1
12
2
-
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/41b5ccbba30dc99bb95b475b85d48aa6.pdf
a8dbd4eb13137d177876b84e2c92dcd1
PDF Text
Text
The God Who Heals and Gives Us Peace
From the series: If God Be For Us…
Scripture: Isaiah 57:19; Romans 8:31
Richard A. Rhem
Christ Community Church
Spring Lake, Michigan
July 14, 1996
Transcription of the spoken sermon
We begin today a four-part series on the theme "If God Be For Us ..." Let me
introduce the theme with some explanatory remarks.
“If” is “Ei” in Greek and is called a conditional particle. It expresses a condition
thought of as real or denotes an assumption relating to what has already
happened. This is the case in the text of the morning. Paul set forth his
understanding of all God had done in Jesus Christ. He deals in Romans 8 with
suffering and hope. He points to the Spirit praying through our groanings that
defy utterance. He concludes with that declaration of profound trust - God
working in all things for our good.
Romans 8:31 is one of the greatest statements of trust ever penned and it begins
with Paul's words, "What then are we to say to these things?" His answer to his
question: If God is for us, who is against us?
Thus, my first comment. The "If" points not to uncertainty but to certainty. We
could perhaps better translate it "Since." Since God is for us ... This is not a
tentative statement; rather, it is an affirmation of deep trust and solid conviction.
God is for us, or as the NEB translates, "God is on our side".
That particular translation brings me to my second comment. The claim, the
conviction that God is on our side is the source of a very great comfort if properly
understood and may be the source of a very dangerous arrogance if not
understood correctly.
Let me address the latter first: Claiming God on our side can be a dangerous
arrogance; it misses the point of Paul's claim. The human situation is full of
conflict; conflict between nations, ethnic groups, political parties, cultural
movements; conflict between individuals. Our present cultural situation has been
marked by the descriptive phrase "culture wars." In human conflict situations, it
is presumptuous and arrogant to claim God is on our side. God does not take
sides in those conflicts; our human perspective may be sincere and even
responsible, but it is too much to claim God on our side.
© Grand Valley State University
�God Who Heals and Gives Peace Richard A. Rhem
Page 2
A story is told of Abraham Lincoln during the tragic days of the Civil War. A
Calvinist minister in a time of prayer thanked God that God was on the Union
side. Afterward, Lincoln was heard to say the question was not whether God was
on the Union side, but, rather, whether the Union was on God's side.
When Paul claims God is on our side, he is pointing to something other than God
being for one party over another, one nation over another. Rather, Paul is making
the great claim that God is for the human family – even broader, that God is for
Creation in all of its wonder and complexity. God is for, is on the side of, the
wellbeing of Creation.
As I indicated above, Paul prefaces this claim with the question, "What then shall
we say to these things?" That is, are the things Paul has been pointing to – the
whole movement of God's Spirit to effect salvation - salvation which means
wholeness – liberation? Liberation from bondage of every sort. Paul was
convinced that God was engaged with, involved in, the whole of creation and the
human situation in order to effect salvation or wholeness or Shalom.
It is clear from this letter to the Romans that Paul saw the whole world in
bondage - the Jew, the Gentile - indeed, in this chapter he even speaks of the
bondage of creation, but it is also clear that he did not see the present state of
things as the final word.
There was plenty of trouble. He lists famine, nakedness, peril, sword. We might
make a list with different items - ethnic feuds, religious wars, cancer, terrorism,
urban decay, youth gang wars. Paul did not put his head in the sand; yet, he was
convinced of something else - an ultimate power for the wellbeing of Creation and
the liberation of humankind, rooted in the love of God.
That is the ground of the claim of our text. God is on our side - the human side,
creation's side - because the ultimate reality of the world, of the whole grand
scheme of things, is the love of God. Paul saw this demonstrated in the event of
Jesus Christ. Jesus, who died the victim of the world's darkness and evil, was
raised from the dead, brought into God's very presence and was there praying for
us. When it seemed the forces of darkness had carried the day, that the human
No to God had prevailed, God said No to our No and Yes to life, to the future, to
the final triumph of God.
