Audio Sermon May 25, 2014

 

In Him We Live and Move and Have Our Very Being

Text: Acts 17:22-32

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

May 25, 2014

Rugged Individualism in Church?

 

President Herbert Hoover coined the phrase, “rugged individualism.” Poor Herbert Hoover was the President when the Great Depression began. Try as he would, and he really did try, he attempted to pull the nation out of the abyss. He was actually a very capable and compassionate man, but nothing he did was able to lift the country. He saw the great hope in the rugged individualism of the people in the nation and credited that imagery for building the nation.

Politically this is a great debate. One could say with some sense that the Republican Party is based, in part, on the premise of “rugged individualism.” Some could say that the Democratic Party is built on the premise of “It takes a village.” We could make political arguments for both and there is merit and virtue in both of these perspectives. I’m not writing about politics, however.

In recent years the phrase rugged individualism has shown up more in churches. I hear often about people and their personal salvation and their personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I am not going to downplay the role of salvation or relationships with Jesus Christ. I will not and cannot diminish that in the least. I worry, however, about the increasing use of the word ‘personal’ in terms of Christianity.

The word only shows up four times in the Bible with three of the times being used in Judith as an adjective. Here are the three verses where it appears:

Judith 12
¹⁰ On the fourth day Holofernes held a banquet for his personal attendants only, and did not invite any of his officers.

¹¹ He said to Bagoas, the eunuch who had charge of his personal affairs, "Go and persuade the Hebrew woman who is in your care to join us and to eat and drink with us.

Judith 14:13

¹³ They came to Holofernes' tent and said to the steward in charge of all his personal affairs, "Wake up our lord, for the slaves have been so bold as to come down against us to give battle, to their utter destruction."

The only other time it appears and is used in something other than this particular kind of direct adjective is on Proverbs:

Proverbs 18:2
² A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing personal opinion.

One word can be used to describe this passage from Proverbs: Ouch.

So, in expressing my personal opinion I may not be taking pleasure in understanding and may, in fact, be a fool. Okay, I get that.

There is a reason ‘personal’ and ‘individualism’ is not dwelled on in the Bible. It’s not a concept or a part of Judaism or Christianity. Judaism and Christianity are built around the concept of community. Within Judaism there is virtually no sense of personal relationships with God or personal thoughts about Worship. None. Zero. Judaism is a communal religion.

The reality is that while there is a little sense of individualism in Christianity, it’s a LITTLE sense. Christianity is very much built on its Jewish heritage and follows in the same path of community.

Jesus called apostles and disciples together into a community.

The concept of ‘church’ was built on a community of believers. Baptism was not done in a secret place, but in front of others. The breaking of the bread was not done solitude but with a community of believers. The words ‘Communion’ and “Community” derive from the same root for a very particular meaning.

Monasteries are often the quietest places that Christianity is practiced and lived out and most of the monasteries follow the Rule of St. Benedict. Benedict placed great emphasis, in his rule, on the value and virtue of community. Monks may spend a lot of time being quiet but they also spend a great deal of time together. They pray alone but they mostly pray together. Together. If you join the Marines they teach you the importance and the virtue of the Corps. Marines are brothers and sisters to each other to the max. Monks have no sense of individualism or sense of personal because they are part of a monastic family. It is ‘trained’ out of them, much in the same way it’s trained out of Marines. (Marines and monks might find it odd that I’m linking them but this is actually an accurate linkage; what they do, however, is vastly different.)
Which brings me back to Herbert Hoover. The phrase, to me, has some merit in society as does the whole concept of village. To me, it takes both great individualists and villages to build a nation and I think over the years we have done that. It takes both and requires both.

In God’s church, however, while I would promote personal prayer and study, I am a great advocate for community. To me, Christianity is, by definition, a communal endeavor. We simply do not live lives of faith as well as we can when we try and do so as rugged individualists on a personal endeavor. From a theological perspective, the Bible advocates community over personal in a big way.

We are called into a community of believers for a reason and that reason is that it is God who has called us together.

Rotten Fruit and Good Fruit

I’ve been thinking about rotten fruit.

