1 24 60 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5c1c0599df0066206e4b97c1289e22a0.pdf eaaca59c6b5ee71ae2f424f5009e636b PDF Text Text A Hope Too Narrow From the series: Memory and Hope Text: Isaiah 35:4; Matthew 3:12 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Advent III, December 12, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon Have you noticed how you might hear of a person or a region or perhaps discuss a disease, you've never heard of them before, you had no knowledge of them, and the next day you go out and you see the same thing referred to and within the next few days you find that particular new piece of information everywhere? It's not as though it suddenly came to expression, but simply because you suddenly had an awareness, your attention was called to a certain phenomenon and then you began to see it everywhere. You had a fresh awareness that caused the filter of your mind to take in that piece of data and to register it. It's a common human experience, and I have found that to be the case as I have reflected on the larger religious scene and, more specifically, the Christian tradition and the Christian church. It continues to impress me, startle me, and amaze me how narrow is the hope of the Christian church. I want to suggest to you today that the Christian church has traditionally had a hope too narrow and, that being the case, it is not true simply for Christian faith, but I come to see more and more that it is an aspect of religion itself. Ironically, religion doesn't always make us very nice people. Religion can bring out the worst in us and can feed the baser nature, which is a part of our human creaturehood, and so this morning I had you open your Bibles to that section in Isaiah to see the contrast between Isaiah 34 and 35. I didn't intend to do that, frankly, until I got studying the whole thing. I was going to simply use 35; it's a wonderful passage. However, there is one verse in there, verse four, which contrasts the blessing of God for Zion, for God's people over against the vengeance with which God will come to judge the rest. But, as I was studying and I read Chapter 34 before, I said, "Oh, my goodness! What a picture!" Did it shock you just a bit? Did you know that that was in there, this chapter about the vengeance of God, the furious God, the God who is furious with the nations, who is going to come to judge the nations, whose sword is sated with blood? The judgment scene of the devastation of the nations and specifically of Edom. © Grand Valley State University   �2   A Hope Too Narrow Richard A. Rhem Page Edom was a neighboring tribe, a neighboring people, and perhaps you will remember that Edom comes from Esau so that what we have is the old rivalry between Jacob and Esau, the rivalry between the brothers and, of course, no one gets our vengeance more than those who are closest to us. So, what we have in Isaiah 34 is a picture of a coming devastating judgment on the nations about Judah, and in Chapter 35, the restoration of Judah and the desert blossoming as a rose. Some phrases out of Chapter 35 you have seen on greetings cards, Christian greetings cards - streams in the desert, for example. How many sympathy cards haven't you seen with the last phrase that I read, that time "when all sorrow and sighing will flee away"? Chapter thirty-five is magnificent in the images that it portrays for the people of faith; it is as wonderful as chapter 34 is terrible in that awful judgment that is depicted for all of those who are not the people of God, Zion, Jerusalem. As I see that contrast, I see something that, unfortunately, I am seeing everywhere and that is the tendency of religion to polarize people, the tendency of religion to become tribal. Tribal religion. Now, we don't face that fact very often because we say, "Well, the Bible begins 'in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.' We're talking about the one true God, the creator of all," and so forth. And to be sure, there is a complex tapestry that makes up the Hebrew Scriptures as well as the New Testament documents. There is not a one-party line, there is not a consistent witness, and so next week I'll take a couple of passages that will show that larger hope. But this morning I want simply to call to your attention that aspect of religion that tends to hold a hope too narrow. That tendency of religion, in all kinds of religious communities and in all kinds of religious traditions, to become tribal, to put it bluntly in a word, the tendency of too much religion that tends to hope for God to lift one up and damn one's foes, tribal religion which can become very violent and which shapes an unsavory human character. Bad religion is really bad stuff because it is so powerful, because it is so potent, because its claim is that it puts one in touch with God, because its claim is that it gives one truths that are absolute, and therefore that will justify almost any kind of human action in the name of that God and that absolute truth. That kind of religion is alive and well in our world today, and in this Advent season as the millennium is about to turn, we have an added emphasis on that end time drama. You'll hear from various angles in various forms, that kind of religious faith set forth that says this is the way to salvation, and either says explicitly or leaves for you to draw your own conclusion that, for all the rest, there is condemnation, eternal suffering, torment, and darkness. That's tribal religion. That is religion with a hope too narrow and there is something in the human person, it seems, an insecurity and a fearfulness that tends to make us vulnerable to that kind of message that will secure us over against the others, that will convince us that we have the absolute truth and the corner on the truth and the only way of salvation. The violence of Isaiah 34 can be duplicated throughout the © Grand Valley State University �3   A Hope Too Narrow Richard A. Rhem Page Hebrew scriptures, to say nothing of the Book of Revelation which you had wellexpounded to you last week, that apocalyptic frame of mind that so permeated the century before Christ and into the first century, that apocalyptic frame of mind that was expecting the end of the world and was hoping for the judgment of God to fall on all of the rest. I can understand how it comes about. You have a little people like Judah, just a little tribal people and they're the pawn of the power brokers from Egypt up to Assyria to Babylon. You have them as this pawn in the power plays of the great empires; they are occupied, abused and oppressed, and the most natural reaction in the world for the human creature is anger, frustration, and finally the crying out for vengeance. It’s all in the book and it is expressive of a tribal religion, of a tribal God, my God, not the God of my enemies, the kind of religion that divides the world into my kind of people and all of the rest, the kind of religion that wants God to lift us high and damn our foes. I call it to your attention because it's so alive and well in our day. As I began, sometimes you become aware of something and then you see it everywhere, and I have to say that, having been in this business all of my life, which is a long time now, I have become increasingly aware of the tribal nature of much religious and especially Christian expression in the media, newspapers and journals. Then, being somewhat masochistic, I tune into late night evangelical television. Now, it's not exactly the kind of thing that soothes me and puts me to sleep, but the thing that concerns me is that those who are the true believers cough up the kind of funds that keep this kind of mentality and this sort of spirit alive and well so that it almost seems to me that the public expression, the broadcast expression of Christian faith is permeated with more of the spirit of Isaiah 34, or if that's too strong for you, consider John the Baptist. Now, John's situation was different. John wasn't talking about "us" and "them." John was talking about us and those of you within the circle, the religious leadership whom John condemned in strong terms. But, the spirit is the same. John the Baptist breathes fire. John the Baptist speaks about a God who is violent, a God who will come with vengeance, a God who will square the accounts with a wicked world, and it is a God that cannot be squared with the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is the kind of religious message that betrays what we really believe about the grace of God and the love of God. If it is true that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, if it is true, as Jesus says according to John's gospel, "If you've seen me, you've seen the father," you're talking about another kind of God than the God of Isaiah 34, and you're talking about a God of quite another spirit than the God of John the Baptist. I've gone through that more than once here. Jesus distanced himself from John the Baptist, distanced himself from the ministry of John, the ministry of fire and judgment, and, if you want the starkest contrast reflective of Jesus over against this other mentality, then just remember him in the anguish of crucifixion praying, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." There was an awareness in Jesus of a God who was © Grand Valley State University �4   A Hope Too Narrow Richard A. Rhem Page beyond the tribal gods, and at this time of the year, in the lines of George McDonald, They all were looking for a King To kill their foes and lift them high. Thou cam'st a little baby thing That made a woman cry. I wonder why it is that there is such a tendency to hold on to the spirit of John the Baptist rather than to see through the eyes of Jesus the totally different understanding of God, a God full of grace, the God of whom John wrote, "God is love, and those that dwell in love dwell in God and God abides in them." Why is it that so much of religion even to our day is marked by the kind of arrogance that says we have the truth and the whole truth and there is not truth or salvation any other way? Why is it, in spite of the possibility of the experience of other traditions, there is still in our day such a shrill note sounded about the exclusivity of Jesus Christ? Why does what I find in Jesus Christ, why is it in any way diminished if that is not the only way? I know from personal experience the difference in my whole demeanor, in my whole being, having moved from an exclusivist position with a God of vengeance whose vengeance would never have come on me, of course, but always on the other; I know the difference it makes to live with a larger hope. Why is it that so much of religion lives with the hope too narrow, shaping people with a spirit bristling, on edge, condemnatory, afraid, defensive? Why have we not been able to see that so much of religion is focused on a tribal God rather than on the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ? Why can we not see that no understanding of God is worthy that doesn't understand that God will not rest until all God's children are home, because God loves all and embraces all and has come to us so wonderfully in the vulnerability of the child that should give us a clue from the beginning that it is not by domination, coercion, and condemnation, but by the embodiment of grace that God is best served. Only such will keep us from living with a hope too narrow. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/58322d63d5e461ed39770445a48efe9a.mp3 3dd10fe480640b1328b808102b473f77 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Advent III Series Memory and Hope Scripture Text Isaiah 35:4, Matthew 3:12 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-0-19991212 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-12-12 Title A name given to the resource A Hope Too Narrow 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 12, 1999 entitled "A Hope Too Narrow", as part of the series "Memory and Hope", on the occasion of Advent III, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Isaiah 35:4, Matthew 3:12. Advent Grace Inclusive https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2918a555c90130bbfa04aa564b0907a7.pdf f3ffc870db418f1f3e51b81c82310bb5 PDF Text Text James: The Best of Conservatism From the series: Varieties of Religious Experience Scripture: Acts 15:1-21; James 2:14-26 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Eastertide, May 16, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon We have been noting in the Eastertide season that there is a variety of religious experience. When one surveys the landscape of the Church, that must be obvious. And it is obvious, as well, in the early leaders of the Christian movement as we find them in the New Testament documents. I have dealt with Paul in regard to his recognition of the Spirit/flesh civil war that rages with the human being and in regard to his misreading of the time line of history where his generation was in the unfolding drama of history. I will come back to him in a few weeks, but I mention him now because today our focus is James, and James and Paul are studies in contrast. Both were of the strictest observants of Judaism. Paul was encountered by a vision of the risen, ascended Christ and made a radical departure from his former Pharisaic Jewish observance. James was given an appearance encounter by Jesus after Easter, according to Paul, convincing him that Jesus was the Messiah, but he remained an observant Jew until his execution in the 60s, having become the Bishop of the Jerusalem Mother Church, a "Christian" Church of observant Jews who believed Jesus was the Messiah, crucified, raised from the dead, ascended to the presence of God from whence they expected his imminent return. Paul, the radical innovator. James, the conservative guardian of tradition. Reflecting on these matters is not simply for the purpose of historical interest; it has everything to do with how we today conserve the core insights and truths of the Christian tradition and at the same time incorporate the ever growing knowledge available to us from ancient times, from historical study of Christian origins, from biblical research, and the exploding knowledge of the world of © Grand Valley State University   �James, Best of Conservatism Richard A. Rhem Page 2   which we are a part, and how we accommodate the tradition to new understanding. Think with me about James, the brother of Jesus, whom I point to as representing the best of conservatism. Conservatism has become a label we put on political parties or parties within an institution such as the Church. Conservative is usually paired with liberal as its opposite. But, that is really unfortunate. I have carried with me since the 60s when I first read it, a statement by Walter Lippmann: Every truly civilized and enlightened man is conservative and liberal and progressive. He is conservative because the roots of our civilization lie in those three ancient kingdoms of the Mediterranean: Israel, Greece, and Rome. He is liberal because the laws must be administered with charity and magnanimity. He is progressive because the times change and we must act in the world as it is and as it is becoming. Here, liberal points to a liberal spirit as open and magnanimous, while the word progressive is probably what we think of as liberal - at least in the Church. If we agree, then we would see Paul as progressive and James as conservative. But, if we believe Lippmann, a civilized and enlightened person will hold in tension conservatism and progressivism and that, because we are shaped by a tradition that is rooted in history when certain core values and understandings come to expression, and we are in the stream of history whose one constant is change, evolution, and emergence of the new. Unfortunately, in times like ours, marked by culture wars and in the Church by the rhetoric of the religious right and defensiveness of the mainline, we tend to label and to engage in name calling and we fail to recognize that there are truths and values that shape the tradition that must be preserved and yet must be allowed to evolve with the changing landscape of history. I use conservative in that proper sense of the word as the concern to learn the roots of the tradition and preserve the core values and insights in order that they may be passed on and not lost. Note: Such an understanding of conservatism is not at all fundamentalism which is simply the reiteration of yesterday’s answers to today’s question. James was a Conservative in contrast to Paul who was a Progressive, but both James and Paul were both conservative and progressive - one more this, the other more that, but both struggling with a very real and still present struggle preserving the best of the past while opening to the needs of the present and openness to the future. © Grand Valley State University �James, Best of Conservatism Richard A. Rhem Page 3   The James we are talking about is the brother of Jesus, the author of the Letter of James in the New Testament, called James the Just or the Righteous. I’ve never really thought about James in terms of his religious experience, but it is fascinating to think about where he came from and where he moved. Because it is so difficult to think about Jesus as a real flesh and blood human being, I suspect we don’t think much about what it must have been like in the home of Mary and Joseph while he was growing up. James grew up with him. They must have played together, worked together, argued, fought. All of that is without record. We do know, however, that when Jesus left home for his ministry he proved embarrassing to the family. Mark 3 tells how the word was out that he was mad and Mary and his brothers came to take him home. He did not go out to talk to them. Rather, he said, "Who is my mother, my brother, my sister - the one who does the will of God." Obviously, there was alienation and estrangement. From non-canonical sources we know that James was an ascetic, perhaps a Nazirite, one who life long follows a very strict rule of holy living. If James was a Nazirite, would he not have been shocked and incensed at the loose practices of his brother? Would he not have been scandalized by Jesus’ overturning the conventional wisdom of the day - his open table fellowship and his disregard for the ritual purity laws? While we have no way of knowing, I find it fascinating to think about how contrasting were these two brothers out of the same home. Of course, we can simply say the radical newness Jesus proclaimed and lived out was the consequence of the Spirit that filled him. He saw something; he acted on it. James remained faithful to the whole tradition that was part of their parental home. But, Paul tells us the risen Christ appeared to James and we know from Paul’s letters and the Book of Acts that James became the leader of the Jerusalem Church. If we follow the story in Acts, Paul goes on the missionary journey with Barnabas, sent out by the Church in Antioch. Now, Antioch was a great metropolitan center. It was there that non-Jews, Gentiles, were first evangelized and it was in Antioch that followers of Jesus were first called Christians. Now you have a mixed congregation, an integrated congregation - Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians. The burning issue was whether the Gentiles would have to become Jews by practicing circumcision and observing the food laws. Some Jewish Christians came to Antioch from Jerusalem, saying there was no salvation except by observing the Jewish law. Paul strenuously objected. He had quite another vision. © Grand Valley State University �James, Best of Conservatism Richard A. Rhem Page 4   To settle the issue, a Council was called in Jerusalem. Each side presented their case – Peter told of his experience with Cornelius and the obvious lesson that God showed no partiality. Paul and Barnabas told of their experiences of God’s grace experienced by Gentiles on their mission trip. It was then James, leader and conscience of the Council, who spoke. He went to the Hebrew scriptures which pointed to a time when the Gentiles would be included and he made the decision ... we should not trouble those Gentiles who are turning to God – He did counsel that they abstain from certain practices that would be especially offensive to the Jewish Christian congregants. The decision was affirmed. There you have James the Conservative who was also progressive – a new situation, new times, therefore modifications - Gentiles received as members of the Christian Church, recipients of the grace of God, possessors of the Holy Spirit, but not having to become observant Jews. James was conservative in that he searched the scripture tradition and found a basis for this innovation. But, what of James; what of James’ religious experiences? I am looking forward to the weekend in November when the Jewish scholar, Amy-Jill Levine, is with us. Her theme will be the breakup of Judaism and Christianity - What was lost? What was gained? We have in Paul and James the dilemma of two differing visions – Paul remained a Jew and the God of Israel was his God. But, the traditional religious observances came to be for Paul, and I suspect Peter, matters of indifference - to observe or not to observe; it was not something of critical import. Not so for James; he remained to his death fully observant and he was the leader of a Jewish Christian community, fully observant. He has an Epistle in the New Testament. It is interesting to read it next to Paul’s letter to the Galatians, for example, or Romans. James’ famous claim is Faith without works is dead. Paul claimed we are saved by grace alone through faith alone without any religious observance. Good works follow, worship follows, righteous living follows, but no religious observances or good works are elements of our salvation. Paul said Faith without works; James said Faith was demonstrated in works. What James calls for is certainly what we would claim as the proper response of grace - if a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, you supply those bodily needs. Faith without such works of compassion is dead. Certainly Paul would agree. But, where then was the difference? © Grand Valley State University �James, Best of Conservatism Richard A. Rhem Page 5   It was nuance; yet it was not without consequence. It created two different tone qualities in the religious communities. James was the best of the conservative end of the Christian spectrum because he made room for new practice and conditions in a new situation. But, he was conservative in that he remained in the original mold. Martin Luther with his explosive experience of God’s grace loved Paul and strongly disliked James. He called his letter an Epistle of Straw, although later in life he wondered if he had been too hard on James. Human society, political institutions, educational establishments, religious traditions are always in tension because all are enmeshed in the stream of history which is ever moving into new territory, gaining fresh perspective, discovering new information, creating novel experiences that call for innovative solutions and creative adjustment. For example, one of the great institutions of this nation is under siege - the Public School. Governor Jeb Bush has apparently succeeded in his intention to make Florida a total voucher system state. The Walton Foundation, created by the success of Wal-Mart, is behind a scholarship program to provide money for some 40,000 students to afford private schooling. These are simply examples of a sharp debate going on currently and destined to become more intense between advocates of public education ad advocates of private schooling. Where will it lead us? The conservative impulse warns about losing what has been a great shaper of the American ethos. The progressive reformers point to the weaknesses and failures of the public school. The Conservative will not stand pat, refusing change, but will insist that certain values and truths not be lost. The Progressive sees much that could well be left behind in the realization of a new vision. It is not so dangerous to speak of education in the Church; it is a step removed from the center of the religious community and thus not of such emotional intensity. But, what if we speak of confessional loyalty, biblical interpretation, congregational practice? It is the same kind of tension. That is why we have established the Center for Religion and Life and that is why we are bringing in the best of scholarship and people on the cutting edge of theological reflection and historical research. We are committed to conservatism and progress in a spirit of liberality. James lives here. He says with a sigh and some fear and trembling, "Well, okay. But remember, don’t forget!" He knows movement, evolution of knowledge and practice is the rule of life, but he is committed to preserving the light and truth of the founding vision. © Grand Valley State University �James, Best of Conservatism Richard A. Rhem Page 6   Marcus Borg, who will be with us next weekend, is not a James; he is rather a Paul in terms of a new vision. But, while his scholarship pushes him to a new vision, he clearly brings to that scholarship the experience of communion with God; he is a deeply spiritual person. His most recent publication is in collaboration with an English scholar, N. T. Wright, who is James all over again. In The Meaning of Jesus, they each write on the same question in each chapter, for example, "What Did Jesus Do and Teach?," "The Death of Jesus," on resurrection, virgin birth, "Was Jesus God?," "The Virgin Birth," the Second Coming and the Christian life. They were students together at Oxford University and they remain good friends, holding each other in high esteem and affection. And they take differing views on all the cardinal points of these biblical and theological questions. Thus, they are a model of civil discourse, of civility and humane value. From their conversation comes insight and fresh understanding. I read The Meaning of Jesus and have no question but that Marcus Borg has pursued the critical analysis of Christian origins, discerned the implications and created a fresh paradigm of the Christian vision. Wright’s scholarship is not in question, but he refuses to follow the data and continues to hold to an understanding of the Christian message not much different than I held when I left seminary 39 years ago this month. What makes a James, a Paul, a Marcus, a Tom Wright? What determines how we receive fresh insight, new information? How we respond to the implications of new knowledge? Some of us have conservative genes, some progressive genes, perhaps. Some of us float above with no earth-shaking experience; for some of us the earth moves beneath us and we see something radically different than we ever saw before. We need each other. We need to be in conversation. We don’t need fundamentalists, those who refuse to open themselves to new knowledge, refuse to think and simply reiterate yesterday’s answer to today’s question and most often with defensiveness and hostility born of insecurity. But, we need those like James who recognizes the need for new ways for new situations in the unfolding of history, but who holds to the ways of the past, finding there still that which keeps him in conscious communion with God. James was a really good person, serious, faithful, trustworthy - and you could talk to him. He was the best of conservatism. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c5e92c2efeb003348d8a10bed0dcfe50.mp3 188182a38f3a3f02ede6491c19500da4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Eastertide VII, Ascension Sunday Series Varieties of Religious Experience Scripture Text Acts 15:1-21, James 2:14-26 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19990516 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-05-16 Title A name given to the resource James: The Best of Conservatism Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on May 16, 1999 entitled "James: The Best of Conservatism", as part of the series "Varieties of Religious Experience", on the occasion of Eastertide VII, Ascension Sunday, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Acts 15:1-21, James 2:14-26. Conservative Grace Inclusive Progressive https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/86deabe2a1764b120a9f44f4ccac802e.pdf 2fd3f8468b2e3ed7649e09e3c319fb70 PDF Text Text Paul: Civil War; The Human Dilemma From the series: Varieties of Religious Experience Text: Acts 8:1, 8:3, 9:14; Romans 7:19, 24-25 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan April 18,1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon In 1902, William James, considered by many to be America’s foremost philosopher who had moved into the field of psychology, delivered the Gifford Lectures in Edinburgh, Scotland, one of the most prestigious lecture series still in the world today, and he entitled his lectures, "The Varieties of Religious Experience." His lectures have become a classic, The Varieties of Religious Experience, a very fine read if you ever see it on the book shelf. I read those this week, because in Eastertide I want to be thinking about some of the different responses to Jesus Christ, to his death and resurrection and the expectation of his coming. People are different, and our religious response varies from individual to individual, and I was somewhat interested in what William James had to say about Paul, for example. Paul’s story is familiar to us. I didn’t read the account in Acts, but we know that he was a Pharisee, the strictest sort of observant Jew, who were very fine people, but who get bad press in the New Testament because of the antagonism. Paul was also so committed to the Jewish faith and its propagation that he saw the Jesus Jewish movement as a threat, so he was on his way to stamp it out, on the way to Damascus, for example. He was knocked off his horse with a bright light and a voice said, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" Going into Damascus, received with fear and trembling by the little community of Jewish Jesus people there, he receives baptism and he becomes the great Apostle, St. Paul. St. Paul is one of the significant figures in the whole of our western history and has had a tremendous shaping affect on our understanding of the Christian gospel. Paul did see something. Paul was a radical in that he went to the root and he had a vision, an understanding of the gospel of God in Jesus Christ which has shaped the whole Christian tradition, subsequently. There are those who say Jesus was not the founder of Christianity, but Paul was, and one can make a case for that, actually. Paul saw something and he spent the rest of his life telling the story of Jesus, proclaiming faith in Jesus Christ, establishing churches, and so forth, and we © Grand Valley State University   �Paul: Civil War, Human Dilemma Richard A. Rhem Page 2   speak about that Damascus Road experience as Paul’s conversion. But, that really isn’t right, for Paul wasn’t converted. Paul never thought of himself as anything but a Jew. Paul never served or worshiped any God but the God of Israel. What happened to Paul in that Damascus Road experience was not so much a conversion as a calling, and it was in that experience that he felt called to take the news of Jesus to the Gentile world, because what Paul believed, what he saw, what so startled him was the fact that Jesus Christ was the means by which God was overcoming that ancient separation of the Jew and all the rest of the people. Jew - Gentile. If you weren’t a Jew, you were a Gentile. In his Letter to the Ephesians, he uses the term, "That middle wall of partition" that separated the Jew from all the rest. In Jesus Christ, Paul was convinced that that wall was taken down and the grand vision that Paul had was this sense that, in Jesus Christ, what God was doing was creating one new humanity. That great gulf was being bridged, and Paul had as his passion to be the instrument by which that Gentile world would come to God through Jesus Christ and, in that, be united with Israel, with the Jew, and there would no longer be that great separation, but one community of the people of God. He began to see that he was the instrument of the bringing in of the Gentile, and the bringing in of the Gentile was literally bringing into the covenant of grace, bringing into the aegis of the God of Israel. That’s really what was happening. There were congregations that he founded all over the place and they were composed of Gentile converts and Jewish Christians, or we can say Jesus Jews. And in any community where he went, that was the makeup and in such a makeup there was the beginning of the realization of his great hope and his vision, but also there was great tension. Paul had no argument, really, with the Jew. Paul remained a Jew. Paul was an observant Jew when he was with Jews, according to his own word. Let’s just say, for example, that this half of the house are Jewish Christians, Jews who have come to believe that Jesus was the Messiah. This half of the house, Gentiles. Any kind of a mix of religious experience was pagan, whatever you want to call it. Now, Paul, when he’s with this crowd, is kosher. When he’s with the other crowd, he has ham on buns. And he does that with good conscience, because he realizes that all of those religious rituals and ordinances and regulations are finally inconsequential. He has had an experience of God in Jesus Christ that transcends all of his religious observance. But, he doesn’t derogate it; he’s not negative about it, and he continues, in order to win the Jew, to be a Jew when he’s with Jews, and to win the Gentiles, to be a Gentile when he’s with the Gentiles. Problem: As long as you stay on your side of the house and you stay on your side of the house, no problem. But, what happens when we have a banquet, a potluck, and the Gentile Christians say, "Ach, we’ll cook this time?" Menu? Ham. What are you going to do? You’re observant Jews, even though you believe in Jesus as the Messiah. Now there’s a little kink in the community, and we can laugh about it, © Grand Valley State University �Paul: Civil War, Human Dilemma Richard A. Rhem Page 3   but it was a serious problem. We know that it was so serious that Peter and Paul had a confrontation in Galatia, and those good Jewish people who came to believe that Jesus was the Messiah continued to think of themselves as Jewish, they continued to follow Torah, they observed Sabbath, they observed the dietary laws, they practiced circumcision. Nothing really changed so much, except that they saw in Jesus God’s onward movement, Jesus the Messiah who eventually will come and finish it all. But, over here, there is no knowledge of that background, no sensitivity to that background, and now you’re trying to forge one new community, a people with that kind of diversity, and there was tension. Paul had been a happy Jew. Sometimes we think of Paul as having this bad conscience and burden of sin, but that’s not Paul. If you read Paul through Martin Luther and St. Augustine, then you get the bad conscience and the heavy burden of sin and heavy guilt and all that. Augustine with his profligate life, never got over it, and screwed us up in the West in our understanding of sexuality ever since. And Luther with his tormented soul, learning from Augustine. Tormented soul: "How can I find a gracious God?" Both of them went back to Paul, and we read Paul through Luther, through Augustine. But, that wasn’t Paul. You read in Philippians, the third chapter, Paul’s autobiographical notes, he says in regard to the law, "I was blameless," and as Krister Stendahl says in his discussion of Paul, Paul had a robust conscience. Paul didn’t go mealy-mouthing around, groveling in the dust. Paul had a very good sense of who he was and what he had been as a Jew, and he is not really responsible for what has been done to him and the interpretation through Augustine and Luther and into Protestantism, especially Reformed Protestantism. Paul, himself, Krister Stendahl says, according to his character and his academic achievements, was a very happy Jew. But, he had seen something more, and what he had seen is that it was possible to transcend his highly respected Judaism into a more spiritual, transforming relationship with God, and his concern was to get these two groups together. He knew that in order to get them together, that this group could not go over here and become Jewish. He fought that to the death. And he knew that these people couldn’t simply come over here and give up their Judaism, but he knew both of them could find a meeting place in the grace of God in Jesus Christ by faith, not by religious observance. Now, you may ask, "If Paul wasn’t one of these guys groveling in the dust, what about chapter seven of Romans that you read?" Well, let me tell you about chapter seven of Romans. You have to read it in the context. To whom is Paul speaking? Paul is speaking to Jewish Christians. If you read the beginning of the chapter, he’s speaking to those who know about Torah and all that stuff. And so, he wants to show them that the Torah way won’t finally get the job done. He’s come to see that, and he wants them to see that so that they can let go of it, so that they can move here. And so, he gives them a little commentary on Genesis, chapter three, verses 7-12 of the seventh of Romans. He © Grand Valley State University �Paul: Civil War, Human Dilemma Richard A. Rhem Page 4   says, "You remember the story - in the beginning when God formed a garden, created Adam and Eve and said to them, ‘Now look, there is orchard after orchard after orchard. You can eat any of the fruit. But, there’s one tree in the middle. Don’t touch it.’" Paul says, "What happened? They touched it." I mean, what happens to you when I say, "No?" You say, "Yes." Or, when I say, "Yes," you say, "No." Paul said, "I’ve discovered there is something in the human being that is contrary and you say you can’t have it, covetousness begins to generate, and I want it." And so, Paul says there is nothing wrong with the command, nothing wrong with the Law. But the Law exacerbated the human situation. The old serpent, the liar, comes and says to Eve, "What did God say?" Eve says, "Well, God said we could have a lot of stuff." "Oh, but not that one, eh? You know why? Because God knows that the moment you eat that fruit, the moment you go against the command, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, and you will have the knowledge of good and evil." For once, the old liar wasn’t lying, because that’s just what happened. She took the fruit, she shared it with Adam, and their eyes were opened, and they looked at each other and knew that they were naked, which is not a statement about having no clothes on, but is a statement about their real condition. They took the fruit and awareness dawned on them. They took the fruit and they became like God, knowing the difference between good and evil, they gained a moral sense. They came to consciousness and awareness and their mind blew. That is a parable. It is a profound parable, and Paul says, "That’s what the Law does. It exacerbates that in the human person which is contrary and it excites the opposite response." Well, we call that the Fall. I think it’s Milton in his Paradise Lost who speaks about the paradox about the fortunate Fall. Now, tell me, if you were Eve and you had it to do all over again, what would you do, knowing what you know? Would you live in blissful ignorance, unconscious, unaware, like the rest of the animals that Adam named? Or, would you also, knowing the consequence, take the fruit and have your eyes opened and come to awareness and find in the wake of that all of the hell on earth, from Kosovo to the Holocaust to broken promises and the tragedy that stalks our steps? What would you do? Garden of Eden? Garden of Eden in Paradise? Unaware so that, well, excuse my language, like a dog you could urinate, defecate or copulate at ease, any time, any place, with total unawareness. Do you ever look at a dog and envy the dog? That © Grand Valley State University �Paul: Civil War, Human Dilemma Richard A. Rhem Page 5   beautiful innocence, unaware. Or, would you, too, bite the apple and pay the price of human being? Now, Paul paints that picture in order to say to Jewish Christians who are following Torah, "Look where following religious observances finally leads. Legalism, moralism, obligation, dotting the i, crossing the t, can keep you hedged in, but it will never transform you inwardly so you are sprung free to soar with the Spirit." He was trying to say to the Jewish Christian community there is another