Thus, Paul says, "What can separate us from the love of God?" And he answers, in
a word, "nothing."
That is the biblical picture - the big picture. God is love. God is for us. That was
Israel's faith. The reading from Isaiah 57 comes from what scholars speak of as
Third Isaiah. The whole book in the Hebrew Scripture is called Isaiah, but it is
generally recognized that there are writings from three hands and three periods 1-39, 40-55, 56-65. The first is from an 8th century prophet Isaiah; the second
from a prophet during Judah's Exile in Babylon - the one who assumed the return
© Grand Valley State University
�God Who Heals and Gives Peace Richard A. Rhem
Page 3
of the Exile to Jerusalem; the third a prophet who wrote during the period of the
return, around 530 BCE. Things did not turn out the way the Exile prophet had
envisioned. There was no restoration of the glory of Jerusalem. Poverty and
despair marked the post-exilic period. In that situation, the one we call Third
Isaiah called Judah for laxness in religious observance and failure to create a just
and compassionate society. God's anger was experienced as God's judgment on
that failure. Yet, true to the spirit of Israel's prophets, it was declared that God's
anger was but for a moment with the purpose of turning the People back to the
Lord. And the prophet speaks these words that form our text:
"I have seen their ways, but I will heal them ... Peace, peace to the far and
the near, says the Lord".
That is always the last word in the story of God's People - I will heal them ...
Peace, peace ... This is the deep substructure of the whole biblical drama - A God
Who is for us - A God Who heals us - Who gives us peace.
That is the nature of God, according to the Scriptures of Israel, according to Paul
as he contemplated his faith in God in the light of Jesus - and it is still the picture
that sustains us and heals us and gives us peace.
Yesterday I attended the Bat Mitzvah of the daughter of Rabbi and Mrs. Alpert at
the Muskegon Temple. Eliza, at age 13, went through the rite of passage; she
moved into adulthood. For three years her father, the Rabbi, had been preparing
her. She read from the Hebrew Torah (beautifully, I must say). She delivered the
sermon - a very thoughtful one. She led the worship of that congregation. The
Temple was nearly full, a quite amazing statement of community, of love and
support. After experiencing that, I do not wonder that the Jewish People have
continued a destined people through the millennia.
I was not only experiencing the worship, but also reflecting on my theme for this
morning - The God Who heals and gives us peace. I was struck by the fact that
God's people are always looking for closure, for God to come and bring things to a
proper conclusion.
Second Isaiah in Babylon's exile cried,
"Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to
Jerusalem ... A voice cries out: In the wilderness prepare the way of the
Lord ... Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings, lift
up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem ... say to the cities of Judah,
Behold your God."
If you would go through chapters 40-55, you would find some of the most moving
passages of the Scripture. Judah will return and the glory will return, for God is
coming to redeem and glorify the People of God's Covenant Love. The reality: a
small remnant returned. They lived in poverty and despair, disillusioned that the
© Grand Valley State University
�God Who Heals and Gives Peace Richard A. Rhem
Page 4
glory was absent. Along comes third Isaiah. He picks up the stirring words of the
earlier prophet, but explains the poor situation as the consequence of Judah's
disobedience. Yet, he holds before them the promise of our text: healing, peace.
Finally a second Temple is built, but they weep because it has not the glory of the
first. They remain for the most part an occupied territory, never realizing the
promises of the prophet in exile. Five hundred years later and Jesus is born.
Again the ancient world senses it is on the edge of the End. And we have noted in
past weeks how that early Jewish Jesus movement waited expectantly for the
return of the Son of Man, of the Messiah from heaven. But, it did not happen.