As much as I like Facebook the more time I venture into this world of social media, the more I find that appalls me. It actually is beginning to offend me to the core of my being. It’s becoming more and more like a pile of rotten fruit.

There is a meanness in the air that just looms over everything and that meanness tends to lead us in the direction of that which is rotten.

I read about Michelle Obama speaking at a high school graduation. What an incredible thing! The First Lady of the United States was going to a high school to speak. Of course, this whole thing was bashed. Who did she think she was? The tirade went on and on with very little respect to the fact that she’s the First Lady.

Condoleezza Rice was scheduled to speak at Rutgers University. She is currently a professor at Stanford University and was the Secretary of State under President George W. Bush. Controversial? Sure. Brilliant? Yes. Was it an honor for Rutgers that such a high profile person was going to address them? Absolutely! She pulled out because of the backlash she was receiving. There was a tremendous lack of respect.

One of the major news stories has been kidnapped and missing girls from Nigeria. Rush Limbaugh decided to mock this. Jon Stewart, in turn, mocked Rush Limbaugh. Ann Coulter mocked the story and was, in turn, mocked by others. All of this great hilarity took place over missing and kidnapped girls. Did any one of these people give one iota of thought to the indecency of being, ahem, funny, about this? Are the hearts and souls of our society so incredibly cold and empty that we find this remotely entertaining?

 

Donald Sterling, the owner of the Clippers obviously made truly awful comments. He decided to go on Anderson Cooper and ‘apologize,’ but he really never got around to that claiming he was set up and furthering his vile toward Magic Johnson. A few weeks ago very few people knew who this man was and, frankly, most of us wish we didn’t. Columnist Kathleen Parker wrote an insightful article on the subject and broached the subject of privacy. Bill Maher, who himself loves to plunge into being indecent toward others, skewered her column in a vicious fashion. He also distorted her intent but he got laughs and ratings so…….

At this years White House Correspondents Dinner Joel McHale must’ve read from some sort of “tips for lazy comedians” manual. His premise seemed to be to make fat jokes, mostly at the expense of Chris Christie. So funny and cruel was he.

And now Karl Rove is going on television and telling the world that Hillary Clinton has brain damage. Of course, pundits are picking this up and are just filled with hilarity and cruelty about this as well. Of course, people are now mocking Karl Rove. It’s all funny and cruel.

This is not an exhaustive list. These are just some things I’ve been observing of late and, frankly, it is very distressing. It’s actually beyond distressing, it has become repulsive.

This is a problem because we tolerate it. We even embrace it. People on the left love Bill Maher because he mocks people on the right; people on the right love Rush Limbaugh because he mocks people on the left. We are very tolerant, even joyous, when people mock those we may not agree with or even dislike. The joy of hating others has become the new American sport.

The problem is, embracing it and even tolerating it is part of the problem. When we use Facebook and Twitter to pass on the cruelty, and we’ve all been guilty of this, myself very much included, we also share the guilt.

Jesus says something incredibly inconvenient in the Sermon on the Mount:

¹³ "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. ¹⁴ For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it. ¹⁵ "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Matthew 7:13-18

The whole ‘good fruit’ and ‘bad fruit’ imagery has hit me between the eyes. Sharing rotten fruit is sharing rotten fruit. Being a false prophet is not just what we say, but the spirit of what we say. If our hearts are cold and cruel we are false prophets. We cannot help ourselves. It is only when we choose that which is noble and good that we become truly prophetic and truly bear good fruit.

As for me, I’m going to try and be light in the darkness. For me, it’s time to pass on good fruit and express that which is noble and good. I know I won’t be perfect at it, but I’m certainly going to try.

Holy Listeners

 

I was reading this morning and the author, Joan Chittister, used a remarkable phrase: holy listener.

We live in a chatty, speaking culture more than we do a listening culture. People on TALK radio, talk. That sounds obvious, doesn’t it? They talk. Being on the radio there is nothing to see so someone has to be doing something and other than singing or playing an instrument, one would expect them to talk.

Some of them take some phone calls but most of the phone calls they take are from fans who largely agree with them. This gives the talker the opportunity to expand on their own point of view and they do it over and over again. Rarely do they take time to listen.

