Author: Jerry May

“#Grateful   #BeBlessed   #Farewell”

A meditation based on a variety of scriptures

October 28, 2018

Community Congregational Church of Chula Vista

Dr. Sharon R. Graff

* * * * *

                   We’ve all been to parties or weddings or even visiting other churches, and when we arrive, we’re given goodie bags!  These magical bags are filled with good things that help us, that bring us joy, that give us comfort in unfamiliar surroundings.  So, today, we find ourselves at a crossroads, a place where our two pathways diverge, a place to which God has certainly led all of us, and from which God will continue to love us into our respective futures.  We (and by “we” I mean me!) have said so much about that past that has led us here, and that imagined, hope-filled future that beckons.  Today is a moment to stand fully, clearly, honestly—with God and Jesus and Spirit and one another—in this unique and loving crossroads, to drink it in, and to recognize that # we are Grateful and # we Bless each other and # we bid one another a very fond Farewell.  So it seemed to me we needed Goodbye Goodie Bags!  I invite our youth and young adults to please distribute those now. 

                   These Goodbye Goodie Bags are my last gift to you.  They are a gift in 5 parts and over the next few minutes, we’ll learn more about this gift by traveling together through a variety of scriptures and singing some songs and probably crying a few tears, as we receive these goodie bags in this loving crossroads.  So here goes!

Tea Light

                   First, you will find a tea light, which brings to our spiritual minds some of the very first words of scripture.  God looked out over the inky darkness, breathed over the swirling chaos, and said, “Let there be light!”  Our faith affirms that light appeared.  Fast forward to the time of Jesus.  He had taught, healed, fed, laughed, prayed, lived, died, resurrected, and toward the end of the first century, his followers, facing the Roman imperial power, were understandably fearful.  So these words, describing Christ’s influence, were written to comfort them:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  The Word was in the beginning with God, and brought all things into being.  What has come into being through the Word was life, and the life was the light of all people.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

My sisters and brothers, you know as well as I that one little candle has the power to enlighten a darkened room…one small light of kindness changes the direction and outcome of a shadowy conversation…one act of light-filled love and understanding brings you, and perhaps another, closer to God.  Remember this.  Always.  Let your light so shine that others will see Christ.

Let us sing the chorus of this familiar folk song: “I Am the Light of the World.”

Rice

                   We Christians follow in the footsteps of a first-century Middle Eastern man who loved to eat!  Jesus ate with strangers, he ate with friends, he ate while he walked, he ate at high holy days.  Jesus made food the object lesson of so many of his teachings, because, well, we all have to eat, and what better time to remember God in our lives than when we do something as ordinary as putting food in our mouths…  Three of the four gospels record that Jesus’ last—and perhaps most memorable supper—was during the Jewish Feast of Unleavened Bread.  It was, and is, a feast celebrated annually to honor the ancient Hebrews fleeing Egypt, courageously moving from slavery to freedom.  When Pharaoh freed the Israelites, they left in such a hurry that they could not even wait for the bread dough to rise.  So they ate that night for their journey ahead; they ate the flat, unleavened, un-risen bread. 

                   Friends, this lesson reminds you to eat together whenever possible.  Eat together when you’re in a hurry.  Eat together spontaneously.  Eat with your new pastor, and invite her over or out for a meal.  In your Goodbye Goodie Bag there are a few kernels of rice to remind you of two things, 1) you do amazing things as you eat together, so eat together often and 2) when you do, remember you are following Jesus.

Let us sing a beautiful poem about the Spirit’s presence in all our meals… “Draw Us In the Spirit’s Tether.”

UCC Rainbow Comma Magnet

Now I move to meddling…  J

                   The largest item in your goodie bag is a round Rainbow Comma magnet from our beloved UCC.  The symbolism is rich and multi-faceted.  I give it to you today so that the truth of WHO you are will stick to you like a magnet to metal.  Hear these descriptions of you in the Christian scriptures:

…accept one another, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; [there is no longer gay or straight]; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.

Let all that you do be done in love.

Community Congregational Church, you already know these truths, and you have been practicing them around here for a very long time. 

                   Specifically, during our interim season together, you have started on the ONA journey to explore becoming more open and more affirming of our lesbian sisters and our gay brothers in the faith.  You’ve entered into discussions; you’ve participated in forums and Bible studies. 

