Sermon for April 22nd 2012 - 3rd Sunday of Easter

(The Church is Easter – Anne Weems)

This past week my thoughts have been wrestling with the concepts of life and death … death, because as a community we’ve gathered – and we truly gathered – to say farewell to Donnie and to celebrate his life and legacy and memories among us. And LIFE, because the heart of what we’ve done this week remembering and celebrating Donnie has been a celebration of Life – life in this realm, and life beyond this realm.

In my preparations for Donnie’s service I found myself revisiting the various (and MANY) resources I’ve tucked away in my ministry about memorials, funerals and so on.

On of the texts I revisted is a quotation from a preacher named Joseph Sittler who observes:

We must stop this conspiracy of silence about death and talk openly about it. One can go to Church a whole lifetime and never hear a sermon on death.

If I were a young preach again, I would preach the Christian gospel of eternal life in God, but I would preach it sooner in my ministry, preach it throughout, and I would preach it more realistically. The Bible really has nothing to say about eternal life. That sounds like a shocking statement, but it is literally true: there is not a single clear and concrete word in the Bible about life and death. It affirms that life with God is life with that which does not die. But any specification about life after death is steadily avoided by the biblical writers.

In Romans, the most mature of Paul’s epistles, he says “If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die we die to the Lord; so then whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s” PERIOD! That is the fundamental and absolute word of Scripture. But that word is immensely satisfying to old people. I never try to give any blueprints or eternity or heaven or eternal life, since by definition it is utterly impossible.

I think instead of trying to answer all the questions about death, we ought to follow the example of Paul and the New Testament and say, “by faith we are saved.”

By faith we are saved.          

 (Death.  ed. Virginia Sloyan, LTP 1990)

Our readings today build the foundation of that very idea – by faith we are saved … The reading from the Book of Acts, the very stories of the first flickerings of the early church as it comes into being – begins with Peter and John encountering a lame man in the precincts of the temple, where in the name of Christ they heal the man …

By faith he was saved.

Peter then seizes the moment to share the motivation and faith that lead to this miraculous healing … he tells them about the Risen Christ and the power that has been vested in the followers who are bound together by the Resurrection.

In the Gospel of Luke, we have the moment in time when that power was given to the Church – the disciples of Jesus - the men and women who had followed him through the wilds of Galilea and through the deserts and mountains to Judeah and Jerusalem – are sent into the world to proclaim, embody, share and invite others to join in this Gospel of transformation and salvation …

By faith we are saved …

If we pause and consider for a moment what the disciples and followers of Jesus were experiencing, we will see a very obvious transformation in process. They begin fear-filled and hiding away expecting that the next loud noise, or the next knock at the door will mean their end is about to come … but suddenly, they become more bold and more willing to go OUT into the world and share the Good News.

By faith we are saved - But even more than that, what the disciples were called and commissioned to, and what we are ultimately called and commissioned to is a ministry that embraces the fullness of life, and doesn’t deny the reality of death … we are called to proclaim the Good News that speaks of LIFE – life with God – Life in all its fullness – Life here and Life beyond this moment.

But we don’t like to talk about life in its fullness because that means acknowledging the reality of death, and it means speaking about something that makes us kind of uncomfortable … we’ll speak of death in hushed whispers and as a sort of forbidden topic rather than something substantive and meaningful … yet, we have every indication that our faith is about life, death and life beyond death and what binds ALL of that life together is FAITH.

It’s an interesting day to acknowledge and speak of death. It’s Earth Day – the day when we are being challenged and reminded to care for this planet we call home. The day we are being reminded to tread gently on the planet and to make positive choices when it comes to our consumer, economic and ultimately relationship decisions … So, to preach about death on a day like this really isn’t much of a stretch because without this planet to sustain us there is no life … without God’s gift of the planet Earth we would have only death …

By faith we are saved, today becomes the gold standard by which we build our relationships with each other, with our families, with our friends and neighbours and with our community, and our world.

One of the commentaries I read this week speaks of our faith in God’s gifts saying that our epistle reading from 1 John declares that God's love for us is so great that we are called God’s children. Just as we love our children freely, so God’s love is a gift that we do nothing to merit. However, we can return that love by caring for our neighbours. All children need models from which to learn how to treat others. As children of God, our model is Jesus, God’s Anointed One. Jesus cared for the poor, spoke in defense of the persecuted, loved the most weak and vulnerable. John makes it clear that if we reach out to others as Jesus did then God will abide in us as well.

By faith we are not only saved – by faith our relationships with each other, with the world and with creation are transformed by LOVE.