On television it’s much the same way. Even interviewers now seem to think that a good interview comes as the result of the interviewer talking more than the interviewee. The hope, I would imagine, is if you, as the interviewer talk long enough in trying to pose a question to really stump the interviewee, you’ll get a great interview. Of course, one of the best interviews of late was Anderson Cooper interviewing Donald Sterling. Cooper BRILLIANTLY sat quietly and let Sterling talk and talk and talk and before you knew it, Sterling had dug himself into a far, far deeper hole than he began with. Anderson Cooper did something unusual. He listened.

Then there is holy listening. Often people define prayer as talking to God. We place ourselves in a spot of attempting to acknowledge God’s presence around us and we talk and talk and talk. Whether we actually felt God’s presence is often not part of the equation. We talked. We often talk about what we need to God.

We sometimes use the Bible to ‘listen’ with a sense that we will read something and that will enable us to listen to God. This is a great opportunity but all too often instead of reading the Bible to listen, we talk right through it. We find passages we like and we preach to ourselves on how we were right about something the entire time. We read the Bible to affirm our position; which means we probably didn’t bother to listen.

Holy listening is taking the time to be quiet and listen to other people. They may have something to say we had not thought of. Holy listening is reading Scripture and discovering what is there and allowing the Word to speak to us and, Heaven forbid, challenge us. It invites us to learn and discover more about God, not just we thought we knew.

Holy listening is taking the time to listen to other people. To REALLY listen to other people. To listen to their words instead of composing our response. To take the time to digest what someone else is saying instead of assuring our point is made.

I’d like to say I’m good at this. I wish I was. To me, this holy listening is something I need to work on. The phrase provoked my own thinking because it challenged me.

Take the time to quiet down and listen and allow that listening to become holy. Let’s try to become holy listeners.

Audio of Sermon from Sunday, April 27th

 

The Apostle Called Us

Texts: Acts 4:32-35, John 20:19-31

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

April 27, 2014

 

Easter Sunday Audio Sermon

 

He Came Back

Texts: Mark 16:1-8

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

April 20, 2014

 

There Has to be More to Life Than This

 

Recently David Letterman announced that he is going to retire. David Letterman has had a very long and successful career on CBS late at night. Previous to that he followed the Tonight Show that chose Jay Leno over him. Both Mr. Leno and Mr. Letterman had great careers. David Letterman is in his late 60’s and his ratings are beginning to drop. After a great career he is stepping down. Good for him.

CBS has named Stephen Colbert of the Comedy Channel’s “The Colbert Report” as his replacement. Mr. Colbert’s show is done, with him in character, as a addled right-winged commentator. The show is, of course, a complete satire and has been based on Mr. Colbert playing a role. He has since announced that he will not do “Late Night” in character as, obviously, the show would not work.

This shall be interesting. His competition is Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon, both of whom are excellent. For Stephen Colbert this is an opportunity of a lifetime and, frankly a high risk moment for his career. Will this work out?

I find it a high risk move by CBS because Colbert has built a career on being in character. We shall see if he has the range and the appeal to be himself and conduct interviews and actually be funny and entertaining as himself. I, for one, would have chosen Tina Fey who, I think, is one of the most brilliant comedic minds out there. I also think a woman in that time slot would have changed the dynamics of late night television. Additionally, I find Ms. Fey to be hilarious whereas I have never found Mr. Colbert to be all that entertaining. That’s just my opinion. CBS has been the number one network in terms of entertainment and they have never asked me my opinion so, obviously, they are smarter at this than I am.

Lately Rush Limbaugh indicated this seemed to be the end of civilization as we know it and Bill O’Reilly is also incensed that this is a left-winged political move by CBS to influence the country. Etc. Etc. Etc.

I feel badly for them. I am not joking and I am not saying this satirically or in any sense of being mean spirited toward these two men. I feel badly for them. The Late Show is a late night comedy show and Stephen Colbert is a comedian. These late night shows have a relatively small demographic because of the time they are on. Some people probably record them, but many fall asleep with these folks playing in the background. People watch these shows to laugh or to see their favorite actors and actresses appear on them.