                   Even before this interim season, however, you’ve been open…  Our gay son came out of the closet here in 1994, when he was only a sophomore in high school.  You made that safe space for him.  You loved him and enjoyed his trumpet playing before he came out, and you loved him and enjoyed his trumpet playing after he came out.  His coming out, in fact, was a complete non-event for this congregation.  As his mom, your response of love and acceptance meant the world to me.  As your Interim Minister for another couple of hours, I remind you that this story is how I know you’ve already got it in you to be open and affirming…you already were with our family 20+ years ago. 

                   So I urge you to continue on this ONA journey.  Invite some gay and lesbian people here and talk with them about what church means to them.  Listen to their stories.  The parents and grandparents in this congregation who have gay or lesbian family members…listen to their stories, too…and you will hear what is needed and you will know what you are to do…

In hope, let us stand and sing one of the most hopeful songs in the UCC hymnal, “In the Midst of New Dimensions.”

Hug and Kiss

1 Corinthians 13…we know it as “The Love Chapter.”  In it, the Apostle Paul writes that,

…love is patient and kind, not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude.  Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; love does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth.  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never ends…And now, faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

Paul teaches us what is love and what is not love.  And then he urges us to choose to love.  In your Goodbye Goodie Bag, I’ve enclosed a hug and a kiss for each of you—a hug and a kiss from me to you—for your love over these almost three years has meant the world to John and me.  I also give you each this candy hug and kiss to help you practice with one another—though it is hard to do so these days—the great Christian truth that the greatest gift of God really is love.  I’ve told you many times that there is a sweetness to this congregation, and your

love will be a magnet if you let it, if you share it, if you choose it.

Sounds like a cue for a song!  Let’s sing a bit of “They’ll Know We Are Christians By Our Love.”

Bag Itself

                   Finally, the bag itself has meaning.  You’ve no doubt noticed that it is transparent.  My final counsel to you is to be the same.  I’ve joked many times with you that my job here was to poke around in dusty corners and to ask annoying questions…there is truth in that!  While, together, we’ve cleaned up an enormous amount of real estate around here in less than three years…it is also true that you can continue to do that work without me.  You have all the tools you need to keep this ministry humming along.  Bring them out, with joy and confidence, to show and share with your new pastor and I promise you that all of us—you, her, God, Spirit, Jesus, and yes, even me from afar—all of us partners in this ministry will be # Grateful and # Blessed!

                   Now we turn to the # Farewell portion of this worship service today, standing firmly on the foundation of gratitude and blessing we’ve all received from the Divine.  I invite our Moderator, Nathan Purificacion, to join me on the chancel.

Farewell Litany

Dr. Graff: When I joined my ministry with yours in January 2016, I took on the responsibilities of your pastor for an interim season. I led worship services, provided pastoral care, encouraged Christian faith formation, and nudged you to accomplish the tasks God set before us during this interim season. Will you now release me from these responsibilities?

          CONGREGATION: We will, with God’s help.

Dr. Graff: As your Interim Pastor, I took on a guiding role as you reviewed your history, explored needed changes, resolved old conflicts, healed old wounds, explored new directions in ministry, and prepared to move forward with new pastoral leadership.

Will you join me in giving thanks to God for the hard work we have done?

          CONGREGATION: We will, with God’s help.

Dr. Graff: Together we have sought to strengthen the life and future of this church and to grow in faith, hope and love. Will the Church Council please stand? You are the elected leaders of this church. Will you continue on the path of faith, hope and love?

          LEADERS: We will, with God’s help.

Dr. Graff: Will the members and friends of the congregation support these elected leaders of this church?

          CONGREGATION: We will, with God’s help.

          (You may be seated…)

Dr. Graff: Will you each commit to patience and kindness as your next pastor begins her ministry among you…will you support her leadership efforts as she follows the guidance given by the Holy Spirit…and will you practice wise and respectful communication, so that together, your relationship with her will grow and flourish?

          CONGREGATION: We will, with God’s help.

Sharon to Nathan: I return the keys you gave me when I arrived. I thank you for that trust.

          MODERATOR: I receive the keys on behalf of the congregation. We express our gratitude         and love for your wise and faithful leadership during this transition time.

Sharon: My prayers will always be with you.

          CONGREGATION: And ours with you.

