Howard's Sermons and Article Clippings.

Howard's Sermons and Article Clippings.

About Me

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Im a Mainline protestant minister who loves serving in multicultural and urban contexts. I'm very interested in how liberation theology and existential-humanistic psychology are applied to the praxis of pastoral care and counseling. My most profound encounters with God come as we sojourn as brothers and sisters seeking the inbreaking of God's reign, here and now.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Lessons and Carols Friday Dec 5th

Lessons and Carols
Friday December 5th
7 PM



As the commercialization of Christmas begins sooner and sooner, we need to remember what the season of Advent means to us. Our diverse congregation and Eastide community will gather to celebrate the coming of our Prince of Peace. Several choirs and music groups are invited to join us.

Arlington Hills Presbyterian Church
1275 E Magnolia (Johnson Pkwy & Phalen Blvd) 651-7746028
Rev. Howard Dotson: hr_dotson@yahoo.com

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Go in Peace, Brother Isaiah

September 24, 2008
Renowned Presbyterian musician Isaiah Jones, 68, dies
Writer of ‘Fill My Cup,’ ‘God Has Smiled On Me’ left the music industry to become a minister
by Jerry L. Van Marter
Presbyterian News Service
The Rev. Isaiah Jones Jr. playing the piano.
The Rev. Isaiah Jones Jr.

LOUISVILLE — The Rev. Isaiah Jones Jr., who gave up a booming career in the music business to become a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) minister, died Sept. 21 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 68.

Eighteen months ago, Jones was diagnosed with leukemia and was told he had two months to live. He resigned in May 2007 as pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Palo Alto, CA, where he had served since 1999. After receiving treatment at Anderson Medical Center in Houston, Jones’ leukemia went into remission and he returned to his native Los Angeles to be near his family.

He became ill again last spring and was unable to attend the 218th General Assembly in San Jose, CA, in June, where he was scheduled to share his musical gifts again.

Jones, who began writing and performing music professionally as a teenager, achieved fame as a composer, performer and arranger, blending traditional and contemporary gospel sounds with influences from spiritual, classical, jazz, Caribbean and country music into a style that was all his own.

He appeared with, played for, wrote for Andre Crouch, Caravans, Shirley Caesar, Dorothy Northwood, the 5th Dimension, Bessie Griffin, Cassietta George, Oregon State University's Inner Strength Gospel Choir, Alex Bradford, James Cleveland, James Bignon, Thompson Community Singers and many others.

“God Has Smiled On Me” was featured in the Whoopi Goldberg movie “Clara’s Heart.” The Grammy-winning “Abundant Life” was on the album “Changing Times” by the Mighty Clouds of Joy and “Fill My Cup” is in several hymnals, including the The Presbyterian Hymnal (1990).

In the mid-1970s, Jones gave up his professional music career and enrolled at Fuller Theological Seminary. Prior to his pastorate at Covenant Church, he served three pastorates in Los Angeles and for 14 years as campus minister at Oregon State University in Corvallis, OR. He has taught there as well as at Fuller seminary and the University of California-Los Angeles.

Jones was a fixture for a number of years at meetings of the PC(USA) General Assembly, where his spirited playing, wall-to-wall smile and infectious laughter moved thousands of Presbyterians. He also served the PC(USA) as a member of many committees, including the Board of Pensions and the Mission Responsibility Through Investment Committee. He served as music leader for countless denominational conferences and events.

“The first time I met Isaiah was when I was asked to play for GA,” said the Rev. Chip Andrus, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Harrison, AR — another renowned PC(USA) singer-songwriter. “Isaiah had done it so often and I hadn’t that I called him up and asked him if we could do it together. We started playing together and trading songs and it was just incredible.”

