Sermons

First Christian Church

“Sounds of Silence”

1 Kings 19:1-4, (5-7), 8-15a

On Elijah's command the people have just massacred the Baal (Bale) prophets and in this way we see Elijah as a paradigm of strength and determination. Yet in our text we can hardly recognize him as he is hungry and exhausted to the point of being suicidal!

Because he's wiped out the Baal prophets Queen Jezebel is after his hide so he makes a run for it. His urgent flight is a difficult one as he's already exhausted and in constant fear of being overtaken by Jezebel's soldiers. He flees into the wilderness to get far outside of Jezebel's jurisdiction.

Finally, reaching a state of utter despair he says to God, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life.” In this state of helplessness God sends an angel and the angel stays and ministers to him. The angel provides for his basic needs in the form of food and water and he rests for the first time since taking flight.

He's now able to make a long journey of forty days and nights into the desert where introspection and prayer are possible. When he arrives at Mount Horeb (Or-reb) a magnificent religious experience occurs. First, a powerful wind shatters the mountain, followed immediately by an earthquake, then fire, and it all culminates in a “sound of sheer silence.” Whether Elijah objectively experiences these things isn't important. All that matters is what comes at the end which is a divine appearance otherwise known as a “theophany” (thee-off-fan-ee).

One way to interpret all this is though Elijah may seek the miracle of God's revelation in the wind, earthquake or fire it is in the quiet that God comes to him. Next is the repeated question, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” Elijah answers in the same way by telling God he's been zealous for the Lord and the Israelite's are trying to kill him. Though it's the same answer as given before it is given in a different way. Because now Elijah is no longer afraid since he's experienced the miraculous in the quiet of his soul.

This is a great bible story that deserves a quick review: Elijah is trying to escape Jezebel's wrath and runs to Beersheba in Judah which should be beyond the queens jurisdiction, and he doesn't stop there and continues into the desert. Finally he collapses just wanting to give up and die. This is when the angel appears and feeds him enabling him to walk all the way to a cave at Mount Horeb.

After he arrives at the mountain God rather humorously asks him what he's up to and Elijah tells him his faithfulness has resulted in the Israelite's wanting to kill him. God tells him to stand his ground and he'll walk past him. Then comes the wind, earthquake and fire all leading to the sound of sheer silence. God speaks out of the silence and tells him to return to the desert where Elijah is given yet another mission.

The two points where God directly interacts with Elijah come first in the midst of exhaustion accompanied by suicidal thoughts which all take place as a result of him fearing for his life. The second time comes after a long forty day journey through the wilderness where he arrives at the very mountain Moses received the Ten Commandments since the name Horeb and Sinai are used interchangeably in the Bible.

The combination of Elijah's ego boundaries being challenged along with the opportunity for quiet meditation proves to be his salvation. Salvation coming in the form of a personal appearance of God. After this Elijah no longer fears for his life since he assumes his next mission without hesitation.

It isn't necessary to be chased by the equivalent of Jezebel's soldiers to encounter God in quiet prayer. By the same token, sometimes that encounter is more profound due to external pressures. Whatever is causing undo stress or concern can make you desirous for an escape resulting in an involuntary dropping of ego boundaries.

A much easier way to experience a solid connection with God is by practicing quiet prayer when you first get up in the morning. At that time your mind is clear of ideas and accumulated stress from the days activity. You're more free of mental obstructions and present to the moment.

After waking up in the morning I often go to my recliner in the living room and engage in quiet centering prayer for twenty minutes. I do a little Tai Chi and stretching just to wake-up a bit and then sit down for prayer. I always follow Father Rohr's advice and allow the prayer to be whatever it is to be and not seek to direct or guide it in any way.

Sometimes the result is a mental clarity where an unquestionable clear connection is made with my soul. Sometimes I don't feel much of a connection at all and may even stop before twenty minutes have passed. One never knows what will happen in any given contemplative sit. The important thing is to make the effort.