Let us enter into a time of prayer, by singing together one verse of Abide With Me…

 

A Moment of Peace

based on Genesis 1, Revelation 5 & 7

October 21, 2018

Community Congregational Church of Chula Vista

Dr. Sharon R. Graff

* * * * *

                   Good morning!  If you are new to this congregation, or returning after an absence, I assure you we have gone to the dogs!  We have gone to the dogs and the cats, the goldfish and snakes, today, we have gone to all of the animals that grace this planet and our lives…  October 5th is St. Francis of Assisi’s day.  We here at Community Congregational Church are joining congregations of the UCC and other denominations – that choose this month as a time to bless our animal companions, to acknowledge and to celebrate our kinship with all life, especially the lives of the other creatures with whom we share our earthly home – Today, you are ALL welcome here. 

                   As we begin worship, we recall another beginning…[retelling Genesis 1…It is good, it is very good…given responsibility for all creation, including the animal companions…and God pronounced: You are good, you are very good!]

                   One particular human in history took that pronouncement from God seriously!

• St Francis of Assisi
• Born some 835 years ago, named Francesco
• Wealthy family (business owners)
• Francesco was used to the finer things in life…but he was not always happy with them…
• One story tells that he was selling cloth and velvet in the marketplace on behalf of his father when a beggar came to him and asked for money to eat.
• When Francis was done with the business deal, he ran after the beggar.
• When he found him, Francis gave the man everything he had in his pockets.
• His friends made fun of him for being so generous.
• But when he got home, his father was very angry with him.
• At that moment, Francis knew that he wanted to live simply, without the wealth of his family.
• He went to one of the leaders of his church and asked permission to start a special community of people called monks…they got permission and these monks served the poor.
• One day when Francis was traveling with some companions, they came upon a place in the road where birds filled the trees on either side.
• Francis told his companions to wait for him while “I go to preach to my sisters the birds.”
• The birds surrounded him, drawn by the power of his voice, and not one of them flew away. Legend says that Francis said this to them:
• “My sister birds, you owe much to God, and you must always and in everyplace give praise to God; for God has given you freedom to fly through the sky and God has given you clothes…you don’t work, and God feeds you and gives you rivers and fountains for your thirst, and mountains and valleys for shelter, and tall trees for your nests. And the Creator loves you greatly and blesses you with so much. Therefore… always seek to praise God.”
• Throughout his long life, St. Francis was a good friend to the animals…he thought of them as his sisters and brothers, for everyone—four-legged, two-legged, no-legged—we are all made by the same God who said to us at our birth, “You are Good, You are Very GOOD!”

 

 

Litany of Love

* * * * *

For the animals that we are responsible for day to day –

          our loving companion animals – we say… 

          We are blessed by your presence and we bless you.

 

For the animals that live in urban and suburban areas,

          who we see day to day in our neighborhoods –      from the spider to the crow,

          from the feral cats to the coyotes – we say…

          We are blessed by your presence and we bless you.

 

For the animals that have graced our lives in the past,

          whose absence we grieve,

          and for whose love we are most grateful…

          We are blessed by your presence and we bless you.

 

For the animals that are lost or in shelters

          or confined against their will we say…

          We are blessed by your presence and we bless you.

 

For the animals that live in zoos and animal parks –

          who bring a better understanding

          of the animal world to all who listen – we say…

          We are blessed by your presence and we bless you.

For the animals we call wild –

          who live in their natural habitat,

          whom we see rarely face to face,

          or only in books and on film,

          whose habitat and lives are endangered, we say…

          We are blessed by your presence and we bless you.

 

For all animals and for each living creature –

          fashioned by our loving God

          who, when they looked in God’s eyes,

          God said,

          “It is good…it is very good…

          YOU are good…you are very good…” – we say,

          We are blessed by your presence and we bless you.

 

And, in this spirit of goodness, O God,

          we pray together as we have been taught…

          Our God, who art in heaven…

 

[Animal Blessing…instructions…]

 

“All Roads Lead to Love”

A meditation based on

Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Micah 6:8; Mark 12:28-31

October 7, 2018

Community Congregational Church of Chula Vista

Dr. Sharon R. Graff

* * * * *

                   Every preacher has one good sermon in them!  That’s what I was taught…those of you who have spent lifetimes listening to sermons…would you agree??!!  One good sermon per preacher, right??!!  My one good sermon is love.  That sermon has been 35 years in the making. 

