Dying of Thirst

August 28^th, 2016              “Dying of Thirst”        Rev. Heather Jepsen

Jeremiah 2:4-13 with Psalm 81

          This week we return to our lectionary readings and although the gospel reading for the day was compelling, I found the most fruitful texts to be in the Old Testament.  Both of our readings for this morning, from the prophet Jeremiah and the writings of the Psalmist, serve as warnings for the people of Israel.  They have turned their hearts from God, and a period of suffering will soon be on its way.

          We start with the prophet Jeremiah.  Jeremiah has been chosen by the Lord to speak to the people of Israel on God’s behalf.  When he states, “thus says the Lord” he is pointing out that the message he has come to deliver comes directly from God, and it is clear from our reading that God is not happy.

          The language of the passage is legalistic.  God and the people of Israel had entered into an exclusive covenant.  God would support and provide for the nation if Israel would remain faithful in their worship of God.  Israel has failed on their part of the covenant, and so in the language of trial, the people are being called to account for their actions.  They have broken the covenant with God and they deserve punishment.

          The language of a lover’s quarrel is also present.  Often Israel is pictured as the bride of God.  Again, the idea of exclusivity and fidelity is implied.  In seeking after other gods, Israel has cheated on her husband.  And so the language God uses to condemn the nation reveals God’s disappointment and hurt.

          So what happened?  Most of us remember the story.  God made covenant with the people through Abraham and then following the lineage through Jacob.  We know the story that God is referencing, how the people were brought out of slavery in the land of Egypt.  Through Moses, God led the people for forty years in the wilderness, through a land that no one passes through.  God brought the people to a Promised Land, a land that was plentiful and flowing with milk and honey. 

          Everything was great, but the people got distracted.  Over the years the people forgot the stories of their faith, they forgot the providence of their God, and they began to look for God in other things.  Jeremiah accuses those who were chosen to lead the people of failing in their leadership.  Those who handled the law did not look for God, the rulers did not follow God, the prophets turned to Baal, and most disappointing the very priests of the faith did not look for God in the world.  The whole leadership team failed and the people fell away.

          God is shocked and astounded that such a thing could ever occur.  Look, Jeremiah cries, and see if you can find another nation who has done such a crazy thing.  “Has a nation changed its gods, even though their new gods are no God at all?!?”  The people have abandoned glory for something that does not profit.  In beautifully poetic language, the prophet states that the people have abandoned the living water of God and instead chosen to drink from stagnant cisterns.  The people are dying of thirst and yet they continue to dig empty wells.

          The writings of the Psalmist follow a similar theme.  First the people are called to praise the Lord.  Then they are told to remember their story once more, their God is the God who has promised to provide and who has brought them out of the land of Egypt.  But the people have turned away.  They have not listened to the voice of God.  And God has allowed them to stray, giving them over to their stubborn hearts and allowing them to follow their own unwise counsel. 

          Again we hear that God longs for the people to return in faith.  God would provide for the people, to nourish them and help them grow.  God longs to feed the people of Israel the finest wheat.  In poetic language the Psalmist claims that God will provide honey from the rock, combining the two images of the water from the rock that Moses struck in the wilderness with the image of the Promised Land flowing with milk and honey.  My favorite line of this Psalm is where God tells the people, “Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.”  What an image of the abundance that would be available if only we would cooperate.

          Both of these scripture readings follow a similar overarching pattern.  The people have become dis-oriented.  As individuals, and as a nation, the people of Israel are lost.  Both writers are seeking to re-orient the people into the path of God.  There is a pattern here of orientation, dis-orientation, and re-orientation.  We can find the pattern in the story of the people of Israel and we can find it in our own lives today.

          At one time the people of Israel were properly oriented.  They were grounded in their faith and their reliance on God.  The writers of these texts seek to provoke memories of that time as they call the people to remember the story of God’s providence through Joseph, of the exodus from Egypt, of the continual presence of God in the wilderness, and of the abundance of the land flowing with milk and honey.

          We too have had times in our lives when we were properly oriented.  As individuals, we can remember days when we felt the presence of God, when it seemed easy to do the right thing, and when we could confidently share and welcome others because we knew God would provide enough for all of us.  We remember God getting us through the rough patches of an illness or the death of a loved one.  We remember knowing that we were going to be ok, even if things didn’t turn out all right.  We remember being oriented in God as individuals.

          As a nation too, we remember times when we were focused together on higher ideals.  We were less afraid of the stranger in our midst and we were more eager to share what we had with those in need.  We remember putting resources into building up the infrastructure of our country and in helping the poor.  We remember a day when political rhetoric wasn’t so vile.  We remember a time when we were a “united” states.