Jones then became involved in the PC(USA)’s sacramental theology and liturgy studies, which Andrus was leading as associate for worship in the denomination’s Theology and Worship Office here. “Isaiah was so amazing,” Andrus told the Presbyterian News Service. “Music and ministry were both so much in his blood. He always had a pastor’s response to everything.”
Services for Isaiah Jones Jr. are pending.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Tribute to James Bugental, Go in Peace my friend

Jim Bugental
Jim Bugental, Ph.D., A.B.P.P., Professor Emeritus, International Institute for Humanistic Studies, died age 92 on Thursday September 18, 2008, at home in Petaluma, California, with his wife, Elizabeth Bugental, Ph.D. and family at his side.

Reflections of Jim Bugental, Ph.D., A.B.P.P.
By Myrtle Heery, Ph.D., Director, I.I.H.S.

Close to three decades in a teacher-student relationship with Jim Bugental, I found myself saying goodbye to him on Thursday, September 18 for the last time. Good-byes are full of hellos for me. Hello to my own death which accompanies me daily. Hello to internal conversations I have inside myself with those I love so dearly, as I am sure I will with Jim.

And so it is, my dear mentor Jim, you have taught me so well to live now, to embrace what is, to be all I can be, to laugh, to cry, to search, to embrace the warmth of the sun and the dampness in living and dying. And now life is asking you to die physically, you who have lived so fully authentically. Now you face the last great journey embracing all that is new without your body. As you have lived fully in your physical body, I am certain you will pass through all fear and live fully without your physical body.

I look forward to our continued teaching relationship as you go into the unknown trails with all those loved ones who have gone before you.

May you travel with the certainty and love you have lived in your physical being and may you soar high, as high as the birds in the sky, and may you reach down often to each and all of us and point with your sweet elbow to the moon, to embracing the wonder of living and dying. In gratitude to you, travel with certainty. I look forward to hearing from you.

About Jim Bugental
Jim Bugental, Ph.D., A.B.P.P.:

Professor Emeritus, International Institute for Humanistic Studies.
Former professor of psychology at U.C.L.A., Stanford University, Saybrook, and a Rockefeller Scholar, California Institute of Integral Studies
First President of Humanistic Psychology, Division 32 of American Psychology Association
First recipient of Rollo May Recognition Award
Author of over 100 articles and chapters on Existential-Humanistic psychology and psychotherapy
Author of six books beginning with Search for Authenticity and most recent, Psychotherapy Isn't What You Think. Other books include: Psychotherapy and Process, The Art of Psychotherapy and editor of two versions of the Handbook of Humanistic Psychology. His books have been translated into many languages and used widely in undergraduate and graduate schools of psychology and psychotherapy
Jim's influence in the field of psychology and psychotherapy reaches far and wide. His teachings to psychiatrists, psychologists, marriage family therapists, clinical social workers have always been focused on the present moment of psychotherapy, on experiencing the actual moment with the client. His attuned presence to the authenticity of the moment with himself and his clients was and will remain one of his greatest gifts to psychotherapy through the many therapists he has trained nationally and internationally.

I was honored to be a student of Jim's close to three decades and a teacher with him for half that time. He is and was an authentic teacher, embracing all the great potentials and limitations of being human. He was an essential part of forming the International Institute for Humanistic Studies (I.I.H.S.) dedicated to developing compassion, hope, courage, resilience and tolerance in each human being. We are honored to post below reflections, musings, poems, by some of his students from I.I.H.S. on this page.

May we each dive deep and soar high with our relationships with ourselves and each other,

Myrtle Heery, Ph.D.
Director I.I.H.S.

Jim Bugental Scholarship Fund
International Institute for Humanistic Studies (I.I.H.S.) has established the Jim Bugental Scholarship Fund for students, interns, therapists, in financial need and demonstrate a passion for learning and using Existential-Humanistic psychotherapy. This fund is for the various trainings offered through I.I.H.S. including the two year training program, Unearthing the Moment.
I.I.H.S. is a 501c(3) educational organization, I.D. # 77-0591145.
Donations are tax deductible and can be sent to
I.I.H.S.
4940 Bodega Ave.
Petaluma, CA., 94952

Monday, September 22, 2008

We Are All Farm Hands

We Are All Farm Hands MT 20:1-16

“The first will last and the last will be first.”

