Allen

“Listen” (A Meditation on Anger and #BlackLivesMatter)

#BlackLivesMatter helps us see a universal truth: that unless we start treating all people as human beings, we will all loose our humanity. We may not die, but we will no longer live. … We must invest in each other if we are to succeed. Defeating those who oppose us only means we’ve defeated ourselves. The battle is within us, not against us, and not against them. To overcome the challenges we all face requires that we all change.

Bonito - MS - Foto: Pedro Serra - Leia mais em www.blogsemdestino.com — Statue of Michael Jackson in the favela of Santa Marta, on the outskirts of Rio De Janeiro; where Michael filmed the video for “They Don’t Care About Us” (directed by Spike Lee) in 1996.

There was anger in our Centering Music this morning (“They Don’t Care About Us” by Michael Jackson), a lot of anger.

Michael Jackson filmed that video in the slums surrounding Rio De Janiero; communities of the extreme poor, trapped there for generations with nowhere to go, no escape.

For decades the Brazilian government refused to extend utilities, sanitation, roads or even law enforcement into these slums. Ultimately, they moved their Capitol elsewhere, escaping the angry vigilance of the poor looking down upon them from the hills above. They are still there: filled with suffering and the anger of a people left behind, cast aside as worthless. We see in the video that their anger is powerful.

At this point in time, Michael Jackson was the object of tabloid ridicule and accusations of child molestation, strange behavior and weird habits. He’d been sued; arrested; strip searched. I am sure he identified with the people in these slums because he felt abandoned and alone, he was struggling to not die, just like them. But, not dying is not the same thing as living. Life is more than merely existence continued.

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Sermon: Pursuing the Light

The light of that star reveals the brokenness and darkness that surrounds us and which was always there, but now the veil behind which it was hidden is torn. The new star reveals how inadequate human effort is, and reveals the destructiveness of hubris and denial. But, it also brings the promise of God’s perfect gift, lying in that manger, the promise that new and better things are to come, and indeed are already here, and that God’s will and love for us can never be denied or defeated. But fear Not! For in Jesus the dream becomes reality and the light he brings will never die.

Image-of_Sirius — NASA image of Sirius, the brightest star in our nighttime sky.

As a kid, my two great loves were science and exploration. I would consume the National Geographic the second it arrived in the mail, and my bedroom was festooned with space posters, photos, astronomic charts, and lunar maps. I faithfully read the New York Times Science and Technology section every Sunday afternoon. I so wanted to be an explorer, or maybe a Scientist! In fact, for a long time my ultimate goal was to become an Astronaut, or perhaps an Astronomer!

But, becoming an Astronaut was simply not possible for someone as nearsighted as I am. So much for that dream, things change.

That left Astronomy, which I pursued diligently for a long time. In fact, I audited a college level Astronomy class in 9^th grade.

I loved our late night labs in that course, hauling out the telescopes and looking at the moon, planets and stars. Plus, hanging with college kids late at night was – ah – educational. That class was really fun, and cool – not to mention cold, there in Wyoming in the late fall!

What you soon learn when you regularly and carefully observe the celestial sphere is that the Sun, Moon and stars circle overhead, faithfully following their courses year after year. True, the planets wander, but even their wanderings have a regular pattern. And so, particularly for the ancients, nothing about the heavens is random. All the movements they saw were very regular, very repetitive and very predictable. From the point of view of the ancients, the only things that broke the rules were an occasional eclipse, or the rare comet. When such things occurred, their strangeness, unpredictability and frightening appearance were often taken as evidence of turmoil in the heavens: a sign of supernatural displeasure, great catastrophes, and doom.

But then we have the star in this morning’s reading.

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The Star of Change

The Star shining above that stable in the Gospel of Matthew is leading the wise to the Promise of God. It is a light that is a harbinger of the changes to come, but also the promise that God’s light is within those changes, and that God will never forsake us, nor forget us. Do not fear change, for God’s light and grace are in it – always.

star_of_bethlehem So, it is close to midnight on December 31 here in the Boston area: New Years Eve. And, what am I doing? I am sitting in our living room writing my sermon for this coming Sunday while my wife, son (and cat) sleep peacefully in their beds, not far away.