          The people of Israel had gotten distracted, they had become dis-oriented, they had turned away from God.  So too have we as individuals and as a nation.  I could go on for days about the dis-orientation in our culture, but I really want to point out the dis-orientation and distraction in our personal lives. 

          Think of all the ways we are distracted from God.  There is the constant stream of input from television and radio.  There is the nonstop demand of our phones and social media.  There is the god of busyness that takes over everything.  And there are always the worries that like gods of their own demand our devotion.  From concerns about money, to concerns about the weather, to the constant drum beat of terror, we are living in a hyper alert, hyper concerned state every day.  We are fed a constant stream of distraction that requires our devoted attention, throughout our day every day, and it will never stop unless we take the action to turn it off.

          The Scripture writers tell us that the people of Israel were dying of thirst.  They had become dis-oriented.  While in the very presence of the living water, they had turned instead to dried up old wells.  I think we could say the same about ourselves.  We are in the presence of the living water, yet we seek comfort instead from all of our distractions.  We are spiritually thirsty.  Like the Israelites, we are dying of thirst.

          The writers of the Biblical text want the people to become re-oriented.  They are urging the people to return to God.  Unfortunately, that won’t happen.  Both of these texts foreshadow the exile into Babylon.  For the people of Israel, things will get much worse before they get better.

          What about for us?  As individuals and as a nation, is re-orientation a possibility or are we too facing a period of exile in Babylon?  I cannot speak to the future of our country, in fact, I am not sure anyone can these days, but I do believe we can become re-oriented as individuals.

          This week, I want to encourage you to consider re-orienting around God.  I want to encourage you to take action to change the way you interact with your world.  Even a small thing can change the narrative of the story you are in.  For example, is the weatherman warning you that it might rain or that there may be thunderstorms?  Don’t get panicked or worried; you and I both know that the actual chance of danger is very low.  Instead, go outside (if there is no lightening) and enjoy the beauty of God’s creation, or look out the window and marvel at the powerful wind in the trees, or take a moment to recognize the awe you inherently feel at that clap of thunder.  Change the story from one of distraction and fear, to one of praise and thankfulness.

          Or perhaps the political scene is upsetting you and causing your blood pressure to rise?  Don’t let yourself get upset at yet another offensive comment or email scandal.  Instead, turn off the TV, stop thinking about it, let it go even for just a few minutes.  Seriously, no one is voting anytime soon, so taking a break from the election cycle will be OK.  In fact, it will be better than OK, it will be good to stop and focus on unity in Christ for just a few minutes instead. 

          Now pay attention because this is my favorite idea for the week and the one I need the most.  You know that moment when you have 5 minutes while you wait for the next thing and so you pick up your phone to check your email or see what’s happening on Facebook?  Well, don’t do that, that’s your leaky cistern.  Stop looking for water there.  Don’t pick up that phone.  Instead sit still and connect with God.  You can pray, you can meditate, or you can just sit and be.  Spend 5 minutes a day doing absolutely nothing.  Take time this week to re-orient yourself around the divine.

          Thousands of years ago, the people of Israel were distracted by their world and they forgot about their God, and they suffered for it.  We live in a world of much greater distraction.  Let us make an effort this week not to forget about our God.  Let us recognize the thirst we feel and quench it from living waters instead of dried up old wells.  As the voice of God says through the Psalmist, “Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.”  Amen.

Say it Like You Mean it: The Confession of Belhar

August 21^st, 2016       “The Confession of Belhar”     Rev. Heather Jepsen

Summer Sermon Series: Say It Like You Mean It – Confessing Our Faith

Philippians 2:5-11 and Ephesians 2:11-22

          This morning we continue our summer sermon series “Say It Like You Mean It” about our Book of Confessions.  Throughout the summer months we have studied all the confessions in the PCUSA Book of Confessions.  We have looked at the ancient creeds and at the creeds arising during the violent period of the Reformation.  We have studied the Theological Declaration of Barmen from Germany in World War 2.  We have also discussed the modern creeds of the Presbyterian Church including the Confession of 1967 and the Brief Statement of Faith.  This Sunday we complete our sermon series with a look at the most recent addition to the Book of Confessions, the Confession of Belhar.

          Like many of the early Reformation creeds, and the Declaration of Barmen, the Confession of Belhar is a statement that is geographically located.  This Confession comes from the struggle with racism and apartheid in South Africa.  That country has a long and complicated history of racial segregation beginning with the arrival of Dutch settlers in 1652. 

