Call For Unity
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"Call for Unity" by Keith Wagner
"From Grief to Thankfulness" by Keith Wagner
Call for Unity
by Keith Wagner
Hosea 1:2-10
In the midst of this presidential election year we have been hearing the need to unify by both major political parties. Whenever you have a group of people you have many different personalities. Inevitably there will be someone you don’t like or one who is quite different than yourself. This leads to discord and problems. The profit Hosea begins with a call to unity. God intervened which forced the Israelites to accept someone who had a cultural background which was different from their tradition. In other words, they were not inclusive and as a result the love of God was not very visible.
I remember the very first Sunday at the three rural churches I served when I was in seminary. The churches shared a pastor and since each had a worship service on every Sunday it was impossible for the pastor to be on time for every service. They compensated for that by having worship leaders who led the hymns, made announcements and took up the offering. This was a practice I was not used to since I grew up in a large urban church. One of the churches had a man who was a bit obnoxious. His personality and mine clashed. In retrospect I believe my ego blinded my ability to appreciate the man’s talents. After I had been at the church a few months I had a problem with the parsonage and this same man was the one who came and repaired it. As it turned out he was very supportive of my ministry and I grew to appreciate his gifts. Our religious culture was different but I learned we all had to work together.
Just as the church needs unity to survive so do all the other areas of our lives. The people in our families are not all the same. Those we work with are not all the same. This is true in school, in our places of recreation, the neighborhoods where we live and especially politics. So then, how do we maintain unity and be different at the same time?
Diversity forces us to embrace cultures and customs that are foreign to us. It challenges the customs and traditions we are accustomed to. It is much easier to remain in cozy, familiar circles than interact with people who are different from us. But, change is inevitable. To resist it is to remain in isolation from a world that is full of opportunities and creativity, full of people who have gifts, talents and wisdom to offer us.
I shall never forget the day my wife and I had to say goodbye to our neighbors who were returning to Japan after living five years in the United States. AJ, our neighbor, was an engineer with Honda and had completed his five-year term. He and his wife, Eri were returning home with a new son, Matthew. They asked me to perform a "dedication" ceremony for him which was basically a form of baptism.
Since he was born in the U.S., his parents wanted him to be blessed as a part of their religious heritage. I was honored that they chose me to do the ceremony. It took place on a Saturday in the sanctuary of the church where I was the pastor. The family came along with the child’s grandmother from Japan. They took hundreds of photos and gave me a gift following the ceremony. It was a collage of pictures of me performing the blessing.
To make the event relevant to their religious background I tailored the blessing by incorporating part of the rite from Shintoism. In their tradition the presider blesses the child with an olive branch. I also baptized the child by sprinkling water on his forehead. Our Japanese friends were absolutely ecstatic about the event. It was a meaningful event for me because it showed that two different cultures can indeed come together.
***
From Grief to Thankfulness
by Keith Wagner
Colossians 2:6-19
One time I was visiting an elderly woman. As we talked she was lamenting over the loss of her husband and home. She now lived in a retirement center. After a few moments of lament her sorrow changed to a spirit of gratefulness. She said, "O well, I have so much to be thankful for." She then said that she was thankful for all her life experiences, the life with her husband, her home, her family and all she had received and enjoyed.
It is our human nature to lament over the things in life we have lost. On the other hand, to acknowledge our blessings or express an attitude of thankfulness takes a bit more effort. It comes from the belief that God deserves our praise for all that we have received.
Little did the woman know that she would become a great source of comfort to me when I experienced the loss of both my parents in the same month in 2009. It was a time of overwhelming grief. Thankfully I recalled that visit and began thanking God for my parents. Rather than continue to ask, “Why me?” I began being grateful for their gifts of love. That transformation enabled me to move through a period of grief and be more hopeful.
Here in Colossians, Paul is suggesting an "alternative" lifestyle for the believer. In that day there was a tendency toward ritual and religion. In other words, to be faithful meant that you subscribed to a traditional practice of prayers, liturgies and practices. When a person is truly transformed as a person of faith their lives are evidenced by "virtues" not religious practices. Paul specifically focused on "thankfulness" as one of the primary ways we live as alternative people of the faith. He states, "Let your hearts overflow with thankfulness.”