I’ve got this image in my mind, of a kindergartner protesting with her hands on her hips, “That’s not fair!” The parent and teachers here today no this protest all too well. The reality is that we still carry this inner child with us. We monitor our social circles, looking for folks trying to bud in line and take what is rightfully ours.
Our gospel lesson today confronts us with a challenging reality. God is gracious and generous. God’s ways are not our ways. Our human nature is to set up our social world into hierarchies. We want to master the rules so we can move up the pecking order. We want some assurances that those of with seniority will get what is due to us. Like the vineyard workers protesting those getting paid for a whole days work, we grumble, “Who are these young up starts coming in here and acting like they can run the show? Someone needs to cut them down to size. Who do they think they are!
I have been to some newer churches where people proudly declare that “Our family are charter members of this church.” I wonder how they digest this passage. You might have been first but in the end you will be last. “ Whoa wait a minute that’s not fair!”
The church has had to deal with this pecking order issue from the very beginning. Early on it was the Jewish-Gentile question. Did you have to become Jewish in order to become a Christian? Peter and Paul got into a heated argument, when Peter refused to sit at table with Gentile Christians.
It is no surprise that this Pharisee attitude is still an issue today. We will always have to deal issues of puffed up pride and attempts to set up ranking systems. We see this in how people rank the Elders above the Deacons. We are equal all in the priesthood of all believers. We have a place and a roll regardless of when we joined or were elected to an office. We are all farm hands.
Our gospel lesson comes at key juncture in Matthew’s story. The suspense is building. They are about to enter Jerusalem for Jesus’ final show down with the authorities. Many still excepted Jesus to overthrow the Romans and Temple authorities and usher in the Kingdom of Heaven. They are looking to the Son of David to bring back the old order and they want to be sure they are on the short list as potential candidates.
We can feel this sense of urgency, A few verses later, when a proud Jewish mother approaches Jesus to lobby for her sons. She wants to be ensured they will have seats of honour in this new administration. You can just hear the disciples rehearsing their pitch “Jesus we have been here from the beginning, won’t you give me a key position in your inner circle. I want a cabinet position.”
Jesus challenges their viewpoint. This is the way of the world, not the kingdom of God. The greatest among us is not some one who lords their authority over others. Don’t get caught up with all these ranks and titles. This is not what defines your value in Kingdom of God. No the greatest among you is the one who is the greatest servant of all, a slave who extends sacrificial service to others. Earlier on, Jesus tells us that the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven are those who humble themselves like little children.
It is fitting that in John’s gospel, at the Last Supper, Jesus washes the feet of his disciples. Jesus humbles himself and anoints their feet for the path they are about to set out on. Do you remember Peter’s initial resistance? In a world filled with pecking orders, we have a hard time accepting gestures of humility and service from our superiors. That is unless we fill entitled to it. None of us are entitled to God’s grace and generosity. It does not matter how long we have been in the church. Our works will never amount to what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. We give and serve as an act of love and worship. We serve others as a testimony to how much God loves us.
When I was in the Army, I remember this guy who kept flexing his authority over me because he was a specialist and I was a private. He was capricious in the orders he gave me, and pompous when I did not jump at his beck and call. Later on, I was assigned to be the promotion clerk. My job was to process all the paperwork needed for someone to be promoted to the next rank. Although many of my comrades outranked me they were nicer to me when they knew that my work would determine when they could qualify for a promotion. This was an interesting reversal. Don’t worry I was never passive aggressive, I did not sabotage anyone. It was a blessing ,however, that I did not get the harassment that some of my fellow privates got from their superiors.