My thought is that there has to be more to life than worrying about politics and what influences people. When we are worrying about the political influence of late night shows geared toward comedy we are worrying about politics too much. I strongly suspect that of Stephen Colbert made his show mostly about political satire it would fail miserably. It would have little to do with how people thought or felt, but mostly about people not really being interested in the subject. People watch these shows to laugh and see popular entertainers and to help them fall asleep.

So I feel badly for these guys. They are looking for conspiracies behind every corner and worrying about, frankly, very minute issues. Colbert will succeed or fail based on his ability to by funny and interview guests. He has major competition. Jimmy Kimmel is great and, frankly, Jimmy Fallon is a genius. His range of talent astonishes me.

As for me, I’m tired of all the political infighting in the nation. Anyone who can give us a few good laughs, especially at ourselves, is refreshing. In terms of political intrigue and infighting, there has to be more to life than this.

Good Friday: A Day We NEED to Acknowledge

 

So, here it is. I’ve been offended beyond words this year. It’s been taking place every year but this year it’s gotten to me. Churches are having Easter Worship Services on Good Friday. On the day when Christianity commemorates the crucifixion and death of Jesus, some churches are going to sing “Alleluia” and celebrate Jesus’ resurrection. While we wait until Sunday to celebrate Jesus’ triumph over death and the grace, they’re skipping the death and the grave part and going to celebrate Easter on the day Jesus died.

This should not be confused with churches that have Saturday Night Easter Vigils. Easter Vigils are a long tradition and take place after sundown on Saturday night which makes sense. In Jewish tradition Sunday started at sundown on Saturday night and so celebrating Easter after dark is not inconsistent with Christianity. But celebrating Easter on Good Friday is a whole other story.

My favorite poet of all time was a 17^th century Anglican priest named John Donne. Donne’s poetry was a mixture of profound religious poetry which as being an Anglican priest, was not inconsistent with his being. His secular poetry was actually often a bit risqué and funny. I loved his cleverness and his plays on words. Anyone who knows me well knows I LOVE to play with words.

His greatest poem, to me, was Good Friday, 1613, Riding Westward. I’m including it at the end lest you want to read it. He writes of riding westward when he should be looking to the east. His word:

This day, when my soul's form bends to the East.
There I should see a Sun by rising set,
And by that setting endless day beget.
But that Christ on His cross did rise and fall,
Sin had eternally benighted all.
Yet dare I almost be glad, I do not see
That spectacle of too much weight for me

His soul’s form was bending toward the east, but the rest of him was riding to the west.

Good Friday inspires this. Most of us, if we are honest, want to turn west and not look. The cross is horrible.

The cross is horrible. Crucifying someone was dreadful and awful. Jesus’ death was a horrible death. We cannot make light of this.

Over the centuries we have attempted to soften the blow as much as we can.

Pontius Pilate has often been portrayed as a decent man who was caught in God’s great cosmic drama. He, the only person in Jerusalem who could actually order this kind of execution, washes his hands in a bogus attempt to say he had no responsibility. Pilate, who was historically brutal and bloodthirsty, was guilty of executing an innocent man. No amount of water was going to clear him of this.

Judas betrayed Jesus for money. We often like to say that he too was an innocent pawn in God’s great cosmic plan. The reality is that Jesus was not difficult to find. The Romans did not need Judas but they found great pleasure in turning one of Jesus’ own. Judas recognizing his own treachery hanged himself.

Many people to not attend Worship on Good Friday. We love Easter and there is much to love about Easter. It speaks of Jesus’ triumph over death and the grave. Easter teaches us that Good Friday can be overcome. The horror of Good Friday brings us to the joy of Easter. Only death can bring about resurrection. To live forever we must die. For Jesus to come back, he had to depart. For Jesus to live again, he had to die and the day of his death was Good Friday.

Good Friday reminds us that Jesus was betrayed. It reminds us that Jesus was arrested and that he was denied. It reminds us that "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life,” and the world killed Him. Is this harsh? Yes, it is very harsh but it is also very real. Jesus came into our midst and we killed him. Most of us, if we are brutally honest with ourselves, would have either been outside in the mob screaming for blood or staying home and pretending the events were not taking place. Like Donne, we’d have our faces pointing westward.

