January 23 "Together in the Light" Matthew 4
It is good and important to remind ourselves of who we are. To tell the glorious stories of our past, and to enculturate newcomers into the mores and mysteries of our congregation.
In a sense, this was the purpose of the gospels in the life of the early church--to tell the stories of Jesus, and teach people how to follow him.
When Matthew gets to chapter 4, and Jesus is about to begin his ministry, the gospel connects Jesus' choice of Capernaum in Galilee with the prophetic announcement of Isaiah that
the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.’
And then Jesus begins to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." Or we might translate it, "Change your mind, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." Either way, it's language that invites interpretation! What does he mean, "Repent"? Literally, of course, the Hebrew or Aramaic word behind it means "turn around." Change course. And the Greek word is metanoia: change your mind. Re-think what you think you know. AND WHY? Because God's in charge, NOW. Despite the evidence, in spite of the wars and wounds of life, if you look deeply, you'll discern the hidden signs of God's activity. And if you trust it, if you begin to live now as if God's in charge, you'll experience what a change it makes. It will be as though the sun rose up over the hills and our little community can move forward together in the light.
Today we are reflecting on how we can mind the light that our church has received, celebrating the ways we shine a light of hope and peace and justice for all of God’s people in the family of faith, especially people of differing sexual orientations. We say this in our
Vision Statement
We believe in the dignity and divine worth of every human being.Each of us has known different life experiences.
Each of us has different strengths and weaknesses, gifts and abilities.
Our vision of God’s community is one of diversity, redemption, and grace.
The head of our church is Jesus Christ.
The heart of our church is found within the people.
Faith, hope, and love sustain us on our journey,
and the greatest of these is love.
We believe that God has yet more love to be discovered,
more truth to be known,
and more light to illumine our way.
Thus, we come here to examine our values and expand our vision.
We come here to pray, to praise, and to give thanks.
We come here to experience the church gathered,
so that we can better experience the church dispersed.
We come here to worship God.
Each week we print a small but important testimony in our bulletin: "We are a More Light Church and Covenant Network Presbyterian Church, welcoming people of all sexual orientations." It's a reminder that as a congregation we refuse to live in any of the closets into which our denomination might try to put us. We stand together in the Light.
What do we mean when we say we're "More Light"? Our governing body, the session,
- affirms MLP's mission statement: "Following the risen Christ, and seeking to make the Church a true community of hospitality, the mission of More Light Presbyterians is the full participation of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people of faith in the life, ministry, and witness of the Presbyterian Church (USA)."
- promises to work for the transformation of the Church, and
- contributes financially to MLP
And what is the Covenant Network? The Covenant Network of Presbyterians is a broad-based, national group of clergy and lay leaders working for a church that is simultaneously faithful, just, and whole. The Covenant Network seeks to:
- support the mission and unity of the Presbyterian Church (USA);
- articulate and act on the church’s historic, progressive vision;
- work for a fully inclusive church;
- find ways to live out the graciously hospitable gospel by living together with all our fellow members in the PC(USA).
Briefly, MLP includes those churches that have said we will welcome everyone, in spite of our denomination's exclusion of LGBT persons from leadership. Covenant Network adds churches that may not be ready to violate the Constitution.
Last summer, the General Assembly of the PC(USA) voted to recommend new language in paragraph G-6.106b, that would set aside the much disputed language of “fidelity and chastity” for words that invite us to “submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life.”
I see this as the next step in a process through which the church allows God's light to shine more clearly. We have been through a similar journey of enlightenment regarding the evil of slavery, welcoming the leadership of women, and now applying the same standards in choosing our leaders regardless of sexual orientation.
So far the vote on Amendment 10-A has been 9 Yes / 1 Tie, 18 No. Compared with the vote in the presbyteries two years ago, there has been no net change in those votes. In order for this dramatic move to happen, 87 presbyteries need to approve.
If we did nothing else to implement our More Light/Covenant Network commitment, it would have been sufficient. But we have done far more, beginning with "The Blue Book."
What we call "The Blue Book" actually has a title: “What We Wish We Had Known: Breaking the Silence, Moving Toward Understanding.” It is a resource for individuals and families of gay, lesbian and transgendered people. Since its first publication in 2000, thousands and thousands of copies have been requested and distributed. We have no way to know how many copies have been downloaded for free from the church website.
If you Google our Blue Book, you'll find THOUSANDS of pages that mention it. A PFLAG website in Indiana says:
A fantastic resource for individuals and families moving toward understanding from the Presbyterian Church in Mt. Kisco, New York.
Because of the fear and loneliness around the subject of sexual orientation, this church has produced a very helpful and healing resource called "The Bluebook." There are no mystical meanings here, just a reference to the hard copy version, which has a plain blue cover….
The book has been well received at libraries, seminaries, and educational conferences. Also, letters and orders from physicians, clergy, and therapists tell them that helping professionals are now using it in their practices. Their enthusiasm and broad use of the book has been gratifying. It could well be one of the most important and easy to understand books on the subject for the general reader.
This week, Mary Jane Karger and I spent a half hour on the phone with an organizer from Immigration Equality. The Immigration Equality Action Fund is working to end discrimination in U.S. immigration law. Immigration Equality Action Fund advocates on Capitol Hill for equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and HIV-positive immigrants and their families. The current issue is seeking a Republican co-sponsor to reintroduce the Uniting American Families Act, and they hope that we might encourage our new Congresswoman, Nan Haworth to sign on. This is how we work, together in the light.
In a moment we're going to sing a hymn that's not in our hymnal. “We limit not the truth of God” is based on Pastor John Robinson's sendoff sermon to the Pilgrims, 1620, as they left Holland for Plymouth Plantation. According to Governor Edward Winslow, an eyewitness,
Amongst other wholesome instructions and exhortations he used these expressions, or to the same purpose:
We were now, ere long, to part asunder; and the Lord knoweth whether ever he should live to see our faces again. But whether the Lord had appointed it or not; he charged us, before God and his blessed angels, to follow him no further than he followed Christ: and if God should reveal anything to us by any other instrument…to be as ready to receive it, as ever we were to receive any truth by his Ministry. For he was very confident the Lord had more truth and light yet to break forth out of his holy Word.
He took occasion also miserably to bewail the state and condition of the Reformed Churches, who…would go no further than the Instruments of their Reformation. As, for example, the Lutherans: they could not be drawn to go beyond what Luther saw, for whatever part of God's will He had further imparted and revealed to Calvin, they will rather die than embrace it. "And also," saith he, "you see the Calvinists. They stick where he left them, a misery much to be lamented.
"For though they were precious shining lights in their Times, yet God had not revealed his whole will to them; and were they now living," saith he, "they would be as ready and willing to embrace further light as that they had received."
To be "together in the light" is not to be huddled together on a dark stage trying to stand in a fixed spotlight. It means to journey together on the path of enlightenment. I'll leave it to you to decide where on that journey you need to invest yourselves to bring "More Light" into our world. Amen.
--Jack Lohr, Interim Pastor
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