Some things never seem to change – like the never-ending challenge of finding the time to faithfully serve my small but doughty congregation while balancing my call to the ministry with the duties of father and husband; and the demands of the numerous efforts, activities, and causes I’m involved in. It is quiet here in the darkened house. Everything seems stable, solid and at peace.

On the other hand, this Sunday is Epiphany Sunday and the star that shines so bright in Matthew chapter two, guiding the Wise ones who come from afar, is all about change – announcing that change is soon to come, and also confirming that those changes have indeed already begun. And with that change comes the realization that the old rules no longer apply; and that we can no longer expect the world to work as we believe it has always done. That we cannot proceed with business as usual any more.

Change is coming, and change is already here.

Change can be scary, but instead of fighting it, or pretending it isn’t happening, we – as people of faith – are called to acknowledge it, to see God’s purpose flowing in it, and to understand that while dealing with change is always a challenge, every change carries within it the promise and grace of of God.

I pray that this past year has been a good one for you – yes there have been many changes in all of our lives – good changes, and bad. I pray that in this coming year you are blessed with the wisdom and strength and resources you need to deal with the new changes and challenges you will face. And, I also pray that we all stand together, helping each other rather than fighting each other (as we have done so often in recent years) so that the changes we face as a people, and as creatures of God’s Green earth, are confronted and dealt with compassion, with wisdom, and with God’s grace fully active in our every thought and word and deed.

Remember the Star shining above that stable in the Gospel of Matthew, leading the wise to the Promise of God: a light that was a harbinger of the changes to come, but also the promise that God’s light is within those changes, and that God will never forsake us, nor forget us.

And so I wonder as I write this sermon – is the light of that star merely announcing that change is coming; or is it a light – a light of the Divine – that makes it possible for us to see the change that is already here?

Peace be with you all now, and in the days and weeks and months to come.

Have a Blessed and Happy New Year!

Amen.

Copyright (c) 2015, Allen Vander Meulen III, all rights reserved. I’m happy to share my writings with you, as long as proper credit for my authorship is given. (e.g., via a credit that gives my full name and/or provides a link back to this site – or just email me and ask!)

A Less Than Perfect Faith

nativity-1024_103941o

In ancient times, the whole purpose of Temple sacrifices, and religion in general, was to make oneself perfect. Sacrifices were meant to cleanse sin from our lives and spirits, atoning for the wrongs and evil we had already done. Devotion to one’s god(s) was supposed to make you would be acceptable in the sight of your God, and therefore worthy of rewards of one sort or another (either in this life or perhaps in the afterlife).

The birth of Jesus flies in the face of all this: a Babe born of an unwed mother – a Bastard, possibly even the product of rape (according to some ancient sources). Born in a stable – a place of poverty and filth – animals, dirt, feces, bad smells. The offspring of Galileans, a people who were not respected or admired even by their fellow Jews. A child raised in obscurity in a remote corner of a poor land under the heel of Roman Domination. How low, how less than perfect, can you go?

But that’s precisely the point: our faith does not require us to become perfect to attain merit or favor from our Creator. Through the teachings of the New Testament, we see that perfection is not a prerequisite for entering into a relationship with God. Instead, perfection is the outcome of our relationship with God. We are perfected by our faith. We do not need to do anything to merit it, other than to believe.

This means you are accepted, and acceptable, just as you are. You are loved, and lovable, just as you are. You are valued, and valuable, just as you are.

As a Church, we must come to not only accept this, but embrace it with enthusiasm. Do we live our faith in ways where this truth, that perfection is not a prerequisite for our relationship with God, is obvious to all? Do we show, by the way we relate with anyone ad everyone, that we are loving them just as God loves them?

This means every aspect of our life as members of a community of faith must be thoughtfully considered. Are we welcoming and indeed affirming as people walk through the door? What about our services, celebrations and outreaches? What about our bathrooms and our after service coffee hour? And, most importantly, does the community within which we exist see us as exclusivist or welcoming? Do we place walls between ourselves and the other, or work hard to tear down any walls that could inhibit our embrace of them as a child of God just as loved by our Creator as we know ourselves to be?

In fact, what if the world were perfect? It would be a very boring place. With everything perfect there would be no love. There would be no relationship, and there would be no grace. There would be no need for a God.

