1 24 4 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/bbdc2e52859c10bb1c82aead0f897df0.pdf 54a02004ada197cf0fd440bad88ce153 PDF Text Text Life Broken and Poured Out From the sermon series: Now – But Then Text: Luke 15:51-52; I Corinthians 13:12 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Advent I, December 3, 1995 Transcription of the spoken sermon I am finding that I am entering this season of Advent and this new Christian year with anticipation, and my experience is that that is a growing anticipation and a growing delight in the celebration of the Christian year. I am perhaps just getting older, but I am enjoying the structure of the Christian Year, the form that it gives to my spiritual life and pilgrimage, the life of worship. Obviously, for me whose chief responsibility is worship, I suppose that's understandable, but I would hope that it is true for you, too, that as a people you might even have thought this week, "Advent begins. A new Christian Year begins. The color will be purple. Soon the trees will be dressed, the stars lighted. We'll gather around the table; the Advent wreath will be in our midst." Those things are becoming increasingly meaningful to me over the years. I had to learn all of that after the fact, because I grew up, as many of you have, in a tradition where the Christian Year was not observed. Oh, well, Christmas, to be sure. Easter, Pentecost, and I think we celebrated Ascension Day, too, because I had to go to church on Thursday night. But, in this old Dutch Reformed Church in which I grew up, we didn't observe the Christian Year because that was Catholic, and even if it'd been 500 years, you can't protest too long! Actually, I was trained that the order for preaching should be the doctrines of the Heidelberg Catechism - Lord's Day by Lord's Day by Lord's Day. And so, if you followed those doctrinal themes, you might be considering the death of Christ in the Advent season, or you might be considering the Holy Spirit during Lent, because you didn't observe Advent or Lent or Eastertide or Christmas as a season of the Christian Year. But, I'm finding the observance of the Christian Year meaningful. Obviously in the wisdom of the ancient Church, they understood that to go through this cycle was a way of remembering, the way of remembering the way in which God has touched our history. "The Word became flesh, lived among us, died among us, rose among us. The spirit came to dwell within us." You see, the Christian Year puts it in story, in a narrative, and we can live in it and live through it and I'm © Grand Valley State University   �Life Broken and Poured Out Richard A. Rhem Page 2   simply finding that I am eager to go through the cycle again. We begin this morning, the First Lord's Day of the new Christian Year - the season of Advent. Advent means "coming." And, of course, four Sundays before Christmas the focus would be the One who came when the Word was made flesh. We are preparing for Christmas. But, the real focus of Advent is not simply the One who came, but that the One who came is the One who is coming. And so, the real theme of Advent is the fact that there is a future and an end. And it is a season in which we are invited to pause, to reflect, to ask in regard to our lives, "What time is it?" In regard to our congregation, "What time is it?" In regard to the society of which we are a part, "What time is it?" In regard to the world and world history, "What time is it?" Because, as a matter of fact, what the Advent season calls to our mind is the fact that we are people on the move; we are people underway; we are people going somewhere, and something's happening. That was the insight of the Hebrew prophets. Israel gave to the world the sense of history. Over against that was that cyclic sense of reality where things come and go and come and go in endless cycle. But the Hebrews had the insight, "Not so. Beginning, movement, end." And it's fascinating to me that the most recent cosmology, the work of physics, those who study the stars and the planets and all of that deep, deep, mysterious reality of our cosmos - they tell us now that time is irreversible. That means that the best scientific sense of things is now concurring with that biblical sense of things, that there is a point of beginning. There is a movement, an emergence if you will, and an end. Emergence has become a very important word to me. I suggested this summer that it might be a word, an idea that could help us to make more sense of our lives and of history and the cosmos - more sense than the idea of Creation and Fall. I like the idea of Creation and evolutionary development with constant new emergence. And the Advent season tells us that there is not only this process of movement, this irreversible time line, but there is something out there. We're moving toward something. And so, for the theme of this Advent season, I want the phrase to burn into your consciousness and into your minds, into your heart. NOW, BUT THEN. NOW, BUT THEN. I hope every party you attend, there will be a moment in which you'll think, "Now, but then." I hope with every present you purchase, you'll think, “Now, but then.” I hope in whatever quiet moments you can find in this month of December, you'll think, "Now, but then." I