Plymouth Congregational Church of Fort Wayne, UCC
September 20, 2009
Twenty-fifth Sunday in Pentecost

Scripture Lesson:  James 3:13-4:3, 7-8

 Show the Good Life

"... Show by your good life that your works are done
with gentleness born of wisdom ...''
(James 3:13)

Prelude

I welcome this third Sunday in the month of

September, our designated time to celebrate

Heritage Sunday.  It gives us opportunity to

recognize those church members who long

have contributed to the church and its ministry;

and to reconnect with our past.  It was 139 years ago,

in September of 1870, that a church named

Plymouth first emerged in Fort Wayne.  

According to Plymouth history, in the late

1860's a minority of "old school" advocates made

life miserable for "new school" progressives. 

There existed long standing issues between

these two camps, which for a time were lodged

in the same church (2nd Presbyterian) here in Fort Wayne.

Generally speaking, students of the new school desired:

(a) simplicity of doctrine over complexity of

creed (for broader evangelical appeal);

(b) faith more consonant with Enlightenment

ideals obviously woven into the nation's

foundational documents;

(c) theological revision, adaptation, to meet what

changes were occurring from the

effectiveness of revivalism

(see A Religious History of the American People,

p. 466; Sydney Ahlstrom)

Old school folks wanted to protect a system of salvation

they saw reaching deep into the Protestant reformation;

new school folks saw the world as being different,

requiring a more fluid approach to faith and life.

When the old school succeeded in sending a pastor

packing, the new school folks said it was time for a new

church in Fort Wayne.  And what emerged was Plymouth.

Curious, isn't it, these tendencies, these historic tensions.

In colonial America some historians note conflict between

"old sides" and "new sides,"

"Old Lights" and "New Lights."

In the 19th century it was "Old School," "New School;"

the 20th century introduced a new term:

Fundamentalists emerged to contest with Liberals;

and in the middle there existed the neo-orthodox.

Diane Butler Bass (A People's History of Christianity),

brings us up to speed when speaking

traditional vs. post-traditional Christianity,

and evangelical vs. progressive Christianity,

and "conservative" vs. "emerging" Christianity;

and a "militant Christianity" vs. what she calls

"generative Christianity,"

which seeks not to win the "war" and triumph over the world,

but to transform the world through faithful following of Christ.

Bass reminds us:  "the primary calling of the

faith community is to remember" (see Diana

Bulter Bass, A People's History, p. 11-12), and this,

of course, is what we try to do on a Heritage Sunday.

For the record, let there be no misunderstanding,

Plymouth is prone to favor that which is new.

The text?  "Behold, see, I am making all things new"

(Revelation 21:5).

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This past summer while in Grand Rapids for the UCC

General Synod, I had opportunity to attend a lunch

sponsored by my seminary, the Pacific School of Religion,

and as chance would have it, I found myself at table

with Barbara Brown Zikmund.  She has played a number

of roles as an educator and teacher in our UCC, but one

that may prove most lasting was her working on a

multivolume work called The Living Theological Heritage of

the United Church of Christ.  Seven volumes, ten years

in the making, first published in 2001.  We have

a copy of the grand work in our church library, purchased with

monies given in memory of Mary Jane and Dale Stedman.

She wrote in the preface:  "A living theological heritage

has shaped, and continues to support," the common life of the UCC.

Yet, she states:  "Unfortunately, a perception exists" that we

are people without any roots, making us unsure about its faith.

Catholics can point to the Papacy;

Lutherans quote Martin Luther;

Methodists revere the ideas of John Wesley,

(and a book of discipline they apparently don't often read);

Presbyterians lay claim to John Calvin,

Baptists to Roger Williams,

Quakers have George Fox and John Woolman,

Episcopalians have Church of England

divines they hold in highest regard. 

But members for the UCC often seem

"uncertain about heritage and identity."

The Living Heritage was written with hope

that members might find "new courage to speak with pride,"

and to give others outside of this communion a clear understanding

of what makes us a "unique community of Christians."

(see TLTH, Vol. 6, p. xvi)

What is our inheritance?

Where reside the "certainties"

that contribute to the distinctiveness

of our Christian faith and church community?

EVER THE OPTIMISTICS!

This morning I'd first like to suggest that

our faith is fundamentally optimistic in assessing

what becomes of life that is grounded in the

Christian revelation.

Do you recall the wonderful verse in the gospel,

where the disciples are in a panic having heard the

exchange between Jesus and a rich man, who

could not follow because of his manly possessions.

Easier for a camel to get though the eye of

a needle than for a rich man to enter the

realm of God.  The disciples were chagrined.

Who then can be saved, they ask?

"For mortals, not possible; for God all things

are possible" (Mark 10;27) -  Jesus ever the

optimist. 

This optimism is conveyed, in part, in the epistle

of James.  Facing trails in life?

Count it nothing but joy, says James.

The testing of faith produces endurance,

endurance leads to us being mature and complete,

lacking in nothing.  Indeed, you will receive

"the crown of life" promised to those who love

the Lord (James 1:12).  That's optimism!

Show by your good life that your works

are done with gentleness born of wisdom.

That's optimism.  We may struggle to believe

It, but James plows right ahead: God is generous and

gives ungrudgingly; heaven sent to the church

is a wisdom from above:  it is pure, peaceable,

gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits,

showing no trace of partiality or hypocrisy. 

That's optimism!

Friendship with God as opposed to being friends

with the world?  You can do it, or so James believes.

That's optimism!

Drawing near to God,

that God might draw near to us,

yes, we can do it,

and so to will God.

That's optimism.

We carry this outlook within our heritage.

