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Christian Fellowship Congregational church

Progressive | Inclusive | Bible-Based

Sermon: A World House of Inclusive Love

Sunday, January 20, 2019

Biblical Text:  Matthew 4:1-17

There has been a great deal of scholarship and of study of the sacred texts that are before us this morning. The story of the temptation of our Lord has been embedded deep into our religious subconscious minds. Time and time again we have heard preached in pulpits all across the globe how smooth and cunning the Tormentor is in when approaching Jesus. Time and time again we have heard taught in Sunday School stories from our childhood how smart, charming and flattering the Devil is when seeking to pull Jesus away from his destiny and purpose in life. These stories surround our faith, and upon them have been built monumental theologies concerning the role and function of the demonic in our lives. Rooted and grounded in this very passage of scripture that has been read in your hearing are the religious and philosophical debates that have captivated religious minds and hearts for thousands of years.

The debates begin with the role of the Spirit in drawing Jesus into the wilderness for the very purpose of testing his faithfulness and purpose, and often end by suggesting that the struggles that you are going through
on your job,
in your home,
with your family,
among your children,
in your finances,
in your very own body

…are nothing more than the Devil Testing us and so therefore we need to put not only the test but also the tester under our foot and move on with our with our lives.

What I want to suggest this morning that while this kind of thinking is not necessarily wrong, it is deeply infantile in faith and does not represent the kind of grown up faith that Jesus expects us to have as we grow and mature in mind heart and spirit.

To reduce one’s life to a series of “the Devil made me do its” abandons every single kernel of faith and wisdom that God seeks to deposit in your life. If you are able to walk away from this text this morning, more confident in the role that Accuser plays in the destruction of the world and the breaking down of human ties of love and affection; you have not only misheard the text, but you have misheard the Spirit! “The Devil made me do it” is the product of not only infantile faith, but is abducates every once of personal responsible from your shoulders to the shoulders of a invisible force of evil that, that YES is “roaming the earth—like a lion– seeking whom he or she may devour and destroy.”

These kinds of images often put us on the defense. They keep us moving in a position defensiveness and guardedness instead of from position of power and strength. The problem with the demonic is not so much that evil that is manifested by “her” power, but it is the evil that is manifested in the minds of those who refuse to believe that God’s love has won!

So instead of playing to our offensive strategy that our Lord has already instituted, we walk in the world timid and fearful of being …
Trapped AND Tricked
Cheated AND caught
Duped AND Deluded
Fooled AND hoodwinked
Conned AND Deviled – Over

We end up spending so much time thinking about our defensive strategy that we forget, not only that the BATTLE is of cosmic and epic proportions—but we forget that the battle is not between US and Satan, but that the battle belongs to the Lord and has already been won!

This is why we sing every EASTER; proclaiming through song….:

The strife is over the battle done;
Now is the Victor’s triumph won;
Now be the song of praise begun—AL-le-lu-ia!

AND

Love’s redeeming work is done, Al-le-lu-ia!
Fought the fight, the battle won, Al-le-lu-ia!
Death in vain forbids him rise, Al-le-lu-ia!
Christ has open paradise, Al-le-lu-ia!

Believe it or not, but the greater message of this text is not at all about the Devil testing Jesus, or the test that you and I ought to be preparing for in our ensuring years. No, the higher message of the text is this:

“When we are truly confronted by God’s kingdom, (King calls it a World House, I call it a World of House of Inclusive Love) the temptation is always to see it through the narrow lens of our own interests and aims. Each of the tests revolves around the kingdom of heaven is welcomed for God’s sake—or for the sake of something else. In other words:

Do the people love the kingdom for itself, or the prosperity it provides?
Do the people love the kingdom for itself, or the protection it provides?
Do the people love the kingdom for itself, or the power it provides?

The Kingdom of God is realized-enfleshed, in those who, like Jesus, orient their lives toward and not simply around the things that God provides but the World House of Inclusive Love that has established. The test of our time is to not continually look to God like a gaming machine in Las Vegas—

…if I put in a dollar more of time in worship—
God will spit out a new house

…if I put in a quarter more of time in studying my Bible—
God will spit out a new car

…if I put a dime more of time in on a board or ministry group
–God will spit out bill paid in full

…if I put a penny more of time in prayer and meditation
–God will spit out a better job

God is not a slot machine.