In one of the four Suffering Servant Songs in Isaiah 50, the suffering servant says, “I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I did not hide my face from insult and spitting. ⁷ The Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame; ⁸ he who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together.” Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together!

Take note, in the Gospels, who contents with Jesus, who stands with him. There is nary a soul…

One of the roles of the Christian Church is to tell the story and retell the story over and over again. It’s is our job to invite people to turn and look eastward. It is our job to at least make sure we acknowledge that Easter does not come without Good Friday. Most of us would love to ignore this day, it is a dreadful day. It is a day when the guilt of what humanity did to God’s Son is exposed for the world to see.

Tragically, and obscenely, some churches are choosing to celebrate Easter that day. To me, it’s downright obscene. It crushes my spirit, it crushes my soul. Has Christianity turned so much into ‘feel good’ that we can no longer recognize that to walk in the light requires a journey into the darkness. Has Christianity become so much about feeling good that we should not take time to acknowledge our failures and our faults as a collective people?

May God forgive us.

GOOD-FRIDAY, 1613, RIDING WESTWARD.
by John Donne

LET man's soul be a sphere, and then, in this,
Th' intelligence that moves, devotion is ;
And as the other spheres, by being grown
Subject to foreign motion, lose their own,
And being by others hurried every day,
Scarce in a year their natural form obey ;
Pleasure or business, so, our souls admit
For their first mover, and are whirl'd by it.
Hence is't, that I am carried towards the west,
This day, when my soul's form bends to the East.
There I should see a Sun by rising set,
And by that setting endless day beget.
But that Christ on His cross did rise and fall,
Sin had eternally benighted all.
Yet dare I almost be glad, I do not see
That spectacle of too much weight for me.
Who sees Gods face, that is self-life, must die ;
What a death were it then to see God die ?
It made His own lieutenant, Nature, shrink,
It made His footstool crack, and the sun wink.
Could I behold those hands, which span the poles
And tune all spheres at once, pierced with those holes ?
Could I behold that endless height, which is
Zenith to us and our antipodes,
Humbled below us ? or that blood, which is
The seat of all our soul's, if not of His,
Made dirt of dust, or that flesh which was worn
By God for His apparel, ragg'd and torn ?
If on these things I durst not look, durst I
On His distressed Mother cast mine eye,
Who was God's partner here, and furnish'd thus
Half of that sacrifice which ransom'd us ?
Though these things as I ride be from mine eye,
They're present yet unto my memory,
For that looks towards them ; and Thou look'st towards me,
O Saviour, as Thou hang'st upon the tree.
I turn my back to thee but to receive
Corrections till Thy mercies bid Thee leave.
O think me worth Thine anger, punish me,
Burn off my rust, and my deformity ;
Restore Thine image, so much, by Thy grace,
That Thou mayst know me, and I'll turn my face.

Audio Sermon Palm Sunday, 2014

So, Who is This Guy?

Texts Isaiah 50:4-9; Matthew 2:1-11

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

April 13, 2014

(While the sermon appears to cut off, it really doesn’t.  The editing was a bit tight at the end but this is a complete sermon.)

Jesus’ Wife?

 

News reports are out and a looming question this year is: Did Jesus have a wife?

A controversial papyrus scrap making that suggestion dates to the fourth through eighth century A.D., seems to have been verified that it dates back that long, thus making this a fragment of a document that existed in early Christianity.

This fragment is not new but the scientific verification does appear to be new. There are screams of forgery but I’m thinking that the document can easily date back to that time period----which actually doesn’t make it that big a deal in the realm of theological thought.

We know that there were numerous ‘gospels’ written in early Christianity. The Gnostics wrote gospels and people who attempted to discredit Jesus wrote gospels. It was not until around the 4^th century when early Christianity determined the Canon of the New Testament and chose four Gospels to have been humanly written and inspired by God. Those Gospels, Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John are part of the modern New Testament and considered to be Gospel by all of Christianity. We know next to nothing about the authors, but the early church determined these four, and only these four, were inspired. Other gospels were either destroyed or not reproduced. Most of what we have of the Bible came to us from monks carefully inscribing manuscripts. They would not have used precious time to replicate non-canonical books and so most of these manuscripts just rotted away in the sands of time.