way than Torah. He says, "Look, Torah? It is good and righteous and holy. It is of God. With my mind, I affirm it. Everything that it entails, I affirm with my mind. But, this mental, spiritual part of us," Paul says, "is housed in a body and because it’s housed in a body with all of the drives and all of the coercions and all of the temptations and all of the seductions, there’s a civil war going on within the human being. With the law of my mind, I serve God. With the law of my flesh, I serve sin." Paul says flesh battles against spirit and the spirit battles against flesh, and I don’t understand my own actions. The good that I would, I don’t do, and the evil I would not do, I do, oh wretch that I am. Who will deliver me from this body of death? Can any of you identify with that? Don’t tell me. Don’t raise your hands. I wouldn’t want your spouse to know. Can you identify with that? Is that not the human dilemma? Are we not the battleground? Are we not caught up in a civil war between that which we affirm in our spiritual selves and that which we actually live out in this body of death? Paul was trying to say to the Jewish Christian community which was still observing Torah that that’s not the answer, and we could get you all together if you could see what I see, if you could see that there is the possibility for a freedom in the spirit of Jesus Christ. The eighth chapter of Romans is that marvelous chapter on life in the Spirit and it is Paul’s answer to that civil war that he finds within himself. I read William James and found him fascinating. Paul is Paul. Augustine was Augustine; Luther was Luther; John Bunyan of Pilgrim’s Progress, with the load on his back, was John Bunyan - we all respond differently. We all come with a different set of hormones and genes and backgrounds, environments, but William James did say there were two distinct kinds of people: there were the healthy-minded and the sick soul. The healthy-minded, the sunny personality, like a Walt Whitman who revels in this life, revels in the world, revels in the grass and the flowers and the trees, who never seems to have a cloud in the sky. And then there are the Augustines and the Luthers, such like, that seem tormented always with this sense of failure, of condemnation, the burden of guilt they never seem to get rid of. There are different people and religions can exacerbate it or reinforce one or the other. © Grand Valley State University �Paul: Civil War, Human Dilemma Richard A. Rhem Page 6   But, William James says, in regard to the healthy-minded like a Whitman, there is finally a superficiality there because, he says, it won’t do for one to just whistle a happy tune. It will not do for one to whistle in the dark, to deny the darkness. We are not isolated individuals. We cannot be cognizant of what’s going on in Kosovo without our being caught up with it, and if we think long enough and deeply enough into our own hearts and look around us, we know that there is a certain tragedy that is a part of the human scene. There is suffering; there is misery; and finally we die, and anybody who thinks long and hard about that, knows that it is not enough simply to whistle under a sunny, blue sky as though that’s all there is. There’s more to it than that, and Paul knew that that "more to it" was the very kind of nature that we have, this human nature that can affirm the law of God with the mind and get all caught up in selfishness and greed and hostility and hatred and anger and create a Kosovo or a Holocaust and the impossible darkness that is a part of our human scene. So, William James, very sensitively dealing with these things, says, "Healthy-mindedness has its limits." And while he would not advocate that we all become examples of the sick soul person, nonetheless, we do recognize that also within us there is raging a civil war which sometimes we win and sometimes we lose, and I suspect that Paul, who had this vision of one grand humanity, and the possibility of it by seeing this salvation by faith in the grace of God, may have overplayed his hand. If you read the eighth chapter of Romans, it will give you goose bumps. There are marvelous passages there, but I’m not sure that one moves chronologically from Romans seven to Romans eight and ever gets rid of Romans seven. I think to our dying day we will live as divided personalities. I think to our dying day we will struggle with this body of death which will not cooperate with the nobility and the magnificence that this mind can envision, and our soaring with the Spirit of God in the heights will never pull us free fully from our anchorage in the mud and the physicality of this body that is the house and the ground of the Spirit. Paul may have promised more than any of us will ever realize, but he did see that it is not in religious observance, it is not in the fulfillment of heavy obligation, it is not in prescribing to legalism or moralism, but it is in catching a glimpse of grace that there lies the possibility for some freedom from the struggle. He did understand that what we all need to hear is that we are accepted. This is the point at which traditionally and still too often in the Church the minister takes the occasion to exacerbate the load of guilt and the sense of failure of the people. This is the point in this message when this preacher would like to say to you, "Drop your guilt. Let it go. It doesn’t help. There’s nothing positive about it. It will do you no good, except keep you bound at a point at which you will not know the freedom of grace." © Grand Valley State University �Paul: Civil War, Human Dilemma Richard A. Rhem Page 7   We’ll never shed this shell as long as we live. We’re never going to get beyond the human dilemma. But, it’s a human dilemma. It’s a human possibility, and it’s a humanity embraced by God, Who, after all, as the Psalmist says, "Knows our frame and remembers that we are dust," making us thus. Maybe the finest statement of what I am trying to say was written by Paul Tillich: It strikes us when our disgust of our own being, our indifference, our weakness, our hostility and our lack of direction and composure have become intolerable to us. It strikes us when, year after year, the longed for perfection of life does not appear, when the old compulsions reign within us, as they have for decades, when despair destroys all joy and courage. Sometimes, at that moment, a wave of light breaks into our darkness and it is as though a voice were saying, "You are accepted. You are accepted." Accepted by that which is greater than you and the name of which you do not know. Do not ask for the name now. Perhaps you’ll find it later. Do not try to do anything now. Perhaps you will do much later. Do not seek for anything; do not perform anything; do not intend anything. Simply accept the fact that you are accepted and, if that happens, you have experienced grace. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b63efb6c4c3ceec0e2825ef99eb719b0.mp3 e8ab868094ec9b7909183b74d5e4190e Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Eastertide III Series Varieties of Religious Experience Scripture Text Acts 8:1, ,9:14, Romans 7:19, 24-25 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19990418 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-04-18 Title A name given to the resource Paul: Civil War; The Human Dilemma Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on April 18, 1999 entitled "Paul: Civil War; The Human Dilemma", as part of the series "Varieties of Religious Experience", on the occasion of Eastertide III, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Acts 8:1, ,9:14, Romans 7:19, 24-25. Forgiveness Grace Inclusive Transcendence https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/10f53f9540bd5d4d7197013a0e0c947a.pdf 238f0a5a270343cb71ff597e636b6f44 PDF Text Text “Father, forgive them…” From the series: A True Story: The Gospel and Forgiveness Text: Luke 23:34 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan March 24, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon "A True Story: The Gospel and Forgiveness," has been our Lenten theme this season. The story is the story written by Simon Wiesenthal reflecting his own experience in the Nazi concentration camp, being pulled aside at one point and taken into the room of a dying Nazi officer who poured out his confession, his terrible atrocity that he had perpetrated as one of the SS troops, burning alive a village of Jews, a horrible story, pleading to this one token Jew, as it were, to forgive him. Wiesenthal listened to the story, sat almost paralyzed, then he rose and left without saying a word, and the little book, The Sunflower, that he writes, concludes with the question, not an answer, but with the question, "What would you have done?" That’s where we began a few weeks ago and tonight we bring our reflections on that question to a conclusion. Probably not to a conclusion in terms of being finished with it, but at least for these Wednesday night considerations. The matter of forgiveness is much more complex than I had ever been aware, which may sound very strange because it would seem that being in the ministry almost 40 years now, would not forgiveness be the stuff that I have dealt with every day? In thought and reflection and in relationships, preaching and teaching, forgiveness - it seems like it is the most obvious commodity with which we in the church have to do. And yet, I think that in these weeks I have thought about it at a level at which I have never thought about it before, and it’s a much more complex matter than I ever realized. That’s why I began with the question a few weeks ago, "Is it possible, is it moral?" The Jewish traditions say I cannot forgive you for something that you’ve done to another. I can only forgive you for what you’ve done to me. It is very easy for us, with our Gospel of grace, to move into cheap grace and cheap grace would fail to take seriously the plight of the victim. It would devalue the victim and tend simply to shove everything under the rug. It’s very easy to do that. We have seen that actions and attitudes do have their consequences. © Grand Valley State University   �Father, forgive them… Richard A. Rhem Page 2   Forgiveness does not rule out the consequence of what we have done. There is a harvest at the end of our days and, in the meantime, as well. And yet, forgiveness certainly must be possible, for we are in a dead-end situation of unrelieved darkness, but it is a complex matter, and I wonder if the fact that I hadn’t really ever wrestled with the nature of forgiveness or what was involved or its possibility is not because I was raised, as I suppose most of you were, with a very traditional idea of the atoning death of Jesus Christ as the place where forgiveness was procured for us. Are you with me? God is holy; we have sinned. We cannot do anything about our situation, for we daily increase our debt. Does that sound like catechism? And consequently, if anything were to be done for us to deliver us from the weight of our sin, it would have to be by another. God provided another. Jesus came to die for our sins. He bore our sins away, thereby making possible forgiveness. That’s the way you learned it, isn’t it? And there’s something powerful about that image and when I speak about it tonight, I don’t want you to hear caricature. I hope I won’t caricature nor ridicule. I simply want you to know that, as I’m thinking about that and it’s not just in this Lenten season but in these more recent years, I’ve come to recognize that that image falls short, and I think it falls short here - that atoning death of Jesus that took away our sin and created the possibility for God to forgive us in the traditional understanding, that was a transaction that happened apart from us. Martin Luther was so strong at that point. It happened apart from us, on our behalf, and it had a very objective element about it. There was a debt to be settled, a score to be settled, and to use the phrase of another Lutheran writer, Jesus took the rap for us, and that happens in the evangelical and orthodox presentation of atonement theory, that happens apart from us. There’s an old hymn, "‘Tis done, ‘tis done, the great transaction’s done," and that imagery has been repeated in the old hymns and in our liturgies. The Reformed Church liturgy of many, many years had this statement, "He was forsaken by God that we need never be forsaken." "Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain, he washed it white as snow." "There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins and sinners plunged beneath that flood loose all their guilty stains." Something happened between God and Jesus objectively, out there, on my behalf, quite apart from any engagement by me. That’s a rather powerful imagery and one can see what was going on. Our debt, our sins transferred to another who suffered the wrath of God on our behalf in order that we might be set free, forgiven. Now, I’m suggesting that I never really wrestled with forgiveness that much because that was all so matter-of-fact and taken for granted, and so what’s the big deal? Well, that’s not quite fair, because it was a big deal. Some of us might have © Grand Valley State University �Father, forgive them… Richard A. Rhem Page 3   sung some of those old hymns with tears in our eyes. There was a deep emotional engagement with that idea because there was this gracious act of God in that God supplied the one who took the rap for us. But, think about it for a moment: In that conception of things, there is no forgiveness. That is not forgiveness. God got God’s pound of flesh. Someone took the rap for us. The penalty due was meted out. God didn’t forgive anything, which means that even God is subject to a moral absolute. Even God couldn’t simply say, "I forgive you." God had to arrange this elaborate structure of substitutionary atonement because the absolute, the moral absolute, the law is even above God, and it will be satisfied by God. And so, if God would embrace us and take us home, God has some dealing to do. But, once again, this is quite apart from anything really happening in my being. Do you hear me? You could learn this stuff in the catechism. You might on occasion even be moved at the thought that there was a love of God that provided that elaborate institution by which God could now embrace us, but God had a problem and God had to deal with it and so, as a matter of fact, there was no forgiveness. God can’t forgive, obviously. I think that that old, traditional imagery which we took for granted, had been spoon-fed from childhood up, showed us the formula by which to receive our reprieve without it ever necessarily touching us or changing us. Now, I want to suggest that that image of God has been called in question here, that image of God sitting on a super throne, that moral governor of the universe out there, apart from us, setting up these respective transactions. Haven’t we been more inclined to seek God as an Ultimate Mystery flowing out into the whole cosmic drama, this 15 billion year adventure on which we are, beginning with whatever Big Bang was with the coalescing of matter, the emergence of inanimate matter, then animate matter, life, and then conscious life, and then human being, and then human history, human culture, that trajectory on which we are ourselves as we speak? And if God is that Ultimate Mystery Whose Spirit is the enlivening, energizing, creative force moving through all that is, pushing, nudging, driving toward human humanity, humanization, then it is not as though some governor outside created us perfect, we falling, therefore taking upon ourselves the guilt for violating the law of the universe that even was above the governor, and that whole thing had to be somehow figured, but rather, we are in an emerging mode and we are still so much animal struggling for survival, clawing our way from the jungle, emerging out of the slime, moving toward human community, here and there, now and again it breaks forth, but it’s constantly driven back. We find ourselves moving in a humane fashion, only to find all of the old stuff in us rising up now and again. And it seems to me that the God of this process is not about satisfying some moral absolute that even holds God hostage, who needs some sacrifice, some satisfaction, but rather, a God who keeps pushing us, pushing us along, waiting © Grand Valley State University �Father, forgive them… Richard A. Rhem Page 4   for us patiently, a God who is not into punishment, not into retribution, for what is punishment, what is retribution in terms of where this thing is going? We bring upon ourselves our punishment. Certainly in the ordering of society it is necessary for law and order and all of that. That’s another whole complex thing. But, I’m thinking about the soul of the universe now. I’m thinking about where it’s all going; I’m thinking about that creative Spirit that’s pushing toward ultimate world community, ultimate humane existence, ultimate humanization and whatever other levels of being there may be beyond us. It seems to me that our new image of God might suggest, as the Psalmist suggests, that with that God there is forgiveness, not having to satisfy some external moral absolute out here, but with that God there is forgiveness and the image even more powerful of Jesus of the prodigal son who comes home, not to receive recrimination and condemnation and retribution, but the embrace of the father. And I come, finally, to my test. There’s Jesus dying who says, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." The most powerful, evocative emblem of the whole life and work of Jesus is in those words. "Father, forgive them." Just simply forgive them. Let it go, please. Because they don’t know what they are doing. Oh, they knew what they were doing; they knew good and well what they were doing. They knew as well what they were doing as Slobodan Milosevic knows what he’s doing, and our Administration and our Defense Department and our military know what they’re doing in these hours. They knew what they were doing in the short run. They were maintaining power and position and prestige and the status quo and business as usual and conventional wisdom. They knew what they were doing, in the short run. They didn’t know what they were doing in terms of this 15 billion year process that we’ve come to understand. They didn’t know what they were doing in terms of God’s intention and purpose, moving toward fuller humanization. They didn’t understand. They were blocking, they were hindering, they were throwing up barriers against where the Spirit would go with this whole thing of which we are a part. So, Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, because they don’t understand." Now, there he is, true God, true human. There you see it. There you see the heart of the Divine. There you see the intention of the human. And it seems to me that when we are encountered with that kind of spirit reflective of the divine Spirit, but incarnate in the human, our defenses are defeated. What happens when you are as guilty as hell and you face the one you have offended and you’re all ready to marshal your arguments, make your denials, line up your excuses, rationalize your behavior, and you meet grace and forgiveness. All of that which you have gotten ready with which to carry on a defense of your life project melts, and you begin to weep and there is a contrition that cannot be contrived that rushes to the surface, and you say, "Oh, my God." Then there’s a moment of self-awareness, a © Grand Valley State University �Father, forgive them… Richard A. Rhem Page 5   moment of honesty. There is then in the presence of such grace the capacity to own my story as my story, and then I’m forgiven. References: Simon Wiesenthal. The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness. Shocken, revised, expanded edition, 1998. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3772345027dd2f3e5dc99e5b032d623a.mp3 7f756cd38c93d8f4bba1b09847cd4738 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Midweek Lent Series A True Story, The Gospel and Forgiveness Scripture Text Luke 23:34 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19990324 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-03-24 Title A name given to the resource Father, forgive them... Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on March 24, 1999 entitled "Father, forgive them...", as part of the series "A True Story, The Gospel and Forgiveness", on the occasion of Midweek Lent, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Luke 23:34. Forgiveness Grace Lent https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3f5a00df92002a507eb429a2babad46d.pdf dbf4c2556624e1df8af1fc5a7cee8420 PDF Text Text I Really Can’t (Choose Not To) Follow From the series: God in the Mirror of a Human Face Text: Mark 8:34; I Peter 2:21 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Lent, March 21, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon My contention: We must get Jesus right, the historical Jesus, because Jesus’ face is the human face that mirrors the nature and character of God. If we get Jesus right, we will get God right, and if we get God right, we will be right. The God we imagine and worship determines the kind of people we become. In the Gospels we have two very different images of God: That of John the Baptist who, with many of his contemporaries, was living in the expectation of the dramatic in-breaking of God to end the world as it was organized, a world of oppression under the heel of Imperial Rome. God would come in fiery judgment to throw down the social structures of oppression and human abuse; the wicked would be burned as chaff, the righteous established in God’s kingdom of righteousness. That final solution involved God in counterviolence to the violence that God’s people had suffered from imperial power. Though beginning with John, at some point Jesus distanced himself from John, moved north to Galilee and inaugurated a ministry of grace whose keynote was the nearness of God to all, the unbrokered presence of God accessible to all, symbolized in the open table, the shared meal. Jesus’ vision was not apocalyptic; it was, to use the designation of John Dominic Crossan, “ethical eschatology.” Jesus, like John, believed the normal way the world was organized and run was fundamentally wrong, for the organizing principle was power - political, military, economic, religious– power that, said Jesus, is not reflective of the nature and character of God, nor of God’s intention for Creation. Not Power, but Justice. But not simply justice: rather, non-violent justice; that was the key. John wanted justice, too, and he wanted God to level the playing field any way God could - let wrath roar, but square the accounts of the world. © Grand Valley State University   �I Can’t (Choose Not To) Follow Richard A. Rhem Page 2   Not so Jesus; he came to see that justice by coercion fails to create a new world. "One convinced against one’s will is of the same opinion still," claims the old adage. As we gather, an emergency meeting of the Defense and Security people in Washington are gathering with the President about the situation in Kosovo. What are you guessing will be the decision? How would you make the call? Here is one of those terribly difficult decisions that this government is called on to make - not alone, of course - but nonetheless as the lone superpower. I mention that because, should we take military action, we may avert a human slaughter, diminish human suffering, halt an aggressor. Force can do that. But will we change anything? There would be service to some semblance of justice, but a coerced semblance of justice holds in check a greater evil while failing utterly to effect the kind of transformation that is reflective of the world order that was envisioned by Jesus. Jesus went another way - the way of non-violent protest. He did that in a very concrete cultural situation - in rural Galilee under Roman rule Commercialization was driving peasant farmers off their land. He did not need to call those who followed him to leave all. They had lost all. And if on occasion a person of wealth inquired about what he should do to enter the kingdom of which Jesus spoke, he said, "Sell all, give it away and follow me if you want to be part of this movement. Get out of the system; let your known, familiar world cease to be and join us in a “companionship of empowerment." That’s Crossan’s descriptive term, not teacher-disciple. That would still be a structure of domination, not a fellowship of equality. The best example I can give you in our century is Gandhi, who recognized that somehow or other British rule in India was focused around salt and the fabric industry. Remember Gandhi’s march to the sea? Well, they began to make their own salt and they began to spin their own cotton, and when a mass of people opt out of the way a world is running, that world collapses, it breaks down. You remember in the film the moment when the masses were there in front of the British guns and the guns began to bark and then had to be called off, because any oppressor with a modicum of humanity cannot just mow down human beings. Unfortunately, our world has known instances of those who could do that, but anyone with a grain of humanity within cannot simply gun down a mass of people who offer their bodies because they will no longer play the game that way. That’s really, I think, what Jesus was about, and if our world had known more people who would have followed the radicality of Jesus such as a Gandhi, our world just might be farther along in this emerging evolutionary movement toward humanization. © Grand Valley State University �I Can’t (Choose Not To) Follow Richard A. Rhem Page 3   Oh, it’s not easy - I really can’t follow, nor can I choose not to follow. That’s the Lenten dilemma, when I’m faced starkly with Jesus’ call to take up my cross. To take up my cross is not to buy a bathrobe and sandals and give away everything I have and go out on the street. That’s imitating Jesus in a literalistic fashion and it makes no sense. Let me be clear - following Jesus is always a culturally specific action. It is an action in light of my concrete situation. It is not the imitation of Jesus; it is doing what Jesus would do, were Jesus in my shoes, for Jesus’ enemies are not my enemies, and Jesus’ concrete instances of injustice are not mine. I’ve got to determine what it means to follow Jesus in an economy where the stock market is nudging 10,000. I have to determine what following in Jesus’ steps means in a world that is driven into consumerism by PR, advertising firms that encourage me to acquisition. I have to learn what following Jesus means in a world that is under threat of pollution, a world that is marked still by terrible racism that obtrudes itself occasionally in the disastrous brutality of the police slayings of recent times. I have to decide what it means to follow Jesus in a world of gay bashing and neo-Nazi manifestation. I have to decide what it means to follow Jesus in a world where the most shrill voice and meanest spirit– I say in the presence of God – I find in the representatives of the religious right. That’s how I have to determine the shape of following in his steps, and it’s not easy. It’s very complex. The Church should have known long before it did that it belonged on the side of the civil rights struggle of the sixties, of the feminist issue in the recent decades, and the present era of homophobia. The Church should know long before it finally comes kicking and dragging into the kingdom where it ought to be on issues like that. But, it’s not always clear. I can never get through Lent without going to my dear Bonhoeffer who was convinced in his heart of hearts that Jesus called us to non-violence, who was essentially himself a pacifist, and yet who left the safety of this country in 1939 returning to Germany, finally to be joined up by a conspiracy to assassinate Hitler, a conspiracy which failed and which resulted in his incarceration and his martyrdom. Eduard Bethke, his biographer, was asked when he came to this country on a speaking tour how Bonhoeffer, with his convictions about pacifism, could have gotten involved in that violent solution, and Bethke said, "What do you do when someone is going up and down the street killing people?" It’s not easy, you see. Because we live not in the kingdom of God. It has dawned, but it has not fully arrived and, consequently, there’s light and shadow and it’s all intertwined and we are all caught up in it, all heavily invested in the way things are. There are often situations that are not clear-cut, and we need to be patient with one another and in conversation with one another. But finally, finally I am called to follow in his steps because I do believe that the heart of God is mirrored in the face of Jesus. I believe that what Jesus was about is what God was about © Grand Valley State University �I Can’t (Choose Not To) Follow Richard A. Rhem Page 4   and that it has cosmic, historical, human implications all the way down the line. The possibility of the realization, the dream of God, that dream of a human community, of humane existence, of the humanization of society - that that is what Jesus was about because he believed that was what God was about and I do believe that is the grain of the universe moving that way. But God, with infinite patience, waits. Not full of wrath ready to bubble over, saying to us, "It’s your only possibility. Power won’t do it. Violence, even my violence, will defeat the very purpose with which I said ‘Let there be ...’ I only wait until finally here and there, now and again, someone catches the dream, the vision, the impossible dream for this world that I love, and I can imagine that when Jesus moved from Gethsemane to the judgment hall, he might well have written the words from The Man of La Mancha – To dream the impossible dream, to fight the unbeatable foe, to bear with unbearable sorrow, to run where the brave dare not go. To right the unrightable wrong, to love pure and chaste from afar, to try when your arms are too weary, to reach the unreachable star. This is my quest: to follow that star, no matter how hopeless, no matter how far. to fight for the right without question or pause, to be willing to march into hell for a heavenly cause! And I know, if I’ll only be true to this glorious quest, that my heart will lie peaceful and calm when I’m laid to my rest. And the world will be better for this: That one man, scorned and covered with scars, still strove with his last ounce of courage to reach the unreachable stars! (Joe Darton) – because God so loved the world. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e0c40486f6dbb367d29248d6492cd911.mp3 92c96e66e37e14d4fd112f5c1d35eecb Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Lent V Series God In the Mirror of a Human Face Scripture Text Mark 8:34, I Peter 2:21 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19990321 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-03-21 Title A name given to the resource I Really Can't (Choose Not To) Follow Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on March 21, 1999 entitled "I Really Can't (Choose Not To) Follow", as part of the series "God In the Mirror of a Human Face", on the occasion of Lent V, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Mark 8:34, I Peter 2:21. Divine Intention Grace Justice Non-violence https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/9c086c421e5f9e87626dc5c7691c1dd1.pdf c85cd24fb92675ec31ff53b6b1f4469d PDF Text Text Forgiveness: Possible? Moral? Midweek Lenten Worship Text: Luke 7:36-50 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan February 24, 1999 Transcription of the spoken sermon The theme stated in the bulletin, "Forgiveness: Possible? Moral?" is really the theme of the evening, but there is an overall theme for this Lenten series which I failed to get printed. It’s called "A True Story: The Gospel and Forgiveness," for I want us to think on these Lenten meditations about the possibility of forgiveness, the nature of forgiveness, and the qualities of forgiveness, and what it is that we understand about forgiveness. The story is a story called The Sunflower, by Simon Wiesenthal. It is recorded in this little book, which I was given sometime within the course of the last year. His name may be familiar to you; he is the Jew who has founded a center located in Vienna with a branch in Los Angeles. It is a documentation center and Simon Wiesenthal is one who survived the concentration camps and has given himself to the pursuit of all of those Nazi war criminals who have managed to escape punishment. He has given his whole life to their pursuit; he has dogged their steps. Not so many years ago he was able to track down Adolph Eichmann, you may remember. Some call him a dangerous fanatic, and yet, Simon Wiesenthal is a man who, having gone through what he went through, is convinced that the Holocaust, that story, must be told. He wrote in The New York Times that the schools will be silent, the churches will wipe out the Holocaust with forgiveness, and parents will be in denial trying to evade and avoid the raw terror of what happened fifty some years ago. The Sunflower is his story. Simon Wiesenthal lost 89 of his relatives; he saw his aged mother crammed into a boxcar on her way to the death camp. His wife’s mother was shot in the staircase of her own home. He, himself, miraculously escaped death a dozen times. He is a man who has two engineering degrees, and was a successful architect living in Poland, a land where there had been a long history of antiSemitism. He finally was arrested in October of 1943. He made his way through various camps for the next nearly two years, finally to be liberated by the American troops in May of 1945. He tells his story in The Sunflower. © Grand Valley State University   �Forgiveness, Possible, Moral? Richard A. Rhem Page 2   I won’t go into the sunflower symbolism; can’t possibly give you a sense of this story in a few moments this evening, but the heart of the story is his recounting of an encounter with a dying Nazi SS officer. He was a prisoner in a death camp; he was in a detail that was dispatched to a makeshift hospital and, arriving there, a nurse led him into the room of this dying SS officer whose head was totally bandaged and who was obviously in his last moments, and the SS officer poured out his story to Simon Wiesenthal. This is a young German SS officer, 22 years old, knowing that he is about to die, but recounting the horrors of what he had done, the most vivid instance that of herding two to three hundred Jewish people in the village into a three-story house in which they had to carry cans of gasoline into which were lobbed grenades with the obvious result - explosions and fire, and with the SS officers around the house with their machine guns at the ready to gun down anyone who would try to jump or escape in any way. This SS officer saw a father with a little child in his arms, dark hair and dark eyes. The father put his hand over the child’s eyes and they leaped from the second story window, followed by the mother, and whether or not they died on impact or were dead because of the machine gun, he doesn’t know, and he went on to describe other horrors of which he was a part, but that particular scene he could not erase from his mind. Wiesenthal, near death himself in the death camp and his work detail, sat frozen on the SS officer’s bed. He wanted to run, but the officer held him firmly and said that Wiesenthal had to listen to it all. And then the SS officer, after completing his tale, said, "When I was still a boy I believed with my mind and soul in God and in the commandments of the Church. Then everything was easier. If I still had that faith, I am sure death would not be so hard. "I cannot die ... without coming clean. This must be my confession, but what sort of confession is this? A letter without an answer ..." No doubt he was referring to my silence. But what could I say? Here was a dying man - a murderer who did not want to be a murderer, but who had been made into a murderer by a murderous ideology. He was confessing his crime to a man who perhaps tomorrow must die at the hands of these same murderers. In his confession there was true repentance, even though he did not admit it in so many words. Nor was it necessary, for the way he spoke and the fact that he spoke to me was a proof of his repentance... He sat up and put his hands together as if to pray. "I want to die in peace, and so I need ..." I saw that he could not get the words past his lips, but I was in no mood to help him. I kept silent. © Grand Valley State University �Forgiveness, Possible, Moral? Richard A. Rhem Page 3   I know that what I have told you is terrible. In the long nights while I have been waiting for death time and again I have longed to talk about it to a Jew and beg forgiveness from him, only I didn’t know whether there were any Jews left... I know that what I am asking is almost too much for you, but without your answer, I cannot die in peace." Now there was an uncanny silence in the room. I looked through the window. The front of the buildings opposite was flooded with sunlight. The sun was high in the heavens. There was only a small triangular shadow in the courtyard. What a contrast between the glorious sunshine outside and the shadow of this bestial age here in the death chamber. Here lay a man in bed who wished to die in peace, but he could not because the memory of his terrible crime gave him no rest. And by him sat a man also doomed to die - but who did not want to die because he yearned to see the end of all the horror that blighted the world. Two men who had never known each other had been brought together by a few hours by fate. One asks the other for help. But the other was himself helpless and able to do nothing for him. I stood up and looked in his direction, at his folded hands... At last I made up my mind and without a word I left the room. The account is relatively brief, only ninety-nine pages. These are the last couple of paragraphs that Wiesenthal writes: Was my silence at the bedside of the dying Nazi right or wrong? This is a profound moral question that challenges the conscience of the reader of this episode just as much as it once challenged my heart and my mind. There are those who can appreciate my dilemma and so endorse my attitude. And there are others who will be ready to condemn me for refusing to ease the last moments of a repentant murderer. The crux of the matter is, of course, the question of forgiveness. Forgetting is something that time alone takes care of. But, forgiveness is an act of volition and only the sufferer is qualified to make the decision. You who have just read this sad and tragic episode in my life, can mentally change places with me and ask yourself the crucial question, "What would I have done?" The last half of the book is a series of brief responses from some twenty philosophers, theologians, priests, rabbis, giving the response to his question, © Grand Valley State University �Forgiveness, Possible, Moral? Richard A. Rhem Page 4   "What would you have done?" and the book ends without an answer, it remains a question. It’s a question that I would like to leave with you tonight. It’s a question that I would like to have us continue to reflect on in this Lenten season. A dying man in anguish pitifully asks forgiveness from another human being, in this case, a Jew on behalf of the Jews. He listens to the whole story, but then he leaves in silence. What would you have done? All of the respondents, Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, are very subdued in their response because we are so far from that situation that I don’t think there is anybody that would presume to put themselves in his place and answer for him. I don’t think that it is possible for us to begin to take in the horror of those years. Nonetheless, a step removed from the concrete situation in which Wiesenthall found himself, the moral question is there and that’s why I raise the question tonight. Forgiveness: Is it possible? Is it moral? I have learned in the Jewish tradition that there is a very strong tradition that no one can forgive another for a crime against a third person. I could not forgive you for something you did to another, that it is only the person sinned against that can offer forgiveness. And, as I have reflected on that particular thing, I’m also aware that in the Christian tradition and in a church like Christ Community which has been marked by grace, there is always the danger of "cheap grace." Sometime in the last year or so there was one of these awful school shootings, I think in Arkansas, and the newspaper showed signs of neighbors and young people having the name of the young man that perpetrated that tragedy saying, whatever his name was, "(Jim), we forgive you." There is a Jewish commentator, writer, journalist, Dennis Prager, who wrote a very sharp article on the dummying down of Christianity, saying that such offering of forgiveness before there was any admission of guilt or any indication of repentance was the dummying down of Christianity and an abuse. That’s "cheap grace." The attitude of "Oh, it doesn’t matter," thinking now not about that Holocaust situation, but thinking more in general, those who say something doesn’t really matter, offering easy absolution are not dealing with the reality of evil and the necessity of repentance and reformation in human life. Forgiveness can be bandied about easily if we don’t take seriously the extent to which we injure one another. Forgiveness ought not to come easily. And yet, forgiveness is rooted in our image of God, our sense of God. Forgiveness was imaged in the God of Israel. The Psalmist said, "Oh, Lord, if you should mark iniquity, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness." And that forgiveness of the God of Israel was reflected in the ministry of Jesus. The woman who came to him off the street, a woman of the night, into the Pharisee’s house, to whom he extends forgiveness, seeing in the love of her life a kind of human transformation that is affected by the touch of grace. © Grand Valley State University �Forgiveness, Possible, Moral? Richard A. Rhem Page 5   My favorite novel, drama, musical, "Les Miserables," has Jean Valjean fleeing the police inspector, taking refuge in the convent, robbing in the middle of the night the silver of the priest, only to be apprehended and brought back to the priest by the gendarmes, and the priest saying, "I gave it to him." And then looking Jean Valjean in the eye, saying, "I exorcize the evil of your heart. Go out a new man." And the story is of the transformation of the human being. Forgiveness. What darkness there would be if, when one comes to that point of self-knowledge and the honest confronting of oneself and lays it bare, that one would meet only with silence. Doesn’t it give you a chill to think of that? Not in any sense to take away from Wiesenthal or to judge him, and to recognize that perhaps he had no right to offer forgiveness to the SS officer for crimes against those who had suffered. Nonetheless, as one commentator suggested, maybe just some word of recognition and understanding short of the offer of absolution. And yet, as we will think in these Lenten weeks, it is God who forgives, but that remains abstract until we forgive one another, not lightly, not nonchalantly, but seriously in the light of honest repentance which is a change of mind and a raising of consciousness or a coming to oneself. Then the Gospel says that for such a one there is forgiveness, forgiveness because that’s the way God is, ultimately, ultimately, full of grace. References: Simon Wiesenthal. The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness. Shocken; revised expanded edition, 1998. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/712f57623b2683c126167329b9299a9a.mp3 25c97ec529099e6e194699fb5e07fe43 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Midweek Lent Scripture Text Luke 7:36-50 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19990224 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999-02-24 Title A name given to the resource Forgiveness: Possible? Moral? Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on February 24, 1999 entitled "Forgiveness: Possible? Moral?", on the occasion of Midweek Lent, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Luke 7:36-50. Forgiveness Grace Lent Nature of God https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f71531c2ac696ebc53170b082b30b48b.pdf 9b258507fba2942a980c248f854e04cb PDF Text Text Firm Resolve From the series: The Human Face of God Text: Isaiah 50:7; Luke 9:51 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan March 22, 1998 Transcription of the spoken sermon The Lenten focus for this season is The Human Face of God: that in Jesus the presence of God, the reality of God was embodied, the Word was made flesh, and in that face we see the face of God. But, not only in Jesus. The only access to God is the human face; it is in the concrete encounter with the other that there is the possibility, the experience of that other that transcends the human relationship. John, in his first epistle, says no one has seen God, but the one who dwells in love lives in God, and God lives in that one. And so it is in Jesus that the Christian tradition is focused in order that in that human face we would get a clue as to the nature and being of God. God, like Jesus, has that face as revealed in the story that is told. And so, we keep telling the story of Jesus because that is where, in our tradition, we say the eternal and infinite has touched down, so to speak, become tangible, concrete, something we can get hold of, glimpse, focus on. The face of Jesus is the human face of God and, in the human face, the body of Christ, God continues to be manifest. Jesus, baptized by John the Baptist, obviously a part of that spiritual renewal movement that was inaugurated in John’s ministry, an apocalyptic ministry looking for the end of the age, looking for the dramatic intervention of a God from beyond, Jesus in the experience of his baptism, one of those people that felt the claim and the call of God such that the gospel writers tell us he went off into the wilderness to wrestle and to struggle and to determine the implications of that call, the ramifications of that claim. And he begins his ministry under the influence of John, but as we noted a couple of weeks ago, before long, he’s uneasy with that. Jesus is not one who calls down fire and judgment from heaven. As he wrestles and struggles, he finds another model, not in the prophet Malachi, but rather, in the suffering servant, the suffering servant upon whom God’s spirit is placed, who is called, who is gentle, who will not crush the bruised and broken reed or snuff out the smoldering candle, but with compassion will nurture the people of God. Jesus finds in the © Grand Valley State University   �Firm Resolve Richard A. Rhem Page 2   suffering servant another way to be about the ministry, a ministry now of grace, of good news, of gospel, the proclamation of the kingdom of God being present and the ministry of healing and of liberation of the prisoner. This was the program he announced in his home synagogue as he began his Galilean ministry, that ministry which was met with some considerable success in Galilee eventually also got its own opposition. John the Baptist was beheaded by Herod and as the whole program developed, there came a point in the ministry of Jesus as we read it in Luke’s gospel, a watershed, if you will, or a turning point when Jesus knew that things had to come to a head, that finally he had to bring his message, his ministry, his program to the very heart and center of his own people in Jerusalem, the city of David, City of the temple, city of everything for which the Jewish heart yearned and longed. There Jesus knew he must finally make his plea and give his appeal. And so, that’s the point at which we find in this week he set his face firmly to go to Jerusalem. You probably picked up in the servant’s song in Isaiah 50 that the servant said, "I have set my face like a flint," and that was the stuff that was filling the mind and heart of Jesus. That must have been the spiritual food in which he was submerged and, as Luke tells us the story, he picks up that phrase to denote the turning point, the point at which Jesus knows now what he must do, where he must go. He sets his face firmly toward Jerusalem. It’s rather interesting, I think Luke wants to embroider around that firm resolution what Jesus had to be dealing with, what Jesus was and what Jesus would not be. For just a few verses before the announcement of his face set to Jerusalem, we have the disciples arguing about who will be greatest among them, and Jesus has to set a child in their midst because, obviously, they haven’t understood yet that that which he is about is not about posturing for position and power. And then, James and John come and they say, "Say, we just shut down a ministry down the road. We told him to fold his tent and fade into the sunset. He didn’t do it in our name." And Jesus says, "You don’t get it, do you? Those that aren’t against us are for us. There is a great work and there is a broad spectrum of ministry that is necessary and you don’t shut somebody down because they’re not using your formula or using your label." Then he sets his face, he’s on his way now to Jerusalem, and they go through Samaria. Do you remember there was already an indication of a change in Jesus when he came from Judea in the area of John the Baptist and made his move to Galilee: he went through Samaria. Most of the Jews went around Samaria because of the hostility between the Samaritans and the Jews, but Jesus went through Samaria and he engaged a woman at the well in conversation, which raised some eyebrows, and he carried on a ministry there on his way north. Now he’s coming back, and he comes through Samaria again and the group is not received. There is hostility. And so, showing that they still haven’t gotten it, they © Grand Valley State University �Firm Resolve Richard A. Rhem Page 3   haven’t heard the word of Jesus, James and John said, "Would you like us to call down fire from heaven?" Well, of course, they had good Hebrew models. Elijah did that a couple of times, if you go to I Kings, the first chapter. When they came after him, he just called fire from heaven to zap them out of here. John and James were in the tradition. But, Jesus was breaking tradition. He said, "You don’t get it." In a text which is in some manuscripts, but not all, and not in the printed text I read, Jesus said, "You don’t know of what spirit you are." Face firmly set. Identity clarified. Responding to the call, on his way. Firm resolve. Jesus now knew who he was, what he had to do, and the spirit in which he would do it. And the next stop will be Jerusalem and the crisis of his life and ministry. As we contemplate that, as I think about these Lenten Sundays and the call to discipleship, I recognize that it is a time when in the church we have often laid a heavy load on people. I’ve done it myself and I’ve certainly suffered under enough preaching in my lifetime. You take a text like this, after they leave Samaria someone comes up and says, "I’ll follow you wherever you go," and Jesus says, "Look, foxes have holes, birds of the air have nests, the son of man is not to lay his head. Don’t sign up without understanding the implications." Jesus never took anybody under false pretenses. Someone else comes along and Jesus says to him, "Follow me." He said, "Well, I’d love to follow you, but I’ve got to go bury my father." Jesus said, "Let the dead bury their dead. This is urgent. Proclaim the kingdom of God." Someone else comes along and says, "I’d like to follow you, but I’d like to have a farewell party with my friends and family first," and Jesus says, "You obviously haven’t put your hand to the plow, because once you put your hand to the plow, you don’t go back." Now, I’ve heard those texts preached; I’ve gone out of church with a heavy load of guilt. I have recognized the stark contrast between my life and the life of Jesus. I have noticed how far short my discipleship falls from the discipleship that is held forth in the gospels, and have hardly been able to wait for Lent to get over again so that we could get to Easter and resurrection and joy and brightness. And, as I think about that, I don’t want to add one more sermon like that, I don’t want to burden one more congregation one more time with that heavy load during Lent, because, as a matter of fact, the radicality of Jesus’ claim and call is clearly set and we sense that. But, as a matter of fact, that’s a radicality that cannot fall upon all of us. What would happen if all of us would leave the dead to bury their dead? Is that really what that means? Are we to take that literally? I think if you were with me with the Swartz family, with Bob yesterday, you’d understand that one of the most beautiful moments and anguishing moments is when the family is gathered around one who is dying, the wonderful bonding, the beautiful love, the departure in peace. And I’m supposed to say to somebody you don’t have time for that because the kingdom of God is your claim? Well, what is this kingdom of © Grand Valley State University �Firm Resolve Richard A. Rhem Page 4   God, then? And as far as having no place to lay your head, what would happen if all of us would take literally that claim to sell all and follow Jesus? What would happen if all of the civility and the humanity and all of the common courtesy of our lives were suddenly to be thrown up in this absolute charge to follow Jesus? And what would it mean to follow Jesus today, anyway? I know what it would not mean in Zeeland, Michigan. It would not mean to gather over against those kids that are wearing the t-shirts with the wrong lettering on them! It would not mean to join the march for Jesus down the streets, impressing everybody with the numbers of people and the triumphalistic kind of posture that seems to be more and more prevalent in our communities. What is it to follow Jesus? Jesus had a firm resolve; he knew who he was and he knew where he was going. I want to say to you that this is a time in which we listen and we meditate and we contemplate and we allow the images of Jesus to wash over us, and I trust that all of us in the contemplation of that life stand in awe and feel a compelling urge, likewise, to be faithful and true and to respond responsibly at the moment at which we are confronted with this decision in whatever circumstance. You wouldn’t be here if that wasn’t true of you. And rather than going out of here today and saying, "I can’t follow Jesus. I’m not going to let the dead bury their dead, and I want a roof over my head," understand that as a sign and a symbol of the radicality and the priority of the kingdom of God, but recognize also that that priority is to be worked out in the ordinariness of our lives. I want you to go out of here today knowing that you are going to be stumbling and mumbling and fumbling, you are going to be halting and limping and wimping. Your discipleship will never measure up over against the gospel, you’ll always fall short, and you’ll have to plead for mercy. And I want you to know it’s okay because you’re only human. I know in your heart you want to follow that way; I know in your heart you want to be people who are responsible and compassionate and just; I believe that you are doing the best that you can. No, you’re not. You’re not doing the best you can, but you’re doing pretty well, and I want to commend you for that. You are good people; you’re serious people, and Jesus with his firm resolve is a model and, as God gives us grace, we seek to follow. But, you can go crazy with despair and give up in resignation unless there’s some healthy balance and recognition of the totality of our human response to that call of Jesus. Some of you know Glenn VanNoord who was a member here with his family for some years, who last Sunday died suddenly at age 51, and Nancy and I went to visit the family in Grand Rapids, and the open casket had a plaque in the background. I don’t know the history; obviously there’s a story about that little plaque, but it had the words of Micah, "And what does the Lord require? The Lord has told you to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." It was an epitaph for Glenn, and it’s a fitting epitaph for any one of us. Jesus had a firm resolve; he knew he had to go to Jerusalem. There may be someone here © Grand Valley State University �Firm Resolve Richard A. Rhem Page 5   who’s going to have to go to Jerusalem someday, I don’t know. Dietrich Bonhoeffer had to go to Jerusalem. When they confronted him with the possibility of joining that plot to assassinate Hitler, he had to struggle and wrestle with his own pacifist inclination over against the demonic darkness that was happening in the death camps, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer had to go to Jerusalem. In that concrete situation, that’s how he followed Jesus. Gandhi mobilized a whole people with non-violence in a violent world, transformed a landscape. One day he knew he had to march to the sea and he marched to the sea. We have these models, we have these examples, and for us in the Christian tradition, Jesus is that supreme example, that face. And we stand before it condemned, of course, because we are accommodating and we’re compromising. We don’t get it; we don’t see it. We are of the spirit of James and John all too often. We jockey for power and position. We forget all of that so quickly in the concrete situation. But, then, once in a while, now and again, here and there, there’s a set of circumstances, there’s an instance, and suddenly we know, and then we know, and then we go with firm resolve, and then we don’t count the consequences. There may be someone here who is on the threshold of that, I don’t know. For the most of us I think it’s going to be pretty much business as usual and another Lent. And yet, as a congregation, maybe we have to ask ourselves where is our Jerusalem? Is it time to set our face like a flint? Is there a Jerusalem out there beckoning us in a world in which religious commitments create the danger or the peril, in a world in which the demonic side, the shadow side of religion continues with its exclusivism, its competition, its lust for power? In a few minutes, Ed Post and I are going to be talking about worldviews. Can a world exist with competing worldviews? Eward Cousins, in Christ for the 21st Century, says you can’t do it in the old way anymore. Between 800 and 200 BCE, all the great religions of the world arose, independently, and he thinks that maybe we’re on in that second axial period when that which has prevailed for 2000+ years needs to make a significant turn. Now a global consciousness and a global community. Is it that which we are supposed to wrestle with and struggle with and advocate? Where do we have to move? Where are we going? Ah, for most of us I suppose it’s going to be business as usual, a rather ordinary Lent. That’s not so bad, because we’re only human. God knows we’re harder on ourselves than God is. But, on the other hand, if we hang around Jesus, it just might be that we’ll discover where we have to go in order to be true to the vision, in order to be faithful to God. And if we see it, then we better do it. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8908aab0b0b73b7221b4fb6a34b4e0a4.mp3 79c10b31f20d4650e928ac552967138b Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Lent IV Series The Human Face of God Scripture Text Isaiah 50:7, Luke 9:51 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-0-19980322 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-03-22 Title A name given to the resource Firm Resolve Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on March 22, 1998 entitled "Firm Resolve", as part of the series "The Human Face of God", on the occasion of Lent IV, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Isaiah 50:7, Luke 9:51. Followers of Jesus Grace Suffering Servant https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f28744aa7429cf1fc49520ed131e7c9d.pdf fc28f734e818df2d69d153de79009820 PDF Text Text Confidence Scripture: Isaiah 54:1-10; Philippians 1:1-18 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan January 18, 1998 Transcription of the spoken sermon Confidence is a very common word used to describe the level of trust one has in oneself, in another, in the truth of a claim or reality of a situation. The word, as so many words in our English vocabulary, stems from the Latin: The prefix con, meaning with and fidere meaning trust. To live with confidence is to live with trust. Trust in what? A variety of answers are possible. One may have self-confidence in regard to one’s ability to perform one’s task or to negotiate some difficult feat. One may have confidence in one’s favorite team. In Green Bay, confidence runs high in the Packers only one week away from America’s Holy Sunday. One may have confidence in the people with whom one works, one’s spouse, one’s family. Obviously, one may have confidence in the goodness and mercy of God. But I want us to think about confidence more generally today at the top of another year. I want to think about confidence as a fundamental attitude over against the whole of one’s life, life itself and the attitude we share together as a faith community. Those who study human development point to the critical importance of fundamental trust as the foundation for a healthy adjustment to life. Trust not with a specific object attached to it, but trust as a basic orientation to life and reality. Studies in child development tell us nothing is more important for the nurturing of an infant through the earliest experience than the creation of a secure and loving environment in which the infant, the child, learns to trust. We know it is so. We know it is true for ourselves and we see it borne out in those around us. Healthy, whole, fruitful, productive people are marked by confidence; they live with trust. Where does it come from? © Grand Valley State University   �Confidence Richard A. Rhem Page 2   If one learns very early to trust or not, it must be passed on from generation to generation. But, where did it begin and on what is it based? Certainly trust in life’s goodness and ultimate meaningfulness is not obvious from simple observation of the human experience. Life is fragile, full of peril, haunted by tragedy. Experience is mixed. When one stops to think about it, trust cannot rise from experience. Concrete experience can often be the acid that eats away at trust. As I said at Christmas, children love fairy tales because, while filled with danger and darkness, things turn out all right and the good folk live happily ever after. But, it is not so in life - any honest appraisal will in the end reveal human experience as mixed. Still, there is something in us that goes on, picks up again, trusts again. And this is true of religious people and those who practice no religious faith consciously. Let me suggest that for the religious consciously and the non-religious unconsciously, confidence is rooted in trust in the goodness and mercy of God that at the heart and center of reality is God Who is for us, for life. Let me point you to the morning lessons which speak of confidence rooted in God. Second Isaiah, as we call the unknown prophet of chapters 40-55, sings of an eternal covenant of peace to the exiles of Judah living in Babylon. They were on the edge of despair thinking their God of covenant, Yahweh, had abandoned them, or had been overruled by the gods of the mighty Babylonian Empire. But the prophet begins to preach to them, interprets their experience and tells them stories of their past and encourages them to trust that God will yet deliver them. They will go home! He begins the poem recorded in chapter 54 with a call to the barren one to sing; she who was barren will birth many children. Therefore, the tent must be enlarged, the curtains stretched out, the stakes strengthened, the cords lengthened, for "You will spread out." The allusion to the barren woman would not be lost on these exiles. Who was the classic barren one in Israel’s past? Sarah, of course. You have heard me claim many times that Genesis 11:30 is a critical watershed in the biblical narrative. The first eleven chapters of Genesis record the repeated failure of humankind to live into the intention of the Creator and then God tries a new strategy - choosing one family in order to bless eventually all families of the earth. And how does God begin? With Sarah, who is barren. © Grand Valley State University �Confidence Richard A. Rhem Page 3   And not only Sarah, but Rebekah and Rachel and Hannah. The prophet of the exiles played on the memory of his people to remind them that precisely in barrenness, God acts to effect fruitfulness. And then, if that is not enough to trigger the rebirth of trust, he reminds them in verse nine of Noah. Out of the devastation of the Flood, God placed a rainbow in the sky as a sign of God’s promise that never again would the earth be destroyed. God’s faithfulness to Creation was signed with the rainbow. The Covenant with Noah preceded the covenant with Abraham and Sarah. With Abraham and Sarah, God sealed a Covenant of Grace with a particular family with the intention of reaching all families, but with Noah, the covenant promise embraced the whole Creation. Would not that story remind Israel that Yahweh was no tribal deity limited to their homeland, but the One Eternal God, Creator of all? Stories. They are the stuff of human confidence. When trust wears thin, we tell a story of what God has done and we find our confidence renewed that God will give us a future. Stories of faith. Remember and trust; trust God. Paul was a son of Israel and when he experienced the blinding vision on the Road to Damascus, he came to believe Jesus was indeed the Messiah, the anointed one through whom God was effecting that universal intention of the covenant of Grace sealed with Abraham and Sarah. We noted that last week; the secret hidden long ages with God was now being manifest. Paul was amazed and transformed. Now there would be no longer, as he wrote to the Galatians, Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female, but all one in Christ Jesus. And, he adds, if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise. No more barriers dividing humankind; No more hostility, No more outsiders and insiders. Thus transformed, the former persecutor of the people of the Way became the passionate Apostle of grace, the grace of God that is as wide as the whole human family. One of the ancient cities to which he took the story of God’s grace was Philippi, where a congregation was formed, a community with whom Paul had his most intimate relationship. There was a deep love affair between Paul and the Philippian congregation as is evident from his letter to that church. © Grand Valley State University �Confidence Richard A. Rhem Page 4   That letter begins with a rather extended thanksgiving - thanksgiving to God for this people who had stayed in touch with him and provided for his needs. Now in prison awaiting trial in the Imperial Court of Rome, Paul writes to express his deep affection for this people who joined him in a partnership in the Gospel. And in the midst of his expression of gratitude, he writes, I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. Here the confidence has a specific object - that the work of grace begun among this people by God will be brought to completion. That confidence is, however, based on Paul’s fundamental trust in God - the God of the beginning is the God Who will be at the ending. Once again we find that Paul’s specific confidence is rooted in that basic confidence in God. Paul’s confidence was not based on experience; he was in prison. He would die for his faith. But, the particular circumstance did not dislodge Paul’s confidence. Indeed, he writes, the circumstance of imprisonment had actually resulted in an increase in the witness to the Gospel. I want you to know, beloved, that what has happened to me has actually helped to spread the gospel. The Imperial Guard received Paul’s witness; others gained confidence through Paul’s imprisonment and bore their witness with greater boldness, and even, what might have defeated a lesser person, some took advantage of Paul’s imprisonment to further their own rival point of view. But, says Paul, so what? Christ is preached. I rejoice. What lies behind this remarkable grace? Is it not Paul’s confidence that God is at work in what seems the most adverse circumstances? Confidence - a very great gift; a healthy way to live and engage life. Living with such trust, Paul rested easily. This restless, passionate Apostle who traveled the ancient world as a man with a mission of eternal significance found inner serenity as he contemplated the turn of events because, through it all, he trusted God. That was the bedrock of his life. Telling Paul’s story does for me what the prophet telling the stories of Abraham and Sarah and Noah did for the exiles in Babylon. Faith is renewed, trust restored when we remember - remember the stories of those who have gone on before us. There was a lovely celebration here last Sunday. There was joy. We have been through deep waters, but can we not say with Paul that what has happened to us has actually resulted in the furtherance of this work of grace? Is that not the © Grand Valley State University �Confidence Richard A. Rhem Page 5   wonder of it all - that the challenge and the struggle have positioned us with new freedom and joy to find our way to the embodiment of God’s grace here for the healing of persons? I could go back over the years to the times this text has been used here watershed moments when we were challenged to move out in a new dimension of faith. Always the ground was the God Who has begun a good work here and surely will not let it languish, but will bring it to completion. Confidence. It is a gift. It is the way to live freely, fruitfully, because it is a life rooted in God and the trust that God is for us. God will go with us, will keep us and will finally bring us home. All will be well. You can trust that, not because things work out, but because God is God. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e6e1d45af7daf1bb63a3b1c79c73bee4.mp3 fd6f0e7425e6f59c316ff20f0466fc78 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Epiphany II Scripture Text Isaiah 54:2-3, Philippians 1:6 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19980118 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-01-18 Title A name given to the resource Confidence Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on January 18, 1998 entitled "Confidence", on the occasion of Epiphany II, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Isaiah 54:2-3, Philippians 1:6. All Will Be Well Fundamental Trust Grace Love at the Core of the Universe https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/befcd6a9717ce1988cae2762beb203e5.pdf de1954b1bb8b583be2337cb95c306751 PDF Text Text Living Before the Face of God: The Personal Dimension From the series: Meeting God Again For the First Time Text: Genesis 3:10; Psalm 130:1, 4; Psalm 132:1; Philippians 3:12 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan November 9, 1997 Transcription of the spoken sermon About three weeks ago, our house began to tremble and a check out the window revealed that, down the driveway next door just south of us, lumbered a great big Cat, some kind of heavy equipment. It had a steel arm that seemed two stories high that came, finally, to an iron jaw. The next morning the engine roared, the Cat positioned itself in front of the home that had sat next to ours as long as we had been there. The arm went up, the jaw came down on the flat-roofed dwelling and punctured through it, here, there, in another place – through that roof like it was nothing but tar paper. And then the arm raised up and the jaw moved over and down to the side and simply nudged the wall in and another wall in and another wall in, and before one knew it, that which had been a home in which to dwell was lying in fractured rubble on the basement floor. And then those jaws reached down and hungrily grasped all of the shattered fragments, lifting them up and depositing them in a dump truck that was waiting. Once all of the rubble was out of that floor, once again the arm rose up and moved over to the side of that poured concrete wall and just went, "Poof, poof, poof," and then crrrunched those slabs of concrete until again the jaws could come down and pick up the pieces and put them also in the truck and, within a day’s time, where a dwelling had been there was now simply a vacant lot, a sandbox. Demolition. Deconstruction. Dramatic. Changing the landscape. Not just for the fun of it, but in order that in that place there might rise a new dwelling, to the end that my tax appraisal will go up. Deconstruction, demolition is a part of the human experience in order that there might be reconstruction, new construction. An old and inadequate dwelling was demolished in order that a new house might arise more adequate to the moment, to the time, to the person. And, as I experienced that event, I saw an analogy of my ministry, a ministry of deconstruction, perhaps even demolition – I hope not with the brutality of that iron Cat. Nonetheless, for the same purpose. The analogy breaks down at one point. In the case of the house, there was total demolition, total clearing of the space before the new construction could begin. In © Grand Valley State University   �Living Before the Face of God: The Personal Dimension Richard A. Rhem Page 2   the case of my teaching and preaching ministry, it is necessary, obviously, that there be deconstruction and, simultaneously, construction, that there be dismantling and, at the same time, mantling anew, lest we be left for a time with no place to dwell. But, the purpose is the same, and the deconstruction and the dismantling that must always take place in terms of our faith dwelling is not in order to demolish, but to clear the space for something new and more adequate to our ongoing knowledge and human experience. It has always been that way in the faith journey of the people of God. Jesus stood in the line of the Hebrew prophets. Jesus was born a Jew and died a Jew. His devotion, his worship, his communion with God was within the parameters of his Jewish experience. But he reached into that structured religious establishment and rearranged some rooms and created some new spaces, challenging the conventional wisdom that had moved God afar off. He brought God near, the unbrokered presence of the God Who was accessible to all. And, of course, he paid for it with his life. It was the same throughout 2000 years of church history, but perhaps nowhere more dramatically than in the 16th century. We are the children of the Reformation, that disruptive event in the life of the church that tragically tore asunder the body of Christ, and yet necessarily dismantled and deconstructed an institution that had become overlain with forms and structures that blocked and hindered and obstructed the flow of the grace of God rather than aiding that flow. It must have been difficult for people in the 16th century, at the time itself. I think, for example, of those who came to the altar for the bread and the cup, believing that when the bell sounded at the altar and the priest invoked the spirit of God there was a miracle that occurred, the transubstantiation of the bread and the wine into body and blood, literally. Martin Luther had a hard time moving away from that. His fine distinction was that the bread remains bread and the wine remains wine, but the body is above and around and under the physical element that doesn’t change. Similarly with the cup, so that over against the transubstantiation of the Roman church, the Lutheran tradition had consubstantiation, con, that prefix that means "with." The body was with the bread; the blood was with the cup. I suppose there were those who were troubled when John Calvin suggested that it is neither transubstantiation nor consubstantiation, but rather that Christ is present spiritually when one receives bread and cup with faith. I suppose there were those who brought their children to the baptismal font and got the baptism executed and breathed a sigh of relief because the Catholic tradition taught that the child was born with original sin and that in the baptismal act, the grace of God removed the original sin and gave the child a fresh possibility, a new start, a start for the first time, as it were. I suppose there were those who were troubled when they brought their child to the baptismal font in Geneva, only to learn that there was no automatic grace attached to the act, for © Grand Valley State University �Living Before the Face of God: The Personal Dimension Richard A. Rhem Page 3   the sacramentarian conception of things had been altered to where it was now the prayer and the faith that engaged the promise and brought the grace, but without that automatic guarantee. Throughout the history of the church, as human knowledge has expanded and human experience has grown, and reflection on the faith has continued, there has been that ongoing deconstruction, not in order to leave us naked and bare, but in order to clothe us anew with that which is more adequate, which is in accord with the broader spectrum of our human experience, so that one need not check one’s mind at the door and come in for mindless ritual or devotion but, rather, that one with mind and heart according well might offer one’s whole being to God. In these fall weeks we are re-imagining God, not simply because new is better or old is no longer valid in every case, but in order that we might meet God again for the first time, in order that we might have a fresh experience of the living God, a taste of new wine, that we might experience the presence of God, the illumination, the light of God on our total experience in a whole new way in order that it might be deeper and richer, in order that it might engage our whole being and our life of worship and our life generally might flow out of a center within us that is whole, in order that there might be cohesiveness in our life. Living before the face of God - that’s the purpose. That’s the end of our thinking and our rethinking. Our thinking and our rethinking are vitally important, but are always a step removed from what really matters. What really matters is the communion of the soul with God. What really matters is that we might live with that peace of God within us, that we might live with a kind of confidence and strength and serenity in the conscious awareness of the presence of God in whom we live and move and have our being. Sometimes it’s necessary to deconstruct some of our images and some of our systems and doctrines, because they become blocks. They no longer fit with that which we experience otherwise. They no longer illumine our lives, but they become, if they can be continued, just rote exercises that we do out of custom or superstition, rather than that which we do thoughtfully, with awareness, with attentiveness. Finally, all that we do here together is only for one purpose - that we might live before the face of God in a relationship that is personal. Let us be clear about that. What we are engaged in here week after week is sometimes a matter of deconstructing, but never as an end in itself, but always to aid and abet that living, personal relationship with God which is at the heart and center of our religion. The function of religion is the hatching of the heart; it is the opening of the self to the sense of the sacred, to the holy, to God. And in order to make that accessible, available, in order to create the environment, the setting in which that may happen, we stammer and stumble and we re-imagine, sometimes involving dismantling, but always in order to be mantled afresh with a sense of the gracious, living God. © Grand Valley State University �Living Before the Face of God: The Personal Dimension Richard A. Rhem Page 4   The images we carry of God, as we have noted, are terribly important. That Genesis story pictures the Garden of Eden, that blissful place in which the human persons are placed, protected, innocent, and unaware. The image of God in that old Hebrew myth which is so profound in portraying our human experience, our relationship with God, conveys the image of a God Who comes into the garden from outside, Whose very presence brings with it fear and guilt to the human person who has engaged in that inevitable human act of wondering, experimenting. The church, I think, has missed the point of that garden scene, particularly through the interpretation of St. Paul. The experience of experimentation, that transgression, the coloring outside of the lines is called "the Fall." As a matter of fact, there is part of the liturgy of the church that recognizes that there was something more going on there. It is called The Paradox of the Fortunate Fall, because