So, this is not a perfect world. We are not a perfect people, our churches and our faiths are not perfect either, but our faith is a perfect faith – a faith of less than perfect people who have been perfected by the Love of their Creator.

None whom we encounter in life are any less perfect than we. Love them where they are, as God does us. Because we need our imperfection, just as God needs our imperfection so that we can be loved for who we are, just as we are.

Amen.

A Holiday Thought

The Holidays are a time of remembrance. That often means they are a time of regrets over opportunities lost and of what might have been. A time of seeing how our own faults and flaws, and the pain and sadness within our own lives, has affected us and limited us. We are confronted with how our own frailty has hurt those whom we love. We are reminded of all that has been lost.

And yet, this season is also a time of hope – of looking towards a future that will be better, of knowing that Light and Love are still there for us, and others, and will always be there.

Let us not bury the sad and bad in this Holiday season: doing so is a rejection of what it is so present – and therefore important – within our own lives as well as within the thoughts and lives of everyone around us.

Instead, let us honor and respect those pains and stains, because they are part of who we are. And, our faith teaches us that in God’s eyes, what and who we are – including every single one of the bruises and scars we all carry within us – is wonderful and beautiful.

Peace,

Pastor Allen

Rejection

…Rejection is less about the person being rejected and more about the person who is doing the rejecting. Rejection occurs because you do not fit the mold that another has sought to place upon you. This does not mean they don’t love you, but it does mean they do not know how to love you.

You cannot change how they see you and love you. But, you can continue to love them in some fashion, perhaps distantly, and give them the time and space they need to confront themselves and to learn that they need to grow and change, just as you have grown and changed.

breakup There was a young woman I recently encountered through an online forum who had “come out” to her parents, only to have them seemingly reject her in some unhealthy and painful ways. She did not give much detail, but it was clear it was a painful experience for her (as many of my friends and readers have also experienced, or can imagine).

Here is the counsel I gave her (with some minor edits), which I hope may be of help for others who are also experiencing rejection. (…Though we must also recognize that there are many out there, especially those who are the survivors of abuse, for whom such an approach will only promote or increase the pain they are experiencing, rather than bringing the healing they are looking for.)

…From the tiny bit you’ve said it sounds to me like your parents are going through an identity crisis. They see you as an extension of themselves. (And we are all extensions of our parents in many different ways, aren’t we?) So, they are confused and distraught because their daughter has suddenly turned out to be someone entirely different (in their minds) from the person they thought she was.

This has shaken their own self image to the core, and they are probably reacting in all sorts of unhealthy ways because of it. I suspect they love you deeply, but are realizing – at some deep and probably unconscious level – that to love this person who is their daughter as deeply as they do means some major readjustments in their own life, with their relationships with you, and even with their relationship with each other and with their God, all of which is scary. They are no longer the parents they thought they were, but something else, some other kind of parent.

Speaking as the parent of an adult child myself, it’s a hard adjustment. Your parents have to learn to accept you as an adult, someone who has their own life to live. They raised you to be such a person, but didn’t really realize until now that raising you to be a strong and independent person resulted in you becoming a strong and independent person!

In a way, your roles have been reversed: you are now the adult, and they are the ones who need to grow up a bit more. They’ll need time and space to come to that place of acceptance, so don’t give up on them, but also don’t try to “make” them see and accept the truth of who you are, it is best to let that happen when the time is right.

Show them how to love you as you are, that you are a wonderful person in large part because of who they are – just as they hoped you would be. And, let the Spirit of the God you share with them give all of you peace as you weather the storms and adjustments that are taking place as they adjust to this new reality in their lives.

My prayers are with you all.

In my experience, rejection is less about the person being rejected and more about the person who is doing the rejecting. Rejection occurs because you do not fit the mold that another has sought to place upon you. This does not mean they don’t love you, but it does mean they do not know how to love you.

You cannot change how they see you and love you. But, you can continue to love those who reject you in some fashion, perhaps distantly, and give them the time and space they need to confront themselves and to learn that they need to grow and change, just as you have grown and changed.

Peace,

Pastor Allen

Sermon: Bede’s Sparrow

Let us be clear: there is no magic wand that will make everything in this life better. God is not going to come down and make it as if we – meaning all of us – never made all of the mistakes (and good decisions) we’ve made that have gotten us to this point. We cannot escape responsibility for what we’ve done to each other, or to God’s Creation.