In the following Colleen Thomas describes Centering Prayer and promotes the use of a mantra or what she refers to as a “sacred word” when praying:

The form of Christian meditation known as Centering Prayer invites practitioners to consent to the presence of God. Sitting in silence for at least twenty minutes, ideally twice a day, the prayer enlists the help of a “sacred word” to serve as a placeholder for the consenting intention. Eventually, the practice of consenting to the Divine presence becomes a way of embodying the Divine presence of love in oneself.

The co-architect of Centering Prayer and founder of Contemplative Outreach Thomas Keating wrote about “four consents,” the final of which is the “consent to be transformed” into our True selves. The True self might be described as our participation in the divine life manifesting in our uniqueness....

Even though we may practice Centering Prayer twice a day for twenty minutes it is still no guarantee that we won't face hardship and struggle. Elijah is on the run from people who are out to kill him and that would be a scary experience. Maybe we don't have to contend with people trying to kill us, but life has other ways to bring us to our knees. What's important is when we're brought to our knees that we do so in prayer. In that way God becomes our primary refugee and hope.

Like Elijah I once considered suicide not so much from exhaustion, but rather it came from an intense feeling of loneliness early on in my recovery from alcoholism. I had returned to my apartment after a full day of study at Linn Benton Community College. I sat down in my small living room and suddenly was overwhelmed with the fact that I was completely alone.

It was so upsetting that I began to look for some way to get beyond the desperate feeling. That's when it occurred to me that if I killed myself, I wouldn't have to endure the loneliness any longer. I only, seriously, considered suicide for a moment but it was long enough to frighten me even more than the initial feelings of loneliness. I went to the phone, which in those days hung on the wall, and called my then pastor Dick Busic. He told me to meet him at his office at the church.

I began walking to the church, which was a couple miles from my apartment, and when I arrived, he was waiting for me. This was more than forty years ago, and I don't recall much of what we talked about, but what I do remember is how it made me feel. It was hard for me to believe that someone as important as Pastor Busic would be willing to spend time with a lowlife like myself.

But the most powerful aspect of that meeting came as we were driving back to my apartment. I felt as if I was in a dream. There was a distinct unreality about it and I felt calmed and comforted as if I were being embraced by the love of God.

Dick recently responded to the Christmas card I sent him last year. He explained in his note that he was now struggling with dementia and that was the reason for the late response to my card.

In that desperate time of my life God didn't send me an angel to meet my basic needs. But he did make an angel available and after that experience I never again took any thought of suicide seriously. Dick helped me see that I was loved and perhaps just as important that I was open to being loved.

My practice of Centering Prayer, which at that time did involve using a mantra, did not keep me from briefly considering suicide. But what it did do was helped me to open up to being loved and cared for even in such a feeble and weakened state. It also took a lot of courage to call Dick because he might of said he was too busy or had some other reason to not be available.

I called Pastor Busic because he was a man of God and I was trusting God as much as I was him. Therefore, Centering Prayer not only helped me to open up to being loved and cared for, but it also helped me to trust that God would be there if I reached out to him. God showed up for me as an angel in the form of Pastor Dick Busic.

In our story today the angel that shows up for Elijah is a precursor to an even more spectacular appearance of God replete with a series of natural, violent events all culminating in a sheer silence. It is out of the silence that Elijah hears God's whisper. In a world that seems to be teetering on the brink of disaster we need more people to be listening to God.

In the midst of the chaos and suffering we need to hear what God has to say. The instruments of God's Salvation for humanity are those who are listening, and our hope remains in the Lord just as the psalms tell us:

Our soul waits for the Lord, he is our help and shield.

Yea, our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.

Let thy steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in thee.

(Psalm 33:20-22)

Rev. Mitch Becker

June 22, 2025

Port Angeles

First Christian Church

“Wisdom Is a Lady”

Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31

Our text is a very upbeat, positive selection from the lectionary this week showing Lady Wisdom enthusiastically praising God, creation, and humanity. Lady Wisdom is by no means a prophet who would condemn those that oppress and ignore the needy. Neither does she lament suffering, violence or apathy. She doesn't even complain at God's seeming disinterest in suppressing the forces of evil and chaos that threaten to vanquish the world. Instead, she delights in humanity, God, and the creation.