We must not fall prey to the temptation to ask first, “What’s In It For ME.”
This is the test that Jesus passes, with flying colors and invites us to do the same.

We must not fall prey to measure God’s value by the realization of our own desire, rather than conform ourselves, and our desires, and our values, and our priorities to the Kingdom of God…

It is only after Jesus has show his ability to think less about himself and more about the other that he settles not in the home in which he grew up, but in Capernaum—in Galilee. During Jesus day, Galilee was long known as the place where Gentiles roamed. It was known as a place of spiritual darkness, a place where light had not come. It was a place where that was mixing pot of both Jewish and Gentile cultures—with Gentiles outnumbering Jews 2:1 Capernaum a place the wealthy and powerful abandoned; a place where people felt—in their bodies, the burden of imperial greed and the self-indulgence of a trumped up king (or president).

Jesus’ presence in Galilee—particularly in a place where the Children of God were not only “living in darkness” but “living in the land of the shadow of death” makes us question for whom does this Good News that we possess exist for?

If it is not good, hopeful and transformative news
to those “in darkness”
to those living “in the shadow of death”
to those marginalized by powerful empires
to those held hostage by political systems
to those who are without hope
to those who are vulnerable
to the marginalized
to the oppressed
to the indigenous among us
to children in cages
to elderly
to dreamers who dream of a better world for children & children’s children?
…then for whom is this Good News?

Kings, drunk of power?
Queens, blinded by pride?
Presidents and Dictators, in isolation?
The wealthy and affluent,
The powerful and elite?
The educated and erudite?

…those who benefit daily from systems and structures of inequality and do everything in their seek to prop up the walls of hate on every leaning side?

Dr. King had a vision for our world—a vision that was deeply rooted in the southern, black, Baptist faith that shaped, colored and contoured every aspect of his life.

He stood in the shoes of Jesus, and invited us to life in a World House

To realize, way back in 1968, that “All inhabitants of the globe are now neighbors.”

“All over the world like a fever, freedom is spreading in the widest liberation movement in history.

“Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself.

“Nothing could be more tragic than for men to live in these revolutionary times and fail to achieve the new attitude and the new mental outlooks that the new situation demands.”

“…our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and face the challenge of change.

“…we must learn to live as brothers (and sister) or together we will be forced to perish as fools.

“Deeply woven into the fiber of our religious tradition is the conviction that men are made in the image of God, and that they are souls of infinite metaphysical value. [Therefore] we cannot be content to see men hungry, to see men victimized …”

King poised the question then, and it remains now, “do we have the morality and courage required to live together as brothers [and sisters] and not be afraid.”

Jesus went to Zebulun and Naphtali to establish a World House of Inclusive Love—love that brings dark places—may we do likewise.

Filed Under: Senior Pastor, Sermons Tagged With: Black Church, Black Theology, Faith, Justice, Love, Martin Luther King, Sermon, World House

Sermon: Prayer Still Changes Things

Sunday, August 7, 2015     

Biblical Text: Job 42:9-10

PrayingWoman

This past week has afforded me the great and immeasurable fortune of being able to able to spend some significant time in prayer and meditation upon the beautiful ground of the Chautauqua Institute in upstate New York.

At the invitation of Rev. Dr. Robert Franklin and his staff—I gathered with a select group of religious leaders from around the country, to dream about the future of that institution and prayerfully seek the will of God for the future for a religious department of an institution that has been in existence since the late 1800s.

We all like to feel that our gifts matter.

We all like to feel that our contributions are important

We all long to live into a place where we are not simply propping up institutions because they are historic places of being in the world

—but because we believe that we truly discover meaning, and God in those places.

So while the work was excellent, and in that gathering we formed the Chautauqua Clergy Alumni Association, of which we have purposed to raise funds for the religious programming of the institution. What we each discerned was the deep and meaningful value that this historic institution had upon our lives when we sojourned there for the week. We each spoke of the way in which we entered into a posture of prayer so that we might return to our places of ministry to serve as pastors, denominational leaders, and teachers.

This week in preparation for my sermon today I spent significant time in prayer—not simply about what I would say today, but in prayer and openness for the divine presence of God. I reflected upon my life, which has been surrounded in prayer even before I entered the world—thanks be to God to deeply religious Christian parents.

I reflected on my childhood years of praying as a child:

Requesting of God favor and blessings.