Yesterday Eliza Alpert spoke of the Journey and the Dream. She spoke of Israel's
founding leader, Moses. He led the People to the borders of the Promised Land,
but could not go in. Joshua was the one who finally brought them over. And she
pointed to Rabin - a man of war who became a man of peace, but in the midst of
the peace process was cut down by an assassin's bullet. And she appealed to her
people to do Joshua's work - to take up the peace initiative of the fallen leader.
Well, as I said, I was thinking of this long, ancient tradition - this people of whom
we, too, are a part, for we were born from Israel's womb. We pray, we long for the
consummation of God's purposes in history. The images of Shalom play before
our eyes. We read of terror on the street, of the awful conflict fanned into flame
again in Northern Ireland, of the excavation of more graves in Bosnia, of
terrorism in Saudi Arabia and Moscow and who knows where next.
Or we have experience of the word "cancer" spoken over us, or of the failure, the
disappointment of one on whom we counted. Or we see starkly our own tragic
flaw. And where do we turn? To whom?
And for what do the groanings of our inward being long? All of this I
contemplated in light of the God spoken of in the text as “the God Who heals and
gives us peace.”
I experienced that healing and that peace in that Bat Mitzvah service. There was a
young woman surrounded by her family, extended family, community of faith.
The family was smaller than it might have been because her mother's family
suffered great loss in the Holocaust. She spoke of Moses who had a dream, led the
journey, but failed to enter the Promised Land. She spoke of Rabin, the warrior
become peacemaker, cut down by an assassin's bullet. And she called her people
to take up the cause of peace and human freedom.
I find that quite remarkable. It would seem that the prophetic images of the new
Creation, of the reign of Shalom when lion and lamb lie down together and they
do not hurt or destroy in all God's Holy Mountain are not really future states of
history, but rather, the ever present judgment on our discord and tragic warring
– and not only images of judgment on our present, but also promises of present
possibility because God is not so much the future binder up of present wounds as
© Grand Valley State University
�God Who Heals and Gives Peace Richard A. Rhem
Page 5
the present healer and peace giver to those who open their lives to the Spirit to
love and to grace.
I experienced the healing, the peace of God in that moment. The long story of the
ages, the images of Shalom, the longing, the yearning, the repeated failure of
history's reality to measure up to the promise - all of that coalesced in the
moment of a young woman claiming her place in the line of generations of a
people who live lives in dialogue, in communion with the living God.
It is quite something, this being human. Many are broken on the rocks of human
reality. Dear God, the suffering. Many have become cynical, embittered because
the prayer was not answered, the promise not fulfilled. Many are hollow persons,
empty and void of meaning or purpose.
And the usual posture, I suppose, of the Church has been to condemn those
whose hopes have been shattered and whose prayers left hanging in the air. But,
when I experience God's love and grace and presence so tangibly as I did
yesterday in the faith of a beautiful young person supported by the love of family
and community - when I let the words of Paul wash over me, then I know a
healing and a peace that nothing can take away. Then I know something of the
present Presence of the God Whose ways are past finding out, but Whose healing
grace and gracious peace are here and now.
It is not out there, dear friend, it is right here. Oh, I do believe there is more but
God will take care of that. But, the real possibility is the present possession of a
peace that passes human understanding. To experience that peace is to be healed
here and now in the midst of bombings and strokes and cancer, and all the
tragedy that laces the human story.
And this is the care we trust because we trust the loving center of things - the God
Who said "Let there be," the God Who says, "I will be with you," Whose Presence
we experience in the presence of the other, in the community of faith, the God
Who heals us and gives us peace. God knows it is not easy to be a creature, to be
human. God knows and God promises “nothing shall ever separate you from my
love.”
So, then, what shall we say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against
us!