The command to “Love our Neighbor” means acknowledging this, and so embracing compassion for ourselves and others as a way of life. It means conscientiously making room for “The Other” – for those who are different from us. We can begin by opening our minds and our hearts to what they have to say.

This past Friday evening, George Takei was preparing for a performance of his musical which opened on Broadway a few days ago, a very personal story of the terrible price George and his family paid for being of Japanese ancestry and living in America during World War II.

On hearing of the attacks in Paris, Mr. Takei wrote: “…I’m writing this backstage at Allegiance, my heart heavy with the news from Paris, aching for the victims and their families and friends.

My friend Aziz Abu Sarah, who, like George, spends his life urging peace and building bridges to span the gaps separating people around the world, and whose family has also paid a very heavy price through years of terror and oppression, had this to say: “Two days of ongoing terrible news… From Beirut to Paris, bombs, murder and dozens of victims. Its another heartbreaking day.”

My lifelong “older brother” in spirit, Ahmed, said this in his email to my parents yesterday morning: “We are all distressed as Paris has become our home .… I am flying there on Friday unless the borders are closed. France has been openly at war with Islamists for a number of years and terrorist attacks were expected. But they can never be predicted or controlled. I expect life in France will change following the latest carnage.”

Ahmed’s wife, Lena, who is in Paris at the moment, posted this on Facebook yesterday: “Tears this morning. With a very heavy heart I start the day.”

All of these people have labored their whole lives to bring peace and justice into this world. They’ve all worked diligently against poverty, oppression, despair and injustice. They have all taken firm and often costly stands against the dehumanization of “The Other” that lies at the heart of these attacks. Some of them are hurt and despairing, as you heard. But I think I can give voice to what lies in all of their hearts by quoting this from Mr. Takei’s message:

“There no doubt will be those who look upon immigrants and refugees as the enemy as a result of these attacks, because they look like those who perpetrated these attacks, just as peaceful Japanese Americans were viewed as the enemy after Pearl Harbor. But we must resist the urge to categorize and dehumanize, for it is that very impulse that fueled the insanity and violence perpetrated this evening.”

Now. let’s skip back 1400 years, to a time when England was a collection of little Kingdoms, almost 300 years before they would be united under King Alfred the Great and his heirs.

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Why #MerryChristmasStarbucks is Everything Wrong with American Christianity

Mr. Lake is absolutely right. Even if the point being made had any validity (which it doesn’t), the “Merry Christmas Starbucks” furor is far more a statement of our inability to be welcoming and loving of all of our neighbors than it is a “defense” of our Faith.

And frankly, our God is a pretty big god. I’m certain that our infinite and omnipresent Creator is more than capable of handling any and all insults without our help. In fact, volunteering to defend our faith due to such perceived slights says far more about our own insecurities and our misunderstanding of the teachings of Matthew 22:37-40 than it does about the strength or quality of our faith.

NATE LAKE

A few days ago, former pastor Joshua Feuerstein posted a video announcing a campaign against Starbucks due to their switch from festive holiday cups in previous years to a new plain red look for the 2015 holiday season. In the video, Feuerstein claims that Starbucks wanted to “take Christ and Christmas off of their brand new cups” because, according to the caption on his video, “they hate Jesus.”

Feuerstein goes on to explain that when he visited a Starbucks store, he told the employee making his drink that his name was “Merry Christmas” so that his cup would read “Merry Christmas.” He later says “Guess what, Starbucks? Just to offend you, I made sure to wear my Jesus Christ shirt into your store, and, since you hate the 2nd Amendment, I even carried my gun!” Three days after the initial post of the video, it has over 130,000 likes and 380,000 shares. Feuerstein…

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An All Saints Day Homily, “Destiny”

To Christians, the veil of Death, that dark, impenetrable horizon that marks the end of the journey of all of our lives, is not a fearful boundary between the worlds of the living and of the dead. It isn’t the end. Yes, the dead do not return – yet, but there is nothing to fear – as Christians we know that our journey will require us to travel through the valley of the Shadow of Death during our lives, and then beyond – into the realm of death itself. But, Jesus has returned, has shown us that God’s love – the undying and uncompromising love of our Creator, the creator of all that is, including Time itself, is a love that is more than sufficient to pierce the veil that separates these two worlds.