was at a seminar earlier, well last week, and it was a very stimulating couple of days, thinking about our nation. The seminar was entitled, "Shall the Christian Coalition Win?" And there was an evangelical leader, Jim Wallis, who founded the Sojourners community years ago, and Joan Campbell, the Executive Secretary of the National Council of Churches, who is the voice for the mainline churches that seem to be in such trouble, and Alan Boesak from South Africa, who is so intricately involved in the dismantling of Apartheid, and as we were discussing © Grand Valley State University �Life Broken and Poured Out Richard A. Rhem Page 3   together the state of the nation, the condition of society, the polarization, the politicization of issues of social welfare and well-being, there were three young men there who were pastors, graduates of Princeton. And as we were talking about our lives and the life of the church and of society, one of these young men said, "Dear God, I can't even get to know my people. My people (he's a pastor in New Jersey, a bedroom community for the city), he said, "My people get on the train at 5, 6 o'clock in the morning, they go into the city, they work all day, they get home 7, 8,9 o'clock at night, exhausted; they get up in the morning, get on the train, go into the city, come home exhausted." And he said, "They have no time!" And Alan Boesak spontaneously responded, "They are corporate migrants!" And then he went on to explain. Where he comes from in South Africa there are migrant workers who still, out from camps, get on buses five o'clock in the morning, go into the cities, work all day, come home 8, 9 o'clock at night, exhausted, in order to get up in the morning to get on the bus to go into the cities to work in order to come home, exhausted, 8 or 9 o'clock at night. They're migrant workers. But, Alan said, your up-and-outers, your affluent New Jersey corporate executives are also migrants. They're corporate migrants. And I thought to myself, "Isn't it true of us all?" We came home in the middle of the week and I opened up the calendar to December! It is a disaster! And I thought to myself, I'll be saying to my people on Sunday, Advent is a time of waiting, of anticipating, of preparation for the feast of Christmas, a celebration that the Word became flesh, but more than that, it is a time of waiting, anticipation, preparation for the fact that there is an end out there, that in this evolving, emerging process there is something out there, an endpoint. And I thought, how will we have time, how will we take time? And then I thought perhaps the words of Paul to the Corinthians might keep surfacing in our consciousness, Now, but then, reminding us to ask the question - "What time is it?" What time is it in my life? What time is it in my nation? What time is it in this world of ours? Where are we going? And where will we end? Because we are on the way. It's just that we don't often have a moment to step back and to reflect on the whole thing - What time is it in your life on this first Sunday in Advent? I can do little more than set the theme this morning. Now Paul says, "We see through a glass darkly." We grope, we see fuzzy images, we have a sense of something, but it's not clear. We can't penetrate through the mystery, the mystery that is life, that is history, that is cosmos. Now, dimly, but then - clearly! Now, he says, we know in part. Dear God, don't we know a lot? Really? When you think of the explosion of knowledge and then when you think of the computer capacity to make that knowledge exponentially more applicable - what a world we live in! What a fascinating time to be alive! Now! Knowledge. But, the more we know, the more we know we don't know. And it's not as though we edge up to the mystery in order to dissolve it. As we edge up to the mystery, the mystery grows, doesn't it? Now we know in part, but then we will know even as we are fully known. © Grand Valley State University �Life Broken and Poured Out Richard A. Rhem Page 4   This Advent season let me try to set this into your mind, this idea - Now, But Then. Now in part; then fully. Now dimly, then clearly. Because, you see, we're going somewhere. Something's happening. There's a process under foot, and we are being moved along in that stream, either unconsciously or, if by God's grace for just a moment we could step back and realize that we are in a process for which we ought to be taking responsibility and living with intention. What is emerging? That's the other thing I want to say this morning. What is emerging? Well, if we take what Mary thought was emerging, we can look at that Magnificat. She thought what was emerging was the gift of the child that she had conceived : a new world, a different kind of world. And it excited her. She praised God! But, as I reflected on the Magnificat, dear friends, and I thought how am I going to say this to my people -I realized that the Gospel is Good News, really, for the underdog. Mary was a peasant girl. Mary was one of the voiceless ones. Mary had no power. And what did she celebrate? She celebrated the fact that in her world, in her day, folks like us would be put down so that folks like her would be raised up. Mary's song was a subversive song. He puts down the proud; he