© Grand Valley State University
�
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/81bb01c687b00ee973e72301c10466d2.mp3
8b98515d34d1223ea3d7a43fce02de93
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
If God Be For Us
Scripture Text
Isaiah 57:19, Romans 8:31
Location
The location of the interview
Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
KII-01_RA-0-19960714
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1996-07-14
Title
A name given to the resource
The God Who Heals and Gives Us Peace
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 July 14, 1996 entitled "The God Who Heals and Gives Us Peace", as part of the series "If God Be For Us", on the occasion of Pentecost VII, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Isaiah 57:19, Romans 8:31.
Nature of God
Shalom
Trust
Universal Love
-
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5cb7e9f8c9e34d9cec9b0cc3d1594a00.mp3
3f1db6804f019de03775c534cb28a299
https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/9c715d59ab2e2e5ef8b095f3804d8b20.pdf
fa361f96a7534e6913a3571c329e33c9
PDF Text
Text
God’s Love: Vulnerable and Crucified in History
From the Lenten sermon series: Love Story
Text: Zechariah 9:9-10; John 11:48-53, 12:9-19
Richard A. Rhem
Christ Community Church
Spring Lake, Michigan
Palm Sunday, April 8, 1990
Transcription of the spoken sermon
God loved the world so much - that’s where it begins, this Love Story, which is the
one story of the Bible. The whole drama of the biblical story is the story of an
amazing love, a love so alien to our human way of being and acting.
God loved the world so much He came in complete solidarity with the world God was in Christ reconciling the world - making friends with the world. Jesus in
the full humanity of his being was the concrete presence and disclosure of God in
our world.
Jesus came in God’s name;
Jesus came proclaiming God’s kingdom;
Jesus came finally to the center of Jewish life and the religious institution,
to Jerusalem itself; and,
Jesus was crucified.
In biblical understanding, Jerusalem was not just any city; Israel was not just any
nation. Israel was a specially chosen and called people brought graciously by God
into covenant relationship to be God’s instrument to bring light and salvation to
the whole world. Israel was the representative of all nations and people.
Therefore, when Israel refused Jesus’ call to repentance and new birth, it was an
act on behalf of us all and when Israel crucified Jesus, it was a final rejection of
God’s covenant love and grace on behalf of us all.
When Jesus died, love was crucified in history.
That was the story then; that is the story now. I never sense that more keenly
than on Palm Sunday. It has become a high festival day in the Church. There is
much I love about it, but I must admit that there is an unsettling contradiction in
the re-enactment of that day.
© Grand Valley State University
�God’s Love: Vulnerable and Crucified in History
Richard A. Rhem
Page 2
One reason for the confusing mix – of joyful praise, children singing and a
festival crowd in parade, along with the sinister evil that is showing itself and the
tears of Jesus that reveal the crushing weight of the imminent tragedy that was
about to engulf Jerusalem – is that we have taken Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
and mixed them all together into a single picture which has elements of all four
Gospels, resulting in a picture which actually reflects no single perspective. But,
that is an improper way to understand the Gospel accounts. A harmony of the
Gospels which collapses them into one narrative of Jesus’ life and destiny is to
miss the sharp focus of each evangelist and mistake the purpose of the Gospels.
In this message we will listen to the account from John’s Gospel. We have been
reading from this Gospel throughout this Season of Lent. This Gospel has
provided our theme - Love Story - from the familiar words of 3:16, “God loved the
world so much ...” As the second half of this Gospel opens, our Evangelist writes
of Jesus,
He had always loved his own who were in the world, and now he was to
show the full extent of his love. (John 13:1)
It may be helpful to page through John’s Gospel for a moment to get the setting
for the Palm Sunday happening. The first half of the Gospel, called the Book of
Signs, culminates in the supreme miracle of the raising of Lazarus in chapter 11.
If John is portraying Jesus as the one come from God and revealing God, then the
giving of life to one dead was the supreme sign revealing what God is about in the
world - the giver of life.
