“Future,
Present AND Past”
a condensed version of the
sermon delivered by Kyle Tade at the Illinois Conference Annual
Meeting at Clock Tower Resort in Rockford on June 10th,
2007.
Good Morning. And what a beautiful morning it is. I mean that in all honesty. Whatever happened this past weekend; however you are feeling, take a moment. Reflect on it. Process it. Take a moment.
I wanted to start off by getting a little energy going this morning. To do so, I would ask that you to repeat the first and second verses of the scripture for today.
"Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O My soul!"
"I will Praise the Lord as long as I live"
"I will sing praises to God all my life long!"
Hallelujah and Amen. Praise be to God.
I am charged with examining the idea of "future" as it relates to the Psalm. However I feel that I cannot accurately present the theme of future, without first incorporating the elements of past and present. And the scripture does not exactly lend itself easily to that, but it does engage us in thoughtful consideration for all three of these things.
The scripture acknowledges of God’s work in our lives and bring God into our time of worship and prayer as well as giving praise for the work in our lives so that we may continue to be blessed.
Placed in the Old Testament, prior to the birth of Christ let alone the Christian faith, the Psalm talks about how we must put our trust in God in order to truly understand our relationship to the great Creator and to one another. "Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals whom there is no help" Is a passage I feel has a bit of a harsh tone, but because we are human and all imperfect and we can see the realities of this statement. No person is created perfect, free will I guess you could say, is a divine character flaw. We put our trust at times in people whom we put on a pedestal as we idolize these people in our minds.
The scripture reminds us to humble ourselves and know that sometimes and quite possibly rather often humankind may not have the answer. Though, sometimes we get caught up in the heat of the moment arguing for or against something without relying upon faithful consideration to help us make a decision. It is the eternal breath of the Lord that takes us further than we can ever imagine. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we will ascend into Heaven at the right hand of God.
We see the words of this particular Psalm also as a voice for social action, "The Lord sets prisoners free, opens the eyes of the blind, lifts up those who are bowed down; / loves the righteous, / watches over strangers; and upholds the orphan and the widow". The scripture seems almost prophetic in the ways and the work of who would be God’s child, Our Lord, Jesus the Christ. Christ sought out those who society had deemed unworthy and unwelcome to join with the others at God’s table. He reached out as a means of demonstrating God’s everlasting love as true. Christ born to ordinary people chosen for this extraordinary purpose. Showing that any and everyone is called to contribute to the work of God.
The Psalm wants us to realize that we must "give it up to God" at times if we truly wish to come out better, stronger, wiser, or even more at ease. Which is a frustrating and difficult task, and because of that, it’s that much more important. It’s almost as though we are the blind ones now. We are the ones who must be set free from the human error and have God open our eyes for the chance to better mankind. Historically the UCC has done that. Throughout this 50th Anniversary year the United Church of Christ reflects upon its past. Our Congregationalist ancestors helped in freeing those aboard the Amistad, we have taken a position in the Civil Rights movement, Gender Equality in general and among clergy, the denomination has taken a position to be Open and Affirming, Accessible to All, Multicultural and Multiracial, willing to not only acknowledge but (no sola demostrar el amor para cada otra persona pero el amor de nuestro Dios para nostoros todos) not only demonstrating our love for one another but demonstrating the love of our God for ALL of us! Every…single…one of us. We defy the status quo as the people whom God has chosen. Christ was a refuge for the same people that our society has marginalized now. He became a place where people felt they belonged and that they were loved regardless of who they were and where they were on life’s journey.
But "what does the Lord require? But to Do Justice, Love Kindness and Walk Humbly with your God" – Micah 6:8. What are we to do as a people of God’s own beautiful and glorious creation but then to live out these words. To try to live in a manner that Jesus himself lived. To dare live in a manner of compassion, openness and acceptance the United Church of Christ has demonstrated time, and time again. It takes courage. It takes strength, it takes will, and it takes help.
I had a course this past semester; believe it or not, I went to class as a college student even as early as 9:15am. The course, "Ministry: Callings and Practice" guided myself and the six others to look at vocation and the idea of our calling in the general sense as well as the personal sense. One of the objectives of the course was to be able to step out of ourselves and look at our calling as people in respect to God’s will. What did we hear God wanting us to do? How could we prepare ourselves to hear God’s call better? Had God placed a comma where we thought a period? I struggled with these questions greatly. We examined about 30 or so selections from theologians and religious figures ranging from early martyrs of the Christian church (Joan of Arc) to the more well known Martin Luther, Dorothy Sayers and Horace Bushnell, John Calvin. Some of these selections only made me question even more as to the motivation behind Christian belief and the reasons for doing the work these incredible people did. They believed beyond a shadow of a doubt the truth that is God. It consumed them past present and future.
My problem was that I have a tendency to over think and over analyze when it comes to religion. Though something struck me unexpectedly, you’ll understand why it was so unexpected in a moment, in a selection by Thomas Merton a catholic trappist monk of the mid 20th century, states plainly "Everyone has a vocation". Simple as that. "Everyone has a vocation". Okay, so what? Well, we are all called by God for some type of work. What specific work God has for each and every one of us for the future, depends on your gifts. I know I certainly cannot stand up here and pretend that I know for certain. But that’s the power behind this text…I do know that there is something.
Horace Bushnell, was a pastor in Hartford, Connecticut during the mid 19th Century, who was actively involved in the Early Sunday School movement, comments we must, "Study our trials, our talents, the world’s wants, and stand ready to serve God now, in whatever [the almighty creator] brings to our hands". We all bring our gifts to the table. This time in the life of the Church it is all the more imperative that we acknowledge these gifts in ourselves and in others. God utilizes each and everyone one of these gifts to their greatest capacity and we must trust, in the Lord and give up to God because for sure God knows how to use them.
We live in a time of great change; both in our lives and in the lives of the Church. What the future holds cannot know. Though we do know God has always been with us, God is with us now, and God will always be with us. "Praise be to God". No matter what.
I ask that you not look at me or the other youth as the only future of the church. It takes the past and the present to foster its growth and be part of it. I ask that you look at the youth as your brothers and sisters in Christ because we’re all still trying to figure it out.