          When the Dutch arrived they brought with them Reformed Christianity.  Over time the Dutch began to think of themselves as the indigenous people of South Africa.  And before you judge that strangeness, think of how Europeans have come to think of themselves as the indigenous people of the United States!  The Dutch began to call themselves Afrikaners and they spoke their own language Afrikaans. 

          By the late 1800s gold and diamonds were discovered in South Africa.  This generated a lot of outside interest and the British began to exert force in the country.  They enforced English as the official language and dominated the Afrikaner population as well as the colored people of the country. 

          In 1948 the Afrikaners overthrew the British government.  They were now free to dictate what they felt was best for the country.  Racism was already firmly established as colored children were banned from schools as early as 1861, but now things began to escalate as Afrikaners denoted a strict separation of the races.  No interracial sex or marriage was allowed, all public venues from buses to hospitals were strictly segregated, and nonwhite people could be detained at any time.  All colored people were required to always carry a passbook containing identification information.  Although only a minority of the population spoke it, Afrikaans became the official language of the country.

          Church too was a place of separation.  Early on the Dutch had been eager to share their faith with the heathen people of South Africa, but they had a strong desire to remain separate in worship and governance.  While they established the Dutch Reformed Church for themselves, they also created the Dutch Reformed Missional Church for all the colored people of South Africa.  Over time the two churches did not get along, and the Dutch Reformed Church constantly overruled decisions made by the Missional Church.  For over a century one church dominated the other based on racial differences.

          Violence in South Africa increased in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s as people of color sought equal rights within the nation.  Memorable events include the Sharpsville Massacre in 1960 where unarmed Africans gathered at a police station for peaceful protest only to be attacked by white police.  67 were killed and 186 were wounded including women and children.  Over 80% of the injuries were folks shot in the back as they fled.  It was after this incident that Nelson Mandela was arrested and imprisoned for his support of the movement.

          Another famous moment of violence occurred in 1976 in Soweto.  Laws had been passed that all schools including the colored ones would teach in only the Afrikaans language.  Many teachers did not speak the language and were fired.  Students could not write in the language and many that could refused to participate in the language of the government that oppressed them.  By this time a quarter of a million children were out of school.  Many children gathered to protest the situation in Soweto, a suburb of Johannesburg, only to be met by armed white police officers who shot into the crowds of children.  As news of the death of children began to spread, rioting flared throughout the country and hundreds of the people were killed.  The country seemed destined to be forever torn against racial divides.

          In was into this environment that the Confession of Belhar was written.  Even in the face of violence and injustice, the Dutch Reformed Church continued to openly support apartheid and racial segregation.  The church felt that separation of the races was the will of God and they used biblical, moral, and theological justification for their arguments. 

          Finally in 1982 the World Alliance of Reformed Churches representing 200 denominations and 75 million Christians declared that the South African Dutch Reformed Church was out of line.  It declared that the denomination’s support of systematic racism was heresy and the Dutch Reformed Church was kicked out of the Alliance.  It was a stinging blow to the 1.2 million members of the South African Church.  The Missional Church of South Africa agreed with the ruling and offered the Confession of Belhar in support of the decision. 

          The confession itself has three themes: unity, reconciliation, and justice.  Following Paul’s line of thought in the letter to the church in Ephesus, the confession discuss unity as a gift of Jesus Christ.  Through the work of Christ, God has brought differing people together into true unity.  The forced separation of people is a sin and is against the will of God for humanity.

          The theme of reconciliation is lifted up as God’s desire for relationship with us and our relationship with each other.  In the famous hymn from Philippians, we remember that Christ emptied himself, lowered himself, to be one with humanity.  Through Christ, God took action to reconcile with us.  We therefore should take action to reconcile with each other.  Again, any forced separation of people along lines of race or any other differentiation is declared to be against the will of God.  This separation is an obstruction to the gospel.

          Finally the confession clearly lays out the issue of justice.  God has called the church to work towards justice in the world.  The church is to offer special care to the poor and oppressed of our world.  The church is called to speak out against those in power who would use authority for selfish gain.  If the church is not fighting for justice in the world, then the church is not the true church of God.

          The Confession of Belhar was originally adopted by the Dutch Reformed Missional Church in 1986.  Following change in South Africa, the World Alliance allowed the return of the Dutch Reformed Church as it adopted a statement declaring apartheid a sin in 1998.  In the years following, several other reformed denominations adopted the Confession of Belhar as part of their confessional statement. 

          In 2004 the Racial Ethnic task force of the PCUSA invited the denomination to consider adopting the confession ourselves.  Study was encouraged by all folks in the denomination and in 2008 the General Assembly approved the confession and sent it to the Presbyteries for approval.  The motion failed by just 8 Presbyteries.  The process began again at the 2012 General Assembly and this time was approved by the 2/3 majority of Presbyteries in 2014.  At this summer’s assembly, the motion passed the final vote and now nearly 40 years after it was written, the Confession of Belhar will be added to our Book of Confessions.

