1 24 25 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c4c20c42bf96629eb62ee2b7b5a17b05.pdf fe18060ae9231b42e53bab0b4ec7062c PDF Text Text Life Through Dying An 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 November 1994, pp. 3-4 “Life, what a beautiful choice!” So goes a commercial for pro-life in the culture war over abortion. The ads are tastefully done featuring beautiful children frolicking in idyllic scenes of delight. Fair enough as long as it is recognized at the same time that there are also children born into horror whose existence is to be marked by dehumanizing tragedy. Recently I have been, as pastors often are, thrust into the drama of real life-anddeath choices. Not choices about whether to bring a fetus to term but, rather, whether to keep a body alive by means of medical technology. Three times within a four-month period I walked with families through the anguish of making the decision to let go, to allow a loved one to die. The three had been my people over many years; they were dear to me, as were their families as well—spouses, children, grandchildren. In periods of five days to ten days I watched and waited with the families. The experience was as filled with beauty as it was filled with anguish. The bonding of children and grandchildren in solidarity with a parent or grandparent was moving. Thankfully, in all three cases there were living wills in order, and the desires of the person in question were clear. Those desires were honored. The deceased had, while in good health, chosen not to be sustained in a less-than-human condition. Two of the three died in the hospital; the third had been sent home to die. During the five-day vigil at the home, we watched life ebb. The two grandchildren stood on either side of the bed, rubbing their grandfather’s arms, intensely monitoring each labored breath. The love was palpable. After a time, I went to this dear man and took his hand. In his ear I spoke the benediction. I spoke his name, asking him, if he were able, to squeeze my hand if all were well. There was a feeble but certain response. I kissed him and left. Within a couple hours he entered that eternal light. It struck me then, as it had in the hospital earlier, that in honoring his choice to die without radical intervention, he (as they) had in actuality chosen life. © Grand Valley State University   �Life Through Dying Richard A. Rhem Page 2   Of late I have been preparing a series of sermons on the wisdom literature of the Hebrew Scriptures. Israel’s wisdom teachers were careful observers of human experience. With clear-eyed candor, they recorded their observations of how life really is, not how we long for it to be. Their legacy is the wise counsel of sages who have discerned a way that leads to well-being. Their teaching contrasted the way of wisdom that leads to life and the way of foolishness whose end is destruction. The challenge is to choose the path of wisdom, thereby finding life. Choose life! In an early writing, In Man We Trust, Walter Brueggemann says, The man of Proverbs is not the servile, self-abasing figure often urged by our one-sided reading of Scripture in later Augustinian-Lutheran theological tradition. Rather he is an able, self-reliant, caring, involved, strong person who has a significant influence over the course of his own life and over the lives of his fellows. (118) Thus the challenge of the Deuteronomist: ... I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live.... (Deut. 30:19) The human person as understood in the wisdom tradition was both capable and responsible to choose wisely and thus to find the way of life. I had never spent much time with the wisdom literature. But in preaching from Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes I have become aware of a rich vein of biblical teaching that calls the human person to maturity, to take responsibility for one’s life by making responsible choices, choices that at either end of life’s spectrum are choices of life and death. Paradoxically, I am realizing that a choice for death sometimes means a choice for life. In the current cultural war raging on questions of abortion and euthanasia, one hears that life is sacred, God’s gift, and thus that it is wrong to abort a fetus or to end a life of irremediable and terrible suffering. These are exceedingly complex matters and simplistic slogans will not do. But, that we are called to make very difficult choices cannot be denied. The question is not whether life is sacred; it is. Life is God’s gift. But the more we understand about the mystery of human existence, the more medical technology makes possible intrauterine procedures and life-sustaining measures at the end, the more incumbent it is upon us to make choices that lead to life, wise choices made upon careful, serious reflection and discussion before the face of God. One sometimes hears the argument that life is a continuum from conception to death. Biologically, that is irrefutably true. But is biology the measure of life? Is that the life spoken of by the wisdom teachers? If so, then there will be no real © Grand Valley State University �Life Through Dying Richard A. Rhem Page 3   choices to make. But if life involves more than biological reality, if life involves also some quality of humanness—humane existence—then, given what is possible through the advancement of medical science, the choice for life will demand serious thought and prayerful contemplation. And the choices will be made, not simply regarding the immediate subject whose situation calls for decision, but the larger implications touching the others immediately involved, indeed, the community. Resistance to making decisions and taking initiative is a refusal to be responsible and accountable as a human person, a human society before the face of God. I found the wisdom literature a strange new world in the Scriptures. As Brueggemann points out, at first blush it may seem that wisdom threatens the traditional idea of God’s sovereignty. Not so. What is at issue is not whether God is sovereign but, rather, the tenor of that sovereignty. It is not the more traditional sovereign who appears angry or at least grudging. The sovereignty of God affirmed in wisdom is that of a God who accepts the legitimacy of his rule and therefore the legitimacy of the freedom of his human subjects. (119) The church has too long kept people in spiritual adolescence rather than calling them to maturity, to decision making grounded in honest observance of human experience, cultural development, and growing insight into cosmic reality. In Brueggemann’s words, the church has fostered a kind of piety that “places it all in God’s hands” and an understanding of prayer which looks blindly to God for guidance and answers. Too often this is a not very subtle form of copping out so that we don’t have to make our own choices and exercise responsibility. (20) Life is a beautiful choice—life as humane existence. To choose for life is sometimes to let go, to let die, in the confidence that in life, in death, the Lord and Giver of life will never let us go. Reference: Walter Brueggemann. In Man We Trust: The Neglected Side of Biblical Faith. John Knox Press, 1973; Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2006. © 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 Walter Brueggemann, In Man We Trust: The Neglected Side of Biblical Faith, 1973, 2006 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-4-19941101 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-11-01 Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Title A name given to the resource Life Through Dying 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 November 1, 1994 entitled "Life Through Dying", it appeared in Perspectives, pp. 3-4. Tags: Hebrew Scriptures, Wisdom Literature, Death, Life, Nature of God. Scripture references: Walter Brueggemann, In Man We Trust: The Neglected Side of Biblical Faith, 1973, 2006. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Death Hebrew Scriptures Life Nature of God Wisdom Literature https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f7849459c69378db5a63263104de4e33.pdf 7fa6d0a910ddc3b4d5f92cd6508312a7 PDF Text Text   The Continuing Adventure of Faith 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 November 1989, p. 3 This issue of Perspectives is radical; it goes to the root of God’s creative purpose and redeeming grace; it goes to the root of the human condition and its healing. Dealing with matters of such fundamental import on which the tradition of the church has so long been codified, it is not easy to gain a fresh perspective. The very spectacles through which we read the biblical story already delimit what we will find there. It is difficult for the story itself to speak its own truth over the resounding force of confessional dogma that has reduced the story to a set of theological propositions. One of the exciting developments in contemporary theological discussion and in preaching is the recovery of narrative. As background for this issue we can do no better than to revisit Genesis 1-3. In my own development, I began reading the Genesis stories as literal accounts of historical events. Even beyond my early years in Sunday school, there remained for me seven twenty-four-hour days, a human couple, Adam and Eve, a garden, a tree, and a snake. I remember the sense of threat I felt at the suggestion that Genesis 1 and 2 were two separate creation stories, neither authored by Moses, deriving from different periods of Israel’s history, neither of which ought to be understood as narration of actual history. Finally, my defenses were worn down and I yielded to what now seems so obvious. The explosion of knowledge in the respective sciences combined with a recognition of the mythological character of the passages. As symbolic stories, those chapters became powerful purveyors of truth about God, the world, and human destiny. Richness of meaning grew in proportion to my release of a literalistic interpretation. Then I encountered Walter Brueggemann’s Commentary on Genesis. Brueggemann tells me there is no legitimate way I can separate Genesis 2 and 3 because there is an obvious dramatic cohesion between them. Further, Brueggemann challenged my easy accommodation to two parallel creation © Grand Valley State University   �The Continuing Adventure of Faith Editorial by Richard A. Rhem Page 2   accounts offering complementary perspectives on God’s creative action. Genesis 1 —2:4a, the later writing, gives the grand cosmic scope of God’s work in fine liturgical form. Genesis 2:4b—3:24 focuses on human persons as the glory and the central problem of creation. No longer can I isolate chapter three, reading it as the story of the Fall appended to two creation accounts. Brueggemann calls me up short with his claim. The text is commonly treated as the account of “the fall.” Nothing could be more remote from the narrative itself. This is one story which needs to be set alongside many others in the Old Testament. In general, the Old Testament does not assume such a “fall.” Deuteronomy 30:11-14 is more characteristic in its assumption that humankind can indeed obey the purposes of God. (p. 41) Brueggemann, the biblical exegete, disallows my tendency as a theologian to turn story into dogma, to create here an ideological lens through which to view humankind and thereby to speak of the human creature as fallen. Of course, this is not to deny the proud disobedience and consequent alienation portrayed in the story. But, contends Brueggemann, there is not one “fall” story but rather, in Genesis 1-11, four “falls,” four stories of invitation and refusal, all of which form the prelude to the story of God’s radical grace in the creation of a people out of the barrenness of Sarah’s womb (11:30). This is not the place to debate specific points of Brueggemann’s argument; I cite his discussion because he forces me to revisit familiar territory, territory so familiar that I know what it means before I read it and therefore mute its voice and short-circuit its power to address me, to confront me, to grant some new insight to me. If only I can move beyond the feeling of threat and the consequent defensiveness that wields traditional dogma as a weapon against the advance of human learning on all fronts, it just may be that the biblical story, freed from my preunderstanding, will reveal new insight that will illumine the contemporary scene and address questions left unanswered by our traditional formulations. The Christian pilgrimage is lived out in the tension between the valued tradition that has shaped us and the need ever and again to be liberated from the cultural, ethnic, theological prisons into which we are sentenced by our need for security and our lack of fundamental trust. The adventure of faith goes on, and faithfulness demands that we keep seeking to discover the translation of God’s radical grace into the idiom of our day. The task is not for the nervous, for those whose faith is tenuous, whose confidence is enmeshed in proof texts for a series of theological propositions that constitute a logically coherent system of thought. But if we do not engage in the serious and delightful probing of our faith and experience, we will not only fail to find © Grand Valley State University �The Continuing Adventure of Faith Editorial by Richard A. Rhem Page 3   expression for the gospel for the twenty-first century, we will not even be in on the conversation. © 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 Walter Brueggemann, Genesis: Interpretation: a Bible Commentary_, 2010 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-4-19891101 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1989-11-01 Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Title A name given to the resource The Continuing Adventure of Faith 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 November 1, 1989 entitled "The Continuing Adventure of Faith", it appeared in Perspectives, Nov. 1989, p. 3. Tags: Faith Journey, Tradition, Hebrew Scriptures. Scripture references: Walter Brueggemann, Genesis: Interpretation: a Bible Commentary_, 2010. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Faith Journey Hebrew Scriptures Tradition https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f6074e32c9417238e4d4fd2739a6cce9.pdf 81c7d4f330aefe1a7166442f4444b1ec PDF Text Text Life’s Deepest Questions Before the Mystery of God Job 23:1-10; Ecclesiastes 3:1-22; John 1:1, 14 and 18; I John 4:7-8, 12 and 16 Richard A. Rhem Lakeshore Interfaith Center at Mother’s Trust Ganges, Michigan August 21, 2011 My proposal for today’s reflection refers to four biblical passages but they are chosen not to be carefully interpreted but rather in the way they speak to my central concern in this presentation – life’s deepest questions as we live before the face of mystery, the mystery to which we point with the word-symbol God. Already you may say the task will be to bring to awareness our deepest questions but, more than that, to seek some understanding of the reality to which our word God points. And you would be right. Before I move into my subject, let me give you an assignment. If you could have an answer to one, deep, ultimate question about reality, about God, about your human future or any other large question that looms before your mind when consciously thinking about it, or when in a semi-conscious, somewhat dreamy state, what would that question be? Maybe you know immediately because you are one of those persons who can’t help yourself but wonder what it means to be human, is there a God, where is your life, the life of humanity, heading, will there be an End, a consummation of some sort, will there be one end for all or will there be a great divide of “sheep and goats”? Perhaps you are simply busy with getting through your days and seldom wonder about such ultimate questions – enough to worry and wonder about the stock market, our broken political system, your health and that of those you love, your children, your grandchildren. You see what I’m saying. Some simply can’t help themselves – the wonderers and worriers, and some stick to life’s practical concerns. I suspect those who wonder may have had rather intensive and extensive exposure to life’s ultimate issues and perhaps those of a more practical bent have not been immersed in a family or community where ultimate issues are daily fare. But even such sometimes lie awake wondering. Sometimes it is triggered by a crisis. Remember the suffering of Job. One of the most pathetic and moving cries ever recorded is found in that profound drama of Job. © 2013 Kaufman Interfaith Institute and Grand Valley State University   �Life’s Deepest Questions Richard A. Rhem Page 2   Job Replies: My Complaint is Bitter Then Job answered: “Today also my complaint is bitter; his hand is heavy despite my groaning. Oh, that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his dwelling! I would lay my case before him, and fill my mouth with arguments. I would learn what he would answer me, and understand what he would say to me. Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power? No; but he would give heed to me. There an upright person could reason with him, and I should be acquitted forever by my judge. If I go forward, he is not there; or backward, I cannot perceive him; on the left he hides, and I cannot behold him.; I turn to the right, but I cannot see him. But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I shall come out like gold.” (Job 23:1-10) But there are others – I am one of them – that just can’t help themselves, crisis or smooth sailing, the wondering seldom ceases. The Hebrew poet who authored the Book of Ecclesiastes was such a person. Critical studies of the text assure us that this was not the wise King Solomon though tradition has made him the author. Ecclesiastes is part of the Wisdom section of the Hebrew scriptures and was probably written in the middle of the third century BCE – around 250. The Wisdom literature of the Old Testament is an attempt to gain knowledge of human existence in order that one may know how to live – how to live wisely, how to live well. It’s a special genre of literature. It has a different nuance, a different tone, than so much of the rest of Scripture. It raises those questions about the nature of our experience of being human, seeking to find the meaning and purpose of it all. And it reads that meaning and purpose off from experience itself; it doesn’t go to a priest, it doesn’t go to a sacred text, it doesn’t go to an institution, but rather the sages of the tradition of Israel were careful observers of life, trying to discern meaning and purpose from what was observable and what could be comprehended within the parameters of human knowledge and human understanding. With Ecclesiastes, we come to the farthest extreme of wisdom in the Hebrew scriptures. The author purports to have lived widely, broadly, deeply. He tried everything – pleasure, riches, work, everything that his heart desired he granted to himself. And, in the end of it all, his conclusion was that human life is empty. “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity says the Lord.” Chasing wind. He is a person who, having entered broadly into human experience, concludes that its meaning and its purpose are not discernable by the human mind. Just reading from human experience, he can find no ultimate purpose. He doesn’t deny that God is, he doesn’t deny that God will hold us accountable, but God is largely absent and God © 2013 Kaufman Interfaith Institute and Grand Valley State University �Life’s Deepest Questions Richard A. Rhem Page 3   is inscrutable. The meaning of our human existence is inscrutable. So this is a very pessimistic account of what it means to be human. He simply says over and over and over again…there is nothing new under the sun…whatever has been will be again…it’s an endless cycle…a dead end street. Or, as in the title of the French existentialist Camus’ novel, No Exit. That is his analysis of the human situation from what he sees in human experience. He recognizes that the human person isn’t satisfied with that. He himself isn’t satisfied with it. The familiar third chapter speaks of the full spectrum of human experience – for everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die. After a considerable list of “times” and “seasons” and the full spectrum of human experience, he makes about as positive statement as it is to be found in the whole poem. What gain have the workers from their toil? I have seen the business that God has given to everyone to be busy with. He has made everything suitable for its time; moreover he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live; moreover, it is God’s gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil. (Ecclesiastes 3:9-13, NRSV) I came upon a translation of those verses which I like. I’m not enough of a Hebrew linguist to know if the Hebrew text justifies this rendering but I must say it seems to capture cogently what I sense the poet is trying to say in verses 11-13: God has made everything beautiful in its own time and has put an eternal yearning in our hearts even as we live before the Face of Mystery. I know there is nothing better for humankind than to be happy and to enjoy themselves as long as they live – to eat and drink and take pleasure in all their endeavors. I confess “Face of Mystery” is my phrase but it fits and I think is faithful to the writer’s intention – a sense of past and future but no way to figure out what God is up to. Consequently, “eat and drink and take pleasure in all their endeavors.” Let me pause here. Have you identified your ultimate question for which you long for an answer? My babbling on has made that rather impossible unless you live consciously with that question so that immediately you respond, “I wish I knew the answer to…..” © 2013 Kaufman Interfaith Institute and Grand Valley State University �Life’s Deepest Questions Richard A. Rhem Page 4   Well, we can’t go around the room and hear your questions. I hope simply raising the question has perhaps brought to your awareness that, indeed, you do wonder about deep questions of our human existence, the movement of history, the meaning of it all. When I was still preaching regularly, pre-retirement, on Saturday morning I would check out the Religion section of the Grand Rapids Press, hoping to find some essay or article of religious news that would connect with the sermon on which I was working – maybe underscoring the theme or maybe some claim, in my opinion, so incredible it reinforced my claim to the contrary. Well, having announced my theme, “Life’s Deepest Questions Before the Mystery of God,” you can imagine how excited I was to open the latest issue of The New Yorker (August 15 & 22, 2011, p. 87ff) and find an essay entitled “Is That All There Is?”, subtitle “Secularism and its Discontents,” by James Wood, a critic at large. On the opening page against a black background are billowing clouds on which sets a throne; the throne is empty! Obviously the essay will deal with the disappearance of God which, for my purposes would have been interesting but not really my point. The article however aims precisely at my announced theme. The essay begins: I have a friend, an analytic philosopher and convinced atheist, who told me that she sometimes wakes in the middle of the night, anxiously turning over a series of ultimate questions: “How can it be that this world is the result of an accidental big bang? How could there be no design, no metaphysical purpose? Can it be that every life – beginning with my own, my husband’s, my child’s, and spreading outward – is cosmically irrelevant?” In the current intellectual climate, atheists are not supposed to have such thoughts. We are locked into our rival certainties – religiosity on one side, secularism on the other – and to confess to weakness on this order is like a registered Democrat wondering if she is really a Republican, or vice versa. These are theological questions without theological answers, and, if the atheist is not supposed to entertain them, then, for slightly different reasons, neither is the religious believer. Religion assumes that they are not valid questions because it has already answered them; atheism assumes that they are not valid questions because it cannot answer them. But as one gets older, and parents and peers begin to die, and the obituaries in the newspaper are no longer missives from a faraway place but local letters, and one’s own projects seem ever more pointless and ephemeral, such moments of terror and incomprehension seem more frequent and more piercing, and, I find, as likely to arise in the middle of the day as the night. I think of these anxieties as the Virginia Woolf Question, after a passage in that most metaphorical of novels “To the Lighthouse,” when the painter Lily Briscoe is at her easel, mourning her late friend Mrs. Ramsay. Next to her sits the poet, Augustus Carmichael, © 2013 Kaufman Interfaith Institute and Grand Valley State University �Life’s Deepest Questions Richard A. Rhem Page 5   and suddenly Lily imagines that she and Mr. Carmichael might stand up and demand “an explanation” of life: For one moment she felt that if they both got up, here, now on the lawn, and demanded an explanation, why was it so short, why was it so inexplicable, said it with violence, as two fully equipped human beings from whom nothing should be hid might speak, then, beauty would roll itself up; the space would fill; those empty flourishes would form into shape; if they shouted loud enough Mrs. Ramsay would return. “Mrs. Ramsay!: she said aloud, “Mrs. Ramsay!” The tears ran down her face. Why is life so short, why so inexplicable? These are the questions Lily wants answered. More precisely, these are the questions she needs to ask, ironically aware that an answer cannot be had if there is no one to demand it from. The essay is excellent – worth the price of the magazine! I cite it here because it underscores that deep questions of life come to all of us one time or another, whether we are seriously religious or claim to be totally secular, atheist, agnostic, militant or mild. Our cultural history moves in waves. It is senseless to think religious faith and practice will fade completely from the human story with secularism and/or atheism becoming dominant and vice versa. The fact is humans are self-conscious beings who wonder, ask questions, and recognize they live in the face of mystery. As I acknowledged above, my title points to deep questions, but such questions before the face of Mystery, the mystery to which we point when we use the wordsymbol God. As I wondered, read, reflected in the latter years of my ministry I referred more and more to the source and ground of reality as mystery rather than God per se. God is such a loaded term so filled with our preconceptions – loaded with pre-critical traditional content. My dear deceased friend and last mentor, Dr. Duncan Littlefair, in his early years at Fountain Street Church, did not use the word “God” at all because it carried such baggage for most religious folk. In order to say something new in heavily churched, widely traditionally religious Grand Rapids around mid-century, that word-symbol was quite useless. And I suspect that continues to be the case. I’m sure the use of Mystery as a symbol for God in my case, particularly in the early 90’s was the consequence of realizing the Christian tradition’s idea of God was a personal Being outside of our cosmic reality – not really an old man with flowing beard as often caricatured – nonetheless a “superhuman.” The human created in the image of God according to the Genesis stories, God’s Being would be reflected in human being, except God was omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent, etc. © 2013 Kaufman Interfaith Institute and Grand Valley State University �Life’s Deepest Questions Richard A. Rhem Page 6   It is not my purpose to pursue that further. I mention it because when I was becoming more and more sensitive to what I was coming to see as the wrong signals given off by the word-symbol God, I fled to the designation “Mystery,” and I kept the Mystery – the Mystery had no “contours,” really no content. About this time it was my good fortune to come on a work by Gordon D. Kaufman, a theologian at Harvard Divinity School, who died in July of this year. In a major constructive theological work, In Face of Mystery, Kaufman wrote of God as Mystery in light of our present knowledge of the cosmos, of the human story and the human person. In a following volume, God, Mystery, Diversity, he dealt with “Christian Theology in a Pluralistic World.” It was Kaufman who helped me understand Mystery as applied to ultimate reality rather than a term to enable me to avoid using the word God. Kaufman opens chapter 6 of the latter volume entitled “Mystery, God, and Human Diversity” with a quote from the great Catholic theologian Karl Radner. What is made intelligible is grounded ultimately in the one thing that is self-evident, in mystery. Mystery is something with which we are always familiar, something that we love, even when we are terrified by it or perhaps even annoyed and angered, and want to be done with it….what is more self-evident than the silent question that goes beyond everything which has already been mastered and controlled…? In the ultimate depths of [our] being [we know] nothing more surely than that [our] knowledge, that is, what is called knowledge in everyday parlance, is only a small island in a vast sea that has not been traveled. It is a floating island, and it might be more familiar to us than the sea, but ultimately it is borne by the sea…. Hence the [deepest] question for [us humans] is this. Which [will we] love more, the small island of [our] so-called knowledge or the sea of infinite mystery? Kaufman adds, “This profound mystery – or better the many mysteries – of life provides the ultimate context of our existence as self-conscious beings. Paradoxically, then, it is in terms of that which is beyond our ken that we must, on the last analysis, understand ourselves.” ( p. 96) And he then defines “Mystery” as he employs the term. “Mystery” (as I am using the word here) does not refer to a direct perceptual experience of something, as do words like “darkness” or “dense fog” (when we cannot see anything), or words like “unclear” or “obscure” (when used of some distant object that we cannot discern well enough to identify with confidence). It refers to bafflement of mind more than obscurity of perception. A mystery is something which we cannot think clearly, cannot get our minds around, cannot manage to grasp. If we say that “life confronts us as mystery,” or “whether life has any meaning is a © 2013 Kaufman Interfaith Institute and Grand Valley State University �Life’s Deepest Questions Richard A. Rhem Page 7   mystery, or “why anything at all exists, instead of nothing, is a mystery,” we are speaking about intellectual bafflements. We are indicating that what we are dealing with here seems to be beyond what our minds can handle. Thus when, in theological discourse, we call attention to the mystery of human existence, the mysteries in which we live, we are reminding ourselves that in theology we are dealing with matters at the very limits of our intellectual capacities; we are involved with profound puzzles, conundrums that we cannot solve and that we should not expect to solve. We must be cautious at every point, therefore, about what we take ourselves to be achieving in our reflection. In theology a question mark must be placed behind everything that is said. Sometimes (as in the ancient Greek mystery religions, from whence our modern word comes) “mystery” is thought of as descriptive of some object of arcane theological awareness or knowledge – perhaps God – rather than as prescriptively applying to us, to the limitedness of our knowledge and the questionableness of our attitudes. This way of thinking opens the door to obscure – but often exciting – claims, claims for which no grounds can be offered but which may seem theologically important. Speakers or writers may announce, for example, that they are in a position to “unveil” some particular mystery for us, allowing us to see what we could not otherwise see – like a landscape after the fog has lifted, or a dark room after a light has been turned on. The use of perceptual metaphors in talk of this kind only helps to encourage confusions; for this way of speaking leads us to suppose that we are being given information about realities hidden from others, possibly “secrets known only to God.” However, I want to point out that when we say of something that “it is a mystery,” this does not in fact tell us anything specific about that of which we are speaking, or which we are seeking to understand. Rather, it calls attention to something about ourselves: that we seem to have reached a limit to our powers at this point, and we may, if we are not careful, easily become confused or misled. The word “mystery” in its theological employment, thus, should be taken as a kind of warning that our ordinary ways of speaking and thinking are beginning to fail us and that special rules in our use of language should now be followed: take unusual care; beware of what is being said; the speaker may be misleading you; you may be misleading yourself; attend to what is being said with critical sensitivity to its problematic character. (p. 96f) I found Kaufman’s discussion of mystery so very illuminating. The context of our lives is mystery – not a mystery that will become clear with more penetrating analysis, greater intellectual prowess, deeper piety – no; rather, “it is in terms of that which is beyond our ken that we must, in the last analysis, understand ourselves.” In my field of interest – the theological – I must go in with eyes wide open; what I am dealing with is beyond what our minds can handle. © 2013 Kaufman Interfaith Institute and Grand Valley State University �Life’s Deepest Questions Richard A. Rhem Page 8   Strange calling to which I responded! One’s whole orientation turned to that which is unavailable! And the deep ultimate questions one must face in oneself and in one’s community are questions for which there is no intellectual answer that doesn’t end with a question mark! As Kaufman contends, it is precisely because mystery pervades our search and research that “we must engage in relentless theological criticism of our human faiths, their symbols, and the practices they inspire.” Religions (and theologies) have a critical role to play even if they do not convey absolute dogmatic information about the mystery that is behind our reality. Kaufman claims, …a major function of religions (and of theologies) is to present human beings with visions of the whole of reality. That is, religions (and theologies) provide construals of the ultimate mystery within which human life transpires – construals that are sufficiently meaningful and intelligible to enable us humans to come to some understanding of ourselves in relation to the enigmatic context within which our lives proceed, and which are sufficiently attractive to motivate women and men to live fruitfully and meaningfully within this context. (p. 98) Reflecting on my own wrestle with the mystery and life’s deepest questions, one of the most illuminating and liberating insights Kaufman’s work gave me was the idea of theology as a human imaginative endeavor. I felt a load lifted. I still remember saying to my people, “If you grant me that theology is a human imaginative construct you are on a slippery slope and I will have great freedom to construe the faith.” Kaufman’s statement explains, One of the most important features of the understanding of theology as our own imaginative construction is that it requires us not to confuse our ideas and reflection – especially when we speak of God – with that ultimate mystery with which we are attempting to come to terms. This helps keep us honest in our theological work, on the one hand, and it acknowledges, on the other, the full independence of God from what we may think or say. In reminding ourselves that God is mystery to us, we allow God in God’s concrete actuality to be whatever God is, quite apart from our conceptualizations. In this respect, the concept of mystery, just because of its emptiness and openness, can help us face in a very direct way what it means to take God’s reality seriously, to confess the God that is truly God, the ultimate reality not to be confused with any of our human imaginative constructions. ( p. 99) One can only imagine how many religious wars would have been averted, how many church divisions could have been avoided, how many personal/family wounds would need not have to have been inflicted if the human family had early © 2013 Kaufman Interfaith Institute and Grand Valley State University �Life’s Deepest Questions Richard A. Rhem Page 9   on learned that, in its quest for ultimate truth, it had to do with human imaginative constructs rather than claims of absolute divine revelation. Let me be clear; this is not a cop-out; it is simply the necessary consequence of our human historical situation. We have come to see the long history of the cosmos, the billions of years of cosmic evolution, the emergence of consciousness, of self-consciousness – the human being. All of this has only relatively recently been available in terms of cosmic time. But prior to this exploding “revelation” of the cosmic process, the advent of the Enlightenment, the modern with the emergence of the empirical approach to nature and human critical rationality surveying the long evolutionary process of which we are part, the deep questions of human existence had long engaged the human family. The mythology of ancient peoples, the great religions as they emerged addressed those questions. From our historical perspective it is easy to expose their naivete´ in terms of our knowledge of the evolution of nature, the emergence of the human. God, caricatured as an old superman with flowing beard pulling the strings of the universe, can easily be mocked and a three-story universe with heaven above and hell beneath, assumed by ancient religious conceptuality, becomes laughable. Add to that outmoded cosmology and God-concept all the anguish of religious conflict, violence, war and one doesn’t have to be terribly profound to make a case for the abolition of religion in the cause of human wellbeing. The contemporary militant atheists such as Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens have fodder enough for their anti-religion campaign. And then there are the softer attacks by New Age types who suggest spirituality as opposed to religion, failing to recognize religion is simply the form one’s spirituality takes and spirituality without practice – prayer, ritual, liturgy – and community is weak pablum. David S. Toolan, S.J., has written insightfully on the subject of New Age spirituality. In CrossCurrents, a journal of The Association for Religious and Intellectual Life, Fall, 1996, he wrote an excellent piece, “Harmonies, Convergences and All That: New Age Spirituality.” Under the heading “Testing Syncretism” Toolan writes, Almost by definition popular movements are out of balance – and this one is. In part, the imbalance is a reaction to an aberration at the heart of organized Christianity, to the fact that for centuries both Catholic and Protestant churches inverted a great Pauline maxim, conveying the impression that where grace abounds, sin doth more abound. For that very reason, both the churched and the unchurched draw a distinction these days between “organized religion” (bad) and “spirituality” (good). The latter has to do with experiential practice – the kind of thing parishes too rarely offer but the local spiritual growth center does in profusion. (p. 376) © 2013 Kaufman Interfaith Institute and Grand Valley State University �Life’s Deepest Questions Richard A. Rhem Page10   There you have it – “a reaction to an aberration” – as the militant atheists rail against an old Theism built on a worldview undone by the progress of scientific knowledge. Toolan concludes his critique of New Age Spirituality thus: Your average New Ager has discovered the interior life and is captivated by the vision of being a responsible global citizen, a one-worlder. But all too often the energy of this vision, unsupported by any institutional means of realization, is drained away by the individualistic habit of turning everything into a consumer item for the exclusive benefit of the omnivorous self. New Age spirituality is not Buddhist enough, not selfnoughting enough. And let me say it outright: it is not Catholic enough, in the sense of a commitment to a church that denies us the luxury of retreating to a private enclave of the like-minded when hell rages on our streets and paradise is indefinitely postponed. One who would face seriously the deep questions of our human existence need not be distressed by the explosion of knowledge of the cosmos, of growing understanding of the history of the human family, the psychological and biological probing of the human person. New knowledge, fresh understanding is to be welcomed. No need to deny scientific development that puts old issues in a new framework. No need to defend old ideas in whatever field – biblical interpretation or credal expression – that obviously reflect understanding now shown to be simply wrong. The reason the advance of human knowledge can be welcomed and theological conceptions and biblical claims need not be defended against that advance is that those credal and biblical claims were simply human beings seeking ways to live and be with life’s deep questions in the framework of their worldview. The ancient religions were affording people of their times ways of being in the presence of mystery – their own best efforts falling short of unveiling the mystery because the mystery cannot be unveiled through intellectual analysis. That is the crucial insight that must be recognized. Once recognized, new knowledge is welcomed, old answers can be discarded, and we can continue to live in the presence of mystery with ancient ritual, communities of faith, realizing that beyond our keenest intellectual pursuit that lays bare the secrets of the universe, there lies a realm/being on which all rests that cannot be penetrated. So what is your one ultimate question to which you would desire an answer? Do you remember the Peggy Lee hit song, “Is That All There Is?” Is That All There Is? I remember when I was a girl Our house caught on fire And I’ll never forget the look on my father’s face As he gathered me in his arms And raced to the burning building out on the pavement © 2013 Kaufman Interfaith Institute and Grand Valley State University �Life’s Deepest Questions Richard A. Rhem And I stood there shivering And watched the whole world go up in flames And when it was all over I said to myself “Is that all there is to a fire?” Is that all there is? And when I was twelve years old My daddy took me to the circus The greatest show on earth And there were clowns And elephants Dancing bears, And a beautiful lady in pink tights flew high above our heads And as I sat there watching I had the feeling that something was missing I don’t know what But when it was all over I said to myself “Is that all there is to the circus?” And then I fell in love With the most wonderful boy in the world We’d take long walks down by the river Or just sit for hours gazing into each other’s eyes We were so very much in love And then one day He went away And I thought I’d die But I didn’t And when I didn’t I said to myself “Is that all there is to love?” I know what you must be saying to yourselves If that’s the way she feels about it Then why doesn’t she just end it all Oh no. not me. I’m not ready for the final disappointment ‘Cause I know just as well as I’m standing here talking to you that when that final moment comes and I’m breathing my last breath I know what I’ll be saying to myself “Is that all there is? © 2013 Kaufman Interfaith Institute and Grand Valley State University Page11   �Life’s Deepest Questions Richard A. Rhem Page12   Is that all there is? If that’s all there is, my friends, then let’s keep dancing Let’s break out the booze and have a ball If that’s all there is Good question; not, in my opinion, a very good response. If we can’t find an intellectual answer to our deep life questions, where do we turn? How about the way of the heart? Pascal famously said, “The heart has reasons the reason knows not of.” The knowing of the brain is not our only way to know, maybe not even our most important when it comes to life’s ultimate issues. What is ultimate reality? Mystery. But is that all we can say? I value the suggestion, the claim of John’s Gospel and the First Letter of John. In the Gospel, chapter one, we read, “No one has seen God.” That is repeated in I John 4:12. So mystery is acknowledged. But in John 1:14 the “Word” (Logos in Greek –the rationality of the universe) becomes “flesh” – human and, according to the Gospel writer, the human is the clue to the mystery of God. And the writer of I. John goes further – God is love and the one who dwells in love dwells in God. I take it what we have acknowledged cannot be known intellectually can be experienced _ the experience of the heart where love dwells. This has been a growing edge for me – Rifkin’s Empathic Civilization argues persuasively that empathy is at the core of the human. Sorokin in The Way and Power of Love argues powerfully that love is at the core of the cosmos, the grain of the universe. Jesus said, be Godlike – love your enemies. Love, compassion, grace – those are the ingredients of a fully human existence. Finally one must choose – the way of intellect which hits a wall or the way of the heart that experiences the heart of the mystery. The two ways are set forth starkly by two great thinkers – the biologist Jacque Monod and the theologian Hans Küng. The alternatives are matters of the posture of the heart. It is a matter of looking at the data, and then trusting or not trusting. Jacque Monod is a world-class biologist, a Nobel prize winner who wrote the book Chance and Necessity. What he describes in these little lines that I will read could very well be the modern description of the human situation to which the writer of Ecclesiastes referred. Monod writes this, “If he [that is, the human person] accepts this negative message, [that is, what he can read from the human situation, the cosmological situation], in its full significance, then one must at least awake out of his millinery dream and discover his total solitude, his fundamental isolation. He must realize that, like a gypsy, he lives on the boundary of an alien world, a world that is deaf to his music, and as indifferent to his hopes as it is to his sufferings or his crimes.” That is honest and hard hitting, and clear eyed. If there is no one home in the universe, then we are alone and the world is deaf to our music. The world is indifferent to our hopes, to our © 2013 Kaufman Interfaith Institute and Grand Valley State University �Life’s Deepest Questions Richard A. Rhem Page13   sufferings, to our crimes. So says Monod, so says the writer of Ecclesiastes. That’s as much as you can decipher. That’s as much as you can discern just from the observation of human experience. An equally intelligent twentieth-century person, Hans Küng, in his book Does God Exist? Wrote this: (This is the other side of the other side of the coin. This is written by one who trusts.) “To trust in an eternal life means, in reasonable trust, in enlightened faith, in tried and tested hope. To rely on the fact that I shall be one day fully understood, freed from guilt, and definitively accepted and can be myself without fear, that my impenetrable and ambivalent existence…” He agrees with Monod, he agrees with the writer to the Ecclesiastes – “my impenetrable and ambivalent existence.” Like the profoundly discordant history of humanity as a whole will finally one day become profoundly transparent, and the question of the meaning of history one day finally be answered. Finally one must choose. In my experience it is the way of the heart that brings peace and wellbeing. Recently I conducted a funeral. There were wonderful tributes offered about the deceased – a fine human being who had done so much good for so many. The family brought his favorite CD, Ronan. It is by an Irish tenor, Ronan Tynan. The number selected was “Going Home” whose two verses were separated by “Amazing Grace.” The music was beautifully rendered. When it was over that whole large gathering sat in quiet peace - it was a beautiful moment. The impact was palpable. Reasoned discourse has its place; no denigration of that. But music is another medium; it moves the heart and suddenly one “knows” what cannot be known – and all is well. Whatever is your deepest question, listen with your heart to the music of the universe – and you will know beyond knowing and all will be well all will be well all manner of things will be well. References: Gordon D. Kaufman. In Face of Mystery: A Constructive Theology. Harvard University Press, 1995. David S. Toolan, S.J., “Harmonies, Convergences and All That: New Age Spirituality,” CrossCurrents, Fall, 1996. © 2013 Kaufman Interfaith Institute and Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5c0538bfe5d6875752229b6db4cc30b4.m4v 1aa0cf824ab629b26d6bcba366b47a1b 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 Lakeshore Interfaith Center Gathering Scripture Text Job 23:1-10, Ecclesiastes 3:1-22, John 1:1, 14, 18, I John 4:7-8, 12, 16 Location The location of the interview Lakeshore Interfaith Center, Ganges References Gordon D. Kaufman. In Face of Mystery: A Constructive Theology. Harvard University Press, 1995, David S. Toolan, "Harmonies, Convergences an All That: New Age Spirituality," CrossCurrents, Fall, 1996. 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-0-20110821 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2011-08-21 Title A name given to the resource Life's Deepest Questions Before the Mystery of God 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 Moving Image Text Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on August 21, 2011 entitled "Life's Deepest Questions Before the Mystery of God", on the occasion of Lakeshore Interfaith Center Gathering, at Lakeshore Interfaith Center, Ganges. Scripture references: Job 23:1-10, Ecclesiastes 3:1-22, John 1:1, 14, 18, I John 4:7-8, 12, 16. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/x-m4v application/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives God as Mystery Hebrew Scriptures Wisdom Literature https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/4e9f60a375d2f729ab7d8dc79453a6b1.pdf f513cd5db928d66dccd187ffcbc1cd6c PDF Text Text Speaking Truth to Power Pentecost XXV Text: Amos 7:15-16 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan November 13, 1994 Transcription of the spoken sermon "… and the Lord took me . . . and the Lord said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel. Now therefore hear the word of the Lord." Amos 7:15-16 In our survey of the story of Israel, the Hebrew Scriptures, we came two weeks ago to Israel having moved into its Promised Land, into Canaan. It was after a century of more of existence in that land as the tribal confederacy where the tribes lived pretty much independently, but came together annually to renew the covenant, at a time of crisis, and where God would then raise up a leader for the occasion. After that period of time of settling in, there were voices being raised that they wanted a king – they would be like other nations. The great spiritual leader, Samuel, prophet, priest and judge, gave them a stern warning. He reminded them that they were a people who had been born in the exodus, set free by God from the oppression of tyranny, and he warned them that to put a king on a throne would be to put themselves in peril of returning to that same kind of tyrannical rule. The king would tax them, take their sons and daughters, conscript an army. They would come under the heavy hand of a ruling power. But nonetheless, the people said, "Give us a king." So the tribal confederacy moved into a monarchy and Israel began to reflect the same kind of life as the nations around it, but with this exception. With the rise of the monarchy there arose in Israel a voice of the prophet. The thing that made Israel's history unique was the fact that there was a prophet to speak the Word of God into the social context, into the political arena. The prophet was not a predictor of the future. The prophet was a preacher who addressed the contemporary situation in the name of God. So Israel was spared that which was true of nations around where the king considered himself sovereign, accountable to no one. The prophet never failed to remind the king that he was king according to the grace of God, and that he was accountable to God. So the prophet arose in Israel to keep alive the Word of God in this new situation. The prophet was one who was not interested in power, who had no political agenda, but rather was consumed by the Spirit of God. © Grand Valley State University   �Speaking Truth to Power Richard A. Rhem Page 2   We speak of the inspiration of the prophets. The word itself, inspiration, means to be inspirited, to breathe in. We often speak of the Spirit of God, knowing that it is the same word in Hebrew as the "breath of God" or the "wind of God." The wind of God rippled the sails of the prophet. And often times the prophet would rather not have opened his mouth, but as Jeremiah said, "The word of God was like a fire in my bones." The prophet was consumed with the word that had to come to expression. It was a risky business and a costly business. Think of one who followed in the steps of those Old Testament prophets, Jesus himself, who died the way he died because he lived the way he lived. In our own century, think of a Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who dared to stand up against national socialism in that Nazi regime, and paid for his prophetic ministry with his life. The role of the prophets and martyrs goes on and on. The prophet that arose in Israel with the rise of monarchy was Israel's greatest gift to the world, shaping Israel's tradition more than any other institution and, I believe, shaping western culture, western civilization probably more than any other institution I can think of. The prophetic word that reminded all arrangements of power that they were provisional, that they were transitory, and that they were not ultimate, that ultimately every arrangement of power on the right or on the left was accountable to Almighty God, who alone is sovereign Lord in the arena of history. The prophet believed that God observed. The prophet believed that God cared. The prophet believed that God was concerned. The prophet believed that God had structured reality such that wrong action would bring dire consequences, and therefore, the prophet stood in the arena, the marketplace of his day and proclaimed a Word of God to whomever was in power. The example that I use this morning to show the rise of this office in the history of Israel was Amos. We could go almost anywhere in those prophetic books, but Amos was particularly classic in the clash between the prophet and the king. Amos began his ministry in the north, probably around 760 B.C.E.. Jeroboam II was on the throne of Israel. The great world empires were engaged with their own affairs and it gave breathing room to Israel. Israel, the northern tribes now, prospered, expanded, grew affluent, and the social structure began to rot. The words of Amos were directed at a social condition in Israel that did not reflect God's requirement of justice and righteousness and mercy in the land. Amos was a preacher. And, he had rather good technique. If you would read the book of Amos, you would find that Amos begins his prophetic preaching, "Thus says the Lord: 'For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four I will not revoke the punishment.' " And the crowd began to gather. Then he went on, "For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment." The people began to feel the energy flow. He moves to Tyre and to Edom, and to the Ammonites, and finally he moves to Moab. The people at this point were already to break out in a standing ovation. "Give it to 'em Amos. Give them the Word of the Lord." But then he gets close to home. He said, "For three © Grand Valley State University �Speaking Truth to Power Richard A. Rhem Page 3   transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment." Those of the north nodded their heads, "That's right. That southern kingdom. Give it to 'em, Amos." Then, he paused a dramatic pause and said, "For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment." It is at that point that the congregation says to the preacher, "You just stopped preaching, and you started meddling." Now he was beginning to touch a raw nerve. But it was really always Israel that was the object of Amos's ministry. The Word of God that came to Amos was for Israel. All the rest was simply periphery. Now he was dealing with his target audience, and as he preached he said, "I hate, I despise your festivals. And I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. The offerings of wellbeing, of your fatted animals, I will not look upon them. Take away from me the noise of your songs. I will not listen to the melody of your harps. But let justice roll down like water and righteousness like an overflowing stream." He documented the sins of the society of his day. Finally word got to the royal court itself, for Amos didn't stop at the villages of the northern kingdom, he went right to Bethel, right there to the royal court with the temple as the accoutrement of its power and glory. Now every king has his own people on the dole, even religious flunkies. The king, Jeroboam II, had his core of priests who offered sacrifices for the prosperity of the policies of the northern kingdom. Amaziah was among them. He heard Amos preach and hurried back to the court and told the king, "This preaching has got to stop. He is saying that you will die by the sword, and that we will be exiled from our land returning no doubt with a mandate." He said to Amos, "Oh seer, go flee away to the land of Judah and earn your bread there. Prophesy there. But never again prophesy in Bethel, for it is the king's sanctuary. It is the temple of the kingdom." Well, Amos answered, "I am no prophet, nor prophet’s son. I am a herdsman and dresser of sycamore trees, but the Lord came to me and said, 'Go prophesy to my people Israel. Therefore, hear the Word of the Lord.' " Risky business that, daring to speak truth to power. But that was the function of the prophet, of the prophetic voice that arose along with the monarchy in order that the king of Israel and all of Israel's people would never fail to remember that God was still king, and that God still cared, and what happened to society was of great concern to God, because God cares about people, because God had set this people free, because God demands in the human community justice and righteousness and mercy. Wherever those are violated, there are dire consequences to follow. The prophet was a preacher. He often spoke of judgment because he was convinced that the world was so structured by the Creator of heaven and earth that wrong would be visited with wrath, not as an end in itself, but in order finally to effect the purposes of God. Amos was a prophet, and the prophets dared to speak truth to power. © Grand Valley State University �Speaking Truth to Power Richard A. Rhem Page 4   Last Sunday I was in Amsterdam on an absolutely beautiful Lord's Day, where I worshipped in the great Westerkerk. If there is a national church of The Netherlands, perhaps that's it, where the queen is crowned and so forth. The pastor is Nico TerLinde, who two years ago visited Christ Community on a Wednesday night and spoke to us. The church was filled for this powerful preacher, who has a great work going in that secular city of Amsterdam. When he was with us he told us the story of his early pastorate in north Holland, where they invited him to come into the public school to tell Bible stories to the children. Now, if you can believe, in Holland with all of its Christian heritage, there is now a generation that doesn't even know the Bible stories. So in the public school they were inviting a pastor in, not to evangelize, not to present the Gospel so to speak, but simply to tell the stories so that the stories stay alive, as works of literature. He decided to begin with the story of Abraham. He said, "And God said to Abraham," and a little nine year old raised his hand and he said, "Does God still say something?" TerLinde said, "That's a profound question." Well, what do you think? Does God still say something? Was prophecy an institution of ancient Israel, or is the office of the prophet still alive and well in our present experience? From the New York Times of October 29, I have the picture of one who looks every bit the part of a prophet — long beard, hand over forehead, eyes closed. Of course, it’s Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, and the report is of his address to the Russian Parliament in October. Having visited so much of the Russian people, he stood before the Parliament to tell them the people are discouraged, they have lost hope, they have no faith in the government, and they don't believe the reforms are serious. The people are in despair. He pleaded with the leaders of Parliament to be genuine about the reforms. He said, "This is not a democracy, it’s an oligarchy, the rule of a few." There was a little applause, but mostly there was silence. There was some muttering, and visible exits by politicians going out for a smoke. He went on to make his plea and, although he is Russia's finest historian who has put his own life on the line and has dared speak truth to power at the jeopardy of his own life, nonetheless, when he closed with a call for speedier advance toward real democracy there was a smattering of applause, but no more. I would say that Solzhenitsyn is a prophet in our time. I would say that most often you'll look outside the institutional church for the prophetic voice. It is so often the case that the Word of God sounds from other arenas because the institutional church itself gets co-opted into the whole cultural process. No, prophecy was not simply a phenomenon of ancient Israel. It is a desperately needed office to be exercised in our day. I can understand the rise of prophecy in Israel. After all, they had been a theocracy. They had understood that God was their king. So the rise of the prophet in that tradition can be somewhat understandable. But what about our own nation? What about today? We have to remember that as a nation we were founded in a reaction. We were founded in a reaction to the European scene, the old medieval structures, the feudal structures, the often © Grand Valley State University �Speaking Truth to Power Richard A. Rhem Page 5   collusion of throne and altar. This nation's founding documents intentionally and deliberately separate church and state. That was a reaction. It was an experiment. And it has borne fruit. In the intention of our founding documents there is the preservation of the guarantee of the free exercise of religion. There is to be no domination of religion in the political arena where there are many interested parties who are all vying for their rights and their privileges, where the political situation demands accommodation and compromise and rational discussion. That has all been a positive experience in our national experience. But in the last few decades that whole separation of church and state has come under criticism. We don't really understand how to handle it today. There have been judicial decisions that have been detrimental, I believe, to the moral fabric of the country. And there have been decisions that have not only separated church and state, but have trivialized religious devotion. Stephen Carter, the brilliant black law professor at Yale University, a couple of years ago published a book The Culture of Disbelief, in which he pointed out case after case of judicial decisions that not only honored the separation of church and state, but were actually prejudicial to religious commitment. Well, you say, "Maybe that's why we have the anger in the body politic today." And, I suppose it is. Maybe you are thinking now that the Christian Coalition, the organization of the religious right has taken upon itself the mantle of a prophet. I suspect that that's what would be claimed. But I deny that that's the case. I do not deny the right of the religious right or any group to organize and to make its claims. I do not question the sincerity of these people, nor fail to understand the reason for their frustration. But I want to say to you that the technique that is being pursued by the religious right is wrong, and it is contrary to the Biblical, prophetic tradition. The prophet was disinterested. The prophet did not have a political agenda. The prophet was not seeking power. The prophet spoke truth to power. The prophet stood over against the power, whatever the organization may be. It doesn't matter whether it is right or left, whether it is socialist or free enterprise. It doesn't matter what the governmental structure may be. It doesn't matter what the economic system may be. The prophet stood for justice and righteousness and mercy and compassion in the midst of the market place, speaking to king or priest or prophet, never co-opted by the king, or the people in general. The prophet was a lonely voice, disinterested, seeking no power. My argument with the Christian Coalition, with the religious right, is that, in order to address the wrongs that it sees, it is seeking power, and if it should gain power it will lose the possibility of being prophetic. A society that does not have a prophetic voice that is disinterested and stands over against all arrangements of power is a society in peril. History is replete with examples of religion in power, and there is no more perilous place for power than in the religious establishment. A secular ruler may be careless, may be godless. But a religious ruler with a sense of a mandate from God is absolutist like no secular ruler would ever dare be. A society will be in © Grand Valley State University �Speaking Truth to Power Richard A. Rhem Page 6   trouble when there is a collusion of throne and altar. It will be in serious trouble when the altar becomes the throne. If you ever elect a prophet, you'll take away his power and he will lose his soul. The prophet stands over against every human arrangement — right or left and says, "Hear the Word of the Lord." No amount of religious observance will substitute for justice and righteousness and compassion. The prophet called people and king to love mercy and to do justly, and to walk humbly with God. Don't empower the prophet. But let the prophet continue to speak truth to power. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a1461b8863d2067aaf3ea50f75e9ea01.mp3 8a3fb9831572eb7e5fb127c230a7fec7 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 The First Testament Scripture Text Amos 7: 15-16 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19941113 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-11-13 Title A name given to the resource Speaking Truth to Power Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on November 13, 1994 entitled "Speaking Truth to Power", as part of the series "The First Testament", on the occasion of Pentecost XXV, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Amos 7: 15-16. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Hebrew Scriptures History of Israel Justice Prophetic Voice https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c573637a79a6433566032f68c0ce01a3.pdf c511f53812a08221db1efdc04560d232 PDF Text Text Culture Wars: Battling For the Soul of the Nation Reformation Day Sunday Text: I Samuel 8:7; I Samuel 9:16 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Pentecost XXIII, October 30, 1994 Transcription of the spoken sermon ". . . The Lord said to Samuel, 'Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but have rejected me from being king over them.' " ". . . you shall anoint him to be ruler over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines; for I have seen the suffering of my people, because their outcry has come to me." In the lesson from the Hebrew Scriptures you will notice a reference to the book of Judges. I am not going to read that, but that simply is a reference that says that after Joshua, Moses' successor, died, there arose a generation that knew not the Lord – a very serious portent of bad things to come. The book of Judges talks about that period of time between the settlement in Canaan of the children of Israel, and the first king, Saul. It was a period of a hundred or two hundred years. It was a time when leadership was charismatic. A leader would arise, would be filled with the Spirit of God, execute a task and then retire to his farm, or her farm. Deborah, Gideon and Samson, those great Bible stories are recorded in the book of Judges. The last and greatest judge was Samuel. Samuel was a priest, prophet, judge, and ruler. He led Israel for many years and then as he grew older the people were concerned because his sons were not following in his steps, and they wanted a king like all the other nations, so they asked Samuel for a king. Israel had been a loose confederacy of tribes, and they had gotten together to do certain things on specific occasions, but they were rather loosely connected as semi-independent tribes. But now, recognizing the threat from without, they request a king. The scripture lesson lists in the first book of Samuel a Saul source and a Samuel source. I do that so that you can see that there were two points of view that come together in this lesson. There are two traditions, and the author purposely let both traditions stand. The one tradition said that the people of Israel were vulnerable and in danger, and God said to Samuel, "Anoint Saul. Through this © Grand Valley State University   �Battling for the Soul of a Nation Richard A. Rhem Page 2   first king I will deliver my people." The Samuel source, the conservative point of view, rejects that idea and resists the movement toward monarchy. I list these two sources so that you could feel the two of them that are interlaced together in these chapters. First, the ninth chapter of I Samuel, the fifteenth verse: "Now the day before Saul came, the Lord had revealed to Samuel: 'Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines; for I have seen the affliction of my people, because their cry has come to me.'” Doesn't that remind you of Israel in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh? The cry comes to God, God raises up Moses, and the people are led to freedom. Now here they are in Canaan, but they are in a situation again of danger, and so God says to his leader, Samuel, "I hear their cry. Anoint this man. I will, through this man, deliver them." Samuel saw Saul. The Lord told him, "Here is the man of whom I spoke to you. He it is who shall rule over my people." Now that happens. Then in the tenth chapter and the first verse, Samuel took a vial of oil, poured it on Saul's head and kissed him and said, "Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the Lord and you shall save them from the hand of their enemies round about. And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord had anointed you to be prince of his heritage." If you go on to read the eleventh chapter, Saul gains a great victory and everyone says, "Wow, what a man. He's our man." They are all ready to go. They are excited. The other point of view is expressed in the Samuel source, the eighth chapter and the fourth verse: "Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, 'Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint for us a king to govern us like all the nations.' But it displeases Samuel when they say, 'Give us a king to govern us.' And Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, 'Hearken to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. According to all the deeds, which they have done to me, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. Now then, hearken to their voice; only, you shall solemnly warn them, and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.' " Then follows a serious indictment of monarchy — In a word God says, "Tell them that once they get a king, the king will be on the take. Take their money. Take their sons and daughters. Take their animals. Take their property. They are in for trouble because governments tend eventually to become oppressive and coercive. Just let them know what they are in for." Then in the nineteenth verse of that chapter, the people refuse to listen to the voice of Samuel and they said, "No, but we'll have a king over us." © Grand Valley State University �Battling for the Soul of a Nation Richard A. Rhem Page 3   I set for you this Biblical story because you have two traditions next to each other, and it was a hinge-point in Israel's experience. We know about the confederacy, the tribal union. It was very much like the early colonies in this country. Those thirteen colonies did not have a strong central government. They were a confederacy. They each yielded of their sovereignty some of their power and some of their rights in order that there might be a central government to do certain things for them that they couldn't do for themselves: national security, for example – trade, commerce, that kind of thing. To this day in this country that tension continues to exist in our nation. Do you remember Alexander Hamilton and the Federalist Papers, and how he argued for a strong central government. There was a conflict at that time. In the nineteenth century this country went through the terrible tragedy of the Civil War and, though it was really over the question of slavery, what was being tested was this form of government, a federal government where they could instruct the states to give rights to people or could instruct all states to release their slaves. The governors of some southern states back in the 60s, in the Civil Rights days, argued for states rights over against the interpretation of the constitution from the federal government which said that it is wrong to segregate in schools and all of those so called Jim Crowe Laws that demeaned and dehumanized the black race. So we know about confederacy. It is a kind of government that has power on the periphery and less so in the center, as opposed to the federal form of government where there is power at the center that can dictate to the respective units of government. That was what was going on in Israel. They were a confederacy. A charismatic leader would arise on occasion to meet a specific crisis and then go back to the farm. And they had a central shrine where they worshiped together, and where they renewed their covenant. But God was their king, that was their understanding, and they had no strong central government or strong national leader, no dynasty, no imperial house. But as a kind of loose tribal confederacy they were vulnerable to the attacks of people on their borders, and once they got established people began to get some possessions. They built barns, and had fields and oxen and one thing and another. They said, "We don't want to be vulnerable to these attacks. Every six months or so somebody comes in and burns our fields. We need a strong leader. We need a strong government. We need security. We need secure boundaries." Sound familiar? So they came to Samuel who had been the greatest spiritual leader in Israel since Moses and they said to him, "Your sons aren't following in your steps. You are growing older. We need to move on to another form of government. We need a king." Well, if you read the one source, it sounds as though that was a movement that was not only approved by God, but initiated by God in response to the cry of the people and who said, "Through this man whom you are to anoint, I will deliver this people." © Grand Valley State University �Battling for the Soul of a Nation Richard A. Rhem Page 4   But if you read the Samuel source you see that God not only does not initiate it, God doesn't even approve of it, but sort of reconciles God's self to the inevitable, and says "Go ahead and do it, but warn them because they are in for trouble. Just wait until the king really establishes a royal house." That's the situation. That's the focus of the morning as we think about the culture wars, the battling for the soul of a nation. There were conservatives who said, "Foolish people, you want a king? Don't you remember that it was Moses who led us out of the oppression of Pharaoh out of the bondage of Egypt? Don't you realize that in establishing a royal house you will be bringing yourselves right back into a situation where there is oppression from on top? The conservatives had a point. They did remember. That was the best thing about the conservative mind. It remembers the values of the past. It has a memory of those things that were valuable and important and significant and that had a shaping determination of a people. But there were progressives as well, and they said, "To be sure. But on the other hand, look, we simply can't survive this way." The conservatives said, "Trust God," and the progressives said, "We do trust God, but look what's happening. We are being assaulted, invaded. The marauders come in. We are at a loss, we are victims. And, it's not going to change." So they went at it, these conservatives and progressives, and the Biblical story allows both of those voices to be heard. Now it is interesting that on Reformation Sunday we should have a scripture lesson that has two traditions that are at variance with each other because one of the models of the Reformation was sola scriptura— Scripture alone is our authority. But I would raise the question: If scripture alone is our authority, which of the traditions are you going to buy into? Where would you have been in this discussion? Are you a conservative or are you a progressive? Do you remember the values of the past and try to preserve them and perpetuate them, or are you one who believes in the movement of history, that new times demand new forms and new structures? Do you set things in concrete or do you remain fluid and flexible with the ongoing movement of history? The Reformation was a time that gave us this insight, which ought never to be forgotten–the Latin model I can't repeat but its translation is– the Church re-formed according to the Word of God and always being re-formed. In the sixteenth century there was a situation where the Church, not the nation Israel in the thirteenth century B.C.E., but now in the sixteenth century C.E. you have a church that had become a mammoth world power. There was a union of throne, and altar, and thus times during those centuries of Christendom, a medieval age when the Church was the most powerful human institution. It was not simply a religious institution. It was cultural, it transcended national boundaries, it was powerful, and it became decadent, just as decadent as any imperial house that has no checks on it. And the reformers said, "Something has © Grand Valley State University �Battling for the Soul of a Nation Richard A. Rhem Page 5   to change. The Church needs to be renewed. We need a reformation of the Church." Institutions don't change until something blows sky high. Martin Luther, of course, was the one who blew it. Martin Luther, brilliant, powerful, vulgar, a bull in a China shop, was excommunicated. He returned the favor and excommunicated the pope. And we were off and running. At that time, just as in the experience of Israel, it was a hinge-point in human history. It was Luther who said, "We must re-form and we must become the body of Christ in a total new structure. The other is the Babylon, the harlot that is in bondage, and God has turned away from it." A humanist scholar, a Dutchman named Erasmus was a faithful son of the Church. He and Luther communicated. Erasmus was a renaissance scholar. He was a part of the fifteenth-century revival of learning in Europe where they rediscovered the classical culture of Greece and of Rome and the old language of the Semitic peoples. And in that renewal and revival there was a whole blossoming of the human spirit in the fifteenth century, and it was a preparation for that breakthrough in the sixteenth century, the religious Reformation. Luther wrote to Erasmus, "Join me." Erasmus said, "No, I am going to stay." Luther said, "You can't stay. That Church is decadent and it is dead." Erasmus said, "You want to break it, rend the Body of Christ. For your renewal the price is too high. I will stay within the Church of the Body of Christ. We must not rend this institution that is, after all, in all of its corruption and decadence (which Erasmus readily admitted), nonetheless still the Church of the Living God." Luther left. Protestantism is the consequence. Erasmus stayed and in the following century the Roman Church reformed itself, as always happens in human culture. It's action and reaction. As the Reformation identified or created its identity over against Rome, the reforming Roman Church reformed itself over against the Reformation. Yet we have had this tragic split for all these years. Who was right, Luther or Erasmus? The conservatives who came to Samuel and said, "Don't do this." or the progressives who said to Samuel, "Give us a king." Who was right? Who was wrong? In human history, there's not right and wrong. There are wise choices, foolish choices. There are marvelous breakthroughs and dead ends. It's not a simple question of something being right or wrong. In the ambiguity of the human situation, in the ambiguity of the text of history at any particular time there are a lot of factors that have to be factored in. Erasmus was right. The price was too high. It was tragic. Luther was right. Nothing would happen without the break. Of course, some four or five hundred years later for us to continue to reiterate the sixteenth-century insights is to fall into the pattern of fundamentalism. For us to continue to talk about Reformed distinctions is to forget that we, with history, continue to move. We inaugurated a new President at Western Seminary, and you can hear him preach tonight. As Peter said, "He's a great guy, a good scholar, a good preacher." The Reformed and Christian Reformed Churches are getting together for that © Grand Valley State University �Battling for the Soul of a Nation Richard A. Rhem Page 6   service, and I think that's nice. But if you really want to celebrate Reformation Day today, then why don't we get together with the Roman Catholic Church and all the other churches in the community to recognize that the split back then was tragic, as well as necessary. Then, of course, if we really want to be prophetic, next year let's gather all the churches across all the barriers and also some people from Islam and our Jewish friends and let's have an inter-faith service of worship that recognizes that the future does not lie in the perpetuation of the divisions of the past but the overcoming of those decisions and the healing of relationships. What we need in this world is reconciliation. We live at a hinge-point in culture, which is as critical as that faced in Israel when they were trying to decide whether to have a king or stick with the old forms. We are at a hinge-point in history, which is as critical as the sixteenth century. We are in this nation today in the midst of a culture war. If you had the misfortune of listening in one evening to the Republican Convention a couple of years ago when Pat Buchanan said, "we are in a warfare." If you listen to the rhetoric of Randall Terry, the anti-abortion person, if you receive the propaganda of the religious right, you will find that what they want is the restoration of yesterday, failing to recognize that history is a stream that moves on. Now the conservatives back in Israel had remembered some important things that ought never to be forgotten — and that is the value of the conservative. But the progressives knew that new times demanded new forms — and that is the value of the progressive who recognizes that history is movement, and that yesterday's answers reiterated become fundamentalism today. Today's crises and dilemmas demand deliberation and decision today, in the light of the Biblical story, in the light of the Church tradition, with the exercise of human intellect, and in the evaluation of human experience. It not sola Scriptura. If we really want to be true to the Reformation and continue being Re-formed then we've got to stop throwing those models around, as though once that model is set, everything is set. That is not sola Scriptura. It is one witness. It is a valuable witness. This is our Book. This is our story, but the story has been lived out over centuries of time. We take that tradition seriously. Rome was right about that. Rome has always been right about that. This Book ought always to be a prophetic critique of tradition. But we weren't born in a vacuum. We take seriously the roots from which we come, and we use our heads. For God's sake, we use our heads, we think. To have an external authority that we simply clamp onto ourselves without being able to think, to liberate ourselves, is to deny we are made in the image of God, to think, for God's sake. Then, of course, human experience. You can't just speculate in the abstract. You make decisions in the concrete context of human experience. For example, the people who are pro-choice are not necessarily pro-abortion. They have other values they are looking at. What does it mean to be human? There are other human values that they weigh over against the value of the fetus. It's not easy folks. It's not simple, you see. To get up with all kinds of violent rhetoric and to © Grand Valley State University �Battling for the Soul of a Nation Richard A. Rhem Page 7   make out as though there is a simple easy course, and every God-fearing person would go that way is to deny the reality of the whole course of history in which we see it even in this Biblical example today, where there were Godly people who were trying to find out what it meant to be the people of God in the twelfth and thirteenth century B.C.E. Some said, "Don't you dare anoint a king." And others said, "You'd better anoint a king." And both of them had a text. And we have a text for both of them. Some of us will tend to be conservative. Some of us will tend to be progressive. But in the culture war of this nation today, what is so absolutely imperative is that we begin to talk to each other and to listen, that we be done with this sloganeering and just thinking that once you've said the cliché the argument is over. Look at the data, listen to each other, be in dialog, respect each other, esteem each other. Modernity was born in the French Revolution actually. The Renaissance detoured by the Reformation of the sixteenth century and came to full flower in the eighteenth century with the Enlightenment. The French Revolution, which overthrew the authoritarian divine rights, etc. had as its slogan, "Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity." If we remove the sexist language, "Liberty, Equality, and Community." That was the birth of the modern. Unfortunately, the modern came to birth in reaction. It had to come in reaction. These things always move in history by reaction. You bust something open, and consequently modernity has been colored with secularism and it has given birth to atheism, which is a recent phenomenon of modernity. But we are moved beyond that. We are in a postmodern age. We know that modernity lost mystery, transcendence. But now, before the face of God, in serious reverence and deep engagement, it is time for us to spearhead a new movement of reconciliation. Some of us recently, had an opportunity to stop in Coventry at the Cathedral. Perhaps you've read the story of how Churchill had gotten possession of the machine by which the Nazis coded their messages and he learned that Coventry was to be bombed a couple of days hence. It was a great industrial center with this great cathedral. Churchill had to wrestle – Do I simply give away the fact that I can break the code or do I simply let it happen and preserve the code and the ability to break the code? He did the latter. Coventry was terribly bombed. The Cathedral was in ruins. And they have allowed the ruins to stand. In the midst of the ruins they have built a magnificent new Cathedral. The morning after the bombing someone went in to take two of the old timbers from the roof that were smoldering and tied them together in the form of a cross. And with the char wrote on the stone ruin, "Father, forgive." If you would go there today, you would find there is still a charred cross. Behind it, etched in stone of the ruins, in gold now, "Father, forgive." There is a magnificent chapel off to the side. It is the Chapel of Reconciliation. Someone, the morning after the bombing, took the old square nails out of the beams and wired them together into a cross. The nailed cross, which perhaps you've seen, has become a symbol of reconciliation. © Grand Valley State University �Battling for the Soul of a Nation Richard A. Rhem Page 8   It is time for Christ Community to lead in a ministry of reconciliation. It will not try to reinvent yesterday, but believe in tomorrow when all God's children will kneel and embrace each other. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/1f8ace430c49ad2039781db4b7e16e45.mp3 31f476273ee8681425944f84ce35a08d 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 The First Testament Scripture Text I Samuel 8:7, 9:16 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19941030 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-10-30 Title A name given to the resource Culture Wars: Battling For the Soul of the Nation Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on October 30, 1994 entitled "Culture Wars: Battling For the Soul of the Nation", as part of the series "The First Testament", on the occasion of Pentecost XXIII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: I Samuel 8:7, 9:16. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Covenant of Grace Hebrew Scriptures History of Israel Justice Liberation https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c21b0345bd23e3125c7da3c36b7e0f12.pdf f8965007327f9d9a80e4c18e87641c3d PDF Text Text The Test of Trust Text: Exodus 16:18 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Pentecost XXI, October 23, 1994 Transcription of the spoken sermon "Those who gathered much had nothing over; and those who gathered little had no shortage; they gathered as much as each of them needed." Last week we saw Israel set free, a slave people delivered by the mighty hand of God, by the mighty hand of Moses and we noted that that founding story was the story that Israel looked back to when it understood its origins, recognizing that it was created by the grace of God. God with mighty hand moved into that situation of oppression and set his people free. Although that story reflected the ancient traditions, it was written down about six hundred years later when Israel was once again in a situation of exile, when they had lost their hope, when they were about to give up on God and all the promises of the covenant. So someone rehearsed the stories. Someone reminded them about how they were born out of slavery, out of oppression, out of an impossible situation. How God created them a people and set them free. But there are probably no people in all of history that told their own story with more candor than has Israel. A major image comes to mind when I think about Israel in the wilderness, the image of complainers, and the words of God over and again, "You are a stiff-necked people." There is one thing in Israel telling its story: it admitted that it was a stubborn and stiff-necked people. The Jewish Rabbi, David Hartman, said in April that God elected the most obstreperous, obstinate, stubborn and stiffnecked people in all the world, and God said "Now if I can make them human, then I'm really God." As you read the stories in the book of Exodus and the book of Numbers, you will find again and again and again that this people is unhappy, they complain, and they never learn to trust God. They are simply an impossible lot. Well, the situation in the sixteenth chapter of Exodus is a situation where they have no food. At least what they have they are not happy with. They had just seen God provide water out of the rock, but that didn't seem to get through to them, so they complained and God said, "I'll give them bread from heaven." © Grand Valley State University   �The Test of Trust Richard A. Rhem Page 2   Now, it is really not proper to try to explain the miracles of the Bible in natural terms, but as a matter of fact, in the case of this manna or bread from heaven, we know that there was a phenomenon—some kind of plant lice that excretes a certain kind of gum or resin and it is edible and has sustained people in that area even to the present. As far as the quail are concerned, the migratory birds would often go across Sinai and sometimes, having come a long way, they would rest there. So that the miracle of the feeding does have a kind of natural explanation to it. But the point of the story is that God provided for this people in the wilderness. They were set free and set on a journey. The journey in the wilderness was forty years. But forty years in the Scriptures means an extended period of time. There was this extended period of time when they were between Egypt and the Promised Land. It's one of the great models or paradigms of the Scripture – being set free, journeying through the wilderness, journeying toward the Promised Land. In that wilderness experience, as Israel understood its own past, it saw that experience as a time in which it was tested and the thing that God was trying to create in the Israelite was trust. "Trust me. I will be with you. I will take care of you. Give up your anxiety. Simply trust me." So in the story the Lord says, "I will give them bread from heaven." And here are the instructions: They are to go out every morning and they are to gather enough for the day. We are told that they went out and some gathered a lot, as I probably would be inclined to do, knowing my appetite. Others gathered a little. But the text tells us that those that gathered a lot had nothing over, and those who gathered little had no lack. You see, that's the finger of God in the story. There might have always been that kind of stuff in the desert, but the lesson that Israel was to learn as it told this story, and the lesson that the people were to learn who were hearing the story hundreds of years later was that God is always on time with enough for the day. Then we are told that some of them didn't believe it. They gathered some extra and they put it in the freezer and in the morning, Behold, it was wormy. It didn't work. The Lord also said, "On the Sabbath Day there will be no manna. Don't go out to gather on the Sabbath. So gather a double amount the day before." Lo and behold, they did, and the next morning it was just fine. It didn't get wormy. Now there were a few who didn't believe that and they went out on the Sabbath anyway. But there was nothing there. That's the story, the story of bread from heaven, a story of how God provides for God's people, how God in the provision [of food] seeks to teach people to trust. It is a whole manner of life. Trusting is a way of life. Really, so much of the Biblical story is simply an invitation to people to live with trust, because God is good, and God cares, and God provides for those that trust in God. As you think about the story, obviously the first question that the story raises for us is — What is enough? The Financial Seminar which is being held in Track II in Perspectives raises a question. What is © Grand Valley State University �The Test of Trust Richard A. Rhem Page 3   enough? Our worldly possessions, our savings accounts, our investments – all of that which seems to be "worldly" is really at root a matter of deep spiritual concern. A question comes to us. What is enough? What is enough? What is enough in an age of affluence such as we live in? What is enough as we contemplate the engagement of our energies and our time? What is enough as we think about our future? We are reminded of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, who also with beautiful simplicity invited those who heard him to trust God. He pointed to the sparrow in the tree and the lily of the field. He used creation as a parable to say, "Look, there is someone who is looking after this old world, and after you and me. Live with trust. Be done with anxiety, all of that inquisitiveness, that compulsion to possess." In another place he told about the farmer who kept building bigger and bigger barns only to find that his soul was required of him when he had laid up all of his treasures. The question that comes out of this old tale of Israel's past, “What is enough?” John Wesley, who was a great English preacher and one who led the 18th century revival in England, raised the question as he observed the people that he was marshaling together into the whole renewal movement in England. He made this observation. He said, "Whenever riches have increased, the essence of religion has decreased in the same proportion.” “ Therefore,” said Wesley, "I do not see how it is possible in the nature of things for any revival of religion to continue long." Then he said this interesting thing, "For religion must necessarily produce both industry and frugality, and these cannot but produce riches. But as riches increase so will pride, anger and the love of this world and all of its branches. Is there no way to prevent this continuous decay of pure religion?" I was thinking about Wesley's statement: thinking about the area in which we live, thinking about Western Michigan, thinking about our own roots. "Good religion produces industry and frugality. And industry and frugality produce riches, and riches lead to the decay of religious commitment." Not necessarily, but all too often. Think about Western Michigan. I think about the industry and the frugality of our fathers and our mothers and our grandparents back two and three generations. I think about the considerable wealth of Western Michigan, which is the consequence of industry and frugality, which is a wonderful blessing of God. But the question that comes to us then is: What is enough? Another statement of John Wesley: (I like this statement.) he said, "Earn all you can. Save all you can. Give all you can." That, it seems to me, would be an answer to his earlier observation that when we are blessed we see it as the blessing of God, that it is the consequence of God's good grace, and that then as good stewards we become the instruments of doing good, of being full of mercy and compassion, of binding up the wounds of the world. So, out of the story, let me leave you with a question this morning. “What is enough?” © Grand Valley State University �The Test of Trust Richard A. Rhem Page 4   Then, obviously, this is there too. The Israelites were to gather enough for the day. Those of you who are familiar with the Twelve Steps know that the secret of long successful sobriety is to live one day at a time. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, "Take no thought for the morrow." Now that can become ridiculous, of course, if you think that it undercuts any kind of planning or projection of the future. But the point is — Where is our focus? And have we learned to live by trust in God, one day at a time? There were those who didn't believe it. They said, "You know, you'd better gather this manna while it's here. It might not be here tomorrow." And it turned moldy on them. How many of us have not been guilty of overreaching, grasping the prize only to have it turn to dust in our hands? The lesson of the story and what Israel was being taught by God was —today, that's enough. Take care of today. Worry about today, and tomorrow will take care of itself. Then, this too, which was all part of the same kind of lesson and was a Sabbath lesson. No gathering on the Sabbath. Sabbath was to be a break, a break in that continual day by day struggle for survival. The Sabbath principle was woven throughout the whole of Israel's history. It was a principle that was rooted in creation itself. The creed of creation in the first chapter of Genesis, which was written in the 5th or 6th century B.C.E., was the principle of God's creative activity and then rest. God rested from all God's work, surveyed it all and said, "It's good." And that was woven into the very fabric of the lives of God's people. In the time of Jesus, in the time of Paul, that Sabbath principle had become rather legalistic. They had all kinds of rules to hedge it in, such as the permissible Sabbath day’s journey when you could carry only so much. Well, Jesus had to protest against it. He said, “You know the Sabbath was made for humankind. Humankind was not made for the Sabbath.” I don’t know about you, but I grew up in that kind of Sabbath legalism. I always tell the story about the visiting preacher who was raised Scottish Presbyterian, which was about as formidable as being Dutch Reformed in terms of the legalism of the Sabbath. He told about singing the hymn “Day of All the Week the Best, Emblem of Eternal Rest,” and he thought to himself, “If heaven is like Sunday, I don’t think I want to go there.” We can make it miserable and the sense in which I grew up was “ugly Sundays.” But to react against that is to lose something that is so profoundly necessary for human well being, and that is to have some point in the week when we stop! When we stop and we rest! We give up that compulsive need to generate, to produce, to acquire. Just to stop! To stop, even when it’s stupid to stop, because we can conquer another milestone. The Sabbath principle cuts right into the core of that human compulsion, that obsession of producing. People who are workaholics like I am need to hear it over and over again. Stop! The Sabbath was not first of all for worship. The Sabbath was first of all simply to rest and to delight. I think that in my past the Sabbath principle was violated by the Church itself, where it required Sabbath worship morning and evening and all parts in between. What God wants people to do is to © Grand Valley State University �The Test of Trust Richard A. Rhem Page 5   take time to smell the roses, take time to be human. Take time to let the earth refresh itself and to rest the animals and, above all, to find a quiet place for our souls. The test is trust. Do I believe in God? Do I believe in the goodness of creation? Do I trust that the good God and the good creation will be supportive of my human existence? And will I take time to recognize that every good and perfect gift comes from God, and learn simply to live with trust? I think that that is the spiritual dimension of our Christian giving. That’s the real point of the issue when we determine what of that which God has given us we will give in turn to enhance and enable the work of God in the world. Trust. To trust God is to be relieved of a terrible anxiety, to be freed from an awful drivenness, to be able to delight and to enjoy and to rest in the Lord. Those that gathered much didn’t have any over, and those that gathered little had no lack: a vision for a world where everyone has enough, a goal to work at for the people of God, who trust God, day by day. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/50771c556f2dddcce300baceff2fdfea.mp3 d5c4de6aa96ec1e2e2eb91d53b0ffd0b Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Reformation Sunday, Pentecost XXII Series The First Testament Scripture Text Exodus 16:18 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19941023 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-10-23 Title A name given to the resource The Test of Trust Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on October 23, 1994 entitled "The Test of Trust", as part of the series "The First Testament", on the occasion of Reformation Sunday, Pentecost XXII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Exodus 16:18. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Hebrew Scriptures History of Israel Pluralism Reconciliation Reformation https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d2491c7f69239073c1f6954b07a1a526.pdf d0409eac4849bbf1c53b7157511f8e6e PDF Text Text A Healthy Perspective – But Is This All There Is? Ecclesiastes 3:12-13, 20; I Corinthians 15:54, 57 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Pentecost XIV, August 28, 1994 Transcription of the spoken sermon "God  has  made  everything  suitable  for  its  time;  moreover  God  has  put  a  sense  of  past   and  future  into  their  minds,  yet  they  cannot  find  out  what  God  has  done  from  the   beginning  to  the  end...  There  is  nothing  better…than  to  be  happy  and  enjoy  themselves   as  long  as  they  live..."    Ecclesiastes  3:12-­‐13   "All  go  to  one  place;  all  are  from  the  dust  and  all  turn  to  dust  again." Ecclesiastes  3:20   "Death  has  been  swallowed  up  in  victory...  