Sometimes the church feels more like a company of soldiers in God’s army. We have high ranking generals and colonels who have paid their dues, put in the hours and wield a lot of power and influence. A congregation is a dynamic organism that needs to be able to adapt and change in order to survive. The younger generation has a unique perspective on things. They sense where things need to go in order for the church to be relevant and engaged in our community. Bringing in young families is one of the key survival measures for our future.
There is a natural resistance to change. We face many obstacles. How might this parable about the vineyard and the reversal of who is first and who is last apply to our intergenerational relationships?
It does not matter when we started working in God’s harvest. God’s generous love is afforded to everyone, regardless of when they punched in. When God appeared to Moses he said, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
Sometimes we are like Jonah refusing to go to Nineveh to offer the Good news of God’s grace and forgiveness. We judge others as not worthy of being in God’s fold. We sit and pout that it’s not fair that God is generous and forgiving of folks who have not been as devoted and faithful us. “ I want to see them prove themselves worthy.” Why should they get the same grace and forgiveness I get after all these years?
Today is the 26th Anniversary of the International Day of Peace. People throughout the world are following the United Nations call to pray for peace. Jesus, our prince of Peace calls us to be humble servants. In order for there to be peace in our world, the different faith traditions need to understand one another and work together to build on what we have in common. We need to mindful of not setting up pecking orders among us.
If we survey the major world religions, we share a common calling to be forgiving and compassionate. From our sacred texts, we follow a common calling to work for justice and peace, to care for the poor and oppressed. If we are to have peace in our world, we need to work together to counter the fundamentalist forces found in every major world religion.
As Christians engaged in interfaith dialogue, we must set aside any superiority attitudes about our historical role in Western culture. We may have been here first but in the end we will be last. We are called to humble service. This is how we love our neighbours in our diverse and complex global context.
Mother Theresa once described her evangelism as, “My job is love others, whether they are Hindu or Muslim. Conversion is between them and God.” Yet her order Sisters of Charity were recently attacked and arrested by Hindu fundamentalists. We pray for Christians throughout the world who bear witness to peacemaking and reconciliation. We must not respond to hate and intolerance with the same kind of attitudes and behaviours. We can’t let our faith be used as instruments in this clash of civilizations paradigm that pits us against one another.
God’s kingdom is a vineyard filled with farm hands. We humbly acknowledge that ultimately God will choose who labours with us and what our wages will be. As we join people throughout the world praying for peace, we follow the call of Isaiah to pound our “ Swords into ploughshares and our spears into pruning hooks.” These very words are the center piece at the front entrance to the United Nations in New York.
This is god’s harvest and we pick up the ploughshares that once were swords . We are all farm hands now, humbly working to narrow the gap in our Lord’s prayer “On earth as it is in heaven.” Jesus has shown how us to embrace the stranger and foreigner. Our brothers and sisters on the margins will join us in the fields and we welcome them as our equals.
God is gracious and generous. Whether we started at the beginning of the day or came later in the day, we are loved and embraced. Neighbours near and far are coming together to help prepare the grapes that will become the delicious wine served at our Lord’s Table. From farm hands, we will shift to working as busers and waiters. We remember what Jesus has modelled for us. The greatest among us are humble servants, no ranks or titles only fellow farm hands, busers and servers