          So again we ask, “Why do I care?”  Just as with all the confessions we have studied this summer, the issues that the writers of the confession sought to address are still issues in our world today.  While the United States does not have legalized systematic racism to the level of South Africa in the 20^th century, we certainly have a strong undercurrent of racism that is tacitly accepted by those in power in our country.  As a nation, we continue to struggle with issues of racism, power, and authority and it is all too easy for the majority of us to simply ignore the problem or to pretend that it does not exist.  The Confession of Belhar reminds us that even though we might not experience racism ourselves, that it is the call of all churches to stand up for justice in the world and to fight for the equality of all people.  If we are not speaking out and standing up against racism, then we cannot call ourselves the church.

          As this summer sermon series draws to a close, it is my hope that you have gained a deeper understanding of the Presbyterian denomination and our history as a church.  I know that I personally have learned a lot about the confessions and I have gained a much greater appreciation for our Book of Confessions.  I hope that you have too.  Personally, I thank God that I am called to be part of a church that tackles challenging issues of theology, that questions power and authority, and that continually strives to serve the needy and spread the gospel with integrity. 

          In a world that calls us to only watch out for number one, I am proud to be part of a church that has spent centuries standing up for the little guy.  May we continue to move forward together as a denomination, seeking reform among our own ranks and in our world.  God bless this church!  Amen.

          Our declaration of faith today is from the justice section of the Confession of Belhar.  Let us stand together and “say it like you mean it!”

 

 

Say It Like You Mean It: The Brief Statement of Faith

August 14^th, 2016    “The Brief Statement of Faith”    Rev. Heather Jepsen

Summer Sermon Series: Say It Like You Mean It – Confessing Our Faith

Isaiah 49:13-16 and 2^nd Corinthians 13:11-13

          I am happy to be back in the pulpit this morning and I am sure you are looking forward to continuing our summer sermon series “Say It Like You Mean It” on our Book of Confessions.  Throughout the Sundays in June and July we had been busy reviewing the history of our church and getting familiar with all of the confessions in our Book of Confessions.  We have talked about the ancient creeds, the Reformation confessions, the Theological Declaration of Barmen, and the Confession of 1967.  This week we actually touch a confession that came about in my lifetime, the Brief Statement of Faith.

          We will pick up this week right where we left off before my vacation, the Confession of 1967.  Those that were here will remember that that confession was a forward leaning document addressing issues of social justice.  It was at that point that the Presbyterian Church took a stance as a social justice denomination, preaching peace and the equality of all people, and encouraging churches to directly address such issues as poverty and racism. 

          Although we were united in forming that confession, it didn’t take long for the church to begin to fracture again.  Theologically the world was changing fast and it was a time of great upheaval in the discussions of meaning and faith.  From liberation theology out of South America to the rise of Feminist Theology, searching for the “right answer” and for a center of meaning in the church became increasingly more difficult.  The Presbyterian Church began to have a greater ecumenical focus, and resources were being used to connect with people of other denominations and religions, and not necessarily for studying or even teaching Presbyterian heritage.

          Meanwhile, the religious climate of the nation began to shift to the right.  In a country that was founded by many great Reformed believers and that was organized in a Presbyterian form of government, the denomination began to loose popularity.  The 1970s saw the rise of the evangelical and charismatic movements across the nation.  By the 1980s, the “Religious Right” rose to power and the conservative Christian became the mainstream Christian in America.  By the end of the 1980s the only time the Presbyterian denomination appeared in the news was to discuss what appeared to be our rapid decline.

          It was into this environment that the Brief Statement of Faith was born.  In 1983 the denomination of which we are today; Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) was formed by the reunion of the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America and the Presbyterian Church in the United States.  Prior to the reunion, these were the two largest Presbyterian denominations in the United States and so that makes us PCUSA, after the reunion, the largest Presbyterian denomination.  The reunion committee wanted a new creedal statement to mark the reunion but they were unable to come up with it in a short period of time.  In true Presbyterian fashion, a committee was formed and given the task of creating a new unifying creedal statement for the church.

          The task was a difficult one as the explicit goal was unity in diversity.  A committee was formed with diversity in mind including women, men, elders, laypeople, pastors, old, young, and folks of differing races and various theological opinions.  The group met and studied for over six years and finally after eight years of review and revision, the Brief Statement of Faith was accepted by the denomination in 1991.