One time an anonymous caller called a radio talk show in Chicago and told the story of six year old Susie. She wondered why her mother was baking a casserole for their neighbor, Mrs. Smith. Her mother explained that the woman was very sad since her daughter had died and she had a broken heart. Her mother said, "Because we are part of a community and Mrs. Smith is our neighbor, we need to do some things to help her."
She then challenged Susie to do something for Mrs. Smith. Susie went to Mrs. Smith’s house and said, "My mommy says that you lost your daughter and you’re very, very sad with a broken heart. This is for your broken heart." Then, Susie gave Mrs. Smith a BandAid. Mrs. Smith accepted Susie’s act of kindness and took it one step further. She put the Bandaid in a key-ring picture frame to remind herself to heal a little every time she looked at it.
By expressing our thankfulness like Susie we are living witnesses to the grace of God. Giving ourselves to others is a way of worship in which thanksgiving and glory to God is expressed.
To make the transition from grief to thankfulness is not a simple process. It takes time, determination and a change of heart. Sometimes we have to have experiences in other cultures where we can witness the love of people in a culture which is totally different from our own.
I have a colleague who traveled to Brazil several years ago. His church was working with a sister church in a community where they had constructed a clinic. All the medical aid was free to the villagers. The project now includes a hostel, so folks who travel a great distance can stay with members of their families.
He said, “They don’t have churches like ours. Instead they worship in homes, make-shift sanctuaries and even garages.” My friend had the opportunity to worship in a garage that a family had renovated. He also had an opportunity to visit their home. Their home was very plain. Part of the floor was dirt. The walls needed painting and they had little furniture. On the other hand, the garage was beautifully decorated. The garage floor had new tile and the walls were freshly painted. This particular family had made sacrifices in their living quarters so the village would have a beautiful place to worship.
My friend said that experience transformed his faith. From then on he was more grateful to God for what he had than what he didn’t have.
Rev. Dr. Keith Wagner is the pastor of St. John's UCC in Troy, Ohio. He has served churches in Southwest Ohio for over three decades. He is an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ and has an M.Div. from Methodist Theological School, Delaware, Ohio, and a D.Min. from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. He has also been an adjunct professor at Edison Community College, Piqua, Ohio. He and his wife, Lin, live in Springfield, Ohio.
*****************************************
StoryShare, July 24, 2016, issue.
Copyright 2016 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
"Call for Unity" by Keith Wagner
"From Grief to Thankfulness" by Keith Wagner
Call for Unity
by Keith Wagner
Hosea 1:2-10
In the midst of this presidential election year we have been hearing the need to unify by both major political parties. Whenever you have a group of people you have many different personalities. Inevitably there will be someone you don’t like or one who is quite different than yourself. This leads to discord and problems. The profit Hosea begins with a call to unity. God intervened which forced the Israelites to accept someone who had a cultural background which was different from their tradition. In other words, they were not inclusive and as a result the love of God was not very visible.
I remember the very first Sunday at the three rural churches I served when I was in seminary. The churches shared a pastor and since each had a worship service on every Sunday it was impossible for the pastor to be on time for every service. They compensated for that by having worship leaders who led the hymns, made announcements and took up the offering. This was a practice I was not used to since I grew up in a large urban church. One of the churches had a man who was a bit obnoxious. His personality and mine clashed. In retrospect I believe my ego blinded my ability to appreciate the man’s talents. After I had been at the church a few months I had a problem with the parsonage and this same man was the one who came and repaired it. As it turned out he was very supportive of my ministry and I grew to appreciate his gifts. Our religious culture was different but I learned we all had to work together.
Just as the church needs unity to survive so do all the other areas of our lives. The people in our families are not all the same. Those we work with are not all the same. This is true in school, in our places of recreation, the neighborhoods where we live and especially politics. So then, how do we maintain unity and be different at the same time?
Diversity forces us to embrace cultures and customs that are foreign to us. It challenges the customs and traditions we are accustomed to. It is much easier to remain in cozy, familiar circles than interact with people who are different from us. But, change is inevitable. To resist it is to remain in isolation from a world that is full of opportunities and creativity, full of people who have gifts, talents and wisdom to offer us.
I shall never forget the day my wife and I had to say goodbye to our neighbors who were returning to Japan after living five years in the United States. AJ, our neighbor, was an engineer with Honda and had completed his five-year term. He and his wife, Eri were returning home with a new son, Matthew. They asked me to perform a "dedication" ceremony for him which was basically a form of baptism.