Wedding Homily

Matt and Dawn this is a wonderful moment in your lives. We are honoured to share this day with you. All the time and energy you put into this ceremony has come to fruition. If you choke up or tear up its okay, it’s what makes this moment real. I am honoured to have the best seat in the house.
As a single male, I feel like a Catholic Priest trying to give you marriage advice. I will have to defer to your parents and other couples to give you some of the relationship pointers. I hope you will seek out some mentors who can be a support and bring you inspiration. We hope to see you grow old together. We want you to be one those cute elderly couples walking through the park, holding hands. Your walk together will have a new meaning after today.
For those of you who are married, I hope this ceremony is a renewal of your vows. May you feel a rekindling of your love for one another. God continues to bless this union you have made. The unity candle you lit years ago is still burning. God will always give you the wax and oxygen you need to keep your flame of love burning.
We can all benefit from Paul’s pearls of wisdom of what true love is. Paul’s definition of love is a tall bill for us to measure up to. Love is more than just a feeling. You will have your ups and downs. You will have arguments and rough patches. When you get bogged down you can look back at this day and the covenant you have made to each other. For better or worse, in sickness and health. In a world where people don’t seem to keep their word , I charge you to remember your vows. Remember these words from Paul and strive to love each other even when “you have lost that loving feeling.” Love is something you have to work at. We need God’s love to sustain our efforts.
Many of us heard someone say, “This is not the person I married.” You are stepping out on faith and there will be new things that you learn about each other. I was moved by one of my elder mentors and his faithful caregiving for his wife as she resided in a convalescent hospital with Alzheimers. Every day he was losing a piece of her. After fifty years of marriage, he was pretty confident he knew who she was. While he was going through one of their closets he found a shoe box of poetry she had written. This opened a new view of his wife. On the last day of our class, he brought some of her poems to share with the class.
Matt and Dawn, as you live and grow together, be open to the mystery. Your life together will be dynamic and evolving. God’s love will give you the eyes and ears you need to be a compassionate witnesses for one another. In time, you will have a very unique perspectives. When other people only seem to see mistakes and shortcomings, you know each other more for who you truly are. A key part of your relationship is serving as this loving reminder when life gets you down.
We look forward to the day when you start a family and we baptize your baby from this font. We gather at this chancel to commemorate key moments in our life journey. God was present in a special way the day your parents brought you home from the hospital. Their hearts overflowed with love. This is a special day when they entrust their precious one into a new family. You are not just marrying one another you are entering a union with each other’s families. God’s love is here for you in these extended families. God moves in these relationships to help you grow in your union.
As you say I do, God’s Spirit anoints your commitment. As witnesses we make a commitment to support you and encourage you. This journey will take a lot of effort, patience and compassion. But this will be one the most precious vocations of your life. God’s love has brought you together, and God’s love will hold and keep you for the years to come. Love one another the way God loves you unconditionally, with mercy and forgiveness.