                   Over the years, having served a number of congregations, I’ve also noticed that each congregation also has one good sermon in them.  Oh, they may preach other messages, but in their heart, there is one good sermon they call home.  Some churches, for example, preach justice really well.  Others activism.  Others education or healing or welcome.  They preach that “one good sermon” with words, certainly, but more importantly, they preach those necessary sermons with their actions.  For the past almost three years, I’ve delighted in hearing you preach your one good sermon.  Here it is in visual form…

[slideshow]

How would you describe your one good sermon?

[responses with microphone]

                   Remember those conversations about church DNA?  This is your DNA, people—no matter who comes and goes from this congregation.  Over decades of time, the DNA of Community Congregational Church remains stable, based in love.  We know.  Our family has been on the receiving end of your love…these past three years and also twenty plus years ago.  As I’ve mentioned before, John and I are so grateful for this congregation’s loving support of our family through some really difficult times.  That’s your DNA, people!  Love is your DNA.

                   The scriptures today teach us that we are to love God with our whole selves; we are to love neighbor as we love ourselves; which requires us to love ourselves with heart, soul, strength, mind.  They teach that our primary sermon to preach and to embody is all about justice and kindness and walking humbly with God.  What these same scriptures neglect to point out is that, in so doing—in preaching that one good sermon of love—we gain so very much.  Our gain fills us with gratitude, enough gratefulness to last the rest of our lives.  So, my friends, continue to love God and love others and love yourself because scripture teaches it…but also love God and self and others because it grows you into grateful beings that can flex and bend and continue saving lives just by being yourselves. 

* Amen and Blessed Be *

 

Welcoming New Members

Now, you get to practice being your loving selves by welcoming into membership Lionel Jasmin, Susie Persaud, Krystina Torres, her sister Carmen and James Fountain and their children Lacey and Logan.  I invite these sisters and brothers in Christ to come forward.

You have each conveyed your decision to be part of Community Congregational Church of Chula Vista. 

The ByLaws affirm that:

“Membership is open to any person

who confesses faith in Jesus Christ;

who commits to participate

in the work and worship of this church;

to support its missions;

and seeks the spiritual health of other members and the wider community.”  A tall order! 

To this pilgrimage of faith we welcome you!

Let us pray:

Gracious God, you call each of us into ministry and service, we thank you for Lionel, Susie, Krystina, Carmen, James, Logan and Lacey, who have come forward this day to join this pilgrimage of faith.  Bless their decisions and offer to each one the gifts of this community of faith to help them grow stronger and closer to you.  For these, your sons and your daughters, we give you thanks.  Amen.

Now I invite the congregation to make their promises to you.  Will those who are able please stand?  Let us all share in welcoming these new members by reading the Welcome Statement you’ll see on the screen.

Covenant to New Members

We, the members of this church, greet you and welcome you to Community Congregational Church of Chula Vista.  We recognize in this new relationship a special fellowship with you as brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ.  We commit ourselves to worship with you, to love you, and to work and play with you, in the realm of God which is begun and continues for us in the church.  In times of trouble we will stand with you, in times of need we will share with you, in times of joy we will celebrate with you.  So may we together become the body of Christ, the presence of the Spirit, and the heart of God in this community and throughout the world.  Amen.

[Congregation may be seated]

A now, a time of nourishment and joy! [instructions for communion/welcoming new members]

May you be blessed by fellowship at this table today!

 

“Community Matters”

A meditation based on Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Micah 6:8; and Mark 12:28-31

September 30, 2018

Community Congregational Church of Chula Vista

Dr. Sharon R. Graff

* * * * *

                   You may remember that, for these three weeks, leading up to the Minister’s Call Weekend on October 13 & 14, we are using the same three scriptures in worship and seeing them through the lens of hospitality.  These passages are pivotal foundational passages for both the Jewish and Christian pathways, and their lessons find their way into a variety of other faith traditions as well.  They teach us about what it looks like to welcome the new…as you will soon be doing!  So we take this time, prior to your meeting Rev. Liz, to look carefully and deeply at what scripture can teach us about hospitality.  I’m being a bit more personal in these three sermons than I am normally, and I invite you to do the same in response.  For hospitality is a two-way street.  Generosity on both parts is required in order for the gift of hospitality to be complete. 

