We Are One

“We Are One”

Sermon for MCC New Haven

Sunday April 21, 2013

Rev. Brian Hutchison, M.Div.

·      There is no way of “explaining” the events of this past week, including the bombing in Boston and the explosion in West, Texas. The media has given us far too many details to process and our minds cannot erase the images of carnage in our minds. What we can do is hand these situations over to God, vowing to dedicate our own lives to peace and justice in our world. By coming to MCC and praying for peace, you are “doing something.”

·      Names of Boston victims: 8-year-old Martin Richard, 29-year-old Krystle Campbell, and Lingzi Lu of China.

·      The names of the 14 who died in West Texas have not yet all been released.

·      Moment of silence.

·      These kinds of events shake our lives because these people lived lives like us. We enjoy the privilege of living with a sense of safety and comfort.

·      According to the United Nations, 25,000 people around the world die every day of hunger- 16,000 of them children. That’s one every 3 ½ seconds. In many places in the US, the poor can go to soup kitchens or at least scavenge for leftovers. In impoverished countries, there are no such things. I state these facts not to belittle our country’s problem with violence, but rather to put into perspective how fortunate we are here.

·      Where do the hard facts leave us in our faith? “What do we say to these things?” In the Gospel reading from John (10:22-30), people gathered around Jesus asking him for simple answers. Jesus tended to speak in parables full of metaphors that allowed those who heard them to use their own intelligence. They didn’t want a wise answer, just a quick and bold one. In fact, they wanted an answer that would have warranted violence.

·      It is important to point out that the Festival of Dedication was happening as Jesus is asked these things. The Festival of Dedication was what we know as Hanukkah. Though it is now celebrated by Jews as a parallel to Christmas, it was the story of a positive sign in the midst of destruction. From 167-160 BCE, the Jewish Maccabean Revolt against Greece happened. Hanukkah celebrates the victory the Maccabees had over the Greek Empire and the rededication of the Temple after its first destruction.

·      After destruction and war, we are called to rededication as well. God is in the business of repurposing, turning broken vessels into mosaics.

·      The Gospel of Jesus is all about eternal hope that no matter what happens, we are never lost, we are never alone, and we are never too far gone to save.

·      Psalm 23 from the modern interpretation Psalms Now:

“The Lord is my constant companion.

There is no need that [God] cannot fulfill.

Whether [God’s] course for me points to the

mountaintops of glorious joy

or to the valleys of human suffering,

[God] is by my side.

[God] is ever present with me.

[God] is close beside me when I tread the dark streets of danger,

and even when I flirt with death itself,

[God] will not leave me.

When the pain is severe, [God] is near to comfort.

When the burden is heavy, [God] is there to lean upon.

When depression darkens my soul,

[God] touches me with eternal joy.

When I feel empty and alone,

[God] fills the aching vacuum with [God’s] power.

My security is in [God’s] promise to be near me always

and in the knowledge that [God] will never let me go.”

- Leslie F. Brandt, in Psalms Now