Monday, September 8, 2008

Working Together to Love Our Neighbors

Working Together to Love our Neighbors
Romans 13:8-10 Matthew 18:15-20
In our lessons today from Romans and Matthew we are reminded of how we are to live our lives as Christians called to love our neighbours as ourselves. Love is the fulfilment of the law. Where two or more are gathered in my name , there I am with them. Our Risen Lord calls us to the ministry of Reconciliation. God uses us as instruments of peace to draw people unto him. We must be humble and gracious to one another, recognizing that we all make mistakes. We are all students in God’s school of love. We never truly graduate. Each of us wrestles with difficult life lessons that can take a life time to resolve.
Today, on Rally Day let us explore our sacred call to love our neighbour. How are ministries living testimonies of God’s love for our brothers and sisters near and far. Are our definitions of neighbours too narrow? We must confess and repent how we as the church have fallen short. How have we succumbed to the temptation to pull away and form holy huddles that exclude others. God’s loves flows through us to transcend all the barriers and social categories that work to divide us.
God’s radical love pushes us to even to love our neighbours who we see as our enemies. In Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain, Jesus preaches :
“Love your enemies do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those ill treat you.... If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that.”
God’s call for us to love our neighbour is more demanding than mere saccharine slogans or flowery poems read at some Coffee house open mic. To love others we must forgive and see the image of God in others. Yes, even the tax collectors and pagans of our day are worthy of God’s love and compassion. We are called to love, to serve and embrace all of God’s children. We set aside our pride and puffed up piety. We restrain from drawing lines of who is in and who is out. God’s love flowing through us is our best form of evangelism.
Last Monday, we enjoyed Labor Day. The unofficial end of summer. Have we have we lost an appreciation of why we have this long weekend? Our ancestors in the faith understood this call to love our neighbours as ourselves. They were instrumental in the labor reforms and the protections that we may take for granted. Not so long ago people were flocking from the farm fields into our cities seeking work. Many folks were in for a rude awakening.
As disciples of Christ called to love our neighbour, we minister to our neighbours near and far who struggle for their daily bread, for dignity and their humanity. Communities going through the process of industrialization can be very dehumanizing. When your country has unemployment rates as high 65 % you are vulnerable to exploitation. Especially when there are ten people in line behind that will gladly take your place. We pray and remember our neighbours who work in the mines and other hazardous jobs where one risks their very lives to put food on the table and roof over their heads.
Ever since the industrial revolution, scholars have warned us about the impact economic conditions can have on our humanity. For the sake of prosperity and the greater good we must not lose sight of our neighbour and their well being. We have made a lot of progress: we have forty hour work weeks, eight hour shits, overtime and child labor laws. Too see how far we have come we can read a Dicken’s novels and the conditions the Londoners faced. The Wesley brothers founded the Methodist tradition in England in the midst of these difficult times. Their disciples ministered to their neighbours toiling long and hard for their daily bread.
At the turn of the 20th Century, Walter Rausenbusch and others were advocating the social gospel. They stressed that God’s salvation is both personal and social. In Hell’s Kitchen in New York City, Rausenbusch saw the hardships people endured in the industrial plants. People working too many hours and children losing out on an education.
Our call to love our neighbour struggling for their daily bread continues today. If you visit LA, I invite you to tour the garment district downtown, and in NY you can visit the Lower Eastside of Manhattan. Today we still can see the first generation of Immigrants struggling to realize the American dream that draws them from many shores.
Closer to home here in the Twin Cities, many of us are coping with fear and anxiety as our community continues to change. Over the years we have grown more distant from one another. We don’t know our neighbours the way we used to. How often do we bring a welcome dish to our new neighbour? We are growing more isolated, guarded and sceptical. We post no solicitation signs on our front doors lest the evangelists come knocking. “ No I don’t need another vacuum cleaner or Encyclopedia set!”
These past few weeks we have seen some inspiring moments where the Eastside community came together in a time of crisis. The hundred people who gathered for our vigil for Tammie after she was assaulted at Lake Phalen. Two hundred folks who attended the community meeting with Mayor Coleman, Police Chief and Councilman Bostrom. The dozens of people who came together to reclaim the Asian meditation sculpture that was vandalized by racists.
We have seen our neighbours coming together to love and support one another. I was moved to see how many members of AHP were present and accounted for. How do we move beyond the crisis mode and come together as community as a regular part our daily lives? We can take this inspiration from recent events and build on this momentum. The Eastside Children’s Program, Rally Day and Picnic are opportunities to build community and extend love to our neighbours.
It is fitting that Rev. Abbott is with us today to share what is happening with the St Paul Area Council of Churches. We have seen time and time again how churches seem to duplicate and compete with another. Jesus promises to be present with us when two or more are gathered in his name. How much more is God’s Spirit moving when we share our ministries and resources with the wider body of Christ?
The church is not perfect and we have had many painful chapters. But every time we have had heresies and blinding idolatries, there have always been fellow members of Christ’s body working to reform the church and point us back on the path. Change never comes fast enough, but in God’s time we have overcome many of our mistakes.
Any time we come together there will be conflicts and politics that need to be endured. Robert McCaffey Brown once said of the church, “If it wasn’t for the storm on the outside, we could not put up with the stink on the inside.”
Our call to love our neighbours requires us to see one another with eyes of love and compassion. We all have worts and rough spots. From time to time, we will slip up and need to be held accountable with love and forgiveness.
Paul reminds us that love is completes the law and Jesus teaches us how we are to deal with conflict. The way of the world is to engage in gossip and rumors instead of the difficult work of confronting the person who has offended us. Let us work with another with grace and humility. Our neighbours will take notice of how we live together in community and how we partner with them. The longevity of our relationships is more important than winning or being right.
Each one of us is a child of God with the image of God residing in us. Day by day, we seek out how God is being revealed in our fellowship with one another and our neighbours. We live in this triangle of love, God-Self-Neighbor. Our loved shared together mirrors the love shared by the Father-Son-Holy Ghost.
This dance of love will never end. Join the song and dance! Take your neighbour’s hand, show them that you see them for who they are. We are always more than any category people try to place on us. We love our neighbours, understanding their struggles and working with them to experience a fuller realization of God’s kingdom. Yes, they will know we are Christians by our love. God melt us and mold us so you can use as instruments of your peace. We will follow your call and embrace our neighbours, near and far.