We love our heritage too much to leave it in

the past.  The heritage is never to be construed

as limitation, rather inspiration of our holy

endeavors to achieve God's purpose on earth.

Indeed, this optimism is what makes possible

a good life in Christ, described by Samuel Press (1875-1967),

as being " strong and courageous and full of

joyous adventure."  ("Civilization Needs Religion," 1931;

published in Living Theological Heritage of the UCC, Vol. 5).

The church operates too much under the latent spell of

what I call a wretch theology.  Amazing Grace, how sweet

the sound, that saved a wretch like me.  Once upon a time,

I grant, maybe.  But no longer.  We are saved, redeemed,

rescued, restored, beloved.  We can imitate Christ,

the same mind that was in Christ Jesus is the mind in us;

we can show what one saint called "sturdy devotion" 

to the will of the all holy God (Pilgrim Deeds and Duties, p. 94).

We can show good life, because nothing can undo what

God has done in Christ, which is to love us with

a love that cannot be broken.

That's optimism!

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EVER THE REALISTS!

A second thought concerning our heritage.

If our heritage bequeaths to us an optimism

with regard to the God of our gospel, we are

realistic with regard to our capacity to make

a meaningful way in the world.

Our world is in a lamentable

condition, is it not?

Lament - this is a key word in the lexicon

of our biblical heritage, and one we need

be careful not to discard for being outdated.

We dare not hop, skip, jump, or otherwise

miss it.

James encourages lament as a means of

access to grace.  Lament opens the door

left locked by anger and envy.  Lament is

window to peace when we finally tire of

the grief of war, our own vain folly.

Reinhold Niebuhr is part of our heritage

and keeps us well grounded in a realistic

faith.  In his work, Moral Man and Immoral Society,

he spoke of "a sharp distinction" that exists

between the moral and social behavior of individuals,

and of social groups (national, racial, economic).

What I can do, what you can do,

does not always measure up to "what we do."

I/you can love.  I/you can pursue justice.

I/you can show sympathy and understanding

to someone other than ourselves.

I/you can be considerate of others.

I/you can "purge" the self of "egoistic elements."

But when we consider the "we," as a society, as a social

group/community, things get very tricky. 

What I can "do,"

what you can "do,"

we cannot "do."

I recycle, we waste.

I can be kind, we can be cruel.

I can seek peace, we can wage war.

I can advocate for principle, we can't agree on policy.

I can nurture virtue, we cultivate vice.

Why can I, why can't we?

There is:

less reason to check impulse,

less capacity for self-transcendence,

less ability to comprehend the needs of others.

Within our groupings there is "social inertia" (p. 333);

within our grouping there is "predatory self-interest."

It is a sobering assessment of the moral individual,

the immoral society, wherein is lodged

"brutal character" and "stubborn resistance" to

moral and inclusive social objectives.

This is not pessimism at work in this; it is

realistic assessment of our human nature,

our collective impulses which do not discern

the "easy subservience of reason to prejudice

and passion."

So Niebuhr asserts:

"Conflict is inevitable, and in this conflict

power must be challenged by power."

May I point out:

James is hammering away at this!

And he is optimistic that faith can

overcome his own realistic assessment

He has a solution:

submit to God, resist, lament,

humble yourselves and God will exalt.

In other words, don't wring your hands in despair;

don't concede to sin;

fasten your seat belts and roll up your sleeves.

Show good life!

If you do it,

when you do it,

count it joy!

Show good life with works done with

gentleness born of heaven-sent wisdom.

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There is a third and final thought concerning

our heritage that I need to mention:  joining

optimism and realism, there is idealism.

The idealist, according to my dictionary (definition no. 2)

is a "visionary or impractical person."

Jesus was an idealist.

"If you say to the mountain,

be lifted up and thrown to the sea,"

the mountain will move (see Mark 11:23). 

If you conceive of the idea,

it can be done for you. 

If you have but a small seed,

it can grow into a great thing (Matthew 17:6).

This is why we study our scripture,

to save us from the cultural debasement of minds,

and the sterility of our souls.

This is why we study our heritage,

to find inspiration for acting upon the impulses

of the Holy Spirit, elevating our low estate.

This is why we praise and thank God,

for making a way where we can conceive of

nothing, for good life born of wisdom.

This idealism presents itself in many different ways.

It is in the love of Jesus,

in the [Royal Law] of James,

even in the wonderful words of Pete Seeger and

folk songs of Peter, Paul, and Mary.

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I noted with both joy and sadness the death of

Mary Travers this past week.  A smile comes to me

when I consider their songs - such a gift to a hurting world. 

Do you have a favorite song:

"Puff the Magic Dragon?"

"Leaving on a Jet Plane?"

"I Dig Rock & Roll Music?"

My favorite:

"If I Had a Hammer."

If I Had a Hammer!

If I had a hammer, I'd hammer out danger,

hammer out a warning,

hammer out love between my brother and my sisters.

If I had a bell -

I'd ring out danger,

ring out a warning,

ring out love between my brothers and my sisters.

If I had a song, I'd sing it,

in the morning, in the evening,

all over this land ...

sing out danger,

sing out warning,

sing out love between my brothers and my sisters.

Well, I got a hammer!

Hammer of justice,

bell of freedom,

the song is love.

Our heritage serves

as hammer, and bell, and song.

It keeps us faithful and adventurous.

Our heritage, at its best,

keeps us well grounded in what is good,

and working for what is better,

for the glory of God.

It is in this that we have much to contribute.

For the spirit we prize most has always been

that of the pioneer,

praying the good life,

showing the good life

born of God's love and wisdom.

May we prove it so,

even in these days.

Amen.