obviously that which evolved in the human being following that transgression was gain along with the pain. There was that inquisitiveness that brought knowledge and awareness and fear and guilt. There is in that story a reflection of that which is endemic to the human person, a sense of fear and guilt, a sense of treading over boundaries. Dwelling east of Eden now involves alienation and estrangement. Yet, who could say that they should have stayed within Eden in that innocent unawareness? In the Hebrew tradition, the images of God were churned as they wrestled with the concrete experience of their life in the presence of this Creator God Who could only be conceived of as sovereign lord and king in a hierarchical society that was structured from the top down. Yet, there was also a sense of the grace of God. The Psalmist, in Psalm 130, speaks out of the depths. Have you ever been in the depths? Have you ever had to cry out of the depths? Out of the depths I cry to you, O God. O God, if you should mark iniquity, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared. And the forgiveness creates hope and newness. Here we have one model, one experience, but the experience of a personal relationship with God, the sense that there is a grace that embraces even the one who in the depths, in the crisis, feels estranged, alienated. The next Psalm is a poem of serenity out of creaturely humility, the human person being what the human person ought to be, not lifting up the eyes, not raising the sights too high, not haughty of spirit, and consequently, in that acceptance of the human condition, experiencing the presence of God as a child nursing at the mother’s breast. "O God, my soul is serene." Serenity through the awareness of God Who is Creator and I a creature. © Grand Valley State University �Living Before the Face of God: The Personal Dimension Richard A. Rhem Page 5   But, there are also people like Paul whose lives are going down the road one way and who have an experience, cataclysmic and dramatic that turns them around in their tracks and, whatever that vision of Jesus involved, it issued in the transformation of Paul’s life. Was it for him also a moment of awareness? Did he suddenly see everything in a moment? What he saw clearly was that religious structures are transcended in that kind of experience. His wrath was raised when religious people came in after him, into the communities that he had formed, like the community in Philippi, with "religion." He calls them dogs; "Beware of the dogs, the mutilators of the flesh." Paul has been pictured in a thousand sermons as a classic case of conversion, obviously from Judaism to Christianity. It’s just not so. Paul in the 3rd chapter of Philippians denigrates not at all his Jewish experience. It was a very positive experience. It was a very adequate experience. It had the potential for mediating to Paul the God of Israel. But that mystical encounter which he had, relativized it, until he came to see, not Christianity, but the possibility, the experience of the reality of the communion of the soul with God. He was born a Jew and he died a Jew. He would never have sensed himself to be anything else, but I think he would have said, "It’s not so important that I’m a Jew anymore," and I don’t think he had the foggiest idea that he would be the founder of Christianity, which he was. Jesus didn’t found Christianity. Paul did. But he would have said the form doesn’t matter, because religion is not a ritual form or a doctrinal system. The experience of God transcends religious ritual and doctrine. All is transcended in the communion of the soul with God. Once the soul has been indelibly marked, when it has been seared with the seal of the presence of God, the reality of God, then all religious form and structure is relativized. Then use it or put it aside. But know that, in a moment of awareness, the presence, the embrace, the undergirding, the overshadowing of God – of the sacred and the holy that permeates the whole of reality – sustains, succors and nurtures and nourishes us. So, where are you? That was God’s question to that first couple cowering in the bushes. "Where are you?" "Hiding." "Why are you hiding?" "Well, we decided to be human." God knows our frame. God remembers that we are human. God made us that way. God didn’t create this whole vast cosmos and all the myriad millions of humankind in order with a blast of God’s breath to damn it all. God is the One in whom we live and move and have our being, who says, "Where are you?" Why don’t you just stop for a moment, for just for a moment. You could become aware, if you could just hear you are loved. If you could just break through as © Grand Valley State University �Living Before the Face of God: The Personal Dimension Richard A. Rhem Page 6   Paul broke through and finally see that, if God is for us, who could be against us? That there is nothing in life or death or principalities or powers or things present or things to come, nothing in the heights or the depths, nothing in all creation that could ever separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. If for just a moment you could become aware, it would transform us forever and enable us to rest from our restlessness and be reborn with an energy that, with the Apostle Paul, we would say, "I press on with joy, seeking to grasp that which has grasped me." © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/002f0445ebe2a49ab830148f2a3a450a.mp3 6279c408b092c1d3ef29f955d24915f8 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XXV Series Meeting God Again for the First Time Scripture Text Genesis 3:10, Psalm 130:1, 4, Psalm 132:1, Phil. 3:12 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-0-19971109 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1997-11-09 Title A name given to the resource Living Before the Face of God: The Personal Dimension Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on November 9, 1997 entitled "Living Before the Face of God: The Personal Dimension", as part of the series "Meeting God Again for the First Time", on the occasion of Pentecost XXV, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Genesis 3:10, Psalm 130:1, 4, Psalm 132:1, Phil. 3:12. Faith Journey Grace History of Church Re-imagining the Faith https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/fe64d97f43b710847ebdd052f6d1d362.pdf 3f0e0971dc365a40934d48443bf08740 PDF Text Text Disciples at Second Hand Easter Sunday Text: Luke 24:30-31 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan March 30, 1997 Transcription of the spoken sermon Soren Kierkegaard, Danish theologian, philosopher and prophetic voice of the 19th century, speaks of disciples at second hand - those who live through an experience only through second hand information. They are not really there; they only hear about the moment, the wonder, the real thing. And who are these disciples? They are Peter and James and John, Andrew, Nathaniel, and the rest of the twelve - those who traveled with him, listened to him, ate with him and finally abandoned him. Well, you say, that is a strange twist. I would have thought they were the disciples at first hand who encountered him in the flesh and witnessed to their experience in order that subsequent generations, indeed we ourselves, reading their witness, might become disciples at second hand. And that, of course, is precisely the reaction Kierkegaard was hoping to elicit in order to make his fascinating assertion that being a disciple at first hand has nothing to do with historical or physical proximity, but rather with the insight of faith that is the gift of the Spirit of God - an insight that was more likely to be the experience of one who walked with him in the flesh in the first century than of one who experienced him through the Spirit's fire in the twentieth century. Let me ask you - if you could choose to have been present during the days of Jesus’ flesh as opposed to the experience of him here and now through the Spirit - which would you choose? Not, would you choose to live in the first century as opposed to the twentieth just whether you would choose to have been present, on the scene, when he was teaching and healing in the days of his human, historical existence, or to experience him in a moment of revealing - a spiritual encounter, a burning sensation of present grace and love and beauty. Which would you choose? Unless freed to think deeply about this, I suspect the immediate response would be for most of us that we would choose to have been there. And if so, it is not © Grand Valley State University   �Disciples at Second Hand Richard A. Rhem Page 2   surprising, for Christian piety has conditioned us thus. For example, take The Old Hymnbook, #460 - "I Think When I Read That Sweet Story of Old," a children's hymn, vs. 1: "I should like to have been with them then;" vs. 2, "I wish that His hands had been placed on my head;" That, however, is not possible; however..., vs. 3: "Yet still to His footstool in prayer I may go." That I can do now and, "If I now earnestly serve Him below, I shall see Him and serve Him above." Now do you see there are two golden ages, so to speak? The days of the flesh, now out of the question, and Heaven, still in the future. And in the meantime, this inbetween time, prayer is a present possibility, but something less than past reality of physical presence, or future reality in Heaven. My experience tells me that has been a rather persistent and consistent Christian perspective. To be a disciple at first hand requires either being present with Jesus in the days of his flesh, or some day, "Face to Face," but now the best we can be is Disciples at Second Hand, reliving the stories of the past - imagining the glory that will be - but stuck in history's ongoing development with prayer our only access. Now, let me say clearly that is to miss the reality of Easter. Easter is to be experienced here and now, ever anew in the community of faith that lives in the Presence of the Spirit of God, which is the spirit of the Living Christ. That is the message of the Easter Gospel Lesson - the story of the encounter with the risen Christ on the Emmaus Road. Luke alone tells this resurrection story. Two disciples are leaving Jerusalem on Easter afternoon. They are dejected, discouraged, disappointed. Their world has collapsed, their hopes crushed, their dreams dashed. As they walk along the road to their home village of Emmaus, the Risen One joins them, but to them, he seems a stranger. He sees that they are sad of heart and inquires as to the reason. They cannot believe anyone could be ignorant of what has just transpired. They tell him of the death of the one they had hoped would redeem Israel. The stranger chides them for their foolishness, their slowness of heart to believe the Scriptures concerning the destiny of the Messiah. They approach the village and the stranger appears to be going on, but they invite him to join them as it is eventide and the day is far spent. The stranger accepts, enters their home, joins them at table and then assumes the role of host. He took bread, blessed and broke it and gave it to them. Suddenly their eyes were opened and they recognized him; it was he, Jesus, alive and present. And just the moment they recognized him, he vanished from their sight. Then, on reflection they say to each other, did not our hearts burn within us while he was talking to us on the way! Evening or not, they left the evening meal which had become a Eucharistic Feast, and returned to Jerusalem with the exciting news. The Lord has risen indeed! He was made known to us in the breaking of the bread. This is a beautiful Easter story. Its meaning is that being a disciple at first hand has nothing to do with historical, physical proximity to Jesus - whether the Pre-Easter Jesus, or the © Grand Valley State University �Disciples at Second Hand Richard A. Rhem Page 3   Post-Easter Jesus. It has to do with recognition, with eyes opened by the Spirit, with the experience of a Presence that makes the heart burn. In a lecture at Oregon State University a year ago, the New Testament scholar, Marcus Borg, host of a conference entitled "Jesus at 2000," quoted his colleague, John Dominic Crossan, who claims "Emmaus never happened. Emmaus always happens." Borg writes, "Emmaus happens again and again. Or, to echo the title of one of my books, Emmaus is a story about meeting Jesus again for the first time. Easter is about the Living Lord who journeys with us whether we recognize him or not. But, there are moments when we become aware of a Presence. There are moments when we know he is with us. That he lives. That we, too, are gripped and grasped by life, the gift of the Living God who again and again shatters the darkness, breaks the chains of oppression, overcomes the worst that evil can do. The God Whose light broke forth on Easter morning and shines and will shine until all is well." The aisle down which you will walk to this table set with bread and cup is the Emmaus Road. This moment, as every moment, is potentially the moment of fire and recognition, of burning heart and sheer joy when suddenly we know, we know a gracious presence enveloping us. We entered this Holy Season around the Table that is at the center of the Christian worship experience. Table fellowship was the hallmark of Jesus' ministry - the ministry of the Pre-Easter Jesus. All were welcome. All sorts and conditions of persons came; open table fellowship was the sign of the unbrokered Presence of God - the God Who is accessible to all - in a sanctuary, or at the seaside, with or without a priest or rabbi. On the night in which he was betrayed, he gathered his intimate friends around the Table, took bread, blessed and broke it and gave it to them. We entered this Holy Season around our Lord's Table and I suggested, in spite of the architecture which does not lend itself to table fellowship, nevertheless, we look at the Faces Around the Table - into the faces of one another - brothers and sisters with whom we have joined in this pilgrimage of faith, in whose faces we see God's Presence and experience God's grace. I made the point then that the Kingdom of God is not "up above us" in some heavenly realm, nor "out ahead of us" in some future age, but here and now. God's Presence is present to us in present experience as we look into each other's faces. In the intimacy of table fellowship, in the intimate connection with the other, we experience God's Presence as the Other. Have we not had such moments ... Can you not remember immediately such a moment full of fire and the reality of recognition when you knew more deeply than concept could contain or words explain - that God is - that Grace is - that all will be well, all manner of things will be well - perhaps a sense of comfort in the midst of deep grief, of calm in the midst of great danger, of overwhelming love in © Grand Valley State University �Disciples at Second Hand Richard A. Rhem Page 4   the embrace of another, in a child's face, the peace of a craggy countenance of one breathing her last. Moments to remember because they are moments of recognition. Moments we would grasp and freeze and hold forever, but moments only, not once for all, but again and again, as grace breaks over us. That is Emmaus - that is Easter. They recognized him in the breaking of the bread - at a kitchen table in a Judean Village, and sad and faithless hearts leapt for joy in flames of deep knowing and trust . No weariness can contain them - they run to the city to proclaim, The Lord is risen! © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2a11f18544ab9b3a9926938a24a0aff1.mp3 575f801bd74ca55e8c2f6b93172279ab Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Easter Sunday Scripture Text Luke 24:30-31 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19970330 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1997-03-30 Title A name given to the resource Disciples at Second Hand Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on March 30, 1997 entitled "Disciples at Second Hand", on the occasion of Easter Sunday, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Luke 24:30-31. All Will Be Well Easter Grace Presence of Spirit of God https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ca42644c383418158d2d380c040df47e.pdf 8b3936a2a36beb2a8ee986a1f4cc65d0 PDF Text Text The Divine Dilemma: The Human Paradox Text: Matthew 1:23; II Corinthians 12:9-10 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Christmastide, December 29, 1996 Transcription of the spoken sermon Søren Kierkegaard was an interesting Danish thinker, Christian, philosopher, theologian. He thought a lot about the divine-human relationship and he told a story one time about a king who had the misfortune of falling in love. He fell in love with a peasant woman, and for a king to fall in love with a peasant woman is to create a great problem. It is a royal dilemma, for kings ought to know better than to fall in love. When one falls in love, one loses control. When one falls in love, one is tempted to do foolish things. When one falls in love, one no longer operates rationally, using one’s head. One leads from the heart and it creates all kinds of difficulties. Anyone who wants a smooth ride, a well-managed life, free of pain, would be well advised never to fall in love. But, especially if you're a king, because if you're a king, there is an added dimension to the dilemma. You see, the king knew that he had the power to command the woman's presence. But, when you're in love, the only thing that will satisfy you is love in return. We know that, don't we? The only thing that satisfies the deep yearning of love is to be loved by the beloved, freely and spontaneously in return. The king understood his problem. He called all his wise advisers around him that they might strategize with him as to how he could win the love of this peasant woman so that it would really be her love. Well, they came up with all kinds of schemes, as you can imagine. That's what they were paid for; that's what they were kept in the king's care for, in order to help him out in difficult situations. And so, they devised one strategy after another. Arrive at her door in a golden coach, dazzle her with diamonds. They say that diamonds will do anything. But, the king was in love. His advisers were not. They were using their head, and he knew that what he really wanted was her heart, and he knew that not even a king can command love. Being frustrated by their ill counsel, it finally dawned on him. One evening he slipped out the back door of the palace, evaded the Secret Service agents and made his way, dressed as a peasant, to the door of the cottage of the woman he loved. And he knocked on the door and offered his heart and asked if he might come and dwell with her. © Grand Valley State University   �Divine Dilemma; Human Paradox Richard A. Rhem Page 2   Well, if you want to know how it came out, come next week. But, you can see the analogy to the divine dilemma that God dealt with at Christmas. Because if it doesn't help to be a king when you're in love, it helps even less to be God, because if God is the incurable lover that the biblical story tells us of, then God has a problem, for the one thing that God cannot command is the freely offered and spontaneous love of the other. And so, of course, at Christmas time, we speak of incarnation, we speak of how God came to dwell in one of our kind, flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone in order that the eternal and infinite One might be localized in the person of Jesus; in order that the Eternal God, the Infinite One might have a face, a face with which we might fall in love. God becoming one with us, identifying with us, making God's love known to us in the deep passionate hope that we might love God in return, because it doesn't help to be God when you're in love because Love is a thing that is not even at God's disposal. When one is in love then, as the king knew, the only love that can satisfy the deep ache in the heart is the freely offered love of the one beloved. Well, the king was foolish, of course, to fall in love. He might better have been, as that famous king of Persia, Ahasuerus, whose wife was Vashti. Ahasuerus, the king of the great Persian empire, called on all of his generals and all of his officials from across the empire and threw a great party. They knew how to do it better than we. They partied for seven days. And Vashti, the queen, was quite willing to go along with this. She even entertained the spouses of the officials. But, on the seventh day when the food had been plenty and the wine had flowed liberally and the king was feeling no pain, he wanted one last time to impress all of the company gathered around his table. He wanted his queen Vashti, known for her striking beauty, to come on and be on display. Well Vashti said, "It's a pretty good deal here, but enough is enough," and she said no. The king was enraged to be turned down by his queen. And so, he called his counselors and he said to them, "What should I do? What has she done?" They said, "What she has done is very serious, for she has not only disobeyed you and offended you. She has set a precedent in not obeying her husband and, if it should leak out of the palace, the whole of society should go down the tubes. There would be no more family values if women are not subservient to their husbands." (Oh, come on now. That's funny!) Well, in the case of Ahasuerus and Vashti, they had a royal connection and a royal arrangement. Vashti had a role to play and, as long as she played her role, she got her baubles. And when she didn't play her role anymore, the king simply dumped her. No problem, because he didn't love her. He simply held a beauty contest, the first Miss America contest held in the ancient world, and of course, you know the story. Esther, the beautiful Esther, the Jewish young lady was chosen as the queen for her beauty. She comes into the court and eventually - I'll tell you the ending - she saved her people and is celebrated for that fact. The point is this: between a king and a queen there cannot afford to be love because arrangements, relationships get fouled up when love is involved, because © Grand Valley State University �Divine Dilemma; Human Paradox Richard A. Rhem Page 3   love makes one vulnerable and love puts one out of control, and, therefore, a wise sovereign will put love on the back burner. The story of Christmas is the story of God Who is a hopeless and incurable lover, who was willing to yield sovereignty in order so radically to identify with the other, the creature, that the creature might be put on a level playing ground with the Creator. Well, now, that's a radical statement, but I want you to think about it with me this morning. This was the divine dilemma. If it is true that God is a God of passionate love, Whose yearning for the other knows no limits, then God has a problem, because there is no way that a king, human or divine, can be certain of the freely offered love of the other unless there comes to be a kind of equality , an even playing ground, where the love of the lover is displayed with a human face to which the other may love in return or say no. Matthew's Gospel, the birth story of Jesus, picks up that name Emmanuel. Emmanuel is reflective of the old tradition of Israel that knew God as a lover, as One yearning for God's people. Emmanuel - God with us, a sign back in ancient Israel, a child so named in order that the king might constantly be reminded in the presence of the child that God is with us, God is with us, God is with us, even when the king was not interested in having God with them. He would rather have had Egypt with them. Emmanuel - God with us - the Gospel writers said, was the reality of Christmas, that now the eternal One dwelt in the human form and we beheld grace and glory in a human face, because the whole biblical story is the story of a divine dilemma, of a God Who loves and will be satisfied with nothing less than the love of the other. The Gospels say it. And then I think of the first letter of John, the 4th chapter. John is the one who writes, "God is love," and he says no one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in us, and God's love is perfected in us. God is love and those who abide in love, abide in God, and God abides in them. This is the John of "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us so," that we might translate it, “Love became flesh and dwelt among us,” so that those who look into the face of Jesus and fall in love, are falling in love with God, but on an equal playing ground, because only love freely offered, only love spontaneously given will really satisfy the heart of one who is in love. This was God's problem. Of course, that created a second facet of the divine dilemma, because then God had to create another over against God's self to whom God could give love and from whom God could receive love. But, to create one like that was to create an awesome creature. That's why that biblical phrase that the human person was created in the image of God says something very profound. It says that the human creature is the mirror image of God. God created one over against God's self to be in relationship with, and the only other that would be worthy of the love of God would be an other who had the dignity to say, "Yes," freely and spontaneously, but to be able to say "Yes" freely and spontaneously, genuinely to love God would also be to have the possibility of © Grand Valley State University �Divine Dilemma; Human Paradox Richard A. Rhem Page 4   saying "No" to God. It is part of the human dignity of the human person that we can say no to God. This, of course, was the risk of the whole creative venture of God, the whole impulse to create, the calling into being that which was not, the out flowing of the love of God, God's breath, God's spirit lacing the other with life, sustaining the other in life - that whole episode was fraught with the possibility of disaster, because if you create another that is another worthy enough to love, a worthy lover, then you have created the possibility of one who can say no. In fact, you have created the possibility of one who just might play God. I think that's what the Apostle Paul understood. Paul, I think, from what I read and sense in the New Testament, was one that would not have minded a day or two running the universe. Paul always wanted to fix everything. First of all, he wanted to make the whole world Jewish. And then he wanted to make the whole world Christian. He was an accident going about to happen; he was feverishly fanatical, not always right, but always certain. And I suppose it came from the fact that he had had such an experience of the wonder and glory of God. When he's in trouble in the Corinthian congregation and he must defend his apostleship and his ministry, he tells them something he says that happened fourteen years before. "I've never spoken of it," he says, "I don't even know if I was in the body or out of the body. It was totally ecstatic. It was a vision. It was a kind of experience about which one simply cannot speak. But," he said, "I had that." And then he says with, I think, some real insight, knowing his own tendency to like to run the universe, to play God, "In order to keep my feet on the ground, I was given a thorn in the flesh." We don't know what it was, but it must have been something with which the Apostle Paul agonized, creating great pain, creating embarrassment, great humiliation, who knows? And he said, "It was so bad that I urgently prayed to God to remove that thorn, until I came to understand. I heard the voice of Jesus say, 'My grace is sufficient for you; my strength is made perfect in weakness.'" Or, I like the New English translation: "My grace is enough." You can take that with you for 1997 - "My grace is enough." Paul says, "You know, I came to understand that it was in my very brokenness that I experienced the love and grace of God that enabled me to be whole, to be strong, to love, to be gracious." The human paradox is that, having been created, this awesome creature that can stand over against God and say "Yes" to God or to say "No" to God, this human creature who can seek to usurp the place of God, try his hand at playing God, this human creature is resistant to the very thing that God would give, in that haughty posture, in that God-like frame of mind. And so, Paul says, "The very thing I dreaded, the very thing I sought to have removed was the thing that was the minister to me of a grace that enabled me to see God's love for me such as I had never known it before." That's the human paradox. The very thing that we are inclined to do to secure ourselves, to build walls against the world, to make certain that we are in control © Grand Valley State University �Divine Dilemma; Human Paradox Richard A. Rhem Page 5   and that we can manage and on a good day, try our hand at running the universe, that very posture is what keeps us from the deep experience of God's love and grace. It's really quite fascinating that the divine dilemma issued not only in God's identification with us in the flesh of Jesus, but that identification was so complete that when the human rebellion rose up to reject that offer in the face of Jesus, the lover God withheld His hand and allowed the word made flesh to be rejected, even to the point of crucifixion, so that we can speak of the crucified God. Such a lover that God would suffer rather than crush and strike out and cut off the possibility that ultimately the lovers will find each other. I suppose that simply is another instance of the fact that love always involves suffering, because it will not control, coerce, overpower or abandon. Ah, if only we could play God for a day. If only we could realize the impetus of our hearts to secure ourselves, to guarantee ourselves against suffering and hurt. If only we could keep our hearts, not lose our heads, and manage our lives. But, you see, the story of Christmas is the story of a crucified God, identifying with us, dying in order to show us that there is only one thing that will satisfy the divine yearning. It is when at the cottage door of our hearts there comes the knock of a God veiled in flesh who says, "I would come in and dwell with you." And we say, "Come in. Dwell with us." That is Christmas. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/725cca6c33ac0a00a96e02cef79dd94a.mp3 4f3d6938468c445efc7109c4276e4506 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Christmastide I Scripture Text II Corinthians 12:1-10, Matthew 1:18-25 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19961229 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1996-12-29 Title A name given to the resource The Divine Dilemma: The Human Paradox 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 29, 1996 entitled "The Divine Dilemma: The Human Paradox", on the occasion of Christmastide I, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: II Corinthians 12:1-10, Matthew 1:18-25. God of Love Grace Incarnation https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/032c65f035803d86e0e726dae59ef79d.pdf 3f2f08d473aeca0c75135ae977831739 PDF Text Text Sola Fidei: Trust From the series: New Wine for Century 21 Text: Psalm 16:8; Romans 8:38-39 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan November 3, 1996 Transcription of the spoken sermon All of those wonderful children that emptied out of here a few minutes ago are God's great gift, and one of the greatest gifts that we can give to them is to create in our homes and in our faith community the kind of environment that will build within them fundamental trust. Fundamental trust has been defined by the developmental psychologist Erik Erickson as that total orientation of life that views all of reality in a positive fashion so that one can live almost instinctively, trustfully. And I say that, not because fundamental trust is a religious category, it's a general human capability or possibility, but I say this on the final week of our Sola series, "Sola Fidei: Trust," because trust, while it is a gift of the Holy Spirit, is a gift of faith. The kind of trust beyond fundamental trust that gives us that consciousness of relationship to God is a gift from God, but received with such difficulty if our lives are not oriented to be trustful. I think, for example, of Martin Luther, whose name is synonymous with justification through faith, who recognized that the whole of the Gospel was with the open hand of faith to receive the gift of God, the gift of God's grace. But I think of Luther, whose name is synonymous with that great theme, but who had such a terrible struggle in his own life. We heard the story. I referred to it in the previous weeks, but let me remind you again of how Luther's God was not a gracious and loving God, but in his mind, an angry God. And in all of his seriousness he struggled with a terrible torment of his conscience as he went through his religious exercises, trying to appease the demons that assaulted him, failing to find a resting place, blessed assurance eluding him at every turn; finding himself absolutely miserable to the point of his frustration, as I said last week, when he said, "Love God? I don't love God. I hate God." Luther, thank God, is an example of one who in adulthood broke through by the miracle of grace by the inspiration of God's Spirit, and was able in his adulthood to come to that place of trust. But it's so very difficult to do it that way. It's so much easier if we have been nurtured in an environment that has led us to trust instinctively out of the depths of our being. Thank God if that has been our experience. The spirit of God can create that faith and trust in us so that no one is © Grand Valley State University   �Sola Fidei: Trust Richard A. Rhem Page 2   a hopeless case, no one need despair. But how much better it is if we can come to that trust almost as a flower opening to the rays of the sun, than through the anguish and the crisis through which a Luther had to go. He came to great clarity, however, and out of his great clarity, the whole Reformation, the whole Protestant Christian faith understanding was shaped and formed. Listen to his words, which express that to which he was able, finally, to come by the grace of God. He said, This is the reason our theology is certain. It snatches us away from ourselves and places us outside ourselves so that we do not depend on our own strength, conscience, experience, person or works, but depend on that which is outside ourselves, that is, on the promise and truth of God which cannot deceive. You see, he got the focus out of himself; he got his obsession with his own doings loosened and he came to realize that it was not through his performance, but it was through that which God had done for him, but apart from him. He did learn to cast himself and rest himself on the good and gracious God Who was revealed in Jesus Christ, and not the high and mighty God. He said in his very earthy fashion, "Don't climb up to the heights of heaven, to the majesty of God, and don't bother with all of the philosophical and theoretical speculations about God. If you would know God, go to the crib that holds a child. Go to the mother at whose breast a child is nursed. Go to the cross at which that one suffers and dies. There you'll find the gracious God. Thank God he came to that peace. He learned to trust and, out of his experience, down through the centuries since that Reformation of the Church, we have sung the song, "Sola Fidei: by faith, through faith alone," the hallmark of our Reformation Christian faith. I don't think that many of us know the anguish that Luther knew, and I doubt that many of us struggle to the extent that he struggled with the sinful conscience that he felt was resting under the wrath of God. I think that was part of his own setting, his own environment, maybe his inability to trust early on was reflective of his very early experience. Whatever that may be (sometimes it can just be the genetic makeup; some of us trust more easily than others), but, whatever that may be, he came to trust. But I think not many of us will come the way he came, struggling with that particular question of our sin and our guilt and our fear of an angry God. And yet I think that all of us have those moments when we wonder about the meaning of life and we struggle with the mystery of life. I was reminded, reflecting on all of this, of when I went to the University of Michigan in 1983. I was there that fall term and Hans Küng was the guest. He gave lectures that were subsequently published under the title, "Eternal Life?" © Grand Valley State University �Sola Fidei: Trust Richard A. Rhem Page 3   And here was a Roman Catholic theologian who was dealing with the end questions, the existential questions of death, of heaven, of hell, of purgatory. I couldn't believe it! The University of Michigan is not much into religion, having only a half-time program in studies in religion. A great, secular, educational institution, but very little regard to the whole dimension of religious faith. But they brought in Hans Küng, and during that term he spoke on these questions that I had not preached on because I didn't know how to handle them in the pulpit. I wasn't satisfied with the pat answers about heaven and hell and purgatory and death, and what a preacher does, when a preacher doesn't know how to handle it, is simply not to handle it. And, frankly, I was embarrassed. Here, in the middle of that secular campus, this man stood up and spoke about heaven and hell and purgatory, grace, death, life. It was a wake-up call for me because those lectures were attended by overflow crowds - the university crowd, the community crowd, standing room only, and I thought, "Dear God, people may be highly educated, sophisticated, quite secular in their whole life, unaffiliated with the institutional structures of the Church, but they're all going to die. They all have questions, and they have loved ones who die, and they wonder." And from that point on, you've heard a great deal about life and death and grace and that which lies beyond, because I came to see that it is in the moment of our death that we encounter God. It was the 500th anniversary of Luther's birth and there was a weeklong conference of international scholars gathered there to celebrate the birth of Martin Luther. Ironically, it was Luther, whose attack on the Church was at the point of indulgences and all of the apparatus used so abusively surrounding purgatory that made it for us a non-subject. Yet, it was at that time from this Catholic scholar, Hans Küng, who spoke about Luther in a magnificent lecture, affirming justification by faith, who also caused me to go back and think about Purgatory. What was in the mind of the Church that said maybe everything is not all over at the point of death. Maybe God is not done with us at the moment of our death. Maybe the moment of our death will be the moment of illumination and the beginning of purification and the preparing of us for further in and farther up and the shining presence. And from this Catholic theologian, as he spoke about Luther, I heard these words: To believe in an eternal life means in reasonable trust, in enlightened faith in tried and tested hope, to rely on the fact that I shall one day be fully understood, freed from guilt and definitively accepted and can be myself without fear. (Is that beautiful? To believe in eternal life means with reasonable trust, enlightened faith, tried and tested hope, to rely on the fact that I shall one day be fully understood, freed from guilt and definitively accepted. Would not Martin Luther affirm his brother priest 500 years later? It would be hard to say it more clearly, more fundamentally.) © Grand Valley State University �Sola Fidei: Trust Richard A. Rhem Page 4   That my impenetrable and ambivalent existence, like the profoundly discordant history of humanity as a whole, will one day become finally transparent and the question of the meaning of history one day be finally answered. My impenetrable and ambivalent existence. I don't think so many of us will struggle just where Luther struggled, but don't we all yearn to understand, to penetrate the mystery? Do we not experience our ambivalence, the equivocation of our lives? Do we not wonder why and wherefore and whence for ourselves and for those we've loved and lost a while? And to be able to trust that I, personally, will be definitively accepted – to that, Luther would say, yes, yes. Because of that which has been done for me, apart from me, that which God has revealed to me in Jesus Christ, that heart of God that I see in the face of Jesus - that I can trust. And also for those I love and lose, that they, too, in the mystery that surrounds their going, whether it be the normal passage after many years or the tragic loss too soon, that this impenetrable mystery of ourselves and this discordant history of humanity as a whole will one day be transparent. To be able to live thus is to trust. As the Psalmist expressed: "I have set the Lord always before me; because God is at my right hand, I shall not be moved." And a little farther on – “Not now the Lord before me, but I in the presence of the Lord. Thou wilt show me the path of life. At Thy right hand are pleasures forevermore.” In the presence. In the presence. God at my right hand; I in the presence of God. For the Psalmist, all within this present existence, but for the apostle Paul, more than that. For he, too, spoke out of that deep confidence. "If God be for us, who can be against us?" "What can separate us from the love of Christ?" Well, any number of things, Paul. Famine or nakedness or peril or sword or cancer or tragic loss or deep suffering. No, Paul said. No. No, no, no. To all of that I must say, Nevertheless. “Nothing in this life, nothing in death, nothing in the whole creation will ever sever us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.” That's to live trustingly, you see Ah, it helps so much if, as a child, we have been nurtured even from the womb to experience the totality of things with a positive regard. But even if not, here and there, now and again, like a Luther, the Word finds rootage, the Spirit opens the mind and, with a Luther, we can say it was as though the gates of paradise were opened. Or, with a John Wesley hearing the same word and the testimony of Luther can say, "I found my heart strangely warmed." And then we can negotiate life's passages, trustingly, and we can face our end trustingly, and we can let go of those we loved and lost trustingly, for beyond it all, behind it all, underneath it all is that understanding of God full of grace, God, the abyss of love, and the conviction that nothing of love will ever be lost. That, therefore, for ourselves and those we've loved and lost, it will be like © Grand Valley State University �Sola Fidei: Trust Richard A. Rhem Page 5   Stepping on shore and finding it heaven, like touching a hand and finding it God's, like breathing new air and finding it celestial, like waking up in glory and finding it home. Believe that. You can trust that, and you will be wonderfully free. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8ddcc5655a7d1630c8efe5c88d31326f.mp3 d123732566a306f763dec572c12de4c8 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XXIII Series New Wine for Century 21 Scripture Text Psalm 16:7-11, Romans 8:31-39 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-0-19961103 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1996-11-03 Title A name given to the resource Sola Fidei: Trust Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on November 3, 1996 entitled "Sola Fidei: Trust", as part of the series "New Wine for Century 21", on the occasion of Pentecost XXIII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Psalm 16:7-11, Romans 8:31-39. Grace Nature of God Trust https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a85245e92a86b6158267a234cdaeff7e.pdf 2784e1d1ade7beb1ce52fea0517dbfd1 PDF Text Text Sola Gratia: By Grace Alone From the series: New Wine for Century 21 Text: Matthew 20:15 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan October 27, 1996 Transcription of the spoken sermon By Grace Alone. Christ Community has been marked for 25 years by grace. Grace has been its hallmark. Some of you have been here all that time, and you know it, and probably you've gotten sick of hearing me say it. Nancy has threatened to put it on my tombstone - Richard "Grace" Rhem. One string on the banjo. But, you know, I flip it around so often, I say it in so many different ways, I say it so continually that maybe it would be good just to stop for a minute and say, "Do you know what grace really is?" And, if you happen to be new here and you don't know the eruption of Christ Community in its early history, maybe you don't understand the context of my overuse of grace. So, let me take just a minute to say that there are really just two kinds of religion in the world. The first and most common kind is a religion by the performance principle: you do certain things and you are rewarded. You say certain prayers, follow certain rituals, execute certain practices, live in a certain way, add it all up and say, "Grant me my reward. I deserve your salvation, O God, Your favor. I have merited it. I have earned it." That's what most religion is, and there's something deep in the human person that likes it that way, because we would much rather pay our own way. Wouldn't we rather not be indebted to anyone? The other kind of religion is a religion of grace. There you get the favor of God, undeserving, not through doing something, executing certain work of righteousness, offering certain prayers, being regular in worship, tithing your income, name what you will. The grace principle is that free bestowal of God's favor on us for nothing in ourselves, simply because God, at heart, is love, and that loving soul of the universe overflows in a fountain of grace because grace is simply love active, love poured out. The religion of grace is a religion of those who, through no effort of their own, no doing of their own, no achievement, no merit, but simply because God is the way God is, are freely accepted, given the gift of life and eternal life. © Grand Valley State University   �Sola Gratia: By Grace Alone Richard A. Rhem Page 2   Just two kinds of religions - either a do-it-yourself brand, or that which God does for you, quite apart from yourself. And Christ Community has been marked by the latter. And, in being marked by the latter, it has been consistent with, I believe, that understanding of God that came to expression in Jesus. Jesus knew human nature pretty well, and he knew that it was human nature to think somehow or other we could bargain with God and cook up a deal with God and carry our own weight with God, and so he told a story, as he always did, the familiar story of the farmer who goes down to the unemployment office early in the morning, first watch, gathers all those that are available and sends them out into the field after bargaining with them for a day's wage. A fair day's wage, a fair day's labor. They go off and begin their work. But, he stops by the unemployment office two or three more times, at noon, at 3 o'clock, each time sees a few stragglers, sends them out into the field never saying well, let's bargain on the wage, just "Go, work." Along about five o'clock, there's only an hour to whistle time, he sees a few stragglers there and he said, "What are you guys doing?" They say, "No one hired us." He said, "Well, don't be worthless. Go out and finish the day in the field." Now, the whistle blows; they all come for their checks. He begins with the last bunch who've only been there for an hour, and he gives them the amount that he had agreed in the beginning in the morning with the first workers. And then those that came at three, and those that came at noon - they all get a day's wage. So, those who had come early in the morning were beginning to think, "Well, I wonder what kind of a bonus we'll get." And they got exactly what they'd bargained for - a day's wage. Well, that really upset them, and it would have upset me, and it would have upset you, too, because that's not fair. I mean, their complaint was justified. "Look, we labored all day; we labored through the heat of the day, and here we get no more than those who came the last hour." And the farmer says to them, "Oh, really? That makes you angry, eh? Does my generosity make you angry? Have I done you any wrong? Did we not agree? Did I not pay you a fair day's wage? Is it not my right to do with my own as I will?" Jesus blows your mind, doesn't he? I mean, that's not fair; that wouldn't work in the real world, would it? Lucky if you came at five, of course. Jesus was saying, "Look, folks, God is not human. God is God. And you can't put God into our little boxes and box God up as though God is restricted to our ways of merit and reward, of work and reward. God is God, and God is grace, and grace doesn't keep score; grace doesn't keep books. Grace is wild and unruly." And thereby Jesus was suggesting that there is a mystery about the love and grace of God that will never be at human disposal, never be for human manipulation, never be for human control or institutional control. Krister Stendahl gives me some insight into that parable, why Matthew selected that one to tell. Matthew was writing to Jewish Jesus people. These were people who had been a part of Israel throughout all of their lives and, in fact, reflected the generations of Israel's service of God. And now there were some Gentiles © Grand Valley State University �Sola Gratia: By Grace Alone Richard A. Rhem Page 3   coming into that community and there were those who had been there all the time who had said, "Well, what are these folks doing coming in? Certainly they can't be given the same status we have." And so, Matthew tells the story that Jesus told to say, "Look, the Gentiles, those who came at five in the afternoon, are received equally and treated the same way by the all-merciful God, because God makes no distinction." And Paul picked that up, as well, and he began to see that God's grace is embracing the Gentile as he struggled with that in his Letter to the Romans, as we saw last week. He finally came to see that God was creating one new humanity, the same grace of the same God, now for the whole wide world, and it caused him to say, "To God be glory forever and ever." It's the word that Martin Luther picked up. This is Reformation Sunday, and we remember the Reformation of the Church in the 16th century and the catalytic event that ignited it and sent it into orbit was Luther's own personal experience. Luther was one of those odd ducks that took God seriously, and he couldn't find any peace with God. He was a part of his Roman Catholic tradition, he became a monk, he was a serious biblical scholar, and he was a part of the Augustinian Order, which did their prayers seven times throughout the course of 24 hours. He beat himself, pummeled himself, denied himself, sought through all of the means available in the piety of his day and the institutional forms that were there, to get a sense of having peace with God. And you know how it is when you're trying to measure up, when you're working on the performance principle, when you're trying to impress a parent or a spouse or a colleague, when you feel somewhat insecure and inadequate and so you keep running faster and trying harder and jumping higher? Doesn't work, does it? You never, never get to the point where you say, "Now, that's enough." So, Luther struggled. He had this intense, personal struggle. He felt the anger of God, not the peace of God. He came to his confessor one day and confessed that he was struggling so hard and couldn't find peace, and the confessor said, "Martin, you must love God." And Martin said, "Love God? I hate God!" Because, you see, try as he would, he could never come to that sense that he had done the last thing that would give him that peace with God, and in his biblical study he contemplated Paul's statement to the Romans: "The just shall live by their faith, the just shall live by their faith." Finally, in a moment of illumination, one of those miracles that happens now and again, Martin Luther found that registering with him: The just shall live by faith, not by what they do, not by the prayers they offer, the rituals they do, the good works they offer - not by anything they do. The just will live by their faith because salvation is a gift; it is grace! It is given by God, not by what we do, but by what God has done. Martin Luther experienced a moment of grace. I love the way Paul Tillich expresses the experience of grace: It strikes us when our disgust for our own being, our indifference, our weakness, our hostility and our lack of direction and composure have © Grand Valley State University �Sola Gratia: By Grace Alone Richard A. Rhem Page 4   become intolerable to us. It strikes us when, year after year, the longed-for perfection of life does not appear, when the old compulsions reign within us as they have for decades, when despair destroys all joy and courage. Sometimes at that moment a wave of light breaks into our darkness and it is as though a voice were saying, "You are accepted. You are accepted." Accepted by that which is greater than you and the name of which you do not know. Do not ask for the name now. Perhaps you will find it later. Do not try to do anything now. Perhaps later you will much. Do not seek for anything. Do not perform anything. Do not intend anything. Simply accept the fact that you are accepted. If that happens to us, we experience grace. And that experience, again Stendahl said, in Martin Luther has become the paradigm for the whole western Protestant tradition, moving away from the concept of God having a people, to that very personal relationship between the person and God by the grace of God in Jesus Christ. But, that personal experience for Luther did not remain just personal, because he looked about him at the Church, he looked at the structures of the Church of his day and he saw the corruption, he saw the abuse of people, he saw the Church selling forgiveness, for God's sake! They were building St. Peter's in Rome; they needed a lot of gold, and so the Pope would write an Indulgence. For a little bit of money you could take care of the past. For a little more money, you could even take care of tomorrow. For a little bit of money you could spring free from Purgatory the loved ones you had lost. It became a terrible system, greedy and abusive. Luther had experienced grace. He knew the grace of God and salvation had nothing to do with the Church somehow or other funneling this grace, holding the spigot, turning it on and off, depending on the flow of gold. And so, he pounded his 95 Theses on the door of the church at Wittenberg. Thesis 62 said, "The Church has its treasure not in its wealth and its power, but in the Holy Gospel, the Holy Gospel that speaks of the free grace of God which is not for sale." He didn't want to break the Church. He did want to change the Church, because he could see that the Church had encrusted that grace and made it a commodity to be sold, abusing the people. So he made his protest, which eventuated, because the institutional church structures would not bend, in brokenness. The protest burst open into the Reformation of the church, and we are the children of the Reformation five centuries later. Luther's question probably isn't your question, at least with its intensity. I listened to Harvard professor, Harvey Cox, who's had generations of student go through his course on "Jesus at Harvard." He always asks them to tell him who Jesus is for them, and he says Generation X (that's the group about 22 to 35) simply is not buying the institutional church package as you and I have. He said these young people are picky, they're selective, they're deeply spiritual, they're deeply hungry and they admit they're confused. I don't know what their question is, but I know they're human and I know that down deep they long for meaning. I don't know if the mainline church is going to be able to fill the bill. It may even be © Grand Valley State University �Sola Gratia: By Grace Alone Richard A. Rhem Page 5   that the mainline church as we've known it, has to fall on real hard times in order for God to get a foothold and create some newness that will be able to capture the imagination of the generation yet unborn. I'm not really worried about that. That's always the trouble with institutional church leaders - they worry about preserving what they have and perpetuating it into the future. And then we get nervous and anxious and become coercive. We get abusive and manipulative, and we forget that, after all, finally, it is the good and gracious God Who will continue, by God's Spirit, to draw to God's self all those who hunger and thirst. I don't know just what the question is. I don't know just what the configuration of the future will be. Someone came into the church this morning and said to me, "You know, I walked under that banner, 'Unleashed for Ministry,' and I thought to myself, 'That has never been so appropriate as it is this year.'" Unleashed for Ministry. Free of structures that are anachronistic and baggage that simply gets in the way. A community of people who've been marked by grace. Out of Luther's experience and the Reformation of the 16th century, the hallmark was Sola Gratia, Sola Gratia, by grace alone. Not by institution, not by law, not by some abusive prescription - by grace alone, because God is grace and God will grace, because it is God's nature to grace. If only we could put out sails to catch the fresh breezes of the Spirit to find which way the ark of salvation should be moving into Century 21. Paul, in his Letter to the Corinthians, appealed to them and to Corinth to join in an offering for those who were suffering in Jerusalem. But, he was very clear there's no command; there's no demand; this isn't a tax, but you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, though he was rich, yet for your sakes, he became poor that you through his poverty might be rich. In the light of that grace, may I call you to a meaningful, significant investment of your life into the ongoing movement of the kingdom of God? All is grace. Salvation from God and the response of God's people, and the way we relate to each other, and the way we govern each other - the whole Church must be marked, characterized by the ambience of grace. If not, it's become a human product; it's become an institution that will too soon become abusive and coercive. Grace frees. Grace gives wing, and you are a people who have responded to grace, and who have found that the most meaningful investment of life is in that gracious self-giving in return. So, I don't know the questions for tomorrow. I don't know the taste of the new wine or the shape of the wineskin for Century 21. But, I know this - there is no people poised more poignantly to find the taste, to find the shape and set it free than a people who have been set free. Sola Gratia! Sola Deo Gloria! Hallelujah! © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8a734f16c2f7e45220509e4819c8e9a8.mp3 0b2b3c051989e4ed511e73b07d2877c1 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XXII, Reformation Sunday Series New Wine for Century 21 Scripture Text Matthew 20:1-11 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-0-19961027 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1996-10-27 Title A name given to the resource Sola Gratia: By Grace Alone Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on October 27, 1996 entitled "Sola Gratia: By Grace Alone", as part of the series "New Wine for Century 21", on the occasion of Pentecost XXII, Reformation Sunday, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Matthew 20:1-11. Grace Reformation; Nature of God https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e26fb6cd3f26cdf468303ee9913f691d.pdf 6fad45b0921610a2ff29537fad06614f PDF Text Text The Good News is Too Good Not to Tell From the series: I Do Believe Text: Isaiah 49:6, John 9:5, 25 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Eastertide, April 21, 1996 Transcription of the spoken sermon During the season of Lent, it became almost spooky to me each week that I would take up the text and the theme that I had determined in early January, because it seemed as though I might have picked it precisely that week for the situation through which I was living. There was really no connection, humanly speaking, between the text and the theme selected and the situation of my own life, and your life, too. But that is not true during Eastertide, because it was while I was in the middle of the cauldron that I was having to determine the text and the theme for the Eastertide series. And so, this series is reflective of our situation. And the thing that came to me was the fact that, with all of the sound bytes and press coverage, Christ Community and myself personally have been characterized by what we do not believe more often than by what we believe. And that really is quite unfair, because we do believe some things. And so, I thought it would be good for us to hear some of the great affirmations of our faith lifted up in this Eastertide season, and I entitled the series, therefore, I Do Believe. I do believe, certainly as a personal witness, but not simply myself isolated from you. I use the first person pronoun because I want to speak about personal conviction. And finally, all of us have a core of beliefs that we believe passionately with all our heart. And then, I do believe, the emphasis there indicating that belief is held with passion. I believe. I do believe! A personal, passionate conviction of faith - these things that are more than just a body of beliefs to which one can point, to which one assents intellectually. No – out of the core of one's being – these things, these things I passionately believe: last week, that "The End is Life." And this week, that the News of the Grace of God in Jesus Christ Is Too Good Not to Share. You see, institutional religion, when it gets regularized, always runs into the problem that there is a certain body of doctrine or belief that defines an institution or a religion. You could write a book about what Christians believe and © Grand Valley State University   �News Too Good Not to Share Richard A. Rhem Page 2   you could go through the various creedal statements and so forth. You could write a book about the essence of Judaism or whatever. There does come to be a sort of corpus of belief, a body of belief that is identified with a certain movement or religion. And when that religion gets established and regularized, then it becomes identified with that body of beliefs and it takes people into itself, whether or not there is that personal, passionate conviction. Now, don't kid me. There are some things that belong to the Christian creed about which you've never been passionate. But, there are other things that you believe so strongly, you'd die for it. We all have that, don't we? It's on the basis, probably, of our nurture or of our experience, but we all have a kind of selective, personal creed to which we passionately confess. And, the problem with institutional religion is that sometimes the defined body of belief no longer connects with human experience. Or, to say it another way, someone has an experience which is undeniable, but it can't be slotted into that body of belief. And so, there comes to be a tension between what one has experienced and knows to be true and what one is supposed to believe or confess because one belongs to this group or to that group. And, this particular message, The News Is Too Good Not To Share, comes from the fact that it is claimed (I'll just speak personally) that what I believe cuts the heart out of the evangelical faith. Now, you've read that. You've heard that. "If Dick Rhem is right, then the heart of the evangelical faith is lost." Well, let's walk around that for a moment. I do not think one making such a statement has thought very deeply about that claim. What does the claim mean? I take it to mean that, if I have an experience of God – of grace, of peace, of healing, of joy and delight full of hope that has come to me as I have looked to Jesus, and through Jesus have experienced the love of God – as wonderful as that might be, as life-transforming as that might have been for me, there is no reason to share it, to point to its source, to speak of the blessing my life has received, unless such experience comes exclusively through Jesus Christ and no other way; and further, unless those without the blessing of grace through Jesus are eternally lost, there is no reason to proclaim the Gospel of God's grace as it has been manifested in Jesus. In other words, unless my way is the only way, my truth the only truth, there will be no reason to witness to it, no motivation to tell others. I doubt those condemning my views have really thought about what they are maintaining. Is not such an attitude suspect; does it not at least hint that I want my claim to grace to be a source of pride: Look at what I have, or, I have the only truth? Not only subtle pride but triumphalism - one of the worst faults of the Christian Church. It is so difficult not to become proud and domineering when one possesses exclusive truth, or power or authority. © Grand Valley State University �News Too Good Not to Share Richard A. Rhem Page 3   No. The experience of God's grace in Jesus is transforming quite apart from the question of its exclusivity. I maintain The News is Too Good Not to Tell. Have we not experienced something of the goodness and the grace of God that we find ourselves spontaneously wanting to share the good news? If you get a bargain, don't you tell everybody about it? If you pull some coup in your life, don't you tell everybody about it? The only good thing I was always told I couldn't share was when I caught a fish. When I was a little kid, I'd go with my Dad and catch a fish. And I'd squeal. He'd say, "Be still. Before long, they'll all be pulling up their anchors and coming over here." Another rule of my father - if you catch it on a cricket, if somebody asks you, tell him it was a worm. Now, when you're fishing, you've got to keep good news to yourself. But, that's about the only area in life. Otherwise, if you've got a good experience, if you have a joy, a delight, if something's turned you on, if it's set your tongue to singing and your feet to dancing, don't you spontaneously tell everybody about it? Don't you want to share it? Isn't the news too good not to share? Now, I would claim, with personal and passionate conviction, that the grace of God that we have experienced in Jesus Christ is such a wonderful experience and the life and community in the Christian community – where there is compassion and mercy and love, where there is embrace, where there is worship before the majesty and the mystery of God, where there is this wonderful ethereal experience full of Alleluias and Hallelujahs and all of the wonder of our life together, where there is that personal solitude in moments of contemplation where I know that I am at peace with God, where I have experienced the grace of God to such an extent that I know that there is nothing in all of creation that could ever separate me from the love of God, where I live with my family and my children and my grandchildren; when I think about all that is mine and all of that which I have received because of the nurture, because of the tradition, that is mine that has shaped me, when I think of all of that, then I think – Good Grief! Isn't that news too good not to tell? Of course, I'm going to tell that good news! How can I help but express it? But, people are funny. This isn't a Protestant or a Catholic problem or a Jewish problem. It's a human problem. It is somehow or other a desire to gain power and to control, to define who is in and who is out, that has been a great disrupter of religious experience down through the centuries. For example, the story of the man born blind. What a marvelous story it is. Remember, now, that the one who put this Gospel together was writing for a specific community just as concretely © Grand Valley State University �News Too Good Not to Share Richard A. Rhem Page 4   as this sermon is prepared for you. This sermon is not for any other congregation. This sermon is for you. This preacher has you on his heart. This preacher has you in his head! This preacher can't say a word without you being the focus. No different with this fourth Gospel. And now we're in the last decade of the first century, as I mentioned last week. It's been sixty-some years since Jesus died and rose again. The Jesus Jews, the Jews who believed Jesus was the Messiah, are finding it more and more difficult to hold on in faith. They were expecting him to return. Jesus thought it would soon be over. Paul thought it would soon be over. They all thought it would soon be over, and it wasn't soon over. Nothing was happening. Now, about 60 years later, these are Jews who believed Jesus was the Messiah. But, something had happened about 20 years prior; the Temple had been destroyed by Rome. The cultic center of Jerusalem was no more. What would Judaism of the future look like? Would it be the Jews who believed Jesus was the Messiah who would come to the ascendency? They were a strong movement. Or, would it be the Rabbis, the teachers of the Law, the scribes, the Pharisees? Well, as a matter of fact, it became that branch of Judaism that consolidated power, that gave to the Judaism of the future its identity, that determined what it was to be a Jew. That group. And what happens in a group like that? Again, it's not a Jewish problem, although this was an intra-Jewish squabble. It's not a Jewish problem; it's a human problem. If I get in control, it feels good. And I like to consolidate my power, and so I like to draw the lines so that I determine who is in and who is out. And, as the Rabbinic Jewish movement emerged as the ascendant Jewish party, it defined Judaism, and when you define, you define who is in and who is out. Three times in this Gospel the words "put out of the synagogue" are used. Specifically in the lesson I read a moment ago, when the Pharisees come to the parents to verify that this, indeed, was their son and he was, yes, indeed, born blind, they say, "What happened?" The father was all ready to give the answer and his wife yanked at his sleeve and said, "Don't say anything, already!" She got him aside and said, "If you acknowledge that Jesus did this, then it's the same as saying that Jesus is the Messiah and if you confess Jesus as the Messiah, we're out of the synagogue, and where do we go for potlucks on Friday night? So, be still, already." So, he said, "He's of age. Ask him. I should know? I don't know. Ask him." Of course, they knew, but they weren't stupid. What's going on there? It's obvious what's going on there. They do not confess what they believe because the consequence would be they'd lose the only spiritual home they'd ever known, the synagogue, their observant Jewish status. So, the Pharisees have to go back to the gentleman with whom they had spoken earlier. Earlier he was a little fuzzy about © Grand Valley State University �News Too Good Not to Share Richard A. Rhem Page 5   things. He had said, "I don't know where he's from. His name is Jesus. He put clay on my eyes and I see." They said that's impossible. "I don't know, he put clay on my eyes and I see." Well, what do you think he is? "Well, he's a prophet." The Pharisees then go to the parents, but now the parents put them off, and now they're back with him again, and they say, "Tell us now, under oath, give God glory. Under oath, tell us what happened." He said, "I already told you. You want to hear it again? You want to be his disciple?" Then they got nasty. The Greek word behind that revile is a nasty word. They began to abuse them. Now, they're really angry. They're not looking at this gentleman who now has sight, who had been blind, whose experience cannot fit into their preconceived idea of what is true. They can't step back a moment and, face-to-face with a blind man seeing, they cannot say in the light of that experience, let's go back and read our tradition again. Rather, they get angry because now it's a control problem, it's a power issue, it's who has authority. And so, they revile him and they say, "You follow Jesus, but we follow Moses!" He just looks at them and says, "I don't know. I only know one thing - I was blind and now I see." They cast him out. Because when you have a tradition or a set of beliefs, a paradigm of understanding, and then you have concrete human experience, and when you cannot put the two together any longer, and you are in authority and in power supervising the established and received paradigm, the last thing in the world that you will allow is the experience that says your paradigm doesn't work anymore. So, they cast him out. John's little community of Jews that believed Jesus was the Messiah - they were starting to give up, they were starting to lose faith; Jesus didn't come, and authoritative voices were saying they were wrong. They saw the possibility of being alienated from their spiritual roots and tradition. They were starting to waver. And so, this preacher in the community says "I want to write a story of Jesus for you, because I want you to know that what's happening to you 60 years down the line isn't any different than what happened to Jesus." If you'll go to John 16, you will find Jesus saying they will put you out of the synagogue. John writes the story of Jesus in light of that little community just as © Grand Valley State University �News Too Good Not to Share Richard A. Rhem Page 6   much as I'm crafting this sermon in light of this community, and John is saying to that community of people who believed that Jesus is the Messiah, "Jesus is the Messiah. I've gathered these things together; I've written this story. I could have gathered other things; I could have put in other details. I put these things together, I painted this picture in order that you might believe that Jesus is the Messiah and, believing, have life in his name! I'm telling you the story of Jesus again because you're about to let it go! You're about to be hammered into submission! Don't you do it! Don't you forget Jesus! This was the Word of God made flesh; this was the embodiment of the love of God in human flesh! This one, this one is the Way! This one is the Truth! This one is the Life! This One is the way to God! Don't you let go of Jesus! Don't you let go of Jesus for anybody! Don't you deny your experience! We were blind and now we see! Jesus is the Light of the world! Now, don't you give up!" That news was too good not to tell, and I want to say that my favorite meetings in all the year are the three or four or five Elders' Meetings we have around here, because I look into your faces, I've seen most of you come through, one time or another, I've heard your stories, I've seen your tears, I've heard your voice crack. I've seen you throw your head back and laugh. I've heard you tell about the grace of God. I've heard you tell about the love of God that's touched you in this community. I've heard your singing; I've seen your dancing. I have lived with you long enough to know that there is some reality here, there is some joy here, there is some goodness here, there is some truth here. I know this - there's good news here and it's too good not to tell! There was a time in my experience when I was blind, but now I see. There was a time in my experience when my religion was a burden, but now it's a joy. There was a time in my life when it weighed me down, but it has set me free. There is a grace of God, a wonder of the love of God, there is a concreteness of a community of compassion – My God, people, the news is simply too good not to tell! Do we have a story? DO WE HAVE A STORY! © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/fd5bfb3717cb1079d4d29f3ae96983bb.mp3 02dd049e56b50d743c3430438e8fc178 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Eastertide III Series I Do Believe Scripture Text Isaiah 49:6, John 9:5, 25 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19960421 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1996-04-21 Title A name given to the resource The News Is Too Good Not To Tell Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on April 21, 1996 entitled "The News Is Too Good Not To Tell", as part of the series "I Do Believe", on the occasion of Eastertide III, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Isaiah 49:6, John 9:5, 25. Community Compassion Followers of Jesus Grace Revelation https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/4258e32ac42487d3f89d949f71c2ea32.pdf a7eddff54faf48f1e26febdc07ee419e PDF Text Text Interreligious Dialogue: What Is Required of Us? Article by Richard A. Rhem Minister of Preaching and Theological Inquiry Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Published in Perspectives A Journal of Reformed Thought May 1995, pp. 10-15 Pilate’s question, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” demands an answer as urgently today as two thousand years ago. By travel and the ubiquitous beams of communications satellites the world has shrunk to a neighborhood, and the devotees of the great religions of the world no longer live in isolation. Increasingly they practice their respective faith traditions in close proximity to each other. Not only the interweaving of the world’s religions within the fabric of the global community but the rise of militant fundamentalisms, fueling ethnic conflict and spawning terrorism, make it imperative that interreligious dialogue take place for the sake of the peace of the world. Political leaders and parties will always attempt to Co-opt the respective religious traditions for their own purposes, but at least the religions in their authentic expression need not condone such misuse, and, with genuine dialogue, a deeper understanding of other faith traditions would be a force for the creation of a more secure world—and a movement toward a reign of peace, surely the intention of the Creator God. For the Christian religion, interreligious dialogue calls for a serious engagement with Pilate’s question. Until we come to a new appraisal of the place of Jesus in the purpose of God and the revelation of that purpose, we will not be able to enter into real dialogue. Beginning with the absoluteness of Christianity based on the finality of God’s revelation in Jesus and a salvation constituted exclusively through his atoning death, we may enter discussion and evidence a civil tolerance but without the openness to new insight that alone makes for serious and honest dialogue. Tolerance may be present in people who are convinced that they possess the final truth but are unwilling to impose it on another. But such an attitude also precludes that such people will learn something from the other since they begin with the assumption that theirs is the exclusive truth. © Grand Valley State University   �Interreligious Dialogue Richard A. Rhem Page 2   Whatever revisioning interreligious dialogue may demand from other faith traditions, for the Christian tradition, a rethinking of its core creedal Christological formulations and their salvific implications is of first importance. The Quest of the Historical Jesus As I look across my desk at the shelf of books, the name of Jesus is prominent. Book after book published in the last few years seeks to uncover the mystery and meaning of this one who “comes to us as One unknown...,” to use Schweitzer’s familiar designation. Studies emanate from the Jesus Seminar people, as well as many beyond their ranks, such as the Catholic scholar Raymond Brown and the highly respected Jewish scholar E. P. Sanders. My eye catches the title of an older bundle of essays by Marinus de Jonge, Jesus: Inspiring and Disturbing Presence. Indeed. I move to the shelf and pull down the classic study by Albert Schweitzer, The Quest of the Historical Jesus. In his preface to the English translation, F. C. Burkitt refers to the sharp controversy that had been raging on the continent in the late nineteenth century over the attempt to discover the historical Jesus behind the Christ figure that appears in the writings, particularly of Paul. Such sharp battle, he notes, is somewhat foreign to the more genteel English, but even those whose lives of Jesus were “written with hate” have performed a great service in bringing to light an understanding “of the greatest historical problem in the history of our race.” The new understanding, Burkitt claims, makes clear that the object of attack was not the historical Jesus after all, but a temporary idea of Him, inadequate because it did not truly represent him or the world in which he lived, (vi) Schweitzer’s work brought the first quest to an end by pointing out the eschatological center of Jesus’ message in contrast to the portrait that portrayed Jesus as the ideal person of nineteenth-century, European society. With the rise of historical thinking, it was being recognized that historical research must seek to uncover the context of