lifts up the lowly. He turns away those whose tables are full and brings food to the hungry. That's good news? Really? You got to be one of the underclass to celebrate the Gospel. Unless, unless there's a way for us, the rich and the powerful, to find a way to a new world. Unless, in this Advent season, we who have voice, we who have power, we who call the shots for our world, unless we could come to some kind of negotiation with that emerging future and perhaps even become a part of the movement to bring it into being. I know what it would cost. It only comes about through life broken and poured out. You see, the child of Mary's womb, whom she celebrated in that anthem, was a child who grew up to be crucified. If you would go into the next chapter of Luke's Gospel, you could see that Luke was already foreshadowing that, because he said to Mary, "A sword will pierce your heart because this one will be a sign spoken again, this one will be for the fall and rising of many in Israel." It's obvious that, in the Christian Church down 2000 years, we still call this the Gospel, we don't understand what it's all about. I mean, it's really obvious, isn't it? The Gospel is about the great reversal. The Gospel is about the creation of a world, a community where everyone has enough and has a voice and has dignity and can live in a community of compassion. And you know what that would cost? It cost Jesus his life. It cost Gandhi his life. It cost Martin Luther King his life. It cost Bonhoeffer his life. It cost Itzak Rabin his life. Because, you see, our world is organized to hold off the future. Our world, our politics, our social structures - they are put together in order to maintain what is. I like it the way it is. Because the way it is puts me in a place of real privilege, unbelievable privilege. If I would be true to the Gospel, I would become one of those subversives that would undercut the way it is in order that there might emerge a different kind of world. I don't have the blueprint for it. I don't really have the courage for it. But, in this Advent season, I'm going to be just a bit © Grand Valley State University �Life Broken and Poured Out Richard A. Rhem Page 5   uneasy about the fact that the cost of that emerging future may involve my life. We've been to the Table; we've taken bread and cup, the sign of life broken and poured out, the sign of our identification with that One. The Good News in all of this is that, if I ever had the courage, the wisdom, the heart to follow Jesus, I would find abundant life. Because in many ways I'm a migrant, too. Life can become that, where I no longer live it out of my insides, but am lived by the outside. Advent - wonderful time of the year to take time, to count the cost and to be drawn by the vision of that life, which is life indeed. I dare you. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/4ca906742f8a11e44b62a8b74c40b1f0.mp3 36bed7f97deac76cb3c45d52959801cc Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Advent I Series Now _ But Then Scripture Text Luke 15:51-52, I Corinthians 13:12 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19951203 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-12-03 Title A name given to the resource Life Broken and Poured Out Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on December 3, 1995 entitled "Life Broken and Poured Out", as part of the series "Now - But Then", on the occasion of Advent I, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Luke 15:51-52, I Corinthians 13:12. Advent Community of Compassion Emergence Incarnation Liturgical Calendar https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f2bc2074584740741352551f0f40583d.mp3 cd922a8aa2af1f4a1fe8708882462bb5 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 Mardi Gras Sunday Scripture Text Psalm 148:1-14, Psalm 149:1-5, Luke 7:18-35 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI References Gertrud Mueller Nelson, To Dance With God: Family Ritual & Community Celebration, 1986 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-0-19950226 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-02-16 Title A name given to the resource From Feasting to Fasting Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on February 16, 1995 entitled "From Feasting to Fasting", on the occasion of Mardi Gras Sunday, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Psalm 148:1-14, Psalm 149:1-5, Luke 7:18-35. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Community of Faith Liturgical Calendar Psychology https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/4272f840692e1d088f176a1b30d32d45.pdf 5514c588e131844ea296192885b43962 PDF Text Text A Charismatic and Open Future From the series: The People of the Way Text: Acts 1:8; 3:19-21; 10:34; 11:2, 4 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan January 22, 1995 Transcription of the spoken sermon The Lesson from the Epistle is a reading from the Book of Acts, in fact several passages, in my attempt to give you a sense of how the Jesus Movement was founded and continued, and how the New Testament document was put together. We have spent a couple of weeks looking at the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, the founding story. Those stories were written a long