                   Today, we dive into deeper waters with these same three familiar scriptures we read last Sunday.  Why go deeper?  Why not just skim the surface?  Perhaps that “why question” is best answered with an image I received in my email inbox earlier this week.  I’ve shared with you on several occasions now, including last Sunday, that one of my favorite contemporary artists is the playful Brian Andreas.  He creates fantasy, almost cartoon-like characters, using bright colors and geometric shapes.  Next to them, he places simple stories—usually just a handful of words—all of which work together to tell a bigger story.  Your story.  Mine.  With his few words and artistic images, he tells story…the human story.  This particular piece answers the question of why dive into deeper waters today.  Let me read the words on the screen, in case you cannot. 

“used to look for the good in everything,

until she figured out that she was only seeing the good she already knew

& not the heart of things she’d been looking for in the first place.”

Let me read that again…

Friends in Christ, Brian Andreas urges you to get to the heart of things.  And so, we seek more deeply the message of hospitality and its lessons from the words,

• Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.  Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart.  Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise.  Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

We seek more deeply the message of hospitality and its lessons from the prophet Micah:

• God has told you, O people, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

We seek more deeply the message of hospitality and its lessons from our Savior, Jesus the Christ:

• One of the scribes came near to Jesus, and asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’  The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Last week we talked a bit about “the good we already know”—that, as a community of faith, you are kind and loving, just and humble.  Through your actions, you embody your love of God in heart, soul and strength.  You teach this to your children, as scripture orders you to do.  This is the good we already know.  What about the heart of things?  What is the heart of things around here with respect to hospitality?  What is the heart of things about how you welcome the stranger?  I’ll tell a story on me before telling some on you…

                   Recently, when I returned from vacation, I was told by several of you that, in my absence, a stranger was here in worship, interrupting the preacher of the day—Rev. Dr. Norma DeSaegher—after several interruptions, the man was escorted out by one of our watchful and protective ushers.  The same man returned the following week, and again began bending the rules of grace and hospitality.  Knowing what I had been told from the previous week, and seeing him delight in disrupting, I asked him to leave.  He didn’t.  I then asked all the tall men I saw here to help me.  They did and, eventually, the man was again escorted out.  I tell this story, because it, too, represents hospitality.  It is not ok for someone to come here and disrupt the harmony and the sacred safety of this sanctuary or of the services we provide.  To take that a painful step further, this week as our nation has watched and heard women’s truth be distrusted and deemed doubtful, it is not ok here in this sanctuary for a man to interrupt a preaching woman…ever.  Nor would it be ok if the roles were reversed.  It is ok for us—for me—to draw a line and say to that disruptor, “you have crossed a line and you are not welcome here with that behavior.” 

                   Do you see the deep waters we are entering?  Hospitality is a two-way street, friends.  It is not a doormat.  Hospitality, in community matters, requires both parties to give and receive, generously. 

                   Now a story about you…  Back in the day, some 25 years ago, there was an unwritten rule around here that all strangers—new staff included—were to stay out of the church kitchen.  I can recall, now with a taste of humor in my mouth, that as a young associate minister, I would walk out of my way, from my office (now Amber’s office), down the hall, around the kitchen, out to the breezeway, to get to the fellowship hall.  No going through the kitchen for me!  No taking a chance that I would be blamed for a misplaced utensil or a wrongly-folded tablecloth.  So territorial were those long-ago keepers of the kitchen that they struck into even me, a fear of that part of the church facility.  I got over it.  Years of therapy.  Just kidding.  J    

                   Upon returning here almost three years ago, I was delighted to see that such attitudes had calmed.  Not disappeared.  Every few months, an eruption in the kitchen still happens.  This is not about personalities at all.  This is about the organism known as Community Congregational Church.  And deeply in the DNA of this church is a sense of that kitchen being off-limits to strangers.  So it will take intentional welcoming, and dedicated teaching, and a mountain of patience to change that DNA.  There are other places and events around here where I’ve noticed a DNA-level reaction to the stranger.  I’ve mentioned some already from this pulpit.  You know.  Because at your core, you already are loving and kind and just and humble people.  You practice hospitality on a daily basis.  And you know when you fail.  You don’t need me, or anybody, haranguing about it. 

                   What I think you do need is what our nephew and niece playfully called “situational awareness.”  There we were, a few weeks ago, driving them around western Montana and into Yellowstone National Park.  We were all four astonished at the number of tourists still in the park, even that late in the season.  As we encountered drivers determined to cross double yellow lines and sneak into parking places and not check mirrors before darting in front of us and and and…   We saw a variety of creative driving moves throughout the day.  Each time, Scott and Katie simply smiled at each other and quietly said, “situational awareness.”  And we all four laughed. 