Prayers at mealtime

Prayers at rest…

I reflected upon my teens years of praying:

Prayers for invisibility as I walked pass the middle school bully;

Prayers for strengthen to finish the one-mile race, not last;

Prayers for kind friends;

Prayers that she would check-the box YES;

 

And in High School….and all throughout college:

Struggling to fit in;

Deciding what college;

Attending the Million Man March;

Praying over my church choir before teaching new music;

Praying that God would bless their voices and my hands.

Praying over the ramen noodle in college at Florida A&M;

Piling 4 young men into a 2-seater to go to the mall;

—cause the bus took way too long….

And now for more than a decade into professional ministry I am praying—learning how to pray—learning to wait in and with prayer….

Over the last six weeks we have struggled with Job. We have listened as his story has unfolded before—a life that touched the highest heights and plummeted to deepest depths. And yet in all of Job’s ups and downs he remained faithful to the Lord his God.

He never failed to be in communion with God;

He never failed to talk with God about his struggles;

He never failed to ask God to be near;

He never failed to tell God of his failing and fear;

God heard it all—not because God is constantly listening, but God heard it all because Job told it all.

Professor Carol Newsome writes,

            “What the book of Job models is a community of voices struggling to articulate a range of perspectives, each one of which contains valid insights as well as blindness to other dimensions of the problem.   At different times and in different circumstances, one or another of the voices may seem more powerful, may be the word we need to hear in order to work our way through a particular experience.”

At different times and in different circumstances—we long for the word that need.

Sometimes that word is one of hope and promise;

Sometimes that word is one of letting go and release;

Sometimes that word is one that is shrouded in deep silence—the unanswered prayer.

(Howard Thurman writes a lot about this….)

But we pray all the same—we stay in divine communication with God because we need to constantly be reminded that not matter goes on in our lives that God still care for us—and through that divine communication we believe that God things, other people, situations that we face—but more so that anything else, we pray that God changes us.

Job is different man at the end of chapter 42 than he is at the beginning of chapter one.  Job has been on journey that has been filled with loss, hopelessness, joy, and faithfulness. Jobs situation has changed over the course of this season of his life. Jobs friends have come and gone. Jobs health has failed—Job has even invited death to arrest his life.

Yet in all of this Job has been faithful in prayer.

He has never relented on the Lord;

He has never failed call upon the Lord;

He has constantly talked with the Lord;

He has constantly petitioned the Lord;

His voice is not lost in God’s ear.

Scripture reminds,

And the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.  And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he had prayed for his friends.

 Church, I know it may sometimes seem fruitless, and vain—but never stop praying, never stop lifting your life—and the life of your friends unto the Lord, because prayer still changes things and us.

Amen.

Filed Under: Senior Pastor, Sermons Tagged With: Job, Narrative Lectionary, Sermon

Sermon: Rooted and Grounded

lemontree

Sunday, July 17, 2016

Biblical Text: Job 14

 

When I first came across this passage of scripture, particularly the reading from Job 14 I began to think about this particular tree that is planted in my mother-in-law’s backyard. The roots of my mother-in-law’s lemon tree reach deep down in the ground, in almost every picture of I’ve seen of the backyard this lemon has been present—steadily growing, steadily stretching forth its arms and bearing fruit in due season. At some point within the last several years her lemon tree fell upon hard times. It was not producing fruit as it should, and its leaves were lacking the strength and luster of its formative years in her backyard. The decision was made to cut the tree back, to trim back its branches and determine, later whether or not there was enough life left in the tree to for generate a come-back. The extravagant pruning commenced and the tree still did not fare well. The decision was then again, that the tree needed yet another stronger pruning and it was down low—a tree that once waved its arms 15 feet in the gentle Pacific breezes and photosynthesized in brilliant rays of the sun—was now a 2 foot stump.

The life it once knew was no more.

            The enjoyment it once knew was no more.

            The shade that it provided was no more.

            The fruit that is bore was no more.

But what continued, as if the tree had never left its former state, was the steady and consistent care of the woman who drew a pot of water from the kitchen sink—and marched out to tree—all the while talking and singing— sometimes to the tree, and poured the water on the stump just like she had always done.

Trees often play a very unique roll in religious life and reflection. Very common is the tree the symbol of dogged-determination, life, longevity, survival and the power of renewal in the face is death and destruction. In the writing of our Christian mystic, the Morehouse trained theologian, Howard Thurman the tree is symbol of God steady and unrelenting presence of determination—of God, in our lives. Thurman invites us in a mediation entitle “I Will Not Give Up” to dare to act, be as determined, to be as faithful and strong as the tree.