Now notice how John moves from that sign to the reaction of the Jewish
authorities (11:54). But Passover was approaching and many Jews made
pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and the word of the raising of Lazarus was abroad and
speculation ran wild - will he come to the festival? (11:56), and there was an order
out for his arrest (11:57).
Then on Saturday, six days before Passover, Jesus comes to Bethany, to Mary and
Martha’s home. And Lazarus, whom Jesus raised, was their brother. They gave a
dinner and there follows the report of Mary’s anointing Jesus with very expensive
perfume - a costly act of loving devotion.
Judas grumbles about the cost and Jesus says, “Let her alone. Let her keep it till
that day when she prepares for my burial.” (12:7-8) Then follows the evangelist’s
editorial comment which intends to connect the Lazarus miracle and the
conspiracy to kill Jesus and to set the context for Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem
which commences at 12:12.
Look at it carefully. Follow the action, not from the collage of the four Gospels in
your mind, but just from what John records.
© Grand Valley State University
�God’s Love: Vulnerable and Crucified in History
Richard A. Rhem
Page 3
The pilgrims already in Jerusalem hear Jesus is coming to Jerusalem from
Bethany and they go out to meet him, bringing palm branches. They shout,
“Hosanna,” an acclamation of praise. Citing Psalm 118:26, John writes.
Blessings on him who comes in the name of the Lord!
This was a Psalm sung by the pilgrims as they came to Jerusalem. Actually, the
citation is,
Blessed in the name of the Lord are all who come.
Why the slight variation? In the Psalm it is a blessing spoken in God’s name on
the approaching pilgrims. In John’s version, the one coming is coming in the
Lord’s name – presumably some special envoy from God, not an ordinary
pilgrim. But, John is not through. He adds,
God bless the King of Israel.
That is not in Psalm 118, but rather is a citation from the prophet Zephaniah
(3:15). Now, notice what happens. Jesus finds a colt and sits on it – John says in
full accordance with the text of scripture:
Fear no more, daughter of Zion, see, your king is coming, mounted on an
ass’s colt. (12:15)
Here we must stop and consider the scene and its meaning as John sets it forth.
What is going on with the crowd? According to John’s picture this is a crowd
filled not so much with religious fervor as with rising nationalistic zeal. As I
mentioned, only John speaks of palm branches and that is significant. Palm
branches had nationalistic association. Palms were evocative of Maccabean
nationalism. As a symbol of nationalism, the palm occurred on the coins of the
Second Revolt (A.D. 132-135). When Judas Maccabeus rededicated the temple
altar after the Syrians had profaned it (164 B.C.), the Jews brought palms to the
temple. When Simon Maccabeus conquered the Jerusalem citadel (142 B.C.), the
Jews took possession of it carrying palm fronds. In the Testament of Naphtali V4,
the fronds are given to Levi as a symbol of power over all Israel.
In sum, John’s use of palms would seem to give to the whole scene a political
overtone; Jesus is being welcomed as a national liberator.
Further, the words, “God bless the King of Israel,” which John has the crowd
chant are not found in Psalm 118:26 from which the words, “Blessings on him
who comes in the name of the Lord!” are taken. Once before in John’s gospel
(6:14-15) after Jesus fed the multitude, he realized the crowd wanted to make him
king and he withdrew from them.
© Grand Valley State University
�God’s Love: Vulnerable and Crucified in History
Richard A. Rhem
Page 4
There is little doubt that the scene John paints is intended to indicate what was
going on with the crowd. They were hoping that in Jesus they had found a
national liberator and they hoped that this one now entering Jerusalem was
about to declare himself the King of Israel.
But this was precisely not what Jesus was intending. Now he must do something
to set them straight. What does he do? He seeks to dispel the crowd’s
misunderstanding through a prophetic action – an action even the disciples did
not understand until after his death and resurrection. The action: Jesus sat on a
colt, thereby seeking to call to mind the words of Zephaniah and Zechariah.
