May 28, 2017                 Glory
                                                                                                 

         The Rev. Dr. Sheila Cooper was about to retire. She had served as a conference minister for 8 years. She had done outstanding work, reconciling a divided conference, and helping to heal many broken churches. She was loved and respected by the people she had served, and many were saddened by her retiring. Yes, Rev. Dr. Cooper was retiring, but she had one last thing to do before she retired, she had to attend a meeting at Eden UCC in Edmundsville, ID.

         Eden UCC had a long history of division and animosity towards the United Church of Christ. In good times, the church had grown to over 2000 members, as it focused on the gospel of Jesus Christ and ministered to it’s community. In not so good times, it was filled with division over the work and pronouncements of the denomination, and these struggles drove a lot of faithful people away from the church. This was another of those not so good times, and some of the members where pushing to leave the UCC.

         So on the Thursday night, before her retirement service, She was at Eden to answer questions about the denomination. For over an hour she answered questions, both polite and impolite, about the churches stance on LBGT people, on immigrants, on Muslims, on confirmation programs, on scriptural interpretation, and on OCWM’s use of funds. And for over an hour, she repeatedly spoke of God’s love revealed to us in Jesus Christ, and how that love for all people, was the motivation for the UCC pronouncements and ministries. She spoke of the unity of the church in Christ, and how allowing our political perspectives can create division and cause churches to struggle. She gently reminded the people, that if Jesus Christ was truly our LORD and SAVIOR, then we should all be able to work together on those things we agree on, and not tear our churches apart over those things we don’t agree on.

         On the following Sunday, I got to be present at Rev. Dr. Cooper’s retirement service. It was a wonderful day, filled with singing, joy, fond memories and tears. But as I reflected on these two events, her retirement service, and that Thursday night meeting, I would say, that the moment of God’s glory in her ministry, was revealed in her defense of the gospel of Jesus Christ on that Thursday night. And the members of Eden UCC might have agreed, because when the vote was held, they chose to remain in the United Church of Christ.

         In our gospel lesson this morning, Jesus speaks of God the father’s glory, as it has been manifest in him during his ministry. Now many people think of the glory of Jesus as he comes on the clouds to judge humankind. And truly that day will come! But the glory that the gospel of John speaks about is the glory of God’s love in Jesus life. The love manifest in Jesus death upon the cross, manifest in his forgiving sinners, in restoring the unclean to community, in freeing those bound in slavery to evil spirits, in healing not just jews but foreigners, and preaching God’s love to them as well.  

The glory manifest in his preaching of the gospel, and the crowds of followers it found. The glory of those who heard it and became his disciples, so they could live, not by the rules of the world which seek to divide and enslave us, but by the rules of God’s kingdom which unite us and set us free. This is the glory of which John speaks, and on this final night, Jesus speaks of this glory, and prays for his disciples, and all who become his followers, that they may protected from worldly division, chaos, and death.

In our gospel lesson, Jesus tells us that this love is not known by the world. And that dovetails beautifully with our reading from the Acts last week about the Unknown God. For the gospel of Jesus Christ is not a gospel of success, or power, or wealth. It is a gospel of how God’s love overcomes sin, suffering and death in human life. It is a gospel that heals the broken, lifts up the oppressed, sets free those who are enslaved, overcomes division with unity, and seeks justice for the powerless.

And Jesus knows, that the world will not love us for this gospel. Just look at our news headlines in this past week. The world does not want to spend it’s budget on healing the broken. The world wants to spend more on police to keep the oppressed in line. The world prefers that those who are enslaved - remain poor, addicted to drugs, or locked away in jail. The world prefers that we continue to fight with other nations, faiths, and peoples, because when people are afraid they are more easily controlled. The world doesn’t want justice for the powerless, because it will interfere with the lives of the powerful.  

And throughout history, those who have opposed the world, who have proclaimed the gospel of God’s love and ministered to the powerless, have been jailed, thrown to lions, or labeled as heathens or unchristian. And that’s why Jesus prays for his disciples in his gospel lesson, that they may be gathered into communities of faith for their own protection, and so they may do the work he calls them to do.  

This week, I reflected upon the AIDs ministry that a UCC congregation in the Illinois Conference started. People in the community, didn’t want people with AIDS meeting in the church. People in the church didn’t want AIDS people in the church. Other churches denounced this ministry in the community. But the church, chose to affirm this ministry and in their unity, they grew strong in the Spirit of Christ. It reminded me of the work of American Missionary Society of the Congregation church with slavery. Or the work of the UCC on behalf of immigrant farm workers, or the handicapped, or those living in inner cities, or even the selling of free trade coffee in our local churches. In all of this we are doing work that Jesus calls us to do, and in doing that work we grow strong in our Christian faith as well. In all this, the powers of the world are being overcome, and we are establishing the kingdom of heaven in our midst!