Halloween is a very ancient festival, known as Samhain by the Celts. It was the Festival of the Dead. Cattle were brought back from their summer pastures and livestock slaughtered for the winter. Bonfires and lanterns would be lit; and the spirits had to be propitiated so that the people and their livestock would survive the winter.

Like most major feasts in ancient calendars, Samhain was a day of transition: in this case marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the season of darkness: a time of concern. In these ancient communities, which did not have the safety nets or resources we have now, a bad winter, or a bad harvest, or a delayed Spring, could be catastrophic. They knew something had to be done to calm supernatural anger. It was necessary to seek help from friendly spirits and from one’ ancestors who were already in that realm.

Many ancients, not just the Celts, believed that at this time of year the veil between this world and the next was at its thinnest, making it easier for us to communicate with those – the spirits of the dead and supernatural entities – who are part of that realm, but it also made it easier for them to trouble us if we didn’t treat them right! Halloween and All Saints Day both recall these beliefs, which have persisted for thousands of years, or more.

All Saints Day was originally part of a three day Medieval Christian festival that began with All Hallows Eve (which we now know as Halloween); and ended with All Souls Day on Nov 2.

The Forerunners of Christ with Saints and Martyrs (about 1423-24) by Fra Angelico.

All Saints Day was a joint celebration for all the Saints of the Church – since there were far too many to each have their own feast day, and All Souls Day was a day to remember the faithful who died in the previous year.

Most Protestant Churches have either merged these three days into a one day celebration that recognizes all saints of the church – known and unknown (meaning us, when we pass, too); or else they ignore the Festival completely – like the old Calvanists did – disdaining the Holiday, as they did all Holidays, as being too “Popish” in nature.

The tie that links Halloween, All Souls Day and All Saints Day together is the same ancient belief the Celts had, that the veil between this world and the next is thinnest at this time of year. It was a day very appropriate for seeking to calm our fears and uncertainties in this world by reaching out to the next, as the three days in the Medieval Christian Festival each did in their own ways.

I want to reflect for a moment on my last sermon, given on October 4^th, where I spoke on the concept of Belief. I pointed out that as Christians, we often think that “believing” is a goal – of having a firm, unshakeable commitment to the absolute truth of God. But, I argued that belief is actually a process – a journey with God, not a journey to God. Belief is not something we achieve, not a goal. Belief is something we do. We don’t know where Belief will take us in our journey through life, but we know where we’re going to end up.

The point of this morning’s reading from The Revelation of John is similar: we’re not certain what road we’ll follow to get to the end, but that we’ll get to the end is certain.

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A Progressive Defense of Tax Exempt Status for Churches

Rev. Dwight Welch is right on the money (sic) with this one. Yes, there are some “churches” and religious organizations that take advantage of the tax system to enrich themselves.

But most, even very large and well known conservative organizations (such as the one I once worked for), are sincere in their goals, beliefs and desire to minister to the needs of others, no matter how distressing we may find their theology and public statements to be.

To remove the nonprofit status of religious organizations, as Rev. Welch points out, would be a disaster for most churches in this country.

To try and craft new regulations to weed out bad actors is probably not necessary, and would most likely create an even more difficult regulatory landscape for both the public and for those tasked with enforcing such regulations already.

Such regulations already exist. What is needed is the ability (and will) to enforce them – which may well require rethinking our tax enforcement mechanisms (not the laws themselves) to make them less susceptible to political pressure.

I’m a person on the left and I’m gay and thanks to marriage equality, I’m married too. I’m also clergy. And so my defense should make various sides of these issues unhappy. But since I see so many articles on the left that call for taxing the churches I thought it would be worth clearing up some misnomers.

A) “What is particularly egregious about the tax benefits going to religious organizations is that they receive these benefits, ostensibly, because they are charities.” No, they are receiving this tax benefit because they are a non profit. But looking at percentages won’t help get a full picture of the charitable support.

I served a church, First Congregational, in Sheridan WY. As a % of it’s budget, it is true that operating expenses took up the bulk of its financial resources. But it also houses the local soup kitchen, the only one…

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Believe!