The point of life is to live, share, celebrate and embody LOVE.

Life gives way to death and death to life everlasting, and what remains in that moment when all else falls away is LOVE.

Our readings today mark the shaky first steps of the Early Church as it stumbles its way from the discovery of the empty tomb that first Easter morning, into the fearfilled uncertainty of that evening gathered behind locked doors trying to make sense of everything out into the public porticoes of the Temple where Peter, John, Mary and all the others including Thomas who have experienced for themselves the transformative power of the Resurrection are able to boldly proclaim their faith and enact miracles in the name of the Risen Christ. All of this is because of faith.

By Faith they were saved …Faith that embraced the fullness of life and even in the face of death lived with boldness and courage.

In the last few days I’ve heard many people muse what kind of a world we could have if more people were like Donnie and spent their time and energy looking out for, and looking after other people … that’s the whole point of Earth Day ultimately – being concerned about the wellbeing of the planet, not just for ourselves, but for future generations.

At the end of the day, the motivating factor in caring for others is this gift of love … the very core of our faith … what all of us crave and yearn for and deserve …

As a community we’ve been blessed to be reminded that it is not the perks and privileges nor the wealth and power that makes a good life – instead it is the realization that it truly is the positive impressions of love and care that we leave on others that make the REAL difference in the world.

As community of faith – as the very children of God, we are called and commissioned to go into the world sharing the Good News that not only are we loved, but that by faith we are saved …

Life is about finding peace and contentment, and through the gift of faith we know the way – life with God here and forever – and that offers us a truly contented life if we dare to trust and follow.

And Johane von Goethe told us what a contented life is:

Health enough to make work a pleasure

Wealth enough to support your needs

Strength enough to battle with difficulties and foresake them

Grace enough to admit your sins and overcome them

Patience enough to toil until some good is accomplished

Charity enough to see some good in your neighbor

Love enough to move you to be useful and helpful to others

Faith enough to make real the things of God

Hope enough to remove all anxious fears concerning the future

By faith we are saved … from God we are given life …

May it be so … thanks be to God … let us pray …

A Service for Donald Francis "Donnie" Hodder, April 20th 2012

A Service in Celebration

of the life of

Donald Francis “Donnie” Hodder

February 4^th 1948

to

April 15^th 2012

St John’s United Church, Flesherton Ont.

Clergy: Rev. Shawn Ankenmann

Pianist: Susan Kell

Friday April 20^th 2012

Prelude/Gathering:

Words of Welcome:

Hymn: How Great Thou Art  - Voices 238

Opening Prayer:

Readings:           Psalm 23

                             Micah 6:6-8

John 14 (various)

Phillipians 2:1-5, 4:4-9

Hymn: Joyful, Joyful - Voices 232

Reflection: Rev Shawn Ankenmann

There is a story that has been a favourite of mine since I first encountered it some years ago. It concerns a Baker by the name of Jacob, who is renowned for his wisdom and his ability to offer short comments about life that inspire us.

In this particular story Jacob is busy in the kitchen kneading dough and getting it ready. A proud almost arrogant man comes into the kitchen and looks down his nose at Jacob and says – “Jacob, I want my life to leave an impression on others …”

Jacob continues kneading the dough and speaks without looking up – “All lives leave an impression on others …”

Unsatisfied the man says, “But I want my life to really leave an impression on others.”

Beginning to pan the bread Jacob sighs and says simply, “We are God’s finger prints …”

We are God’s finger prints. It is an expression and a concept that can mean so much, yet in this moment as we gather to remember Donnie, and to celebrate his life, and to say our heartfelt farewells, we are left to consider what impression Donnie left as God’s finger prints in our community, in our Church (his church) and in our lives.

One of the readings I shared earlier had the Apostle Paul calling on the community of faith in Phillipi to share their faith by offering in life that which is honourable, that which is just, pure, pleasing, commendable … what is pleasing and worthy of praise – Keep doing it, says Paul and you will experience the peace of God.

The very words offered by Paul to the Church at Phillipi 2 millenia ago are words that have come up in recent days as folks have shared their memories and stories about Donnie.

Donald Francis Hodder – Donnie to the community he called home, was a good person – one of those rare souls who held a good heart and shared so much with those around him … Donnie shared his time, his warmth, his humour, and his cooking ability.

There are literally dozens of slips of paper from groups and agencies throughout our community expressing their appreciation to Donnie for the volunteer service and work he put in for others.