          One of the biggest motivating factors for the document was the realization that the Presbyterian Church had no identity.  We had spent so many years working with lots of different people and churches, that we forgot who we were and what made Presbyterians unique.  Years of pluralism had resulted in a loss of historical and theological memory.  People needed to be re-introduced to their own Reformed family heritage. 

          As an aside, that has been the goal of this sermon series as well.  Some of us are here because we strongly identify with Presbyterian beliefs and theology.  And some of us are here simply because we like this particular church, First Presbyterian of Warrensburg.  Regardless of what has brought us in the door, it is important for us to be reminded of the history of this denomination which God has called us to be a part.

          The goal of the writers of the Brief Statement was to come up with a creed that was short enough to be said in worship and that covered all significant areas of our identity.  The Benediction from 2^nd Corinthians was used as a guide as the committee sought to craft a statement on the nature of God in three persons; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Written in poetic language, the document discusses the major points of our identity without being overly wordy or too “heady”.  The goal was to produce a statement that was accessible to all people and that connected with the heart.

          All points of our unique identity are found within the statement.  First, we are Christian, and our universally shared beliefs are present, found in the lines about the Triune God as well as the nature and person of Jesus Christ; fully human, fully divine.  Our Protestant identity is there in language about justification by grace through faith and the authority of scripture.  Our Reformed identity is present in sentences about the sovereignty of God, our election for service, our tendency to sin, and our call as believers to work for justice in the world.

          One thing that is unique about this statement is its stand on women’s ordination.  As I mentioned in the last sermon in the series, the church had been slow to embrace the idea of women’s ordination and nowhere was it explicitly supported in the Book of Confessions.  In fact, it’s only mention was in the older historical documents which made clear that women should not have a leadership role in the church.

          In the 1970s women were allowed to be ordained but continued to struggle for recognition.  In the famous Kenyon case within our church courts an applicant for ordination, Walter Wynn Kenyon declared that he wanted to be a Presbyterian but would not participate in the ordination of women because that was a nonessential point of Presbyterianism.  He lost the case, and the decision was made that the belief in the equality of all people was an essential point of being Presbyterian.

          Still, women struggled and women on the committee that prepared the Statement felt that it was imperative that the statement uphold women’s ordination.  Even in the 1980s, women at seminaries were often told that they did not have a valid call to ministry since it was not supported by the Book of Confessions.  Hence the very important line in the Statement: “The Spirit . . . calls women and men to all ministries of the Church” which became the first official declaration of women’s equality within the denomination.

          Also unique to the Statement is the feminine imagery used for God.  For many years we have talked about the nature of God; that God is neither male nor female, without gender; and yet many Christians continue to use exclusively male language for God.  The writers of the Brief Statement of Faith wanted to counter that and make clear that God is mystery and that many images are present for God in scripture.  Drawing from the language of the parable of the Prodigal Son, as well as the language used by the prophet Isaiah, God is described both as “a mother who will not forsake her nursing child” and as a “father who runs to welcome the prodigal home.”

          The question we always ask in these sermons is “why do I care?”  Obviously I personally care a lot about this confession, as a woman who feels herself called to ordination in the Presbyterian Church.  That might be something you care about too, as a person who goes to a church with one of those “woman pastors”. 

          Putting that particular issue aside, I think we all should care because this is who we are.  After the sermon on the Confession of 1967, someone told me that they felt that document really lacked a depth of faith.  It told us what we were called to do, but it didn’t tell us why.  This document tells us why.  This Brief Statement tells us what we believe, who we are as Presbyterians, and how God is calling us to ministry in the world.  This is our denomination in a nutshell.

          Today we gather again at the communion table.  We come here with the church universal, and I believe we are invited here with the whole of humanity.  We believe in Jesus Christ, who came to demonstrate the love of God for us.  It is through his life, death, and resurrection that we come to know God, to know ourselves, and thus to be saved.  We come to this table to experience the love and justice of God, a God who loves us like a father and like a mother.  We come to this table through the power of the Holy Spirit, which binds us together as the church and which calls us to work with others for justice, freedom, and peace.  This table is the center of our faith, and we come here today with believers from every time and place to celebrate our risen Lord.

          While the Brief Statement of Faith is the last document in this (or any) Book of Confessions, this is not the end of our sermon series.  Just this summer, our church had its final vote on a new confession to add to our book.  Next week we will look at the Confession of Belhar, a brand new addition to our long heritage of faith.

          But now, let us stand together and recite the Brief Statement of Faith.  I want to say the whole thing today, and I know it doesn’t seem “brief”, but I promise I won’t make you do it again anytime soon.  But today, just this once, let us stand together, and “say it like you mean it!”