Belief is not dependent upon conformance to the Law. Belief is the process needed to make God’s command to Love a reality in our lives.

Believe!

Believe what? That there are angels? That Jesus died on the Cross for our sins? That all the miracles in the Bible actually happened? That the tribulation is coming? That abortion is a mortal sin? That marriage must be a lifetime commitment between one man and one woman? That only men shall be ordained into the ministry? That God somehow anoints the beliefs or agendas of one person or group over those of another? That our particular understanding of our faith excludes all other understandings, especially those we don’t understand?

Really?

We all are constantly confronted with the choice of what to believe, and how. Do we believe literally all that the Bible says? And, what does “Literal” mean? Literalism presents us with many challenges and contradictions that are impossible to resolve; so, do we instead believe the scriptures through viewing them as metaphor and allegory? Do we ignore the passages that we see as outmoded, focusing on those that seem more relevant? Or, should we go even farther, perhaps picking and choosing what seems nice from the smorgasbord of other beliefs, traditions, and wisdom that we encounter everywhere in today’s world?

I love what the Author of Hebrews has to say about all of this in this morning’s reading. “Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets.” So, it seems plain that there has never been a single voice deciding what is or is not to be believed as part of our faith. The Author of Hebrews is acknowledging that the prophets don’t all agree with each other, often speaking in ways that seem contradictory, or at least are hard to reconcile with other sacred writings, especially when taken literally. And this is in fact deliberate; since the goal of the prophets was to disrupt conventional wisdom and accepted practice, the very purpose of their words was to challenge our understanding.

Every author of the 66 books in the Protestant Bible see and portray God’s word in different ways, and then there are the 73 books in the Catholic Bible, and the 81 books in the Ethiopian Bible. So, not only is there disagreement between various scriptures within our Protestant Bible, but disagreement between various branches of Christianity as to what scriptures are part of the Bible at all – not to mention the tens of thousands of variations found within the most ancient scriptural texts we have at our disposal. There is no single “right” Bible, and never has been. So, how can there be a single “right” reading of scripture? Therefore, there is no single universal scriptural standard by which we can judge what is “right” to believe, or not.

But that’s OK, because belief is not about believing the right thing! We will not be condemned to hell for believing the wrong thing. Belief is not a certainty that there is a perfect, eternal and unchanging truth upon which all knowledge and all reality depend. (In fact, that belief is a teaching of ancient Greek philosophy, not Judaism.)

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Sermon: Family

The challenge then is not who should be part of our family – that choice is not ours. Nor is the challenge to decide if we are to love them – because the Bible says love all, no exceptions. The challenge is how to love them, because they’re going to be climbing up that same ladder we’re on no matter what we do, Jesus made it so.

Hunter Family, ca1900; (c) 2015 Dorothy Vander Meulen — The Hunter Family of Waterbury, CT, ca 1900;
(c) 2015 Dorothy Vander Meulen

Jesus says “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers? … Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

How does this relate to us, and why does it matter?

Please join me in prayer…

Lord God, we lift up this morning’s message. May it touch our hearts, may it speak clearly to our souls, that we may come to more fully comprehend your eternal and undying love for us and for all of the Family of God. Amen.

I lived in the Tidewater area of Virginia about 20 years ago. Many of my co-workers, friends and neighbors were part of military families, mostly Navy. One September, a friend who served on board the Aircraft Carrier U.S.S. Enterprise invited me to be his guest for the ship’s “Friends and Family Day Cruise”. Now, how could I refuse such an invitation to see the Enterprise? I accepted!

This was an event where the ship’s officers and crew could invite those close to them to come on board for a short cruise that included tours, a picnic, and some presentations and demonstrations. Towards the end of that afternoon we ran into a co-worker of mine: a wonderful and godly black woman named Veronica. She told us her husband was an officer on the ship.

While there, we really wanted to check out the ship’s control tower, that big “Island” on one side of the flight deck where the bridge is. But, one of the rules was that only officers and their families were allowed up there. Veronica assured us that going up would be no problem…

Wondering how she could do this (since we clearly weren’t family), Sean and I timidly followed her up the ladders. Almost immediately, we were confronted by two very stern guards, holding their rifles at the ready. They said, “Sorry Ma’m, only officers and their families are allowed above Deck O-3.”

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