Romans 8:26-39
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

The reactions, locally and across the country, to the UCC General Synod actions a few weeks ago have reminded me that some of what I value most about our denomination is greatly misunderstood, not only by the secular media but also by sister churches. Much of the non-religious press does not understand our polity, our system of church government. Some of our brothers and sisters in Christ do not understand, or sometimes even try to understand, how we read the scriptures and form our faith.

So there are two parts to my sermon today: a brief lesson in church polity or government, and a longer lesson in how we read the Bible.

The issue of church government is the easiest, so we’ll tackle it first.

In a congregational system of church government, like we in the UCC inherited from our Congregational ancestors, the local congregational is a whole church. What does that mean? Everything essential for being a church of Jesus Christ can be found in a local congregation. The Reformers defined the ‘marks of the church’ as being preaching of God’s word, i.e. scripture, and the administration of the sacraments of baptism and communion. Where the Word is preached and the sacraments shared, there the church is; nothing else is needed. Conspicuously absent is church hierarchy. Our tradition sees the Church at its most basic as being local congregations.

Several practices in the life of our congregations come from this basic conviction. First is a fierce spirit of independence. “Nobody can tell me what to believe.” While arrogant statements like that are a danger, the positive side, for me, is overwhelming: we are free to, and we even have the responsibility for, state our faith and beliefs in our own words. We learn from 2000 years of church traditions and teachings, but ultimately each one of us, each one of you, must come to your own faith. Faith is not something you can borrow from your neighbor like a hammer or cake pan. So, in the UCC we find independent-thinking Christians and congregations.

Second practice in congregational life: We own property as individual congregations. First Congregational UCC in Waterville owns this building and our trust funds and other assets. Neither the Maine Conference nor the national UCC can tell us what to do with our property and other assets; that’s for the congregation to decide.

Third: Each UCC congregation hires its own ministers and staff. The conference and national offices assist in the process of distributing ministerial profiles (clergy resumes) and can offer advice. But when a minister is called to a church, the congregation votes to hire the minister. Many of you were in attendance at the congregational meetings when Alice and I were called to serve as your pastors.

Fourth: The national and regional parts of the church cannot tell a local church to adopt or to reject any particular policies in congregational life. This is the part the media often get wrong when they speak as if all denominations were hierarchical. When the General Synod meets every two years, various pronouncements and resolutions on church matters and social concerns are discussed and voted upon. The General Synod always speaks TO the local churches, never FOR the local churches. Because we have covenanted together, voluntarily joined ourselves to the UCC, we take seriously what General Synod says. But General Synod actions do not automatically become policy for our congregation.

If you want to hear first-hand reports about how General Synod operates, Martha and Tina Phillips can tell you. Tina attended as a voting delegate and Martha as an observer. They can tell you how seriously delegates take their responsibilities, and also how seriously they take the scriptures and their faith. Somehow, all these independent-thinking UCCers reach decisions, majority if not unanimous, on a great variety of statements about church life and the responsibilities of Christians in our world.

The topic from this year’s General Synod receiving the most reaction, within and outside the church, has been the statement on same sex marriage. Some of the reaction has been to question, even to challenge, the faith commitments of any who support such an action. The challenge is usually along the lines of ‘’How can anyone who calls themselves Christian and reads the Bible even consider such a thing? It’s an abomination to God.’’ But the vote in General Synod was an overwhelming 80% for the resolution. While in my weaker moments I am tempted to respond in inappropriate ways, in my more irenic moods I realize that there are very different ways of reading the scriptures and understanding the continuing work of God at work here.

That’s what we turn to now.

Our gospel readings recently have all been about aspects of God’s kingdom, the kingdom of heaven. However, it might be better for us to think in terms of God’s realm or rule rather than kingdom. That’s closer to the original understanding. God’s kingdom, or God’s rule, is not just for a future time and future world; God’s rule is also for this world.

And what is God’s rule like? Like a sower who casts seeds on different kinds of ground; like a field with wheat and weeds; like a tiny mustard seed growing into a large plant; like yeast in flour; like a buried treasure, or a valuable pearl, or a net full of mixed kinds of fish.

Our understanding of these parables, and of all of God’s word in scripture, grows and deepens, and sometimes even changes, as we face new situations and challenges in life. ‘’And he [Jesus] said to them, ‘Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.’ ‘’ (vs. 52)

We have treasures old and new. Within the Christian faith we have dialogue, discussion, and arguments about how to use the old treasures and what of the new really is a treasure. Some examples – and here I am drawing heavily on a sermon preached at General Synod by Rev. Kenneth Samuels, pastor of a large African-American congregation outside of Atlanta that joined the UCC a few years ago. Ken was a fellow participant at both of the God Is Still Speaking pastors’ gatherings I attended in Cleveland. Copies of Ken’s whole sermon are available in at www.ucc.org. I will quote him at length because he puts it better than I can.

