Ruth 1-2, “Ruth as Immigrant” – June 10, 2018

https://soundcloud.com/user-553313165/sermon-june-10-2018-ruth-as

 

I preached this sermon at Govans Presbyterian Church on June 10, 2008 by Reverend Tom Harris. I cite and rely heavily on an upcoming book by Rev. Dr. Robert Williamson, Jr, “The Forgotten Books of the Bible: Recovering the Five Scrolls for Today”

1 Samuel 16 – “How Long Will You Grieve?” – October 22, 2017 –

God asks the prophet Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul?”

Saul was the first king of Israel. Samuel was the prophet who anointed him as the first king of Israel. Samuel really wanted Saul to succeed. He both believed in him and felt responsible for his reign. So when things fall apart for King Saul in the previous chapter, and it becomes clear to Samuel that Saul was the wrong choice, it is understandable that he would feel sad about that. His grief and remorse are reasonable feelings to have. In fact, God joins Samuel in these melancholy feelings. At the end of chapter 15 it says, “the LORD regretted making Saul king over Israel.”

So it is not surprising that Samuel would grieve. Saul is a massive national disappointment. What is surprising is that God would so quickly call Samuel to end his grieving, and it happens very fast. Basically, chapter 15 ends with God feeling regret about Saul’s kingship. Then in the very first verse of chapter 16 God is asking Samuel, “Hey, how long are you going to grieve over this guy anyway?” That is surprising because what we know about grief today is that it is not something you should rush, and it is not as simple as just getting over it. Paul Spencer, the author of “Surviving Alzheimer’s” writes in a blog on Carring.com about 5 myths about grief. (https://www.caring.com/articles/how-to-grieve)

Myth #1: It’s possible to cry too much.

Everyone grieves differently. There’s no single correct way to express the pain, sorrow, yearning, and other aspects of the transition of adjusting to the death of a loved one. Intense responses are sometimes seen as “losing control,” when in fact they’re simply how that person is actively (and productively) processing the loss.

Myth #2: If you don’t cry now, it’ll be worse later.

Some people never cry. Tears or outward expressions of anguish simply aren’t everyone’s grieving style, says psychologist Neimeyer. This doesn’t mean they’re grieving less intensely than a visibly shaken individual, or that they loved the person who died any less. Nor does a lack of obvious emotion mean the griever has an emotional block or problem or will face a longer, more difficult adjustment to the loss.

Myth #3: Grief is something you “get over.”

Most people never stop grieving a death; they learn to live with it. Many psychologists bristle at words such as “acceptance” or “resolution” or “healed” as a final stage of grief. The real stages of grief are processes that we return to over and over again throughout life.

Myth #4: Time heals slowly but steadily.

Time does help. But the process isn’t a steady fading away of our pain. Grief is a chaotic roller coaster — a mix of ups, downs, steady straight lines, and the occasional slam. Periods of intense sadness and pain can flare and fade for years or decades.

Myth #5: Grieving should end after a set amount of time.

Ignore oft-quoted rules of thumb that purport to predict how long certain types of grief should last. A downside to six-week or eight-week bereavement groups, says Sherry E. Showalter, a psychotherapist specializing in grief and the author of Healing Heartaches: Stories of Loss and Life, is that at the end of the sessions, people mistakenly expect to be “better” (or their friends expect this). “Everyone tells me the same story: ‘I failed Grief 101,’ because they still feel pain,” Showalter says. “We grieve for a lifetime, because we’re forever working to incorporate the death into our tapestry of life.”

Learning how to grieve is ultimately part instinct, part stumbling along, part slogging through — a bit like learning how to live.”

Many of these myths and corresponding realities seem to speak against our text where God asks Samuel, “How long are you going to grieve over Saul?” As a side note, notice that

Saul is still alive. Grief does not have to be over the death of person. You can grieve the loss a relationship. You can also grieve the loss of a job or a home. You can grieve the loss of a physical or mental ability. Grief is the process of learning to live with a hole in your life. And part of the process may be to sit there and stare into the hole. But, that is only part of the process. Another part of the process is learning to work around the hole and live with the hole, because the reality is, the hole doesn’t get filled. We don’t replace the people or things we lose. We do learn to live without them.

That may be what God means, “How long will you grieve over Saul?” In this case, God is saying to Samuel, “you will always have a hole in your life over this. You chose Saul as the first king of Israel. You believed in him. He failed. And so you failed. Nothing will change any of that. But, you can’t stare down into this hole forever. At some point you need to start integrating this loss into a new life.”

Of course, God says this more eloquently and symbolically. God says, “Fill your horn with oil and get going. I’m sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem because I have found my next king among his sons.” “Fill your horn with oil and get going.” In other words, “You don’t need to stop being sad, but at some point you do need to start living again. You are a prophet. You bring my anointing to the world. Fill your horn with oil and go anoint someone. It is OK to do it while you are still sad.” And as we read in the story, the person Samuel anoints is the least physically impressive of Jesse’s sons. It is a shepherd boy named David who will become the greatest king Israel ever knew.

It is probably accurate to say that most of us here have lost someone or something important to us. Most of us here have some sort of hole in our lives from that loss. The question God asks Samuel is the same question for all of us, “How long will you grieve?” How long will you stare into the hole? A week, a month, a year? Take your time with the sadness. Take your time with the feelings. There is no wrong way to grieve. But, do know this: you did not die. You are still alive. You are still here. At some point we need to integrate the death into our lives. At some point we need to fill our horn with oil and get to doing the work God has called us to do.