Twenty Five years at Talisman as cook – learning and teaching and working hard along the way … over 25 years overseeing and being a good neighbour in the building he called home, helping the residents, making sure things were just so, and running errands for them … other corners of the community miss him and his involvement – the hockey rink, the legion, this Church … every restaurant, café, store and business in town … like a stone tossed into a still pond, the ripples that mark Donnie’s life have moved out into almost every corner of our community.

He truly was one of God’s finger prints, and he has left a remarkable legacy of stories, memories and moments that help bring a smile to our face even as tears well up in the corner of our eyes …

Donnie was a good friend to many, and a committed and active member of our community in a myriad of ways, and in all that he did he showed the very principles of faith that we hear spoken of over and over … Donnie was one of those people who was just busy doing … He embodied the concepts offered by the prophet Micah so many centuries ago as he considered what a life worth living is … Donnie embodied the very ideals of justice, kindness, and humility.

Donnie was born and raised in Flesherton. He lived his whole life within three blocks of the house where his life began. He called this village home and even though he travelled to many wondrous and amazing places, this was his home.

Donnie was the youngest of five children, and is survived by his sisters Joyce, Joan, and Pat as well as a brother John, as well as many nieces and nephews and grand nieces and grand nephews.

In the last year, as cancer gripped his body, Donnie came to value time spent with his friends and with his family.

One of the observations I’ve heard made about Donnie, and that I’ve witnessed first hand too – is that Donnie really liked his food. Many of the conversations I’ve had with Donnie since my arrival here, and since his diagnosis with cancer, has begun with him sharing where he’d been to eat lately and with how.

He enjoyed going out for lunch or dinner with friends or family members, and it has been observed that even running into one of the local restaurants to grab a quick bite to eat and run out could be derailed (in a very good way) if Donnie was there. You would end up in a chat with him and the minutes would slip away.

But, to say it again: that was Donnie. A warm greeting. A heartfelt “how are you?” and a conversation about happenings in and around Flesherton.

And Donnie knew almost everybody in town and what was going on. But far from being a gossip, Donnie was more concerned about the well being of folks and what has been happening in their lives and in their families. He was often the first to let you know who has been ill or in hospital, and who needed a little encouragement.

Donnie, even during his own struggles, was ALWAYS concerned about others.

And Donnie was never sure what to do when people offered their care and support back to him. When news of his diagnosis began to spread through town he received dozens and dozens of cards. I have fond memories of him coming into the office and saying, “I just went to the post office and I got 12 more … or 15 more … or 10 more cards!!”

He was honestly shocked that people in town would care.

He was overwhelmed by the simple gesture of a card to say “Thinking of you Donnie”, and that continued right up to the end as he received cards and notes from folks after his move to Mount Forest.

German writer Johan Wolfgang Von Goethe observed that a contented life required the following:

According to Goethe, there are nine requirements for a happy, contented life:

Health enough to make work a pleasure

Wealth enough to support your needs

Strength enough to battle with difficulties and foresake them

Grace enough to admit your sins and overcome them

Patience enough to toil until some good is accomplished

Charity enough to see some good in your neighbor

Love enough to move you to be useful and helpful to others

Faith enough to make real the things of God

Hope enough to remove all anxious fears concerning the future

- Johan Wolfgang Von Goethe

Over the last week as we’ve struggled to make sense of Donnie’s passing, one of the comments made about him has been – “he had a good heart”. And he did. I have said to him, and of him that he was a pure soul – one of those incredibly rare people that no one can really speak ill of – he wasn’t perfect, he was pretty stubborn, and even though he had an easy going demeanour most of the time, he (like many of us) had strong ideas about how things should go, and he stuck to them … but overarching all of that, was a deep and abiding care for his friends, his neighbours, his community and most of all his family. Donnie embodied the very idea of love.

Donnie Hodder by his own admission, lived a contented life and enjoyed every minute of it.

And our community, our church and our lives are better places because of Donnie – in his childlike innocence, Donnie has left an amazing legacy of memories. His life touched ours, even if only briefly …

And so we stand in a place saying farewell to a brother, an uncle, a neighbour and most of all a friend, who has gone too soon and too quickly for our liking or comfort. And we are left with those ethereal memories and moments that are part of the legacy of life left when death comes.

As I reflect on what we do in this moment, and how we will move forward I am reminded of a poem offered by a clergy man who had stood in a place like this many times, and from that drew these words:

Death is nothing at all.

I have only slipped away to the next room.

I am I and you are you.

Whatever we were to each other,

That, we still are.

Call me by my old familiar name.

Speak to me in the easy way

which you always used.

Put no difference into your tone.

Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.

Laugh as we always laughed

at the little jokes we enjoyed together.