                   Your bulletin cover today says the same, in theological language. 

Courage for Community, it reads.  It could have been created especially for you, specifically at this time in your life.  You are about to meet the person you will be invited to accept as your next Senior Pastor.  That acceptance certainly begins when you first meet Liz in just two weeks, but it continues for the rest of your blessed time together as pastor and congregation. Hospitality is not “one and done…”  

                   The heart of things, for your relationship with Rev. Liz, is on this bulletin cover.  In accepting her, you are called to be courageous.  That means letting me go, so there’s space in your heart and mind and soul for her to reside as your pastor.  Look more closely at the picture on the bulletin cover, and you can see that the young couple has just taken a selfie.  The female, in the selfie, playfully put up two fingers as rabbit ears off on the side of the other.  See it?  And they both are smiling broadly, almost laughing out loud.  They like each other.  They have fun together.  They step out of what’s expected and seize the moment with joy and spontaneity.  Do that with Rev. Liz, not all at once and not all on that first day.  But look for the joy, seize the spontaneity of God’s love as you become closer to her, follow Spirit’s nudges with a renewed and stronger sense of courage in this new relationship.  Do not be tentative to talk with her.  Dive in.  Love her.  Like her.  Tell her the heart of things, as you experience that heart. 

                   Several times in this message, I’ve intentionally used the words, “playful,” “playfully.”  I have learned—over 3-1/2 decades of ministry—that ministers and congregations who laugh together and play together and enjoy a good joke or simply sit together in the fun of the present moment—those are relationships of pastor and congregation that are not only long-term, but are also so very fruitful.  The theological truth underlying that is this: God calls us from our joy to deeper joy.  God doesn’t call us from our places of fear, but from our cauldrons of joy.  What gives you joy, Community Congregational Church, what gives you joy as I’ve noticed over our time together, is hearing and being heard, listening with love, respecting all as God’s beloved children.  I’ve watched your infectious joy and it has brought peace to my own life.  Keep it up…share the good, with one another, and especially with your new pastor…but more importantly, share the heart of things…share how it really is with your soul, with your mind, with your heart, with your strength or lack of it…share the heart of things, one with another…even in that long-ago dreaded church kitchen!

 

Amen and Blessed Be!

 

“Hospitality, Bible-Style”

A meditation based on Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Micah 6:8, Mark 12:28-31

September 23, 2018

Community Congregational Church of Chula Vista

Dr. Sharon R. Graff

* * * * *

                   The scriptures we’ve heard read today are among my favorites, for they are concise and also clear about what is required of us in community…in relationship to one another, they answer the questions of how we are to be with one another.  These three passages get right to the point, and the point begins with God:

• God is God, and it is to God that we are to look for guidance in human community, and from God we draw strength and courage and compassion and patience (!) to live with one another better.
• Love God with your heart, with your mind, with your soul, with your strength.
• Teach this love to others as well, especially to the children.

The prophet Micah puts it even more succinctly:

• Do justice…
• Love kindness…
• Walk humbly with your God…

Jesus picks up on these foundational teachings with one of his own when he says that the essence of community, the core of relationship is this:

• Love God…Love neighbor…Love self…

                   These three passages are not just among my favorites, they are pivotal verses, foundational for both the Jewish and the Christian pathways, as well as for many other faith traditions.  And for the next three Sundays, I invite us to look at these passages through the lens of hospitality.  What does it look like to welcome the new?  What can these three foundational passages teach us about hospitality?  What are some lessons we can take from the past to help us?  I expect to be a bit more personal in these three sermons than I am normally, and I invite you to do the same in response.  Hospitality, you see, is a two-way street.  Generosity on both parts is required in order for the gift of hospitality to be complete. 

                   Why take three weeks to talk about something you, as a congregation, already do pretty well?  Because soon you will be welcoming your new pastor, and as the old cliché goes, we all only have one chance to make a good first impression.  Those first impressions in ministry form the basis of your growing and fruitful relationship with your new pastor.  This week, you will hear—via letter and the Chimes—about The Rev. Liz Aguilar.  She is the final selection of your hard-working Search Committee, and last week, she was approved for your vote by your Church Council.  Joyfully, in just a few weeks’ time, you’ll have opportunity to meet her, to experience her leadership in worship, to hear her preach the Gospel, and finally that same day, to approve with your vote her becoming your next pastor.  This is a time of joy! 