time after the event itself and they were not biographical in the sense of simply telling the story of Jesus. They were faith documents. They were written with a selective vision in order to create a portrait that would elicit faith in people. Those four Gospels come first in the New Testament, I suppose, because it would seem logical that the founding story would be there first. The other large piece of the New Testament are the letters, particularly the letter of Paul. Between the letter of Paul and those gospels you have the Book of Acts. Sometimes we call it the First Church History. Well, that’s as erroneous as to call the gospels the lives of Jesus. Just as the gospels were proclamations of faith in a narrative form, so the Book of Acts was a proclamation of faith in a narrative form. It does in a sense create a bridge, but it really is volume two of the Gospel of Luke. If you would read the opening verses of Luke and then the opening verses of Acts you would see that it’s the same hand, the same intention to set forth these things in orderly fashion. But, just as the gospel was the founding story in narrative form to tell about the life and ministry and resurrection of Jesus, so Acts was the continuing story to show how the Jesus Movement developed and spread. So, as I read, I want you to see that this Jesus Movement was the movement empowered by the Holy Spirit of God, and was thrust out into the world, not without conflict and resistance, but finally breaking the narrow bounds of Israel and going to all nations, or to the Gentiles. There are those who say this may be one of the earliest formulations of the conception of Jesus that the Church eventually came to. This was a very primitive © Grand Valley State University   �A Charismatic and Open Future Richard A. Rhem Page 2   understanding; this Jesus that they all knew, this Jesus, God has made Lord in Christ. There’s a dramatic healing at the temple and everyone wonders about it, and then Peter has another chance to preach. On that occasion he says, “Now, brothers and sisters, I know that you acted in ignorance as did your rules. But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets that Christ should suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent, therefore, and turn again that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that God may send Christ (the Messiah) appointed for you. Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for establishing all that God spoke by the mouth of the holy prophets from of old.” It is as though Peter is saying, “Come now, turn. If you’d just turn, then God could get on with it, you see, and this Jesus could come, Messiah, Lord, and wrap everything up.” Well, it wasn’t to happen. The community continued to grow and to develop and it was very much a Jewish community. What Luke does is to give us some models, or some paradigms of how that movement developed and took shape. The Cornelius story, Peter and Cornelius, was certainly a classic paradigm of how this gospel broke the bounds of Israel and was brought to the non-Jew. It happened simply because Peter was given a vision that he couldn’t deny and an experience that simply overwhelmed him. So he has a vision, hears a knock at the door, there are men beckoning him from Cornelius who has had a vision, and he comes to Cornelius’s house and he says, “You know I shouldn’t be here. This is contrary to everything I’ve ever been taught, associating with the likes of you. What do you want?” They asked, “What’s God telling you? Tell us.” Peter opened his mouth and said, “Truly, I perceive that God shows no partiality.” [Pretty good for Peter.] “But in every nation, anyone who hears him and does what is right and acceptable to him. You know the word which he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace by Jesus Christ. He is Lord of all. The word which was proclaimed throughout all Judea beginning from Galilee after the baptism which John preached, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth of the Holy Spirit and with power. How he went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses to all that he did, both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him on the third day and made him manifest—not to all the people, but to us who were chosen by God, as witnesses. Who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead, and he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he was the one ordained by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness and everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins in his name.” © Grand Valley State University �A Charismatic and Open Future Richard A. Rhem Page 3   While Peter was still saying this, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard and the believers from among the circumcised who came with Peter were amazed because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. They heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God, and Peter declared, “Can anyone forbid water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” He commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and they asked him to remain for some days. Now the apostles and the brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem the circumcision party