Thanks  be  to  God,  who  gives  us  the  victory   through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." I  Corinthians  15:54,57   The Wisdom literature of the Old Testament is an attempt to gain knowledge of human existence in order that one may know how to live—how to live wisely, how to live well. It’s a special genre of literature. It has a different nuance, a different tone, than so much of the rest of Scripture. It raises those questions about the nature of our experience of being human, seeking to find the meaning and purpose of it all. And it reads that meaning and purpose off from experience itself; it doesn't go to a priest, it doesn't go to a sacred text, it doesn't go to an institution, but rather the sages of the tradition of Israel were careful observers of life, trying to discern meaning and purpose from what was observable and what could be comprehended within the parameters of human knowledge and human understanding. With Ecclesiastes, we come to the farthest extreme of wisdom in the Hebrew Scriptures. The author purports to have lived widely, broadly, deeply. He tried everything—pleasure, riches, work, everything that his heart desired he granted to himself. And, in the end of it all, his conclusion was that human life is empty. "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity, says the Lord." Chasing wind. He is a person, who having entered broadly into human experience, concludes that its meaning and its purpose is not discernible by the human mind. Just reading from human experience, he can find no ultimate purpose. He doesn't deny that God is, he doesn't deny that God will hold us accountable, but God is largely absent and God is inscrutable. The meaning of our human existence is inscrutable. So this is a very pessimistic account of what it means to be human. He simply says over and © Grand Valley State University   �A Healthy Perspective–But Is This All There Is? Richard A. Rhem Page 2   over and over again... there is nothing new under the sun...whatever has been will be again. It’s an endless cycle... a dead end street or, as in the title of the French existentialist Camus’ novel, No Exit. That is his analysis of the human situation from what he sees in human experience. He recognizes that the human person isn't satisfied with that. He himself isn't satisfied with it. He says God has "put eternity into the human heart." It’s a wonderful phrase isn't it? "Put eternity into the human heart." Or the other translation is that God has put it into the human mind to know that there is past and future, but without being able to discern what God is up to. If there is anything that distinguishes the human person, it is that, while knowledge is limited, nonetheless there is a consciousness of those limits. And the consciousness of those limits makes the human person restless— always trying to transcend those limits, always trying to reach out beyond, always trying to break through. But to no avail, he says. I have often spoken of the writer of Ecclesiastes as cynical, but I think that's the wrong word. The more I reflect on it and the more I come to understand the Wisdom literature, he was not cynical, he was sad. He was lonely. He was disappointed. He wanted to find something. He wanted to break through. He wanted to penetrate the barrier, but he couldn't and he felt a sense of alienation. He wasn't sure that there was anyone home. From what he could observe about human experience, there certainly wasn't anybody with any kind of logical purpose that could be discerned, no management in control. He was sad, so he said the conclusion of the matter is this: Human experience is empty. I sort of like this writer because he is honest person, so honest he almost didn't get into the Old Testament Canon. (There is only so much reality we can stand, and you can't have too much truth in church.) You say, "How did the book ever get in there," and I would have to say, "With great difficulty." But in the Synod of Jamnia," in about 100 AD the rabbis put the book of Ecclesiastes into the thirtynine books that we have in the canon and called it part of Hebrew Scriptures. You might still seriously ask, "What is it doing in the Bible?" I want to respond by suggesting that there ought to be a place in our religious devotion for expressions like Ecclesiastes. I want to suggest that we've got far too much piety and firm assurances of faith, and arrogant triumphalism. What we need is a healthy dose of Ecclesiastes, particularly in church. In the harvest festival of the Jewish people, the Festival of Booths celebrated in the fall, they read on the fourth day of this celebration the book of Ecclesiastes, just in order to lace into the celebration this very somber note. I want to suggest that it is a healthy corrective to what generally comes spewing forth from preachers’ mouths. Isn't there a place for a document within our religious book that says, "I can't make sense of it at all”? I mean, be honest with me. Haven't you ever had days like that, or seasons? Have you had periods of your life when you had to say as you left church, "I really don't believe it." Would I scandalize you if I said that sometimes when I climb off this pulpit I have to say, "I can't figure it out. I don't understand it." You know, it is not as simple and as neat as we © Grand Valley State University �A Healthy Perspective–But Is This All There Is? Richard A. Rhem Page 3   preachers try to portray it. I want to make a plea for listening to the writer of Ecclesiastes, not as a cynic, but certainly a skeptic, a thorough-going agnostic, who simply confesses that the data of human experience doesn't add up to anything meaningful as far as he can determine. Don't you need, sometimes, not to feel that you are somehow or other excluded from the community of faith just because you can't figure it out? Isn't it good to know that even in the Bible itself there was someone who at least in one period of his life threw up his hands and said, "You know, it doesn't make sense. God is inscrutable. Human experience is inscrutable. I can't figure it out. I don't know what to make of it." The questions that are raised by one like the writer of Ecclesiastes are the questions that are raised in a culture like ours, in which we have the luxury of being able to take a step back and think and reflect on life. You won't find this kind of philosophical questioning coming out of Rwanda today. Those poor folk are simply trying to keep body and soul together. They are trying to survive. You don't find dissertations on the meaning of human existence or the purposes of God in primitive cultures where it is simply a matter of day-by-day existence. No, you find these questions in an advanced culture, in an advanced stage of civilization where people do have the time, the luxury, to think reflectively about their life and their experience. What happens when people begin to think this way, and reflect on their life is that they are not necessarily content just to take the given answers—to take the whole package wholesale, when their human experience runs onto the rocks of reality and where the old answers don't make sense, where human experience collides with the traditional given and accepted line. In such a situation one comes to the kinds of questions that the writer here raises. That's the kind of culture we live in. There was a day, there were centuries, when the old answers simply weren't questioned, when no one stopped to say, "But is that really true? Do I really believe that?" In the modern period, beginning with the eighteenth century, when human experience and human knowledge exploded all over the place, people did begin to try to relate that explosion of knowledge to the structure of their faith. What happened is that the church as an institution, and authority figures such as myself, got very nervous because of that explosion of knowledge. Faith and human experience brought together in some kind of reconciliation is not so simple. So, if you would read the history of the modern period you would find that there was a growing bifurcation of the academic world and the Church, thoughtful people, the best and the brightest who raised their questions but got the cold shoulder in the Church and, therefore, the body language pushed them out, until you have a whole society today in the West which is largely alienated from the Christian Church. We don't get a true sense of that in Western Michigan. This is a kind of ghetto; we are a minority of people and we are not keeping up. But in Western Civilization, Europe, the Continent, the institutional church is in trouble, not addressing civilization, not addressing culture with the dilemmas that face culture today. So, the whole explosion of knowledge, the development of the natural sciences, the technological revolution, which created © Grand Valley State University �A Healthy Perspective–But Is This All There Is? Richard A. Rhem Page 4   the modern world in which we live six days out of seven, all of that sort of drifted off on its own because we got very defensive. We really didn't want to hear the questions. There was trouble on both sides, of course, but eventually there was a shrinking body of people who were a people of faith, and a large body out there that were alienated at least from the institutional forms of religion. What happened? The writer of Ecclesiastes is absolutely right. If you try to live in this world in a human way, strictly within the parameters of what's possible in human knowledge, you're going to come up empty. That's where modern society has come. It has come up empty. We recently celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of Woodstock, which was a symbolic expression of the 60s. The 60s has become that symbol for the rebellion against institutional forms and the foundations of Western culture. In the Church we widely decried that whole movement and were scandalized by hippies and long hair and beads and earrings. The alienation and the gulf grew even greater, but all that was symbolic of the fact that the writer of Ecclesiastes has it right, that human existence pursued in strictly human fashion, a one-level fashion within what is possible by human knowledge and understanding, comes up empty. Like I said, the writer to Ecclesiastes was not cynical; he was sad... he was lonely... he was disappointed. What has happened in the modern culture with the emptiness, because certainly you could write the model of Ecclesiastes over our culture today, "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." Emptiness. Therefore, the rush to drugs, alcohol, sexual license—describe what you want about the ills of our present culture, and you probably could not over react against it. But, what is it? It is not just bad people. It is the hungry human heart questing for meaning, looking for purpose and meaning that is denied an analysis strictly based on human experience. If all you know is what you can observe in human experience, you cannot come to that transcendent dimension which is planted in the human heart, but which cannot be grasped. So, where there is a vacuum it will be filled, and it has been filled with a lot of the wrong stuff, to the disaster of so much of our culture today. What does the Church do? It grows fearful. It grows conservative. It becomes fundamentalist in its outlook. In the political realm—conservatism, law and order, crime bills. In the theological realm—fundamentalism. Fundamentalism is the reiteration of yesterday's answers to today's questions. It is irrelevant. The body language of the Church that wants to go back to a former day where righteousness reigned says to the world out there, "You are condemned—the judgment, the condemnation, the self-righteousness, super holiness of the people of God stinks! Super holiness of the people of God stinks in the nostrils of the world. The world may be hungry, and it may be longing for something, and it may be at loose ends, but it will not take the arrogance and the triumphalism of the Church that thinks that all the world has to do is come on back into the © Grand Valley State University �A Healthy Perspective–But Is This All There Is? Richard A. Rhem Page 5   seventeenth century. That, it seems to me, is a mistake of large segments of the Church today. The Jewish community, I noted, reads the book of Ecclesiastes on the fourth day in order to interject a somber note into the celebration. I would like to go to some of the praise gatherings of the Christian Church across the country and read the book of Ecclesiastes in the midst of all the singing and foot stomping. I would like to say, "What are you all worked up about? What are you all excited about? You haven't begun to see the depth of the question, the seriousness of the social situation. All you are doing is attacking the symptoms of the culture and never getting down to the root of a human heart that is empty and longing for God." A human heart that is empty and longing for God and that has lived in this modern world is not going to go back and knuckle under authority figures like priests or institutions like the Church, or a sacred text. Oh, I have to admit there are more that do that than I would believe possible. I can't believe how easily the masses can be led like sheep. But I have got to say to you that I believe that the writer of Ecclesiastes gave an accurate and honest analysis of the human situation seen strictly within the parameters of human observation and human knowledge. The end of that is emptiness and sadness and loneliness, but what will not work is to trot out a paradigm out of the seventeenth century, to try to go back to the Reformation of the sixteenth century. What we need to do is to appropriate all of the explosion of knowledge and the understanding of the human situation and the cosmos and the environment, and all of that and then begin to sit down and to reason together, to learn what the real questions are and to begin to communicate in a level of reasonable discourse, to be sensitive to the hunger of the human heart and the anguish of the human soul that acts out in all kinds of self-destructive ways, rather than simply to condemn the masses as though somehow or other they have become animals and that culture is going to finally explode and go to hell. You see, we're not so smart. We don't have the answers. The writer of Ecclesiastes was right. You just look at the human situation and what he says is right. Things don't add up. So you are faced with an alternative. Either throw up your hands like he did and say, "Eat and drink and work, and grasp what little bit of pleasure there is at the moment." Or you hear the witness of, for example, Paul who was encountered from beyond himself and came face to face with Jesus Christ. The alternatives are not matters of intelligence or accurate analysis. The alternatives are matters of the posture of the heart. It is a matter of looking at the data, and then trusting or not trusting. Jacque Monod is a world-class biologist, a Nobel Prize winner who wrote the book Chance and Necessity. What he describes in these little lines that I will read could very well be the modem description of the human situation to which the writer of Ecclesiastes referred. Monod writes this, © Grand Valley State University �A Healthy Perspective–But Is This All There Is? Richard A. Rhem Page 6   "If he [that is, the human person] accepts this negative message, [that is, what he can read from the human situation, the cosmological situation], in its full significance, then one must at least awake out of his millenary dream and discover his total solitude, his fundamental isolation. He must realize that like a gypsy, he lives on the boundary of an alien world, a world that is deaf to his music, and as indifferent to his hopes as it is to his sufferings or his crimes." That is honest and hard hitting, and clear eyed. If there is no one home in the universe, then we are alone and the world is deaf to our music. The world is indifferent to our hopes, to our sufferings, to our crimes. So says Monod, so says the writer to Ecclesiastes. That's as much as you can decipher. That's as much as you can discern just from the observation of human experience. On the other side of the coin, an equally intelligent twentieth-century person, Hans Küng, in his book Does God Exist? wrote this: "To trust in an eternal life means, in reasonable trust, in enlightened faith, in tried and tested hope, to rely on the fact that I shall be one day fully understood, freed from guilt, and definitively accepted and can be myself without fear, that my impenetrable and ambivalent existence like the profoundly discordant history of humanity as a whole will finally one day become profoundly transparent, and the question of the meaning of history one day finally be answered." He agrees with Monod, he agrees with the writer to the Ecclesiastes—"my impenetrable and ambivalent existence,” but this is written by one who trusts. St. Paul addressed Greek culture, Greek classical culture. Greek culture is called classical culture, classical because it has never been surpassed, a gigantic achievement of the human spirit. Paul came there and proclaimed Jesus Christ crucified and risen. Some laughed, and some believed. Some said, "I don't believe it," and some said, "God, I believe it." Paul in writing to these people said that the parameters of humans experience, this flesh, this perishable, this is not all there is. This has to be overcome, this perishable has to put on imperishable, this mortal has to put on immortality. Then will be brought to light that which has said death is swallowed up in victory. Paul said that because he was encountered by one whom he believed to be Jesus, whom he knew to be crucified, whom he experienced to be living, whom he therefore deducted was God's "Yes" to this world, to this ambivalent, impenetrable human experience. God had acted in the case of Jesus, had brought him to life, had said "Yes" to the Way of Jesus, and that simply, absolutely changed everything so that Paul could write to the Church of Corinth, "Be steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, in as much as you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." Empty. Chasing the wind. The writer in that old Hebrew book said, "Vanity. Empty." Paul said, "Not in vain," because this is not all there is, because the story cannot be written simply from the data available to the human mind observing human © Grand Valley State University �A Healthy Perspective–But Is This All There Is? Richard A. Rhem Page 7   experience. There is, in other words, the possibility of the gift of sight, of trust that breaks through and that washes all with a radiance from the eternity which the Creator has planted in the human heart. Most of the time the Church reads Ecclesiastes and makes a beeline for Jesus, not even hearing the question, not admitting the depth of the dilemma. I hope I haven't done that. But if I couldn't conclude where I just concluded I'd have to get out of the business. I believe that the best is yet to be, and I never believed it more strongly than when I am preaching a funeral message. And as long as I can still preach before a gaping grave with hope, I'll keep preaching. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/1e27923360bda53d76dc814b4299d0c0.mp3 adca69114e6551055a3cb97a2ac3a209 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XIV Series Wisdom Literature Scripture Text Ecclesiastes 3: 12-13, 20, I Corinthians 15:54, 57 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-0-19940828 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-08-28 Title A name given to the resource A Healthy Perspective - But Is This All There Is? Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on August 28, 1994 entitled "A Healthy Perspective - But Is This All There Is?", as part of the series "Wisdom Literature", on the occasion of Pentecost XIV, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Ecclesiastes 3: 12-13, 20, I Corinthians 15:54, 57. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Hebrew Scriptures Meaning Pentecost Spiritual Quest Wisdom Literature https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/cc5a17acfe8b56b1f64ca99387388081.pdf c0d80f13083483ae20aeb840c0e197c7 PDF Text Text The Mystery of Suffering: Trust in the Darkness From the sermon series on the Book of Job Text: Job 13:15, in four translations Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Pentecost XII, August 14, 1994 Transcription of the spoken sermon "He may kill me, but I won't stop; I will speak the truth to his face, Translation by Stephen Mitchell "He may slay me, I'll not quaver. I will defend my conduct to his face." Translation by Marvin Pope "If he would slay me, I should not hesitate; I should still argue my cause to his face." New English Bible "Though he slay me, yet will I trust him: But I will maintain my own ways before him." King James   I find it is not so easy to bring Job to a conclusion. I struggled in the last service and am very thankful I don't have such a long struggle this time. I have four manuscripts in various stages of completion, and had to finally quit and say, "So, what's the bottom line?" The last word of Job must be this, I believe, "There is a Mystery of Suffering, in the midst of which we must dare to trust God, even in suffering’s darkest days." In his poem, the author of Job makes it eloquently clear that the innocent suffer, that the kind of world that we live in is a world where cancer strikes "willy-nilly," blood clots form, loved ones are ripped from our lives, and sometimes the wicked prosper and the innocent suffer. The word last week, the voice from the whirlwind, was God's defense against Job's accusation, which comes to expression in the text of the morning, "He may kill me, but I'll not quaver." Job was absolutely convinced that the conventional wisdom was wrong. He was so convinced that the religious establishment didn't have it right, that he was willing to stand with his fist raised to heaven. There were moments of deep pathos when we felt Job reaching out. "Oh that I knew where I might find him," says Job, because he was convinced that he had a case to make. Ironically, Job in some ways still shared the erroneous conventional wisdom of his friends. Job still felt that somehow or other God sent that suffering. And if God sent that suffering, God was unjust, for in his case, God was in the wrong. Job cried out to heaven © Grand Valley State University   �The Mystery of Suffering: Trust in the Darkness Richard A. Rhem Page 2   and said, "If it takes my life, I'm going to state my case." Well, God showed up, as we noted last week, and out of the whirlwind Job was given a panoramic view of cosmic reality and it literally blew him away. He said, "Well, I knew God is big. I never denied that. I knew if I ever did get my opportunity to state my case I'd probably have no chance against God so now I will be silent." But he was still thinking the same way. Once again the voice sounds and God says, "Job, come on and take my place. What would you do if you were God for a day? Because you see, Job, the issue is not whether or not I have absolute power. The issue is: What does one with absolute power do in a world where there are other values as well, values that I have woven into the fabric of creation—freedom of choice, moral choice, spontaneously offered worship, virtue done for its own sake? How does one guard those values in a cosmos like this as one seeks to manage the world, even if one be God?" God is saying, it seems to me, "The world is not perfect, it is a world where cancer strikes, a world where people die, it is a world where darkness can be oh, so dark, but I, God, given the values to which I am committed and the created order I am weaving together – I, God, am doing the best I can do." Well, where does that leave us? Is that a God in which you can find comfort and security? It certainly isn't the traditional view of God that we have been nurtured on, is it? The traditional view of God that we've been nurtured on is a God of the omni's: omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, knowing all, present everywhere, all powerful, able to do all. Some of us, at least, who have come out of the Reformed tradition have had that large word "predestination" hovering over us throughout all of our days; that is, that all things ultimately are predetermined, that there is a predestinating will of God that determines all that happens. I heard a delightful story the other evening. It was a family story about a young man courting a young lady whose father was a sturdy Christian, of strong persuasion that predestination is indeed the rule, and that God indeed determines all that happens. As they were walking the back 40 acres, a donkey happened to bray and the young man, the interlocutor, said, "You mean at 3:00 in the afternoon on this given date, God determined that that donkey should bray?" The old man said, "Absolutely. My God is a God that makes it so that whatever is going to happen is going to happen, whether it happens or not." (Laughter) Now, Yogi Berra would have been proud to have said that, wouldn't he? If you think about it, "whatever is going to happen is going to happen whether it happens or not," now that's a muscular God, that's a macho God, that's a no nonsense God, that's a God in control. If we want anything, we want God in control, and understandably so. We don't want to be orphans in a pathless wilderness leading nowhere. We don't want to feel abandoned and alone on this spinning mud-heap. But if I hear the voice from the whirlwind correctly, then that old classic idea of God of the omni's is flawed. In the light of what we know about cosmic reality, if we know anything about our world, the cosmos, we know there is a kind of randomness about it. There is an unpredictability, there is the Huizenberg second law of thermo dynamics (which of course, you all © Grand Valley State University �The Mystery of Suffering: Trust in the Darkness Richard A. Rhem Page 3   understand), a law that on the one hand was able to open a cause and effect universe that had no room for miracle or eruption of the new, but on the other hand shows us that this cosmos is so much more mysterious than we ever dreamed of. Perhaps the people today, who stand in the greatest awe, are the physicists who study the mystery of the universe and are continually mystified at ever deepening reality. So, the God of the whirlwind is a God who suggests that, while this is not a perfect world, God is nonetheless engaged in moving it in that direction, and invites us who are created in the image of God to grow up and to become mature and to join our shoulders to the task as well. It is not so much that I look at God in my pain and say, "Why are you doing this to me?" But rather, I sense the presence of God with me in the midst of the darkness, moving toward the Light. What I really need to know, I think, is what Job needed to know. He longed not to receive a logical and rational answer to the mystery of suffering, but to know that there was someone who would show up, that there was a Voice, that there was Someone engaged and involved. When Job saw that, Job said, "I didn't know. I didn't understand. I didn't realize." If we're honest, I think we would all have to own the fact that we would love to have God simply a littler larger than our parents, a divine parent, someone who could make it all right, someone who could fix it all, soothe it all, salve the wounds. Friends, it isn't so. You know it isn't so. If in that old classic idea of God where God is throwing all the switches and pulling all the strings, there is an awful lot of darkness and pain and horror in this world that then has to be attributed to God. It won't do simply to say that all the darkness and the pain and the horror of the world is the consequence of human sin and rebellion. There is a grand residue of darkness for which there is no explanation, and for which there seems to be no meaning and no purpose. There is a contemporary school of theology that has been very helpful to me. It's called "Process Theology," which does not deny God's ultimate power and purpose, rather sees God neither aloof nor pulling the strings, but rather a God who is in there with us, a fellow traveler, a fellow struggler, a fellow sufferer, One who has invited us to join in the creative purposes that would move reality toward the realization of love and mercy and justice. The vision of Shalom, that beautiful word, which we translate as "peace," is more than peace. It is a vision of the total harmony of things. If I understand the God who speaks through the whirlwind, if I understand the message of the poet-Job, there is a picture there of a God, who, in the midst of this cosmic reality, is far beyond our ability even to conceive. It is a vision of a God who is engaged in the movement toward wholeness and toward Shalom, and invites us to become one with God and the establishment of justice, and the doing of mercy, and the building of community for the purpose of Shalom. A God like that I can trust in the darkness, a God who is for us. © Grand Valley State University �The Mystery of Suffering: Trust in the Darkness Richard A. Rhem Page 4   This was Paul's conviction. "What can separate us from the love of Christ, famine or nakedness or peril or sword? Know in all things that we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am persuaded that there is no angel or principality or power or thing in the heights or the depths, nothing in all creation that can ever separate us from the love of God, in Christ Jesus our Lord." That God I can trust in the darkness, believing that God is for us, that God's purposes of love are for wholeness and health and Shalom, and that God is doing all God can do. Given not only God's absolute power, but also God's absolute commitment to our human freedom and our moral choice, and the universe in which there is elbowroom for the reality and authenticity of a human creature living in the image of God. A God like that I can trust. Ironically, the religious always try to protect God and to blunt human responsibility. So that as you read the citation of William Safire in the bulletin states, the translation of Job 13:15, is not as we read it this morning as it is accurately translated, "Though he killed me, yet I will not quaver," but rather the mistranslation of, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust him." This translation plays down the darkness and blunts the edge of Job's charge. But ironically the mistranslation may actually better articulate the bottom line in the book of Job. It is said, perhaps even better, in Psalm 23, by the Psalmist who had also struggled with the prosperity of the wicked and yet says, "Whom have I in heaven but Thee, there is none on earth that I desire beside thee." I like it better in the words of Habakkuk who struggled with the place of God in human events, who finally said, "Though there be no olive crop, though there be no cattle in the stall, though all be lost, yet I will rejoice in God, my Savior." There is that witness in our tradition. There is that Biblical witness that is able to say, "Nevertheless... Let it all be stripped away, nevertheless ... I will trust." That's where Job came to rest. And that's finally where Job would invite us to rest. As I said last week, the evidence is divided, the circumstances full of ambiguity. There is no simple and easy unraveling of the knot of the Mystery of human suffering. But, finally, the alternatives are embittered cynicism and cursing the darkness, or trust in God that will sustain one through hell itself— "Though he slay me, yet will I trust Him." © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8fd6010e9c25529043ffde293385aeb4.mp3 7317fab644e3402970396d5eb576e560 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XII Series The Job Series Scripture Text Job 13:15, Romans 8:39 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-0-19940814 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-08-14 Title A name given to the resource The Mystery of Suffering: Trust in the Darkness Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on August 14, 1994 entitled "The Mystery of Suffering: Trust in the Darkness", as part of the series "The Job Series", on the occasion of Pentecost XII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Job 13:15, Romans 8:39. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Hebrew Scriptures Meaning Nature of God Pentecost Presence Shalom Trust https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f37ad496ed60f41eb0e02cfb0bce650d.pdf a1aecd0a321d35c8c503afa44a1504a0 PDF Text Text What It Takes to Make a Heretic From a sermon series on the Book of Job Text: Job 6:25-26 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Pentecost VII, July 10, 1994 Transcription of the spoken sermon "Teach  me,  and  I  will  be  silent;  show  me  where  I  am  wrong.   Does  honest  speech  offend  you?  Are  you  shocked  by  what  I  have  said?  "   Job  6:25-­‐26;  Translation  by  Stephen  Mitchell     I begin this morning a series of messages on the Book of Job. This is the first time I've ever tried to preach on Job in a serious fashion in order to handle the content of the writing itself because, to be honest, I haven't understood it. Oh, a text here and there—a text torn out of context to make a whale of a sermon on occasion. But an insight into the composition of the book sometime ago enabled me to crack open the enigma of the Book of Job. The Book of Job is a part of the Wisdom literature of the Hebrew Scriptures—Job, Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, some of the Psalms. The Wisdom literature is a particular genre of the Hebrew Scriptures which has its own characteristic themes. We don't do a lot with it in the Church, and I haven't done a lot with it in preaching. As I said, the Book of Job has been for me an enigma, and what I've found is that, in a new understanding of something of the composition of the book, it becomes a marvelous and powerful message which deals with the very concrete stuff which makes up our human experience. So I want to begin this morning in a kind of introductory fashion to deal with this book. I want to deal with the Book of Job because I think that it deals with the things that we wrestle with every day in our lives—the unvarnished stuff of human life. We'll see how far the series goes—four or five, six. Who can tell once a preacher gets started? The enigma that has kept me from ever treating the Book of Job as a whole has a couple of aspects. In the first place Job has become in popular understanding the "patient Job." We come by that honestly because in James 5:11 we are told, "You know the patience of Job." So in conventional wisdom, Job became a model of patience. To be sure, in what I read, in the prologue to the book, he certainly is patient. But when you read the whole central section of the book, Job is not patient. He is one of the most impatient people in the Bible. He rails against heaven. He calls God to account. He damns the day he was born. Job is not © Grand Valley State University   �What It Takes to Make a Heretic Richard A. Rhem Page 2   submissive, patient and enduring, but a "rebel with a cause." I could never put those two things together. If you read not only the prologue that I read a moment ago, but the epilogue, the last few verses of the last chapter you will find that, after his terrible suffering and total loss and the experience of God's voice in the whirlwind, Job gets everything back two-fold. So, it would appear that the messsage of Job is to suffer, be patient, so that finally you will be vindicated, rewarded. But that theme contradicts the whole powerful center of this poem. Well, the insight that helped me to make some sense of this book is that probably the prologue and epilogue is an ancient legend—probably centuries and generations old, and that the author of the central poem, if you glance at the Book of Job you'll see the shift from prose to poetic form sandwiched between a prologue and epilogue which are reflective of another age and a totally other philosophy and understanding, a protest. Now you say, "Well, what's the sense of that?" Why would the poet want to sandwich that between the telling of an ancient legend? Well maybe, as some have said, because he wanted to set his own point of view in sharp contrast to the other. The ancient legend says that God blesses those who are good and God punishes those who are evil. The ancient legend says if you suffer and endure patiently you will be rewarded. The poet says, "I don't believe it! It is contrary to everything that I experience and observe in human life, and I don't believe it." Maybe by setting that ancient legend at either side of his protest, he sets it off even more starkly. Or maybe he softened the edges of his protest by encasing it in this ancient legend just to get in touch. You know, it’s dangerous to swim against the tide. It’s dangerous to speak a word against conventional wisdom. It can cost you your life to hold an opinion contrary to that which everybody knows. Do you know how much we live by what everybody knows? The poet says, "I don't know that. I don't believe that." But, you had better be careful when you say "no," and everybody else is saying "yes." It would be an interesting doctoral dissertation to trace through history the significant written works that were published after an author's death, purposely, for fear that if they had been published in his or her life, the author would have lost his or her life, would have died sooner than he or she did. The poet gives Job the voice of a heretic—Job spoke a word against what everybody knows, and what nobody thinks about, but everybody believes. Job was not orthodox. He was heretical. The word orthodox means straight opinion. The prefix ortho is from the Greek language. When I was a kid I used to be able to spit through my teeth. And then my mother sent me to an orthodontist. The orthodontist made my teeth straight because my father had me set apart for the ministry. Otherwise I don't think they would have straightened my teeth. (Laughter) If you break your leg and it is at right angles, you go to an orthopedic surgeon who makes bones straight. If you are orthodox in theology, you hold the right opinion. You hold the straight, accepted, perceived view of things. This poet was not orthodox. This poet was a heretic. Heretic also comes from the Greek language. It means "to choose." © Grand Valley State University �What It Takes to Make a Heretic Richard A. Rhem Page 3   William Safire, the New York Times columnist, has a relatively recent book on Job. He calls it The First Dissident. Job was the first dissident, which comes from the Latin, descent, to sit apart. A dissident is one who sits apart, stands apart, and acts apart. I don't use the word dissident because I'm not thinking as Safire is, largely of the political and economic realm, but I am thinking more theologically. So I will use the theological term heretic. The author of Job ran contrary to the commonly accepted view of things in his day. He stood up and dared to say "no." He stood up and dared to be alone and have the passion and conviction that enabled him with courage to say, "I don't believe it." He was a heretic. What makes a heretic? Concrete human experience that can't be crammed into conventional wisdom as an explanation. Burning, passionate, concrete experience that you just can't shove into a ready-made pigeonhole. A heretic is one whose experience brings him to a point where he dares to stand up and to say, "No, I don't believe it. This is what I believe." Job is a heretic, because everyone knew that suffering was a sign of sin, that the one who was suffering was carrying some guilt whether known or unknown. In his day the poet ran into the conventional wisdom, the things that everybody knew, and that is that God blesses those who are righteous, and God punishes those who are wicked. Everybody knew that when you run into trouble, when calamity comes, when tragedy strikes there is either some open or secret sin in your life. So when you come into trouble, the question you ask is "What have I done wrong? Why me? What have I done? Am I wrong? Where have I gone wrong?" It was a cruel philosophy or theology, but it was deeply inbred into the human heart then, and it continues to be to a large extent even today. I think that's why it is so important to deal with it. The poet of these poems said, "I don't believe that." He said, "I look about me and I see a mystery of human suffering that cannot be explained. I see the innocent suffer. I see the good coming into calamity, and I see sometimes the careless getting off scot-free." Human experience—what I observe and what I myself experience – simply cannot be put into a neat formula: God blesses the righteous and punishes the wicked. Job said, "I see innocent children die. I see cancer strike willy-nilly. I see fires rage and floods rise, and I see natural calamities which the insurance companies call 'acts of God', and I see human calamities when there are broken relationships and betrayals and denials. I see parents who find their daughters raped and mutilated or throats slit. I find young people blown away in war. I see good people, decent people struck down by any number of things that bring them into intense suffering and pain and loss." The poet said it is simply too simplistic—"I don't believe it. The innocent suffer. That is a mystery. I can't explain it. Sometimes there is darkness, and there is no word to say." Job's friends had words. And today, we have pious platitudes, which work for many people: "God makes no mistakes." "God has a purpose in it." Of course, when you are back in the age of legends, then God did it, or God's agent whom God controls did it. You can't have it both ways. You can't say God has a purpose and apply it only to minor inconveniences. How can you tell someone whose life has just been ripped apart with tragedy, that God did it. I don't really think we © Grand Valley State University �What It Takes to Make a Heretic Richard A. Rhem Page 4   mean it when we say, "God has a purpose in it," or "God makes no mistakes." Job stood up and said, "No! I don't believe it for a moment." He said, "I can't explain the mystery of human suffering. I don't know the whys of human tragedy, but I am innocent and I am suffering, and I see no good purpose in it." We have something else we resort to, as I mentioned a moment ago. We take upon ourselves feelings of guilt for our failures and for the things that go wrong. Last year I ripped this woodcut of William Blake out of the New York Times. It was woodcut of Job and underneath it says, "Many Americans in the flooded Midwest will sit like Job amid the ruins of their lives and ask why God has turned against them." Nearly one in five Americans told the Gallup Poll that the floods are God's judgment on the people of the United States for their sinful ways. The poet-Job says "I won't hear a word of it." Job was a heretic. He stood up against the received opinion, the common person on the street idea of things that everybody knows. He stood up alone because it was contrary to everything he felt in his gut. He knew it was wrong and he dared to say so, and thereby set himself apart. He paid the price, of course. His three friends who came to comfort him came and with delicate sensitivity, when they saw his disaster, they sat with him seven days and seven nights without opening their mouths. That's a good comforter. Don't say a word. But when Job's voice was raised against heaven, calling God to account, railing against this injustice, this mystery, this suffering—then they ran to the defense of God or rather to the defense of their belief system about God and they denounced Job. He was rejected by his friends and he felt abandoned by heaven, but he stood up anyway, and he didn't yield. Thank God for that. Thank God that this poem made it into the canon of the scripture, because Job gives me the permission to think, to experience, and then to seek to connect my experience with my faith. When faith explanation doesn't fit with the facts of my life, I keep probing and struggling until I bring them again into some kind of meaningful relationship. Thank God for this heretic-poet. Because, as it is, we are told that one out of five Americans say the floods are the result of God's punishing the sins of the people. But think what it would have been if we had never had this protest that said, "No! I don't believe it." Thank God for Job who called God into account and said to his friends, "I'm innocent and I'm suffering, and I don't know why." Thank God for Job, for in his darkness ,which was not penetrated by any ray of light, he wrestled with God. He wrestled with God and became the forerunner of another who in his darkness cried out, "My God, my God, why?," which is not a question seeking an intellectual answer, but a primal scream from a devastated human being, longing to know that there is someone there. Thank God for our confidence that, while there is suffering that has no meaning and tragedy that has no explanation when finally we must be silent, nonetheless we cling to the God of all mercy, who we believe will never let us go. If God plays with us like puppets on a string, you have every right to fear such a God, but you can never love such a God. But if we can trust in the darkness, © Grand Valley State University �What It Takes to Make a Heretic Richard A. Rhem Page 5   believing somehow or other in an infrastructure of mercy, that's a God you can love. That's a God you can love when everything goes wrong and nothing makes sense. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5560a1a7ae42bbecd6a16dc54fba8036.mp3 09be711552ea93fbbd31e719d9e51ef4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost VII Series The Job Series Scripture Text Job 6: 25-26 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-0-19940710 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-07-10 Title A name given to the resource What It Takes To Make a Heretic Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on July 10, 1994 entitled "What It Takes To Make a Heretic", as part of the series "The Job Series", on the occasion of Pentecost VII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Job 6: 25-26. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives God of Compassion Hebrew Scriptures Nature of God Wisdom Literature https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d81657a9dcc8de15ae968cccfff522d9.mp3 11c3ddb233b365b45c95120f6e2f3de9 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/cc6ea7223b561166753b8b9955aa45ff.pdf 786789877e5075c521416f4232de558e PDF Text Text The Election of Grace: A Particular People for a Universal Purpose From the summer sermon series: Faith’s Foundations Text: Genesis 11:30; 12:1-3; Romans 11:32-36 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan July 31, 1988 Transcription of the spoken sermon Now Sarai was barren... Genesis 11:30 Now the Lord said to Abram, Go... and I will make of you a great nation... Genesis 12:1-3 For God has consigned all men to disobedience, that He may have mercy upon all... from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory for ever. Amen. Romans 11:32-36 Reading a textbook on preaching this week, I came across a statement by a Black theologian and preacher which struck me. He was making the point that Black culture has believed strongly in the providence of God and this deep trust has kept them alive through much oppression and suffering. Henry Mitchell claims that what has been true for Blacks is universally true. He says, ... We find the total spectrum of humanity that wishes really to live whole and abundantly must have a belief system to support that sort of thing. I share Mitchell's conviction. That is why we are spending successive Sunday mornings examining Faith's Foundations. My concern is deeply pastoral. I am not really interested in preparing you to write a crackerjack of a theological exam; I am interested in preparing you to live well, abundantly, with confidence and hope. Hope and confidence and a sense of wellbeing need a solid foundation if they will remain, no matter what circumstances surround you. Faith needs foundation. There are a few crucial truths which, if held in deep trust, enable one to negotiate life's passage. For example, "In the beginning God ..." © Grand Valley State University   �The Election of Grace:…for a Universal Purpose Richard A. Rhem Page 2   That is where the Bible begins. Genesis 1 is intentionally the opening statement of the Judeo-Christian faith. It is our answer to the question, "Why is there something, rather than nothing?" It enables us to sing, "This is my Father's world, I rest me in the thought..." But why, if this is my Father's world, is there tragedy, toil and tears? Chapters two and three tell us that God's gracious intention was that life should be characterized by freedom, vocation and boundaries - the creature living before the Creator in trust and obedience. Failing that, there is judgment, sorrow and loss, alienation, fear and guilt. Well, then, will the human "No" defeat the "Yes" of God? Will the Creator's purpose be ruined by the creature's grasping at control in self-assertion? Chapter three gave hints of grace even in judgment. And returning to the opening creed of creation, which runs through chapter 2:4a, we find God's verdict on Creation: it is good. And we read God rested on the seventh day and blessed it and made it holy, a sign that God's design and order and purpose would finally be realized. We read the vision of Isaiah 65 - a new heaven and a new earth, no more would one toil in vain or raise children for misfortune ... "The wolf and the lamb shall feed together ... They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain." And we heard the sound of the angel's voice in John's vision, "Behold the dwelling of God is with his people." No tears or crying or pain or death anymore. In the vision there was a crystal river on whose banks grew a tree whose leaves were for the healing of the nations and God's people need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord will give them light and they shall reign forevermore. With that beautiful vision of Creation's consummation, the People of God have lived in hope trusting that the best is yet to be, the future is as bright as the promise of God. God's "Yes" will not fail. The Sabbath Rest of the Bible's opening passage foreshadows the Rest of Creation in the Shalom of God. The first eleven chapters of Genesis were placed as a preface to Israel's story. That story is centered in God's mighty saving action that brought them to freedom from Egypt's bondage. But they knew their particular story was part of a larger story - the story of God's dealing with the whole Creation and the totality of humankind. The first eleven chapters are universal in scope just as the consummation in Revelations is universal. Israel's story is the story of a particular people, but it is not, nor can it be, isolated from the whole creation and all nations. Israel's faith is that the God of its salvation is the Creator of all who will bring all things to consummation. The story of the Christian Church is one with the story of Israel. Within the movement of universal history there is interwoven the history of a particular people - Israel and the Church and the history of that particular people is really the focus of the one story of the Bible. But that particular history is not an end in itself; it is a means to a greater end – the Creator's reclaiming of Creation gone awry. © Grand Valley State University �The Election of Grace:…for a Universal Purpose Richard A. Rhem Page 3   We have seen in Genesis 1 the Creator's intention for Creation. We have seen in Revelations the Creator's victory - the consummation of the purpose of Creation. But, you may ask - How do we get from the majestic image of Genesis 1 to the moving vision of Revelation 21 and 22? This message will attempt to answer that question - again, not simply to satisfy your curiosity but, rather, in order to give you a sense of what God is doing in our world, in our history, in our lives. We will focus on two passages of scripture as we seek to connect the Garden with the City of God. In our biblical study let us begin with Genesis 11:27-12:3. Genesis 11:27F gives us the genealogy of Abraham. We tend to skip scriptural genealogies, but this one is critical. The Genesis writer is forming a link between universal history - the history of all humankind about which he writes in the first 11 chapters and the particular history he is about to record, the history of the Patriarchs, the forebearers of Israel. In Genesis 11:30 we are told that Abram's wife Sarai is barren. This is no piece of Bible trivia; rather, this is a very intentional notation. Abraham and Sarah are called by God to go out from their family and homeland and go to a place God will show them. God gives them a promise: "I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name so great that it will be used in blessings." And the promise continues, In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. With the call of Abraham we have the most significant break in the Scripture - a break of greater significance than the break between the Old and New Testaments. Genesis 12-50 gives us the story of the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and forms the introduction to the creation of Israel as a nation in the Exodus event. This is the beginning of the story of a particular people called for a universal purpose. This particular people will be the agent through which God will reclaim a creation gone awry. What was the biblical writer saying by connecting the one called Abraham to the human family spoken of in the first eleven chapters? Was he not saying that after the dismal response of the human family to the Creator's call to live in freedom with vocation within the boundaries set by the Creator, the failure of the creature to trust and obey, God was now instituting a new strategy whereby the purposes with which He created would finally be realized in spite of the failure of the creature? Set on the background of the stories of God and all humankind in the first eleven chapters, we can see in God's call of Abraham the method God will use to reclaim © Grand Valley State University �The Election of Grace:…for a Universal Purpose Richard A. Rhem Page 4   the Creation gone awry. And against the background of the Creation stories we can understand the significance of the note in 11:30 that Sarai was barren. The one who calls the world into being will now call a special people into being. Abraham and Sarah are connected to the whole human family - so the genealogy affirms. But what God is about to do is not something possible through natural, normal human agency. Sarai is barren. The human story recorded in Genesis 1-11 ends in barrenness, in hopelessness. There is nowhere to go. God must create this new family by the miracle of God's power and grace. God will give a child to a barren woman and through this miracle birth, God will create an alternative community - a new community by which finally God will restore Creation to its unity and bring about Shalom. On the black background of the stories reflecting universal history, God calls a man and woman who are childless and promises to make from them a great nation that will bring blessing to all nations. The God Who creates the world now creates Israel. God creates Israel in order that, through Israel, God will reclaim all Creation. Abraham - contrary to the stories in Genesis 1-11 (Adam and Eve, Cain, the Flood story, the Tower of Babel) believes God and acts in faith on the promise of God. God says, "Go." Abraham goes. This is God's counter-strategy to human rebellion. When human faithlessness leads to barrenness and thus hopelessness, God calls one family to create an alternative community through which to bring salvation to the world. This God is not and will not be defeated. This God will not accept the human "No." This God will now begin a counter-offensive in order finally to establish His "Yes" to Creation. The call of God to Abraham is spoken of in the Bible as the Election of Grace. It is an election - a choice of a particular people. It is of grace - One was chosen out of the human family with no explanation given, for no reason in the one chosen. It is of God because the call is spoken to, the promise made to human barrenness. Election is the foundation of human salvation; it is the ground of human hope, the basis of human purpose. Election is a biblical teaching that has been misunderstood and misinterpreted. Israel had a sense of being God's elect people - and she was. Israel had a sense of being special - and she was. But Israel misunderstood God's election. She came to think of herself as God's special people to the exclusion of the nations rather than seeing in her election a calling to be a light to the nations. Israel became proud of her election rather than understanding that God's election is cause for humility, © Grand Valley State University �The Election of Grace:…for a Universal Purpose Richard A. Rhem Page 5   for God chooses not on the basis of merit, but on the basis of grace alone - it is pure gift. Rather than awe, humility, gratitude, Israel manifested pride and arrogance. Rather than sensing that she existed for the sake of the world, she set herself over against the world. Rather than seeing in her election God's universal purpose, Israel claimed God's grace as her particular possession. Rather than seeing in her election God's inclusive love, Israel claimed God's love as her exclusive possession. The History of God and Israel is spoken of in scripture as a covenantal relationship. The Old Testament describes the history of the covenant relationship and describes thus the Broken Covenant. Still, hope is not lost. Still, there is the conviction that God will not give up. There will be a new covenant. The New Testament is really the story of the New Covenant. Paul was a person of that old covenant who came to see in Jesus the promised Messiah, the anointed one promised in the Old Testament. He saw how the New Covenant was instituted in Jesus, in Jesus' death and resurrection. In Romans 9-11 he struggles with the question why Israel as a whole failed to see that Jesus was the Messiah, that in Jesus the New Covenant was formed. Paul anguished over Israel's rejection of Jesus. How could this be? Once again the question raised in Genesis 1-11 is raised by Paul: Will Israel's unbelief defeat God's purpose of election? Can the human "No" overcome the Divine "Yes"? Paul's wrestling with the problem of Israel's rejection of Jesus comes out in a tortuous path in those three chapters. If we read the letter as a whole, we find him first of all recognizing that Jew and Gentile are all alike guilty before God. "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Then he presents God's way of righting the guilty through faith in Jesus Christ. In that moving eighth chapter, he writes of how Creation itself in bondage because of human sin, is nonetheless groaning in travail waiting to be set free from the curse - a clear reference to Genesis 3. He concludes his telling of redemption's story with that amazing statement, We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. And he says, "What then shall we say to this? If God is for us, who is against us?" He concludes with that grand utterance, For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Then he comes to the source of his deep anguish - Israel's rejection of Jesus. He struggles to understand. Finally, Chapter 11 opens with the question, © Grand Valley State University �The Election of Grace:…for a Universal Purpose Richard A. Rhem Page 6   I ask then, has God rejected his people? His answer is a resounding, "By no means!" He addresses the Gentiles who have believed, to whom the Gospel has come through Israel's rejection. He counsels humility and awe before the mysterious working of God's grace. Finally he concludes, ... God has consigned all men to disobedience, that he may have mercy upon all. And the thought of the final triumph of grace causes Paul's heart to overflow in doxology. O depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! ... For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. Paul cannot solve the mystery, but rather in wonder and awe he bows before the mystery. He knows not when or how, but he rests in the final triumph of the grace of God. This people Israel - Abraham's line - proved as disobedient in their time as did the totality of humankind whose stories are related in Genesis 1-11. Yet, Paul says God will have His way. God's last word is mercy upon all. The history of Israel from Abraham through all the generations of her history and through 2,000 years of the Christian Church has a midpoint - the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. When God's people said a resounding "No" to Jesus, putting him to death, God said an even more resounding "Yes," raising him from the dead. It was from Abraham's loins that Jesus came. It was in the barrenness of the human situation that God created an alternative community that issued in Jesus, the Anointed One who responded to God's yes with a faithful "Yes" in return. And Paul writes to the Ephesians, For Christ God chose us before the world was founded. Paul revels in the mystery of God's saving determination, a secret now revealed to him. The secret was a purpose which God formed in His own mind before time began, so that the periods of time should be controlled and administered until they reached their full development in which all things, in heaven and on earth, are gathered into one in Jesus Christ. How will God bring Creation to the consummation of His purpose? How will history move from the Garden to the City of God? The link is a people who are chosen by God, graced by God, called to be witnesses to God - a particular people © Grand Valley State University �The Election of Grace:…for a Universal Purpose Richard A. Rhem Page 7   whose gracious election has a universal purpose - to reclaim Creation and to bring all things to the realization of God's purpose. The Election of Grace is the only basis for hope, but it is enough; it is the sure guarantee that the Creator will bring creation to consummation. It is God's initiative through which He will have a people in every generation to witness to all peoples that God is God and God will finally reclaim Creation and bring all God's children home. We are the elect of God. To us the Gospel has been proclaimed, the grace of God given. We can rest in that – no matter what the day may bring, no matter how dark the night, how threatening the crises of life. We can count on that – no matter how frail our faith, how feeble our commitment, how fickle our devotion. That is the Good News by which we live. That is the Good News to which we witness to our neighbor and our world. Thanks be to God! © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost X Series Faith's Foundation Scripture Text Genesis 11:30, 12:1-3, Romans 11:32-36 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-0-19880731 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1988-07-31 Title A name given to the resource The Election of Grace: A Particular People for a Universal Purpose Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on July 31, 1988 entitled "The Election of Grace: A Particular People for a Universal Purpose", as part of the series "Faith's Foundation", on the occasion of Pentecost X, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Genesis 11:30, 12:1-3, Romans 11:32-36. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Election Faith Hebrew Scriptures History of Israel Inclusive Grace https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/9d7800acae3b5bd83bb29ad9928a4823.mp3 710779491cc81b9a94703b56fdb79ad6 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/fc0f432b876419c49ee8237d5cb017f5.pdf e12b99ed207ef16593a54d2f65cb8e4d PDF Text Text Creation’s Goal: Sabbath Rest From the summer sermon series: Faith’s Foundation Text: Genesis 2:2-3; Isaiah 65:23, 25; Revelation 21:3; 22:2-4 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan July 24, 1988 Transcription of the spoken sermon On the sixth day God completed all the work He had been doing, and on the seventh day He ceased from all His work. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy...Genesis 2:2-3 They shall not toil in vain or raise children for misfortune... they shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, says the Lord. Isaiah 65:23,25 Now at last God has His dwelling among humankind! Revelation 21:3 ... the leaves of the trees serve for the healing of the nations. Every accursed thing shall disappear. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be there and His servants shall worship Him; they shall see Him face to face. Revelation 22:2-4 In the beginning, God. And in the end, God. And in the meantime, every seven days, the Sabbath in which to rest and to contemplate the God of our end and of our beginning. In the midst of its history, Israel told its story over and over again and finally wrote its story down - the center being the story of God's mighty act of deliverance from the bondage of Egypt, the freeing of God's people, and the bringing of them to their own land. As they reached back to trace their own history, they appended to the story of their history a prologue, the story of the Patriarchs. And then, in order to connect themselves to the whole cosmos and the whole human race, they appended a series of stories in which they gave expression to their understanding of the universal human condition and the creative purpose of the Eternal God, of the relationship of God and human society, of their understanding of the life and the existence in which they were participating. Genesis 1, "In the beginning, God," expressed the bedrock of their conviction that all that is, is because God said, "Let there be ...," that there is something rather than nothing because God said, "Let there be...," and that the totality of reality is a consequence of a creative intention and design of the One © Grand Valley State University   �Creation’s Goal: Sabbath Rest Richard A. Rhem Page 2   true and eternal God. They went on to speak of the human situation - the story of Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden in chapters 2 and 3. Not a story of two ancient individuals, but your story and my story, the human story, the story of the God Who calls us to vocation, grants us freedom, sets certain limits and boundaries and waits for our response. Genesis 2 and 3 tell us that the tragedy and the tears and the toil of the human situation are the consequence of the human creature usurping sovereignty, taking one's life and destiny into one's own hands, trying to manage and control that which only God can manage and control. Consequently, the disaster and the tragedy that is a very real part of the human situation. We looked last week at the Garden of Eden and the story of Adam and Eve, and we saw the setting and the test and the failure and the consequence, but even in that dark story there were hints of grace. Even there there were indications that God was not through, and that the disobedience of the creature would not finally disrupt the intention of the Creator. In the day that they ate thereof, they did not die. Driven from the Garden, to be sure, yet amidst toil and tears, carrying on a meaningful existence, raising a family, God graciously clothing them, covering the shame of their nakedness, giving us hints of grace and the sense that God was not through with this creature, and that the creature's disobedience would not finally disrupt the Creator's intention. Indeed, the sense we get is that the Creator will bring creation to the consummation of His original intention. That was the faith of Israel. That was the conviction of the Old Testament people of God. The Creator will bring creation to the realization of the Creator's purposes of love and grace. So, Israel appended these stories to its own history, these stories which had universal application and were the common store of all humanity. Israel appended those stories in order to give expression to its own understanding of who it was and what it was called to be and why the human situation was like it was. When it seemed to be all lost at the end of the third chapter, we have the hints of grace, and we ask ourselves, "What now? Where will it lead? What's going to happen? What's next? Who will win - the 'No' of the creature, or the 'Yes' of God?" And we set ourselves up for this breathless drama that will unfold before us. Well, it's not only an ancient question, you know. Is there any hope? Has history any meaning? Is the world going anywhere? What's it all about? What now? What next? In a year of election politics we're going to have many easy answers to the world's dilemma. If you'll pardon just a bit of pastoral cynicism in the wake of a political convention, let me ask the question whether there’s anyone here this morning that really thinks that either Michael Dukakis or George Bush can really change the intransigence of the Pentagon. Is there anybody here this morning that really believes that Gorbachev and perestroika and glastnost will change the © Grand Valley State University �Creation’s Goal: Sabbath Rest Richard A. Rhem Page 3   face of the Soviet Union? Is there anyone here this morning that believes that the hopelessness of the homeless and the hunger of the hungry and the thirst of the thirsty, the despair of the despairing and the lostness of the forsaken will simply be taken care of by the wave of the wand of a new administration? Is there any hope? Where is it going? Where will it end? Might not one, seriously reflecting on the human condition, on the national scene, on the international prospect, come to a sense of futility and hopelessness? And if that's true in the most powerful nation in the most affluent society, in the summertime in western Michigan with sand and surf and blue sky, then what must it have been to the people in exile in the sixth century, the people of Judah living under the oppression of Babylon ready to throw in the towel, ready to say that the gods of Babylon have it? Where is our Lord and God? Is there any hope? It was to that situation that some person of God stood up and said, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and God spoke and it was so, and God looked and said it's good, and the evening and the morning were the first day. And when God was done, God rested from all His work of creation and took delight in it. He blessed the seventh day and made it holy." And to those exiles in Judah, forlorn and despairing in hopelessness, mantled with a sense of futility, they heard the creed of creation put together by some very, very astute weaver of words and ideas which made a powerful statement in their darkness and said, "Our God in the beginning spoke and called all things into being. Our God is the source of light and our God is the source of life. Now, lift up your hearts and wait on the Lord, Who after all of the work of creation, rested, ceased from His work, caught His breath, contemplated the work of creation and said it is good." By putting that seventh day, a day in which God created nothing but tranquility and serenity and peace at the conclusion of the creed of creation, the writer was saying that in the end God will have His way. Genesis 1 was written probably 500 years after Genesis 2 and 3. Five centuries later some prophet of God took it and put it in front of Genesis 2 and 3 in order that Genesis 2 and 3 and everything that followed would be read in the light of Genesis 1, "In the beginning, God," so that there would never be any question in the minds of the people of God that the God that they worshiped was the God of Creation, that the God of their salvation was God alone, the One Who held the whole world in His hand and held their destiny in His hand and in His heart. There was a vision of the Creator Who would bring creation to consummation. That's what Sabbath meant, and that's why every seventh day Israel was called again and again to remember God, to cease from their labor, to desist from their acquisition and their feverish activity, to let go and contemplate God and to worship and to rest and to take delight in God's world. There was a vision by which that people lived through all their days, and in their darkest moments a dream kept them alive. It was the dream of the Creator Who was the redeemer, Who would be the consummator. And what was the dream? Well, around the © Grand Valley State University �Creation’s Goal: Sabbath Rest Richard A. Rhem Page 4   same time that Genesis 1 was written there was a prophet speaking to the exiles in Judah who said, "In the name of God, behold I create a new heaven and a new earth, and the former things will not be remembered. And there will no longer be a child born living for a few days, dying in infancy. And they'll not toil in vain. They'll build houses and live in them. They'll plant vineyards and eat the fruit thereof. It's going to be a beautiful new world, a new heaven and a new earth. Why, he said, it will be such that all toil and all tears and all tragedy will be removed and they'll not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain. Shalom. Peace." Right in the midst of their darkness, one prophet said, "In the beginning, God," and another prophet said, "I create a new heaven and a new earth." It didn't come, and it didn't come, and it didn't come. But, one day Jesus came, and Jesus announced the sovereignty of God, the kingdom of God. And Jesus called to repentance all of those who were living by relative values, called them to God and the kingdom of God. Of course, Jesus was crucified, but God raised him up, raised him up on the first day of the week, and the Early Church moved its worship from the seventh day to the first day, but with exactly the same intention, because they called it the Lord's day, the Lord's day. In the Old Testament the day of the Lord was the day of the End, and what the Church was saying was that the Lord's day is the anticipation of the day of the Lord, of the End, of the Judgment, of the Consummation. What did they believe would be true at the End? Well, we read the magnificent vision, that vision given by Jesus to John when he was in exile for his witness to Jesus when the Roman Empire was mighty in the world, as mighty in its world as the U.S. of A. in ours, or the Soviet Union in our day. And when the persecuting fires of Rome were burning and raging, there was one who had the audacity while he himself was in exile, to bear witness to a vision he had, a dream. What was the dream? The dream was of the heavens opened and the throne of God and of the Lamb, and he heard them singing, "Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty, Thou art worthy to receive power and glory and dominion, for Thou hast created all things, and Thou hast power to reign." And the vision went on, scene after scene, and he saw that time when the angel would proclaim the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our God and of His Christ. He saw all of the events of the consummation coming to their climax and he heard a voice out of heaven saying, "I create a new heaven and a new earth," and he heard a voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling of God is with human persons. And he will dwell with them and they shall be His people and He will be their God. And He'll wipe away every tear from their eyes, and pain shall be no more, nor crying and death shall be no more, for all the former things shall pass away. Behold, I make all things new." And then he saw the City and he saw a river sparkling like crystal coming down the midst of the city, and on its banks was a tree with leaves and the leaves were for the healing of the nations. And the throne was there, the throne of the Lord and of the Lamb and His people worshiped. He wrote His name on their foreheads, and they didn't need the sun or the lamp, for the Lord Himself is their light, and they shall reign forever and ever. © Grand Valley State University �Creation’s Goal: Sabbath Rest Richard A. Rhem Page 5   A dream. A vision spoken into the darkness, spoken into circumstances that seemed to deny it, into a human situation that seemed to betray it over and over again, but a dream and a vision, nonetheless. Every seventh day, people of God cease from their labors, let go, rest as God rested, receiving the world and life as a gift, all of grace, being free for each other, free for God. One seventh of a human person's existence given over to the contemplation of God, Creator, Redeemer, Consummator. One-seventh of our lives carved out in order amidst all of the pressures that press upon us and all of the forces that beat us down and all of the darkness that would enshroud us, one-seventh of our lives to stop, to be still, and to know that He is God, the God of the beginning and the God of the End, the God Who will make good on all His promises, the God Whose yes is stronger than any human no. The God before Whom every knee will bow and every tongue confess, the God Who will finally win and not be defeated. When we join with myriads and myriads and thousands of angels and the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders and the whole created order and sing, "Hallelujah, the Lord Omnipotent reigns." There's a parable at the beginning; there's a parable at the end. There's a garden at the beginning; there's a city at the end. And both of them point us to the deepest, most profound truth that we can ever come to contemplate: the God of our beginning will be the God of our end. That's why every seventh day there is nothing more wonderful than resting in the presence of God. The day of all the week the best, emblem of eternal rest. Alleluia, blessed be His holy name. Amen. © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost IX Series Faith's Foundation Scripture Text Genesis 2:2-3, Isaiah 65:23, 25, Revelation 21:3, 22:2-4 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19880724 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1988-07-24 Title A name given to the resource Creations' Goal: Sabbath Rest Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on July 24, 1988 entitled "Creations' Goal: Sabbath Rest", as part of the series "Faith's Foundation", on the occasion of Pentecost IX, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Genesis 2:2-3, Isaiah 65:23, 25, Revelation 21:3, 22:2-4. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Creator Divine Intention Grace Hebrew Scriptures History of Israel Nature of God Sabbath Shalom https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8a4b57dc89fef0ef13311150131aa54d.mp3 3be59cb7e953c49a00c91aa1e464f3ea https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/260aca7a60c16bc29938caf6227ebdf6.pdf cb0ca5e1c15186ac27ed8f145d640bed PDF Text Text Conversion: From Religion to Grace From the series: The One Covenant of Grace – The Salvation of the World Text: Philippians 2:7 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan October 11,, 1987 Transcription of the spoken sermon But whatever gain I had I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Philippians 2:7 God has determined from all eternity that He will save us, that He will redeem the world. He made a pre-decision. He decided, not only to create, but also that He would redeem, and we noted last week that that pre-decision is spoken of sometimes in the scripture as predestination - simply the determination of God to save, an eternal plan and purpose by which God will become the Saviour of the world. And in the execution of that plan, within the course of human history, He chose a special people, elected a people through whom to execute that plan and purpose, and in binding Himself to that people specially chosen, He entered into covenant relationship. And that covenant relationship with the people specially chosen was in order, again, to execute His eternal plan and purpose, to send that people specially chosen, bound to Him in covenant, to all the world to share good news and to announce the grace and mercy of God for all people. That, in a nutshell, is what the one story of the Bible is all about, and there's one covenant of grace that is witnessed to throughout the whole of the scripture. It is grace in the Old Testament where God called Abraham and bound Himself to him. Abraham believed God and became the recipient of the grace of God. Throughout the whole Old Testament it was a story of a special people, specially graced. God bound Himself to the nation in the event of the Exodus and reiterated the promise that He had spoken to Abraham, "I will be your God, you will be my people." A special people in order that, through that people, all families of the earth might be blessed and the light and the salvation of the eternal God might be witnessed to in the midst of history. Jeremiah the prophet, seeing the dismal results of that mission in the life of Israel and Judah, said, Behold the days are coming when God will bind Himself in new covenant and in that day it will not be a matter of external religion, but it will be © Grand Valley State University   �Conversion: From Religion to Grace Richard A. Rhem Page 2   something of the heart, the law written within the heart when everyone will know the Lord. Jeremiah knew that the whole national scheme of things was falling into shambles, but he also believed that the eternal plan and purpose of God would not fail, that God would continue binding Himself to a people in order that, through a people, there might be light for all people. The choice of a few on behalf of the many. The choice, not simply to salvation, but to mission for the whole world in order that the whole world might come to know that God is gracious, that God is a Saviour. Paul was a son of that old covenant, and the Judaism of that first century had become a religion that had fallen into legalism and moralism as we know all too well from the New Testament witness. And yet, there was still that zeal, that determination and that dedication to God, which we see in the life of a Paul. Paul, as he tells his own story, tells of a life before he met Jesus Christ that was full of religion, that was full of pious practice, that was full of ritual rectitude, that was full of legal morality, that was full of passion, seriousness, dedication and commitment. But the paradox which Paul discovered was that his very religious intensity was the means by which he was cutting himself off from experiencing the love and the grace of God. Paul, writing to the Church at Phillipi, is carrying on a controversy by those who were disturbing those converts that he had brought to Jesus Christ. Those who had come after him said, "Jesus, yes, but also Moses. Jesus, yes, but also the ceremonies of the law, and all of the trappings of religion." Ritual purity, legal rectitude, all of the embroiderment that so easily attaches itself to the relationship of the person to God. Paul had cut through all of that. Paul had had all of that cut through in the moment in which he was confronted by the Risen and Ascended Lord Jesus Christ. You know his story - On his way to throw into prison those who named the name of Jesus, he was overcome with a brilliant light and heard the voice of Jesus. He yielded himself to that voice, becoming the Apostle of Jesus Christ and the great champion of the radical grace of God. Paul was one of the few figures in history who understood the radicality of the grace of God. Paul was converted. Paul was turned around in his tracks. Paul did a 180° twist. Paul's whole existence was transformed in a moment, in the moment that he looked into the face of Jesus Christ, and came to experience the grace - the grace of God in Jesus Christ, his Lord. This morning I want you to see that that one covenant of grace which is the one story of the Bible, which is of cosmic scope and of eternal dimension, that includes the new heaven and the new earth and all God's people, is nonetheless just as individualizing and just as personal as your name. For it is one thing to rejoice in the fact that God is a saviour, that God has determined to renew and to redeem the world, that God has, from all eternity, loved and gives Himself in © Grand Valley State University �Conversion: From Religion to Grace Richard A. Rhem Page 3   love, binding Himself to the creation that He called into being. But finally, what we all need to know is that we are loved, and that He knows our name. The call to turn to God through Jesus Christ comes to us this morning, not as a call to those beyond the bounds of the Church, not to the nonreligious, not to the nonbeliever. We do that. We have a mission to the world. We do proclaim to people everywhere the love and grace of God. But the interesting thing about the call to conversion this morning as it comes to expression through Paul is that it is the call to conversion to people who are religious, for whom religion has become their security project by which they set themselves off from God. That's the interesting thing about religion. Religion walks a narrow line. It can be a blessing, or it can be a burden. It can be freeing and liberating, or it can be binding and depressing. And I'm not sure but I suspect that religion has done more damage in the world than it's done good, and I'm not sure, but I believe that a person is better off with none of it than with a dose of a bad variety of it, because religion can cramp the human spirit. Rather than liberate, it can oppress; rather than inspire, it can dehumanize; it can make a person broken, cowering, crushed. It can be the heaviest burden that one can ever be called upon to bear. Paul understood that. He was deadly serious, deeply committed and passionately involved in the practice of religion. And remember this, too, for Paul this was not some kind of dark, degenerate paganism. Paul was a son of the covenant. Paul lived in the light of the covenant of Israel; he lived in the light of the Torah; he had all of the privilege that was accorded that special people to whom God had specially bound Himself. When we speak of Paul, we're speaking of one who served the true and living God, and what we have to see with Paul was that what he needed was not to believe that there was a God rather than no God; what he had to come to experience was not that he had to turn from his secular life and begin to be serious about spiritual things. The interesting thing about Paul is that he was all tied up in the true religion, in the religion of the true God, in the revelation of the God to Israel. What he had to learn was that all of his religion was his "self-project" by which he was securing himself, justifying himself, seeking to validate himself over against God, to guarantee his life, to secure his existence. That probably is the greatest temptation and the greatest peril to religious people. It's difficult to be the Church. It's difficult to be a society like we are, where religion is practiced, where it has become institutionalized, where it has taken on forms and structures, where it has developed a liturgy, a ritual life, a polity, a form of government; where it has all of the trappings that any human institution has. In such a situation where people are gathered together in the name of God in the religious institution, there comes that subtle temptation to trust the institution, to trust the practice, to trust the exercise of religion and to lose sight of the fact that all of that is only so much scaffolding; all of that is so much instrument or means for the end of coming to experience the grace of God. © Grand Valley State University �Conversion: From Religion to Grace Richard A. Rhem Page 4   Paul came to realize two very important things, which he shares with the congregation at Phillipi. He says that religion, first of all, or the grace of God, the experience of salvation, is not a matter of status. If you want to talk credentials, let me tell you my credentials, he says. He was an Israelite, so he belonged to that special people who had been specially chosen, who had experienced the electing love of God. More than that, he says, I was circumcised on the eighth day; I was ritually proper. Once in a while I sense someone who gets very nervous about being ritually pure. What if we do it this way, or what if we don't do it this way, or what if this is not the process we follow, as though the rituals that we have established have some kind of magic about them. What if the communion is distributed by, God forbid, Deacons rather than Elders? Or if the bread should be broken by an Elder rather than a Minister of the Word or, to be ridiculous, what if the service were at 9 o'clock rather than 9:15? And we may laugh, but religion has that terrifying power of binding people into structures and forms that become absolutized and eternalized, and finally become the things that are trusted, rather than recognizing that all of it could go. All of it could go! We must simply rest in the grace of God, Who needs none of it! And just the time we get so proper and so proud and so arrogant is the time that the Spirit of God needs to shatter all of our forms. Paul was circumcised on the eighth day; so what? His religion was burden, not a means of access to the smile of God. The tribe of Benjamin - that's like saying the family of the Rockefellers, the elite, something a little special. Paul says, No. To be in the grace of God is not a matter of status. But, neither is it a matter of achievement. If it were a matter of achievement, would Paul have needed to find grace in the face of Jesus Christ? No, because there wasn't much that God could do for Paul. He had achieved it all. Hebrew of Hebrew-speaking parents. That means Jews of the dispersion living way off in Tarsus but still speaking Hebrew. That's how serious was Paul's home about the tradition. Still speaking Hebrew. As to the Law, a Pharisee. There were never more than 6,000 of them. There were never many rough and ready religious souls to be able to keep the discipline of the Pharisee. The Pharisee gets bad press in the New Testament and we don't like them very well, but they were serious people. They were the cream of the crop. Not many of us here in Christ Community would qualify, a funny church such as we are! We take anybody. Not many Pharisees could come out of a bunch like you. As to zeal, persecuting the Church. No "live and let live" with Paul. No nonchalance. No easy tolerance. Paul went to haul into prison those who dared to name the name of Jesus whom the likes of Paul had crucified because Jesus put in peril their religion by which they were justifying themselves. And he says as far as the Law is concerned, blameless. Human achievement! Paul was no piker, but he wraps it all up in one little package and tosses it on the dung hill, literally. Translate it more colloquially for yourselves. That's what it was worth as a means of finding peace with God. © Grand Valley State University �Conversion: From Religion to Grace Richard A. Rhem Page 5   A person whose religion is a matter of ought, heavy ought, duty, obligation, onerous grinding out that which has to be done, all the time creating hostility within and repressed anger that can never come out to God and so comes out in ugliness to everybody else - all of that, Paul says, is to no avail. "One day I met Jesus." Paul wasn't converted from darkness to light, from unbelief to belief, from nonreligion to religion. Paul was converted from religion to grace, to the grace of God Who says, "How come you're bustin' your buns, Buddy? I've always loved you. Why don't you relax and let me put my arms around you? And then, incidentally, tell the story." "I considered all of that rubbish for the sake of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord," says Paul. His whole existence transformed. His life changed. Paul converted, realizing what God intended in the first place with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and Israel. And what had happened in Israel happened in the Church over and over again so that a voice like Paul's arises just once in a while and for not very long because the cry of radical grace does not build strong institutions where people are sheep and the religious leaders hold the spigot of grace. Once in a while, through the sham and the ceremony of religious pride and arrogance, a voice is raised, crying, "Radical grace!" and then again the saving God Who revealed Himself in the face of Jesus breaks through and says to people, "Relax. I love you. And there's nothing you can do about it." Amen. © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XIX Series One Covenant of Grace - the Salvation of the World Scripture Text Philippians 3:7 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-0-19871011 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1987-10-11 Title A name given to the resource Conversion From Religion to Grace Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on October 11, 1987 entitled "Conversion From Religion to Grace", as part of the series "One Covenant of Grace - the Salvation of the World", on the occasion of Pentecost XIX, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Philippians 3:7. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Covenant of Grace Hebrew Scriptures Nature of Religion Prophets Salvation of all Universal Grace https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/deaeb2e2f2c369864611a6917435fb72.mp3 b90f08f02952113a7ec343840072b3fb https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/de9b125fa5e4f8940966a940737209a5.pdf 770a0af46478c1d54ff7423dada17174 PDF Text Text One Covenant – One World in Christ From the series: The One Covenant of Grace – The Salvation of the World Text: Genesis 17:7; Ephesians 1:1-10; 4: 4-6 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan World Wide Communion Sunday, October 4, 1987 Transcription of the spoken sermon The story of human salvation begins in the barren womb of a ninety-year-old woman. Hidden in the closing paragraph of Genesis 11 just prior to the call of Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3 is the seemingly insignificant piece of trivia. There we read, "Sarai was barren; she had no child." The biblical writer did not by accident add that little piece of information. The barrenness of Sarah's womb was an eloquent sign of the barrenness of the human situation - a situation of alienation, guilt, fear and hopelessness - indeed, a situation whose remedy alone could be the intervention of God, Creator, new to become Redeemer, Saviour. Now the story of salvation begins, a story of grace embracing the aged couple, entering into a covenant relationship with Abraham to whom would be born the miracle child, Isaac, the gift of the God Who promised, "Your descendants shall be as numerous as the stars in the sky." Today around the world Christians will gather around the Table of our Lord witnessing to their faith in God through Jesus Christ and, whether in the awesome beauty of St. Peter's in Rome or a gathering in someone's family room, they will be witnessing to their unity in Christ and will thereby be counted as Abraham's seed. As we celebrate Holy Communion with the whole Church throughout the world, I want to introduce a theme we will be discussing for the next few weeks - the theme of "The One Covenant of Grace - The Salvation of the World." It is my purpose to unfold the historical track of God's saving action – from the inauguration of the Covenant of Grace with Abraham through the history of Israel, the event of Jesus Christ to the continuation of that Covenant in the Christian Church – indeed, to the present experience which is ours as Christ Community. There is only one story of the Bible; it is the story of the gracious God working within the stream of history for the salvation of the human family and the realization of His eternal plan and purpose in the realization of God's Kingdom. © Grand Valley State University   �One Covenant – One World in Christ Richard A. Rhem Page 2   Paul witnessed to that eternal plan and purpose in that beautiful statement of God's cosmic purpose in Ephesians 1:9-10. Paul was amazed that he should have been given insight into God's hidden purpose now revealed in Jesus Christ. What was God's long-held secret? The secret was a purpose which He formed in His own mind before time began so that the periods of time should be controlled and administered until they reached their full development, a development in which all things, in heaven and upon earth, are gathered into one in Jesus Christ. That is an amazing claim; there one has a statement of eternal dimension and cosmic scope. Paul understood in the revelation given him by Jesus Christ what God intended eternally and what God was working out historically - a salvation of cosmic scope. How was that eternal plan being effected within history? The answer is the one Covenant of Grace. Beginning in barrenness, God called Abraham to inaugurate the process. Now God would choose one to reach many; now God would make a particular choice with a universal intent. God gave Himself to Abraham in a binding covenantal relationship to which God pledged His faithfulness and steadfastness. The formal covenant statement appears in Genesis 17:7. I will fulfill my covenant between myself and you and your descendants after you, generation after generation, an everlasting covenant, to be your God, yours and your descendants’ after you. That was God's strategy: Covenant relationship, a Covenant of Grace. God began small; one man, one woman, one family. From Abraham and Sarah came Isaac and then Jacob and then the twelve sons of Jacob whose name was changed to Israel. The twelve sons became the twelve tribes, the nation, and from the people of Israel issued Jesus in the wake of whose resurrection and ascension the Spirit of Jesus was given in full measure creating the Church. It is one line, the unfolding of the one Covenant of Grace. Covenant is a rich biblical word. The Hebrew word is berith. The Greek word used to translate it in the Greek Old Testament translation is diatheke. There is a long, much debated discussion on the origin and meaning of these terms, but it is clear that the meaning of berith must be determined by its scriptural usage. That being the case, we are faced with the fact that the Greek and English translations do not in themselves adequately convey the Hebrew usage. Thus to translate berith by covenant is not enough, for this is no ordinary human agreement or contract involving mutuality and reciprocity. As John Milton writes in God’s Covenant of Blessing: The religious berith is in one sense unilateral: it is God alone who initiates the covenant always. It is intended to become a mutual agreement, and © Grand Valley State University �One Covenant – One World in Christ Richard A. Rhem Page 3   does so become, by the response of man to it; but in its origin the berith is unilateral: it is God's covenant with man. (p. 5) He adds, The direction of the covenant is from God to man. The covenant originates with Him; He speaks the words: He lays down the conditions; it is His covenant, which takes on the aspect of mutuality when the people respond by accepting the terms and by promising to be obedient. (p. 6) God takes the initiative; the Covenant is God's binding of Himself to the human person, the human family. It is not a necessary arrangement; it is a gracious arrangement initiated, ratified and guaranteed by the faithfulness of God. The human person is called to respond, to trust, to obey, to act faithfully toward the Covenant God. But God is the ground and guarantor of the relationship. That, then, is God's strategy - to enter into a gracious, personal relationship with a person, a family, a nation, a people, having thereby an instrument by which to reach the whole world. That God makes a covenant with men, whether it be with an individual or with a community of individuals, is the same as to say that he acts in relation to them with gracious purpose; that he seeks fellowship with them and offers fellowship to them; and not least, that he calls them into a holy partnership of service in relation to other men. The covenant is a way of interpreting history which recognizes the presence and activity of God in the historical process; which believes that God has set a goal for human history, and has given to men whom he has called a divine mission relevant to that goal ... God reveals himself in the making and keeping of covenant; the covenant which from the beginning had as its gracious purpose and goal the salvation of the world, a redeemed humanity, a people for God's own possession, a holy nation, (p. 15F) Thus, in the strategy of calling a particular people, God has always had as a goal the salvation of the whole world. Today the Christian Church which through Jesus Christ (Abraham's Seed) has entered into the Covenant Community witnesses to its recognition that it is essentially one body. Paul had no doubt about the oneness of the Church and in his Ephesian letter gives a moving call to Spare no effort to make fast with bonds of peace the unity which the Spirit gives. For, he goes on, © Grand Valley State University �One Covenant – One World in Christ Richard A. Rhem Page 4   There is one body and one Spirit, as there is also one hope held out in God’s call to you; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:3-6) From the one gracious God issues the one covenant of grace, which creates one redeemed people, called to witness to the whole world until God's eternal purpose of salvation is realized. Let me set four fundamental biblical words before you as you gather before this Table of our one Lord. The first is predestination. How many specters does not that heavily freighted word conjure up! But, reflect for a moment; is not that precisely what Paul is pointing to in Ephesians 1:9-10? The secret was a purpose which he formed in his own mind before time began…in which all things, in heaven and upon earth, are gathered into one in Jesus Christ. That is a "Wow!" statement. Predestination points to God's eternal intention to effect salvation on a cosmic scale - a renewed heaven, a renewed earth, a renewed humanity. The second word is election. That word, too, has been so disastrously abused, the source of religious pride and arrogant self-righteousness. But to what does it refer? To God's choice and call of a family, a nation, a people to be His special community for the bringing of light and salvation to all people. Election is not the choice of some to the exclusion of the rest, but the choice of some on behalf of the rest. The third word is covenant. That word speaks of that gracious, personal relationship to which God gives Himself, in which He binds Himself to a people, whom He has called, chosen, to mediate His grace to the world; a people He loves, nurtures and faithfully preserves, having redeemed them and commissioned them to be His special people through which to reach the world. The fourth word is mission. The eternal plan and purpose of God - God's predecision to be gracious, to redeem the world; God's election of a people to be the instrument of that gracious salvation; God's initiation of a binding covenant relationship with that chosen people - all of that has the end and goal in mind that the world might be saved. The salvation of the world is God's intention and the election of a Covenant Community is for the purpose of mission to the world. Again - God chooses some, not to the exclusion of the rest, but on behalf of the rest. © Grand Valley State University �One Covenant – One World in Christ Richard A. Rhem Page 5   Before us is set the Table of our Lord Jesus Christ. On the Table are bread and wine, signs of his body and blood, broken and poured out for the life of the world. In the bread and wine we are reminded, In Eternity God determined to create and redeem the world; in the course of history He called a people upon whom from eternity He had set His love. With that people, He entered into a binding relationship initiated by Himself - a covenant relationship - in order that that people might be the means by which light and salvation will be brought to the world. How ought we respond to such an amazing scenario? Would it not be the only appropriate response to stand before God with wonder and awe? Should not being chosen fill us with amazement, humility and gratitude? And particularly - must we not be in solidarity with all sisters and brothers of the faith - for there is one Body, one Spirit, one hope, one faith, one baptism, one Lord, one God and Father of us all and in solidarity with the whole world which seeing our unity, will see a sign of the unity of the Father and the Son - the love of God for the whole world? None other than Jesus prayed for such unity that the world may know... ... may they all be one. ... that the world may believe ... Then the, world will learn that thou didst send me, that thou didst love them... John 17:20-23 One day the whole world will know. The universal scope evident with the initial giving of the Covenant to Abraham will be realized. I heard a loud voice proclaiming from the theme: “Now at last God has his dwelling among men! He will dwell among them and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be an end to death, and to mourning and crying and pain; for the old order has passed away! Revelation 21:3-4 Amen and Amen! © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event World Wide Communion Pentecost XVIII Series One Covenant of Grace - the Salvation of the World Scripture Text Genesis 17:7, Ephesians 1:9-10, 4:4-6 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19871004 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1987-10-04 Title A name given to the resource One Covenant - One World In Christ Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on October 4, 1987 entitled "One Covenant - One World In Christ", as part of the series "One Covenant of Grace - the Salvation of the World", on the occasion of World Wide Communion, Pentecost XVIII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Genesis 17:7, Ephesians 1:9-10, 4:4-6. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Covenant God of Grace Hebrew Scriptures Salvation of all https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/6f3ac4624ef7903bcf74df8cc7ebda25.mp3 383eccdaf8f29ca33da240fc9e946558 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/185ea116476724e6281225ad0b24f03f.pdf 9f7bebc6c38294ed1da1505c7bcc13b1 PDF Text Text Commitment and Prayer in the Purpose of God From the sermon series: The Mystery of God’s Sovereign Grace Text: Nehemiah 1:11; Nehemiah 2:5 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan September 6, 1987 Transcription of the spoken sermon History is the arena of human decision and action. We speak of some persons as history-makers; their leadership, decisions, actions have moved the course of history along and shaped the future. Who are the candidates for such designation? Each would have a different list. Every period of history would suggest different names. But, whoever is mentioned, we know intuitively that we are speaking of persons who grasped the situation, responded with a plan and acted decisively. The persons themselves were conscious of facing options, making decisions, and acting, sometimes with tremendous struggle – yet acting and thereby determining the course of human events. For example, early in the Second World War, the British secured a machine that gave them access to the German code machine called Heydrich-Enigma. British intelligence was thus able to gain access to Hitler's plans before they were executed. In November 1940, a message was decoded which indicated that the city of Coventry in England was to be bombed. Hitler was determined to devastate non-military targets in an attempt to crush civilian resistance. Within minutes of the order issued, Churchill had it in his hands. If he evacuated the city, he would reveal his knowledge of the German code; if he did not, thousands of civilians would be killed, or suffer. He kept the knowledge to himself. On November 14, the Germans struck. The raid was so devastating that Berlin boasted that every town in England would be "Coventryized." The sacrifice of Coventry guarded the secret of access to the German intelligence, which, it is claimed not without warrant, was what turned the tide of the war in Europe. Perhaps more than what happened on the battlefield, it was the secret war of intelligence that tipped the scale of victory for the Allies. But think of the terror of decision that rested on Churchill. He had to decide; he had to act; and he did - in great anguish. © Grand Valley State University   �Commitment and Prayer in the Purpose of God Richard A. Rhem Page 2   But in this series of messages we have been pointing to another level of intention and action, a transcendent dimension - indeed, the involvement of the sovereign, gracious God. To speak of God in connection with history and human willing, deciding and acting is in no way to take away from the genuineness of the human agent. Queen Esther risked her life in pleading with the King on behalf of the Jewish people. Joseph utilized his every human gift and endowment in administering the Egyptian economy in preparation for the period of famine. Churchill's act was Churchill's act. But, human history is not one-dimensional. There is a sovereign and gracious God Who is working His purposes out in and through, in spite of us at times, and sometimes against the will and decision and action of the human agent. Esther's foster father, Mordecai, said, If you remain silent at such a time as this, relief and deliverance for the Jews will appear from another quarter. Esther 4:14 Joseph said to his fearful, pleading brothers: Do not be afraid… You planned to do me harm; but God planned to bring good out of it… Genesis 50:19-20 Such a conviction is at the heart of biblical faith. The events of history move along a dual track. The purpose of the eternal God is being effected and will finally be realized in and through the decisions and actions of human history. This series title begins with the word "Mystery." Again it must be emphasized: what we are attempting to point to is a mystery; it is not open to human observation, nor is it susceptible to human verification; it is an affirmation of faith; it reflects a fundamental trust in God, in God's sovereignty, in God's gracious purpose to redeem that will not fail. That purpose is revealed in God's election of Israel; it is revealed most fully in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ; it is witnessed to in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament; it has always been at the heart of the faith of the people of God. Theologians have argued and debated the question of the will and purpose of God and the relationship of God's will to human will and action. Abstractly one can only affirm the sovereignty of God's purpose at the expense of human freedom or, conversely, affirm the genuineness of human freedom at the expense of God's sovereignty. © Grand Valley State University �Commitment and Prayer in the Purpose of God Richard A. Rhem Page 3   The Bible is not an abstract book of theology; it is the story of God's saving purposing intertwining with human willing and acting – human willing sometimes in revolt and rebellion, sometimes in obedience and commitment, but always genuinely human willing and acting. The Bible is a story - a narrative made up of many stories of happenings over wide centuries. The stories reveal what human reason and the canons of logic can never clarify - We purpose, plan and act; God purposes, plans and acts, and the latter is effected through the former. If there is this two-level development operative throughout history's course, where is the connection? Let me suggest that the connection lies in the prayer and commitment of the person who is available to God. It must be recognized that God's will and purpose meets resistance and opposition, sometimes outright rebellion. I must clarify further that everything that happens in history is not the will of God. There is so much so obviously contrary to that will. Therefore, I have said several times that God's purpose is effected through us, in spite of us, without us, against us. All that is true. Still, God's purpose marches on. He will create a new heaven and a new earth. He will redeem His people. He will save! But let us focus in this message on how God's purpose is effected through the human agent who is available to God to be the instrument of His purpose. And my contention in this message is that it is prayer that links heaven and earth; it is prayer that creates the opening for the thread of God's purpose to be woven into the tapestry of our lives. Perhaps you will respond that I have taken on a large enough task to relate the Divine and human will, the plan of God and human planning without now bringing in the mystery of prayer. One mystery is quite enough; why confuse matters further? I respond that it is not my purpose to dissolve the mystery - as if I could; rather, it is to point to the mystery. And further, to point to the mystery not by reasoned argument, but rather by using the biblical method - telling a story. The story today centers in Nehemiah. It is told in the Old Testament book that bears his name. Nehemiah was a layman. In the period after the Exile, he became the Governor of Jerusalem and with single-minded determination led the inhabitants of Jerusalem in a great effort that rebuilt the city of Jerusalem and restored good order and spiritual vitality to the people. In 587 the Babylonian Empire under the famous Nebuchadnezzar finally destroyed the city of Jerusalem, taking people into exile for a second time and this time burning the city, destroying the Temple and the walls, leaving the city in shambles. In the rise and fall of Empires, Babylon arose to dominance. The © Grand Valley State University �Commitment and Prayer in the Purpose of God Richard A. Rhem Page 4   Persian King, Cyrus, overcame Babylon in 539. This was an important development because the Persians proved a benevolent power supportive of the religions of the empire. Cyrus promulgated an edict that the Jews in exile could return to Jerusalem. The prophet, Second Isaiah, saw Cyrus as an instrument in the hand of God - even called him a shepherd of Israel. He is my shepherd and shall fulfill my purposes. (Isaiah 44:28a) And again: Thus says the Lord to his anointed (messiah), to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped… (45:1) Some Jews, fired by the vision of the dawning Kingdom portrayed by Second Isaiah, returned to Jerusalem but not all, by far, for many of the exiles had prospered well in Babylon. Cyrus issued another decree that the house of God in Jerusalem should be rebuilt and the Temple vessels returned. Between 538 and 522 B.C., when Darius came to the Persian throne, a good number of Jews returned to Jerusalem. Fired by a vision for the restoration of the former glory of Jerusalem, the returned exiles found it was no easy matter to rehabilitate the city. The population was mixed, the Samaritans to the North having filtered down and intermarried. The returnees were a threat to what had become the new order, dismal though it was. There is always resistance to disturbing the status quo, even when it is nothing to speak of. But the work began. In the second year of their return, the foundation of the second Temple was laid. But soon opposition arose. The Samaritan governor refused permission for the work to continue. Friction developed between the people who had remained whom the exiles considered impure because of their mixed marriage and unauthorized worship practices, and the returned exiles who had a great zeal to set up a new community uncompromised by the lax practices of the past. The work of rebuilding remained in abeyance from the time of its cessation until the second year of Darius - the year 520 B.C. Then the prophets Haggai and Zechariah carried on a crusade, which stirred the people to action anew. Opposition surfaced again, but a new decree from Darius set the work in motion again and he even gave royal support and financing. In 515 B.C., the second Temple was completed. But something must have happened to dampen the ardor of the returned community because not much further progress was made in rebuilding the city. The community was poor; leadership seemed to be lacking and there was not the will or vitality to move forward. Poverty of means and poverty of spirit seemed to characterize the Jerusalem community. © Grand Valley State University �Commitment and Prayer in the Purpose of God Richard A. Rhem Page 5   That brings the story up to the time of Nehemiah. Nehemiah had done well in exile. He had risen to prominence in the Persian court, being the cupbearer of the King, a position of great trust. He tasted the wine before the King to ensure that some palace plotter had not poisoned it. He was located in the empirical city of Susa and was visited by his brother, Hanani, who came from Jerusalem. Nehemiah asked his brother about the state of affairs in Jerusalem and was told about the sorry estate of the people and the city itself. He heard a report of the trouble and reproach that had fallen on the people of God, how the walls were still broken down and the gate yet in ruins. Hearing the report, Nehemiah says, I sat down and wept. Then he prayed, confessing the sin of the people, acknowledging their shortcomings and unfaithfulness and that their miserable condition was brought on by themselves. Yet he reminded God of His covenant faithfulness and then prayed, Grant me good success this day, and put it into this man’s heart (the King’s heart) to show me kindness. One day, appearing before the King, his unhappiness and distress must have been obvious and the King asked him what was wrong. He shared his grief at the terrible conditions in Jerusalem and the King responded, "What are you asking of me?" This was the moment, the opening Nehemiah had been looking for. Nehemiah says, I prayed to the God of heaven, and then I answered…send me to Judah, to the city…so that I may rebuild it. The King responds favorably. He sends not only Nehemiah, but also a royal escort and the authority to do what was on his heart. This was probably in the year 445 B.C. The story reads like a thriller. In spite of opposition, threat and peril, Nehemiah rebuilt the walls, installed gates and restored the security and dignity of the city, and in chapter 6:15 we read the task was accomplished in 52 days. That seems almost impossible. The historian Josephus says it took two years and four months. No matter. A monumental accomplishment was achieved. And he did more than build the walls. He became governor and brought renewal to the whole community life and worship. Nehemiah offered superb leadership. He had great strength of character and clarity of vision. His soul was fired by a religious passion for the wellbeing of the people of God and he threw himself into the task with vigor modeling out in his © Grand Valley State University �Commitment and Prayer in the Purpose of God Richard A. Rhem Page 6   own person, his attitude and action, his total commitment to the purpose of God, which fired his soul. Nehemiah was a person of deep religious commitment and faith. His first act upon hearing of the disgrace into which Jerusalem had fallen, was to pray. He prayed for success. He prayed before answering the King. He prayed when the opposition threatened to shut down the work (4:4-5), and in a beautiful balance of prayer and action, we read, So we prayed to our God, and posted a guard day and night against them. (4:9) Ejaculatory prayer punctuates the narrative (5:19, 6:9, 14, 13:14, 31). It is obvious that he was a truly devout person totally caught up in executing the mission he sensed was his and totally dependent for success on the power of God. One commentary summarizes this man thus: He combined in his person the qualities of firmness, love of and zeal for God, land, and people, and a fierce dedication to the proposition that his was the only way to achieve immediate ends to which he committed himself ... (Ezra-Nehemiah, Anchor Bible, p. LXXXIII) The story of Nehemiah is a thrilling tale of a person captivated by a vision, driven by a burning passion, totally committed to the purpose of God. Nehemiah was available to God to be an instrument of his purpose and totally dependent upon God to bring success to his careful planning and energetic action. Nehemiah is a model of how prayer links heaven and earth, Divine purpose and human agent in the carrying out of the sovereign, gracious purpose of God to establish His Kingdom. Reflecting on that story there are several important lessons to be learned about our theme: first, it must be obvious that the ministry of Nehemiah could only flow from a vision of the plan and purpose of God. Nehemiah was a Jew of the Exilic community long separated from Jerusalem if, in fact, he had ever been there, but he was not separated from the vision that has always characterized Israel at its best: its calling to be the concrete demonstration of God's Kingdom within history, its calling to be a light to the nations, a model of human society living under the gracious rule of its redeeming God. Nehemiah was a son of the covenant. He trusted the promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He believed that God had a special destiny for this people and that in Abraham's seed all nations would be blessed. That's the reason for his deep anguish when he heard of the despair and disgrace in which Jerusalem was lying. It was that deep sense of calling to the redeeming purpose of God that created the grief of his soul at hearing that Jerusalem - City of God - was in such a state of destitution. © Grand Valley State University �Commitment and Prayer in the Purpose of God Richard A. Rhem Page 7   The point I want to stress is that it was precisely that vision of what God was about in the world that created in Nehemiah first the anguish, but then the burning desire to do something about the tragedy of this people chosen to be the instrument of God's saving purpose. Rather than sitting on his hands, shrugging his shoulders, letting things go on from bad to worse, the vision of the Kingdom drove him to respond, to make himself available to God as an instrument for the effecting of His purpose. Nothing of significance happens apart from a vision, a dream. There are many dreams; there are many good and worthy dreams - some are purely personal, some may be essentially selfish, some may embrace loved family, some may involve a community or larger segment of society, some the nation. But there is one dream that transcends them all, that takes us out of ourselves and saves us from boredom and meaninglessness - it is the dream of God's saving reign; it is to be caught up in that great purpose of the sovereign and gracious God to bring health, healing and salvation to the whole earth for all earth's children. From whence does it come? How is one captivated by such a vision? It cannot be self-generated; we cannot whip ourselves into a froth and manufacture passion out of our own soul. But we can open our minds, our inspirations to the vision of the Kingdom and just maybe God will put it in our hearts to yield ourselves to be the instrument of His purpose. That brings me to a second observation - such a vision lodged in our hearts will drive us to prayer. That seems as natural as breathing. Who has ever caught a glimpse of the cosmic sweep of God's purpose and then set out in his own strength to bring it about? Nehemiah did not rush headlong into frantic action. He heard the report and he wept. He was overcome with deep anguish. Before he made his report to the King for permission to go to Jerusalem to rebuild it, there elapsed a period of four months. It was a time for prayer, meditation and waiting upon the Lord. If it was to be God's mission, it could only be nurtured in communion with God and God must take the initiative, create the opening. And God did! Prayer - communion with God must be the normal, intuitive response of one who senses the vision and begins to feel the calling. Only then will the situation ripen and clarity be achieved. It is God Who must open the doors for service for the one who would be available to Him. Nehemiah's deep concern was registered on his face. The King sensed something going on in the life of his servant. His question provided the opening and Nehemiah's preparation in prayer readied him to take the opportunity to make his request. That must always be the process by which we move from vision to © Grand Valley State University �Commitment and Prayer in the Purpose of God Richard A. Rhem Page 8   action. Prayer links heaven and earth and puts God's servant in the way of serving. But, thirdly, Nehemiah moved on then to exercise his best administrative gifts. He was accompanied by a royal escort, supplied with royal undergirding and he came to Jerusalem. But not with fanfare. He came and remained silent and hidden for three days while he took the situation in. He toured the ruins in the dark of night getting the feel of the situation. He planned his course wisely and carefully and only then called the citizenry together and unfolded his plan. In all of this, of course, he did not cease to pray; but he did not pray and then leave matters to happen as they might. He was praying as he planned and planning as he prayed. And finally he committed himself totally and without reservation to the effecting of the planning, poignantly aware that his was the decision to become involved, to make himself available, to be at God's disposal. He could have shrugged it off. What he was committing to was to be the instrument to effect God's plan, a plan that would finally prevail through him or without him. Did that recognition cut the nerve of his commitment? Did that knowledge sap his creative energy? No! On the contrary, God's plan became the foundation of his planning; God's sovereign purpose became the engine that drove his best efforts and galvanized his creative imagination. Finally, he could be totally committed and totally relaxed. His was the task; he chose it. But all is grace; all is of God. And if that collides in our rational faculties, it nonetheless rests easily in our depths because intuitively we know we are free and responsible – history-makers; but we "know" as well that all is of God, Whose sovereign, gracious purpose will prevail. Heaven and earth are wonderfully linked in prayer and commitment as one opens one's life to become the instrument of God's purpose. And one day the tapestry of history will include the tapestry of our personal histories, and woven through it all will be the thread of the purpose of God and that thread will spell "Grace." Amen. © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XIV Series The Mystery of God's Sovereign Grace Scripture Text Nehemiah 1:11, 2:5 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19870906 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1987-09-06 Title A name given to the resource Commitment and Prayer in the Purpose of God Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on September 6, 1987 entitled "Commitment and Prayer in the Purpose of God", as part of the series "The Mystery of God's Sovereign Grace", on the occasion of Pentecost XIV, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Nehemiah 1:11, 2:5. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives God's Sovereign Grace Hebrew Scriptures Mystery Prayer Salvation Vision https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/da5fcc1cf7affa7689a8acc7c98ff66c.mp3 4508c2163ce6c177f52acbbf713803da https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7beb25a746e130ab88dc98445e3663d6.pdf 6d37b6b917f4beef3c452ea1035f784d PDF Text Text Finding Our Destiny in God’s Gracious Purpose From the sermon series: The Mystery of God’s Sovereign Grace Text: Esther 4:14 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan August 23, 1987 Transcription of the spoken sermon …if you keep silence at such a time as this, relief and deliverance will rise…from another quarter, but…who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this? Esther 4:14 To have a sense that one's life is caught up in a larger purpose, a drama of cosmic proportion and eternal significance must be one of life's greatest gifts. To have a sense that one's life makes a difference, has a meaning and purpose, is to be energized, to be fulfilled, to find happiness. To have a sense that one's life plays a role in the gracious purpose of God must be the ultimate satisfaction. It is a source of peace and wellbeing; it conveys a sense of worth and value, enabling one to live with self-esteem and confidence. God's purpose is not accessible to human reason. It may even sound presumptuous to speak of finding our destiny in God's gracious purpose. Yet, the Scriptures are replete with stories of those who had a sense that God had a mission for them to execute through which He would effect His purposes. God does reveal Himself; He does move in and through the structures of history and the circumstances of our lives as He moves the created order toward the realization of His purposes. To believe that is an act of trust. It is trust in God, in God's sovereign, gracious purpose. It is trust in the midst of conflicting evidence and ambiguity. It is trust in the face of mystery. But it is trust which confirms itself in the assurance worked in the hearts of God's children by God's Spirit. Biblical faith affirms that God is active in history, that history will be brought finally to the goal God has established and that God will realize that goal through the free and responsible agency of those who make themselves available to be the instruments of His purpose. That is saying a great deal; it is a statement of faith trust in the providence of God. © Grand Valley State University   �Finding Our Destiny in God’s Gracious Purpose Richard A. Rhem Page 2   That providence is not self-evident; it is not easy to trace; it can never be verified with anything like scientific proof. Providence operates in a provisional and guilty world, a world full of capricious events which we call chance and full of determinism, which we call fate. The purpose of God will be effected through the agency of free and responsible persons who can say "no" as well as "yes" to God's purpose; He will not crush nor coerce. Still, our faith affirms, He will accomplish His purpose -a purpose of salvation - working all things together for our good. That is our confidence. In all of life's circumstances, in light and shadow, in success and failure, in heights and depths, we are securely in the hand of God and, whether the way is plain or full of confusion, we trust God's sovereign grace to accomplish His goal; even more, as we open our lives to God we have a sense of destiny, of being a partner in the great drama of redemption. There has been so much argument and debate, so much confusion and conflict over the question of the will and purpose of God and finding God's will for one's life that it may seem futile to try once more to discern that purpose and discover one's destiny. Yet we do so not to engage in speculation, not to play theological games. Our purpose is rather to gain that sense of being in the will of God, of finding our destiny in His gracious purpose. A story is better than philosophical discourse and the Bible is full of narratives from which we gain insight into the trust that has characterized the People of God. Such a story is the Old Testament book of Esther. It was probably the most contested book to enter the Old Testament canon. It has always had its detractors, even among Jewish scholars. Martin Luther disliked it intensely. It has been much debated but finally it is part of the Jewish canon, part of our Old Testament and it witnesses to the theme of our present series, affirming in a powerful way faith in God's sovereign gracious purpose at work in the arena of human history. The story probably has an historical core, although it is probably also an adaptation of a Persian story about the origin of a festival – perhaps a Festival of the New Year. It tells of the origin of the Feast of Purim on the Jewish calendar. Just as the early Christians adapted pagan feasts, which lie behind our Christmas and Easter festivals, but filled them with Christian meaning, so the Jews in the story of Esther gave a "historical" setting for the origin of the Feast of Purim. The story itself is full of drama and intrigue. Carey A. Moore gives a concise resumé of the story in The Anchor Bible Commentary on Esther. He writes, Before going further, we should summarize the story which has raised so much controversy. One day, during one of his lavish drinking parties, King Xerxes was feeling high and ordered Queen Vashti to appear before his guests, so that he © Grand Valley State University �Finding Our Destiny in God’s Gracious Purpose Richard A. Rhem Page 3   might show off her much rumored beauty. When she refused, the king deposed her immediately (ch. i). Later he launched a large-scale search throughout the kingdom to find someone suitable to replace her. Among the many attractive candidates taken to his bed - but only after a year of extensive beauty preparations - was the Jewess Esther, the niece and adopted daughter of Mordecai the Jew. A beautiful and shapely girl, Esther was quite popular among all who knew her at the palace, and not surprisingly, the king chose her as his queen. Some time after this Mordecai learned about a court intrigue against the king; he told Esther, who in turn warned the king in Mordecai's name but without revealing that she herself was a Jewess. As it turned out, Moedecai's good deed was officially recorded although he was not rewarded at the time (ch. ii). Later on, Mordecai refused to bow down to the king's prime minister, Hainan, because he was an Amalekite and thus the mortal enemy of all Jews. In revenge for this disrespect, Haman persuaded the king to approve a pogrom against the people who were the principal obstacle to the.success of all his plans for the empire. These "enemies" were, of course, the Jews. Nevertheless, Haman succeeded in getting the pogrom accepted without identifying them by name. Thus an edict was sent throughout the empire, declaring that on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, all Jews, including women and children, were to be wiped out and their possessions plundered. Dictated by Haman but written in the king's name and sealed with the king's signet, the edict was irrevocable (ch. iii). As soon as Mordecai heard about the edict, he ordered Esther to intercede for her people. Reluctant to approach the king unsummoned, for fear of being summarily executed, Esther was finally persuaded by Mordecai to take the risk. To improve her chances of success, she insisted that all the Jews in Susa, herself included, observe a strenuous three-day fast, after which she would appear, unsummoned, before the king in her most fetching attire (ch. iv). When Esther approached the throne three days later, the king received her most cordially, assuring her that her request would be granted no matter what it was. But instead of interceding for her people then and there, Esther invited the king and Haman, her greatest enemy, to dinner. At that time the king repeated his sweeping promise to grant her almost any request, but she asked only that the king and Haman come again for dinner the next day; then, she assured him, she would ask her favor. Haman, of course, went away jubilant, flattered that only he had been invited to the queen's dinner with the king. The taste of victory and joy turned to ashes in his mouth, however, when he noticed Mordecai sitting at the gate, acting as if nothing had happened to him or his people, and still refusing to bow down! Haman controlled himself until he got home, © Grand Valley State University �Finding Our Destiny in God’s Gracious Purpose Richard A. Rhem Page 4   where. after boasting to his wife Zeresh and friends of all his accomplishments and honors, he admitted to being robbed of any joy and self-respect by Mordecai's continuing contempt for him. When someone suggested he ask the king's permission to hang Mordecai, the idea struck him as perfect; and he ordered a seventy-five-foot gallows constructed outside his home (ch. v). That night, when the king could not sleep, he had his journal read aloud. In this way he was reminded of how Mordecai had saved his life by uncovering the assassination plot against him. Embarrassed to realize that Mordecai had never been rewarded, the king determined to remedy the matter right away and, on learning that his prime minister was waiting in the outer court, asked that he come in. Without indicating the particular person he had in mind, the king asked Haman what should be done for someone he especially wanted to honor. Unable to recognize anyone's merits but his own, Haman assumed that the king wanted to honor him; he therefore advised that a royal robe and horse be given to that man, and that a high-ranking official of the court go before him throughout the city, crying, "This is what is done for the man whom the king especially wants to honor!" One can imagine Haman's surprise and dismay on learning that Mordecai was the man to be so honored and that he, Haman, would be the high-ranking official to wait on Mordecai and walk before him. Returning to his home mortified and seeking solace, Haman was cautioned by his wife and friends that if Mordecai really was Jewish, then Haman would never get the better of him (ch. vi). If Haman left home for the queen's party hoping to forget his humiliating experience and have his ego bolstered, he was rudely disappointed. During the party the king reaffirmed, for the third time in two days, that he would grant Esther virtually any request. Realizing that it was now or never, Esther asked that she and her people be saved from destruction, arguing that she would not have bothered the king if they were only to be made slaves. When the king demanded that she identify her enemy, she pointed to Haman as the one who had abused his position of power and the king's friendship. So surprised and incensed was the king that he bolted from the room. Haman, left behind, begged Esther to intercede with the king on his behalf. As Haman begged Esther for his life, and possibly even touched her as she lay upon her dinner couch, the king returned. For this serious violation of decency and harem etiquette Haman was sentenced to death on the spot. When Harbonah, one of the eunuchs attending the king, informed him that Haman had constructed a gallows for Mordecai, the king ordered Haman to be hanged on it himself (ch. vii). As compensation for Esther's suffering, the king awarded her Haman's estate, which she, in turn, gave to Mordecai; the king also appointed Mordecai Haman's successor. Unable to revoke Haman's letter instituting © Grand Valley State University �Finding Our Destiny in God’s Gracious Purpose Richard A. Rhem Page 5   the pogrom against the Jews on the thirteenth of Adar, the king did the next best thing: he granted Mordecai full authority to compose a letter, in the king's name and sealed with the king's signet, granting Jews the right to defend themselves that day and, more importantly, encouraging all public officials to aid them. Mordecai hoped that this letter, copies of which were sent throughout the empire, might counteract the potential evil of Haman's letter; but although the letter may have had its intended effect on many, it did not deter all (ch. viii). When the thirteenth of Adar arrived, the enemies of the Jews were still so numerous that the Jews that day killed five hundred men in Susa and seventy-five thousand elsewhere. But although granted specific permission to plunder, the Jews did not do so. Throughout the empire they celebrated their victory on the fourteenth of Adar with feasting and the exchanging of gifts, but their enemies were still sufficiently strong in Susa for Esther to request permission to fight there the next day as well, and to expose the corpses of Haman's ten sons killed the day before. Permission was granted, and so the Jews in Susa fought also on the fourteenth, killing three hundred people but not taking any plunder. Thus they celebrated their victory on the fifteenth of Adar, instead of on the fourteenth with the rest of the Jews throughout the empire (ix 1-19). Mordecai kept a record of these things, and later wrote to all the Jews, commanding them to continue to observe Purim on the fourteenth and fifteenth of Adar (the holiday being named after the pur, or "lots," which Haman had cast to determine the propitious day for the pogrom) as the days of salvation and deliverance, and to observe them with feasting and gladness. Later on, to re-enforce Mordecai’s command, Esther used her authority as queen and as the people's heroine to write a letter to the Jews throughout the empire, encouraging them to observe forever both days of Purim (ix, 20-32). With Mordecai as his prime minister, the king's fortunes and programs prospered; Mordecai himself grew in power and influence among the Persians and in the affections of the Jews (ch. x). Esther, like Ecclesiastes that provided our text for the first message in this series, is an Old Testament Wisdom book; it is probably neither pure fiction nor pure fact. It may be characterized as an historical novel. It has more in it of nationalistic passion than religious devotion; yet it witnesses to a profoundly held conviction which has always characterized the faith of Israel and thus of the Christian Church - namely - God is working His purpose out in the history of the world and He uses persons open to His call to be the instruments of His purposes. Esther found her destiny in the gracious purposes of God to rescue His people. This conviction is rooted in faith in God's sovereign gracious purpose to redeem the world. We can use the term predestination - God is a God of covenant. He © Grand Valley State University �Finding Our Destiny in God’s Gracious Purpose Richard A. Rhem Page 6   wills to be the God of us human persons and He created us to live in covenant community with Him. This is His predestinating will. That term scares us. It has been terribly abused, entangled with speculative philosophical notions that have made God too often a monster and the human person a puppet. Yet, rightly understood, predestination is the source of our confidence and our peace. God is for us - God will redeem the world, renew the whole cosmic order, gather His children, rebellious, guilty, anxious and untrusting though they be, to Himself and we shall dwell in the brightness of God's eternal kingdom. Predestination simply points to God's decision, God's intention that precedes everything. Predestination speaks of pre-decision, not pre-determination, as though everything is mapped out and set in ironclad mechanical fashion ahead of time. Everything that happens is not pre-determined. Everything that happens is not the will of God. God deals with us in a gracious personal relationship. God created us in His image endowing us with freedom and responsibility. He invites us to join in the movement of His Kingdom and the adventure of realizing the world's salvation, but God is not a divine bulldozer cutting a swath through all cosmic, historical and human obstacles; God is not a divine steamroller crushing and squashing all in His path. God invites cooperation, but tolerates opposition. And yet, and here is the mystery, His children who have come to trust Him live in the confidence that finally His purposes of love, of sovereign grace will be realized. All of this is evident in the words of Mordecai to Esther: …deliverance for the Jews will appear… The question in Mordecai's mind was not whether God would come to the aid of His people; it was only when and where and by whom. Mordecai confronted Esther in a calm and deliberate manner. He was confident under pressure. Disaster loomed in the near future; yet there is no panic; he is not biting his fingernails. He simply sets forth the situation inviting Esther to act, to put herself at God's disposal for the salvation of His people. Mordecai is not paralyzed by fear or overcome with anxiety. Nor is Mordecai a superficial optimist who simply whistles in the dark, hoping the evil will be denied by a cheery, if hollow exterior. The crisis is real; the situation is serious; tragedy may well be the outcome. His word to Esther is that if she keeps silence she need not think that her privileged position as Queen will secure her safety; she will be exposed to the same suffering and possible death as are all of her people. Faith in God's redemptive purpose, confidence in God's sovereign grace does not mean insulation from the suffering and tragedy of human existence. There is no safe island free from the ravages of human sin and the scourge of evil. Is it not paradoxical that precisely the Jewish people who have suffered so tragically throughout the centuries are the people who give to the world this faith in the God of history Whose sovereign grace will prevail? © Grand Valley State University �Finding Our Destiny in God’s Gracious Purpose Richard A. Rhem Page 7   In Fiddler On The Roof, the closing scene silhouettes the villagers of Anotevka and their wagons piled with their worldly possessions, leaving the village, on the road again seeking some safe oasis in a world that has visited pogroms and persecution on them, driving them from place to place but seldom giving them rest for long. Mordecai is no superficial observer of human existence. He knows he may die. He knows Esther may die. He knows his generation may be wiped out from the Persian empire. But he knows something more. God will not die, nor will His purposes finally be defeated - finally, "deliverance will appear." And then this, too, is so vividly illustrated in the story: God's sovereign grace operates, not apart from but precisely through the human agency of His people. This is the challenge Mordecai puts to Esther: Who knows whether it is not for such a time as this you have come to royal estate? Who knows, Esther, but that your rise to position in the Kingdom might not have been for just such a moment. In the Greek translation of the Esther story, the word for time is not chronos, ordinary time, the succession of moments and minutes and hours and days - the word from which we get chronology. Rather, the word is translated Kairos - the moment weighted with eternal significance, the opportune time. The critical moment, the moment which will shape and determine all succeeding moments of chronological time. The Kairos moment is the moment in history in which is unleashed the sovereign, gracious power of God which moves history along toward the goal of God's determining. It is a "hinge time" on which swings the future. It is the moment of great opportunity for those who would put themselves at God's disposal to be the instruments of His purpose. It may be missed. Jerusalem missed it and Jesus wept over the city, crying, If only you had known, on this great day, the way that leads to peace! But no; it is hidden from your sight…because you did not recognize God’s moment when it came. But it may be captured and one may sense that one's life, one's destiny is caught up in the gracious purpose of God to bring salvation to the world. Such a view of human existence, historical reality and the sovereign purpose of God is far removed from a pagan fatalistic view of things. God is not playing chess with us, moving us about on the board of history. There is genuine human involvement, sometimes yielding to His gracious will, sometimes resisting His © Grand Valley State University �Finding Our Destiny in God’s Gracious Purpose Richard A. Rhem Page 8   sovereign purpose. But through it all – and again – this is the mystery – God is working His purposes out. He has contingency plans. Jesus said to the religious leaders of his day, “Say not we are the children of Abraham” as though only through them could God's purpose come about, for, Jesus said, “God can raise up of these stones children to Abraham.” God will not coerce us. But our stubborn rebellion will never paint God into a corner. All does not depend on us; that would be too heavy. But God will use us if we are willing, and to be caught up in God's great movement to bring about His kingdom is to find life's highest and best; it is to be finally satisfied, fulfilled, happy with a joy that will never fade but only grow through the eons of eternity as we live in the brightness of His eternal presence. Esther made her choice; she captured the moment; she was used of God as an instrument of salvation for God's people. She took the risk, saying, "If I perish, I perish." In total commitment to the purpose of God, she found her destiny. There is no higher privilege or richer gift. Reference: Carey A. Moore, Esther (The Anchor Bible Commentaries). Doubleday, 1971. © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XII Series The Mystery of God's Sovereign Grace Scripture Text Esther 4:14 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI References Carey A. Moore, Esther (Anchor Bible Commentaries), 1971. 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-0-19870823 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1987-08-23 Title A name given to the resource Finding Our Destiny in God's Gracious Purpose Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on August 23, 1987 entitled "Finding Our Destiny in God's Gracious Purpose", as part of the series "The Mystery of God's Sovereign Grace", on the occasion of Pentecost XII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Esther 4:14. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Divine Intention Hebrew Scriptures Nature of God Providence of God Salvation Sovereign Grace Wisdom Literature https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/6c2b106cac0b166771abb3d77699d85a.mp3 a9795bef12c4f5263c624a08fbfadad9 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e3eddcc5f2fc5394e3f2b9435dc647dc.pdf 72ba7e2986c6678df23d30c7497f7483 PDF Text Text No Doubt About It; No Comfort In It (A Believing Agnostic’s View) From the sermon series: The Mystery of God’s Sovereign Grace Text: Ecclesiastes 3: 11, 19 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan August 16, 1987 Transcription of the spoken sermon He has made everything beautiful in its time; also he has put eternity into man’s mind, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. Ecclesiastes 3:11 ,RSV For man is a creature of chance and the beasts are creatures of chance, and one mischance awaits them all: death comes to both alike. Ecclesiastes 3:19, NEB I begin today a series of messages that will focus on God's purpose in human history, thus, God's purpose in human life. I entitle the series, "The Mystery of God's Sovereign Grace," with deliberate intention. I use the word "mystery" because the truth of God's purpose is not accessible to unaided human reason. Great minds have speculated and reflected on the purpose of God; volumes have been written and endless debate has been engaged in. Yet, God's purpose cannot be discovered by human reason. Still, the purpose of God is critically important to us all and we all know those significant junctures in our lives when we have cried out in frustration, "If only I knew what God's purpose is!" And the Bible says much about the will of God and God's purpose, but its truth is available only to those who trust that word, those to whom the Spirit of God addresses the Word. Mystery as I use it does not deny the possibility of knowing the purpose of God and acting within it; it only denies that human reason can master that reality by its own effort. I use the word “Sovereign.” Sovereign means in its adjectival usage, "standing out above others, excelling in some respect, supreme, paramount, principal, greatest or most notable." Sovereignty means “supremacy, pre-eminence in respect to excellence or in respect to power, authority and rule.” © Grand Valley State University   �No Doubt About It; No Comfort In It Richard A. Rhem Page 2   Especially the Reformed tradition has been noted for its stress on the Sovereignty of God – a characterization that has sometimes become a caricature. I do not speak of the sovereignty of God, although I do not deny it, but, rather, I speak of the sovereignty of grace; that word, too, is of critical importance as we discuss the will and purpose of God, because we are speaking not of an absolute Who, by the use of raw power effects His purposes, but of a God Who exercises His power in gracious, personal relationship. God's purpose and will is a mystery; it can be discerned only by revelation, received by faith. God's purposes will be effected; God is God. God's purposes will be effected graciously; God's dealing with us is personal, respecting our personality. One can trace the debate that has raged over the centuries on the relationship of God's will and human will. It is an old theological question and in the terms in which it has been debated, it can never be solved. Theologians on both sides of the issue have refused to leave it where we begin – in mystery. Rather, the mystery has been dissolved one way or the other, either by referring everything to the will of God and reducing the human person to the status of powerlessness, or by asserting human freedom at the expense of God's sovereign rule. The debate always ends unsatisfactorily because the two parties are viewed in such a way that what is gained by one is at the expense of the other. The whole dogmatic edifice has been challenged in the last three centuries. If we begin with the Enlightenment, which revolutionized the thinking of the continent in the 18th century, then we can see how the question has been handled to the present time with a radical shift from the older understanding of the will of God. The older orthodoxy was clearly on the side of God's sovereignty. John Oman writes, A doctrine both of God and of man of the utmost simplicity and definiteness was possible on the old dogmatic basis. God was the absolute and direct might and all He did without error or failure; and man was the creature of His hand, directly fashioned and needing nothing for his making but the word of power. Then to deal with the Omniscient was to have infallible truth, to deal with the Supreme to have absolute legislation, to deal with the Omnipotent to have irresistible succour. Faith was acceptance of infallible truth, justification coming to terms with absolute legislation, regeneration the inpouring of efficacious grace; and the whole dogmatic edifice stood solid and foursquare. (Grace and Personality, p. 19) Oman continues, So long as God's only adequate dealing with man is thought to be by the might of omnipotence directed in an unswerving line by omniscience, we © Grand Valley State University �No Doubt About It; No Comfort In It Richard A. Rhem Page 3   shall be apt to regard the underpinning of the old foundation, at all costs to facts, as a work of piety;... But that conception of God's way of working is precisely the assumption which needs to be challenged. First, we shall never inquire humbly into the actual way of God's dealing with His children, if we commence by laying down regulations for it a priori. Second, the regulations are much more determined by the idea of how an absolute force would act than by any notion of God as Father. Third, either the sphere of direct operation of omnipotence and omniscience is so restricted to special experience of special persons that religion ends where our bitterest need of God begins, or, failing that restriction, is so extended in indifference to good and evil, that God is only another name for the cosmic process. Fourth, could we succeed in restricting its sphere to matters of revelation and personal salvation, we should still be left with the unanswerable question, why, if this is His only adequate method, the Almighty should employ the inferior which admits error and follow so extensively, possibly so exclusively? (p. 24F) Using a beautiful image, Oman suggests that we have misconceived God's manner of working with us, His children. Rather than Omnipotence directed by Omniscience, God deals with us in a gracious personal relationship which takes seriously the freedom and responsibility with which He endowed us. He writes, God does not conduct His rivers like arrows, to the sea. The ruler and compass are only for finite mortals who labour, by taking thought to overcome their limitation, and are not for the Infinite mind. The expedition demanded by man's small power and short day produces the canal, but nature, with a beneficient and picturesque circumambulancy, the work of a more spacious and less precipitate mind, produces the river. Why should we assume that, in all the rest of His ways, He rejoices in the river, but in religion, can use no adequate method save the canal? The defense of the infallible is the defense of the canal against the river, of the channel blasted through the rock against the basin dug by an element which swerves at a pebble or a firmer clay. Then Oman asks the crucial question: And the question is whether God ever does override the human spirit in that direct way, and whether we ought to conceive either of His spirit or of ours after a fashion that could make it possible. Would such irresistible © Grand Valley State University �No Doubt About It; No Comfort In It Richard A. Rhem Page 4   might as would save us from all error and compel us into right action be in accord either with God's personality or with ours? (p. 25F) Again, he declares: All infallibilities presuppose an idea of grace mechanically irresistible. But a direct force controlling persons as things is no personal relation between God and man ... (p. 26) Oman rejects such a mechanically conceived notion of Grace and an idea of God "that poses Him as omnipotence directed by omniscience, thereby overriding the personality of the human person. Rather, he affirms that God and the creature He has fashioned in His own image are bound in a gracious personal relationship. The old argument always started from the wrong conception of the relationship of God and His child. The illuminating fact which makes us persons and not things, is that we are nothing except what we receive, yet we can receive nothing to profit except as our own ... (p. 33) Oman will join an absolute moral independence and an absolute religious dependence. They are not opposites, but necessarily one and indivisible. This is the theme we will be focusing upon as we hear the biblical witness from the Old Testament. We will begin with a rather familiar passage from a rather obscure Old Testament book, the Book of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes is a somewhat obscure Old Testament writing. We do not know the author and we cannot fully endorse every claim made in these chapters. The writer was a bit of a cynic and he really has no grasp of the grace of God, although he is a keen analyzer of the human condition. I remember my professor of preaching warning us to beware of the uninspired sayings of inspired persons. By that he was pointing out that not every expression from the lips of biblical characters represents God's truth. Ecclesiastes is a fascinating piece, but it is not the Gospel. Ecclesiastes was not soon nor easily accepted into the Jewish canon of scripture. Tradition points to Solomon as the author, but this is doubtful. Yet the connection with his name probably helped gain it acceptance into the canon. The writing ends commending belief in God, obedience to His commandments and the reality of judgment. But throughout it is a vivid picture of the vanity or emptiness of human existence. Judaism reads this work on the fourth day of the Feast of Tabernacles, perhaps on this day of joyous festival, to remind people that life and its joys are fleeting and everything has its season. This work reminds us that to whatever heights of hope and faith the soul may rise, the fact remains, as © Grand Valley State University �No Doubt About It; No Comfort In It Richard A. Rhem Page 5   the writer of the letter to the Hebrews reminds us, that "here have we no continuing city." (Hebrews 13:14) There is an attractiveness about this Old Testament writing for, while it does not share the secret of God's grace as we know it in Jesus and the hope that we have in light of the resurrection, nevertheless there is a kind of clarity of thought, honesty of observation and integrity of mind which we cannot help but admire. His straightforward acknowledgement of the tragic dimension of life is a healthy corrective to shallow optimism and. superficial piety which is at root a denial of reality and thus basically unhealthy and unhelpful. The writer of this book had no doubt about the existence of God, or about His sovereign sway, but he found no comfort in it. God was in control but the human creature had no knowledge as to what He was doing or where things would end. The writer cannot always be believed; he was an agnostic - a person who simply doesn't know. He never takes a position or makes a commitment because he is never certain of anything. Still, he is a "believing agnostic;" he believes in God's power, rule and control, but it's all an enigma to him. To be an agnostic is not very satisfying, but it's not terribly irritating, either. But to be a believing agnostic is to be not satisfied and constantly agitated. To be a believing agnostic is to believe too much to let it rest, and not enough to get anything out of it. To be a believing agnostic is one who surveys life, finds no clue as to its meaning, no sense of its direction, no feeling of grace, no succour, no sustaining or everlasting arm underneath, no kind of peace that the Eternal God is one's refuge, but still with kind of a haunting feeling that God is and God's in charge and God's about something, and God will make it happen, but God only knows what. Now, the writer to the Ecclesiastes is really quite a person. Really, I like him. He is so honest. And when is the last time you ever found any honesty in the Church? The nice thing about the writer to the Ecclesiastes is that he has intellectual integrity. He dares raise the tough questions. He believes that God is and God will get on by Himself all right, without him defending Him, but in the meantime, he's got some real tough questions before the Almighty. He says, in effect, "You know, I believe You are, but if You're so smart and so powerful, how come life is such a mess?" The writer had a candor about him and integrity about him that pious church people too often lack. We mask things over; we rationalize on behalf of God; we make excuses for God. When life is lousy, we don't dare say, “Life is lousy! Where in the world are You?” With the writer to the Ecclesiastes, it comes right out. He says sorrow and joy, tears and laughter, building up, tearing down - all of those marvelous things that he lists in the first eight verses which are so familiar and so popular that people ask them to be read at funerals and at weddings. The poetry is great. But, what is the issue of it all? He says, "God has put eternity in my heart - just enough so that I know there's something going on. But it beats me what it is." © Grand Valley State University �No Doubt About It; No Comfort In It Richard A. Rhem Page 6   He observes life and he says there really ought to be some connection between good conduct and proper reward. If you're a good guy, things ought to come out right, and if you're a bad guy, things ought to come out badly. But, he says, "Not the way I see it. I see good guys with bad things happening to them, and I see bad guys winning the Lotto Jackpot. From what I can observe in human experience, things don't come out right. Faithfulness and loyalty and steadiness and hard work and honesty and integrity and all of those good things you preach saying that things will work out nice - not the way I see it." And he said, "I don't know. I can't really see a lot of advantage of being human rather than a beast. And who knows if the human spirit goes up and the spirit of the beast goes down?" Now, you can read the whole book and you will find a few more positive statements sprinkled throughout, but by and large the conclusion of this writer is that all is vanity. He had no doubt about it - God is and God's at work and God's got a plan and God's got a program - no doubt about it, but no comfort in it, because as far as he's concerned, it escapes him totally. Well, for him, there is a mystery of sovereignty, but no grace. I like him. I like his honesty, and his insight into the human situation is a lot more honest than one generally hears from the pulpit. But, I'm afraid that his observation has left him not just patient with the rhythm of life, but caught in the web of fatalism which has left him weary, living on the edge of cynicism, draining him of energy, leaving him depressed. That is where an awful lot of us are an awful lot of the time. I think there is a whole pack of religion in the land that could be characterized as "No doubt about it, but no comfort in it." There is a lot of our religion that is just going through forms, an automatic response, a sense of obligation and duty - the feeling that maybe there's something in it and if there isn't nothing lost. It probably won't hurt. There is an awful lot of religion that could be characterized as not a doubtful kind of response, but certainly a comfortless kind of issue where God is maybe the center of the great machine, maybe a life force. Perhaps one could simply resign one's self to whatever will be, as the stoic. "Grin and bear it." A kind of noble resignation to the inevitable. But, as far as figuring it out is concerned, it's arbitrary, capricious, chance, no kind of rationale, no movement, no direction, no discernible goal. God? Yes. Mr. Gallup comes and says, "Do you believe in God?" "Yes." What? 95%? Maybe 98%. There aren't many good, red-blooded atheists in the world. Must be something. Takes a lot of faith to believe there's no God, or something like that! Now, that's a dismal way to live. Some supreme power putting me on the pan, testing me to see what's in me. No, thanks. What a dismal kind of Sovereign this is. Totally lacking in any great, any redemptive purpose, any loving embrace. It's a biblical witness, though. Ecclesiastes had a hard time getting in the canon, but © Grand Valley State University �No Doubt About It; No Comfort In It Richard A. Rhem Page 7   it got there. It's there, and there are a lot of us there, too, if we would be honest enough to admit it and to write it down like this writer did. Well, obviously, I can't leave it there. But, neither do I want to leave there too quickly. I can't send you out into the rain that dismally, but I don't want to take you out of it too quickly until you have felt the question, until you have honestly asked yourself, "Does that characterize my religious experience - no doubt about it, but no comfort in it?" How differently one like the Apostle Paul experienced the whole gamut of the human situation. He said, "I've learned how to be abased; I've learned how to abound; I've learned to be content in the whole human situation, with all of its ups and downs." So he shared with the Church at Philippi. That was in the wake of looking into the face of the ascended, reigning Christ, who had also lived in the depths of human darkness, but had been raised by the power of God. The same apostle writing to the Church at Rome said, "I am convinced that nothing can separate us from the love of God, the God Who works all things together for the good of those who love Him." Now, we can't stay with Ecclesiastes in the Christian Church, but it's good for us to hear the questions, to sense his honesty and his agony and to admit that a lot of the time we're weary too, drained of energy, paralyzed by a sense of helplessness and hopelessness, having no doubt about it, but sustaining no comfort in it. I point you, rather, to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus who said, "If you've seen me, you've seen the Father," the light of the knowledge of the revelation of God in the face of Jesus Christ. That God, Who has been with us in the depths, is the One Who is persuasively but ever so gently and always graciously moving us toward the heights. Stay tuned in. Stay with it, because there's a lot more to come, and there are a lot more stories here that are filled with light and glory, so that maybe even we might move from having no doubt about it, but no comfort in it, to the place where we can honestly rest in the Lord. Let us pray. God, our Father, we shuffle through life, too often with our shoulders bent and our eyes on the road. We lack the energy; we live without a dream; we're not captivated by a vision; our life is gloomy, at best. God, set us free; encounter us. May there be a rift in the heavens; may a light break through; may a light surprise us, the surprise of Grace, that will enable us to lean and to rest and to praise Thee. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Reference: John Oman. Grace and Personality, 1917. © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XI Series The Mystery of God's Sovereign Grace Scripture Text Ecclesiastes 3: 11, 18 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI References John Oman, Grace and Personality, 1917. 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-0-19870816 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1987-08-16 Title A name given to the resource No Doubt About It, No Comfort In it (A Believing Agnostic's View) Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on August 16, 1987 entitled "No Doubt About It, No Comfort In it (A Believing Agnostic's View)", as part of the series "The Mystery of God's Sovereign Grace", on the occasion of Pentecost XI, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Ecclesiastes 3: 11, 18. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Doubt Faith Hebrew Scriptures Mystery Nature of God Sovereign Grace https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/bbeafed1aeec1f5b67e43cae8647809e.mp3 a7b1f50eab2126bcd08ae8e05894ebc1 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/15f7d80541dc3bf9ff2e3c9ae017f1ee.pdf e59d94c1a8e350f873d0cedaf66e4058 PDF Text Text Jacob: The Conquest of a Wheeler-Dealer From the sermon series: No Stained Glass Saints Text: Genesis 32: 24, 28 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan October 12, 1986 Transcription of the spoken sermon So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him… Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel… Genesis 32: 24, 28 The biblical story is not about what extraordinary people can do to effect the purposes of God, but rather, what God can do through very ordinary people in the establishing of His Kingdom. And in the Church, I am sure, the sin of preachers and Sunday School teachers is to get the focus all wrong, to lift up biblical characters and to make of them heroes and heroines, to put them in stained glass, to remove them far from ordinary folk like us, to make them exemplary models to strive after and to emulate, thereby robbing us of the common humanity that we share with the people that God has used through the centuries in the unveiling of the biblical drama. The Bible is not about saints in stained glass. It's about ordinary people, just like you and me, people with clay feet exposed, people who could be described as mixed bags, people with strengths and weaknesses, with good points and bad points, people who perform nobly on occasion and fail miserably the next moment - unsteady people. The story is not about faithful people who were able to effect the purposes of God, but a faithful God Who is able to use unsteady people for the realization of His Kingdom purposes. So, for a few weeks we're going to look at some of these biblical characters who have been put in stained glass and removed far from us, not really to shatter their image, but simply to be honest with the biblical narratives before preachers cleaned them up. Biblical characters have been set before us for so long as those exemplary persons whom we ought to emulate, and we in our own experience have felt so far removed from the faith of Abraham, the devotion of Peter and Paul, the loving commitment of a David, that we've written ourselves off as ordinary people as though there was a day when spiritual giants walked the earth, © Grand Valley State University   �Jacob: The Conquest of a Wheeler-Dealer Richard A. Rhem Page 2   but now is the time for ordinary peasants to make their way as best they can, as though there was a day when God did spectacular things, when He was really here, using great spirits, noble people for the effecting of His purpose. And now it's just business as usual with ordinary folk like you and me to whom God really wouldn't give a second look, or be able to do some great thing. This series of messages is not intended to debunk the saints, but to cause us to see that the biblical story is not really about extraordinary individuals far removed from us through whom God works, but rather about ordinary people through whom an extraordinary God can effect great things, because the Bible is not our story, but His story. And the Bible is a story, not about the great achievements of a few saints, but the marvelous grace of a God Who will never give up, in spite of the material with which He has to work. The likes of Abraham and Jacob and David and Peter and Paul and Mary and, well, John and Scott and Susan and Nancy, and all the rest here this morning – the likes of us – that's what the Bible story is made of, and I want us to get that focus right. For when we get that focus wrong, we make it a human drama. Then we sense our own lack and our own falling short, and we have pressure, that sense of oughtness, a legalism and moralism that distort the biblical drama. The wrong focus breeds pride, because if I am successful, I can congratulate myself for having been so faithful, so steady, so committed, so devoted, having such great faith. And if I fail, I despair of God's mercy, because then I write myself off thinking, if only I had more faith, if only I could pray with greater devotion, if only I could serve with deeper commitment, if only I were a better person, then maybe God would heed my prayer, then maybe He would heal my ill, then maybe He would rein in my child, if only I were better, if only I were like so and so. On the one hand, there's pride: "Look what I have accomplished. Look how God has blessed me." On the other hand there is despair: "Who am I? What good am I? Obviously, God wouldn't do anything with the likes of me. Obviously, my prayers go nowhere. Obviously, I might as well give up on myself, hope to get in by the skin of my teeth, because I'm just an ordinary peasant, full of ambiguity, light and darkness, good and evil." Both the pride and the despair are out of place, because the point is not what we can accomplish in the Kingdom of God for the purposes of God. The biblical story is about what God does through us, around us, in spite of us – all to His glory and according to His purposes of Grace, which He established before the foundations of the world. The Bible is God's Story, and we and Abraham and Jacob and David and Peter and Paul and Mary and Rahab and Ruth are just all the minor characters caught up in this great drama that is God's story. So, let's look at one of these biblical characters who can teach us a lesson or two, to encourage us in our own pilgrimage of faith - Jacob. Jacob is the story of God's conquest of a wheeler-dealer. I might have entitled it, "The Con Artist of the Covenant." Jacob is about as unsavory as the mess of © Grand Valley State University �Jacob: The Conquest of a Wheeler-Dealer Richard A. Rhem Page 3   pottage he cooked up was savory. Jacob is the kind of guy you hope never moves next door. He's the kind of guy you hope never comes home dating your daughter. He's the kind of guy who puts you on your guard, turns you off and raises suspicions that he can never be trusted. Jacob is one of the Patriarchs! We pray to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel, who gave his name to that Old Testament people. Jacob – what a person on whom to found a nation that was supposed to be the special instrument in the hand of God for the effecting of His purposes. Think about it for a moment. Think about how ridiculous it is - Jacob. Who would have chosen Jacob? Who would have trusted Jacob with anything? Who would even have wanted to be identified with one like Jacob? If I were God, I could have made a better choice than that. Give me somebody who is trustworthy, somebody who is stable, someone who has unquestioned integrity and tested authenticity. If I'm going to identify my cause with somebody, I want that person to be of sterling character - like Peter! Or John. Certainly not Jacob. I don't really want him on my team. For one thing, he'll be after my job! And for another thing, he'll probably be draining off your capital gains. No, Lord, You could do a lot better than Jacob. What are You doing with Jacob, when there's Esau! Now, who wouldn't like Esau? They are twins, and already in the beginning there is the clue that this is not an ordinary story. Rebecca had a very difficult pregnancy. That's how rotten Jacob is. He began kicking before he was born. They called him Jacob, which meant "heel," which is maybe because, so the story goes, he reached out and got Esau's heel, as Esau was being born ahead of him. But it's also possible in that translation that he was named heel because he was a kicker and a screamer. And the word has to do with heel; maybe we associate heel with deceiver, supplanter, because this guy was a con-artist, a conniver, a manipulator, a liar and a cheat. Rebecca said, "I don't know if I'm going to make nine months or not. I'm going to die!" And there was an announcement, a prophecy. Two nations in your womb, two peoples, going their own ways from birth! One shall be stronger than the other; the older shall be servant to the younger. Where did it come from? Who heard it? There was something strange about those two children already in the womb, and what is the biblical story pointing to? Isn't it pointing to the fact that when it comes to the purposes of God, things are not left to chance or to accident, but that in and through the things that happen in the natural course of events there is already a word spoken by God that reflects an eternal purpose of God that God is about something in this world and history. I don't know why Jacob was chosen. Frankly, I'd rather have Esau in my tent. But just as in the case of Isaac, the child of promise who came to Abraham and to Sarah who was barren, by the promise of God so here it is repeated. Rebecca was barren. Why? Because, just in case the point was missed in the previous generation, God will establish it again in the third generation that there is to be © Grand Valley State University �Jacob: The Conquest of a Wheeler-Dealer Richard A. Rhem Page 4   an heir, the chosen one who will carry on this purpose of God spoken to Abraham. It will not be through fleshly desire or Isaac and Rebecca, but because God said, "I will open the womb. I will give a child of promise." That is pretty heavy, but that is what this story is telling us. Let's follow Jacob through for a moment. Next scene, Momma's boy close to the tent, is cooking up a bowl of soup. Esau comes in from the field, hungry. The firstborn, the rightful heir to the rights of the firstborn, says, "Give me a bowl of soup." Jacob says, "You like the soup? Smells good, eh? You want a bowl of soul, Esau? Give me your birthright." Birthright. Spiritual blessing. Intangible goods. Something for the future. Esau says, "Man, if I don't get that bowl of soup, I won't have a future. Give me a bowl of soup and you can have the birthright." Well, not too commendatory, Esau, but I can identify with that. How many of us haven't preferred a present, tangible gift rather than a future spiritual blessing? And then, having moved into position at that point, having taken advantage of a brother in his vulnerability, we get that most dastardly of all scenes where he tricks his old, blind father and robs Esau of the blessing. Now, if this is a good, moralistic sermon – I mean a good, moralistic story like most sermons and most Sunday School lessons – then we would say, "Jacob did this and now Esau's angry and Rebecca's worried for Jacob's life, and so she is going to send him away and now he's going to get his. Be sure your sins will find you out. The way of the transgressor is hard." Right? Wrong! Jacob goes off into the wilderness, fleeing for his life. He lies down in the wilderness alone, guilty, afraid, and has a nightmare. Right? Wrong! He falls asleep like a baby and sees a ladder with angels going up and down and Almighty God saying, "You're my boy. I love you, and I'm going to be with you and I'm going to protect you and I'm going to bring you home." Just exactly what we said, isn't it? Be sure your sins will find you out. The way of the transgressor is hard. This liar, cheat and deceiver goes off in the wilderness with a whole burden of guilt, enough to spread over the whole world, and what happens? He gets a marvelous revelation of a gracious God. Well, the Bible story could make it easier for us, couldn't it? I could say at this point, "Go thou and do likewise," but that wouldn't exactly be the point, would it? But, listen to this point. It's not a story about human behavior and human conduct. The Bible's not a story about, "Be good and you will be blessed, and be bad and you will suffer." The story of the Bible is not about the little moralisms and legalisms that either make us proud of our righteousness or scared of our unrighteousness. The story is about God Who does something in the world through us, around us, in spite of us, according to His own purpose and His own good pleasure and His own sovereign Grace. © Grand Valley State University �Jacob: The Conquest of a Wheeler-Dealer Richard A. Rhem Page 5   Jacob is no stained glass saint. He's a miserable and abominable cheat and deceiver, the last person on earth who ought to see a revelation like that, which doesn't point to the fickleness of God, but to the grace of God Who says, "I chose you and I've got ahold of you and I'm going to stick with you and I'll protect you and I will effect everything I have said that I will effect through you because I am God." I like that kind of God, really. He blows my mind. He shatters all of our little pedestrian categories. He's a God Who is about something in this world that is greater than any one of us and transcends all of our strengths and all of our weaknesses, Who uses us in spite of ourselves, in our highs and in our lows, Who never gives us reason to be proud. "Let him that boasteth, boast in the Lord," said Paul. After he had said that God had called the things that are despised, the things that are not, in order to effect His purposes, he concluded, "Let him that boasts, boast of the Lord." No room for human pride, and no room for human despair, for there is no one, no one so wicked and raunchy, no one so meanspirited but what he can be the instrument of the Eternal God for the effecting of His purposes for the glory of His name. Now, that reduces us to where we ought to be reduced - to a position of humility before the Sovereign God Who was doing something in this world. Blessed be His name, and He'll do it with the likes of us - you and me, mixed bags that we are, filled with ambiguity, bubbling with enthusiasm, motivated by high ideals, falling flat on our faces, fickle and feeble, dedicated one moment, dry as a bone the next, unsteady, unfaithful, flawed and fallible. Blessed be His name, Who takes clay like this and does His thing! Well, Jacob went to Laban, got into real conflict there with his father-in-law. He met his match. They really drained all their mutual energy trying to outfox one another. And Laban was pretty good at it, but God was with Jacob, and when they finally parted, Jacob took Laban's daughters, his grandchildren, and his flocks and fled, Laban coming after him. God said to Laban, "Don't you touch him." And when they finally did part, after Laban had caught up with him, they parted with what I once thought was a nice benediction. Did any of you ever go to Junior Christian Endeavor? That was a youth organization a hundred years ago when I was young. We closed the meetings every week with a Mizpah Benediction. "The Lord watch between me and thee, while we are absent one from another." I thought that was so marvelous. Isn't that marvelous? We could all say it, couldn't we? Every Sunday. "The Lord watch between me and thee, while we are absent, one from another." I always had a warm, cozy feeling about that benediction, but you know what it really meant? That was what Laban proposed to Jacob. He said, "The Lord watch between me and thee while we are absent one from the other because you've ripped me off time and time again, and I don't want you to come near me again!" That's Jacob. © Grand Valley State University �Jacob: The Conquest of a Wheeler-Dealer Richard A. Rhem Page 6   Finally, he comes to the great crisis in his life. He struggles all night alone the day before he's going to meet Esau and something good happened there. If you go home and read that story, you will find a real prayer of a man who was afraid and vulnerable. I think God was eventually getting through to Jacob. I think he was finally at a point where he knew that he couldn't always connive his way through all of his life, and he offered a beautiful prayer and made all the preparations he could, and then, before he met Esau, he was encountered by a man who wrestled with him all the night. It's a very mysterious story. We must assume that it was a wrestling with God, not that God is a man or that God is a physical being, but however that story is to be conceived, it is obviously the point at which Jacob came to terms with the Sovereign God Who wrestled with him and allowed him to hold on to Him all night long, but when push came to shove, with a touch, crippled him. And old Jacob went off into the rising sun that morning limping, and I think that God finally conquered that wheeler-dealer. Although, even after he meets Esau and Esau beautifully forgives him, embraces him, kisses him, invites him to come along, I'm still not sure Jacob was playing it straight. He said, "Ah, no, Esau, look, I've got a lot of animals that can only move along slowly, and I've got these little children and you go ahead, Esau. Thanks a lot, but go ahead." ("Get out of here, Esau. Leave me alone!") So, I'm not sure, even at the end... But you see, wouldn't it be nice if I could say, "Ah, now finally God had His way with Jacob and here's Jacob, the saint. Put him back into stained glass." And then I've got to say to you, "It's not that nice." God conquered him. God did His thing with him. Jacob trusted Him. Jacob loved Him. And Jacob never did amount to much to his dying day. He's no hero, friends, just a person God used. I wonder why God sometimes - seems like all the time - chooses the weak and despised things of this world, the things that are not, to confound the things that are. Maybe it is so that finally we will learn the lesson that all is of Grace, all is of God, all is gift. And all we can do is, in the ambiguity of our own muddy way, cast ourselves on His mercy and wait on the Lord. Let us pray. Father, we might ordinarily, in ordinary days and in ordinary church services, and in ordinary messages, conclude by saying, "What a man was Jacob! Help us to be like him." But today we've seen another face of Jacob who saw Your face, and so we can only say, "Lord, we are like him. We're schemers and connivers and manipulators and we're cheats. We fudge the truth; we hedge the facts. We take things into our own hands, we try to manage and control, and we try to put the best face on everything that we do and the persons that we are, and underneath, we're Jacob all the way." And so, we don't pray, "Make us like him." We acknowledge that we are. We pray, "Reveal Yourself to us as You did to him. Say to us, 'I will be with you. I will protect you. I will bring you home.'" And then, © Grand Valley State University �Jacob: The Conquest of a Wheeler-Dealer Richard A. Rhem Page 7   Father, from lisping lips and divided lives, we will praise you with all we have. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen. © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XXI Series No Stained Glass Saints Scripture Text Genesis 32:24, 28 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19861012 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1986-10-12 Title A name given to the resource Jacob: The Conquest of a Wheeler-Dealer Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on October 12, 1986 entitled "Jacob: The Conquest of a Wheeler-Dealer", as part of the series "No Stained Glass Saints", on the occasion of Pentecost XXI, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Genesis 32:24, 28. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Covenant God of Grace Hebrew Scriptures Jacob https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/be92ddecca1338aac5c36515f5f8451c.mp3 890a7c5e7468855c96dd3f700725cee1 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/665725d9767c3a24c17dc00713db8d87.pdf 8c86ed73390ce18bb51597bdbdddeb14 PDF Text Text Abraham – Shaky Faith in a Faithful God From the sermon series: No Stained Glass Saints Text: Romans 4:17 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan October 5, 1986 Transcription of the spoken sermon …this promise, then, was valid before God, the God in whom he put his faith, the God Who makes the dead live… Romans 4:17 I inaugurate a series of messages entitled, "No Stained Glass Saints," beginning in this message with Abraham. The purpose of this series is to march before us biblical characters through whom God has effected His purposes of salvation and the establishment of His Kingdom in order that we might understand that God's Kingdom is a witness to what God can do with people who respond in faith to Him – and not what human individuals can accomplish through their piety, righteousness or goodness. My purpose in this series in not the debunking of biblical heroes. There is enough debunking of leaders and celebrities in our society. It has become a common occurrence for everyone who has known anyone who was anybody to rush into print with all the petty and lurid details of the lives of public figures, reducing them to the level of the common, the mediocre. It is a disappointment and a disillusionment, often, when the mighty are shown to have clay feet, when the great ones are revealed to share our common human weaknesses and flaws. We know all persons share a common humanity. We should not be surprised at the revelation of the secrets of the hearts and lives of public persons or giants on the scene of history. Still, we are disappointed, let down. We want heroes, heroines. We need models, persons who inspire us and elicit from us our best, I am not setting out to rob you of biblical heroes. I am not going on an iconoclastic binge to destroy your idols. I am, however, hoping to demonstrate © Grand Valley State University   �Abraham – Shaky Faith in a Faithful God Richard A. Rhem Page 2   that the history of God's saving moving in our history points to what God can accomplish with ordinary human beings who trust Him and heed His word rather than what great persons can accomplish on behalf of God. The Bible teaches theology, not morality. But we have turned the Book of Theology - the Book about God - into a book of morality, a book about human behaviour. The Bible is about God, about God's eternal purpose, about God's grace, about God's faithfulness9 about God's steadfast love. Only secondarily and derivatively is it about the human person, the human family, human response, human behaviour. It is theology - a word about God, not morality (from mor-, mos: custom; plural mores: manners, morals, character): a code of human behavior, of or pertaining to character, disposition, of or pertaining to distinction between right and wrong, good and evil. My purpose, then, is to exalt the Lord, to point to His Sovereign grace and draw our minds and hearts to Him, to trust His steadfast love and rest in His faithfulness to His saving purpose. I begin with Abraham. Abraham was the Father of the Faithful, and I begin with him because that is where the whole covenant history began. Those eleven chapters of Genesis that tell us about the Creation and then the Fall of the human family and all of the disastrous results that issued in the judgment of the Flood and God beginning again, and then even after the new beginning, the human race rebelliously building the Tower of Babel – these symbolic stories point to the incorrigibility of the human person, which is the prelude to God's movement of Grace whereby He calls one person, Abraham, and through him, builds a nation that issues in Jesus, that issues in the Church, that will issue in the final consummation of His Kingdom. The story of the Bible is the one story of a God Who moves through human persons and human history, finally to effect His purposes. And its prelude, those first eleven chapters, tell us why His grace is necessary, because time and time again it is demonstrated in those early chapters that we cannot do it on our own. You may remember back in Easter that I chose Genesis 11:30 as a part of my text for Resurrection morning. It is a most remarkable little statement about Abraham's wife, Sarah. It says, "Now, Sarah was barren." And perhaps you'll remember that I remarked about how remarkable it was that, when God was at the point at which He would build a family and a nation in order, finally, through that nation to win all nations, that He would start out with a couple who was barren. Now, that's not an accident. That little phrase in the 30th verse of Chapter 11 of Genesis is not an accident. "Sarah was barren." © Grand Valley State University �Abraham – Shaky Faith in a Faithful God Richard A. Rhem Page 3   It was a theological pronouncement of the impossibility of the human construction of the Kingdom of God. It was the insight of the Old Testament writer that if the Kingdom would be effected, it would be effected by the steady faithfulness and powerful love of God, and not through human manipulation, human ingenuity, human industriousness, human faithfulness, or anything human. Sarah was barren. And the 12th Chapter opens when God called Abraham, and said, "I will bless you and in you all nations of the earth will be blessed." And on this Worldwide Communion Sunday, we, the people of God, celebrate the one God and the one Faith, the one Baptism; we celebrate the face that we are here together on behalf of the whole world, for we are the heirs of Abraham and it is through the Church that all nations of the earth are to be blessed. Abraham was a great man of faith, and he is a model of faith. Paul sets him forth as a model of faith. Paul says how remarkable it was that old Abraham didn't doubt and didn't waver in his faith, but rather believed God, Who can call into existence the things that are not as though they were! Ah, but Paul, wait a minute. Let's argue with the good Apostle for a moment. Is that all there is? Is it just the story of Abraham's unwavering faith? If it is really the story of Abraham's unwavering faith, then I don't belong to Abraham's club. If the Kingdom came in those days through Abraham because Abraham didn't waver in his faith, then, sorry, Father, I don't qualify. Put me on the second team, or maybe just let me sit this one out. Paul, are you sure he didn't waver? Well, what does the story tell us? If we had time this morning we would go on in that 12th Chapter. Do you know what happened immediately after Abraham's call? It says Abraham went. Good for you, Abraham. God said, "Go," and Abraham went. Good for you, Abraham. And then you know what happened? He got to Canaan and there was famine there. Oh, so this is the Promised Land? Famine? He says to Sarah, "We'd better pack up and go down to Egypt." And they got near Egypt, and he said, "Hey, Sarah, make like you're my sister because you're a beautiful lady and Old Pharaoh might look at you and want you and if he wants you, he'll do away with me! I'm not really so concerned about him having you, but I don't really want him to do away with me!" And if you would go to the 20th Chapter of Genesis, you would find a similar story. This time it's not Pharaoh in Egypt, but Abimelech. Now, it's in the Bible. Abraham lied to Pharaoh in order to protect his skin. This is the guy who hears the call from God Who says, "I'll make of you a great nation and in you all nations of the earth will be blessed." But Abraham said, "Hey, Sarah, we'd better take this matter into our own hands." Nice going, Abraham. I'm feeling more akin to you all the time. And then the years go by and the barren Sarah is barren still. And Sarah says, "You know, God is good, but maybe He needs help. Let's help Him out. Let's get a little human management and a little human ingenuity at work here. Abraham, © Grand Valley State University �Abraham – Shaky Faith in a Faithful God Richard A. Rhem Page 4   why don't you take Hagar as a second wife? I'm barren. Perhaps she's fruitful." And Abraham says, "Well, I'm not above that." And the issue of that is Ishmael. And then there is a marvelous encounter again between Abraham and God and the promises of the Covenant are reiterated in the 17th Chapter of Genesis, and God says, "I'll be a God to you and to your seed after you, and I will bless you and your seed will be as the stars of the heaven and the sand of the sea." Abraham stands awestruck before God, and then he says, "Oh, by the way, Lord, would it be all right - could Ishmael stand before you? Can't we give up this ridiculous idea that old Sarah at 99 years old is going to conceive in her womb that is withered as a prune? Could Ishmael stand before you? Come on, God, I'd like to get you off the hook. I'd like to make it a little easier for you." God says, "No way! Because, if Ishmael would stand before me and if Ishmael would be the line of the Kingdom, then you could always look back and say, ‘Well, God promised this, but I had to come in and help a little bit. There had to be a bit of human manipulation, a little bit of human management, a bit of human control.’" God said, "No way! I love Ishmael. I'll bless Ishmael. But it won't be Ishmael. It will be a son of Sarah's barren womb." Abraham said, "I guess I get the point." And eventually there was an angel messenger who came down outside the tent and told old Abraham that Sarah would have a child. Sarah was listening behind the flap of the tent - and she laughed. She tried to hold it in, but it exploded. The angel said, "Why is Sarah laughing?" Sarah said, "I wasn't laughing." The angel said, "Yes, you were laughing. But I'll tell you the joke's on you, because you're going to conceive and you're going to call your boy ‘Laughing.’" (That's what Isaac means - laughing.) "You're going to have a little boy and I'll have the last laugh. Isaac will stand before me." Ah, isn't it wonderful that the whole covenant of God was initiated with this man of such great heroic faith, noble, great Abraham - the Father of the Faithful? Don't you believe it. Old Abraham struggled to hold on to the promises of God just as much as do you. Abraham knew just as much as you do how ridiculous it is to play by God's rules, to live by His Grace, to trust in His promises. Abraham was tempted just as much as you are to take matters into your own hands, to manipulate a little bit, to have a little human management, a little human control, and help God out. Ah, the story of the scripture is not what God was able to do because there were a few great people around to do it for Him. The story of the scripture is about the great God Who can use flawed people like you and me to effect His purposes. Well, I understand Paul. Abraham is a model. He is a model for me – a model of hearing the Word and heeding the Word and following the Word. He's also a model for me in recognizing that my faith wavers and doubts overcome me and © Grand Valley State University �Abraham – Shaky Faith in a Faithful God Richard A. Rhem Page 5   sometimes I say, "I can't believe it." And when I go my own way, getting off God's way, Abraham is also a model for me because I know that, like Abraham, and in spite of Abraham, through me and in spite of me, God will do His thing. Shaky, shaky faith in a faithful God. That's the glory of the biblical story. And so, come to this table. Take bread and take wine and know again that God loves us, and Jesus died. He loved us and gave himself for us. I take the bread and I take the wine and I taste it and it becomes a tangible sign of the love of a God Who will never let me go, even though I let Him go all the time. A God Who will never forsake me, even though I forsake Him all the time. But our liturgy recognized long ago that after announcing that we must come to this table prepared, with hearts prepared and sin confessed, this is not intended, dearly beloved, to distress the contrite hearts of God's people as though no one may come to this table but those who are without sin, for we acknowledge that we are weak and that we have failed, and therefore, that we need the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And we come and take bread and wine and say, "Thank God for Grace - Grace greater than all of my sin, overcoming all of my weakness, all of my frailty. Thank God for a faithful God Who grips those of us of shaky faith." And one day the kingdoms of this world will become the Kingdom of our God and of His Christ. One day the people of God gathering today around the world as a sign of what God is doing with this world will see the sign fulfilled when every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God. Thank God. It is God upon Whom it all depends. Thank God for His Grace that will never fail us, and that when we prove faithless, He shows Himself faithful. Thanks be to God. ' © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event World Wide Communion Pentecost XX Series No Stained Glass Saints Scripture Text Romans 4:17 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19861005 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1986-10-05 Title A name given to the resource Abraham: Shaky Faith in a Faithful God Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on October 5, 1986 entitled "Abraham: Shaky Faith in a Faithful God", as part of the series "No Stained Glass Saints", on the occasion of World Wide Communion, Pentecost XX, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Romans 4:17. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Abraham Covenant Faithful God God of Grace Hebrew Scriptures Nature of God https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/83ea86d6e8f8eccfc4cb66938f5247b4.mp3 dde03e324bff6c56add29cc9d3888530 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ac774425ba1616e8a5e0b61f743dd599.pdf ee4ad2c16c4745e3534df8837730d4ba PDF Text Text The Judgment That Aims At Salvation From the sermon series: This Is Our Father’s World Text: Genesis 6: 5-6; Genesis 8: 21; Isaiah 54: 8 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan November 17, 1985 Transcription of the spoken sermon …The Lord saw that man had done much evil…his thoughts and inclinations were always evil, he was sorry he had made man…he was grieved at heart… Genesis 6: 5-6 …I will never again kill every living creature… Genesis 8: 21 …I hid my face from you for a moment; but now have I pitied you with a love which never fails… Isaiah 54:8 The story of the Flood in the early chapters of Genesis is a story of judgment and grace. That duality is found throughout the Scriptures. Judgment and grace are not, however, two equally balanced responses of God toward humankind, each equally ultimate. Rather, God's judgment is a means toward the end of Salvation. God judges a recalcitrant and resistant creation in order finally to redeem and recreate according to His eternal purpose of love. Judgment is God's instrument. Salvation is God's ultimate intention. The story of Noah and the Flood tells us of a resolve in the heart of God never to abandon His Creation but to stay with it with limitless patience and forebearance on the basis of a radical grace that will not finally be defeated. Thus the story of Noah and the Flood is not simply a curious, ancient tale from a stage of primitive religious development. Rather, it was finally cast in the written form in which we have it during the dark days of Judah's Exile as a proclamation of the faithfulness of the God of Israel, Who would yet remember and redeem His people. In a word, this story is a proclamation of the Gospel of Grace. Chapters six through nine of Genesis present an exceedingly dismal picture of the inclinations of the human heart and thus the fractured reality of the Creation © Grand Valley State University   �The Judgment That Aims At Salvation Richard A. Rhem Page 2   the betrayal of God's purpose of a faithful, harmonious created order in covenant with Himself. But these chapters present a most hopeful picture of the resolve of the heart of God to stay with, renew and redeem Creation, which has run afoul of His purposes. These chapters then are gospel, Good News. We can be assured that this is our Father's world and we can rest in the deep assurance that nothing will ever separate us from the love of God that is in Jesus Christ our Lord. The story is familiar and need not be rehearsed here. Let us rather begin by recognizing once again that Genesis 1-11 throughout is a preface to the history of God's redemptive action in our history. These eleven chapters are constituted by a series of episodes which reveal deep and ultimate convictions about God, the world and humankind, convictions which are the premise of the whole biblical story of God's saving action in the midst of the world's resistance and revolt. We have reflected on God's creative intention for humankind made in His image. We have examined the failed test in the case of Adam and Eve, the fatal choice to give way to jealous anger in the story of Cain and Abel. The fourth chapter points to the development of culture in the descendants of Cain and now we come to the story of Noah and the Flood. Yet these chapters are not really about a flood that covered the earth and an ark that some religious groups are still trying to locate. Much rather, these chapters relate the truth about the human condition and the response of God to that situation. The real drama of this story occurs in the heart of the Creator; this is a story about the grief and faithful love of God. The story is introduced by God's taking notice of the wickedness that corrupted His good creation and betrayed His purposes in Creation. Notice the anguish of God's heart and His decision to destroy what He had made: ... The Lord saw ... (vs. 5) …he was sorry he had made man ... (vs. 6) I will wipe them off the face of the earth ... (vs. 7) I intend to destroy them. (vs. 13) This sets the stage for the story. God's heart is grieved at the state of affairs He observes on earth. His first reaction is to destroy what He has made for He sees that evil has permeated to the core of the human heart and the corruption of Creation is complete. There is no hope that things might turn around of their own accord. It is a hopeless situation going from bad to worse. Destruction is God's determination. Creation has refused to be God's creation and God's decision is death to the whole world. The "very good" of Genesis 1:31 has become the "I will blot out" of this narrative. This story reminds us of the most severe preaching of the later prophets. © Grand Valley State University �The Judgment That Aims At Salvation Richard A. Rhem Page 3   But, contrary to the human response to such a situation which would be anger, we find in the heart of God anguish; He is grieved in His heart. The evil heart of humankind troubles the heart of God. This is indeed "heart to heart" between humankind and God. How it is between humankind and God touches both parties. (Brueggemann, Genesis, p. 77) Thus we are dealing with a God Whose purposes have been betrayed, a God Who brings a serious charge against His creature and Who resolves to destroy, in light of the recalcitrance of the world; but we are not dealing with an angry tyrant Who might use His almighty power to crush in a fit of rage. This is not a hostile God Whose dignity has been offended. Rather, this is a God of gracious intent, willing life and harmony and completeness for His Creation, finding to His deep anguish that such purposes of loving intention are being resisted and betrayed. The world stands condemned; the sentence is destruction, but the sentence is rendered from an anguished heart, not from a jealous rage. Could God abandon His world? Could He bring it to an end? The answer of this story – a reflection of Israel's faith and understanding – is obviously, Yes, He could. He could change His mind about His Creation and bring to nothing that which He created out of nothing. Brueggemann writes: Can he abandon the world which he has so joyously created? That is a central question for Israel. Many people hold a view of God as unchanging and indifferent to anything going on in the world, as though God were a plastic, fixed entity. But Israel's God is fully a person who hurts and celebrates, responds and acts in remarkable freedom. God is not captive of old resolves. God is as fresh and new in relation to creation as he calls us to be with him. He can change his mind, so that he can abandon what he has made; and he can rescue that which he has condemned. (Ibid., p. 78) Thus Brueggemann points out we come to the heart of this narrative which has to do "not with a flood, but with a heavy, painful crisis in the dealings of God with creation." The real crisis is the crisis in the heart of God - "because of the resistant character of the world which evokes hurt and grief in the heart of God." What is going on here is a parallel of that familiar and moving passage from Hosea where the same conflict rages in the heart of God. Israel's unfaithfulness is documented; certain judgment will be the result. Yet that judgment cannot be the last word. How can I give you up, Ephraim, how surrender you, Israel? ... My heart is changed within me, my remorse kindles already. I will not let loose my fury, I will not turn round and destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst. Hosea 11:8-9 © Grand Valley State University �The Judgment That Aims At Salvation Richard A. Rhem Page 4   And then we meet Noah and Noah won favor in the sight of the Lord. You know the story from that point - the ark, the rescue of some of all kinds of living creatures, the terrible flood and eventually the return of the dove with a sprig of olive branch, the dry land and an altar built to offer thanksgiving to God Who had surely judged but, rather than destroy, had saved Creation. Now Creation can begin again; this is a point of re-creation and a fresh start. Thus we find the resolution of the conflict in the heart of God. The sentence of death is overcome by a gift of new life. Grace prevails. God begins again with a resolve greater than that which prevailed at the beginning. Note the end of chapter 8. Noah and his family are restored to dry land and he builds an altar. In response God says, Never again will I curse the ground because of man, however evil his inclination may be from his youth upwards. I will never again kill every living creature, as I have just done. While the earth lasts, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall never cease. (8:21-22) Here is God's pledge of unwavering faithfulness to Creation; He will never destroy it. The conflict in His heart has been resolved and resolved in favor of mercy. A great change has occurred but the change is not in Creation nor in the heart of the creature; rather the change is in God Who determines to be gracious, come what may. It is critical to note that this resolve is not made in the light of the judgment that has just occurred in the belief that a fresh start will make everything all right. Notice the words "Never again ... however evil his inclinations may be from his youth upwards." To put it bluntly, God took the persistent evil of the human heart as a given and said I will redeem anyway. In this passage we have a statement of radical grace - a grace that saves because of God’s decision quite apart from human merit. Perhaps the wonder of this passage can best be seen by putting in juxtaposition two statements: The human situation is hopeless. God will redeem the human situation anyway. or In the creature himself there is no hope; the hope of the creature is God's grace alone. or Humankind is hopeless. Our hope is in God. © Grand Valley State University �The Judgment That Aims At Salvation Richard A. Rhem Page 5   Just as Hosea discovered, so the Genesis writer believed: God will never abandon the world or the people He has created. How can I give you up? By rights I should give you up! I cannot give you up! I will not give you up! He takes as his vocation not judgment but the resilient work of affirmation on behalf of the death-creature. The flood has effected an irreversible change in God, who now will approach his Creation with an unlimited patience and forbearance. To be sure, God has been committed to his Creation from the beginning. But this narrative traced a new decision on the part of God. Now the commitment is intensified. For the first time, it is marked by grief, the hurt of betrayal. It is now clear that such a commitment on God's part is costly. The God-world relation is not simply that of strong God and needy world. Now it is a tortured relation between a grieved God and a resistant world. And of the two, the real changes are in God. This is a key insight of the gospel against every notion that God stands outside of the hurt as a judge. (Ibid., p. 81) This story found written expression at the time of the Exile. A people under judgment through their own folly and disobedience heard this as a story of their God Who would never abandon them but finally bring them to salvation. Second Isaiah reminds the Exiles of the story of Noah and the Covenant pledge of the faithful God. For a brief moment I forsook you, but with great compassion I will gather you. In overflowing wrath for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you ... For this is like the days of Noah to me; as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you and will not rebuke you. For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you ... (Isaiah 54:7-10) Within the course of history judgment continues to occur. There is no sense of indifference to human wrong, no blasé attitude about creation's perversion and human sin. However, judgment is always embraced within the resolution to redeem and save. Judgment aims at salvation. This is the message of radical grace and our hope must rest in the God and grace and in nothing else. The Summit meeting brings the heads of State together. We pray for mutual understanding and progress with the reduction of world tension. But our hope is not in the negotiating skill of our leaders; our hope is in God, the Sovereign of the nations. © Grand Valley State University �The Judgment That Aims At Salvation Richard A. Rhem Page 6   In our personal lives, too, we encounter difficult experiences; we go through deep water. We do our best to handle the situation and we find what help and support we can. But finally our hope is in the God Who through His prophet said, When you pass through the waters I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. (Isaiah 43:2-3a) God has resolved in His own heart never to leave us nor forsake us. He will never abandon Creation. His steadfast love endures forever. Amen. Reference: Walter Brueggemann. Genesis: Interpretation: a Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. John Knox Press, 1982. © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XXV Series This is Our Father's World Scripture Text Genesis 6:5-6, 8:21, Isaiah 54:8 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI References Walter Brueggemann. Genesis: Interpretation: a Bible Commentary_, 1982 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-0-19851117 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1985-11-17 Title A name given to the resource The Judgment That Aims at Salvation Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on November 17, 1985 entitled "The Judgment That Aims at Salvation", as part of the series "This is Our Father's World", on the occasion of Pentecost XXV, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Genesis 6:5-6, 8:21, Isaiah 54:8. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Divine Intention Flood Genesis God's Radical Love Hebrew Scriptures Judgment Noah https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/045f1ed44d00c68d0de586feee0aac78.mp3 a3c63b3a70f42088495a9ecc872fb5eb https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/743dcb215101ac73b41b4cb8736b597d.pdf 7633130373880364236bb916d97c8ade PDF Text Text God’s Grace in Our Gloom From the sermon series: This is Our Father’s World Text: II Corinthians 5: 19, 20; 6: 2 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Reformation Sunday, October 27, 1985 Transcription of the spoken sermon God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them… II Corinthians 5: 19 …be reconciled to God. II Corinthians 5: 20 …now is the day of salvation. II Corinthians 6: 2 It is fitting that on Reformation Sunday we should address the theme, "God's Grace in Our Gloom,” because it was especially the Grace of God that came to expression in the 16th Century in the Reformation of the Church. It was the message of justification by faith, which was rooted in the gracious outreach of God toward His lost and straying children that was the good news of the Gospel that reverberated across the European continent. It was that message which had gotten buried under Traditionalism; that message, that good news which had been lost in the Church's control of people and its manipulation of people through tradition and structure and a kind of sacramental practice that did not come off as good news, but rather as bad news. God's grace in our gloom is a fit Reformation theme and it is also a fit subject for discussion of these early chapters of Genesis that we are looking for in these weeks. This is our Father's world, and in this world He has a struggle because He created us with the ability to disobey and turn our backs upon Him. He called us to a great destiny but gave us the freedom either to respond or not to respond and since He doesn't crush us or coerce us, since He doesn't use His almighty power to roll over us like a steam roller, but rather waits and pleads, there is built into the very structure of Creation the possibility that the one created in His image will not respond to Him, but rather will reject Him; will not find his peace in being the creature in the care of the Creator, but rather, as a rebel, will revolt against the Creator and the authority of God. © Grand Valley State University   �God’s Grace in Our Gloom Richard A. Rhem Page 2   The early chapters of Genesis are foundational for all that follows, and in Chapters two and three we find the creation of man and woman and their Temptation and Fall, falling out of fellowship with God and bringing with it all the consequences that came in the wake of that rebellion. As we look at these chapters, I want you to see that in Chapters one and two we really have two Creation accounts. We looked at the first Creation account the last two weeks; the fact that all there is, is because God said, "Let there be ..." And then the most fundamental fact about the human being - that he and she are created in the image of God. I said last week that was the most fundamental fact, and it is. I said last week there is more to be said, and we will do that this week, but before I go on to say any more, I want to stress once again that the human being is created in the image of God. That means that you are a person of dignity, of worth and of value. It means that the human being, then, can never be put down, and it means that we ought never to put ourselves down. We have been created in the image of God, and that is the most fundamental truth about our human nature. We reflect God. As the Psalmist said, He made us a little lower than Himself. It was precisely in the grandeur with which He created us that there lay the potential for the disaster that has ensued upon our turning away from Him. But even in our turning away from Him and the tragedy that we have introduced into the world, we have not overcome the most fundamental fact and that is that we are created in the image of God, we reflect God; in other words, you are really something! Now, I think in the Church we have perhaps had the stress the other way around. We have stressed the human being as sinner rather than the human being as creature. I don't want to make that mistake. I want to say it again loud and clear the human being created in the image of God is really something! You are really something. And our sin and rebellion with all of its disastrous consequences has never wiped out that most fundamental fact - that we were created like God and we are still called to be His ally and His friend and companion to live in relationship with God and with our fellow men. That is fundamental. Now, in these opening chapters, after Chapter one where we have the Creation account, we have in Chapter two a second Creation account where the focus is on the creation of man and woman. This is that delightful story of God's scooping up the clay and forming the man and breathing into him the breath of life, subsequently also seeing that it is not good for man to dwell alone, creating the woman from Adam's rib from which some have derived the idea that woman is really a "de-rib-ative" of man. (Sorry about that - I can never resist those.) Actually, that creation of the woman, a second act of Creation, would indicate that man and woman are created equally, that they stand equally before God. We could have a whole sermon and a whole series of sermons on the legitimacy of the feminist movement on the basis of Genesis one and two, and we could point out the tale of error and of horror which has ensued from a misreading of those © Grand Valley State University �God’s Grace in Our Gloom Richard A. Rhem Page 3   chapters in regard to the oppression of women down through the centuries. So, women of the world, unite! You've got biblical basis. But I'm not going to go into that today. I simply want to say that in Chapter two you have man and woman created by God and set in a garden in what we call that state of paradise. And then we have Chapter three and there we have the Temptation and the succumbing to temptation and the consequent judgment of God. And then Chapter four we will look at next week -the first murder. - it would seem that there is another Fall. And Chapter six, the story of the Flood, the disobedience and the judgment of God - another Fall. And then God starting over again, but in Chapter nine the Tower of Babel - another Fall, where finally the race demonstrates beyond a shadow of a doubt that they will not live as the creatures of God under His care and His communion, but rather as rebels against God and structuring life apart from Him. The early chapters of Genesis are the prelude to the story of Israel, to the call and the election of Abraham and the whole redemptive history that followed. The first eleven chapters are like a prelude to all of that specific history, and in these first eleven chapters the great issues of humankind and of God and of history are dealt with. And what I want you to see is that man and woman created in Chapter two and in that garden of paradise may not be separated from man and woman in Chapter three. The chapter divisions of the Bible are very handy for reference. I don't know what I would do about my text if it wasn't that there is Genesis one and two and three and so on, and all of those little verses that give preachers text, but as a matter of fact, what comes through is the idea in Chapter two that you have man and woman perfect in paradise, Chapter three as though now you make another step and you have man and woman in the Garden rebelling and falling into sin. If I were to try to wipe out of your mind the idea of a perfect state in paradise in Chapter two and the Fall of mankind in Chapter three, I would give up before I would start. It is so deeply engrained in our consciousness; we have thought so long that way that I don't think it is possible to get that out of your head, but if I could get it out of your heart, I would, because then I would say to you that what we have in Genesis two and three is not the story of Mr. Adam and Mrs. Eve, two historical figures way back in primeval history. What we have in Genesis two and three is the story of every man and every woman; the story of Adam and Eve is the story of you and me. The story of Adam and Eve is not about some primeval, distant past at the dawn of Creation. The story of Adam and Eve is the story about every human being that has ever been born, and those chapters which make one continuous story and ought not to be read in two stories, are not historical accounts such as we find later in the Old Testament when, for example, we read the exploits of David. David was a real historical figure, he was a king of Israel, he fought battles and did all kinds of things and we can read that in the kind of interpreted history that we have in the Old Testament. © Grand Valley State University �God’s Grace in Our Gloom Richard A. Rhem Page 4   We are not dealing with that kind of material in Genesis two and three. In the first chapter we are told that God spoke and created all things, and we are told that He created the human being in His own image. And now Chapters two through eleven will begin to unravel that story in preparation for the real story of the Bible that begins with Abraham. And these chapters are necessary because the Israelite who knew God as the God of Redemption said, "How do we relate to the rest of mankind? How does God relate to the rest of mankind? And if God is good and Creation is good, why is life so tough? If God is good and Creation is good - if it all came from Him, then why are things in such a mess? If God is good and this is His good Creation, then why is there such sorrow and such pain and such tragedy in the world?" Those are ultimate questions. Those are not questions about fig leaves and apple trees and snakes and two primeval human beings scurrying around the bushes. Those are the ultimate questions of life. Why is there anything rather than nothing? Who created the heavens and the earth? What relationship does the human being have to God? He is created in God's image; he is like God; he reflects the very being of God. Well, if the human being came from God and if all of Creation was pronounced good, then why is the human being like he is? Why are there wars and trials and all of the dark shadows that are a part of the human scene? Those are the questions underlying those early chapters. And in the third chapter, which we read a moment ago, we have the people of Israel, the people who had come to know God, the people who came to believe that their God was a God Who redeemed them in the Exodus experience and was also the Creator of the heavens and the earth. God alone. We have their testimony as to the fact that God is good and Creation is good and that humankind was created by God for His own purpose: created to live in relationship and fellowship with God, but given such a great gift of freedom, there was the opportunity for him to become a rebel rather than one who lived in relationship. And so those chapters are there to tell us the story of the Fall. Let me say it again: Not an historical story as though on Day One of Creation Adam and Eve walked to the Garden and picked grapes and chewed nuts and had fellowship with each other and a chat with God that evening. Day Two maybe went all right, and maybe Day Three, maybe six weeks, maybe six months, but eventually a snake came in and then there was a time when it all fell apart. Friends, that’s not what the story is all about. The story is a symbol; it is a sign, and it says to us that there is something about human nature that has endemic within it this struggle against the God Who is its only hope and its salvation, and in that story what it is saying to us, first of all, is that there are things that are wrong in the world, and there certainly are; it's not God's fault. What it is saying to us as human beings is that God created us good with a potential for good and for obedience, for following the path of life, but that there is something within us © Grand Valley State University �God’s Grace in Our Gloom Richard A. Rhem Page 5   that seems to choose the path that leads to disaster. It is saying to us that whatever sin is, it is not part and parcel of Creation. It does not stem from God, and you can't blame it on the Devil. Whatever sin is, whatever is wrong, is wrong because you and I choose to be wrong. That's the biblical message. It's a tough message because it holds us accountable. It does not allow us to slough off the accusing finger in any direction. We cannot blame God. We cannot blame the Devil. We cannot blame the environment or the circumstances, for that symbolic story tells us that we were created in the image of God and put in a situation that can be described as paradisiacal, that we had everything going for us and that in spite of all that, we turned our back on the One Who is life-giving and the source of all blessing. That is what the story is trying to tell us. And you see, it is my story and it is your story. Until we read the Bible as not some ancient book with answers to the questions that our curiosities might raise, but rather as a book that addresses us - until we can read this book so that my story becomes a part of The Story, then I see that I am a part of Adam and then I realize that whatever is wrong in my life and whatever dire consequences have flowed from those wrong choices, they are my choices. I am responsible. And that is one of the greatest things you can say to a human being. You are responsible. You are responsible for your life; you are responsible for your choices; and you are guilty when you choose the wrong way. Otherwise, what are we? Animals cannot be guilty. They have no freedom of choice. And those who have no mental capacity and no freedom of choice - neither can they be guilty. It is only people who are created with that God-like characteristic that can be held accountable as we are accountable, and in the story, this ancient story by which Israel came to understand itself, it was saying that there is something that is deadly wrong in the human heart and it stems from the human will. It is not because God did it to us, and it is not because the Devil did it to us, and it is not because the situation is so bad. Now, some situations are bad and environment does shape and there does, over the centuries and the generations, come to build up a kind of fate that does have its impact upon us. I don't want to say that we all come into the world with pristine situations where we can choose freely without any influence, any impact of environment or of heredity. All of that is true. But finally to be human is to be responsible and to choose. And the scriptures tell us that we chose to be gods rather than to be creatures of God. And so, the story will go on, the prelude to that history of God with Israel and Jesus, that we have in the Old and New Testaments, will go on and we will see another instance and another instance and another instance of this fatal flaw within us. But as we see that, we will also hear the more dominant note - the note of Grace. Even in this third chapter, if we had gone on to read, we would find that God speaks to that serpent and says that, although the serpent will bruise the heel of the seed of the woman, the seed of the woman will finally crush the head of the © Grand Valley State University �God’s Grace in Our Gloom Richard A. Rhem Page 6   serpent, and that has always been seen in the history of the Church as the first promise of the Gospel, so that the seed of the woman Paul interpreted as referring to Jesus. And the final crushing of the serpent's head as Jesus' crucifixion whereby he put an end to death taking upon himself our sin and our guilt. Even in Chapter three of Genesis there is a foregleam of something to come. But if we go to the New Testament we find those great themes that set Martin Luther afire and Zwingli and Calvin and the rest. For the theme of the Bible is not human disobedience, is not human depravity and human sin. Oh, it's there and really you cannot underscore it enough, but if you stay there you miss the theme of the Bible, which is the theme of Grace. It is the story of God's grace in our gloom. Now, the thing that happened in the medieval Church was that the Church became the controlling agent of people's lives. It was almost as though the Church said, "You are sinners, and we're glad, because now we can control you." And the thing that really set off Luther and set off Zwingli was that agents of the Church were going through the land and were collecting money to say prayers to release loved ones from purgatory and one could even buy one’s indulgence into the sins that one might commit next week. And of course this was not the whole Church, but it was right at the heart of the Church and there were those who were going through the continent of Europe raising funds for the erection of St. Peter's. And there were good Catholic priests who said, "This is wrong." Martin Luther was one of them. Ulrich Zwingli in Zurich, Switzerland, was another. And they began to preach the Grace of God and as they began to preach the Grace of God, people responded to good news, because now it was no longer, "Come forward and drop in a coin or burn in Hell." Now it was not the continual laying on people their guilt and their unworthiness and their sin in order to hold them down and control them and manipulate them, but now it was the announcement of what God had done in the face of their sin. So that we have a proclamation like Paul's in the New Testament lesson where he says certainly we are sinful; certainly the whole world is guilty before God. But God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself so that if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation. Old things are passed away; all things are become new. So that Paul understood himself as an ambassador of Christ and he went through the world and he said, "Be ye reconciled with God. Stop hiding in the bushes!" Oh, that profound question of Genesis three as God walks through the Garden in that symbolic story and he says, "Where are you?" and Adam says, "I was afraid." Guilt, fear, shame. And the Lord God comes down and says, "Where are you?" Where are you, not because I want to lombast you, but where are you because I want to embrace you. Where are you because I want to love you, I want to tell you about my Grace which is greater than all your sins. For the New Testament message was that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, for God made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be © Grand Valley State University �God’s Grace in Our Gloom Richard A. Rhem Page 7   made the righteousness of God in him. And so the Apostle goes on to quote the Old Testament and he says, "In the day that you hear his voice, harden not your heart. This is the day of salvation. Now is the day of salvation." In other words, receive this good news. Accept this Gospel. Come and get a forgiveness that is already provided. If we would take one other New Testament passage, the fifth chapter of Romans, we would find Paul dealing with Genesis three and he says, "As in one man all sin, so in one man all are made righteous." And in that fifth chapter of Romans, it is the most glorious song, anthem, proclamation of the superiority of Grace. For one man sinned but the obedience of one man far surpassed it. And the disobedience of Adam was one thing, but the obedience of Christ was greater and the greater triumph of Grace throughout that passage is a marvelous testimony to the fact that the Church has one theme to proclaim and that is the triumph of Grace. That's the good news. And so you see, I didn't spend very long in Genesis three. It is the recognition of the Old Testament people of God that there is something wrong; there is something deadly wrong. I am wrong and you are wrong, and there is no softpedaling the guilt of the human heart. But I am Adam and I am Eve and you are Adam and you are Eve and the last word is not, "Get out of the Garden." The last word is, "Be reconciled to God." For where sin aboundeth, Grace did much more abound. Now, how can the Church be a place of bad news? How can the Church ever send anyone out guilty? How can the Church ever send anyone out in despair and hopeless, burdened with all of the rock of their life? There's only one message that ought to be sounded from the pulpit, from the evangelical pulpit, from the Christian pulpit, from the pulpit that is grounded in the Word of God and that is, "Be reconciled to God. Accept your acceptance, because you are already accepted and there's nothing you can do about it, except say, 'Thank you.'" God's Grace in our gloom. That's the bottom line. Thanks be to God! © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Reformation Sunday Pentecost XXII Series This is Our Father's World Scripture Text II Corinthians 5: 19, 20, 6:2 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19851027 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1985-10-27 Title A name given to the resource God's Grace in Our Gloom Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on October 27, 1985 entitled "God's Grace in Our Gloom", as part of the series "This is Our Father's World", on the occasion of Reformation Sunday, Pentecost XXII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: II Corinthians 5: 19, 20, 6:2. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Creation Forgiveness Freedom Genesis Grace of God Hebrew Scriptures Judgment Reformation Sin https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/0120e21bbd6370e290d139caf3c21b40.mp3 afc648e986bb202fbbe57fea09b0b1eb https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/33fed34f89f0317aef1833a8500d9624.pdf cb2feedc0669bc8e77548048aa5bd1ff PDF Text Text Human Community in the Image of God From the sermon series: This Is Our Father’s World Text: Philippians 2: 1-11 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan October 20, 1985 Transcription of the spoken sermon So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any incentive of love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves which you have in Christ Jesus who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men and being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2: 1-11 This is our Father's world. We can be comfortable here because it is not an alien environment; it is a created reality made for us, and we for it. This is our Father's world. This is the great affirmation of the opening chapters of the scripture. As we look for a few weeks at those first eleven chapters of Genesis, which are so foundational for all the rest of biblical faith, I want to focus today on the creation of man and woman, on the creation of the human person. I want to say that we are created for human community; created in the image of God for human community. We are created for God and for one another, and our creation from the hand of God reflects our value and our worth and our dignity. I can't say everything in this message that there is to be said about the human being, the human creature. I'll have to come back in another week and I'll have to deal with the shadow side, that rebellion that has led to alienation and all of the havoc that we have created in the wake of that. So, what I'm going to say today is far more fundamental than what I'm going to say next week. It's far more important for © Grand Valley State University   �Human Community in the Image of God Richard A. Rhem Page 2   you to hear that you are a creature of God and loved by Him and created for His glory than it is to hear that you're a sinner. We've reversed that in the Church. We've stressed so much that we are sinners, and I suppose that is because the need has to be created before the remedy can be applied, but the most fundamental thing is that we are created in the image of God. Human potential and human possibility, human dignity and human worth - that's more fundamental than human deviation. It's a great message. And incidentally, perhaps if that message were heard more, there would be less of the shadow side manifesting itself. If we could ever get hold of the fact of who we really are, we might start acting like it. So, this message is to underscore the simple truth that as human beings, as men and women, we are created by the good and gracious God. I want to say just a couple of simple things which you know already, but I'll say them again - we are created by God, we are created in the image of God, and we are created by God for community with Him and with one another. That's as simple as it is. We are created by God, and to say that we are created by God is to make an affirmation which in the Church may seem a truism which everybody believes and nobody would deny, but we don't live our lives out just in the Church and in the community of faith, and we have to recognize that, when we say that we are created by God, that is not a self-evident truth; it is not something believed by everybody; it is not something believed by every thinking person. It is a biblical statement. It is an affirmation of faith. We have to recognize that our conviction about creation based on the scriptures is a conviction that arises out of the proclamation of the scripture. The opening chapters of Genesis are like the creed of creation. They are a song, they are a message, they are a sermon. They are not a religious speculative statement; they are not a philosophical discussion. They are not a scientific statement. They are affirmations of faith based on the experience of God's grace in Jesus Christ, or in Israel's case, God's grace in that deliverance from bondage in Egypt. The conviction about creation is an article about faith. We believe it, but we have to recognize that it is not self-evident. We have to recognize, too, that it is so foundational for so much else that we believe that we cannot simply take it for granted, but we must continue to make that affirmation intelligently, selfconsciously with awareness. Because if we lose that, we lose everything. Almost everything that we believe subsequently in our biblical faith is posited on our conviction that we are creatures of worth and value and dignity because we have come from the hand of the Creator. There are other philosophies about, and there's a good deal of contrary opinion, and in very scholarly circles. Sometimes to make a point it is good to hear the other side, and I did that last week, and I want to do it once again. This time I cite as an example a Nobel Prizewinning biologist, Jacque Monod, in his book, Chance and Necessity. Already the title tells you something, doesn't it? Chance and necessity as over against © Grand Valley State University �Human Community in the Image of God Richard A. Rhem Page 3   purpose, intelligence and loving intention. Chance and necessity. This is what he said after a very negative statement about the human situation: If he that is a human person accepts this negative message in its full significance, man at last must wake out of his millenary dreams and discover his total solitude, his fundamental isolation. He must realize that, like a gypsy, he lives on the boundary of an alien world, a world that is deaf to his music and is indifferent to his hopes as it is to his suffering or his crimes. We say we are created by God. Well, wait a minute. What if that isn't true? If that is not true, then the other is true. Then we can't say this is our Father’ s world, and that somehow or other we are a part of the whole created reality. We say that this is a friendly environment which is good. According to the commentary of the Creator, there is a place where we can become what He has intended us to be. If that isn't true, then the other is true, that we live on the boundary of an alien world contrary to our purposes. Or worse, just indifferent to our purposes. Indifferent to our music. And indifferent to our hopes, our sufferings, our crimes. What that statement says is that, however we are involved in this process of human history as human creatures, there is no one at the beginning and there's no one at the end, and we aren't going anywhere in terms of any purpose or meaning. Now, I quote a very scholarly opinion so that I don't give the impression that biblical faith is just obvious and self-evident. No, there are good thinking people who have come to this kind of conclusion. That's why I say it is important for us to hear this as a declaration of faith. Then it's important for us to begin to draw the implications. The implications of Jacque Monod are that we have to wake up, grow up, face up to the darkness, to the coldness, to the meaningless of it all, so that whatever meaning there is, we'll have to create; whatever love there is, we'll have to generate. But there's no one and there's nothing more. We don't believe that. We believe that God created us with an intention for our good. We believe that God created us with a thought in mind, with a selfconscious intelligence, and with a great purpose, and that this world is not an alien environment, but a friendly place in which human potential may be developed to realize the high calling with which He calls us. Carl Sagan, the cosmologist, the one who does such a fantastic job with the films about the cosmos, and his book Cosmos, gives the other explanation. The other explanation is that some inanimate, non-living cell was triggered by some ray of light at some point, moved across the abyss from the inanimate to the animate stage, continued from that point in the development of cellular structure to increasing complexity to the present complexity of the human being. And where the primeval pea soup came from in the beginning, where the cell that God triggered came from in the beginning, how the ray of light ever activated it, about all of that, nothing is said. But what is claimed is that whatever is, is the © Grand Valley State University �Human Community in the Image of God Richard A. Rhem Page 4   consequence of accident, of chance, moving on with the kind of inbuilt necessity, but going nowhere and having no accompanying purpose. It's always good to look beyond the surface statement and say, "Then what does that mean?" So to say that God created us is a rather simple affirmation of faith, but it makes a world of difference as to how we view ourselves and understand our situation. We affirm that God created us, and when we say He created us, we're not talking about wind; we're not talking about techniques; we're not talking about the process. The Bible doesn't know anything about when it happened. It says, "In the beginning..." The Bible's affirmation is that all that is, is because He said, "Let there be ...," and that's all the Bible is interested in. All the rest the scientists can fight about. In my class on Wednesday night, someone told me that the "Big Bang" theory of the origin of the universe is being challenged. The Big Bang has been popular of late in the circles of the physicists, and I could smile and say, "Oh, really? Well, I hope the scientists have a field day fighting about it. I don't care." Now, if I had said, "The Book of Genesis finally is verified," because a group of very scholarly people has said that the universe started in a Big Bang, which therefore spoke of an original moment of creation, then when the Big Bang blew up, my faith would blow up, too. I can't identify this Book with any ideology, philosophical position or scientific plank of any platform, because when I do, that which is transient and of human generation will be an unsteady foundation for this word of God. This word of God only says one thing. It says, "Whatever is, it is because He said, 'Let there be...'" And then the whole world can try to figure out how it happened. I mean, it doesn't really make any difference, does it? I told you last week that I saw the jawbone of the Heidelberg man in the University of Heidelberg Museum recently. Six hundred thousand years old, they say. It was discovered just outside the city of Heidelberg, and up on the chart they had visualized what they thought this creature had looked like. He stood up straight, with a little resemblance to primates (big monkeys). Now, the Bible doesn't know anything about the linkage backward from where we are. And there are some people who have been offended by the claim that maybe we've got monkeys in our past. Well, I would say that just an objective observation of human behaviour would give a great deal of support to the idea that there might be a lot of monkeys in our past. "There's a lot of monkey business going on! But, you see, that's not even a biblical issue; it doesn't even matter. And yet, oh, has not the Church churned over that issue? When did a human being become a human being? Well, I'll tell you when. That's the second thing I want to say. It's when the whatever was there was addressed by God and knew himself, knew herself to be addressed and was able to respond in kind. It was in the moment in which consciousness dawned and that created person, animal, whatever you want to call it, suddenly understood itself, gained a beginning sense of identity and self-awareness, self-reflection and the ability to respond to being addressed. The first word of a first human being was a prayer. And when that creature learned to © Grand Valley State University �Human Community in the Image of God Richard A. Rhem Page 5   pray, that creature could be called human. For to be human is to be created in the image of God, to be like God. And it doesn't really matter whether the human being sprang fresh from the word or at some point in the process heard the word, the creative word that called him or her forth. The fact is that when this creature came face to face with God we could speak of being human. In the image of God, our scripture tells us, is like God. God made us like Himself. It's an amazing truth. Therefore, we accord to one another dignity and value and worth, and we never put ourselves down either; for the most fundamental fact about us is that we are a reflection of God. If I could pile up scripture upon scripture this morning I could have also read Psalm 8, "Lord our God, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth. When I consider the heavens, the work of Thy hands, the sun and moon, which Thou hast made, what is man that Thou art mindful of him, or the son of man that Thou visited him?" Ah, the Psalmist who didn't have an inkling about the expanses of the cosmos as you and I do, nonetheless looked into the starry sky and knew that those stars were a long way away, and he felt himself in the expansiveness of his world to be insignificant and small. But then he had even a deeper intuition, for he went on to say, "For Thou hast created him a little less than God and given him dominion." Reflecting our chapter this morning, the most profound thing is that we are created by God and made like Him to reflect Him. My Professor Berkhof coins, at least in the English translation, the word "respondable," in reference to the human being. Respondable. By that he is meaning to say he is responsible to respond, or he might not, but he can. Respondable. He has the capacity to respond. He has the capacity to respond to the address of God and he is created for love and he is free in that condition of respondability. So you're really something! I preached on that subject one time. You are really something. You can never put yourself down. No matter how tarnished and tainted and withered and wilted. No matter how great the failure, how deep the abyss - you can never put yourself down. Nor may we ever put one another down. For we've come from the hand of God, and we're a reflection of His glory. And He has created us for communion with Himself and with one another. To be human is to be addressable, respondable, to be in covenant with God. If we believe that He created us, then He created us with purpose, on purpose, with meaning and, of course, He created us to be that over against Him with whom He could commune and upon whom He could shed His love. And we'll have to speak next week about the fact that we've not taken well to that, that we've not opened ourselves up to that potential that is ours to live in the light of that love and grace. But there's still good news, because there is one of us that has done precisely that and that is Jesus. Paul, obviously with reference to Genesis 1, in Philippians 2 tells us about Jesus. Jesus who, though he was in the form of God, thought equality with God not to be © Grand Valley State University �Human Community in the Image of God Richard A. Rhem Page 6   something grasped after, but rather emptied himself, indeed was made in fashion as the human being and became a servant and humbled himself unto death, even the death of the cross. And that passage has been the center of Christological controversy over the centuries, but it's such a paradox because it is such a practical, pastoral appeal to this congregation whom Paul dearly loved. He wrote, If our common life in Christ yields anything to stir the heart, any loving consolation, any sharing of the Spirit, any warmth of affection or compassion, fill up my cup of happiness by thinking and feeling alike with the same love for one another, the same turn of mind and the common care for unity. There must be no room for rivalry and personal vanity among you, but you must humbly reckon others better than yourselves. And then he appeals to Jesus. And after saying all of this, after this warm appeal for warmth and the binding together of human community, he said, "Well, let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus." That's why he talks about Jesus and his relationship to God and his emptying and his death. Not to give us some Christological discussion about the divine and human in Jesus, but to say to the human congregation, "Will you be human and will you allow community to flourish and blossom through lowliness in mind, esteeming others better than yourselves, through warmth and affection and compassion, in a word, let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus." The first Adam grasped after the prerogative of the Creator. The second Adam, the new man, Jesus, offered himself up in total obedience and subservience to the Father and became the instrument of reconciliation between God and human beings, between human being and human being, and between human beings and the whole created order, so that now in Christ we can say we are new creations, restored in the image of God and if anyone is in Christ, it is a whole new creation. There is harmony with nature and peace with God and reconciliation one with another, human community, realizing the intentions of the Creator. The creation story in the first chapter ends with the celebration of all of this in the Sabbath rest. And the Sabbath rest is a sign pointing to the ultimate Sabbath rest when the Shalom of God will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. How important it is, then, that we begin now to incarnate, to live out this peace with God through Jesus Christ and reconciliation with one another in harmony with the created world. You are really something! We are called to become what we are. Let us pray. God, our Father, enable us to catch a glimpse of the wonder of being human and then, through the power and grace of Your good Spirit, enable us to live humanly and to provide in the community of faith an alternative society and © Grand Valley State University �Human Community in the Image of God Richard A. Rhem Page 7   a sign pointing to that Kingdom which is surely coming when there shall be peace on earth. Hear our prayer through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Peace Sunday Pentecost XXI Series This is Our Father's World Scripture Text Phillipians 2:1-11 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-0-19851020 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1985-10-20 Title A name given to the resource Human Community in the Image of God Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on October 20, 1985 entitled "Human Community in the Image of God", as part of the series "This is Our Father's World", on the occasion of Peace Sunday, Pentecost XXI, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Phillipians 2:1-11. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Community of Grace Covenant Creation Divine Intention Faith Hebrew Scriptures Image of God Shalom https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/464b1eb62053df6c35ed462ef8342aa9.mp3 cf9d4b8d96760f9368f21d4cf4eaff11 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c74e44ab7a3365f9c7fad18100cc5c86.pdf e134ceba68982673df8ef23e77c70d87 PDF Text Text The God Who Never Gives Up On Us From the sermon series: God, Our Ally Text: Hosea 11: 8-9, 32; Hosea 14: 4 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan August 25, 1985 Transcription of the spoken sermon God is our Ally. He will never give up on us - not because finally we will come round and deserve His love, but rather because His love, flowing out of His own depths, will never let us go. That is the theme of this message: He will never give up on us; He will never let us go. This is a message about the unconditional love of God. It is a message about what is translated from the Hebrew word hesed as God's "steadfast love." This is a message about God our Ally Who has called us into a covenant relationship to which He remains faithful even when we prove unfaithful. This message is a love story, the story of a love beyond compare, a love beyond human conception. This is the story of a love that will never give up, never let us go; a love that will finally heal us and bind us to the bosom of God. The message comes from Hosea, a great Eighth Century B.C. prophet who experienced deep pain in his own marriage and therein discovered the pain of God at the unfaithfulness of His people Israel, but discovered something more amazing - that God's love is unquenchable. The first three chapters of Hosea deal with biographical material from the prophet's own life. There has been much debate about the interpretation of these chapters. I cannot give you the whole discussion, but will summarize what I believe is the most adequate understanding of Hosea’s experience. In Chapter 1:2, we read, …The Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of harlotry, for the land commits great harlotry by forsaking the Lord.” This was probably a reflection after the fact. Hosea married Gomer and she proved unfaithful. The verse above summarizes what happened rather than indicating that Gomer was a harlot before Hosea married her. The first chapter © Grand Valley State University   �The God Who Never Gives Up On Us Richard A. Rhem Page 2   records Goner's unfaithfulness. Although it is not clearly stated, it would appear that Hosea divorced Gomer because of her wantonness. (cf. Hosea 2:2a, 4-5a). Then in chapter 3:1, we read, And the Lord said to me, "Go again, love a woman who is beloved of a paramour and is an adulteress; even as the Lord loves the people 0f Israel, though they turn to other gods..." So, Hosea redeems Gomer - buys her back out of the bondage of her harlotry and restores her as his wife. In his own experience, thus, he found a "lived parable" that pointed to the unquenchable love of God. He was tormented by his separation from Gomer, he felt maimed and incomplete, and he realized that however little Gomer might deserve his love… yet she retained it to an undiminished degree, and he was constrained even against his own judgment to attempt to restore the old marriage relationship. The mystery of the compulsive power of his own love for Gomer made Hosea reflect upon the love of God for erring Israel. It was thereon that he founded his message of hope for his people… (Interpreter Bible, Vol. VI, p. 562) Martin Buber writes, That a particular person should be bound to love another particular person in utter concreteness, is there such a thing as this? The word can only be spoken to one who already loves. He loves, he still loves the faithless one, he cannot suppress this love, but he does not want it, for he feels himself degraded by it. ...Into this state of soul God's word descends, "Continue loving, thou art allowed to love her, thou must love her; even so do I love Israel." (The Prophetic Faith, p. 113) Hosea loved Gomer still. He redeemed her and brought her back. She did not deserve such love and grace. But if Gomer did not deserve such merciful treatment as Hosea felt constrained to give her, no more did Israel merit the mercy and love of God. Her redemption from sin and shame was an act of God’s grace and of his love that would not let her go. (Interpreter Bible, p. 562) The statement of God's unconditional, unquenchable love is beautifully stated in the first verse of the eleventh chapter. Now the figure is not the marriage relationship, but that of God the Father and Israel the son. When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Never Gives Up On Us Richard A. Rhem Page 3   But Israel was unfaithful; she worshipped the Canaanite gods. Tenderly, God nurtured her. I led them with cords of compassion, with the bands of love… (11:4) But still they failed to live faithfully in that covenant love. They succeeded only in eliciting God's anger. Judgment was surely coming; Hosea could feel it. Hosea prophesied around 745 B.C. Jeroboam II had brought the Northern Kingdom to prosperity, but Hosea could see the dry rot in the soul of the nation. Judgment would come and judgment did come. In 721, the Assyrian Empire came in and overthrew Israel, dispersing the ten northern tribes. But judgment was not the final word. Judgment was only a means to the end of finally bringing His people to their senses and causing them to return to Him. Listen to the "last word:" How can I give you up, O Ephraim! How can I hand you over, O Israel! How can I make you like Admah! How can I treat you like Zeboiim! My heart recoils within me, my compassion grows warm and tender. I will not execute my fierce anger. I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come, to destroy. (11: 8-9) There you have the text, a text to ponder. There you have a statement of God's unconditional, unquenchable love, a love that will never give up on us, a love that will never let us go. In God's relationship to Israel, we see mirrored His relationship to all nations. God created the nation Israel in the event of the Exodus. Israel was a chosen nation. God elected Israel to be a representative people for all peoples. We cannot fathom the mystery of that choice, that election. It was not an election of one nation cutting off the rest of the nations, but the choosing of one on behalf of the rest. It was a particular choice with a universal purpose. Remember the call to Abraham: …by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves. Genesis 12: 3 The basis of God's choice of Israel was simply love: It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love upon you and chose you…but it is because the Lord loves you… Deuteronomy 7: 7-8 © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Never Gives Up On Us Richard A. Rhem Page 4   Israel was the representative of us all. Berkhof calls Israel God's "Experimental Garden." In her concrete history – thus in the arena of our history – it has been demonstrated that the human covenant partner will never prove faithful. ... in an experimental garden the soil and what can be done with it are tried out, so that other fields, to which these experiments are applicable, may benefit from it. ... in the Old Testament, Israel, in distinction from other nations, is more than once pictured as a specially cultivated and tended vineyard, from which might thus be expected a greater yield, but whose unproductivity arouses the greater anger of God. (Christian Faith, p. 245) Pointing to Israel's election, Berkhof shows that as a People she had a special privilege and a special task; the outcome of the Old Testament is the demonstration in our history of the faithlessness of the human covenant partner and the faithfulness of the Divine covenant partner. Berkhof writes, And we who are witnesses of this way know that Israel is no better or worse than the other nations, but that her guilt and fate disclose the way of the whole human race. The abiding relevance of the Old Testament is that the experimental garden Israel has shown once and for all how unfruitful we humans are in our faithfulness to God and our neighbor; and then, too, how unimaginably faithful God remains to mankind which ever and again seeks life apart from him. (p. 245f) What is the solution? Certainly there is no hope from our side; there is no solution possible from the human covenant partner. When God moved to effect a solution through the gift of Jesus in whom He dwelt in fullness, we crucified him. This is the New Testament history that corresponds to Israel's failure. Thus we have in both Old and New Testaments the concrete history of radical human guilt. What is the solution? The solution is the radical grace of God, which flows from the unconditional love of God. It was this insight that gripped Hosea, written indelibly in his own soul through his personal experience. God says, in effect, “You deserve to be given up; I should give you up. But how can I give you up? I will not give you up.” In his book Unconditional Love, John Powell writes, In the Old Testament God reveals himself to the People of Israel as a God of unconditional love. His gift of himself in the choice and creation of "My People" is totally unsolicited, undeserved and unmerited. ... God decides, God chooses, God offers his gift of love. He is by his own free act forever committed to his People. The prophet Hosea uses the image of God taking a bride: "And I will betroth you to me forever." (2:19-20) Through the prophet Isaiah, God says, "Even if a mother should forget the child of her womb, I will never forget you." (49:15). © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Never Gives Up On Us Richard A. Rhem Page 5   The unconditionality of God's love for his People is a constant refrain in the Old Testament. God has promised and God will always be faithful to his promise. Jeremiah writes of God's constant willingness to forgive: "With an eternal love I have loved you. Therefore, in loving-kindness I draw you to myself." (31:3) (Unconditional Love, p. 97F) Hosea understood the faithfulness of God to his covenant which was rooted in a love that would never give up. As Bernard Anderson writes, Just as Gomer played the harlot, so Israel had broken the covenant. According to Hosea, this was the real historical tragedy, and all the contemporary troubles of Israel were only symptoms of it. The "wife" whom Yahweh had chosen and betrothed to himself had become a whore. A "spirit of hostility" had inflamed the people, and they had become estranged from their God. (4:12) Hosea's critique of Israel's society went far deeper than a mere condemnation of social immorality, political confusion, or religious formation. He was concerned with men's motives, with the devotion of the heart, with the things in which men place their trust. (Understanding The Old Testament, p. 247) Sounding the keynote of Hosea's message, Anderson writes, The deepest note struck in the book of Hosea is the proclamation that God's "wrath" or judgment is redemptive. God's purpose is not to destroy, but to heal. Through historical crises that shake the very foundations of human self-sufficiency, Yahweh acts to free his people from their enslavement to false allegiance and to restore them to freedom in the covenant loyalty. Just as Hosea's love was greater and deeper than Gomer's infidelity, so Yahweh's love for Israel is truly steadfast. It is a divine love that will not let his people go, despite their fickleness and harlotry. His "wrath" is not capricious, vindictive, and destructive; it is the expression of a holy love which seeks to break the chains of Israel's bondage and to emancipate her for a new life, a new covenant. (Ibid., p. 251) ... divine judgment is not the last word ... (verses 8-9). For even in the hour of catastrophe Yahweh does not abandon his people, nor does his love for them cease. It is not his will that Israel be destroyed as Admah and Zeborm were leveled during the holocaust of Sodom and Gomorrah, (cf. Gen. 19:24-25; Deuteronomy 29:23). Rather, the purpose behind Yahweh's judgment is love, like that of a parent who lovingly disciplines a wayward child. These verses passionately describe a struggle, as it were, within the heart of God - a struggle that doubtless reflects the agony of Hosea's experience with Gomer. But the triumph is on the side of the love that will not let Israel go. (Ibid., p. 252) Thus Hosea ends his prophecy with words of healing, © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Never Gives Up On Us Richard A. Rhem Page 6   I will heal their apostasy; of my own bounty will I love them. (14:4) The secret of such love lies in God. We cannot fathom it; we can only bow before its majesty. It is beyond human comprehension. God points to His own "Godness" as it were, differentiating Himself from us. ... for I am God and not man. Such is the amazing story of the love of God. It is interesting to relate Hosea's sense of God's love that never gives up on us to Paul's struggle with Israel's rejection of Jesus. Romans chapters 9-11 relate that struggle. Paul cannot understand how to put together God's faithfulness to his covenant promise with Israel's disobedience. His final conclusion is that, through Israel's rejection, the Gospel is being brought to the Gentiles. He concludes that section of struggle with these words: For in making all mankind prisoners to disobedience, God’s purpose was to show mercy to all mankind. (11:32) Then he breaks out in a great doxology, praising the God of so great salvation. What are we to make of this amazing love story, this tale of unconditional, unquenchable love? Must it not seem too good to be true? If it seems too good to be true, it is because we are not accustomed to hearing this message stated simply and straightforwardly. As the message has come to us filtered through centuries of Church tradition - our own Church tradition included - the message has been garbled and the unconditional love of God has been hedged in with numerous qualifications and conditions. I think it accurate to say that for the most part the message that has come through is that of a conditional love of God, conditional on our response, conditional on our good behavior. We speak much of grace, but we operate on the basis of good works and self-righteousness. Is it not perhaps that we are afraid to let the truth of the radical grace and unconditional love of God out because people might really believe it and presume upon it, take advantage of it? Do we dare tell people that the love of God will finally overcome their disobedience, their unfaithfulness, their unworthiness, their fickleness, in a word - their sinful rebellion and self assertion? Do we not rather make God's gift of salvation conditional on saying the right words, confessing the right beliefs, conforming to accepted morality? Have we not transformed the Gospel of God's radical grace and unconditional love into a morality game? Has not the message of the Church been strongly flavored with "Santa Claus theology" - that is – not "You better be good 'cause Santa's coming to town," but "You better be good 'cause Jesus is coming again?" © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Never Gives Up On Us Richard A. Rhem Page 7   That is so very human, just like us. We use reward and punishment on our children; good behaviour gets a reward; bad behaviour gets punishment. That seems only reasonable; that seems like a just mode of operation. Is that not also the way God operates? The answer is simply, "No." Is that not why when He makes His amazing declaration about not being able to give up on Israel, He explains, ... for I am God and not man. Similarly in Isaiah 55 we read after the gracious invitation to return to Him Who freely forgives, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways… For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts; and as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return until they have watered the earth, making it blossom and bear fruit, and give seed for sowing and bread to eat, so shall the word which comes from my mouth prevail; it shall not return to me fruitless without accomplishing my purpose or succeeding in the task I gave it. (Isaiah 55:8-11) God is God. God is other than we are. In His dealings, Love always triumphs. God will never give up on His People. His anger burns. His judgment falls. But His love wins out and the last word is grace. We hardly dare let this good news be known for we fear then we will lose our hold on persons, we will lose our control factor. A good dose of threat and a pinch of fear, the reinforcement of the guilt that is present and well deserved tends to keep the Church in the driver's seat and the people subservient and docile. What would happen if we really let it out that God's love is the final reality, the last word? A great Christian leader and spiritual giant of an earlier day, A.W. Tozer, wrote a beautiful essay entitled, "God Is Easy To Live With." He writes, Satan's first attack upon the human race was his sly effort to destroy Eve's confidence in the kindness of God. Unfortunately for her and for us he succeeded too well. From that day, men have had a false conception of God, and it is exactly this that has cut out from under them the ground of righteousness and driven them to reckless and destructive living. (These Times, 1-74, p. 10) He points out how our notion of God must always determine the quality of our religion. Instinctively we try to be like our God and if He is conceived to be stern and exacting, so will we ourselves be. We can speak of salvation by grace, but we reduce the glory of the Gospel to the drudgery of legalism. Tozer goes on: © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Never Gives Up On Us Richard A. Rhem Page 8   From a failure properly to understand God comes a world of unhappiness among good Christians even today. The Christian life is thought to be a glum, unrelieved cross-carrying under the eye of a stern Father who expects much and excuses nothing. If we think of Him as cold and exacting we shall find it impossible to love Him, and our lives will be ridden with servile fear. ... The truth is that God is the most winsome of all beings and His service one of unspeakable pleasure. He is all love, and those who trust Him never know anything but that love. Unfortunately, many Christians cannot get free from their perverted notions of God, and these notions poison their hearts and destroy their inward freedom. These friends serve God grimly, as the elder brother did, doing what is right without enthusiasm and without joy, and seem altogether unable to understand the buoyant, spirited celebration when the prodigal comes home. Their idea of God rules out the possibility of His being happy in His people, ... Unhappy souls, these, doomed to go heavily on their melancholy way, grimly determined to do right if the heavens fall and to be on the winning side in the day of judgment. We please Him most, not by frantically trying to make ourselves good, but by throwing ourselves into His arms with all our imperfections and believing that He understands everything and loves us still. Tozer had read Hosea. He makes such an important point. It is precisely the knowledge of God's unconditional love that has the power to change us inside out. What have we produced in so much of the history of the Church? Not happy, grace-full persons, but fearful, guilt-ridden persons whose external conformity to the Law is a mask over seething hostility and rebellious resentment. James Sandeishas written a book with the interesting title, God Has a Story Too. He points out that the Bible is a story about God's action first of all, not about human reaction. He argues that we moralize the Bible when we should theologize the life. By this he means that the biblical narratives are stories not about human achievements, human obedience, human goodness. We are not given a series of models to emulate in the Bible. Abraham lied about Sarah being his wife and laughed when God said they would have a child. Moses murdered and was a fugitive from justice. David was guilty of murder and adultery. Paul persecuted the Church. Peter denied Jesus. The Bible is the story of what God can do through the likes of such people - in spite of them. The story is God's story - a love story, a story of a love that never quits, a love that never gives up on us, a love that will never let us go. © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Never Gives Up On Us Richard A. Rhem Page 9   Thus when we become wiser than God, feel we must guard the morality of persons and keep their religious practice in line by qualifying the burning passion of His unquenchable love, we not only distort the amazing wonder of that love, we also miss the greatest single catalyst for transforming human personality and the greatest motivation for a life of trust and devotion lived in the light of His grace. Moralism produces self-righteous, proud and judgmental persons. Legalism produces tense, guilty persons lacking joy and assurance in the freedom of grace. Stressing a conditional acceptance produces fear and finally despair. In a word, the shading of the truth of God's love that knows no limits simply backfires; it does not accomplish the purpose. It does not work. In a quarter century of pastoral ministry, I must say that it is grace that is most difficult to receive and God's unconditional love that is most difficult to believe. We do not deserve it. We know we do not deserve it. We are guilty people and we know it. We despair of ourselves; why wouldn't God despair? We condemn ourselves; why wouldn't God condemn? We are faithless and fickle; we resolve, we perform, we fall away again, we have done it a thousand times; will the pattern ever be broken? And here is the greatest peril of spiritual existence: We despair and give up. Rather than responding to the call of the higher, we give up and yield to the lower. We write ourselves off: "Hopeless Case." The old Baptismal liturgy contains great insight and wisdom. Explaining the meaning of the sacrament, it teaches that Baptism is a sign and seal of our ingrafting into the body of Christ... By this assurance we are called to new obedience: to hold fast to this one God, ... to trust and love him with all our heart and soul and mind and strength; and to forsake the world, crucify our old nature, and walk in a new and holy life. Fine. That is what we are committed to. But who can realize that high calling? The Saints, right? Abraham, Moses, David, Peter and Paul? Maybe the Elders. Maybe even the Deacons. But that holy life is hardly within the range of ordinary mortals, is it? Maybe for some. Some folks seem full of goodness and steadiness and from all outward © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Never Gives Up On Us Richard A. Rhem Page10   appearance it would seem they are walking the straight and narrow. But as for me ... Then our liturgy comes with profound spiritual insight: And if we sometimes, through weakness, fall into sin, we must not therefore despair of God's mercy, nor continue in sin, since Baptism is the sign and seal of God's eternal covenant of grace with us. There you have it! Again, the liturgy does not at the point of our weakness issue a warning, but reminds us of a promise. It does not focus on what we ought to be, but on what God has already established. Baptism is a sign and seal of an Eternal Covenant of Grace. That Eternal Covenant of Grace flows from the heart of the Eternal God, which is Love; unquenchable love, unconditional love, love that will not quit, love that will not give up on us, love that will never let us go. Radical grace. Radical love. That is mind-boggling. If that is Who God is, then He is easy to live with, easy to love, a joy to serve, a delight to please. God is our Ally. He will never give up on us. His love will finally triumph. I do not know how; sometimes through judgment, sometimes through adversity, sometimes through death. That is His prerogative; for us the "how" remains a mystery. But the "that" is clear: Love is the last word. God is love. He will never give up on you! References: Bernhard W. Anderson. Understanding the Old Testament. Prentice-Hall, 2nd edition, 1966. Hendrikus Berkhof. Christian Faith: An Introduction to a Study of the Faith. Wm. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1979. John Joseph Powell. Unconditional Love: Love Without Limits. Resources for Christian Living; first printing edition, 1978. A. W. Tozer, “God Is Easy To Live With,” These Times, 1, 1974, p. 10. © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost XIII Series God Our Ally Scripture Text Hosea 11:8-9, 14:4, Romans 11:32 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI References Bernhard W. Anderson, Understanding the Old Testament, 1966 John Joseph Powell, Unconditional Love, 1978 A.W. Tozer, "God Is Easy to Live With," 1974 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19850825 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1985-08-25 Title A name given to the resource The God Who Never Gives Up On Us Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on August 25, 1985 entitled "The God Who Never Gives Up On Us", as part of the series "God Our Ally", on the occasion of Pentecost XIII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Hosea 11:8-9, 14:4, Romans 11:32. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Covenant of Grace God's Unconditional Love Hebrew Scriptures Hosea Judgment Prophet Transformation https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/fe84308f8c827e539c1872fa95336bfd.mp3 f16030dfcac039db2a0043f1bdfa5a28 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/cd717ff899bf7a876f53b7e956fd3be5.pdf 3aa232682bbb0d719974b213d55d09ef PDF Text Text The God Who Forgives Us From the sermon series: God, Our Ally Text: Micah 7: 18-19; Romans 11: 33-36 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan July 28, 1985 Transcription of the spoken sermon God is our Ally. That is the center of our faith, the heart of the biblical revelation. He is there for us, our friend, at our side, on our side. Our lives are undergirded by His faithfulness and mercy, overshadowed by His love. Even when we cannot sense it amidst tragedy, in the darkness, He holds us still. Even when our conscience condemns us and our guilt threatens to overwhelm us - even then, God is our Ally, for He is the God Who forgives us. That is the theme of this message. We recite the familiar Apostles' Creed and we affirm, I believe the forgiveness of sins. That is a great affirmation. That speaks to the deepest need of the human heart to be forgiven, to be accepted, to be right with God. That which is our deepest need is that which God has provided, for He is a God Who forgives us. Micah ends his prophecy with a great exclamation of hope and confidence, an expression of sheer wonder at the grace and mercy of God. Who is a God like Thee? Thou takest away guilt, Thou passeth over the sin of the remnant of Thy people... Thou wilt show us tender affection and wash away our guilt, casting our sins into the depth of the sea. This amazed exclamation comes at the end of a prophetic book that had dealt seriously with the sin of God's people, Judah. Micah prophesied near the end of the Eighth Century, B.C. With Amos, Hosea and Isaiah he formed the quartet of Eighth Century prophets that represents the golden age of Hebrew prophecy. The social structures of Judah were in a state of deterioration. The nation lacked moral integrity and Micah realized that this people was ripe for judgment. © Grand Valley State University   �The God Who Forgives Us Richard A. Rhem Page 2   He was a contemporary of Isaiah and although Isaiah, too, knew of the sin of the nation, he could not yet conceive of the fall of Jerusalem. Micah, however, predicted that fall, believing that Judah was not immune to the righteous judgment of God. He did not whitewash the estate of a people who had left the paths of righteousness. But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin. (3:8) Micah was no "soft touch." But true to the prophetic tradition and the whole biblical perspective, judgment was not the outpouring of the wrath of a vengeful God Who found pleasure in destroying but rather the disciplining hand of a loving Father Whose purpose was always and forever the redemption of His children. For Micah, then, the last word was not judgment, but grace; not wrath, but mercy. He does not retain his anger forever because he delights in steadfast love. The forgiving grace of God is the last word and the psalm that concludes this prophetic book sings it beautifully with a sense of wonder - the wonder known and understood by all who know what it is to be forgiven. Let us attempt to understand the wonder expressed in our text by acknowledging the biblical diagnosis of the human condition - the condition of sin. We can get this diagnosis from Micah or any other biblical writing. The text is a statement that takes this human condition for granted; it is an expression of amazement at the forgiving grace of God, given the human condition of sin. Paul cites a Psalm and puts it bluntly: All have sinned. To be in a state of sin is to be in a state of alienation from God and one's neighbor. In the Old Testament the Genesis stories portray the human person doubting God's word and God's goodness, the unwillingness to live as creature trusting the Creator, but rather wanting to usurp the place of God and to be Lord of one's own destiny. It was Israel's lack of trust in God that is portrayed as the root of their alienation and separation from God, which led to all the disastrous consequences of their corporate and individual lives. Sin is an old fashioned word. Its reality has been soft-pedaled, its seriousness denied. Yet its manifestation is universal and its devastating effects everywhere to be seen. Anyone with a pinch of common sense must acknowledge that something is wrong. Those profound stories in Genesis, full of symbolic meaning, © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Forgives Us Richard A. Rhem Page 3   tell us that something is wrong indeed, because we are out of relationship with the God Who created us for Himself. Modern psychiatry recognizes that something is wrong. A few years ago Karl Menninger of the famed Menninger Clinic wrote a book that was titled, Whatever Became of Sin? in which he implored the pulpit to preach on human sin because this was to recognize the humanity of persons - that they are free and responsible beings, accountable, with the need and capacity to repent. Otherwise we rob persons of their unique humanness, their freedom and responsibility, making them marionettes in a cosmic drama of fate. This is the biblical perspective... God is good and not the author of evil. We make wrong choices, foolish and brazen, and create chaos for ourselves and our world. We get entwined in a web of wrong and we are wrong-headed and wrong-hearted. We must own our wrong but we cannot unwrite the record of our deeds. Therefore, we need to be forgiven or our situation is hopeless. Ernest Becker, in his book, The Denial of Death, gives a fascinating analysis of how the biblical picture of human sin parallels the findings of depth psychology and psychoanalysis. He compares the work of the psychoanalyst, Otto Rank, with the insights of the Christian thinker, Soren Kierkegaard. He writes: Both men reached the same conclusion after the most exhaustive psychological quest: That at the very furthest reaches of scientific description, psychology has to give way to "theology" - that is, to a worldview that absorbs the individual's conflicts and guilt and offers him the possibility for some kind of heroic apotheosis (to be exalted to the rank of a god). Man cannot endure his own littleness unless he can translate it into meaningfulness on the largest possible level. Here Rank and Kierkegaard meet in one of those astonishing historical mergers of thought: that sin and neurosis are two ways of talking about the same thing - the complete isolation of the individual, his disharmony with the rest of nature, his hyperindividualism, his attempt to create his own world from within himself. Both sin and neurosis represent the individual blowing himself up to larger than his true size, his refusal to recognize his cosmic dependence... In sin and neurosis man fetishizes himself on something narrow at hand and pretends that the whole meaning and miraculousness of creation is limited to that, that he can get his beatification from that. Rank's summing up of the neurotic world-view is at the same time that of the classic sinner: The neurotic loses every kind of collective spirituality, and makes the heroic gesture of placing himself entirely within the immortality of his own ego ... (p. 196) © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Forgives Us Richard A. Rhem Page 4   There is not only the neurotic and the sinner's unreal self-inflation in the refusal to admit creatureliness, but also a penalty for intensified self-consciousness "The failure to be consoled by shared illusions." The result is that the sinner (neurotic) is hyperconscious of the very thing he tried to deny: his creatureliness, his miserableness and unworthiness. (p. 197) But there is a significant difference between the classical sinner and the modern neurotic. Both of them experience the natureliness of human insufficiency, only today the neurotic is stripped of the symbolic world-view, the God ideology that would make sense out of his unworthiness and would translate it into heroism. Traditional religion turned the consciousness of sin into a condition for salvation; but the tortured sense of nothingness of the neurotic qualifies him now only for miserable extinction, for merciful release in lonely death. It is all right to be nothing vis-à-vis God, who alone can make it right in His unknown ways; it is another thing to be nothing to oneself, who is nothing. (p. 197) In Rank's own summary: The neurotic type suffers from a consciousness of sin just as much as did his religious ancestor, without believing in the conception of sin. This is precisely what makes him "neurotic"; he feels a sinner without the religious belief in sin for which he therefore needs a new rational explanation. (p. 198 in Becker from Rank, Beyond Psychology p. 193) Thus declares Becker: Thus the plight of modern man: a sinner with no word for it or, worse, who looks for the word for it in a dictionary of psychology and thus only approaches the problem of his separateness and hyperconsciousness. Again, this impasse is what Rank meant when he called psychology a "preponderantly negative and disintegrating ideology." (p. 198) And sounding like a biblical prophet, Rank concludes, according to Becker, that if neurosis is sin, and not disease, then the only thing which can "cure" it is a world-view, some kind of affirmative collective ideology in which the person can perform the living drama of his acceptance as a creature. Only in this way can the neurotic come out of his isolation to become part of such a larger and higher wholeness as religion has always represented. (p. 198F) © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Forgives Us Richard A. Rhem Page 5   That is the conclusion of the best insight of the science of psychoanalysis and it is a striking conclusion. Believing religion an illusion, Rank nonetheless believed that human health could be achieved only by living in that illusion. Only thus could the isolation and alienation of creatureliness be overcome by one being caught up in a larger framework of meaning and purpose. The diagnosis of the human condition is the same whether read from the Bible or from the journals of psychiatry. The terminology differs but the meaning is the same. The human being turned in upon himself, rejecting the status of creature, grasping for autonomy - that person is in biblical terminology a sinner, in the parlance of modern psychology a neurotic. Probably as much as anybody, Robert Schuller has attempted to utilize the findings of the psychological science in his presentation of the Gospel. In his book, Self Esteem, he contends that we are born with a lack of trust. This is suggested by Erik Erikson in his studies in child psychology. Thus Schuller contends we are by nature fearful, anxious, but not wicked. However one responds to Schuller's dialogue with classical Reformed theology, he does make an important point. For too long in the Church we have assaulted the dignity of human personality and have ground persons even deeper into the paralysis of their sinful condition with our heavy handed preaching of human sin. The question is not whether we are sinful and thus commit sins for which we are guilty. That is plain for anyone to see. The question is rather how can we understand the human predicament and meaningfully bring the Gospel to that predicament so that human transformation will result? Somehow we must recognize that all the wrong we do, all the hell on earth we create, is a reflection not of the human nature God created in his own image, but of a negative response of that human nature which fails to understand God, itself, and the way to wholeness. This is not to downplay the havoc wrought by the person. Schuller uses the image of a golf ball. Outside is a thin, dimpled cover. Beneath are layers and layers of rubber wrappings. The core is a hard rubber ball. To describe a golf ball simply in terms of the outer cover is superficial. The real nature of the golf ball is still unknown. The outer cover he compares to human rebellion. But whence comes that rebellion? Schuller claims we are like that golf ball. At the core is a natural lack of self-esteem, a negative self image - all coming from a lack of trust. From that core come all those rubber wrappings: anxiety, fear and all negative emotions resulting in a face that appears angry, mean, rebellious. At the core of our being we are non-trusting, insecure, defensive and our response to life is angry, negative, destructive. Projecting our fear and suspicion outward, we ruin our interpersonal relationships and generally make a mess of our lives and the community. © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Forgives Us Richard A. Rhem Page 6   Berkhof in his Christian Faith sees our sin "rooted in the creaturely structure of the risky being called man." We do seem to live in two worlds; we are part of the animal kingdom and we are created in the image of God. There is both our misuse of freedom and therefore our guilt and there is a gravitational force from below. In Berkhof s terms: Sin is not a fall from a higher form of existence, but the refusal to rise to the higher form of existence of loving fellowship with God. Sin is contrary to nature precisely because it is a yielding to the pull of our inherited nature. Man falls victim to it if he does not in confidence, in surrender, and in obedience open himself to the call from on high as it invites him to join unconditionally and with his whole being in God's venture of a joint history with man. (p. 207) While not contending that Schuller and Berkhof are saying the same thing or share a common analysis of the human condition, this much can be said - and needs to be said - it is possible to understand the sinful behavior of persons, acknowledging the seriousness of the wrong that we do, without painting the human being as a monster, wicked and incorrigible. Invited to friendship with God from above, pulled by a gravitational force from below, the human being is both guilty and tragic, wonderful and capable of transformation. What, then, is the deepest human need? Is it not unconditional love, unlimited grace, full acceptance and free forgiveness? What we most need God provides, for He is the God Who forgives If the rather long path we have taken to diagnose the human condition is accurate - the biblical picture, the insight of psychoanalysis, of Schuller and Berkhof, then what is it that can effect human transformation? How can human nature be changed? Simply stated: An encounter with unconditional love and grace. If it is true that at our core we are lacking in trust, fearful and anxious and if all forms of negative behavior are the consequence, then it is precisely in the experience of being encountered by an all-embracing grace and a nonthreatening love that we will find our anger dissolved, the shell of our hostility shed and our defenses fall away. The Gospel is the good news about God whose nature is love and Whose love in action toward us is grace. And God encounters us in Jesus Christ. It is when we encounter God in Jesus Christ that we know what it is to be unconditionally accepted and embraced by grace. We meet God when we meet Jesus and we meet Jesus when we meet a brother or sister in whom he lives and through whom he loves. © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Forgives Us Richard A. Rhem Page 7   Then we may well exclaim with Micah, Who is a God like thee? Thou takest away guilt... casting our sins into the depths of the sea. Is it that simple? Yes, it is. But it is not cheap. The story of Jesus reveals the costliness of that forgiveness. His life, his death. He lived a fully human life in total harmony with the Father. He bore our sin in his body on the tree. God made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. We are forgiven through Jesus Christ our Lord. We are accepted in Jesus. When we can receive that, "hear" that, really appropriate that, we are changed, transformed, inside out. The Gospel announces forgiveness through the grace of God; He the God Who forgives us. No wonder Micah exclaimed in wonder, Who is a God like thee? Paul was awestruck, too, at the forgiving grace of God offered in Jesus Christ. In Romans 9-11 he struggles with Israel's failure to believe in Jesus as their Messiah. He finally concludes that in the mystery of God's ways Israel's disobedience has resulted in the salvation of the Gentile world but he never gives up on Israel either. Quoting from Isaiah 27:9, From Zion shall come the Deliverer; he shall remove wickedness from Jacob, And this is the covenant I will grant them, when I take away their sins… He contends that God will one day remove Israel's sin as well because he is certain of the faithfulness of God and the unconditional nature of his promise. "... God's choice stands, and they are his friends for the sake of the Patriarchs. For the gracious gifts of God and his calling are irrevocable." (11:28-29) He can only conclude - even though he cannot fully fathom For in making all mankind prisoners to disobedience, God's purpose was to show mercy to all mankind. (11:32) This leaves him breathless. In a mood similar to Micah's, he breaks out in grand doxology: O depth of wealth, wisdom and knowledge in God! How unsearchable his judgments, how untraceable his ways! ... Source, Guide and Goal of all that is - to him be glory for ever! Amen." (11:33-36) © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Forgives Us Richard A. Rhem Page 8   What a doxology! What a God! And what calls forth that irrepressible praise of the whole human being? The marvel of a grace that forgives! God is a God Who forgives us! Now if only we could believe it; if only we could receive it. Let me speak of God's forgiveness lifting up some aspects of it that may cause us to sense more deeply its wonder and to appropriate more fully its blessing. The first thing 1 would point out is that God's forgiveness has already been provided - it is a reality now offered unconditionally to all who will receive it. God does not hold us at arm's length, seeing first if we measure up, if we are worthy, if we will do it all right now and not abuse His free grace. We do not deserve it. It was while we were yet enemies that we were reconciled - while we were yet sinners that Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-8) Forgiveness is not conditional on good behaviour; there is no parole system with God - just a declaration of undeserved mercy and freedom from the guilt of our sin. Forgiveness is not a future possibility if in the meantime we keep our nose clean. Forgiveness has already been procured through the one offering of Jesus and is ours now. There is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1) The Gospel is not a religion. A religion has a teaching, a ritual, a way of life. Christianity is a religion, but the Gospel is the announcement of what is true now because God has acted: Forgiveness is provided already - secured, forgiveness is freely offered, forgiveness can be now received - received only as gift. A second reflection I would share is that it is those who need it most who find it the most difficult to receive it and personally to appropriate it. Certainly there are those who bulldoze their way through life with seemingly little sensitivity to the havoc they produce and the hurt they inflict. But I am more concerned about the one of sensitive conscience, the one who longs to be right but senses her failings and perhaps even despairs, feeling simply a failure. That one tends to withdraw from the grace of God and from the fellowship where that grace is extended. Such a one feels unworthy which is true enough; yet it is precisely there that the misconception of forgiveness manifests itself. For if I do not allow myself the luxury of grace, being unworthy, then I must be saying that those who do receive it are worthy and then, of course, grace is no longer grace. When I feel wrong, then I feel I do not belong. Withdrawal, isolation, alienation the bitter fruits of failure and despair not dispensed by God's unconditional grace that will never be defeated, will not give up or let go. © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Forgives Us Richard A. Rhem Page 9   I wonder if in this state we do not take ourselves too seriously. Are we so allimportant and our sin of such cosmic dimension that even God can not forgive us and create for us a new beginning? Is not such withdrawal really the last holdout of pride that says, "I will do it on my own or I will not do it"? This leads me to a third observation which follows as a matter of course: Forgiveness is only for the helpless, the hopeless, the one who cannot help himself. We know that; it is a truism of the Gospel. But we find it difficult to keep that truth before our minds. That is inevitable in the Church, I suppose. In the Church you hear about the "oughtness" of life. Certainly there is an "oughtness" in Christian existence: We ought to love God. We ought to love our neighbor. We ought to live truthfully, honestly, nobly, purely, faithfully, etc. Thus the Church becomes the society of oughtness, the place where duty and obligation are set forth, the place where discipline and censure are applied and where failure is not easily tolerated. It is the last place one would dare be honest about his life. Thus develops the paradoxical situation that the place of grace becomes a place of judgmental spirit and the place of Good News becomes the place of bad news. And what kind of people do we form? People grim-faced, tightly wound, anxious, masking their real life full of conflict and ambiguity behind a facade of community respectability, lacking real spontaneity and joy. Are you a hopeless case? You are very near the Kingdom; you are forgiven; breathe easy and begin to enjoy the journey. Finally, I can hear a chorus of dissent: You make the Gospel too easy; you make a mockery of the Christian life. To that I can only say I will take that risk if only I can help one suffering, sensitive struggler to hear and receive the Gospel of forgiveness. And further, religion doesn't work anyway; it only binds another burden on people and places one more monkey on their back. Religion never transformed anyone. It controls, manipulates, keeps one in line (in public,) but it can never free and heal and make whole. If I am accused of announcing a grace that might put in jeopardy duty and obligation and law, then I am in good company; St. Paul was likewise objected to. He spoke glowingly of the triumph of grace in his Roman letter: But where sin was thus multiplied, grace immeasurably exceeded it, in order that, as sin established its reign by way of death, so God's grace might establish its reign in righteousness, and issue in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:21) © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Forgives Us Richard A. Rhem Page10   That "immeasurably exceeded" follows an earlier "vastly exceeded by the grace of God" in verse 15 and an "in far greater measure" -verse 17. Thus Paul knows what will be countered. What are we to say, then? Shall we persist in sin, so that there may be ail the more grace? (6:1) He answers sharply, "No, no!" And his answer contains the key to mystery of human transformation; it is precisely the reality of an unconditional love and gracious acceptance that triggers inward change; this is the reality that by the Spirit effects new birth. Law can point the way, Law can indicate duty, Law can carry with it threat, Law can hem us in, bind us up, keep us in tow, effecting an external conformity to righteousness, But Law cannot change us. Law will never make us dizzy with wonder, speechless in awe finally to exclaim, “What a God!” Who is a God like Thee? God is our Ally; He is the God Who forgives us. References: Ernest Becker, The Denial of Death. First published in 1973. Hendrikus Berkhof, Christian Faith: An Introduction to the Study of the Faith. Wm Eerdmans & Co., 1979. Robert H. Schuller. Self-Esteem: The New Reformation. Word Books, 1983. © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost IX Series God Our Ally Scripture Text Micah 7:18-19, Romans 11:33-36 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI References Ernest Becker, The Denial of Death, 1973 Hendrikus Berkhof, Christian Faith, 1979 Robert H. Schuller, Self-Esteem: The New Reformation, 1983. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19850728 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1985-07-28 Title A name given to the resource The God Who Forgives Us Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on July 28, 1985 entitled "The God Who Forgives Us", as part of the series "God Our Ally", on the occasion of Pentecost IX, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Micah 7:18-19, Romans 11:33-36. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Forgiveness Grace Hebrew Scriptures Judgment Micah Nature of God Prophets Sin Transformation Trust https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f60998192905d443efa05e6dcbf72d98.mp3 72ab03bb0dac595433ebbbb6277f69e0 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/72a4b4af1a415396820fe1e1b4e7f0bd.pdf 8e3bdb0a270e803101a6a54b663fd6b3 PDF Text Text The God Who Is Absent From the sermon series: God, Our Ally Text: Job 23: 3, 10; Mark 15: 34 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan July 21, 1985 Transcription of the spoken sermon Oh, that I knew where I might find him… Job 23: 3 But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. Job 23: 10 …My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Mark 15: 34 God, our Ally. That is the focus of this series of messages. The reiteration of that theme over a sustained period of time will write it indelibly on our minds and weave it into the fabric of our hearts. With such a conviction being foundational to our lives, we will be able to negotiate life's perilous way with confidence and hope. At no time will that be more important and necessary than at those times when it seems that the God with Whom we have to do is absent. It is such times that this message addresses and it is with such times that Christian preaching must honestly deal lest it become superficial sentimentality, a kind of religious "whistling in the dark." The proclamation of the Gospel, the announcement of Good News, must never be an upbeat, positive message of good cheer that communicates the idea that one should simply keep one's chin up because it is really not as bad as it seems. If the Church conveys that impression; if Christian preaching is no more than cheerleading, then it will serve well those who live on the surface of life with no depth of experience and certainly no encounter with suffering, but it will fail miserably and soon alienate more serious souls who have been brushed with the mystery of evil and suffering in the world. Not only will such superficiality offend those who know the experience of darkness; it will also fail to do justice to the full spectrum of biblical truth, for the © Grand Valley State University   �The God Who Is Absent Richard A. Rhem Page 2   biblical message never makes light of the darkness but rather announces a Light the darkness can never overcome. But, darkness there is. Real. Devastating. Causing fear and trembling. God is our Ally. God is there for us. That affirmation of faith I am attempting to declare from Scripture, approaching that truth from various angles. But certainly one of the most critical situations from which to trust that truth is the experience of God's absence. One of the greatest concerns I have in preaching is that the Truth declared may leave the one who needs it most in a worse state than before, simply because the dark night of the soul is so deep, the pain so great, the feeling of desolation so overwhelming that a message that promises joy and triumph simply cannot be received. That may sometimes happen in spite of the sensitivity of the preacher. But it will certainly happen if the message fails to acknowledge the hell of experiencing the absence of God. If Scripture is faithfully taught, there will be no danger of soft-pedaling the darkness, the horror of being alone, lost, in a world from which God is absent. Let us look then for a moment into the soul of Job. This Old Testament drama deals in classic fashion with the problem of suffering. Its theme is familiar and its purpose well known. The book was written to counter the prevailing idea that there is always a connection between human sin and human suffering. It is a drama. The opening verses present the greatness and prosperity of Job. Then scene one takes place in the Court of Heaven. God speaks of Job's righteousness; Satan, the accuser, says it is not surprising that Job is so good - see how he has prospered. God says, "Go ahead, remove everything, test him." So Job loses everything; great calamity and loss are his. But through it all Job remains faithful. His classic response: Naked I came from the womb, naked I shall return whence I came. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord. (1:21) Scene two: Again the Court of Heaven. Obviously God won round one. Job was stripped bare but yet worshiped the Lord. Satan says that the real test comes when Job’s own health, his flesh and bone are touched. God says, “Go ahead, test him but do not take his life.” And it happens. Job suffers terrible physical disease. His wife cries out angrily, Are you still unshaken in your integrity? Curse God and die! (2:9) But Job remains a rock. © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Is Absent Richard A. Rhem Page 3   If we accept good from God, shall we not accept evil? (2:10) The suffering was massive. Friends came to comfort but for seven days simply sat there, numbed by the magnitude of the horror. Now we have the setting for the lesson of the drama. Job finally breaks out in bitter complaint. He curses the day of his birth. He lets it all spill out. His friends had been silent, quite overwhelmed by the magnitude of his suffering and as long as he bore it in silence they too said nothing. But now that he has finally broken out in bitter complaint, they find their own preconceived notions and pre-set judgments threatened. Now they feel constrained to answer because what they believe - their little systems of making sense of the world - was being challenged. They would have claimed that they were coming to the defense of God, of truth, of the proper view of things. In reality of course they were coming to the defense of their own dogmatic opinions. They had certainly come with good intentions of being comforters to Job in his affliction, but they had also come knowing the answer to the mystery before they heard the question. Their religious system was now under attack and so their intention to bring comfort was now overcome by their need to preserve intact their own world and life view. Listen to Eliphaz go on the attack: ... now that adversity comes upon you, you lose patience; it touches you, and you are unmanned. (4:5) Then he comes to the point: ... what innocent man has ever perished? Where have you seen the upright destroyed? (4:7) That was the prevailing opinion. That is what everyone took for granted. It was a life axiom, no longer even questioned. But Job questioned. He refused to bow to popular opinion - "What everyone knew." He was a good man. There was no secret iniquity he was hiding. His probing of the mystery is eloquent. The dialogue continues: Job's friend defending God for punishing Job, convinced that whatever Job gets he has coming to him; Job defending himself against their insensitive taunts. Finally Job cries out in despair at the blindness and obstinacy of his friends and makes his appeal to God. Oh, that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his seat! I would lay my care before him ... Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him; by the left hand I seek him, but I cannot behold him; I turn to the right hand, but I cannot see him. (23:3-4, 8-9) Job found no comfort or understanding from his friends whose insensitivity has gotten them the label "miserable comforters." He refuses to accept the popular © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Is Absent Richard A. Rhem Page 4   wisdom. He refuses to believe God is doing this to him as a punishment. He refuses to believe that God would not solve his terrible dilemma. But, God is absent. He cannot find him. This is the point I want to make for the purpose of this message. Sometimes God is absent. Let me simply summarize the resolution of the drama of Job. There is never given an answer to the why of suffering, the suffering of the innocent, the pervasive presence of Evil in God's good creation that brushes us all at some point. What is soundly refuted and persuasively denied is that there is a correlation between sin and suffering. God does reveal Himself to Job. Job is quite overwhelmed by the majesty of God. His persistent questioning seems almost silly in the light of the revelation of Who God is. He bows and worships. No answer is given. But the absent God does reveal Himself. And Job finds that God is enough. A light scatters the darkest darkness when the Presence is known. But let us remain with Job in his anguish for a moment. It is so very real and so very terrifying. In the midst of that darkness, no light is visible, not because there is no light, but because one is so numbed by the pain that one simply cannot penetrate the shroud of darkness that envelops the soul. Perhaps in the Church we do not deal well with the darkness because it makes us nervous - like Job's friends we rush to God's defense - not that God needs to be defended but the darkness threatens our own little security systems. We are really defending ourselves against that darkness. We grow anxious when someone close to us in a time of great trauma seems to question God or even to deny that God is, is good and merciful, is there for us. Job's friends did not do wrong in coming to Job. They did well in coming and being silent before the awful reality of his suffering. They seriously erred when they spoke, trying to explain, to rationalize, to defend God. God needs no defense. We often simply have no answers. It is our proper posture just to be there and wait in silence, bringing the comfort of a presence that cares even when it cannot fathom. Sometimes God is absent. Sometimes we must simply trust, holding on with white-knuckled grip. Job did not give up on God. But he could not find him. Thus his piercing cry, © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Is Absent Richard A. Rhem Page 5   "Oh, that I knew where I might find him!" Job's darkness was terrible indeed; yet it did not match the darkness of another whose cry is differently expressed, yet essentially the same; a cry of total abandonment and utter desolation: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Still there was a clinging to God - the address is a personal address, "My God." Yet there was a sense of being abandoned, of being alone in the darkness. The darkness is real. There is a mystery of Evil in the world. Sometimes there is no clue - no answer to the anguishing, "Why?" Let us simply acknowledge that. Perhaps the most horrible instance of such darkness and suffering of the innocent occurred in our own time. The Holocaust, which claimed the lives of six million Jews in Nazi death camps, can never be fully taken in. The most eloquent statement of the darkness I have ever encountered is in Elie Wiesel's account of his own childhood nightmare in the camps, seeing the smoke rise from the gas furnaces that consumed his mother and sister and watching his father die by inches. His account is entitled simply Night. He writes, Some talked of God, of his mysterious ways, of the sins of the Jewish people, and of their future deliverance. But I had ceased to pray. How I sympathized with Job! I did not deny God's existence, but I doubted His absolute justice. (p. 55F) One day a young boy was executed, hung from a gallows with the whole camp marched out to witness. Elie Wiesel watched, too, himself only a boy. As the child twisted in the air suspended from the noose, someone behind Wiesel said, "Where is God? Where is He?" Again, as he was marched by the child dying agonizingly, he heard it again, "Where is God now?" And he writes, And I heard a voice within me answer him, Where is He? Here He is - He is hanging there on the gallows... (p. 76) The Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, was at hand and on the eve of that day is a great Jewish festival celebration. In the prison camp the Jews gathered for worship. Wiesel writes his thoughts. © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Is Absent Richard A. Rhem Page 6   "What are you, my God," I thought angrily, "compared to this afflicted crowd, proclaiming to You their faith, then anger, then revolt? What does Your greatness mean, Lord of the Universe, in the face of all this weakness, this discomposition, and this decay? Why do You will trouble on their sick minds, their crippled bodies?" (p. 77) … "Blessed be the Name of the Eternal!" Thousands of voices repeated the benediction; thousands of men prostrated themselves like trees before a tempest. … Why, but why should I bless Him? In every fiber I rebelled. Because He had had thousands of children burned in His pits? Because He kept six crematories working night and day, on Sundays and feast days? ... How could I say to Him: "Blessed art Thou, Eternal Master of the Universe, Who chose us from among the races to be tortured day and night, to see our fathers, our mothers, our brothers, end in the crematory? Praise be Thy Holy Name, Thou Who hast chosen us to be butchered on Thine altar?" (p. 78) … This day I ceased to plead. I was no longer capable of lamentation. On the contrary, I felt very strong. I was the accuser, God the accused. (p. 79) And what was the sensation of this awful situation? My eyes were open and I was alone - terribly alone in a world without God and without man. Without love or mercy. (p. 79) Elie Wiesel has become a strong advocate of the Jewish cause. I do not know where he is now in relation to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But certainly the poignancy of the pain could hardly find more powerful expression than he gives it in his account. In his book, The Meaning of Christ, Robert C. Johnson records an incident from the ministry of H.H. Farmer. Many years ago I was preaching on the love of God; there was in the congregation an old Polish Jew who had been converted to the Christian faith. He came to me afterward and said, 'You have no right to speak about the love of God, until you have seen, as I have seen, the blood of your dearest friends running in the gutters on a gray winter morning. I asked him later how it was that, having seen such a massacre, he had come to © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Is Absent Richard A. Rhem Page 7   believe in the love of God. The answer he gave in effect was that the Christian gospel first began to lay hold of him because it bade him see God - the love of God – just where he was, just where he could not but always be in his thoughts and memories - in those bloodstained streets on that grey morning. It bade him see the love of God – not somewhere else, but in the midst of just that sort of thing, in the blood and agony of Calvary. He did at least know, he said, that this was a message that grappled with the facts; and then he went on to say something the sense of which I shall always remember though the words I have forgotten. He said, "As I looked at that man upon the cross, as I heard him pray, 'Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,’ as I heard him cry in his anguish, ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’ I knew that I must make up my mind once for all and either take my stand beside him and share in his undefeated faith in God ... or else fall finally into a bottomless pit of bitterness, hatred, and unutterable despair. (p. 46F) That I submit to you is a profound and moving response to the incomprehensible mystery of human suffering. The darkness is real. Wiesel’s God died in the onslaught of senseless suffering, human cruelty and the absence of God. The Polish Jew found the love of God in a similar life situation because he sensed that in the awful agony of another Jew, Jesus, who expressed that absence, there was yet an undefeated trust in God - even in the depths of hellish torment. He sensed that Christian faith, the Gospel, if you will, was not a superficial pep pill that asserted God was in His heaven and all was right with the world, but was an invitation to trust in the God of love in the deepest darkness, not because an explanation was offered for the suffering, but that the God of Jesus and the Cross is a God present in the moments of most acute abandonment. He trusted God in the darkness because the alternative was horrible beyond description – a bottomless pit of bitterness, hatred and unutterable despair. That is the choice we must finally make. The darkness is real. Biblical faith never denies its reality. Sometimes one finally cries to heaven, "Oh, that I knew where I might find him!" Sometimes one's God dies on the gallows of human evil as did Wiesel's. Sometimes one cries, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Sometimes - realizing this God invites us to trust him at the very point of history's darkest hour, one comes to find the love of God just there, as did the Polish Jew. © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Is Absent Richard A. Rhem Page 8   Biblical faith never takes lightly the darkness; Biblical faith declares a light that the darkness cannot overcome - the Light of Easter, of resurrection, of the promise of God's final triumph over the darkness. Good Friday was not the last word. Had it been the last word, there would have been no further word. But Good Friday found its answer in the Easter wonder of Jesus' resurrection. That is the one supreme moment of God's revelation - within history, a moment from beyond history, illuminating history's meaning. An event of the End happening in the middle of history, throwing its light forward and backward, giving meaning to the whole and filling the whole with meaning - that life is not a cruel joke, a cosmic mistake; that life is not a tragic moment bracketed by oblivion before and oblivion beyond; that life with all the vicissitudes of our human experience is undergirded and overshadowed by the Presence of the God Who sometimes seems absent. St. Paul said it well: "God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself." The French Christian writer, Francois Mauriac, wrote the foreword to Elie Wiesel's Night. This is how he ended: And I, who believe that God is love, what answer could I give my young questioner, whose dark eyes still held the reflection of that angelic sadness which had appeared one day upon the face of the hanged child? What did I say to him? Did I speak of that other Israeli, his brother, who may have resembled him - the Crucified, whose Cross has conquered the world? Did I affirm that the stumbling block to his faith was the cornerstone of mine, and that the conformity between the Cross and the suffering of men was in my eyes the key to that impenetrable mystery wherein the faith of his childhood had perished? Zion, however, has risen up again from the crematories and the charnel houses. The Jewish nation has been resurrected from among its thousands of dead. It is through them that it lives again. We do not know the worth of one single drop of blood, one single tear. All is grace. If the Eternal is the Eternal, the last word for each one of us belongs to Him. This is what I should have told this Jewish child. But I could only embrace him, weeping. (p. 10f) The Gospel we proclaim points to a gracious God, our Ally, Who will overcome the darkness with His light. God is our Ally; God is God. The darkness is real but it is not final. But Mauriac was quite right not to speak but to embrace the suffering one, weeping. That sensitive silence was the most cogent invitation to trust in the darkness. © Grand Valley State University �The God Who Is Absent Richard A. Rhem Page 9   If that is where you are, or if tomorrow that should be your lot, cling to God Who seems absent but Who feels our pain more deeply than any human support and who promises that dawn will yet break and light break through. Amen. Reference: Elie Wiesel. Night. English translation, Hill & Wany, 1972, 1985. © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost VIII Series God Our Ally Scripture Text Job 23:3, 10, Mark 15:34 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI References Elie Wiesel, Night, 1972, 1985 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19850721 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1985-07-21 Title A name given to the resource The God Who is Absent Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on July 21, 1985 entitled "The God Who is Absent", as part of the series "God Our Ally", on the occasion of Pentecost VIII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Job 23:3, 10, Mark 15:34. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Grace Hebrew Scriptures Job Nature of God Sin Suffering Trust