Since he was born in the U.S., his parents wanted him to be blessed as a part of their religious heritage. I was honored that they chose me to do the ceremony. It took place on a Saturday in the sanctuary of the church where I was the pastor. The family came along with the child’s grandmother from Japan. They took hundreds of photos and gave me a gift following the ceremony. It was a collage of pictures of me performing the blessing.
To make the event relevant to their religious background I tailored the blessing by incorporating part of the rite from Shintoism. In their tradition the presider blesses the child with an olive branch. I also baptized the child by sprinkling water on his forehead. Our Japanese friends were absolutely ecstatic about the event. It was a meaningful event for me because it showed that two different cultures can indeed come together.
***
From Grief to Thankfulness
by Keith Wagner
Colossians 2:6-19
One time I was visiting an elderly woman. As we talked she was lamenting over the loss of her husband and home. She now lived in a retirement center. After a few moments of lament her sorrow changed to a spirit of gratefulness. She said, "O well, I have so much to be thankful for." She then said that she was thankful for all her life experiences, the life with her husband, her home, her family and all she had received and enjoyed.
It is our human nature to lament over the things in life we have lost. On the other hand, to acknowledge our blessings or express an attitude of thankfulness takes a bit more effort. It comes from the belief that God deserves our praise for all that we have received.
Little did the woman know that she would become a great source of comfort to me when I experienced the loss of both my parents in the same month in 2009. It was a time of overwhelming grief. Thankfully I recalled that visit and began thanking God for my parents. Rather than continue to ask, “Why me?” I began being grateful for their gifts of love. That transformation enabled me to move through a period of grief and be more hopeful.
Here in Colossians, Paul is suggesting an "alternative" lifestyle for the believer. In that day there was a tendency toward ritual and religion. In other words, to be faithful meant that you subscribed to a traditional practice of prayers, liturgies and practices. When a person is truly transformed as a person of faith their lives are evidenced by "virtues" not religious practices. Paul specifically focused on "thankfulness" as one of the primary ways we live as alternative people of the faith. He states, "Let your hearts overflow with thankfulness.”
One time an anonymous caller called a radio talk show in Chicago and told the story of six year old Susie. She wondered why her mother was baking a casserole for their neighbor, Mrs. Smith. Her mother explained that the woman was very sad since her daughter had died and she had a broken heart. Her mother said, "Because we are part of a community and Mrs. Smith is our neighbor, we need to do some things to help her."
She then challenged Susie to do something for Mrs. Smith. Susie went to Mrs. Smith’s house and said, "My mommy says that you lost your daughter and you’re very, very sad with a broken heart. This is for your broken heart." Then, Susie gave Mrs. Smith a BandAid. Mrs. Smith accepted Susie’s act of kindness and took it one step further. She put the Bandaid in a key-ring picture frame to remind herself to heal a little every time she looked at it.
By expressing our thankfulness like Susie we are living witnesses to the grace of God. Giving ourselves to others is a way of worship in which thanksgiving and glory to God is expressed.
To make the transition from grief to thankfulness is not a simple process. It takes time, determination and a change of heart. Sometimes we have to have experiences in other cultures where we can witness the love of people in a culture which is totally different from our own.
I have a colleague who traveled to Brazil several years ago. His church was working with a sister church in a community where they had constructed a clinic. All the medical aid was free to the villagers. The project now includes a hostel, so folks who travel a great distance can stay with members of their families.
He said, “They don’t have churches like ours. Instead they worship in homes, make-shift sanctuaries and even garages.” My friend had the opportunity to worship in a garage that a family had renovated. He also had an opportunity to visit their home. Their home was very plain. Part of the floor was dirt. The walls needed painting and they had little furniture. On the other hand, the garage was beautifully decorated. The garage floor had new tile and the walls were freshly painted. This particular family had made sacrifices in their living quarters so the village would have a beautiful place to worship.
My friend said that experience transformed his faith. From then on he was more grateful to God for what he had than what he didn’t have.
Rev. Dr. Keith Wagner is the pastor of St. John's UCC in Troy, Ohio. He has served churches in Southwest Ohio for over three decades. He is an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ and has an M.Div. from Methodist Theological School, Delaware, Ohio, and a D.Min. from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. He has also been an adjunct professor at Edison Community College, Piqua, Ohio. He and his wife, Lin, live in Springfield, Ohio.
*****************************************
StoryShare, July 24, 2016, issue.
Copyright 2016 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