What we know of the biblical narrative that is before us this morning is that Job’s life has been like that lemon tree in my mother-in-law’s backyard.

There have been days when he lived his life in grand prosperity.

There have been days when the sun has shone brightly upon his life.

There have been days when light rains fell and gave him renewed vigor.

There have been days when the gentle breeze helped him wave his arms in praise.

There have been days when the fruit grew to be sumptuous and juicy.

There have been days when birds found refuge in his branches.

There have been days when his life gave shade to other.

There have been days—days when life was altogether good.

But now he has been cut down, cut off

And is nothing more than 2 foot stump…

And it is from this place of despair and the utter sense of hopelessness of Job’s own life, that he begins his reflection on spirituality of a tree. Listen to his words again:

“Indeed there is hope for a tree. If it’s cut down and still sprouting and its shoots don’t fail, if its roots age in the ground and its stump dies in the dust, at the scent of water, it will bud and produce sprouts like a plant.”

You see my sisters and brothers—the message. The good new of the text this morning is that it really matters so very little what you look like to the eyes of those who are all around you—what matters most is are you rooted and grounded to the source of your strength and power.

Job was all messed up.

He lost his possessions.

He lost his servants.

He lost his wealth.

He lost his social standing.

He lost every single one of children—all ten!

And while the text does not pick up on the great tradegy of this loss, I cannot help but name it today. Especially when black lives—men, women and those in the transgender community—are being extinguished today by police officers.

Black folks burying their murdered their transgender rainbow children.

Black folks burying their murdered their strong and beautiful daughters.

Black folks burying their murdered their boys and men

We know what grief and loss is like.

We know what burying our children feels like.

And for as much loss and grieve we have, as much loss and grief as we have experienced since the beginning of time, in loosing our children—it is interesting to note that we do not have word in our developed sophisticated vocabulary to describe the loss of children.

There is not a single word in English.

There is not a single word in French.

There is not a single word in Spanish.

There is not a single word in German.

There is not a single word in Tagalog Japanese, Arabic, Zulu, Swahlili

    There is not a single word in Turkish, Portuguese, Russian Hebrew, Greek.

How do we describe the depth and pain of our grief when even our language has failed—over the course several centuries—to describe a pain that seems to be too hard for us to even name?

And yet amid off his grief, his physical pain, and the worrisome friends who initially come to comfort but find themselves causing more confusion and pain—Job is connected the source.

Just like that the tree that is cut down, but whose roots run deep—Job is connected to his source. And it from that place of connection that Job feels free to say to God what is on his mind. It is from that place of connection that Job feels free speak directly to God about his situation—his present condition in life.

When you are rooted and grounded,

You don’t have to worry about being cut down

because you are connected to the source.

 

When you are rooted and grounded,

You don’t have to worry about what people think of you

            Because you are connected to the source

When you are rooted and grounded,

You don’t have to worry about if people say of you

Because you are connected to the source.

 

When you are rooted and grounded,

            You can live without fear of the future.

When you are rooted and grounded.

            You can live without worry of tomorrow

When you are rooted and grounded.

            You can live without distress over the times.

When you are rooted and grounded.

            You can live without dread of what may be next.

When you are rooted and grounded.

            You can live without panic and alarm.

Because at the very scent of water….

That which not only sustains our bodies, but also our community

That which symbolized new life, cleaning and fulfillment of God’s promises.

 

Job was rooted.

AND

Job was grounded.

 

He therefore did not need to worry about his life—which why in Chapter 19 he able to cry from desolate place—I know that my redeemer lives.

I know that I have an advocate.

Rooted and Grounded: I know that my redeemer lives.

I know that I have someone to plead my case.

Rooted and Grounded: I know that my redeemer lives.

I know that I have someone who knows my story.

Rooted and Grounded: I know that my redeemer lives.

I know that I have someone who will call for mercy.

Rooted and Grounded: I know that my redeemer lives.

I know that I have someone who will restore me—to my former glory.

Rooted and Grounded: I know that my redeemer lives.

I know that my someone will arise and come see about me.

Rooted and Grounded: I know that my redeemer lives.

 

And then in my flesh I shall see God.

Whom I shall see on MY side and my eyes shall behold,

And not another.