Some examples of new treasures coming out of old treasures, from Ken Samuel:
‘’Dr. William Sloane Coffin, legendary prophet pastor of the historic Riverside Church in New York City states that the Bible not only answers our questions, the Bible also questions our answers. The Bible is not just a divine monologue, the Bible is a dynamic dialogue between divinity and humanity. The Bible is not just a code of commandments, the Bible is a current of conversation.

‘’The Bible is not just God’s word to Moses, it’s also Moses’ words back to God. ‘What? Who am I? That I should go before the Pharoah, and say to him let my people go? And, Lord, if I go, whom should I say sent me?’ The Bible is not just God’s word to the disciples. The Bible is the disciples’ words back to God. … And at no point, throughout the whole Bible, does God cut the conversation off. In fact, the message of the Bible is that as long as we call on God, God will hear and answer. And the message is that as long as God is speaking, it behooves all of us to keep listening.

‘’Somebody in here tonight ought to be glad about the fact that God is still speaking. You know it’s one thing to know what God has said in the Bible. It’s another thing to know what God is saying to you and me through the Bible in our particular context.

‘’Colossians 3:22 says, ‘Slaves obey your earthly masters in everything. Not only while being watched and in order to please them, but wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord.’ But those of you who look like me ought to be glad that God was still speaking. And thank God that somebody was still listening until they received the new revelation of God of liberty and justice for all.

‘’Leviticus 19:19 gives us a list of strict prohibitions against the mixing of seeds and fabrics. But for all of us here tonight who have made friends with those twins, Polly and Ester, you ought to be glad that God was still speaking. Leviticus 20:10 says that if a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death. But somebody in here tonight ought to be glad that God was still speaking, because if adultery still warranted death, a whole lot of us wouldn’t live to see tomorrow. Leviticus 11: 7 and 8 tells us that swine is unclean. It’s really, according to Leviticus, an abomination, and forbids us from eating it or even touching it. But on this Fourth of July weekend I know somebody ought to be glad that God is still speaking. All of us who love bacon, fatback ham, barbecue ribs, pork chops and football ought to be glad that God is still speaking. And thank God that somebody was still listening until they got the revelation God gave Peter that God made everything and what God has made clean let no one call unclean.

‘’First Corinthians 14: 34 and 35 says, ‘Let your women keep silence in churches for it is not permitted unto them to speak. But they are commanded to be under obedience as also sayeth the law.’ By the way, that’s the New Testament. The Bible goes on to say that if they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is a shame for women to speak in the church. But all my sisters in here tonight ought to be glad that God is still speaking. Especially all of my single sisters, because without a husband you might never get your questions answered.

‘’Leviticus 20:13 says if a man lyeth also with mankind as he lyeth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them. But somebody in here tonight ought to be glad that God is still speaking. Somebody ought to be glad that somebody is still listening to the still speaking God. Somebody ought to be glad that the revelation of God in Jesus Christ supercedes the law of Leviticus and the limited understanding of the apostle Paul. Somebody ought to be glad about it.”

You see how the mixture of old and new treasures works?

The scriptures have an overarching movement toward peace and justice and love, towards God’s reign or rule. Did the people of the Old and New Testaments embody God’s kingdom? Yes, in some ways. But not in others. One of the fascinating things about our scriptures is that people of faith are not portrayed as perfect ‘saints.’ Their warts and imperfections are there too. We learn from them – from their virtues and their vices. Do we embody elements of the kingdom? Sure we do. Do we have farther to travel on the path of faithfulness? You bet. We stand on their shoulders as we look ahead to God’s full reign. And we use our God-given intelligence and faith-formed judgment to decide what is treasure and what is tarnished from our past.

There are risks as we travel the pathway of faith. The UCC has been a leader in listening to our still-speaking God, in taking risks along the continuing journey of faith.

We step out in faith, taking risks because of our deep convictions about God’s love, mercy, and justice. We can say with Paul that nothing can separate us from the love of God we know through Christ Jesus.

Ours is a faith that is not content to polish the old treasured silver and never use it. Once in a while at home Alice and I get out the silver knives and forks and spoons for a special meal. A few pieces stay in the silver chest. I don’t even know the names for them. They are relics of another time that used different eating utensils. Wisdom is knowing which treasures to get out and which to leave packed away.

Support of slavery, capital punishment for non-capital crimes, prohibition of certain meats, silence of women in church – these aren’t the treasures of our faith they were once thought to be; they are relics of another time to be packed away.

The prophetic calls for the rich to remember the poor and disadvantaged rather than exploit them, the warnings not to be too quick to exclude folk from God’s heavenly banquet, the extravagant hospitality of Jesus’ meals – these are old treasures to be kept in use.

As for new treasures, we are in the midst of a great debate in the Church.