                   Mixed joy, to be sure.  For with every hello, there is also goodbye…and this one is particularly bittersweet.  Here’s where it gets a little personal…  Three years ago, I wasn’t sure at all that I even wanted to continue in ministry.  Badly bruised from the previous ministry experience, when I heard that Chula Vista might be interested in me as an Interim, I doubted I would have the energy for such work.  Buoyed by our conference minister Felix Villanueva, and by the confidence of my colleagues on the Church and Ministry Committee in my Eastern Association, I came here to Chula Vista for the interview.  On the way, we saw one of the most spectacular sunsets I’ve ever witnessed.  [slide]  Have I told you yet, that I believe in signs?  There’s a contemporary artist whose work tells story in word and image.  Brian Andreas by name.  Here’s one of his little stories about signs… [slide of signs by Brian Andreas]

                   When I arrived at the church that night, I sat in the same place at the same table I had sat in 1992, when I was much younger and applying to be the church’s Associate Minister.  As I sat there again, some 24 years later, there was a familiarity, not only in the room, but also in the greeting I received.  Warmth.  Laughter.  Sharing of story and of truth, one with another.  For each of us in that room—those known to me from years before, and those new friends I just met that night—each of us felt the welcoming loving presence of Spirit that permeates this place.  Guiding.  Nudging.  Cajoling.  Comforting.  Singing.  Assuring.  This will be well, this will be well, Spirit said over and over that night, and despite my fears and my concerns, I heard the promise of God through the laughter and hope and courageous truthfulness of those in that interview room.

                   That was nearly three years ago.  Yet, clearly, the hospitality given and received in that room still touches deeply.  That’s what hospitality does.  Hospitality, Bible-style, is all about being generous to the stranger, welcoming them—not with doubt or suspicion or even with idle curiosity—but welcoming them as if you love them already, doing justice by them, practicing kindness as you meet them, walking humbly as you share story with that stranger and, over the months, hear their story intertwining with your own.  That is Community.  You know how to build community.  You’ve been in that business for almost 130 years now.  And the DNA of hospitality runs deep here in this place.  Use it.  Trust it.  Offer it in many courageous and creative ways to your new pastor when she arrives.  Know that Rev. Liz is also well-equipped in the arena of generous hospitality, Bible-style.  You will come to know her story, as you’ve been open to knowing mine.  You will come to love her as you love me. 

                   You will do this, I know, because at your core, you already practice hospitality, Bible-style.  You love God with your whole selves.  You love your neighbor, albeit a bit tentatively and with understandable limited energy…yet you do what you can for and with your neighbor, and you do so with joy.  You love yourselves, although not nearly enough in my opinion!  For you are pretty fabulous people!  In the words of the prophet Micah, you are, as individuals and as a whole body, kind and just and humble, and it’s been really fun for me to watch you grow in these areas.  To watch as you notice when you’re not acting loving or kind or just or humble, and then self-correcting, sometimes in public, sometimes privately, usually with great laughter.             You are pretty fabulous examples of Christ-followers, and I’m going to miss you.  But more than the sadness of this soon-to-be-leave-taking, is my joy at how you have embraced this whole transition interim season.  Embraced it with gusto and wisdom and curiosity and certainly with patience (!).  You’ve stayed after church for countless forums (which I hope will continue!), you’ve opened up to talk with one another in those forum settings (keep it up!), you’ve completed questionnaires and faithfully attended worship and volunteered to do countless tasks throughout this interim period.  Closets have been cleaned, walls painted, spaces reimagined and reorganized to help this community hum.  You’ve prayed, as you promised you would, for the transition and search teams, for the church leadership, for the next pastor—whoever she or he would be.  You’ve continued doing what you can do and practicing who God has created you to be.

                   Your thorough process brings you to this moment where you stand ready to now embrace your bright and vibrant future.  How could I feel anything but deep joy and humble honor at being part of this journey with you?!  And so, these three messages over the next few weeks are my attempt to say “thank you” and “way to go!” and “here’s a little something more for you to consider as you move forward…”  I hope you’ll join me and bring others with you as we complete this part of the journey together.

 

Amen and Blessed Be

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.  Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart.  Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise.  Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

         

Micah 6:8

God has told you, O people, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

         

Mark 12: 28-31

One of the scribes came near to Jesus, and asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?”  Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’  The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  There is no other commandment greater than these.”