 

Well let me bring this thing to close:

Mother Love’s lemon stump is still there.

She continues to pour water at the stump.

But glory be God—its not the stump that it used to be.

That stump—has remained connected to source.

That stump has green shoots pushing through the side of the tree trunk

That stump has new leaves sprouting and new branches forming each day.

 

In whatever do,

In whatever you face in life journey—

If you are already rooted and grounded…stay grounded.

But if you aren’t—make that decision today,

Because there is life within you that longs to realized at your stump.

Amen.  Amen.   Amen.

Filed Under: Senior Pastor, Sermons Tagged With: Job, Narrative Lectionary, Sermon

Sermon: Searching for a Good Shepherd

shepherd

Sunday, July 17, 2016 (Pride Jazz Service)

Biblical Text:  Ezekiel 34

Facing my writing desk is a sign that simply reads: “Lord, let me do no harm.” It is a reminder of the importance and significance of the sacred work to which I have been called by Christ and ordained by the church to extend in the world.

“Lord, let me do no harm” becomes my prayer as I write because I recognize that so much harm has been done in the name of God to all kinds of people; justifying racism, sexism, classism, slavery, gender discrimination xenophobia, Islamaphobia, homophobia and police brutality—pushing all kinds of wonderfully gifted people of God—who carry the divine spark of God within—from the green pastures of life in the church.

“Lord, let me do no harm” becomes my writing mantra because I recognize that while the church may be quiet as a mouse during the sermon, which especially challenging for a black preacher steeped in a call-and-response tradition, words matter—every word matters.

“Lord, let me—your called out shepherd, do no harm.”

Pastors are often named as shepherds, coming from the agrigarian culture from which this text emerges. It speaks of both risk and the reward. Within the ancient world sheep were considered to be very valuable possessions—for within their life was a source of nourishment (milk and meat), wool for clothing, tents and trade—this was the reward for the shepherd, but the shepherd’s life sometimes dangerous and difficult was also risky. The shepherd’s primary job was to provide safety to a defenseless flock, to ensure ample food and water, and most importantly to protect them from predators—both human and animal.

The idea of shepherding trickles down from antiquity—to modern times where the shepherd, the pastor, the leader—a theologian in residence, is called by God to the same work: to protect, to care, to feed and love the flock—a people belonging to God.

So when we hear and read in the book of Ezekiel this challenging word spoken to the shepherds, those who carry the responsibility of tending sheep;

–it challenges all who anchor their hopes and truth claims in this Holy Book to find themselves at work bringing about the kin-dom of God.

–it challenges all who hold to these truth claims to spend less time eating the fat, clothing oneself with the wool, slaughtering the fatling

and ruling over the sheep with force and harshness.

No, the sheep are to be fed and protect.

They are to strengthened and guarded.

They are to found and nursed to healing.

They are to be loved…

But Ezekiel call them out in the text!

The shepherds have not been feeding the sheep,

they have not been strengthening the weak,

they have not been healing the sick,

they have not been binding up the injured,

they have not been bringing back the strays,

they have not been seeking the lost….

The prosperity gospel and the religious right—who recently has vision of Donald Trump sitting at the right hand of God—taking Jesus’ very own spot according to my bible—they signify the force and harshness against life that Ezekiel is calling out.

It is the very heavy handed oppression and enslavement of ones freedom, ones creativity, ones diversity, one uniqueness that scatters the sheep from the care of the shepherd in the first place. The shepherds have failed to do their job, to not only protect and care for the fold—but to seek out the lost and bring them back into community.

The church has done a pretty poor job of caring for the LGBT community—there are still way too few communities of faith where people of faith who happen to be same-gender loving, trans or queer—can gather, worship and know the protective loving and care of a good shepherd—pastor.

Even while our denomination has been radically open, being the first of any mainline denomination to welcome, celebrate and affirm LGBT clergy and denominational leaders—there are still communities within the United Church of Christ where it is not safe be queer.

There are for too many shepherds and communities of faith who celebrate the by-products of the queer community—as the text says “the fat, the wool, the meat and the milk” but when it comes to extending the gifts of the church—allows all people equal access to the full life—sacraments, rites and rituals of the church—they are denied.

Bring your musical gift to the church.

Bring your administrative gift to the church.

Bring your poetic gift to the church.

Bring your liveliness to the church.

Bring your vivaciousness to the church.

–but don’t bring your full self…. WE DON’T WANT ANY OF THAT.

