle were as upset with Jesus who came at them from one angle as we are with a David Koresh who comes at us from another. Because, as I said last week, Jesus didn’t die in bed; he was put to death. And in order to determine why he was put to death, we are looking during this Lenten period at the faith of Jesus, at Jesus as a believing man: his conviction about God and the things that were ultimately important to Jesus. As we examine the faith of Jesus, we are maintaining during this Lenten Season that, at its core, it was trust in a gracious God. It was a God whose grace was inclusive rather than exclusive. The God of Jesus was the God of the abandoned, the God of the outcast, the God of the outsider. The God of Jesus was the God with whom there was no outsider. And it is all well and good to sing the praise of Jesus as long as we recognize that we certainly would have been a part of that middle slice of society, good decent, serious and sincere folk, led by religious leaders who wanted nothing more than to keep the structure of things, to keep society somewhat on an even keel, to keep intact orthodox faith structures and generally accepted moral standards. It was to keep society in a state of reasonable wellbeing. We cannot think of the Jewish leaders as being irresponsible, as being © Grand Valley State University �God of the Abandoned Richard A. Rhem Page 3   conspirators, as being demonic. They were simply leaders of people who had their own vested interests, and their own agenda, but also who had the responsibility for doing the best they could to make things as good as possible for the society of their time. Jesus was a threat to that because his conviction, the heart of his faith, was that even in their decent application of religion, they had turned the heart of God’s upside down. The story of the leper is the case in point. Mark places it at the early part of the Gospel on the preaching tour of Galilee. Leprosy was an inconceivably horrible disease. The name covered a wide variety of diseases actually. But without real medical knowledge of its cause, recognizing the defilement, the disfigurement, society had ruled that the leper must be cast out, must be ostracized, must be isolated. It was a horrible disease that carried its own pain and suffering to a degree hardly fathomable. But added to that was the isolation from community, the declaration of being ceremonially unclean, being unfit for the gathering of the community of God’s people. In the Middle Ages there was actually a practice in the Roman Church of leading the leper into the sanctuary and the priest reading over him the burial service. The man was dead...while he was yet alive! The little vignette of the leper that we read as our lesson– Bishop Lightfoot, one of the New Testament scholars of a former generation, says that little story is more packed with emotion than any other story in the Gospels. For the leper himself displayed an urgency that caused him to break through the barrier that was erected against him. He had no right to address anyone. He was to go down the street with his head bared and his clothes wrinkled, calling out, “Unclean, unclean,” lest anyone should come within distance of him. But, rather than do that, the leper breaks through, he comes to Jesus, he kneels before him and the language would tell us with great urgency says, “If you will make me clean....” Jesus, the text says, “ was moved with pity” – a more accurate text would say, “was moved with anger,” – and said, “Be clean!” Moved with anger, anger, I suppose at the hellishness and the horror of what a human being can suffer. Anger at the disfigurement of the created intentions of God. Anger at the community of God’s people that excludes and pushes away. Anger at all of that that is so wrong. Anger. There is a place for anger. There is a place for anger in society, in our lives. There are some things that should make us angry, that should move us to compassion which borders on anger, and anger that is filled with compassion. And then Jesus, likewise breaking through the booths and the barriers, the constraints of socially accepted behavior, stretches out his hand and touches God. Because it was Jesus’ conviction that there is no one whom God has abandoned, that there is no such thing as an outsider, that it is impossible to be an outcast in the presence of God. Made folks very nervous. Threatened the structure of their social life and their doctrinal understanding and their moral behavior. Jesus turned it all on its head, in the name of God, claiming to be a spokesperson for God. Claiming to act out what he was convinced was true of God. © Grand Valley State University �God of the Abandoned Richard A. Rhem Page 4   This weekend we have been engaged in a significant concentration on the HIV virus and the crisis that AIDS has brought to our world. And it has been a good weekend, full of information, education, alerting us, making us aware. It is important. We cannot put our head in the sand. It is also a terrible blight on the human body, and it is that with which we must all be concerned. It is important that we get behind every effort at education, and every health care movement to delimit the destructive power of this plague. But here in worship, what I must say to you as a Christian congregation is that whatever we do out there, we must do it out of the conviction that we are called to follow Jesus in disallowing the possibility of anyone being abandoned anywhere, for any reason, that we are called to be a community of compassion and care and to reach out and to touch, and to heal in the name of Jesus. The faith of Jesus found expression in the action of Jesus. And we are called as the disciples of Jesus to let love issue forth in compassionate ministry to bind up wounds, to embrace and to hold, to be with the suffering and the dying. That large middle slice of society of which we are a part is able to look at a David Koresh and say, “That’s wrong. That man is demonic.” But what will we do with that one who comes to us from the other angle? Who makes as radical a claim upon us, and as radical a call to us? Religion is so powerful, but it can also be a power to block the flow of compassion. Let me sum it all up in this - which is a bit radical and very dangerous. But let me suggest it anyway. Never let your theology (your doctrine), nor your morality, come in the way of following the lead of your heart to be compassionate. Never let your doctrine, or your morality, block the flow of God’s love through you. Thereby, you’ll follow Jesus. Someone said to me yesterday, “Somebody somewhere is preparing a cross for you.” And I said, “That’s O.K. if it is for genuinely, faithfully following Jesus. Then I’ll be in good company.” © 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 Lent II Series The Faith of Jesus: Trust in a Gracious God Scripture Text Mark 1:41 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-0-19930307 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1993-03-07 Title A name given to the resource God of the Abandoned 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 7, 1993 entitled "God of the Abandoned", as part of the series "The Faith of Jesus: Trust in a Gracious God", on the occasion of Lent II, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Mark 1:41. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Community of Compassion God of Grace Inclusive Religious Authority