Every so often remnants of one shows up and a lot of fuss is made. While scientifically and theologically interesting, these really do not impact the faith and history of Christianity.

Interestingly enough, speculation on the marital status of Jesus isn’t that big a deal. Some say that because the Gospels never mention a spouse it means he was not married. However, a 30 Jewish man who was not married would have been very atypical and scholars suggest that Jesus NOT been married it would have been a major thing to report. The end result? We have no idea.

Many have suggested over the centuries that Mary Magdalene may have been Jesus’ spouse. While there has often been speculation that she was a prostitute, one thing we can say for sure is that she was not a prostitute. All serious religious scholars agree on this point as does the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. If Mary Magdalene was not a prostitute, nor were her sins identified as 'sins of the flesh,’ why do so many people view Mary Magdalene as the sexy, 'fallen woman?'

It began as a shameful lie, invented by Pope Gregory I in 597 C.E., in which he combined three separate women from the New Testament into one. He combined Mary Magdalene with Mary of Bethany and a woman who is not named but is referred to as a 'sinner.' It has been suggested that Gregory may have been trying to demean her memory so has to keep women down. Others speculate he might have been theologically ignorant----which I doubt. In any case, his bogus assertion has remained a part of Christian lore, though in absolute fairness the Roman Catholic Church and the vast majority of viable Christian scholars do not say this any longer.

What was she to Jesus? A close friend? A great disciple? Spouse?

The answer is we really cannot say for sure. The Gospels do not tell us she and Jesus were married and we have to live with the fact that this is an eternal mystery. We can speculate all we want but we need to realize that no matter what we conclude, it’s speculation.

So, this fragment was found. Big deal? Historically sure, but it doesn’t tell us anything we didn’t know. There exist fragments that say all sorts of things and they will be found. They are interesting but they are not going to rock Christianity. If they do rock our faith, perhaps we need to developing thicker skin.

A Marvelously Insidious Word

 

I always marvel at language. Anyone who knows me knows that I love to play with words. I’m a notorious punster who delights in hearing groans from a particularly juicy and cheesy pun. A great pun brings about not so much a laugh, but a huge groan.

Words matter and some words are actually pretty insidious in scope. We think of words like ‘hate’ and can see it is insidious. We can use ‘bad’ words and refer to them as insidious. There’s also the word ‘phlegm’ which is just about the weirdest words in the English language. I’m not referring to any of these words, however. A marvelously insidious word people often use is the word ‘but.’

Recently in a Facebook forum made up of alumni from my college, a very small, now defunct Roman Catholic Seminary College in upstate New York, there was a conversation about a church organist who was fired when it was learned that he was married to a same sex partner. I indicated that I loved my denomination, the United Church of Christ. I wrote about us welcoming everyone, etc. One person in the forum responded, “And that is what (his denomination) does, as well………….But……..” There it was, the word ‘but.’ “Everyone is welcome in my church……………but.” The translation for the people on the receiving end of that ‘but’ is that they are not welcome.

It really doesn’t matter how large we place the letters, how well we sing welcoming songs, and announce that people are welcome. If we use the word ‘but’ in the sentence, they are not welcome.

“We welcome the role of women in leadership……………………..but.” The translation is that women are not really in leadership positions. In churches this is especially maddening. On Easter we will all read from the Gospels telling us that the first real message of Christianity, “I have seen the Lord,” pronounced by women, doesn’t count as ‘preaching.’ Because St. Paul once referred to an obscure group of women in an obscure place who were creating problems and he wrote to the church’s leadership to silence these women in the church, people have proclaimed women cannot speak in church. They, of course, ignore the reality that the first people to proclaim the Christian Gospel, “I have seen the Lord,” were, in fact women. Women are welcome in leadership……but.

We welcome children in our church and what them to participate………but, not yet.

It goes further than church, however.

If someone says, “I love you……..but,” it’s pretty ominous. It either means they don’t really love you or they are going to place some major conditions on that love.