Several months ago I listened intently to a conversation between a mega church pastor and Professor Kelly Brown Douglass an Episcopal priest and author of “Black Bodies and the Black Church”; a sweeping book in which she develops a strong theology for blues bodies and preaches that “as long as the black church cannot be a home for certain bodies, such as LGBT bodies, then it has forsaken its very black faith identity.”

The conversation between the two shepherds was about the role of sexuality in the Black Church. On the campus of Princeton Theological Seminary, where budding shepherds, religious scholar, public theologians and theological educators come to terms with their callings for ministry I tuned into the conversation via Social Media: a shaky Periscope video streaming on my cell phone with random ‘Amen’s and “did she just say that?” and my eyes glued to Twitter on my laptop as shepherds and religious thinkers from around the nation chimed in with 140 word sound bites:

Black boys need to know that their bodies and emotions matter!

We don’t need purity circles we need responsibility circles!

I am a recovering sexist. I am a recovering heterosexist 

Some gay folk have been so abused by the church that they still don’t trust even a church like ours…

We must be on the side of the crucified of our time…

And my own 140-word sound bite:

The Black Church must examine and re-examine its theology, history and tradition in the light of liberation and Freedom for all.

——-

Upon the Ivy League campus of Princeton where budding shepherds of various denominational traditions are being shaped and formed by some of the nations best and brightest academics and pastoral leaders, the nation engaged in a serious theological debate about what it means for the church—the body of Christ, a flock belonging to God–to really love its neighbor, and what does it mean for shepherds to seek to the lost, the bring back the stray, to bind up the injured, to heal the sick and strengthen the weak….

The truth of the matter is that Love and Justice are as intertwined as one’s own body and soul. God’s call for the shepherd—for the flock at large which is constituted as the priesthood of all believers, is always be found moving toward acts of justice, care, restoration, reconciliation and unconditional love. The kind of love that Martin King writes of as inclusive and expansive love—Inclusive in that all are welcomes all people, expansive in that is grows each days to include more and more in the kin-dom of God.

The work of shepherding, is a responsibility that God has given to us. It is not God’s job to do—but as the text is so very clear, God can and will do it when we become unwilling: Shepherding the flock; strengthening the weak, healing the sick, binding up the injured, bring back those who stray, finding the lost—that all our job.

Shepherding is not just for the pastor:

Shepherding is the work of the moderator.

Shepherding is the work of the diaconate.

Shepherding is the work of the trustees

Shepherding is the work of the Sunday school teacher

Shepherding is just for the church.

Shepherding is the work of the bank manager

Shepherding is the work of the professor

Shepherding is the work of the school teacher

Shepherding is the work of the politician

Shepherding is the work of the doctor and lawyer

Shepherding is the work of the entrepreneur and activist

Shepherding is the work of the solider and sailor

Shepherding is the work of the father and mother

God steps in only when we failed to function in our prescribed role of love and care— make not mistake, God refuses to see any of children, rainbow children and all others, without the care of loving shepherd…

And so God steps in and says,

I will be their shepherd.

I will be their leader.

I will be their caregiver.

I will be their protector.

I will be their covering.

I will show them love.

I will show teach them.

They will be my people, and I will be there God.

Filed Under: Senior Pastor, Sermons Tagged With: Black Church, Blues Bodies, Jazz Vespers, Kelly Brown Douglass, Liberation Theology, Preaching, Pride, Queer Theology, Sermon

Sermon: Dark Nights of the Black Soul

dark_night_by_rad_wulf-d5xx0pd

Sunday, July 10, 2016

Biblical Text: Job 7

What is that we are say when we find ourselves experiencing the harshness of life. What shall be our response, by faith, with the hedge of protection, that has guarded against disaster, tragedy and suffering has been removed and we left not only open, exposed and vulnerable—but when we ourselves experience the dark night of the soul.

The dark night of the soul is time a deep questioning of everything. The dark night of the soul is time that is both spiritual, psychological and physical. And the dark night of the soul provides opportunities for growth. The dark night of the soul is more than a time of deep and profound testing—but it presents a crisis of faith; its presents a crisis that cannot simply justified spiritually as a “test of the Evil One” nor can it be justified psychologically and physical as rare moment or a bad dream that we have been awake to—no the dark night of the soul is as Eckhart Tolle describes “a collapse of perceived meaning in life…an eruption into your life of deep sense of meaninglessness…sometimes triggered by some external event, some disaster perhaps on an external level.”[1] The collapse of life of ones whole conceptual framework for life—and the meaning given to it.