Take Courage, Pick Up Your Cross

Take Courage, Pick Up Your Cross

Matthew 16:21

In our gospel lesson Jesus calls to pick up our cross and follow him. As Christians we are called to follow the path of the suffering servant who was willing to confront the powers that be. This takes courage be a minority voice when popular opinion is against us Jesus was very vocal in his critique how the ways of this world were contrary to God’s law. To appreciate our lesson today we look back to Matthew 10 when Jesus first sends out his disciples, he told them “ Whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”
Now I’m not going to suggest that each of us going will be called to be a martyr for Christ. In a different time and place that may have been the case. For many of us the cross we carry are moments when God is calling us to proclaim God’s kingdom in our daily lives and our immediate spheres of influence. We are confronted with many idolatries and social pressures that tempt us to be quiet and acquiesce to the prevailing opinion. Jesus and the cloud of witness that have gone before us were mavericks who refused to be silent when God’s creation was being trampled and violated.
Our mission and vocation as Christians often challenges the ways and means of the world. We struggle to find the courage and grounding we need to stay the course. Speaking the truth has consequences we cringe to acknowledge. Here in North America, we can face ostracism and ridicule, in other lands, one’s profession of faith is much graver. Why are we so timid and wishy washy when it comes to the proclaiming God’s Kingdom, here and now? Are the implications too radical for our civil, status quo? Are we willing to pick up that Cross that Christ has set before us?
The martyrs of our faith stayed the course when the boots of the powers that be pressed down hard on them hard. Can we find the stamina and courage to do the same? If we are to pick up our cross and follow Jesus, what does this require? If we deny we know Jesus, do we have the humility required to pick ourselves up and try again? We are not hypocrites if we keep trying to hit the mark!
In today’s bulletin, I have shared with you the Barmen Declaration. This is one of the more recent confessions in our Book of Confessions. Karl Barth wrote it for the Confessing Church, a group of pastors who resisted the Nazi government trying to control the German Evangelical Church. They had the courage to speak up and break the silence when the powers that be were trying to take the place only Jesus as Lord belongs. Many pastors were put into the camps.
I want to lift up Barth and Bonhoffer as two heroes of the faith, who had the courage to carry their crosses very difficult times. These two men in particular are inspirations who have shaped my theology and sense of call. In the midst of the Nazi era, Dietrich Bonheoffer came to the US to teach at Union Theological Seminary in NY. After WW 2 broke out he declined his American friend’s offer of sanctuary. Bonhoffer felt the call to return to his homeland, and continue in the resistance against the Nazi government.
In spite of the fear and uncertainty, Bonhoffer boarded the ship and watched the Manhattan skyline fade into the horizon. It is poignant that this was the last time he saw Lady Liberty. He could not rest under Lady liberty’s torch in Manhattan, while Hitler continued to extinguish the precious light of freedom throughout Europe.
Bonhoffer would eventually become a double agent, for the Allied forces and the Nazi regime. He picked up Christ’s sword of truth that does not necessarily bring the kind of peace we expect. Christ Peace did not mean submitting to the Nazi government and its subversion of Christ’s church in Germany.
This was a far cry from the lecture halls in Manhattan. As a double agent, Bonhoffer met with allied forces in London to inform them of their planned assassination attempt of Hitler. They sought Allied support and assurances. Millions of peoples’ lives held in the balance. This was Bonhoffer’s faithful response to Christ’s call to pick up his cross and follow him. He was committing treason, and when the assassination attempt failed, Bonhoffer was implicated and sentenced to death. He was killed just days before Allied forces liberated the prison camp where he was being held.
Bonhoffer did not allow his fear of death to prevent him from following Christ’s call. He was more afraid of God’s judgment than the patriotic fervor of his countrymen. Was he was a trader? This question depends on where you think his loyalty should lay, With God or the Third Reich?
We are not greater than our master, Jesus Christ. We can anticipate resistance and persecution when we proclaim the freedom and dignity we have in Jesus Christ. We have to pick up the cross and move forward. God promises to give us our Simon of Cyrenes who will join us and help us carry our crosses when we grow tired and weary. We are Simons to each other, and Christ is present with us as we try to move on in spite of our fear and isolation.