the first and second centuries if it would discover Jesus of Nazareth. Burkitt was confident that such an understanding would be taken for granted in the ongoing research into Christian origins. He cites a contemporary, Father Tyrrell, who claimed that Christianity was at a crossroads, but Burkitt little doubts that the church would come to terms with the results of historical research and bring the significance of Jesus Christ to fresh expression. That the eschatological prophet of Schweitzer’s description would need to be translated into another image if he were to be meaningfully appropriated in the twentieth century went without saying. The dawning historical consciousness was leading to the recognition, in Burkitt’s words, © Grand Valley State University �Interreligious Dialogue Richard A. Rhem Page 3   that absolute truth cannot be embodied in human thought and that its expression must always be clothed in symbols. It may be that we have to translate the hopes and fears of our spiritual ancestors into the language of our new world. (vii) That the Absolute can be expressed only in symbol, in metaphor, has been widely recognized through linguistic studies in the last half of the present century. Metaphor in its common understanding is a figure of speech in which there is a transfer of meaning—one term is illuminated by attaching to it some of the associations of another, so that metaphor is “that trope, or figure of speech, in which we speak of one thing in terms suggestive of another” (Soskice, 1985, 54). In this sense, all religious language and speech about God is metaphoric. That does not take away from the truthfulness of what is communicated; indeed, picture language often conveys a truth far better than a formula or abstract definition. It does, however, mean that the truth being conveyed and the linguistic form, the particular figure of speech, are not necessarily tied to each other. The same truth may be able to be conveyed by a different figure of speech, and in another culture or time a figure of speech that communicates the truth at issue may fail to bring that truth to expression with clarity. In other words, the symbols used to express the truth of the Absolute must not themselves be absolutized. The symbolic form of expression points beyond itself; one must “see through” the symbol to the reality symbolized. The form of expression, the specific figure of speech chosen to disclose the reality may be adequate or inadequate; it may disclose or it may mislead. Only those metaphoric forms that prove themselves in usage will last. But even those that prove valuable over the ages and generations must not be understood as identical with the truth or reality signified. There may arise in evolving cultural experience reason to cease using a metaphor or to modify its use if it becomes evident that it has conveyed not only aspects of truth but also misunderstanding that has proven detrimental – for example, the metaphor of God as Father in current feminist critique of patriarchy. When a metaphor for the Absolute is challenged, it must be recognized that it is not the Absolute that is challenged, but only the symbolic form used to disclose the truth of the Absolute. The Rise of Historical Thinking As he wrote the preface to Schweitzer’s The Quest of the Historical Jesus in 1910, Burkitt pointed to the growing recognition of the symbolic character of religious language in the wake of the rise of historical thinking in the nineteenth century. It was in that cultural context that the first quest of the historical Jesus took place, which Schweitzer showed to be naive. Further historical-critical research revealed the inadequacy of the historical methods employed and of the understanding of the nature of the biblical documents examined. Nevertheless, © Grand Valley State University �Interreligious Dialogue Richard A. Rhem Page 4   thinking historically is the mark of modernity and remains so in post-modernism which, in general, denies the possibility of formulating principles or doctrines identical with foundational reality, along with rejecting the Enlightenment claim that there are universal truths of reason. We can see the implications of this new way of thinking—thinking with historical consciousness—if we examine the work of Ernst Troeltsch. He is best identified as an exponent of historicism, a term used here to define the interpretation of the totality of cultural development (including the Christian tradition) as phenomena of the historical process. Troeltsch recognized that the advent of the historicalcritical method signified more than just a new means by which to gain knowledge of the past. Far more, it symbolized a revolution in the consciousness of the person of the West. He was convinced that the employment of this method was incompatible with the traditional Christian faith based on a supernaturalistic metaphysics. This clash was most evident, as we have noted above, in the area of biblical criticism. Troeltsch did not point to particular results of scholarly research that was troubling to believers; rather, he pointed to the method that yielded the disturbing data. The assumptions of the method, he claimed, were irreconcilable with the traditional dogmatic method. Traditional dogmatic formulation regarded the Scriptures as supernaturally inspired; the historian assumed they must be understood in terms of the historical context in which they arose, subject to the same principles of interpretation and criticism applied to any ancient literature. The historian, following this method, according to Troeltsch, could not assume events recorded in Scripture were supernatural interventions by God; rather, the historian must treat them in the causal nexus of their times. And rather than granting uniqueness to the central redemptive events to which the Bible pointed, the historian must treat them as analogous to all other historical events past and present. Further, the historian’s research can yield only probable results, an inadequate ground for faith. Troeltsch’s ability to recognize the revolutionary nature of the employment of the historical-critical method revealed to him what remained hidden for many theological thinkers, namely, that one has to make a choice to accept the method and its consequences or to reject the method as inappropriate. What could not be done was to use the method as long as the consequences were compatible with one’s theological presuppositions and reject it when they went counter to one’s prior belief. The church must choose, Troeltsch was certain, to employ the method and accept the consequences, letting burn what must burn and then building again a truer, if more humble, foundation. It was his conviction that historical thinking had penetrated the mind of the Western person so deeply that it was no longer possible to think in any other vein. Either the Christian tradition would © Grand Valley State University �Interreligious Dialogue Richard A. Rhem Page 5   accommodate itself to the spirit of the times or it would become a relic of the past. In his discussion of the significance of the historicity of Jesus for Christian faith, Troeltsch included Schleiermacher, Ritschl, and Herrmann in his criticism, for while the liberal Protestant tradition recognized the validity of the historicalcritical method for the investigation of Christian origins, it failed to recognize the relativity of all historical phenomena including Jesus of Nazareth. Consequently Troeltsch could but condemn their view that Jesus is the absolute Savior for all people of all times and places (cf. Die Bedeutung der Geschichtlichkeit Jesu für den Glauben p. 51). In Troeltsch’s view the very historical-critical approach to Christian origins, especially to Jesus himself, undercut any attempt to salvage from the uniformity of history a final and absolute revelation of God. Thus Troeltsch was convinced that the theology of the future would have to purge away the last vestiges of the old dogmatic approach and carry through more rigorously the requirements of the historical-critical method that draws all historical phenomena, Jesus of Nazareth not excepted, into the movement of historical process, allowing for no absolute uniqueness in the midst of the relative. Paradoxical as it may appear, Karl Barth quite agreed with Troeltsch—agreed, that is, that to subject Jesus to historical-critical research behind the witness of the New Testament is to level him down to one historical person among others, in whom there cannot possibly be found the final and definitive revelation of God. Of course, agreement with Troeltsch that having followed the path it did, there was no stopping halfway, does not imply that Barth advocates with Troeltsch that their successors should draw the logical conclusion as Troeltsch advocated. On the contrary, Barth discovers their fatal error in the course they chose to follow in the first place. It was not their decision to grant recognition to the use of the historical-critical method and then fail to draw the conclusions to which it led. Rather, it was their understanding of religion as an innate potential of the human spirit and their failure to see that, defined in such terms, the Christian faith was not being spoken of at all. If Christianity were a phenomenon of the religious capacity of the human person, then it would be one religion among others and could be understood only, as Troeltsch maintained, by a comparative historical study. In such an instance there could be no talk of an absolute and definitive revelatory significance or meaning in history. If one started where Troeltsch started, Barth maintained, one would end where Troeltsch ended. But then, according to Barth, we have to do not with the religion of revelation but with the revelation of religion (Church Dogmatics I, 2, 284), and the application of the historical-critical method will discover in Jesus no more than a man among other men and in Christianity no more than a religion among other religions. The History of Religions school is only the logical outcome of a theology that speaks of the believing person rather than of the revealing God. Theology that takes itself © Grand Valley State University �Interreligious Dialogue Richard A. Rhem Page 6   seriously can speak only from the revelation of God that has grasped it, paying homage to no worldview, be it ancient or modern, to no philosophical system, and to no anthropological analysis of the human religious capacity. Theology must speak from out of the revelation of God in Jesus Christ. Thus Barth completely repudiated the method of Troeltsch, and, to the dismay of the academic world, pursued the traditional dogmatic method, reducing historical-critical research to a secondary, helping role in the explication of the biblical witness to Jesus Christ. Barth’s repudiation of Troeltsch and the whole project of nineteenth-century liberalism prevailed. A whole generation of theologians was shaped by the theology of the Word that, while not a uniform movement, was at one in removing the truth of Christian faith from the results of historical investigation. But as the twentieth century nears its end, Troeltsch is being studied anew. Garrett E. Paul in a 1993 Christian Century article asks and answers in his title, “Why Troeltsch? Why Today? Theology for the 21st Century.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer had exposed the Achilles’ heel of Barth’s dogmatic method with his recognition of Barth’s “positivism of revelation.” Writing from prison to his friend Eberhard Bethge, Bonhoeffer pointed out that Barth was the first theologian to begin the criticism of religion but that he replaced it with a positivist doctrine of revelation that says in effect, “Take it or leave it.” In a later letter he affirmed Barth’s ethical observations as well as his dogmatic views, but went on to write: it was that he gave no concrete guidance, either in dogmatics or in ethics, on the non-religious interpretation of theological concepts. There lies his limitation, and because of it his theology of revelation becomes positivist, a “positivism of revelation,” as I put it. Bultmann, who joined Barth in the removal of Christian origins from historical investigation, claiming the necessity only of the “dass” of the historical Jesus for faith, also saw his disciples move away from this view as they engaged in “the new quest of the historical Jesus.” Presently the flood of studies being published, including the work of the Jesus Seminar scholars, indicates that the implications of historical thinking recognized and applied by Troeltsch will not go away. Karl Barth, arguably the greatest theological thinker of the century and among the greats of all time, was able by the power of his thought and the circumstances of his historical moment to stem the tide of historical thinking applied to theological formulation for a generation, but the kerygma sheltered in a safe haven denying investigation of historical foundations cannot finally be maintained no matter how brilliantly and powerfully proclaimed. Hans Küng in Great Christian Thinkers (1994) identifies Barth as one of a line of theologians—Paul, Origen, Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, and Schleiermacher— © Grand Valley State University �Interreligious Dialogue Richard A. Rhem Page 7   who effected a paradigm shift in theological understanding. But in his analysis of Barth, Küng claims that he initiated the paradigm shift to postmodernity but did not complete it. With great regard for Barth’s accomplishments, Küng nevertheless confirms Bonhoeffer’s claim made a half century ago. Recognizing that the later Barth was reevaluating the knowledge of God available from the world of creation, natural theology, and world religions, Kung maintains that in the end this dogmatic edifice conceived on such a large scale, stringently constructed and carefully built, had at least in principle (though most Barthians hardly noticed) been blown up! It is Küng’s contention that if Barth could start over, “he would attempt to work out a Christian theology in the context of the world religions and the world regions.” How would Barth go about this, according to Küng? He would have attempted to work out a responsible historical-critical dogmatics in the light of an exegesis with a historical-critical foundation, in order in this way co translate the original Christian message... for the future that had dawned in such a way that it was again understood as a liberating address from God. (120) And, Küng contends, the “historical Jesus,” apart from whom the “Christ of dogma” becomes a myth to be manipulated at will, might “again become of the utmost importance and urgency.” We have come, it would appear, full circle during the course of this century. The current reconsideration of Ernst Troeltsch stems from his early grasp of the implications of historical thinking for theological formulation. He was an interdisciplinary thinker at home in various realms of inquiry. He faced up to the demise of Eurocentricism and the relativity of all historical events and human knowledge – religious, philosophical, and scientific. Thus he acknowledged that Christian faith was relative to its largely Western orientation and environment. At the beginning of this century Troeltsch foresaw the global pluralism with which we are finally beginning to come to terms. In 1910, Burkitt was expressing the implication of a new way of thinking, thinking historically, thinking in terms of development, the evolving conception of truth. Such a way of thinking is widely accepted in our world, but it has been resisted in the conservative sectors of the church because it can lead to the morass of relativism and the denial of the Absolute and of absolute truth. But such a result is not the necessary consequence of historical thinking. Rather, it can simply lead to the recognition expressed by Burkitt—that every human attempt to express absolute truth is only a relative expression—relative to one’s cultural context—a partial grasp of the absolute that will always transcend any historically conditional expression. Further, that expression is possible only in symbolic form, by use of metaphor. © Grand Valley State University �Interreligious Dialogue Richard A. Rhem Page 8   My purpose in introducing the limits and possibilities of historical thinking is in order to point the way to authentic and fruitful interreligious dialogue. Such dialogue is imperative for our world. The frightening prospect of a world in the throes of religious conflict makes it incumbent upon us to find a way to effect communication and mutual respect among the world religions. That will not be possible unless we are willing to apply the insights of historical thinking to the core credal development of Christology, including the various theories of the atonement that have been formulated throughout the centuries. The Development of Doctrine Burkitt was too confident in 1910. The twentieth century has not seen a fresh expression of the meaning of Jesus Christ in the church. Rather there has been strenuous resistance to any revisioning of core Christological formulations. This resistance to revisioning has been pointed out by the Anglican priest John Bowden in Jesus: The Unanswered Questions (1988). He is troubled by the church’s refusal to engage in serious discussion of the unavoidable questions surrounding Jesus that have arisen as our knowledge of the cultural context of his life and the checkered history of credal development have become apparent. Bowden writes from the perspective of faith, from within the tradition of the Christian church, and for love of the faith and the church. But he raises the unanswered and disturbing questions that must be addressed if the church is to engage the spiritual quest of those for whom responsible, intelligent inquiry must accompany the commitment of faith. Thus, his purpose in writing is pastoral and positive. From a broad spectrum of research he has distilled the critical questions that demand a hearing. Reflecting on his own theological training, he finds it remarkable that, after a thorough immersion in the historical-critical study of Scripture, he found quite a different approach to the history of Christian doctrine up to the year 451, the year of the Council of Chalcedon and the formulation of the classical statement about the natures of Jesus Christ. The theological reasoning and philosophical argument of those early centuries used the Bible in quite another fashion than he had learned to use it in his biblical studies. While the different cultural patterns of the early centuries of Christian dogmatic formulation were recognized, the conclusions of the church fathers were not to be questioned after Chalcedon; they were a given. But, Bowden contends, the conclusions of those early centuries need to be questioned as seriously as the gospel record has been. Biblical criticism must be joined by doctrinal criticism that will examine the historical development in those early centuries that culminated in the classic credal definitions of Incarnation and Trinity, an historical development about which we have data enough to trace the interplay of cultural forces involving not only concern for the truth but political power plays and ecclesiastical intrigue. We really know the story. We © Grand Valley State University �Interreligious Dialogue Richard A. Rhem Page 9   have simply refused to draw out the implications for this core credal affirmation. But until we do, we will not be able to engage in honest interreligious discussion. Doctrinal formulation is a human enterprise. Human thought forms and human language are the tools of such formulation. To acknowledge that as fundamental for historical thinking is not a denial of absolute truth, as previously stated. It is only to recognize that any particular articulation of the truth cannot be absolutized and be raised to a status beyond further reflection and possible reformulation. It is simply to acknowledge that it is a given of our human historical condition that we are limited to relative apprehensions, partial understandings that need always to be adjusted in light of new information gathered from research and ongoing historical experience. John Hick is a Christian thinker who has utilized the distinction between the Absolute and the respective relative apprehensions of the Absolute in the great world religions. Being a Christian, he has applied that insight to the development of the Christological formulations of the early centuries in the interest of developing a Christology in a pluralistic age. Christology Revisited John Hick has a ready grasp of the development of the Christian theological tradition as well as a deep knowledge of other religious traditions. For him, the window to the Real, to God, is Jesus and the Christian tradition. But he believes that the Real is apprehended through other traditions as well. Thus he believes there is a pluralism of ways of salvation. He argues his case in The Metaphor of God Incarnate (1993), in which he contends that the necessary revision of Christological understanding that alone can make way for genuine interreligious dialogue will involve “liberation from the network of theories—about Incarnation, Trinity and Atonement….” Hick contends that divine incarnation in its standard Christian form, in which both genuine humanity and genuine deity are insisted upon, has never been given a satisfactory literal sense; but that on the other hand it makes excellent metaphorical sense….We see in Jesus a human being extraordinarily open to God’s influence and thus living to an extraordinary extent as God’s agent on earth, “incarnating” the divine purpose for human life. He thus embodied within the circumstances of his time and place the ideal of humanity living in openness and response to God, and in doing so he “incarnated” a love that reflects the divine love. (12) Hick, in a sense, is attempting to fulfill the task that in 1910 Burkitt foresaw as necessary if the church were going to face the consequences of the historical study of Christian origins and translate the figure of Jesus into an understanding meaningful to the twentieth century. © Grand Valley State University �Interreligious Dialogue Richard A. Rhem Page10   Yet, the work of translation does not proceed without resistance, as Bowden points out. In his opening chapter, Hick himself reviews the explosion that erupted following the publication in 1977 of The Myth of God Incarnate, a volume of essays by leading New Testament scholars and theologians, of which he was one. “Thundering sermons and clerical pronouncements,” along with articles in the British press called for the Anglicans among the authors to resign their orders, and publication of a flurry of conservative retorts erected a wall of opposition to the insights and implications as they were articulated in The Myth of God Incarnate. From the tenor of the responses, one would have thought nothing in the church’s understanding had been affected in spite of two hundred years of intensive research and discussion. While the results of the historicalcritical study of the Bible had gained some acceptance, there obviously remained a formidable barrier to the same kind of investigation of the historical process that transformed Jesus of Nazareth into the ontological Son of God, second person of the Trinity, in the credal development of the fourth and fifth centuries. Hick addresses the third element of the doctrinal triad he contends needs revisioning, the understanding of the death of Jesus as an atoning sacrifice. He traces the history of the development of the doctrine, pointing out the cultural contexts that influenced the respective theories over the centuries. Then he asks, as in the case with other doctrines, what was the original experience out of which atonement theory arose, for it is that same gracious, liberating experience that we seek in our day. Rejecting the idea of an objective justice requiring punishment for wrongdoing, a moral law that God can and must satisfy by punishing the innocent in place of the guilty, Hick searches for a way to express the idea of atonement in the broad sense, in the etymological meaning of at-one-ment becoming one with God—not ontologically but, rather, being in right relationship with God, being in a state of salvation. He points to Eastern Orthodoxy as a valuable source for understanding with its idea of restoration to the divine image, salvation as a process of transformation. In such a view, “Jesus’ death was a piece with his life, expressing a total integrity in his self-giving to God; and his cross continues to inspire and challenge on a level that does not involve the atonement theories developed by the Churches.” With such an understanding of the death of Jesus, Hick is able to find similar meanings of salvation in other religious faiths. Thus he contends, these different conceptions of salvation are specifications of what, in a generic formula, is the transformation of human existence from selfcenteredness to a new orientation centered in the divine Reality.... The great world religions, then, are ways of salvation. Each claims to constitute an effective context within which the transformation of human existence can and does take place from self-centeredness to Realitycenteredness. (136) © Grand Valley State University �Interreligious Dialogue Richard A. Rhem Page11   With such a perspective, genuine interreligious dialogue can begin. It will become an empirical process of seeking to discover the fruits of the respective religions in human life. The alternative to such a stance is to bring to the discussion an understanding of atonement that necessitates a Christian absolutism of the exclusivist variety—that outside of the knowledge of and faith in Jesus Christ, his death and resurrection, salvation is not possible, or, an inclusivist view that salvation is only through Christ but explicit knowledge and trust are not necessary to receive the benefits of his death and resurrection. The ranks of the exclusivists are thinning. Evangelicals are increasingly trying to find a broader arena for God’s saving embrace. Clark Pinnock’s A Wideness in God’s Mercy: The Finality of Jesus Christ in a World of Religions and John Sanders’s No Other Name: An Investigation into the Destiny of the Unevangelized attempt this, although they thread a tortuous way because they have not yet shed an earlier view of biblical authority nor questioned the core Christological formulation. Schubert Ogden suggests an alternative to Hick. In a 1993 address at the Divinity School in Chicago, he argued against the pluralists’ claim as well as rejecting the claims of exclusivists and inclusivists alike. But in his approach there is also a revisioning of the classical Christological formulations in which salvation is constituted through Jesus Christ alone. Rather than a constitutive Christology, Ogden argues for a representative Christology. In this view, the Christ event represents the claim that “salvation has always already been constituted by what Christians are wont to think and speak of as the primordial and everlasting love of God.” Whether and where that love of God might elsewhere be represented is to be determined in the discussion without prior commitment to exclusivism, inclusivism, or pluralism. One simply enters the dialogue open to the truth claim of the other. My intention is not to advocate Hick or Ogden or any other thinker who is addressing the matter of interreligious dialogue. Rather, I wish to point to the necessity of honestly drawing out the consequences of the recognition that human grasp of the truth develops, evolves, and needs ongoing assessment and adjustment—and sometimes conceptions need to be rejected. By use of historical imagination the originating experience that gave rise to a theological formulation needs to be recovered in order to express the same reality differently, in order to make the experience available in a totally different cultural context. Rather than seeing this as a burden, a cause for fear and defensiveness, it should be seen as an exciting challenge. Is not such a pursuit of the truth to love God with mind as well as heart? And is not the recognition that every biblical and theological expression is marked by the human and historical limitations that adhere to all human thought the reason there is need for continual reformation? To be Reformed is not to be in possession of a set of timeless and eternal truths but, rather, to refuse to absolutize any human arrangement or formulation. It is © Grand Valley State University �Interreligious Dialogue Richard A. Rhem Page12   not to be saddled with a set of truths that were once new, innovative, and destabilizing of the established order of the sixteenth century, or the first century. It is an approach, a spirit, a posture that is open to new knowledge, fresh insight, and cumulative human experience within historical development. The church has managed to spend the century in a state of schizophrenia, pursuing research in the academy and sharing the results in the lecture hall, while the liturgy, prayers, hymns, and sermons have given little evidence of the honest engagement with insights of the modern period. My mentor, Hendrikus Berkhof, claimed the only heresy was to make the gospel boring. I would add another—the heresy of orthodoxy, the evidence of a failure of nerve and lack of trust in the living God. It is the heresy of an inordinate lust for certitude that seeks premature closure, the shutting down of the quest for truth and growth of knowledge in the magnificent and mysterious cosmos by the creatures whom the Creator calls to consciousness and embraces in a grace that pervades the unfolding cosmic process. References: John Stephen Bowden. Jesus: The Unanswered Questions. Abingdon Press, 1989. F.C. Burkitt, Preface to The Quest of the Historical Jesus by Albert Schweitzer. Dover Publications, Dover Ed edition, 2005. John Hick. The Metaphor of God Incarnate: Christology in a Pluralistic Age (Second edition). Westminster John Knox Press, 2nd edition, 2006. Ernst Troeltsch. Die Bedeutung der Geschichtlichkeit Jesu für den Glauben. © 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 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. References John S. Bowden, Jesus: The Unanswered Questions, 1989, John Hick, The Metaphor of God Incarnate, 2006, Albert Schweitzer, Quest of the Historical Jesus, 2005, Ernst Troeltsch, Die Bedeutung der Geschichtlichkeit Jesu fur den Glauben. 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-4-19950501 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-05-01 Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Title A name given to the resource Interreligious Dialogue: What is Required of Us? Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Perspectives: A Journal of Reformed Thought 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 Article created, delivered, or published by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on May 1, 1995 entitled "Interreligious Dialogue: What is Required of Us?", it appeared in Perspectives, pp. 10-15. Tags: Global Community, Pluralism, Interfaith, Historical Jesus, Metaphor, Grace, Mystery, Incarnation. Scripture references: John S. Bowden, Jesus: The Unanswered Questions, 1989, John Hick, The Metaphor of God Incarnate, 2006, Albert Schweitzer, Quest of the Historical Jesus, 2005, Ernst Troeltsch, Die Bedeutung der Geschichtlichkeit Jesu fur den Glauben.. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Global Community Grace Historical Jesus Incarnation Interfaith Metaphor Mystery Pluralism https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/37288410423cb68b87178990448c2b6d.pdf df094e3aa7e8b27ee1884b39560c45f3 PDF Text Text   Easter Faith: Beyond All Human Potential Editorial by Richard A. Rhem Minister of Preaching and Theological Inquiry Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Published in Perspectives A Journal of Reformed Thought April 1988 In For The Time Being, W. H. Auden writes, Nothing can save us that is possible, we who must die demand a miracle. Easter faith is faith in the humanly impossible, impossible in terms of human potential. Easter faith affirms a miracle: The living God raised Jesus from the dead. Easter faith sees the resurrection of Jesus as a sign of the newness God is creating and will create in this Good Friday world, this old age that is passing away. With every returning Easter we are faced with the decision of faith: Will we settle for a Good Friday world, or will we believe in the newness of God's kingdom? Will we with stubborn pride see our world and our lives only within the limits of the humanly possible, or will we trust in God who brought forth the world from nothing and promises a new heaven and new earth? Will we with paralyzing despair see history's sad story of oppression, violence, and death, and our own life stories of failure and defeat as the final word, or will we look to the living God who breaks the power of darkness and defeats even death? The Easter faith of the church points to the living God whose love cannot be conquered and whose promise of new creation will finally come to consummation. Easter faith is radical trust in God, the God who is not limited to human potential or to historical possibilities. Easter faith fastens on the God who called Jesus from the dead to fullness of life in God's presence where he reigns and from whence his Spirit continues the drama of resurrection in this old world that is passing away, this old world that is a Good Friday world, now permeated by the freedom and joy and peace of the new creation. Easter faith is biblical faith; it is the faith of the people of God who still live in the old world but who have been captivated by a new possibility. Over the first eleven chapters of Genesis one could write disaster, the seemingly insatiable desire of human society to structure life apart from God. In the bridge paragraph between © Grand Valley State University   �Easter Faith: Beyond all Human Potential Editorial by Richard A. Rhem Page 2   the universal themes of those first eleven chapters and the call of Abraham in chapter 12, there is tucked away a brief notice so easy to overlook: "Now Sarai was barren; she had no child." Is that not striking? God calls a man to become the father of a great nation, but the man's wife is barren. Could that be an accident? No, because the Bible story is not first of all a story about Abraham, Moses, David, Isaiah, Peter, and Paul. It is not a story first of all about humankind at all, but a story about God. It is God's story before it is our story, and the Genesis account of the call of Abraham is only secondarily about Abraham. God is about to fashion an alternative community in the midst of a creation gone awry. God will re-form the creation; God will transform the nations, and God is not boxed in by human limitations. What God promises cannot be discovered in what is; God creates newness. Both pride and despair, two opposite reactions to what is, are based on the assumption that the world is a project of humankind and that its possibilities are limited by human potential. But the biblical story is the story of the gracious God of life-giving power, a power beyond all human potential. It wasn't easy for Abraham or Sarah to believe. Abraham was getting older, but still he had no heir. Sarah had moved beyond the years of childbearing potential. Abraham asked God if his servant's son Eliezer would do. God said no. Sarah took matters into her own hands and gave Abraham her maid Hagar. But Ishmael, the child of that union, was not to be the heir. God said no to that human effort, too. When Abraham was ninety-nine, God repeated the promise. Then one day the Lord appeared. The coming birth was announced. Sarah heard it and laughed. She was responding from her knowledge of human potential. The Lord heard the laugh and said, "Why did Sarah laugh?" Then we hear the crux of the matter. "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" (Gen. 18:14) That is the point of this whole narrative: God's power to create life anew. And the result of such faith? Isaac. Sarah, the barren one, gave birth to a child and she laughed once more. And Sarah said, "God has made laughter for me; every one who hears will laugh over me." (Gen. 21:6) God had the last laugh, and it was God who prompted Sarah to laugh again. There are two kinds of laughs in the world. There is the laugh of the cynic who lives in a narrow world of human possibility. There is the joyous laughter of the one who trusts God and experiences the impossible. Isaac was born. His name means laughter. Isaac's birth was God's joke! The tears of laughter will run down our cheeks, too, when we learn to let go of our strenuous striving to make our world secure, to carve out our places in the sun, and to achieve success and health and happiness and simply fall into the © Grand Valley State University �Easter Faith: Beyond all Human Potential Editorial by Richard A. Rhem Page 3   unconditional love of God who alone can create newness, bring peace, and cause joy to well up. There are two worlds. One is a Good Friday world. It runs on human effort and is limited by human potential. Its hallmark is the performance principle. The other is an Easter world. It operates by radical trust in the power of the life-giving God. Its hallmark is grace. © 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 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. 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-4-19880401 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1988-04-01 Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Title A name given to the resource Easter Faith: Beyond All Human Potential Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Perspectives: A Journal of Reformed Thought 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 Editorial created, delivered, or published by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on April 1, 1988 entitled "Easter Faith: Beyond All Human Potential", it appeared in Perspectives, April, 1988, p. 3. Tags: Easter, Trust, Faith, Grace. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Easter Faith Grace Trust https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/38ad85e9decd838b26f99ef8cbc6d3a1.pdf f3307799ff6cfc9318a5d3006730c8e8 PDF Text Text Purgatory Revisited Article by Richard A. Rhem Minister of Preaching and Theological Inquiry Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Published in Perspectives A Journal of Reformed Thought January 1988, pp. 4-7 In the fall term of 1983, Hans Küng, the noted Roman Catholic theologian gave a series of lectures at the University of Michigan entitled Eternal Life? It was an investigation of life after death as a medical, philosophical, and theological problem. He faced squarely and straightforwardly all the difficult questions surrounding the subject, dealing with ancient and contemporary issues, the question in the history of religions, the modern denial of anything beyond death, and the near-death experiences recorded in recent years. He dealt with biblical material, the question of resurrection, the resurrection of Jesus, and the church’s teaching on judgment, heaven, and hell. The lectures were subsequently published under the title Eternal Life? By virtue of a sabbatical granted me by the Christ Community congregation, I was able to hear the lectures and to participate with Küng in a seminar. I came away with two striking realizations: first, that there was intense interest in these questions of death and dying, of life after death, of heaven and hell on the campus of a large secular university. The lectures had to be moved from the largest lecture hall available to the Rackham Auditorium. Secondly, I realized how little these vital questions were probed in the church, how little reflection I had personally given to them in my ministry, and how comfortably and uncritically we in the church have accepted traditional answers. Once awakened to the questions that are not nearly so simply answered as once I had thought, and also to the deeply existential interest of today’s people, both secular and religious, I began to open again questions on which I had come to premature closure. For me, the greatest surprise came in a new appreciation for the teaching of purgatory, which was resolutely rejected at the time of the Reformation and which has received little serious reflection in the Protestant tradition. This is quite understandable since the sharp reaction of the Reformers was precipitated by the Roman teaching and practice in regard to indulgences, © Grand Valley State University   �Purgatory Revisited Richard A. Rhem Page 2   intercessory prayers, and masses for the dead. The abuses at this point are well documented; Luther’s protest was justified, as Küng would testify. Calvin railed against the teaching of purgatory as “a deadly fiction of Satan, which nullifies the cross of Christ, inflicts unbearable contempt upon God’s mercy, and overturns and destroys our faith.” (Institutes, 3.5.6) Certainly there was enough abusive practice to make such strong reaction necessary. When the abuses have been exposed and the questionable teaching surrounding the state of the dead rejected, however, have we finished with the subject? The Roman Catholic church traditionally taught that people who died at peace with the church but who were not perfect (which included just about everybody) had to undergo a penal and purifying suffering before they could be translated to heaven. Purgatory was an intermediate realm and the purgation process was mild or severe and of short or long duration, depending on the moral condition of each individual. Traditionally, evangelicals have taught that those who in life embrace Jesus Christ by faith are saved by the grace of God and those who reject Christ are condemned eternally. One’s historical existence is the time in which a decision regarding Jesus Christ must be made and with the drawing of the last breath the issue is determined irreversibly and eternally. A little sober reflection shows us that the matter is not quite that simple. Even if those who are exposed to the gospel are judged on their acceptance or rejection of Christ, what about those who never heard? What about those who die in infancy? What about the mentally impaired? More questions arise: What about those who have been terribly wounded by the church? What about those who have been abused as children and are never able to trust? What about those whose only exposure to the gospel has been of a garbled and distorted nature? It would seem that we must begin to make some exceptions; some qualifications are necessary. Reflecting on the traditional teaching of evangelical faith, a further question arises: Do we imagine that the transformation necessary to complete in us the work of grace will happen in an instant at the moment of death? In his discussion of the resurrection at Christ’s coming, Paul does speak of those remaining alive as being changed “in a flash,” and in the First Letter of John we read that we shall be like him because we shall see him as he is. But are we to understand instantaneous perfection by these statements, something totally foreign to the process of sanctification, which is our experience on this side of death? Obviously, the first thing we must admit is that we are dealing with a subject beyond our knowledge. And throughout this discussion we must be aware, as well, that we can speak only in temporal categories and think only of a succession of moments, while we recognize death as the break between time and eternity. Into the philosophical discussion of the relation between the two we cannot enter but the distinction must not be lost. © Grand Valley State University �Purgatory Revisited Richard A. Rhem Page 3   We must admit, too, as is recognized by both Protestant and Roman Catholic biblical theologians today that there is a paucity of biblical material to which to refer. The thrust of Scripture is the imperative to repent and believe, and the stress is on the urgency of decision. Yet there are indications that there is something more. For example, Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 3 of the necessity of care in building the superstructure of the church which is founded on Jesus Christ. He points to two kinds of builders: one builds with wood, hay, and stubble; the other builds with precious stones, gold, and silver. The work of the first is consumed by the testing fire; the work of the second stands the test. He then wrote: If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. (Cor. 3:14-15) The latter person will enter the life beyond, having lost everything. He will be secure in God’s eternal presence, yet with nothing to show for his earthly life. Paul seems to indicate that there is, beyond death or through death, an encounter with God in which one’s life is tested. The issue is not salvation or condemnation; the issue is whether we bring into God’s presence something or nothing. Does not this passage indicate that Paul thought in terms of encounter with God and perhaps a continuing process beyond death? If it is a matter simply of being saved or lost as we enter the moment of death, that is, entering a status of salvation or condemnation, and that is all there is, then why be concerned about what one brings to death’s moment—a fruitful life or a barren life? The apostle seems to suggest that at death there is not only break and discontinuity between our time and God’s eternity, but also continuity between this life and the life beyond death. We bring something (or nothing) with us, and whatever lies beyond is influenced and determined by what we bring (or fail to bring). In Luke’s gospel, Jesus calls us to be watchful and ready for the end. He is encouraging loyal, faithful stewardship of life (Luke 12:35ff). He then speaks of two servants, one who knew the master’s wishes, but failed to fulfill them, and the other who also did not comply with those wishes, but did not know them. The first was flogged severely, the second less severely. We must not attempt to push this vivid language of Jesus too far. Yet it seems that Jesus was saying that the judgment will vary in light of individual circumstances—a gradation of judgment on the basis of the individual life being examined. If at the moment of death the encounter with God will be very personal, individual, and discriminating, and if the sentences will vary, does this point to a process beyond death’s moment? © Grand Valley State University �Purgatory Revisited Richard A. Rhem Page 4   The traditional understanding of these texts is that, in the case of the Lucan passage, there is gradation of punishment—yet to be lost, eternally condemned, is to remain in a state spoken of as hell—separation from God. In the case of the passage from Paul, the understanding has been that the “saved” enter into heaven, or union with God, but some with greater, and others with lesser capacity to experience the joy of salvation. Let us push those conventional interpretations. I entitled this essay “Purgatory Revisited” not simply to get attention. Surely in a day when Roman Catholic theology itself is very self-critical and is engaged in a serious encounter with Scripture, I am not about to suggest we reinstate a teaching that has been thoroughly sifted and carefully redefined in contemporary Roman Catholic thought. Yet, I am suggesting that behind the teaching of purgatory there was a significant insight, even if the practical application of that insight led to disastrous results. That insight is simply that God is not through with us at our death. I am raising for reflection this question: “Is the issue of our lives irreversibly settled at the moment of our last breath?” This question is meant in no way to detract from the strong call to decision, the seriousness of choices in this life, or the urgency of the gospel call. However, is it not possible that in the experience of death itself, understood as an encounter with God, there is the possibility of something of eternal significance occurring? In Christian Faith, Hendrikus Berkhof, discussing the idea of the judgment of works done by believers in their earthly lives, writes: In Protestant theology, this viewpoint is almost completely pushed aside by the accent on grace. In Roman Catholic piety it is (or used to be) very prominent in connection with the veneration of saints and purgatory. The Roman Catholic Church assumes correctly that believers differ greatly in regard to their progress and fruitfulness.... So the idea of a judgment according to one’s deeds leads of itself to the consideration of a process of purification, called purgatory in the Roman Catholic tradition....The Reformation broke with that doctrine because of its moralistic conception of salvation and its detrimental effect on the practice of piety (indulgences, intercessory prayers and masses for the dead). It imagined a sudden, radical transformation after the judgment, usually without giving it further theological reflection and without connecting it with the struggle for sanctification on earth. Meanwhile Roman Catholic thinking, too, has become much more reserved. Typical of the modern Roman Catholic conceptions is the idea of “ripening”...which K. Rahner develops in “The Life of the Dead”(Christian Faith, Revised, p. 493). Referring to the text discussed above, 1 Corinthians 3:15, Berkhof asserts that © Grand Valley State University �Purgatory Revisited Richard A. Rhem Page 5   that statement does suggest that Paul thought of more than an abrupt recreation of man; salvation is accompanied by a painful becoming aware of one’s own failures on earth. The difficulties here are more an open question for theological reflection than a subject for back and forth theological denouncement. The matter of making inferences from faith about what lies beyond death is fraught with far too many difficulties. One can state with Bavinck: “After death there is no more sanctification, one enters upon a state of complete sanctity...for death is the greatest leap someone can make, a sudden transposition of the believer into Christ’s presence, and thereby a complete destruction of the outward man and a complete renewal of the inner man” (CD IV, no. 650, under 4). But one can also ask with G. J. Heering: “Does this change instantaneously, when God shows mercy to the repentant soul and takes it to himself?...Life is called a training school, but perhaps there is a higher training school above” (De menselijke ziel, 1955, pp. 190,192). (p. 494). In another context Berkhof writes: God is serious about the responsibility of our decision, but he is even more serious about the responsibility of his love. The darkness of rejection and God-forsakenness cannot and may not be argued away, but no more can and may it be eternalized. For God’s sake we hope that hell will be a form of purification (p. 536, Christian Faith, Revised). That word “purification” is one used by Küng. In the published lectures, Eternal Life?, Küng treats the idea of purgatory in his discussion of the question whether hell is eternal. Some theologians, however, argue that it is not God who damns man by a verdict imposed from outside. They are human beings themselves, by sins committed with inward freedom, who damn themselves. The responsibility lies not with God but with man. And by death this selfdamnation and distance from God (not a place, but a human condition) becomes definitive. Definitive? Do not the psalms say that God rules over the realm of the dead? What is supposed to become definitive here, contrary to the will of an all-merciful and almighty God? Why should God, who is infinitely good, want to perpetuate enmity instead of removing it and in practice to share his rule forever with some kind of anti-God? Why should he have nothing more to say at this point and consequently render forever impossible a purification, cleansing, liberation, enlightenment, of guilt-laden man? (Eternal Life?, p. 137) Then he refers specifically to purgatory. Purification, cleansing, liberation, enlightenment Here perhaps may lie—I want merely to prompt a few reflections—the particle of truth, the real core, of the problematic idea of purgatory, which has been translated in © Grand Valley State University �Purgatory Revisited Richard A. Rhem Page 6   German from the Middle Ages onward with the unfortunate designation of Fegefeuer (“winnowing fire”). This may be the true core, but it remains true only if the idea is not reified. [A]s no human being is entirely bad, neither is anyone entirely good. Any human being, even the best, falls short of what he might be, fails to meet his own demands and norms and thus never wholly realizes himself. For if he is to be fully himself, even the “saint” needs completion, not after death, but in death itself. And, in view of so much unpunished guilt in the world, a number of people wonder—not entirely wrongly—if dying unto God, the absolutely final reality, can be one and the same for all: the same for criminals and their victims, for mass murderers and the mass of the murdered; for those who have struggled a whole life long to fulfill God’s will, true helpers of their fellow human beings, and for those who for a whole life long have only carried out their own will and at the same time shut out others?...[H]ow this...purification, cleansing, follows is not left to the speculation or calculation of human curiosity, but remains a matter for God as merciful judge, is God’s all-embracing final act of grace. (pp. 137) The key idea Küng stresses is the shattering effect of the encounter with God. We die not into nothingness; we die unto God. Küng cites Karl Barth: Man as such, therefore, has no beyond. Nor does he need one, for God is his beyond. Man’s beyond is that God as his Creator, Covenant-partner, Judge and Saviour, was and is and will be his true Counterpart in life, and finally and exclusive (sic) and totally in death (Church Dogmatics Vol. Ill, 2, pp. 632-33). Küng also cites a Roman Catholic theologian, Greshake: From this standpoint we can understand what was pointed out earlier, that God himself, the encounter with him, is purgatory. But this means that we need not fall back on a special place or still less on a special time or special event to grasp the meaning of purgatory. Still less do we need to work out crude ideas about the “poor” souls. Instead we can understand what the Church teaches and has taught from the earliest times as an element in the encounter with God in death....[W]e should avoid any talk of fire and speak instead of purifying and cleansing as an element of the encounter with God. At the same time what should be particularly clear is that purgatory is not—as it often seems to be in popular piety—a “demihell” which God has erected in order to punish the person who is not entirely bad, but also not entirely good. Purgatory is not a demihell but an element of the encounter with God: that is, the encounter of the unfinished person, still immature in his love, with the holy, infinite, loving God; an encounter which is profoundly humiliating; painful and therefore purifying (cited, Eternal Life?, p. 139 from Starker als der Tod, pp. 92f.). © Grand Valley State University �Purgatory Revisited Richard A. Rhem Page 7   Küng concludes, That is to say that since it is a question of dying into the dimensions of God, where space and time are dissolved into eternity, nothing can be discovered, either about place and time or about the character of this purifying, sanctifying consummation (p. 139). A Lutheran theologian, Hans Schwarz, discusses the views of Ladislaus Boros (The Mystery of Death, p. 129), who suggests something similar—the significance of the final decision at the moment of death. Boros, he maintains, decisively modifies the traditional concepts of purgatory and death. Boros agrees that the Church has only gradually developed the doctrine of purgatory. Though the Scriptural basis of purgatory may be obscure, the fact and the essential nature of purgatory are of such quality that it must be called a “truth of revelation.” However, through his hypothesis of a final decision, Boros seems to view purgatory as the “point” of intersection between life and death. Purgatory is no longer conceived of as a process of purification which can be measured similar to the days and years we live here on earth. According to Boros, “purgatory would be the passage, which we effect in our final decision, through the purifying fire of divine love. The encounter with Christ would be our purgatory.”...Boros replaces an untenable concept of purgatory with the idea of a confrontation with Christ in death…[H]e calls death “man’s first completely personal act” and, “therefore, by reason of its very being, the place above all others for the awakening of consciousness, for freedom, for the encounter with God, for the final decision about eternal destiny.” (On The Way To The Future, pp. 142f.). It has been obvious to me as I have pursued this subject that those who have reflected on the biblical material, the whole context of Scripture, the revelation of God in Jesus Christ, and the human person are very restrained in their conclusions and very cautious in their statements. There is in all serious inquirers into this question, —a recognition of the serious nature of human decisions, —an acknowledgment of the urgent need for repentance and faith, —a reckoning with the reality of evil and human wickedness that demands response if there is any justice, —a serious view of judgment as the exposure of our lives to the scrutiny of the God of truth. All responsible biblical thinkers recognize that God takes us seriously; our wrong and guilt are not simply soft-pedaled, and our exposure to God’s light and truth will be painful, even while we are conscious of being embraced within a larger grace. Judgment will be experienced: No one will “get away” with anything. © Grand Valley State University �Purgatory Revisited Richard A. Rhem Page 8   If an eternal hell is questioned, it is not because passing through God’s final examination is not a serious matter, and neither is it because there is no sense of the need for change and renewal of the person who through the earthly pilgrimage has become scarred and tainted, falling far short of God’s intention. Recognizing that one cannot simply move from the ambiguity, partial insight, fickleness, and unfaithfulness of one’s human experience into the presence of the God of light and truth, there is the belief on the part of some that a purifying process will be necessary. C. S. Lewis has dealt as creatively and profoundly as anyone with the questions of heaven, hell, and purgatory. In The Great Divorce, he records an imaginary conversation with the Christian writer, George MacDonald, on the outskirts of heaven. Lewis exclaims, “But I don’t understand. Is judgment not final? Is there really a way out of Hell into Heaven?” “It depends on the way ye’re using the words. If they leave that grey town behind it will not have been Hell. To any that leaves it, it is Purgatory. And perhaps ye had better not call this country Heaven. Not Deep Heaven, ye understand....[Yle can call it the Valley of the Shadow of Life. And yet to those who stay here it will have been Heaven from the first. And ye can call those sad streets in the town yonder the Valley of the Shadow of Death: but to those who remain there they will have been Hell even from the beginning.” (The Great Divorce, p. 63) Lewis’s fertile imagination is thought provoking; great caution is there; our curiosity will not be satisfied this side of death’s portal. Yet, he clearly seems to be saying that the life processes and the significance of choice do not end at our death. In his Letters to Malcolm, chapter 20, Lewis speaks clearly on the subject of purgatory: Our souls demand Purgatory, don’t they? Would it not break the heart if God said to us, “It is true, my son, that your breath smells and your rags drip with mud and slime, but we are charitable here and no one will upbraid you with these things, nor draw away from you. Enter into the joy”? Should we not reply, “With submission, sir, and if there is no objection, I’d rather be cleaned first.” “It may hurt, you know.”—“Even so, sir.” I assume that the process of purification will normally involve suffering. Partly from tradition; partly because most real good that has been done me in this life has involved it. But I don’t think suffering is the purpose of the purgation. I can well believe that people neither much worse nor much © Grand Valley State University �Purgatory Revisited Richard A. Rhem Page 9   better than I will suffer less than I or more. “No nonsense about merit.” The treatment given will be the one required, whether it hurts little or much. My favourite image on this matter comes from the dentist’s chair. I hope that when the tooth of life is drawn and I am “coming round,” a voice will say, “Rinse your mouth out with this.” This will be Purgatory. I have raised questions for reflection more than coming to fixed conclusions about this subject veiled in mystery. But the questioning will prove fruitful if we open again for discussion a subject of intense existential interest, confident that the faithful and gracious covenant God will finally realize his eternal purpose for us who have been predestined to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. References: Hendrikus Berkhof. Christian Faith: An Introduction to the Study of the Faith. Wm. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1979. Hans Küng. Eternal Life?:Life After Death as a Medical, Philosophical, and Theological Problem. Doubleday, 1984. C. S. Lewis. The Great Divorce. First published HarperColins, 1946; HarperOne, Later Printing edition, 2009. C. S. Lewis. Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer. Harcourt, Inc., 1964. Hans Schwarz. On the Way to the Future: a Christian view of Eschatology in the light of current trends in religion, philosophy and science. Augsburg Publishing House, 1972. © 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 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. References Hendrikus Berkhof, Christian Faith, 1979, Hans Küng, Eternal Life?, 2003, C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce, 1946, Letters to Malcolm, 1964, Hans Schwarz, On the Way to the Future, 1972 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-4-19880101 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1988-01-01 Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Title A name given to the resource Purgatory Revisited Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Perspectives: A Journal of Reformed Thought 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 Article created, delivered, or published by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on January 1, 1988 entitled "Purgatory Revisited", on the book Purgatory Revisited, written by Hans Küng, it appeared in Perspectives, January, 1988, pp. 4-7. Tags: Purgatory, Judgment, Grace, Sin, Non-exclusive. Scripture references: Hendrikus Berkhof, Christian Faith, 1979, Hans Küng, Eternal Life?, 2003, C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce, 1946, Letters to Malcolm, 1964, Hans Schwarz, On the Way to the Future, 1972. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Grace Judgment Non-exclusive Purgatory Sin https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c1f6246e5641efc935677d34dc98c262.pdf b36fcca1b2b21c674c86307eb53569c9 PDF Text Text Karl Barth: Preaching and Theological Renewal Article by Richard A. Rhem Minister of Preaching and Theological Inquiry Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Published in Perspectives A Journal of Reformed Thought May 1986, pp. 9-11 Karl Barth is the Twentieth Century's towering theological figure. His name calls to mind the massive Church Dogmatics, theological movements from the early dialectical theology to the later theology of the Word. We think of the great European universities, Gottingen, Bonn and Basle, where he taught. Yet, Karl Barth was at heart a preacher of the Word and the great theological renewal of which he was the primary catalyst and which reversed the tide of Nineteenth Century Liberalism had its roots in the local parish, in the pulpit, in the demanding task of preaching. Not while he was a Professor of Theology but while he was a village pastor in Safenwil in his native Switzerland did he ignite the fire that would sweep the continent and dominate the theological discussion of the West for decades to come. Indeed, when he had become a professor and published his first volume of dogmatics under the title Christian Dogmatics, he changed the title and began anew under the title Church Dogmatics, a significant sign of his recognition that theological reflection arises out of the Church and must be in the service of the proclamation of the Church. An early collection of addresses, The Word of God and the Word of Man, gives eloquent testimony to the fact that it was the setting of worship of the local congregation and the desperate need of the preacher for a word to speak that sent Karl Barth to Paul's letter to the Romans to wrestle anew with the Christian message. In 1922 Barth was invited to address a ministers’ meeting to give an introduction into an understanding of his theology. He was embarrassed to hear of his theology being spoken of so seriously. He said, ... I must frankly confess to you that what I might conceivably call "my theology" becomes, when I look at it closely, a single point, and that not, as one might demand, as the least qualification of a true theology, a © Grand Valley State University �Karl Barth: Preaching and Theological Renewal Richard A. Rhem Page 2 standpoint, but rather a mathematical point upon which one cannot stand - a viewpoint merely.”1 Barth claimed to have not yet even gotten to theology proper even though his commentary on Romans had sent shock waves through the theological world. He denied that he or his friends had any desire or intention of starting a new school of theology. Yet if a new movement was in formation, Barth insisted, ... that it did not come into being as a result of any desire of ours to form a school or to devise a system; it arose simply out of what we felt to be the "need and promises of Christian Preaching... " 2 Then Barth shared his own spiritual pilgrimage as a pastor. He had received the finest of European University training in theology. Yet he writes, ... Once in the ministry, I found myself growing away from these theological habits of thought and being forced back at every point more and more upon the specific minister's problem, the sermon. I sought to find my way between the problem of human life, on the one hand, and the content of the Bible on the other. As a minister I wanted to speak to the people in the infinite contradiction of their life, but to speak the no less infinite message of the Bible, which was as much of a riddle as life. Continuing in this autobiographical vein, Barth said, ... But it simply came about that the familiar situation of the minister on Saturday at his desk and on Sunday in his pulpit crystallized in my case into a marginal note to all theology, which finally assumed the voluminous form of a complete commentary upon the Epistle to the Romans. 4 The reception of that volume amazed him. As an obscure village pastor it was difficult to get the work published at all. A small firm in Bern risked the venture, publishing 1,000 copies of Der Romerbrief in 1919. So, contrary to the current climate of opinion, it was received with dismay in his own country, but the shattering experience of the World War in Germany caused its strange message to find resonance. In retrospect, Barth wrote of the stir he caused, As I look back upon my course, I seem to myself as one who, ascending the dark staircase of a church tower and trying to steady himself, reached for the bannister, but got hold of the bell rope instead. To his horror, he had then to listen to what the great bell had sounded over him and not over him alone. 5 But that was looking back. As he spoke to the pastor's conference in 1922, he was still in the early phase of his theological development in which ten years of pastoral ministry had engaged him. Barth declared that the critical situation created by the necessity of having to preach became to him an explanation of the character of all theology. He raises the question as to whether it would not be for © Grand Valley State University �Karl Barth: Preaching and Theological Renewal Richard A. Rhem Page 3 theology's good if it attempted to be nothing more than this knowledge of the quest and questioning of the Christian preacher, full of need and full of promise. ... Must not everything else result from this knowledge? 6 Stating simply where he was coming from, Barth said, ... I do not really come to you armed with a new and astonishing theology, but I want to make my place among you with a theology ... which consists simply in an understanding of and sympathy for the situation which every minister faces. ... If then I have not only a viewpoint, but something also of a standpoint, it is simply the familiar standpoint of the man in the pulpit. Before him lies the Bible, full of mystery; and before him are seated his more or less numerous hearers, also full of mystery....What now? asks the minister. If I could succeed in bringing acutely to your minds the whole content of that, "What now?," I should have won you not only to my standpoint, which indeed you occupy already, but also to my viewpoint, no matter what you might think of my theology. 7 The whole gigantic enterprise of Barth's long and fruitful career was the outworking of the standpoint of the pulpit. It is in the act of preaching that the Word of God encounters people where they live, where the Word engages the world. If the engagement is to prove fruitful, then the preacher must know both the Word and the world. In Barth's colorful expression, the preacher must preach with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other. Only then will the sermon "speak." Only then will the deeper longing of the people be met and the unspoken question of their lives be addressed. THE PRESENT HORIZON TO WHICH THE WORD IS SPOKEN It is in the congregation that the two constants of theological formulation come together: the message and the present horizon which is represented in the lives of the people. That present horizon must be understood by the preacher. It provides the approach, the access to the questions of the people. Barth speaks of the strange situation of Sunday morning. The strange building with its strange appointments, its ancient traditions, singing, praying to God! And then - "here is daring" he says, the preaching. Pervading the whole strange Sunday morning episode is a sense of expectancy because everything seems to point to the conviction that God is present. Yet the people come with expectancy not only, but also with the haunting question, "Is it true?" ... And so they reach, not knowing what they do, toward the unprecedented possibility of praying, of reading the Bible, of speaking, hearing, and singing of God. So they come to us, entering into the whole grotesque situation of Sunday morning which is only the expression of this possibility raised to a high power. 8 "Is it true?" That is the question beneath the surface that animates the people as they come to church. They may or may not be consciously cognizant of their © Grand Valley State University �Karl Barth: Preaching and Theological Renewal Richard A. Rhem Page 4 question and certainly they will not let on the seriousness of their quest even if they recognize it. People naturally do not shout it out, and least of all into the ears of us ministers. But let us not be deceived by their silence. Blood and tears, deepest despairs and highest hope, a passionate longing to lay hold of that which, or rather of him who overcomes the world because he is its Creator and Redeemer, its beginning and ending and Lord, a passionate longing to have the word spoken, the word which promises grace in judgment, life in death, and the beyond in the here and now, God's word... They expect us to understand them better than they understand themselves, and to take them more seriously than they take themselves. 9 It is with that profound sense of the longing of the people, of the deep question of their life that the preacher must approach the pulpit. The serious meaning of the situation in our churches is that the people want to hear the word, that is, the answer to the question by which, whether they know it or not, they are actually animated, Is it true? The situation on Sunday morning is related in the most literal sense to the end of history; it is eschatological, even from the viewpoint of the people, quite apart from the Bible. That is to say, when this situation arises, history, further history, is done with, and the ultimate desire of man, the desire for an ultimate event, now becomes authoritative. 10 Then Barth continues with words that must burn in the consciousness of every person on whom the call to preach is laid: ... If we do not understand this ultimate desire, if we do not take the people seriously (I repeat it, more seriously than they take themselves!) at the point of their life perplexity, we need not wonder if a majority of them, without becoming enemies of the Church, gradually learn to leave the Church to itself and us to the kind-hearted and timid. 11 Thus Karl Barth well understood that sensitivity to people, to their concrete existence lived out in the real world provides the present horizon which must be addressed - addressed not with a word of speculative philosophy or human cleverness of whatever sort but addressed by the Word of God. THE WORD Before the preacher on Sunday morning is the open Bible, the second pole, the other side of the equation. If it is imperative that the preacher have a great sensitivity to his people, it is equally necessary to grasp the message of the Word of God in order that that message may be translated into the idiom of the contemporary world. The Word of God must sound forth again. The preacher's task is to communicate the Everlasting Gospel so that the message comes through. That message is in the Bible but the message will be released only when that which occurred in concrete history and thus received a concrete shape and © Grand Valley State University �Karl Barth: Preaching and Theological Renewal Richard A. Rhem Page 5 sound is translated into the shape and sound that will "say" the same thing in a new historical situation. Barth had a profound confidence in the Word of God. The movement that he effected has been labeled the theology of the Word. With the open Bible before him, the preacher becomes the servant of the Word. We can never abandon the Bible ... because it has a somewhat uncanny way of bringing into the church situation its own new and tense and mighty (mightier!) expectancy. If the congregation brings to the Church the great question of human life and seeks an answer for it, the Bible contrariwise brings an answer, and seeks the question corresponding to this answer: it seeks questioning people who are eager to find and able to understand that its seeking of them is the very answer to their question. The thoughts of the Bible touch just those points where the negative factors in life preponderate, casting doubt over life's possibilities - the very points, that is, where on the human side we have the question arising, Is it true? ... where that last perplexed craving has seized him and leads him, let us say, to church. 12 And what happens when the perplexed person full of longing makes his way to church and is encountered by the Word? Barth answers: The Bible responds without ado to the man who has awakened to a consciousness of his condition and to whom certainty has everywhere begun to waver; and its way of answering him is to ask with him, in its own way - think of the forty-second Psalm, think of Job - Is it true? Is it true that there is in all things a meaning, a goal, and a God?13 The Bible takes the question of our life which drives us to church and gives it depth; shows us that the question beneath all the questions of our life is a question about God. And further Barth declares, ... as the Bible takes these questions, translating them into the inescapable question about God, one simply cannot ask or hear the "question" without hearing the answer. The person who says that the Bible leads us to where finally we hear only a great NO or see a great void, proves only that he has not yet been led thither. This NO is really YES. This judgment is grace. This condemnation is forgiveness. This death is life. This hell is heaven. This fearful God is a loving Father Who takes the prodigal in his arms. The crucified is the one risen from the dead. And the explanation of the cross as such is eternal life ... The question is the answer.14 When the question of our life is understood to be the question of God, then the question has become the answer; then the reality of a great grace fills the yearning void and stills the restless fear. But we are not yet finished. Every Christian sermon finds rootage in the Bible, the Bible that has the uncanny power, as Barth says, to bring the answer to the question which animates the human quest. But something critical must happen © Grand Valley State University �Karl Barth: Preaching and Theological Renewal Richard A. Rhem Page 6 in the process by which the words of the text become the Word which is heard in the words of proclamation. THE WORD PROCLAIMED IN THE SERMON The Word of God - what is it? Essentially it is the message of His redemptive grace through which He effects His purposes of salvation. Where do we find it? We find it in the Bible. The Bible is not God's Word in some static sense whereby we can say between these leather covers we have God’s Word. God's Word is always active, living, dynamic because it is God speaking. But the Bible is God's Word in the sense that for us, God speaks through and by means of this word written. The written words of the Bible are the reverberations of the Word of God which is the message of God's redemptive grace; or could I use the word "residue?" - the written words of Scripture are the residue of the "happening Word," and the connection between the Word and the words is the Spirit of God. It is the Spirit of God that illumined the Prophet's mind and heart. The Truth exploded in the person of the Prophet - who spoke the Truth to God's people and wrote the message so that the message could be communicated further. That Word, which "happened" to the Prophet and was then put into words, now becomes the occasion for the Word to happen again. Every message from a Christian pulpit is tied to a written word. Every message is an attempt to set free the Word that is in the words. At times we read the Bible and, closing it, realize that we know nothing of what we have read. But at other times we read a verse or chapter and feel its truth penetrate to our soul. What is the difference? Same book. Perhaps the same words. But when the Word happens, the words become the vehicle of the Spirit Who looses its meaning on us; the Word happens again. Sermons are that way. In fact, Karl Barth distinguished the Word written and the Word proclaimed as two forms of the Word. Again, sometimes the message strikes no fire, sets no cord of the heart vibrating. Sometimes in a message the Word happens. Having distinguished two forms of the Word, Barth added a third - the Word made flesh - Jesus, the Word incarnate. We read in the opening verses of Isaiah 61 how the prophet connects the agency of the Spirit with "the word of proclamation. The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the humble, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to those in prison; ... The passage goes on; it is a message of grace and redemption - a beautiful, hopeful message; it is God's Word proclaimed in words by the prophet anointed by the Spirit - that is, authorized and authenticated by the Spirit - by God. © Grand Valley State University �Karl Barth: Preaching and Theological Renewal Richard A. Rhem Page 7 The words are familiar because they are the words Jesus selected to use as his text when he returned to his home synagogue in Nazareth. (See Luke 4:18-19). That was a tremendous claim that Jesus made and the hometown folks did not receive it kindly. They drove him out of town. Jesus was claiming the Spirit of God as His authentication and authorization and he was saying - in me today in your presence the salvation of God is present. Jesus used the words of the Bible to point to himself as the incarnation of the Word of God - the one Truth, the message of redemption and freedom. The Word of God is the message of a redeeming grace and a saving purpose. It finds expression through the power of the Spirit of God: –when the Spirit created Jesus ("conceived by the Holy Spirit"); –when the Spirit enlivens the written words of the Bible so that the Word happens; –when the words of Scripture find expression in the proclaimed word of the sermon and the Spirit drives home the Word behind the sermon and the written word from which it arises. Such is the Word of God. Behind the word preached, behind the word written, behind the word made flesh, is God, the God of grace and salvation. That powerful conception of the Living Word of God we owe to Barth and that dynamic and promising view of preaching we owe to him, as well. It was the task of preaching that drove Karl Barth to the Bible and it was out of that encounter that the theological renewal of our century arose. It was in the service of the Church that proclaims Jesus Christ that Karl Barth labored fruitfully throughout his life. His great legacy to the Church is the recognition that all theological reflection must arise from and be directed to need and promise of preaching. To the end of his life he preached. He was a regular preacher at the Basle jail. Asked why he went there when he could command the great pulpits of the world, he replied that if he preached in a cathedral people would come to hear Karl Barth; at the Basle jail they came to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. On New Year's Eve, 1962, he preached at the jail on the text, "My grace is enough." In beautiful simplicity he declared: My grace - that is myself: I for you, I as your Saviour in your place - I who set you free from sin, guilt, misery and death, all of which I have taken on myself and so away from you - I who show you the father and open up the path to him - I who let you hear the great Yes which he has spoken to you too, to you personally, from all eternity ... That is my grace. And this grace of mine is enough. It is what you really and truly need, and what you, moreover, may and must have. You can hold on to it, you can live by it. You can also die with it. It is enough for you just now, it will also be enough for you to all eternity. © Grand Valley State University �Karl Barth: Preaching and Theological Renewal Richard A. Rhem Page 8 ... But say it to him! He hears it and is glad to hear it from you. He expects nothing more from you and from me than that we should say it to him as "the echo of what he says to us: "Yes, your grace is enough." Amen.15 ENDNOTES 1 Karl Barth, The Word of God and the Word of Man. (New York: Harper and Row, Harper Torchbook Edition, 1957), p. 97F. 2 Ibid., p. 100. 