If someone says, “I’m sorry……but,” they are not really sorry. They are now rationalizing.

What makes the word ‘but’ so insidious is that it comes at the end of a wonderful statement. It’s the ultimate bait and switch. “You are wonderful………but.’ “You are my dearest friend……but.”

I was struck by this yesterday. In the middle of a heartfelt conversation one person decided to drop his bit ‘but’ in the middle of a caring discussion. He used a lot of good words of really respecting everyone…..but.

It’s a good reminder to me. When I say something, if I’m adding the word ‘but’ to my statement, I’m not really saying what I set out to say. For me, I’m going to watch my language and try and rid myself of using this marvelously insidious word in such a manner.

Audio Sermon for April 6, 2014

 

Come and See: Jesus

Texts John 11:1-45

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

April 6, 2014

 

Audio Sermon March 23

 

Come and See: Hospitality as Spirituality

Texts Genesis 18:1-18; Acts 16:13-15

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

March 16, 2014

Fred Phelps is Near Death

 

Fred Phelps is near death. In case you never heard of Fred Phelps, he’s the pastor of Westboro Baptist Church. The church is located in Topeka, Kansas and is an independent Baptist Church that sees itself as part of the primitive Baptist tradition. Most people who are Baptist separate themselves greatly from the activities of Westboro even if there are elements they agree with. The website of the church says it all: www.godhatesfags.com.

Westboro has become famous, or, perhaps better said, infamous, for picketing funerals of high profile people and picketing the funerals of soldiers who died in combat. They see these deaths as proof that God has come to hate the United States. They are anti-gay, anti-Jewish, etc. Whereas many churches, or hopefully most churches peak about God’s love, they are the only church website I’ve ever encountered that has a list called: Bible Verses About The Hatred Of God.

Mr. Phelps is now near death.

My one thought on this subject is this. Let’s be charitable. Mr. Phelps was not a man of great charity. I do not say that to be judgmental, it’s merely stating a pretty obvious fact. The name of his church’s website does not speak of charity. The ‘hatred’ list does not speak of charity. His sermons did not speak of charity. The picketing of funerals did not speak of charity. Frankly, the word ‘hate,’ over and over again did not speak of charity. I suspect that Fred Phelps would not welcome people speaking his name and using ‘charity’ in the same sentence. It was not who he was or what he was about.

He, in so many ways, mortified those of us who attempt to live in the way of Christ. When we speak of a God of love, what Mr. Phelps said about God, seemed to contradict that. So many people were hurt and personally devastated by how he chose to go about life and how the mission of Westboro Baptist Church was lived out.

It is not a time for mocking or even pious platitudes. I have one prayer for Fred Phelps. My prayer is a simple one. I want him to be in God’s presence and I want Mr. Phelps to be loved by God and to see, learn, and understand that God loves all of us, no matter what. To me, love always wins out and my prayer for Mr. Phelps is that, in death and in God’s presence, he sees, feels, embraces, and delights in God’s love. One day, I hope we all do.

Audio Sermon March 16, 2014

 

Come and See: How to Invite People

Texts: Exodus 17:1-7; Romans 4:1-5

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

March 16, 2014

 

Audio Sermon Plus Moment of Concern March 9, 2014

 

Come and See: From Welcoming to Inviting

Texts: Genesis 2:15-19 ; John 1:35-42

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

March 9, 2014

 

 

Moment of Concern shared by J. R. Stuart

Link to the video mentioned in the sermon

Audio Sermon March 2, 2014

 

 

Just One Thing

Text: Matthew 17:1-9

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

March 2, 2014

Click the graphic to listen to the sermon;   Link to video clip is HERE.

Praying for our Nation and the World

 

In watching the news I'm distressed over the wars and conflicts around the world. The Ukraine is in a dangerous spot. I think there exists a great potential for Russia to step in and seize control. There is rioting in Venezuela. North Korea has been exposed as possibly the cruelest nation on the planet. Syria is in the midst of a horrible civil war. Iraq is unraveling and Afghanistan is largely unraveled and our troops are supposed to vacate the country by the end of the year. While I understood the first Iraq war, I never understood the second one. I understood the initial incursion into Afghanistan but I never did understand why we have stayed for so long. This has now been played out with two very different Presidents.