I have shared this document called the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with you for study and reflection. After WW 2, nations gathered in SF to sign this commitment. World leaders were still reeling from the horrors of facism and racism . We committed ourselves to never again remain silent when our brothers and sisters human rights were being violated. As leaders of the free world we must keep our word and stay true to our calling.
As Americans we value freedom and liberty, as Christians we understand this rooted in the freedom in Christ. As Christians we carry the cross of defending the human rights of all of God’s children. Yes this will mean sometimes we engage in the political arena when our leaders have failed to live up to Christ’s call to defend freedom and dignity for everyone.
Who are the Bonheoffer’s present with us today? They need our encouragement and support. Facing persecution for proclaiming Christ’s reign is not just an issue for missionaries in Muslim or Hindu extremist communities. When we challenge some of our governments policies, the hammer of nationalism could strikes nails in the crosses we carry.
With President Bush and Vice President Cheney in town, I want us to ask ourselves, what have we lost as moral leaders in our response to 9-11. In our pursuit of peace and security we violate the human rights of others. How can we defend freedom by denying it to others? Our suffering Christ compels us to wrestle with these questions because he is present with every victim of human rights violations.
We carry our cross, we speak out against people being tortured people for information. This is the slippery slope that has left us in a free fall. John McCain, a torture survivor knows what is at stake. Whether McCain or Obama take the oath of office in January let us pray that God’s Spirit will lead them to close this painful chapter. We must not lose our moral standing in our quest for peace and security.
We may feel safe and secure, but what has been the price? Have we lost our integrity and compromised the very principles we pressure others to follow. Lady Liberty’s torch was not blown out on 9-11. Rather her torch has grown dimmer by our response to the tragedy. Whether our next President Obama or McCain, as Christians we cant keep silent when our government fails to live up to this moral document we signed in San Francisco many years ago.
I am a Christian and a patriot. I love my country too much to see her compromise the freedom we profess to defend. Our values of freedom and democracy are based on the freedom we have in Christ. As someone who has served in uniform, I fear that we have placed my brothers and sisters in harms way. Now it’s no holds barred. POWs and hostages will be fotter for vendettas, and eye for an eye. My unit has been in both Gulf wars, and my loyalty to their safety and well being is unwavering. My criticism of the policies in Washington by no means devalues their service and sacrifice in the field. It’s out of our concern for their well being that faithful Christians press the issue.
We are most Patriotic when we carry Christ’s cross through the crucible that will guarantee freedom and dignity for all of God’s children regardless of their citizenship or legal status.
Jesus calls us not to be afraid of the people who can destroy the flesh. Rather we are to fear those who destroy the Spirit. The powers and principalities of our day cannot destroy our Spirit. The Communists of yesterday, and the terrorists of today will never be able to destroy our spirit. It’s our own personal failure to the carry the cross before us and speak up when our own leaders fail us that is most damaging. We can not remain silent. We must defend the human rights of all peoples.
Brothers and sisters, we carry Christ’s cross with courage and conviction. We will have to be endure ostracism and or name calling that comes when we speak to truth power. This is the cross we are called to carry. We are not greater than our master, and his path leads us to our own Calvary moments.
We press on in spite of the resistance that will compel some of us to set down our cross and blend back into the crowd. Praise God, that the Body of Christ will produce another Barth or Bonhoffer to pick up the cross where we left off. There is grace for us, it is never too late for us to be another Simon of Cyrene and help others carry the cross. We can walk beside them and offer courage and support as the weight of the cross bears down on us.
Jesus has walked this road, and he will never abandon us. This same comforting presence that sustained Bonhoffer in his own personal journey to Calvary is with us today. With Christ’s Spirit dwelling in us, no cross is too heavy to bear. Christ promises to make the yoke easy. Our Risen Lord and the immense clouds of witnesses that have gone before us are with us this common struggle. May God’s kingdom be known through our witness to the liberating freedom we have in Christ. Take courage and pick up your Cross.