In Zechariah and Zephaniah it is the King who comes, but it is a different kind of
king. Listen to the Zechariah citation:
See, your king is coming mounted on an ass’s colt.
If we go to that context in Zechariah, we find it is a call to Jerusalem to rejoice
because its king is coming, coming mounted on an ass’s foal, to banish chariots
from Ephraim and war horses from Jerusalem; the warrior’s bow shall be
banished. The prophet’s word continues,
He shall speak peaceably to every nation, and his rule shall extend from
sea to sea, from the river to the ends of the earth.
“Yes, Jerusalem,” Jesus seems to be saying by mounting the ass’s colt, “I am your
king coming to you, but a different kind of king than you expect or desire.”
Similarly, in Zephaniah we have.
Fear not, O Zion, ...the Lord your God is in your midst, like a warrior to
keep you safe; he will rejoice over you and be glad; he will show you his
love once more...
In that same context the prophet cries,
... be glad, rejoice with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem ... The Lord
is among you as King, O Israel...
Jesus’ mounting the colt was a prophetic action, according to John. After the
death and resurrection John writes, we understood what that action was trying
to say. Jesus realized that the crowd had misinterpreted the Lazarus miracle just
as the crowd had misunderstood the multiplication of loaves and fishes in John 6.
The raising of Lazarus was a sign that God the giver of life was visiting His people
in Jesus. They should not be proclaiming him as an earthly king, but as the
manifestation of the Lord their God Who has come into their midst, the God of
Zechariah Who would bring peace to the whole world. He will speak peaceably to
every nation.
© Grand Valley State University
�God’s Love: Vulnerable and Crucified in History
Richard A. Rhem
Page 5
Immediately following this event we find the Greeks, that is the Gentiles, wanting
to see Jesus and we are never told whether they see him, but that request triggers
that emotional response of Jesus. He responds,
The hour is come...
Then we have that word about the grain of wheat falling into the ground and
dying and Jesus’ soul is in turmoil, saying,
What am I to say? Father, save me from this hour? No, it was for this
that I came to this hour. Father, glorify Thy name,
And the paragraph ends with the words,
And I shall draw all to myself when I am lifted up from the earth.
Jesus’ prophetic action was to counteract the nationalistic misunderstanding of
his coming and to affirm the universal kingship that will be achieved only
through death and resurrection. Ironically, the Pharisees’ comment with which
John concludes the Palm Sunday narrative confirms that universalistic
dimension of Jesus’ way when they say in distress,
You see you are doing no good at all; why, all the world has gone after
him.
It is fascinating to reflect on the Palm Sunday narrative as John presents it, as it
illumines our own world. It would appear that the world then and the world
today are not very different. There remains the worldly way of established power
perpetuating itself by coercion.
Does it strike you how the way of God’s love as lived out by Jesus is so contrary to
the ordinary way of worldly power, to the commonly held assumptions of us all?
We could examine the very city into which Jesus entered – Jerusalem – today.
What agony continues to be the rule there. The Palestinian problem will not go
away. And, ironically, the Jews for whom Israel became a refuge from the
savagery of the holocaust have become a nation which is dangerously close to
being an oppressor. And while we cannot begin to enter the suffering that people
has endured, and thus must empathize with their need for security, it remains a
fact that now they hold power and the Palestinians’ claim is not heard.
In South Africa, great shaking of the foundations is occurring, but it has come
only as a result of those who have stood up and faced the peril of oppression and
death. And we know Nelson Mandela could become a martyr – or Allan Boesak.
No matter where one turns, it is the same story. In this nation it would be no
different. We, all of us, American, Russian, German, Israeli, name whatever
© Grand Valley State University
�God’s Love: Vulnerable and Crucified in History
Richard A. Rhem
Page 6
nation or people you will, we are all of us selfish and narrow in our interests.
World history is monotonous with the story. The world of nuclear capability has
gotten our attention and we hardly dare unleash that awful power, but a Khadafy
or the Iraqi regime might go for broke.