People often look to the United States, and we look at ourselves as the great super power that is supposed to do something. Tragically, we have lost a significant number of amazing young men and women who died in the service of our nation and have seen thousands of others devastated by wounds. As we watch Iraq devolve and recognize that Afghanistan will never not devolve, I grieve over this loss of life.

I do not believe President Obama has any desire to go to war and even if he did, the Congress would never support him. Both houses of the Congress have become a place of "Whoop, whoop, whoop! Nyuk, nyuk nyuk nyuk nyuk," more than anything else. For me, I'm praying that the peace of God which passes all understanding impacts the hearts and minds of people around the world. This killing must come to an end sometime. Far, far, far too many people in the world have died----and ultimately I'm wondering what exactly so many people have actually died for.

Audio Sermon February 23, 2014

Finding Joy in a Discordant Fashion

Texts: Leviticus 19:1-2; 9-18; Matthew 5:38-48

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

February 23, 2014

 

 

Full Communion Discussions

 

The United Church of Christ and the United Church of Canada are in discussions to enter full communion with one another. At present, The United Church of Christ has a full communion with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), a Formula of Agreement with the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Reformed Church in America and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and a "Kirchengemeinshaft" with the Union of Evangelical Churches in Germany (UEK).

The partnership with the United Church of Christ would be a first for United Church of Canada. The Rev. Michael Blair, executive minister of Church Mission for the United Church of Canada, said after the resolution was approved in July that it was "a first for us because we work in partnership with many denominations, but no formal relationships like this resolution would produce."

Since entering into the full communion agreement with the Christian Church, Disciples of Christ, there has been a rich partnership between the two denominations. At my own church my colleague in ministry is an ordained minister in the Disciples of Christ and has been a joy to work with. It is a reminder of Jesus’ great prayer for all to be one, as it is the foundational motto of the United Church of Christ in 1957, “That they may all be one.”

The United Church of Christ is a denomination that came as the result of the merger between the Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches in 1957. The two predecessor denominations came as the result of mergers as well. The idea of ecumenism is well ingrained within the United Church of Christ and this border crossing venture into full communion with the United Church of Canada furthers this mission.

I wish we didn’t need to have these kind of discussions. We are all the Body of Christ, or, perhaps better said, we are all supposed to be the Body of Christ. We are, after 2000 years of Christianity a church divided. Sadly, we are a church badly divided.

Who is to fault? In a way we all lay claim to this.

For example, when I see a group from Westboro Baptist Church picketing military funerals or having a website entitled, www.godhatesfags.com, I want no part of them. Frankly, I am embarrassed they use the word ‘church’ to state what they are.

When I see many megachurches preaching the prosperity Gospel, if you believe in Jesus you will be blessed with great riches, I recoil. That is not and has never been the teaching of Jesus Christ. No matter how many random scripture passages you string together to proof text, that is not the Gospel of Christ and it never will be.

When I see churches prevent people from receiving Holy Communion I recoil at this as well. It’s the Lord’s Supper, not ours to pick and choose who we want to participate or not.

We divide over some things we see as really big things. What age should a person be Baptized and how should we do it? Do we use wine or grape juice at Holy Communion? What exactly is it when we are taking Holy Communion? Is it really Jesus? It is a symbol? When all is said and done, does any of it really matter? There is a part of me that God may actually be rather amused by the fact that our theological opinions actually matter this much. Maybe the problem is that we think more of God’s church than we actually do about God.

Do all of these things matter? They do. As I said, there are things that matter to me greatly.

Ultimately it makes me feel really good that the United Church of Christ and the United Church of Canada are talking about entering into full communion with one another. I have been a United Church of Christ minister for over 30 years and I’m proud to be a part of a denomination that takes Jesus’ prayer of all being one seriously. I’m proud to be a part of a denomination that says, ‘no matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here,’ and really means it. I’m proud that when we invite everyone to God’s Table, we really mean everyone, not just the people who agree with us. I’m happy we are doing this with the United Church of Canada.

I look forward to the day, however, when we really all are one and these kinds of conversations are no longer necessary.