©2005-2006 The United Church of Christ at The Villages, FL |
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John 1:32-34 and 40-41
32 Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33 I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' 34 I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God."
40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first found his brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated Anointed).
The fourth unique characteristic of the United Church of Christ is the fact that we prefer Testimonies of Faith, rather than Tests of Faith. Because faith can be expressed in many different ways, the United Church of Christ has no formula that is a test of faith. Down through the centuries, however, Christians have shared their faith with one another through creeds, confessions, catechisms and other statements of faith. There is a Statement of Faith which was adopted by the General Synod of the United Church of Christ and copies of it are included in your worship packet today.
This sermon is very personal, very important to me, and one that I know was important for me to prepare. I believe that it is important for you to hear this sermon. You will know much more about me and about my faith.
Tests of Faith . . .
Almost from the very beginning the Christian Church has struggled with attempts to create and enforce tests of faith, tests of eligibility for membership, tests of acceptability for the gifts of God. One of the first tests was whether a man was or was not circumcised. When uncircumcised men were accepted into the church there were some who claimed that the Church was losing its integrity. Throughout the history of the Christian Church, one test after another was devised in attempts to insure its purity and its faithfulness.
Such efforts to test the acceptability of people for the church continue. I was a member of a National Council of Churches committee that made an attempt to bridge a huge gap in the Church. The committee included representatives from the Christian Church, (Disciples of Christ) the Church of the Brethren, the Lutheran Church, the Mennonite Church, the Presbyterian Church, the United Methodist Church, and the United Church of Christ. Most of our denominations were experiencing the conflict of theologically conservative ministers and members who were trying to "convert" their members and congregations to what they believed to be the "true" faith. In some cases they tried to convert their denomination. In other cases they tried to lead their congregation into severing their relationship with their denomination.
All of us on the National Council of Churches committee were upset by the conflict in our denominations. We wanted to heal the growing divisions in our denominations. There seemed to be no effective approaches. In an attempt to learn how to establish communication with the theologically conservative members and ministers of our various denominations, we invited a seminary professor of one of the conservative seminaries to join us at one of our meetings. He agreed to meet with us. We talked for three days trying to find the common ground on which we could start to build an inclusive and accepting relationship. Not only did we not find that common ground, we discovered a complete impasse. We reached the point, after three days of struggling to understand each other, of trying to understand each other, of hearing the seminary professor say to us that he, and others like him, could never consider us as truly Christian unless and until we become "card-carrying evangelicals" like him.
I will always remember how much it hurt all of us to be forced to accept the fact that there was no way for us to be acceptable, to be accepted, to find the way to connect our divided churches, so that we may all be one.
The United Church of Christ does not believe in tests of faith. The United Church of Christ believes in testimonies of faith.
There is value to testimonies, both to the one offering it and to those who receive it. The one offering a testimony of faith is:
The value of hearing another person’s testimony of faith is:
I want to share my testimony with you both as demonstration and as testimony. My testimony begins with an experience that happened when I was a young teenager. I had become a part of a youth group which explored, prepared, and on rare occasions, presented plays on stage. The woman who was our advisor and coach was the wife of the minister. We always met at the church on Tuesday afternoon following school. One late spring afternoon, as we gathered at the back door of the church, we discovered that our advisor had not yet arrived. The door was locked so we chatted while we waited. One thing led to another and before long we found our way into the back yard of the house next to the church where there was a large cherry tree with juicy ripe cherries hanging from its branches. You can guess what happened next. I will always remember the moment when, as I was reaching up into the tree for more cherries, I spotted the ministers wife standing at the back corner of the church watching us. I was very ashamed. It seemed like I had just revealed my not-so-nice side to someone whom I wanted to think highly of me.
She invited us to come into the church. As I walked toward her, I fully expected to receive a verbal reprimand, at the very least. Instead, she started the meeting, as she always did, by distributing the plays we were going to be reading that day. The meeting moved along as always, and soon I forgot about the expected punishment. At the end of the meeting, as we were all getting ready to leave, she said to us "Oh, by the way, if you ever get hungry for cherries again, I am certain that should you knock on Mrs. Smith’s door (it really was Mrs. Smith who lived there) and ask her, she will be happy to give you permission to eat some of her cherries."
Several years later, the same person asked me to stay a few minutes after the meeting. When the others were gone, she told me that she was the teacher for the upper elementary Sunday School Class, and needed an assistant. She invited me to become her assistant. I did. She gave me many opportunities to take the lead in teaching and I discovered that I really liked it. One Sunday, many months later, after the students had left the classroom, as we were putting things back in their places, she asked, very casually, "Have you ever thought about becoming a minister?" I told her, very quickly, that I had not. She never mentioned that subject again.
After Deanna and I married, I no longer attended the drama group, no did I continue working with the minister’s wife teaching Sunday School. Our first child was born. I was working in the engineering office of a local independent telephone company. One afternoon the phone at my desk rang. It was Deanna. She was calling to tell me that news was being circulated by members of the church that the minister’s wife had just died of a heart attack. She was 33 years old.
I will never forget that moment. What welled up inside of me was more than grief. It was an urgent need to express thanks to her and to God for her. All of a sudden I could hear her voice asking "Have you ever thought about becoming a minister?" That question continued to sound in my mind throughout the balance of that afternoon. As soon as the work day ended, I drove home and said to Deanna "We need to talk." We did, through most of the night. So, Deanna’s grandmother agreed to become the daytime caregiver for our young daughter, Deanna found a job in the medical records and admitting office of the hospital in our community, and I enrolled in college to start the seven years of education in preparation for the ministry.
I truly believe that I was touched by the Spirit of God, on the afternoon I was picking and eating cherries, and I experienced God’s grace in the gentle acceptance and nudge toward more responsible behavior that we all received that afternoon. I believe that I was touched by the Spirit of God when the minister’s wife invited me to become her teaching assistant. I truly believe that it was the voice of God speaking through her that asked me if I had ever considered becoming a minister. And, I know that it was the Spirit of God within me that yearned to say thank you to the minister’s wife by entering the ministry. I have never entertained the slightest hint of a regret or a Monday morning quarterback wish that I had gone in a different direction.
My hope, and my prayer, is that the Spirit of God which touched me and changed my life may be present in your life to bring meaning, and value, and happiness to you.
Amen.
©2005-2006 The United Church of Christ at The Villages, FL |
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