Play, smile, think of me. Pray for me.

Let my name be ever the household word

that it always was.

Let it be spoken without effect.

Without the trace of a shadow on it.

Life means all that it ever meant.

It is the same that it ever was.

There is absolute unbroken continuity.

Why should I be out of mind

because I am out of sight?

I am but waiting for you.

For an interval.

Somewhere. Very near.

Just around the corner.

All is well.

- Rev. Henry Scott Holland

Today our task is to remember Donnie – to recall the moments where is life intersected and touched ours … we are to share these memories with one and other and celebrate the impression this finger print of God has left on our hearts, our souls and our community …

May it be so … thanks be to God … Let us pray …

Prayers of the People 

                        and the Lord’s Prayer:

Commendation & Committal:

Hymn: Amazing Grace - Voices 266

Benediction:

Sermon for April 15th - 2nd of Easter - 2012

Do we ever really think about what we believe and why?

I mean really think about what it is that binds us together in community as the Church, and why we hold to those beliefs?

In truth, in the Church today pretty much the only time we begin to reflect on what we believe is when we are in a place of crisis …something has happened that has jarred us in our comfort and has made us think about what we believe and how we will live out our faith.

The last thirty years within this United Church of ours is marked by what at times seems like an unending series of crises that have challenged us over and over and over … each time the tendancy has been to have battle lines drawn between the ‘faithful’ and the ‘less so’, and we engage in debilitating and distruptive rhetorical exchanges that have all the civility of a school yard brawl … I’ve stood in Church courts where the ‘debate’ degenerated into something very close to shouting – “Yeah, well your mother dresses you funny …”

Yet, knowing what we believe is also foundational in bringing us together and sending us out into the world to BE The Church – the witness to the Good News.

And what we believe is more than a similar taste in music, a common socio-economic background and a convenient and comfortable take on the old stories we share in the Scripture. What we believe is the heart of who and what we are as a Church.

We are by EVERY indication a community of the Resurrection – the very Body of Christ risen and incarnate in the world, and sent out to proclaim not only the message of the Kingdom of God, but to BE the very Kingdom of God in our world.

And the reality is that no matter how powerful those words may be, for the majority of folks in the pews, and for an even bigger majority of people out there (…), they are simply words … quaint and interesting words, but simply words because we’ve forgotten what they mean, and we’ve forgotten what we believe …

If you ask the average American what they believe they will offer an answer that includes God, Mom, apple pie, and the flag … whether we agree or not, our American cousins have a good sense of what they believe – at least on the surface.

Ask the average Canadian and I doubt there would be a commonality of images or ideas … many may cite our multiculturalism as a touchstone … some may note the wilderness and the arctic … others may still offer the politeness we embody … but sadly we have no axis mundi around which we can rally in the same way our southern neighbours do. And that’s okay – it’s how we’ve lived and existed as Canadians – our national identity is such that we know what we are NOT and we’re proud of the diversity of who and what we are …

And this distinctly Canadian entity of which we are a part – the United Church of Canada is a reflection of that. There are parts of us that are most definitely Presbyterian, and other parts that are clearly Methodist, and other parts that reflect the other partners that came into Church Union from 1925 through to today. We are as Canadian as you can get – there is room for all, and we welcome each other accordingly.

But the challenge is that along the way, our Canadian niceness has left us forgetful about what it is that we really believe … We can hold up the New Creed, and say the words “we are not alone, we live in God’s world …” and say “this is what we believe.”

But there is more to our belief that that … we have the Basis of Union and the Doctrine of Faith that brought us into being in 1925 … we have the New Creed … and along the way we have other documents and proclamations of faith that have shaped us and how we move in the world. That is why we engaged in the Remit Study recently and looked at our Words of Faith and discussed them … That is why we struggle as a Church, because we span the breadth of our nation, and in the process we have a HUGE diversity of views that encompass a myriad of points of view and opinions on everything from Scripture through to Poverty and Politics.

And like any good family sometimes we don’t always agree.

And so into that diversity steps the Risen Christ who speaks the words – “Shalom Alokhum” My peace be with you …

The Risen Christ appears FIRST with the gift of Shalom – the peace that surpasses all understanding – the peace that radically alters the moment and delivers more than a cessation of conflict.

When we consider the text we shared this morning what should strike us first is the language used to describe the scene.

The disciples and the others were gathered behind locked doors – they were hiding – they had come together out of fear of the authorities, This was not simply a social gathering, this was a gathering of people in crisis – they were terrified. They were afraid for their own lives. They knew what had happened to Jesus, and despite the words of Mary, Peter and the other disciple that Jesus was Risen, they had their doubts and they were Scared.