3 Ibid. 4 Ibid., p. 101 5 Karl Barth, Forward to Die Lehre vom Worte Gottes: Prolegomena zur Christlicken Dogmatik. (Munohen, Chr. Kaiser Verlag, 1927). p. IX. 6 Karl Barth, The Word of God and the Word of Man., p. 102. 7 Ibid., p. 103F. 8 Ibid., p. 108. 9 Ibid., p. 108F. 10 Ibid., p. 110. 11 Ibid., p. 110F. 12 Ibid., p. 116. 13 Ibid., p. 117. 14 Ibid., p. 120. 15 Karl Barth, Call For God. "New York: Harper and Row, 1967), p. 83F. SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY Barth, Karl, The Word of God and the Word of Man. New York: Harper and Row, 1957. Barth, Karl, Forward to Die Lejhr vom Worte Gottes: Prolegomena zur Christlicken Dogmatik. Mundien, Chr. Kaiser Verlag, 1927. Barth, Karl, Call For God. New York: Harper and Row, 1967. © 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 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. References Karl Barth. The Word of God and the Word of Man, 1957, Call For God, 1967, Forward to Die Lehr vom Worte Gottes: Prolegomena zur Christlicken Dogmatik, 1927. 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-4-19860501 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1986-05-01 Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Title A name given to the resource Preaching and Theological Renewal Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Perspectives: A Journal of Reformed Thought 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 Book Review created, delivered, or published by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on May 1, 1986 entitled "Preaching and Theological Renewal", on the book Preaching and Theological Renewal, written by Karl Barth, it appeared in Perspectives, May, 1986, pp. 9-11. Tags: Preaching, Word of God, Theology, Meaning, Church, Grace. Scripture references: Karl Barth. The Word of God and the Word of Man, 1957, Call For God, 1967, Forward to Die Lehr vom Worte Gottes: Prolegomena zur Christlicken Dogmatik, 1927.. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Church Grace Meaning Preaching Theology Word of God https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7c2689ab3ee735b032e9b5d7140f983e.pdf 11512cc243754e285468d0c9c1b09a70 PDF Text Text Prayer At The Celebration of The Life of Margaret Ruth Olezczuk Richard A. Rhem The Lee Chapel, Sytsema Funeral Home Norton Shores, Michigan September 15, 2014 Transcription of the written prayer For these few moments, O God, Sacred Mystery of our lives, Creative Source, Eternal Presence, and our Final Home, grace us with awareness that we are held in the embrace of Love as family and friends and the one we have loved and lost awhile. God of our lives, beyond the changing seasons, constant through the passages that mark our days, for these moments, still our minds, quiet our hearts, be present to us as we, in Your presence, remember this one who filled so large a role in our lives. Her physical beauty was the outward embodiment of the beauty of the soul, the instrument of a human spirit that transformed every situation into which she entered, creating joy, good humor, well being. She had that about her that made us confident that all would be well – not through what she did, but simply because her presence was a sweet aroma of grace and goodness that changed everything for the better. O God, our hearts are full. Images tumble through our minds. We see her yet, always a lady, stunning, stylish, classy, able always simply to be herself – unaffected, genuine, authentic, deep. © Grand Valley State University   �Prayer in Celebration of the Life of Margaret Olezczuk Richard A. Rhem For this crown jewel of Your creative art, we give You thanks. O God, there is no denying our loss. Where love looms large, loss is large as well. Where bonds of love are tight, when broken, grief and loss are painful. All of that we own, we acknowledge without denial. Yet we are overwhelmed by the beauty, the wonder of this life that has touched us so deeply – the amazing grace with which she lived and the deep trust with which she breathed her last. And in such a time as this, in such a place as this, Gracious God, we are grateful above all that the end is not broken health and dreams unfulfilled, swallowed up in death, but rather the confidence that to live is to live unto the Lord, and to die is to die unto the Lord. So then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. Receive our thanksgiving, O God. Grant the comfort of Your Spirit. Renew our hope and lead us on in the confidence that nothing can ever separate us from Your love in Christ Jesus our Lord, Who taught us to pray, saying, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. © Grand Valley State University Page 2   � 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 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Event Funeral Service at Sytsema Funeral Home Location The location of the interview Lee Chapel, Norton Shores, 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 RA-1-20140915 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014-09-15 Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Title A name given to the resource Prayer at the Celebration of the Life of Margaret Ruth Oleszczuk 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 15, 2014 entitled "Prayer at the Celebration of the Life of Margaret Ruth Oleszczuk", on the occasion of Funeral Service at Sytsema Funeral Home, at Lee Chapel, Norton Shores, MI. Tags: Funeral, Prayer, Grace, Trust. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Funeral Grace Prayer Trust https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3d8d378463cc4c0ce288ffe8f832390d.pdf f8f317ece3f74f24f2b9aa5b238b108d PDF Text Text Prayer Celebrating the Life of Norman Campbell Richard A. Rhem First Congregational Church Muskegon, Michigan January 24, 2014 Oh God, we would be still and know that You are God, Source of all being, Mysterious Mover of the ongoing cosmic drama, creatively breathing fresh surprises into the tapestry of our history, graciously present to us in those moments of awareness when we come to ourselves, when for at least a brief time light dawns upon us and we are saturated with wonder – at the sight of setting sun or starry sky, or our Great Lake blanketed with snow on towering bergs of ice. Then in silence and solitude we know what is beyond knowing. Then a serenity sweeps over our souls and we know all is gift. For we did not create ourselves or our world – not the brilliant winter sun or blinding blizzard, not the air we breathe, not the winter landscape wrapped in glistening ermine. Then we know we are part of something so much larger than the narrow parameters of our daily experience and limited understanding. Before the wonder of it all, we sense we are embraced, caught up in something the dimensions of which we cannot begin to take in – that Mystery that has addressed us, eliciting from us in turn the response of address, when from our depths we utter, “O God.” Then, knowing beyond knowing, we know we have been found by our Source and in turn have found our Resting Place. © Grand Valley State University   �Prayer in Memory of Norman Campbell Richard A. Rhem Page 2   Source and Resting Place, present to us in mysterious and gracious Presence. It is enough. Only gratitude then fills our being and thus we pray, “Thanks be to You, O God.” Gathered here as we are in the posture of worship in Your Presence, we have come to celebrate the life of this good man, Norman Campbell. We remember the way he was and we know why we are grieving so deeply. He leaves such a crater in our hearts for he filled us so tenderly with his mere presence – gentle, kind, gracious, humble, unassuming, generous – the adjectives surface so spontaneously. This one we have loved and lost awhile was a very special human being and he graced our lives so richly. A lover, a care giver, an irreplaceable presence. Beyond the circle of family and friends, a brilliant engineer, a keen industrialist and business man – one who created of his workers a family. Yet in this gentle giant a fire burned – for Tigers, and Blue was a sacred color in the liturgy of his life. And, O God, he walked always in Your Light, a man of deep trust, of inquiring mind, one who rested deeply in Your grace. Those of us beyond family saw all of this but knew as well that his family was where his heart dwelt, where his love was poured, where he found his deepest joy. We celebrate this one, dearly loved and deeply respected. We remember and we give You thanks, O good and gracious God, for the gift we shared– family, dear friends, larger community – the gift we shared of his presence in our midst. Loss is proportionate to love; pain is measured by what the one removed meant to us – and this one meant so much. Yet, amazingly, O God, © Grand Valley State University �Prayer in Memory of Norman Campbell Richard A. Rhem these are bitter-sweet moments. There is no denying the loss, but there is no denying the wonder as well – the wonder at the beauty of love, the meaning of life, the sacredness of human bonding. Things come into focus; we gain perspective. We know in tangible experience what we thought we knew before, but realize we didn’t know as deeply – that what matters finally is the love we’ve known, the love we’ve given, the love we’ve received. Our hearts swell, eyes moisten as we contemplate it all – the gift we’ve known in this one who loved so deeply, so broadly, so naturally… Knowing he was resting on everlasting arms in the embrace of Grace, he saw his end, and in confidence he chose to enter Your presence, O God, resting in his final labored breathing in the abyss of Your love. And in such a time as this, in such a place as this, Gracious God, we are grateful above all that the end is not broken health and dreams unfulfilled, swallowed up in death, but rather the confidence that to live is to live unto the Lord, and to die is to die unto the Lord, so then whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. Sacred Mystery of all being, of our being, consciously aware of our lives in Your light, we worship. We know that all will be well, all will be well. All manner of things will be well. Amen. © Grand Valley State University Page 3   � 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 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Event Funeral Service for Norman Campbell Location The location of the interview First Congregational Church Muskegon, Michigan 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-1-20140124 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014-01-24 Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Title A name given to the resource Prayer Celebrating the Life of Norman Campbell 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 January 24, 2014 entitled "Prayer Celebrating the Life of Norman Campbell", on the occasion of Funeral Service for Norman Campbell, at First Congregational Church Muskegon, Michigan. Tags: Prayer, Funeral, Presence of God, Worship, Grace. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Funeral Grace Prayer Presence of God Worship https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/84c555339f9c96b8758b2ae2a35552ab.pdf 3ec32a474833692fbff0b44e83c674f6 PDF Text Text The Best is Yet To Be A Prayer in Celebration Of the Life of Louise Zevalkink Richard A. Rhem Fifth Reformed Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan July 3, 2012 Prepared text of prayer Let us be in the spirit of prayer in the presence of the Creative Source of all being, in whom we live and move and have our being – the Sacred Mystery hidden in a cloud of unknowing. Eternal God, Source, Guide and Goal of all that is, from You we receive life as a gift and to You our life returns. In the Psalmist’s poetic expression, You send forth your breath, your Spirit, and they are created. You take away their breath, they die. We find our comfort in life and in death that we are not our own but belong to You, a faithful God whose steadfast love embraces us on this fascinating and fragile human pilgrimage. And thus we find it most natural at such a time as this, in such a place as this, to lift up our hearts in worship, to bow in Your presence before the mystery of life and the reality of death. We worship for we are aware of the wonder of creation, its beauty and its terror, its loveliness and its pain. We turn to You, O God; we rest in You; we trust where we do not know. In You we hope, and to You we commend © Grand Valley State University �The Best is Yet To Be Richard A. Rhem Page 2 those we’ve loved and lost awhile. Good and Gracious God, we have gathered in worship to remember and to give thanks – to remember our mother, grandmother, great grandmother and friend. We remember the way she was – indeed an extraordinary person for whom there are not superlatives enough to describe her and to give expression to all she meant to us and the ways she made our lives come to life. Her physical beauty was the outward embodiment of the beauty of her soul, the instrument of a human spirit that transformed every situation into which she entered, creating joy, good humor, well being. She had an unaffected presence about her that made us confident that all would be well – not through what she did, but simply because her presence was a sweet aroma of grace and goodness that changed everything for the better. Our model, our inspiration – dear God, how we miss her and will miss her as weeks and months and years pass. But filling the cavern of our grief will be memories – so many memories of times and places, and through tears we will laugh as we remember her. Over these last years physical ailments took their toll and finally, slowly, her life ebbed away. The body gave way but not her mind, not her spirit, not her trust in You, good and gracious God. Her faith burned brightly. Scripture – favorite passages, old favorite hymns – these saturated her soul as life ebbed away. Enwrapped in a mantle of love from family and care givers, she breathed her last, awaiting “just one more surprise,” which for her was not a surprise at all for she has experienced that which in trust she anticipated. Face to face she has beheld him – © Grand Valley State University �The Best is Yet To Be Richard A. Rhem the blessed assurance with which she lived is now fully realized, even beyond her fondest dreams. O God, there is no denying our loss. Where love looms large, loss is large a well. Where bonds of love are tight, when broken, grief and loss are painful. All of that we own, we acknowledge, without denial. Yet we are overwhelmed by the beauty, the wonder of this life that has touched us so deeply – the amazing grace with which she lived and the deep trust with which she breathed her last. And in such a time as this, in such a place as this, Gracious God, we are grateful above all that the end is not broken health and dreams unfulfilled, swallowed up in death, but rather the confidence that to live is to live unto the Lord, and to die is to die unto the Lord, so then whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. Receive our thanksgiving, O God. Grant the comfort of Your Spirit, renew our hope and lead us on in the confidence that nothing can ever separate us from Your love in Christ Jesus our Lord, who taught us to pray, saying, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. © Grand Valley State University Page 3 � 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 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Event Prayer for the Funeral of Louise Zevalkink Location The location of the interview Fifth Reformed Church, Grand Rapids 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-1-20120703 Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Title A name given to the resource The Best Is Yet To Be 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 July 3, 2012 entitled "The Best Is Yet To Be", on the occasion of Prayer for the Funeral of Louise Zevalkink, at Fifth Reformed Church, Grand Rapids. Tags: Faithful God, Grace, Family. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2012-07-03 Faithful God Family Grace https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/0692a60070aa6fcb543c524281a64f77.pdf eedfc455f3bdcf2b7309e31793142571 PDF Text Text The Best is Yet To Be Meditation and Prayer In Celebration of the Life of Frederic R. Birdsall Richard A. Rhem Freedom Village, Holland, Michigan June 16, 2012 Let us be in the spirit of prayer in the presence of the Creative Source of all being, in whom we live and move and have our being – the Sacred Mystery hidden in a cloud of unknowing. Eternal God, Source, Guide and Goal of all that is, from You we receive life as a gift and to You our life returns. In the Psalmist’s poetic expression, You send forth your breath, your Spirit, and they are created. You take away their breath, they die. We find our comfort in life and in death that we are not our own but belong to You, a faithful God whose steadfast love embraces us on this fascinating and fragile human pilgrimage. And thus we find it most natural at such a time as this, in such a place as this, to lift up our hearts in worship, to bow in Your presence before the mystery of life and the reality of death. We worship for we are aware of the wonder of creation, its beauty and its terror, its loveliness and its pain. We turn to You, O God; we rest in You; we trust where we do not know. © Grand Valley State University   �The Best Is Yet To Be Richard A. Rhem Page 2   In You we hope, and to You we commend those we’ve loved and lost awhile. Good and Gracious God, You breathe into us and we have the gift of life; we commend our breath to you and, thus, our earthly pilgrimage is ended. You, O God, are the source and giver of life, and to You all life returns. In the beginning, in the end, You are God. And in the meantime, this in-between time, You uphold us with everlasting arms. You overshadow us with a gracious Presence. You bear us up on eagle’s wings; beneath your sheltering wings we find refuge and peace. Sacred Mystery of all being, of our being, consciously aware of our lives in your light, we worship. We know that all will be well, all will be well, all manner of things will be well. That was the confident trust of the one whose life we celebrate today. This one we’ve loved and lost awhile, our Fred, beloved husband, father, friend. Quiet, unassuming, competent in his profession – images tumble through our minds as we remember him. We will always smile as we think of him because he was our good humor man – story upon story he sent into cyber space, bringing to a wide circle of friends delight and laughter. Fred stories abound and the twinkle in his eye was contagious. Yet there was more – there was in Fred a passion for peace, for justice. An astute observer of our times, he was an advocate for human decency, civility and fairness. He was a truly good man who stood for a kinder and gentler nation and righteousness and justice in society. Fred cared and he made his voice heard for the values he embraced. With open mind he continued to wonder and to grow in knowledge and understanding, and with good heart he embodied compassion. © Grand Valley State University �The Best Is Yet To Be Richard A. Rhem And thus, O God, we celebrate Your grace in his life and remember him with affection and respect. Knowing he was resting on everlasting arms in the embrace of Grace, he saw his end, and in confidence he chose to enter Your presence, O God, resting in his final labored breathing in the abyss of Your love. And in such a time as this, in such a place as this, Gracious God, we are grateful above all that the end is not broken health and dreams unfulfilled, swallowed up in death, but rather the confidence that to live is to live unto the Lord, and to die is to die unto the Lord, so then whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. Receive our thanksgiving, O God. Grant the comfort of Your Spirit, renew our hope and lead us on in the confidence that nothing can ever separate us from Your love in Christ Jesus our Lord, who taught us to pray, saying, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.   © Grand Valley State University Page 3   �The Best Is Yet To Be Richard A. Rhem Page two © Grand Valley State University Page 4   � 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 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Event Prayer and Meditation in Memory of Frederic Birdsall Location The location of the interview Freedom Village, Holland, Michigan 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-1-20120616 Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Title A name given to the resource The Best is Yet to Be, Birdsall Memorial 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 June 16, 2012 entitled "The Best is Yet to Be, Birdsall Memorial", on the occasion of Prayer and Meditation in Memory of Frederic Birdsall, at Freedom Village, Holland, Michigan. Tags: Faithful God, Grace. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2012-06-16 Faithful God Grace https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/4964082c199401e415991cb52df40760.pdf 320376909036e03bf2346fa1bc32a03e PDF Text Text Remembering Joseph Harry A Prayer for the Jellema-Harter Gathering Richard A. Rhem The Season of Advent 2004 With full attention, awareness, let us be conscious of our life, with breath, with spirit. That consciousness has been present from the beginning of the human story. The ancient poet expressed it in words borrowed by the biblical writer when he wrote of One in whom “we live and move and have our being.” In these moments we open our minds and hearts to that Mystery breathing through us, that Sacred Mystery before whom we stand in awe as we remember we are children of the stars, our being the emergence of a cosmic drama of billions of years in an expanse of space we cannot fathom. Humility befits us that the sacred source of Being should find expression in us, that we should be the conscious bearers of this incredible unfolding of Being. Sometimes it is a glimpse of the starry heavens in the dark stillness; sometimes the glistening whiteness of new fallen snow catching the sun’s radiance; sometimes the rush of a love that wells up from our depths; sometimes it is a pain so overwhelming, a grief so deep we can scarcely breathe, a sadness that permeates every pore of our being. This is such a time, for we remember a life conceived in love, anticipated with such joy and growing expectation, a life as yet all mystery, full of potential, this fragile child in the womb, Joseph Harry. © Grand Valley State University   �Remembering Joseph Harry Richard A. Rhem At such a time, time stands still and we become aware as never before of the mystery of Being from which our lives emerge. And those ultimate questions rise within us – Who am I? Why am I here? What is my life? What is the end of it all? Questions out of the depths, questions not reducible to mathematical equation or scientific formula; questions without verifiable answers; questions not to be answered so much as to be lifted up, to be contemplated. Is not our life a question you put to us, O God? And daily, weekly, monthly, as seasons come and go, we are living out our answers. Sometimes it seems we can begin to shape an answer; sometimes we simply must admit we haven’t a clue; sometimes our faith shines brightly and we have a kind of settled serenity about us; and sometimes the pieces of the puzzle we painstakingly fit together are scattered again, revealing no rhyme or reason. God of all mercy, God of all grace, it is as natural as breathing that we turn in these moments to you. Where else? To whom else should we turn? We come to the limit of our understanding; we come to the limit of our capacity to make sense of this fragile and vulnerable drama that we live. We do not know; we do not comprehend; our minds shut down, weary of thinking. We turn to you – not for cliché, some pious platitude that trips too easily off the tongue. © Grand Valley State University Page 2   �Remembering Joseph Harry Richard A. Rhem No, dear God, we turn to you because we can live without all the answers, if only we sense that in the darkness and the pain we are not abandoned, not alone, if only we sense your presence and your grace, your compassion and your care in the concrete community of human bonds of love. Here we are, deep Mystery of Being, becoming conscious in your presence. We trust, even though we know so little. We trust in your gracious grasp of the disparate strands of our lives because we keep encountering rumors of angels, moments of clarity, flashes of insight, experiences of deep love and grace beyond anything we could arrange. In this season of Advent, we wait, wait in expectation. Mystery beyond our capacity to comprehend, grant to these who grieve an Epiphany of transcendence as they gather to embrace one another in love and solidarity. Heal hearts so recently resonant with expectation and mantle them– parents, grandparents, friends – with peace, assuring them that all will be well; all will be well; all manner of things will be well – for Alles is Gnade – All is Grace. Amen. © Grand Valley State University Page 3   �Remembering Joseph Harry Richard A. Rhem Page two © Grand Valley State University Page 4   � 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 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Event Advent Series Prayer in memory of a child Location The location of the interview At a 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-1-20041201 Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Title A name given to the resource Remembering Joseph Harry 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 December 1, 2004 entitled "Remembering Joseph Harry", as part of the series "Prayer in memory of a child", on the occasion of Advent, at At a Family Gathering. Tags: Mystery of Being, Grace. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2004-12-01 Grace Mystery of Being https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c3e890b804d15cee7e538af78c1bc8c0.pdf 3be9dd3ffcb8d8e6620a2f51c05f2e7c PDF Text Text The Grace to Let Go As Death Approaches I Corinthians 15: 42-44, 50, 53-58 Luke 23:32-34, 44-46 Richard A. Rhem Funeral Meditation and Prayer for Richard J. Westhoff VBK Chapel, Grand Haven, Michigan Thursday, February 27, 2014 If I have the timing right, it was three weeks ago today that Rich and family met with the Hospice nurse. Three days later I stopped by to be with Rich and Mary – Kathy was there as well. As always with Rich and Mary, it was very easy, warm, relaxed. We spoke about the doctor’s report, the recognition that the cancer was raging, that Hospice had been engaged. The full seriousness of his failing health was in full view. At one point he looked at me, put his hand on my arm – we were sitting at the dining room table – and he said, “Will you do my funeral?” Our eyes met and I responded, “Of course; I wouldn’t let anyone else do it!” He smiled and I smiled. I’ve been with my people on numerous occasions at their dying. I’ve marveled at the mystery – one minute alive, breathing. Then no more. I’ve thought much about the mystery of life and life moving into death. And, frankly, I guess I would have to say I’m really quite comfortable in those situations. But I must say those moments with Rich were so rich, so honest. I left with that sense so strongly felt. I had affirmed the decisions he made along the way. An awful course of chemo which did not fully free him of the awful disease and his decision: no more! Let me live being myself as well as I can as long as I can. And he did. He found a period of a good quality of life. And then when the cancer came on in full force he had no regrets. When the time came, Hospice was called in. And then it was time to go to the nursing home. Nancy and I went to him when we learned he was there. At the door the nurse said, “First room on the left. We just got him resting. Try not to waken him.” Well, I just smiled at her and we made our way to the room. He was quiet, eyes closed, but I had a little business to do with him…. I took his hand. He opened his eyes and we were in touch; he was with me. © Grand Valley State University   �The Grace to Let Go As Death Approaches Richard A. Rhem Page 2   “The Lord is my shepherd…. He responded at each phrase, affirming the beautiful expressions of trust in the Psalm. And the benediction “The Lord bless you and keep you,” my hand on his forehead and he fully receptive, aware, affirming. And then the words of Julian of Norwich, which have become a mantra for those of us who were Christ Community: All will be well, all will be well, All manner of things will be well. Those were very moving moments. As his pastor I knew I had had closure with this dear man – and there are no holier moments than when there is the grace to let go as death approaches. That is what struck me and I found so beautiful in Rich’s departing from all he loved and those who so dearly loved him. Next Wednesday is Ash Wednesday. I always loved that service. There was such honesty about it, such authenticity – The people came forward, knelt and, as I made the sign of the cross with the ashes on their foreheads, I would say, “Dust thou art and to dust thou shalt return.” Those words come from Genesis 3 and the context is God’s judgment on the first human couple for their disobedience in the Garden of Eden. This, of course, is biblical myth – our stories of origin which had profound truths but also much we have moved beyond. As much as I love those words, “Dust thou art and to dust thou shalt return,” I want to move them out of the context of death as the result of human disobedience. To do so, I must argue with St. Paul who was formed by that biblical story and perpetuated the idea that death was “the last enemy.” He states this in the context of his sense of history’s calendar. Paul thought he was living at the end of history. But, of course, two thousand years later we know he was wrong about history’s course and, I would maintain, about death as the last enemy. He believed death was God’s judgment on human transgression, believing as he did in the biblical story of “the Fall” of our first parents. Let me keep to the biblical story but go to Jesus. As I have said, we stand at the threshold of another Lent. We will follow Jesus to Calvary. Speaking truth to power, he is a threat to the Temple leadership and to Roman power. Condemned to die, he is crucified by the powers that be. How did he die in spite of injustice? Hear him on the Cross: Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” © Grand Valley State University �The Grace to Let Go As Death Approaches Richard A. Rhem Page 3   In Luke’s telling of the story, Jesus then is appealed to by one of the criminals at his side and he offers him deep assurance – in a word, “All will be well.” And, as life ebbed, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” In the horror of crucifixion, Luke pictures for us a Jesus, full of grace, forgiving those who are executing him, full of compassion for his fellow sufferer, full of trust as he commends his spirit to God whom he conceived of as Father. Grace, compassion, trust – what a way to go! I bring that to your attention because we witnessed in Rich the grace to let go as death approached. Obviously the circumstances were totally different – Rich having lived fully until his death, surrounded by loved ones at home until less than two days in the hospice unit waiting, still hovered over by those he loved and who loved him. How does that happen? Let me suggest it was no accident, neither for Jesus nor for Rich. One does not suddenly come to one’s end and decide to die well full of grace, compassion and trust. Such a death is the result of a lifetime – a lifetime of love and care, faithfulness and devotion, loving and caring for family and friends – and look at his beautiful family – positive living in community, giving oneself in service and generosity, trust in the God of Grace. God and faithful devotion and commitment to the community of faith. That was Rich’s way. With him it was a steady, quiet way. As I sat with him that day when he asked if I would do his funeral, he told me the story of the snowball that went awry and his “punishment” from his Christian School teacher – memorize the 91st Psalm. He was amused to tell me that the key verse for the teacher was verse 8: “You will only look with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.” I suspect having to recite the Psalm before the class gave his classmates the opportunity to see his punishment. But, humorous as that is, the teacher’s sentence forced him to memorize the Psalm and I’m quite certain that Psalm shaped him – Did he not live “in the shelter of the Most High”? Did he not “abide in the shadow of the Almighty”? Did he not live with deep assurance? “Under his wings” he found refuge. © Grand Valley State University �The Grace to Let Go As Death Approaches Richard A. Rhem Page 4   In a word, Psalm 91 formed him, shaped him. And being thus shaped and formed, he lived well, fully and, as death approached, he had the grace to let go. As I have indicated, our conversation at the dining room table was so easy. I said something about his obvious peace as he asked me to do his funeral. I can still see him look at me calmly and say, “I’ve been preparing for this all my life.” And he had and that’s why I entitle this meditation “The Grace To Let Go As Death Approaches” and insist it is not an end-of-life decision – it is a lifetime of preparation. I was moved by his quiet statement. He could let go not in futile resignation but in deep trust that the best is yet to be. Contrary to St. Paul’s contention that death is the last enemy, I sensed Rich entered into death’s shadow with full assurance and trust. St. Paul was really better than the “death is enemy” claim. He goes on in that 15th chapter of I Corinthians to speak of his resurrection faith and there, I sense, he too views death not as punishment, an enemy, but part of the natural process – birth, life, death – and death the gateway to life eternal: What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable… For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality…. Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. To live with such hope and trust is not to deny the reality of death, not to deny loss, grief, and pain. And such hope and trust does not mean we would not choose rather to live on in health and fullness. It is rather simply to recognize life has its natural end in death and the sting of death, the fear in the face of death, is removed for those whose lives have been marked by trust and grace, love and hope. For such, there is a grace to let go as death approaches, in the assurance that as they have lived to the Lord, they die to the Lord, as St. Paul affirms, concluding, So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. It is for us to deal with the grief of loss even as we thank God for the gift we’ve shared in his life – but Rich is just fine, experiencing wonders he never dreamed of. Thanks be to God! Let us pray. © Grand Valley State University �The Grace to Let Go As Death Approaches Richard A. Rhem Prayer For these few moments, O God, Sacred Mystery of our lives, Creative Source, Eternal Presence, and our Final Home, grace us with awareness that we are held in the embrace of Love as family and friends and the one we have loved and lost awhile. We remember him – larger than life – adored by family, loved and respected by a network of friends and a broad community. So much was he of Spring Lake, the Village, the school’s athletic association – a true Laker deep down. Quietly touching many lives with kindness and generosity, faithful in family, church and community – solid, one we could always count on. The stories that bring laughter and tears bespeak hidden humor, a delightful spirit. He loomed large in our lives, leaving an emptiness in our hearts. And yet, even in the pain of loss, remembering him, he brings us to laughter and delight. O God, we are grateful that he graced our lives, that he lived fully, choosing to live well until the end approached, which he met with deep assurance and grace. We are grateful, O great Mystery of life, that we have been graced with a fundamental trust, that this cosmic dance into which our lives are woven is not a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing, but a universe whose grain is Love, Whose end is Life and Light © Grand Valley State University Page 5   �The Grace to Let Go As Death Approaches Richard A. Rhem And in such a time as this, in such a place as this, Gracious God, we are grateful above all that the end is not broken health and dreams unfulfilled, swallowed up in death, but rather the confidence that to live is to live unto the Lord, and to die is to die unto the Lord, so then whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. You uphold us with everlasting arms. You overshadow us with a gracious Presence. You bear us up on eagle’s wings; beneath your sheltering wings we find refuge and peace. Sacred Mystery of all being, of our being, consciously aware of our lives in your light, we worship. We know that all will be well, all will be well, all manner of things will be well. Now, while our hearts are open, our spirits tender, mantle us with Your gentle grace. Assuage deep grief; cover our guilt; heal us, O God; heal us now. And now, as Jesus taught us, we pray, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. © Grand Valley State University Page 6   � 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 Funeral Meditation and Prayer for Richard J. Westhoff Scripture Text I Corinthians 15: 42-44, 50, 53-58, Luke 23:32-34, 44-46 Location The location of the interview VBK Chapel, Grand Haven, Michigan 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-0-20140227 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014-02-27 Title A name given to the resource The Grace to Let Go As Death Approaches 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 Text Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on February 27, 2014 entitled "The Grace to Let Go As Death Approaches", on the occasion of Funeral Meditation and Prayer for Richard J. Westhoff, at VBK Chapel, Grand Haven, Michigan. Scripture references: I Corinthians 15: 42-44, 50, 53-58, Luke 23:32-34, 44-46. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Community of Faith Funeral Grace Nature of Death