criticized him, saying, “Why did you go to uncircumcized people and eat with them?” Peter began to explain to them step by step. About the same time, sometime between 70 and 100, the Gospels were written: the Book of Acts was written and the Gospels as well, the Gospel of John maybe toward the end of the century. But John, too, was trying to shape the future by understanding the present. So he tells the story of Jesus, and in the fourth chapter of the Gospel of John is the familiar story of the woman at the well in Samaria. She’s a woman. She’s a Samaritan. Jesus talks to her, already shattering the preconceptions of his day. Then he indicates to her that he knows a thing or two about her, and she thinks to herself, “This is getting too personal, let’s talk theology.” So the woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where we ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know. We worship what we know for salvation is from the Jews. The hour is coming and now is when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. For such the Father seeks to worship.” The problem with following the course is not that Jesus has failed us, but that we failed Jesus—over and over and over again. So there’s a Christian church instead of simply the blossoming of Israel into a great world religion with a message of light and salvation for the whole world. The Gospels tell the story of Jesus, but as I said, they’re faith documents trying to create faith in those to whom that story, that narrative form of that faith commitment is woven, and the Book of Acts as well. Often we see Acts as a bridge between the Gospels and Epistles, as I said at the scripture reading. As a matter of fact Acts is not a history, although it is in the shape of history. What the Gospel writers were doing and what the author of Acts was saying was the same as the Gospel of Luke, Volume II. What they were doing was telling the story not simply recording the past. You know, historians are sneaky people. You think they are sort of harmless because they just grub around in the past. But you know what historians are? They grub around in the past until they can understand the present so they can © Grand Valley State University �A Charismatic and Open Future Richard A. Rhem Page 4   determine the future. There’s not a historian alive who is an objective observer of what really happened, because most of the time we can’t really determine what really happened. So, there’s data back there. There’s a connection with concrete events, but the historian is one who weaves that data into a story. And that story becomes compelling. That story interprets the present and it shapes the future. This story was written sometime between 70 and 100. We are four decades, minimally, away from the event. The Jesus Movement has started with some considerable success already. It has permeated the ancient world, and it’s in crisis. The Church is always in crisis; it’s nothing new. The crisis is that the Jesus Movement starts out very understandably as a Jewish movement. Jesus was a Jew. Sorry to tell you, folks, Jesus wasn’t a Christian. I don’t think Jesus ever intended to be anything other than a Jew, a faithful son of Israel—the fulfillment and the blossoming and the culmination of all that marvelous tradition. So it is understandable, as well, that the first movement, the Jesus Movement, was a Jewish movement you could call People of the Way. In the story of Paul’s conversion, from Saul to Paul, in Acts 9:2, you’ll read that he went after the People of the Way. Acts 19:23: once again, when the talk in Ephesus was about some controversy, these are People of the Way. How do you characterize new movements? No one knows quite what to call them and so they were called People of the Way. So it’s a Jewish movement, those who believe that this Jesus of Nazareth was indeed God’s anointed one, God’s Messiah. It is a community in Jerusalem in which Jesus’ brother James becomes a dominant figure. But the intention, Luke tells us, was that this thing go in concentric circles out to the whole world and so it started in Jerusalem, a Jewish community, where it gets some opposition. There was a good solid Jew named Saul, who was on his way to persecute the People of the Way. Bingo, he receives a vision, a light from heaven, and he turns around—a dramatic conversation – and he becomes St. Paul, the apostle of Jesus Christ. Now, his vision entails a ministry beyond the limits of Israel. He begins to go out into the Roman Empire. He tells the story at the synagogue to the Jews first but, when he gets turned away there, he preaches in the marketplace to anybody who will listen. Before long there’s a community there: the cities in Galatia, Asia Minor, etc. Now there’s trouble brewing. This I think is what the Book of Acts is really about. It is not a bridge between the Gospels and Paul’s letters. It is attempting to be a bridge between the Apostle Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles or the nations, and James—the Lord Bishop of the First Reformed Church of Jerusalem. That’s the tension. You see, there were a limited number of Jews to evangelize in the world, but there was a whole world of Gentiles. And when the consistory met in Jerusalem at the First Jewish