Several weeks ago, on the
day that we had planned to worship in our recreation park, I wore a red
tee-shirt with a big white comma on the front of it. I was surprised that many
of you didn’t know why I was wearing it. In particular, you didn’t know why I
wore a shirt with a comma on it. Here’s the answer: I was wearing that comma tee
shirt because we members of the United Church of Christ are “comma people.” Comma
people? Why are we comma people? Why aren’t we “exclamation point people”?
After all, an exclamation point can be a symbol of joy! Why aren’t we “plus
people,” because we’re always wanting to add more people to our fellowship; or “parentheses
people” because we want to include everyone? Well, we certainly are all those
things. But we in the UCC claim the comma as distinctively ours. That’s because
a comma means that something is still in progress. It means that, even though
we might pause to take a breath, we’re not finished yet! There’s more to come.
That’s one of the basic
beliefs of the United Church of Christ: God isn’t finished yet. God didn’t tell
us everything that there is to know back in biblical times. We can’t just thump
the Bible and say, “It’s all here! We don’t need to think anymore!” Oh, the foundation of our faith is certainly
there, in the stories of Jesus Christ, and in the much older stories of the
Exodus and of King David and of the Exile and the Restoration. But God’s word
to us didn’t end there. It’s still going strong! The churchy phrase for that is
“continuing testament,” but we usually just say that “God is still speaking.” That’s
why I frequently wear this green clergy stole that says “God is still speaking”
– to help us remember that we need to listen to what God is saying to us now.
That UCC comma has had a big
effect on my own life. I didn’t start life as a UCC member; I was born into the
Presbyterian church. In fact, I was a Presbyterian for fifty years; and I
didn’t think that I would ever change. But when I was in seminary, I was asked
by a little UCC church to be their interim pastor. Now, I didn’t know anything
about being a pastor; and I knew even less about the United Church of Christ.
But after I accepted their invitation (and that’s a story for another time), I
decided that I’d better learn what the UCC was all about. One of the very first
things that I remember seeing was a poster that said, “Don’t put a period where
God has put a comma.” That impressed me. What impressed me even more was the
source of that quote. It’s not from the Bible, or from one of the great saints
of the church, or even from a theologian. It’s from comedienne Gracie Allen! (For
those of you who are too young to know who Gracie Allen was, she was the wife
and comedy partner of comedian George Burns.) Any church who isn’t afraid to
quote Gracie Allen, I thought, deserves some serious attention! And then I saw
the line right under the comma: “God is still speaking.” That did it. I knew
that the United Church of Christ was the place for me; because they didn’t
claim to have God locked up in an airtight box. On the contrary, they admitted
that they didn’t know everything; and
they invited me to come along with them as they journeyed together with the
Spirit’s guidance.
Now, I don’t want to throw
stones at the Presbyterians. They gave me a wonderful start in life! They loved
me and nurtured me and made me think. But the United Church of Christ is a denomination
that isn’t afraid to break with tradition in order to follow the Spirit’s
leading. Here’s just one example of what I’m talking about. In the past, parts
of the Bible were interpreted to mean that some people are more acceptable to
God than others. African-Americans, women, and gays, in particular, were
considered to be “feeble-minded,” “impure,” or otherwise unacceptable – all on
the basis of a few verses in the Bible. But the United Church of Christ and its
predecessor denominations in this country have listened to the voice of the
Spirit say something else. They have seen the work of the Spirit in people from
those groups; and they have been the first to choose leaders from these groups
that were once judged to be “unfit” for leadership. In 1785, for example, the
Congregational Church (one of the ancestors of the UCC) ordained Lemuel Haynes,
an African-American, to the ministry, the first to be ordained by a Protestant
denomination. The Congregational Church also ordained the first woman to the
clergy, Antoinette Brown, in 1853. And in 1972, the United Church of Christ
ordained the first openly gay man, William R. Johnson, to the gospel ministry.
Now, I know that sounds
radical. But if we want to be truly faithful to the whole spirit of the Bible,
we have to recognize that throughout its pages, God has called people to places
that they have never been before. If you don’t believe me, just read the book
of Acts, Luke’s presentation of how the church itself got started! In
particular, read chapter 10. It’s the story of how Peter met Cornelius, a Roman
soldier, and converted him to Christianity. Before Peter met Cornelius, he had
a vision. In his vision, Peter saw all kinds of birds and animals. He saw
rabbits and frogs and turkeys. He saw turtles and clams and shrimp. He even saw
pigs! Now, the Old Testament says that all these animals are unclean. Jews
can’t eat them. So when God told Peter to have some of them for lunch, Peter
refused. The Spirit’s answer: “Don’t call anything impure if God has made it clean.”
Peter saw the same vision three times. Only then did God lead him to Cornelius.
By that time, Peter realized that some of the old rules just didn’t work
anymore! This is what Acts says about the encounter: “Then Peter began to
speak. ‘I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but
accepts those from every nation who fear God and who do what is right.’ While
Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the
message. The [Jews] who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of
the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.” (Acts 10:34-35,
44-45)
God is still speaking. God
spoke in the days of the Old Testament; God spoke through the words and actions
of Jesus Christ; God spoke in the New Testament through the Holy Spirit; and
the Holy Spirit is still speaking to us today! It’s easy to forget that. And
it’s even easier to try to imprison the Spirit in the pages of the New
Testament so that we don’t have to try to listen for what God is saying to us
right now. But the New Testament text that I read just a few minutes ago warns
us about that! “I have much more to say to you,” said Jesus, “more than you can
bear right now. But when the Holy Spirit comes, he will guide you into all
truth.” (John 16:112-13) We can no more stop the movement of the Holy Spirit
than we can stop the water that thunders over Niagara Falls! And in the end,
who would want to?
“Don’t put a period where
God has put a comma.” We are comma people! We are the United Church of Christ! We
cherish what God has said to us in the past; we pause to discern what God is
saying to us right now; and we get ready to move ahead into the future. Because
God is still speaking! God’s story – our
story – isn’t finished yet!
Love this!
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