How do we explain the gun violence in this country?

How do we explain the racial injustice in the country?

How do we explain gender injustices?

How do we explain the mass killing of queer persons in Florida?

How do we explain the killing of black men and women in America?

How do we explain the death of more than 135 black people by police this year?

How do we explain the reality of 1 in every 15 black men are incarcerated,

while only 1 in every 106 white men are incarcerated?

How do we rationalize the truth that blacks having a nearly six times incarceration of whites–1 million of the total 2.3 million incarcerated are Black folks.

How do we explain away the lack of resources in our community?

            In our schools?

            In our neighborhoods?

Right in our own backyard we have a park that has not been renovated since the early 90’s—while parks in more affluent, less dense, neighborhood are renovated.

We are living in a dark night of the soul—a dark night in America’s soul—but a dark night Black America’s soul because these issues are not being visited everybody.

When we have more and more people of privilege who are beginning to ask questions—who are beings to notice the trends, and the important justice serving role that social media is playing being these issues to the American consciousness…

I have a friend of mine who pastors a large white Baptist church in Greensboro North Carolina. A white man of deep privilege—who recently wrote how now, after the recent shootings, and his anti-racism work with other local pastors how his eye have been open—yet in the same post he wrote about how in working to draft a antiracism statement with the racially diverse group of pastors and community leaders he became visibly frustrated because his language: southern, white, male, upper middle-class, cis-gendered privilege language did not earn him the priority and place of privilege he was accustom to occupying—

The UCC has started some anti-racism work nation-wide. I am proud of the work we have done, and I am so proud of the work that we have accomplished in our partnership. But when asked by colleagues in ministry if my congregation was going to participate in the anti-racism work—I responded coldly and quickly “we never stopped participating….we are black UCC congregation in Southern California—-we been doing this work since 1957, when WE decided to constitute this denomination.”

And this morning we cannot lose sight of Job’s story. We cannot lose sight of his witness, we cannot lose of sight of faithfulness—and frustration, we cannot lose of his sense of devotion and worship. We cannot lose sight of the Job in whom Job placed his life completely—and trusts.

Last Sunday at the end of losing everything, Job lifted his heart in worship.

He gave his fears and frustrations to God quickly and easily as he his faith in God:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there;

the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.“

Job’s friends come to comfort him, but the comfort only lasts until Job erupts with emotion and feelingfulness. We know that Job, because we experience the depth of pain and the darkness of soul—which he tells straight to the Lord.

Who is the Lord if we cannot bear our sorrows and know he cares?

Who is the Lord , if we cannot bear our frustration and know he cares?

Who is the Lord, if we cannot tell God how is really is?

Who is the Lord, if he doesn’t know what we feel?

Who is the Lord, if he doesn’t know where we hurt.

What we experience here in the text is the power of a true relationship, a relationship that has been built upon a solid foundation—so that in Chapter 7, when Job decides that he speak directly with the Lord, where he is going to tell the Lord in whom he has trusted and worshiped his experience of truth—

He is restless.

He is troubled.

He is empty

He is impatient

His heart is aching

His soul is weakend….

Job cries out “What have I done to deserve this?”

In the very same way that protesters around the country are

Crying out

            Dieing In

            Organizing

            Praying

            And Searching their soul and faith for an answer.

For to many us, if feels like we cannot escape the harassing powers and oppressive structures. WE are deprived, like Job, of even the most limited autonomy as we struggle from day to day—there is no luxury of unlimited time because black lives are being snuffed out each day….Job’s words teach us that we can be honest with God.

When we are sad—we can express our sadness to a God who cares

When we are angry—we can express our anger to a God who take it.

When we confused—we can express our confusion to God who loves us.

When we are tossed and turned, and don’t know what to do—we have God who will stand up by in both good and bad—who will never give up on us…

Yet what I love most about this is found at the end of Verse 21 of the 7th chapter.

“You will seek me…

God does not give up on—but God will seek us.

Leaving the ninety-nine for us.

Seeking to move us from misery and despair to abundance—and hope.

[1] https://www.eckharttolle.com/newsletter/october-2011

Filed Under: Senior Pastor, Sermons Tagged With: Job, Narrative Lectionary, Sermon

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