Christian Reformed Church, they said, “You know this fellow, Paul? If he keeps doing what he’s doing, saying that those Gentiles can be members © Grand Valley State University �A Charismatic and Open Future Richard A. Rhem Page 5   with us in the community of faith without first becoming Jews, the whole character of our church will be changed. It will no longer be like it has been. They don’t know our customs. They don’t know how to act. They don’t know the inside jokes of the family when they gather. They’ve got a lot of strange things about them. It doesn’t feel comfortable. How can we be a family when people are coming right out of all kinds of pagan practices and expecting to sit down at table with us?” Anybody with any insight could see that, if Paul was successful and the mission to the Gentiles should prosper, it was going to be a whole new ball game. There was sharp tension because the things that have been for us, the mediators of grace, the things that we have grown up with, the things that we feel in our depths without having to think intellectually about, those are precious to us. We don’t let those go easily and we don’t open ourselves up to that which might threaten that very easily. Well, poor Peter got caught in the crossfire between James and Paul. And what Luke does as an author, as a spinner of a literary tale, is to give us marvelous paradigms. The central paradigm, the hinge-point of the Book of Acts, is the story of Peter and Cornelius. We read it earlier together. Peter, kind of against his will, finds himself in a setting and doesn’t know what to do but to tell a story of Jesus—his ministry, his death, his resurrection. Bingo, the Spirit zaps these nonJewish listeners and Peter says, “I can’t believe this, but it would appear that God shows no favoritism, there’s no partiality with God.” So he says, “Go ahead, baptize them.” Well, it’s one thing to have a vision as Peter had, it’s one thing to have one’s concrete experience confirmed, the intuition, but it’s another thing to have to go back to headquarters. And he got it in the neck. They said, “We understand you had ham and eggs?” So Peter started to tell the story, step by step. Now folks, that isn’t just an interesting little tale. Today when I’m preaching the truth, which isn’t always the case, of course. (Laughter) But, preachers are like historians, they are also trying to understand the present in order to shape the future out of the facts of the past. That’s what was going on. So, this People of the Way, a Jewish movement, was developing a People of the Way, a Gentile movement. The People of the Way, Jewish movement, were able to be brought around to where they could see that this Way [involved more] than they first dreamed of. Unfortunately, not much of the leadership of the Jewish church at the time was able to do that 180-degree turn like Paul did, and like Peter did, and maybe the 110-degree turn that James did. James never quite came around, but he turned around enough to get in and stay in. But what happened is that a Jesus movement within Judaism began to get an identity and then it got connected to this Gentile movement of Jesus. Before long, even though these people were so close together, as history developed they separated because what happens in human groupings is that when there’s a lot at stake we need to © Grand Valley State University �A Charismatic and Open Future Richard A. Rhem Page 6   justify our separate existence. And we justify our separate existence over against the other. It works both ways. Before long the People of the Way were comprised of Jewish and Gentile people, but it becomes a separate movement from Israel, the womb that gave it birth. That Jesus movement was a charismatic movement, which means that it was a movement gifted by the Spirit. In the Christian church today we talk about certain charismatic churches. Well, I want to tell you the whole church is charismatic or it’s nothing. Now, in the whole church some groups come alive suddenly and they experience the power and presence of the Spirit, and they begin to sing and dance and stomp their feet. Then we say, “Oh, they are charismatics.” Well, so are we, although we’re kind of dull and boring. Because what was happening, what moved that Jesus Movement out, was the gust of the Spirit. As Luke tells the story in the Book of Acts, it is the risen Christ whose presence, not in flesh but in Spirit, whose power was still on—the power, the presence, everything that they had experienced with Jesus – was still there. It was within their community. It was a movement of the breath of God, the wind of God, the Spirit of God. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b3336e016660cf125f204f20b8ac97ec.mp3 5bf932278e3edd7385616bf57b0067cc Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Epiphany III Series New Testament Series Scripture Text Acts 1:8, Acts 3:19, Acts 10:34, Acts 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-0-19950122 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1995-01-22 Title A name given to the resource The People of the Way: A Charismatic Community, An Open Future 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 January 22, 1995 entitled "The People of the Way: A Charismatic Community, An Open Future", as part of the series "New Testament Series", on the occasion of Epiphany III, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Acts 1:8, Acts 3:19, Acts 10:34, Acts 11. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Followers of Jesus Historical Jesus Liturgical Calendar Spirit of God https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/522480f194e26ae22f3a0a91bb9e74f4.pdf 1d742dc5c57186ba6c78634438620f63 PDF Text Text All This and Heaven, Too! Ascension Day Sunday Text: Luke, 24:51; Romans 8:31-39 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan May 23, 1993 Transcription of the spoken sermon …he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. Luke 24:51 If God is for us, who is against us? …Christ Jesus…is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us….nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:31-39 (Selected) This is Ascension Sunday. Some of you may have missed our service on Thursday evening. (Laughter) Well, I used to have to go to Ascension Day service. Someone asked me, “Do you have a service in your congregation on Ascension Day?” I said, “No. I love my wife, but to just preach to her alone wouldn’t turn me on.” (Laughter) You probably did miss the Ascension Day service, so we are going to do it today. We call it Ascension Sunday now, but Thursday was the 40th day after Easter. According to the way that Luke tells the story of Jesus there was resurrection on Easter morning, and then there was a period of time - 40 days – but that’s a period of time in biblical terminology, a period of time in which the risen one from the presence of God made an appearance to his disciples. Then, Luke tells us, those appearances ceased. He puts it on a timeline of 40 days, and then 10 days to Pentecost and the pouring out of the Spirit of God. So we celebrate Ascension Day in order to remember that the crucified one was exalted into the presence of God; that Jesus who was crucified was not only raised from the dead but was received into the presence of God, enthroned and empowered; that Jesus is in heaven with God for us on our behalf. According to the way that Luke tells the story, we have Jesus appearing to his disciples, but that appearance was the appearance of the resurrected one. Jesus didn’t have an address. He didn’t live someplace during that period of time. He always came from God. So the appearances of Jesus were the verification of the reality of his living presence with his disciples. The Christian Year is just about over. We are coming to the end of another cycle. But it is interesting that the story of Jesus as we celebrate it in the Christian Year is not a story that begins with the birth of Jesus. Rather the season of the © Grand Valley State University   �All This and Heaven Too! Richard A. Rhem Page 2   Christian Year begins with Advent when we celebrate the fact that God will bring all things to completion. We celebrate our Christian hope in the first season of the year, and then we move to Christmas and the birth, and the life, and the death, and the resurrection of Jesus. In other words, the story of Jesus is the ground of our hope, and the fact that Jesus is exalted in the presence of God is the deep assurance with which we live. I want to say just a couple of things very briefly to you this morning. The first may seem obvious and unnecessary to say and yet I am going to say it: the exalted one is none other than the one who was crucified. It is Jesus who died who is in the presence of God. The exaltation of Jesus is the consequence of the life that Jesus lived – the way that he walked, the faith in which he believed. Paul tells us in his great hymn about Christ in Philippians 2 that he “humbled himself.” Paul says, quoting a hymn of the time that, Jesus humbled himself, took on the form of a servant, became obedient unto death, even death on the cross whereby, wherefore, God has highly exalted him and given him a name above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God.” The one who is exalted is the one who was crucified. I say that because sometimes I hear Christians talk as though it is possible in our present human experience to know victory and triumph. I remember a chorus from when I was a kid, “Victory in Jesus.” Sometimes I hear in some parts of the church a kind of triumphalistic attitude. Do you know that word? I looked it up in the dictionary. It’s not there! (Laughter) But it’s a word anyway. Triumphalism or a triumphalistic attitude is a kind of arrogant, superiority whereby we figure that we are on the winning team. You know - come to Jesus and be a winner. Join the church and be a part of the Christian movement, be “Number One.” It’s not true. Come to Jesus, and to the degree that you are faithful to the Way of Jesus, you might be a loser. Was Jesus a winner or loser? You say, “Well, he was a winner.” You know, “Crown him with many crowns. The lamb upon his throne.” I want to remind you on Ascension Sunday, that Jesus was a winner only because he was willing to be a loser. Jesus was a servant. Jesus went the way of suffering. He was a man of sorrow, despised and rejected. Jesus slugged it out and the world said ‘No’ to him. The world put him to death. And to the extent that the Christian Church today would follow the way of