There is a world out there that needs our anointing oil. We sit here full of holes from the losses we have known, the loved ones who have gone, the failures we have experience, and we sit with a horn full of oil and calling go anoint the world.  Both realities are true.

Maybe learning to share our blessings with the world despite the holes in our lives is what makes us…holy. (Yes. I just did that). Maybe we are holy people because we are filled with holes and filled with loss and still called to love the world.

How long will you grieve? How long will you stare into hole? It’s ok to do that. It’s ok to be sad. It’s ok to grieve. Don’t rush it. But there is a world out there waiting for anointing. So as soon as you are able, start living with the hole. Fill your horn with oil and get going.

Genesis 2:1-3 – “Observing the Sabbath” – September 3, 2017

Do you have a strong sense of God’s presence in your life?
Do you have a sense of purpose throughout the week?
Did you get enough sleep this week?
Do you feel grateful most of the time?
Do you feel a sense of abundance in your life from which you can share with others?

If you answered no to any of these question, you may need to consider or reconsider a more disciplined Sabbath practice. Sabbath keeping is one of the most important spiritual practices and one of the most neglected. 

Genesis 1:26-30 – “Faith and Veganism” – August 27, 2017

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Genesis 1:20-23 – “Diving Deep and Flying High” – August 20, 2017

We are invited by God to dive deep like the creatures of the sea. We are invited by God to soar high like the creatures of the air. I know that is quite an interpretive and metaphorical leap to take with this passage. But, there isn’t much else to do with it. “On Day 5 God made birds and fish.

We could talk about the structural organization of the 7 days of creation and how the creative activities on Days 1, 2 and 3 line up perfectly with the creative activities on Days 4, 5 and 6. That is very interesting, but what kind of application does that have for us today?

We could also talk about the abundance of animals described in Day 5. The great flocks of birds to fill the sky and the swarms of fish in the sea. We could use that as a reminder of the original abundance of creation, and how we are called to preserve and even restore that abundance. That’s a really good message, but I’ve talked a few times already in this sermon series about the importance of creation care and I will touch on it some more next week.

So, today I’m going to metaphorically dive in, or interpretively take off, and say that Day 5 of creation invites us to dive deep like the creatures of the sea–diving below the surface of our normal consciousness–and to fly high through faith like the birds of the air.

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Exodus 32:1-14 – “Idolatry and Meditation” – October 9, 2016

This story about the Golden Calf is a story about idolatry. It is a story about worshiping idols or worshiping gods other than the one true God who at the time was called Yahweh by the Hebrew people. I say “who at the time was called” because it seems that all religions have some concept of a true God. For Jewish people it is Yahweh which is a name so holy they don’t say it or write it. But, for Christian that one true God is called the Triune God of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. For Muslims the one true God is called Allah. People often say Buddhists are atheists and some certainly are, but I’ve done a lot of study and practice of Buddhism and Buddhists don’t call it God but in my experience they are still trying to get into communion with this one true experience of presence. Nirvana is freedom from the cycles of suffering through the practice of meditating on the present moment and letting go of our attachments. So I believe all religions have some kind of aspiration toward a communion with the holy. For the Hebrew people in our story that meant faith in Yahweh.

Exodus 12:1-3 – “Black Lives Matter and Communion” – October 2, 2016

There is a vigorous debate happening in American society right now between people who say that “black lives matter” and people who say that “all lives matter.” I think most of you know the reasoning behind both statements. “All lives matter” is actually a response to “black lives matter.” People who want to say “all lives matter” point out that in fact all life is important. It doesn’t matter what color you are, your life is important. Your life matters.

Black Lives Matter advocates actually agree with this, but point out that in reality black lives in our country are valued less than white lives. Black lives are clearly valued less by the criminal justice system at every step of the process, from being stopped by the police, to use of lethal and non-lethal force by the police, to conviction and incarceration rates. Black lives are valued less in the education system when schools with mostly black children have fewer resources than schools with mostly white children. Black lives are valued less in the workplace when people with black sounding names can’t even get an interview. Black Lives Matter advocates say that it is true that all lives should matter the same, but in American society all lives don’t matter same. Black lives are devalued so it must be said that “black lives matter”.

Genesis 37 – “Family Issues” – September 25, 2016

Does your family have any… issues? Are there unhealthy relationships in your family? Are there people in your family who don’t talk to other people in your family? Are there sibling rivalries that go way too far? Are there parents in your family who really should have taken some parenting classes before raising children? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you can probably relate to Joseph and his family. This family was a mess.

Genesis 2-3 – “Adam and Steve” – September 11, 2016

This is more of a reboot than a remake of the story of Adam and Eve. It takes apart the components of the story and puts them back together in a new way. It is intended to be light-hearted and fun with a serious message. 

Once upon a time, God created the earth. At first it was just land and water. Hills, mountains, valleys and plains. Streams, rivers, lakes and like today, lots of ocean. One day God was walking around enjoying the landscape and decided to do some planting. So God created millions and millions of plants. God covered the earth with every plant alive today and a few that aren’t around anymore. God called the earth a garden.

The garden of Earth was beautiful and God enjoyed spending time there. Then one day, God thought it might be nice to have some company: someone to talk to, someone to listen to, someone to play with, someone to enjoy the earth with, someone to love. So God knelt down in the mud and formed the mud into a man and breathed life into the man. God called the man “Adam.”

God was pleased with Adam and they spent long hours walking around the garden of Earth enjoying the plants and the scenery and loving each other. Then one day Adam said to God, “I’m lonely”.