Then suddenly, there he is – The Risen Christ standing before them!

And the first words out of his mouth are the words:

PEACE BE WITH YOU.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t think ANY OF THIS would be comforting for me … I would be looking for a window to dive out of and to get away from ALL of this as far and as fast as my feet would carry me.

Yet, the language then used by Jesus becomes important because it offers a template to all of us to follow … Peace – be calm, trust in God, know that God is present even in this confusing and terrifying moment, have faith that God is here and every where. This is about far more than just the end of violence and conflict – this is the gift of SHALOM, God’s ultimate gift that has been celebrated since the days of the prophets – the gift of total and overwhelming peace.

Next Jesus speaks of Forgiveness – unbind those tied to their sins – forgive them … this is a continuation of the gift of Shalom. The Church – the disciples in the upper room, those who followed – you and I – ALL of us are called to trust in God’s Shalom and then to offer it forward by unbinding those weighed down and struggling … we are called to live that forgiveness in a way that sets people free … we have the power to transform the world with God’s gift of Shalom.

So what is it that we believe?

In those moments when we are challenged to reflect on this and to consider what we believe there is a tendency to draw lines and reinforce our positions and get ready to do battle, both figurative and literal and to say “THIS IS WHAT WE BELIEVE” and anyone who disagrees is wrong.

And then enters Thomas … dear fool-hearty Thomas who said he would NOT believe the witness of the others unless he himself sees and touches the Risen Christ … and the outcome of Thomas’ story is his falling to his knees and proclaiming his belief, and more importantly, the Risen One offering the blessing on all of us who have come to believe without that physical experience …

What would have happened if those gathered in the Upper Room had so quickly forgotten the whispered words of Christ … what is in response to Thomas they had forgotten to embody Shalom and Forgiveness? What if they had simply said – “you’re wrong …” and left it at that?

Instead they embodied this idea of UNBINDING and let it happen … in the Gospel of John the word we’ve rendered as Forgiveness, or in older texts as remit, means far more than just simple forgiveness. In the NT, another word is usually used for ‘forgiveness’. In this case it is the greek word aphiemi, which is more about boldly and dramatically letting go and unbinding and releasing – often in a legalistic sense, then it is about forgiveness. It’s a BIG BRASH and POWERFUL term. It’s legalistic, it’s moral, and its economic, but it is NEVER religious.

It is never religious … so why is it in the words spoken by Jesus after the resurrection is it is not a religious term?

Scholar Rudolf Bultmann suggests that it is BECAUSE it is not a religious term that lends its usage here such power:

Forgiveness is (here) an eschatological even that renews the

WHOLE person in whom sin is not just a behaviour, but an orientation

and a condition that permeates the world around us …

Aphiemi is about the release of ALL people from the sin of creation …

Aphiemi about the transformation of ALL people by the presence of the Holy …

Aphiemi is about ALL of creation experiencing the fullness of the Resurrection.

The words spoken by Jesus in this moment is not about a legalistic release, but is about the transformation of Creation by the Shalom that Jesus had just released …

There is no place for battle lines or right and wrong … aphiemi is ALL about the gift of Grace to be shared with all people …

In a time or place of crisis or uncertainty when we are struggling to understand what it is that we believe, the ONLY response is that of Thomas falling to his knees and proclaiming his faith …

In the United Church we are inspired to share the words:

We sing of a church

seeking to continue the story of Jesus

by embodying Christ’s presence in the world.

We are called together by Christ

as a community of broken but hopeful believers,

loving what he loved,

living what he taught,

striving to be faithful servants of God

in our time and place.

Our ancestors in faith

bequeath to us experiences of their faithful living;

upon their lives our lives are built.

Our living of the gospel makes us a part of this communion of saints,

experiencing the fulfillment of God’s reign

even as we actively anticipate a new heaven and a new earth.

The church has not always lived up to its vision.

It requires the Spirit to reorient it,

helping it to live an emerging faith while honouring tradition,

challenging it to live by grace rather than entitlement,

for we are called to be a blessing to the earth.

We sing of God’s good news lived out,

a church with purpose:

faith nurtured and hearts comforted,

gifts shared for the good of all,

resistance to the forces that exploit and marginalize,

fierce love in the face of violence,

human dignity defended,

members of a community held and inspired by God,

corrected and comforted,

instrument of the loving Spirit of Christ,

creation’s mending.

We sing of God’s mission.

May it be so – thanks be to God … Let us pray …