Jesus, I don’t think it would be any different. Young people, as you make your decisions, crucial decisions in your life right now, think long, decide carefully. It is so easy to just get caught up in the stream of things, unthinkingly making decisions, trying to be “Number One,” trying to capture the world. Suddenly you get yourself locked into a way of life and a structure of society. Then you get to be a doddering old fool like me and suddenly you say, “How can I get unlocked from all of this and really be what Jesus wants me to be?” © Grand Valley State University �All This and Heaven Too! Richard A. Rhem Page 3   Jesus was not a winner. Jesus was faithful to God. Jesus did all that he believed that God called him to be, and it got him a cross. We cannot leap over our present experience and grab that crown from Jesus and reign with him now. We are called to serve with him now, and if need be to suffer as he suffered. And if need be to go through crucifixion as he went through crucifixion because it is God who exalts the one who is willing to obey and follow - even to death. No cross. No crown. Don’t believe those superficial siren calls that say, “Come to Jesus and be a winner.” Well, that’s a downer. Want to reconsider? (Laughter) Is that all I have to say? No. I want to say this too, that in the meantime when you are slugging it out making the decisions that would honor Jesus and go the way of Jesus, you are not alone. Paul explained his understanding of the Christian faith in the letter to the Roman Church as fully as anywhere. Then when he concludes his exposition he says, “What shall we say to all these things?” That’s his question. “What shall we say to all these things?” He concludes, “If God is for us who can be against us?” There’s a promise for your confirmation and for us all. “If God be for you, who could be against you?” Then he summarizes all of the events we have just celebrated, for he says, “It is Christ who died, yea that was risen again, that is at the right hand of God who is praying for us.” Jesus in heaven, in the presence of God praying for us. Cheering you on. Encouraging you. Your cheerleader in heaven - one who has gone before you, who has gone through the cross, received the crown and is there in the presence of God and knows your name, and cares, and is with you and says to you what he knew so fully, “If God is with you, who could be against you?” Oh, you say, “But there’s a lot of things that could go wrong.” Paul knew that too. He says, “Famine, nakedness, persecution, sword, peril.” Well, what would be your list today? What things go wrong in our lives? Paul says, “It doesn’t matter.” Give the list however you want to construct it. Then he says, “Those things will never separate us from the love of Christ. We are more than conquerors through him who loved us,” but conquerors in the conflict and able to stand in the midst of the storm, able to stand against all of the pressures that would bring us in another way. You are not alone. God is for you. Jesus is praying for you. “There’s nothing that will ever separate you from the love of God.” That’s the way he concludes this chapter in some of the most beautiful lines that have ever been penned. He says, “Neither life nor death, nor principalities nor powers, nor things in the heights nor the depths, angels, things present, things to come, nothing in all creation will be able to separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” You have all you need here and now to follow the way of Jesus in spite of the cost, in full light of the cross. But even that is not all I can say, because the exaltation of Jesus is a sign to us that this is not all there is. There is all of this, and heaven too. © Grand Valley State University �All This and Heaven Too! Richard A. Rhem Page 4   I was really moved last week at how deeply so many of you were moved at the song of Eric Clapton, “Tears in Heaven.” It reminded me that down beneath our education and our sophistication and our kind of natural reserve for one another the hearts of us all are haunted by heaven. The longing of us all deep down is to know that this is not all that there is. Jesus is in the presence of God, through the cross, receiving the crown. We can’t claim the crown today. Ours is still the way of the cross, but beyond that we have one waiting for us, preparing a place for us. The promise of Jesus in heaven is the promise of heaven for those that follow Jesus. Jesus with us here. We with Jesus there. All of this. All of this and heaven too! Thank God. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d9e75a1ac9f58b67d16315a9b03e79e5.mp3 2780971a8eea22e14f748f0497f32fc1 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 Ascension Sunday Scripture Text Luke 24:51, Romans 8:31-39 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19930523 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1993-05-23 Title A name given to the resource All This and Heaven Too! 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 May 23, 1993 entitled "All This and Heaven Too!", on the occasion of Ascension Sunday, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Luke 24:51, Romans 8:31-39. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Followers of Jesus Liturgical Calendar