The longer I live, the more historical moments I live through, the more I see the
stark contrast between the Kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world. Or,
to put it in more concrete personal terms, I see the stark contrast between Jesus’
way and my way.
Maybe Jesus’ way is best summed up in his word in the Sermon on the Mount,
practiced himself on the cross. He said.
Love your enemies, and on the cross he prayed, Father, forgive them. Jesus was
no wimp. He was the strongest, freest person that ever lived. But, I can’t live that
way. And America can’t survive that way. It doesn’t work in the practical affairs of
this world. Trying to practice that consistently only gets one crucified. That’s
right.
Love: vulnerable and crucified in history.
I have been accused, not unjustly, of being a universalist, that is, of believing that
in the end God will win the love of everyone. Maybe I am; maybe not. Anyone
who knows one way or the other for sure knows too much. But, let me make one
thing clear. If I believe God will finally win out with everyone, it is not because I
believe everyone is finally not so bad. Rather, it is because I see such a total,
universal repudiation of God’s way.
When I’m honest, I am more like Caiphus than Jesus. (Let’s keep the church
together, even if we have to lie and kill to do it.) I’m more like Pilate than Jesus.
(Let’s keep America safe and Number 1,even if it takes the flexing of military
power.) Threaten my church and watch me. Threaten my nation and watch me.
Threaten my personal situation and watch me. Am I a Christian? Sure. I believe.
But, don’t push me. And I am sad to say that I don’t find myself much better or
worse than those I know and rub shoulders with.
Jesus, if it’s a matter of my losing everything I’ve dreamed of and worked for and
believed, or your death, you die, Jesus. No, friends, it is not that I have gotten soft
on sin or fail to see the twist, the distortion in human nature. It is that I see it so
painfully clearly, and I see it in myself and then I say, if God is going to save one,
it is purely of grace and, if God wills to save one, all of grace, why not all, for all
have sinned and come short of the glory of God. One person lived it out – love all
the way.
One person lived in perfect covenant relationship and obedience all the way. One
person made it all the way to death.
© Grand Valley State University
�God’s Love: Vulnerable and Crucified in History
Richard A. Rhem
Page 7
One person took the consequence of total vulnerability and was crucified while he
prayed for those crucifying him. And God said that’s enough; he made it! He
made it! And because he made it, death will not hold him. Because he made it, I
will accept the rest through him.
In The Revelation of John, there is a scene in heaven of a vast throng from every
nation of all tribes and peoples and languages,
... standing in front of the throne and before the lamb. They were robed in
white and had palms in their hands, and they shouted together, ‘Victory
to our God who sits on the throne, and to the lamb!’
That lamb spoken of earlier in chapter five is the Lamb that was slain. Jesus died.
Jesus was crucified, because Jesus was God’s love in human form and God’s love
is vulnerable and crucified in history – then and now.
The vision in Revelation is of an ultimate triumph of God’s Kingdom. Jesus’ way
doesn’t work in history. Crucifixion is its end. But then, does history’s way work?
Shouldn’t twenty centuries convince us that it does not, cannot, will not work?
Jesus’ way, so the vision promises, is the only way that will finally work, for
finally it is only the power of love that can defeat loveless power.
Must that not convert us?
Must that not change us?
Can we go on pursuing a way that is futile, crucifying the Christ again and
again?
Must we not change, be converted?
God have mercy on us!
© 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
Palm Sunday
Series
Love Story
Scripture Text
Zechariah 9:9-10, John 11:48-53
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-0-19900408
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1990-04-08
Title
A name given to the resource
God's Love: Vulnerable and Crucified in History
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. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives
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 April 8, 1990 entitled "God's Love: Vulnerable and Crucified in History", as part of the series "Love Story", on the occasion of Palm Sunday, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Zechariah 9:9-10, John 11:48-53.
Palm Sunday
Universal Love
Way of Jesus