“A United Church”

June 28, 2009

Jeremiah 31:31-34

Mark 9:38-41

The 27^th General Synod of the United Church of Christ began last Friday in Grand Rapids, Michigan. These biennial meetings are a chance for people in our denomination to reflect together on where we have been and discern together where God might be taking us. Each Conference is represented by both clergy and laity and this year Megan Carnes is attending as a delegate from the Iowa Conference.

This is a good time, then to think about what it means for us to be a part of the United Church of Christ.

Visitors come to this church from a variety of traditions—or no religious tradition at all—and ask: “What does it mean to be a member of the United Church of Christ?

Parents have children with friends whose churches seem to have a solid sense of who they are: “We’re United Methodist. We’re Episcopalian.” They say.  And the children of this congregation ask: “What does it mean to be UCC?”

Even those who have been faithful members for years occasionally find themselves asking: “Well, what does it mean?”

We can begin our answer by recognizing that the United Church of Christ is a distinct Christian tradition.

Perhaps the example of cells in our bodies can help. Healthy cells are defined. They “know” what is part of the cell and what is not. A cancer cell, on the other hand, has no boundaries and respects no boundaries of others cells.

It is important for us as a congregation to clarify what makes us unique. We need to establish the uniqueness and distinctiveness of this congregation as we live our faith visibly in the world.

To say we “are not” United Methodist or Episcopalian or whatever does not help much. Certainly many of us come from other denominations. But in joining this congregation, we take on a new identity.

As a UCC congregation, the task of establishing our uniqueness is not so simple. We are part of a denomination formed from the merger of two other denominations—and each of those groups were formed from two denominations. We call ourselves “Congregational UCC”—recognizing and honoring our Congregational heritage and our current denominational status. So, as I said, the task of establishing our unique identity is not simple. But then again, who would think that anything in the UCC would be simple?

Our distinct tradition emphasizes a searching faith, individual freedom, and inclusive community.

We seek to follow the God made known to us in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. We seek to be open to the Spirit of God moving among us.

But we are wary of formulations of faith.

And this is one of our most distinctive features. No creed is binding upon the members of this church. This is not because creeds do not matter, but because sincerity of conviction requires that we all have the full opportunity for intellectual freedom and personal experience. We will not limit ourselves or our children to a museum faith. We claim for ourselves and offer to our children a faith that is alive in the world.

We value the freedom we have as members of the United Church of Christ, but that leaves many people with a sense of vagueness. “No one can tell us what to believe,” is hardly a stirring affirmation of faith. While we avoid dogmatic proclamations, we are people who cherish the freedom to think out and work out what is always a growing, changing faith.

Following the lead of Jesus in the Gospel lesson that we heard, we have an inclusive sense of community. Congregationalism naturally attracts men and women of genuine conviction, of adventurous faith, and of gracious respect for each other’s sincerity.

We’re not all alike. At our congregational meeting last Sunday we approved a resolution calling for the formation of a commission of inquiry into U.S. sponsored torture. Not everyone agreed with that resolution.

We’re not all alike. But we are similar in our openness to and respect for the faith of others. We are similar in our faith that God is still working within us and among us and through us in the world. We are similar in our fierce recognition that this church belongs to us. It is our work, our life, our responsibility.

The United Church of Christ is a distinct Christian tradition that emphasizes a searching faith, individual freedom, and inclusive community.

As such, the United Church of Christ requires something of us.

Let me be a little clearer: the approach to Christianity in the United Church of Christ requires a great deal from us.

Actually, let me be very honest: to be a part of the United Church of Christ requires everything. It requires the best of who we are and it calls forth the best of who we are. To be a part of a UCC congregation requires us to be people who think through our faith rather than accept what we have been told or what we have received. To be a part of a UCC congregation requires that we live out our faith in the world of politics and economics rather than take on a passive, other-worldly spirituality. To be a part of a UCC congregation requires that we love God with all our heart and mind and strength and our neighbors as ourselves.

Yes, there is a kind of “easy” approach to this life of faith that always tempts individuals and congregations. It suggests that since we don’t have creeds, what we believe doesn’t matter and you can pretty much think and do as you please. Sure, you can. But such an approach will not yield up the riches of our tradition for us as individuals or as a congregation.

We have chosen an expression of the Christian faith that calls us into action. Being a part of the United Church of Christ is not a spectator sport. Our traditional disciplines of common worship, Bible study, prayer, giving, working for justice in the world give us strength and show who we are as we live before God.

You’ve probably seen those T-shirts that ask: “What if the Hokey-Pokey is what it’s all about?” In our denomination we learn that it’s only as we “put our whole self in” that our faith begins to make sense.

Being a part of the United Church of Christ requires much from each of us. It requires our all.

While it requires much, it also gives us the wonderful gift of covenant. And this is the genius of our tradition.

Our ancestors in faith in the early New England Congregational churches understood the whole of the Christian faith as a covenant—a relationship of mutual commitment between God and God’s people. Sure, those Puritans could be downright nasty, but at their best, they saw that covenant as growing out of gratitude for God’s gifts of forgiveness and power for a faithful life.

A “covenant of grace” is how they described it. It was not a matter of “Do this for life” but of “Do this from life.” That is, act in certain ways, not to win God’s grace but because you have received God’s grace already. The covenant, written upon our hearts, calls each of us to individual accountability before God. That is a key insight of our tradition.

While the early Congregationalists understood that this was an everlasting covenant, they also recognized the many ways in which they broke that covenant. So from time to time congregations would engage in a period of fasting and self-reflection in order to renew their covenant with God and with one another.

Left to themselves, things decay. People get tired. People give up.

But we are not left to ourselves.

Our covenant with one another keeps us together through good times and rough times. Our covenant with one another leads us to bear one another’s burdens. Our covenant with one another continues to infuse us with new energy, new purpose, new hope.

Covenant is the wonderful gift we receive as members of this congregation and our denomination.

The United Church of Christ is a distinct Christian tradition that requires our utmost and gives us the support of a covenant community.

As this covenant community we worship today and every Sunday.

It is significant, I think, that one of the words for “worship”—liturgy—comes from a Greek word that means “the work of the people.” While we traditionally think of Sunday as a day of rest, in reality we are called to do our highest, our best, and our most significant work of the week in this hour.

This is the time, this is the place where we bring our hurts, our disappointments, and our failures into the loving and forgiving presence of God. This is the time, this is the place where we bring our great hopes, our deep longings, our earnest prayers into the empowering and encouraging presence of God. It is the most important hour of your week—and I am glad that you decided to spend it here.

And from this time, this place we are all sent out once again to live faithfully in a troubled and hurting world.

The tasks we are called to as individuals, as a congregation, as a nation in these days are great. As is the case with all things in the future, the road before us is largely unknown. But we have a past that speaks of God’s providence. We have a faith tradition that requires much from us and gives us even more.

It’s a great time to be a part of this congregation.

It’s a great time to be a part of the United Church of Christ.

And especially, it’s a great time to be alive before the living God.