From here we might consider Hebrew wisdom understanding it as promoting the quest for knowledge and a deeper understanding of the world because it's permeated with God's wisdom. That process of uncovering God's embedded wisdom is what makes for a human life of quality and character. By looking deeply and thoughtfully at the way the world works one can more aptly discern the will of God.

And this is not a purely intellectual exercise because she lends herself to all in holistic and relational ways which is what's meant by: “Do you hear Lady Wisdom calling? Can you hear Madame insight raising her voice? She's taken her stand at First and Main, at the busiest intersection. Right in the city square where the traffic is thickest, she shouts, 'You – I'm talking to all of you, everyone out here on the streets!'” (Proverbs 8:1-4; The Message Bible)

In the second half of the text we see Lady Wisdom was with God at the beginning of creation, and she continues to be present with both God and humanity. Lady Wisdom demonstrates God's desire to delight and create at the same time and this is all done in relationship. By calling on humanity she offers us access to the living God.

This all brings us to one negative consequence we need to consider. That being, does putting the emphasis upon the goodness of creation lead us to the conclusion that God is permissive of evil? To answer this it's helpful to see that wisdom is depicted as a human woman who grows and changes and therefore cannot be pinned down or understood in absolute terms.

This requires a great deal of humility on the seekers part knowing that God's will is not always evident in the creation. The creation is always a work in progress and though evil persists God is opposed to it as verse 13 reveals: “fear of the Lord is hatred of evil.” In the following Amy Erickson summarizes the text:

“Through Woman Wisdom, God expresses the enthusiasm of a Powerball winner for humanity in inviting all humans to join her in her dance of delight. Wisdom invites humanity to engage in a joyful search for God's dynamic presence through and in the world. God willing, the process of seeking the divine in the world and in each other just might drive out some of the darkness.”

What has been revealed is that Lady Wisdom is hidden within the creation and it's there we can go to find her. With this in mind let's turn to one of the greatest literary works ever written about the creation and it's hidden gifts to humanity. I'm speaking of the book “Walden” by Henry David Thoreau where he writes:

The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation. From the desperate city you go into the desperate country, and have to console yourself with the bravery of minks and muskrats. A stereotyped but unconscious despair is concealed even under what is called the games and amusements of mankind. There is no play in them, for this comes after work. But it is the characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things. (p.7)

We live in such a time where the concealed desperation and despair Thoreau is referring to is coming to the surface. This is happening because people are being filled to the brim and its spilling over into the culture at large. Some people experience it as a depression and on the other end of the spectrum it may be expressed as violence. What we're looking for is a healthy, happy way to vent desperation and despair.

The good news is Christ gave us such a way centuries ago. The bad news is humanity as a whole isn't paying much attention though there have been times in history when Lady Wisdom has come forth unchecked and with great enthusiasm. Here's what wisdom sounds like when Jesus preaches:

You have heard that is was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, do not resist one who is evil. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; and if anyone would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles....”

You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons (and daughters) of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. (Matthew 5:38-45)

Jesus closes that portion of the Sermon on the Mount with references to the creation specifically with the sun and the rain. He typically uses the creation to espouse wisdom which is even more poignant later on in the Sermon when he says:

“Therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil or spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is today alive and tomorrow thrown in the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men (and women) of little faith? (Matthew 6:25-30)

The instruction to not resist evil and to love your enemies can be describe as “nonviolent resistance” and though we find this instruction and the parable of the Lilies of the Field in separate chapters it was all one sermon when Jesus preached it. Therefore, these two portions of the sermon are intrinsically linked because you can't have one without the other.

The faithful are enabled to put into practice resisting evil and loving enemies precisely because of the ever-present care of the Father illustrated by the Lilies of the Field. In other words, its God's caring grace that makes nonviolent resistance possible.

The point of nonviolent resistance is to reach and affect the conscience of society including the violent perpetrators because there is something within sane people that can't tolerate acts of violence visited upon people who are trying to do the right thing. Of course, nonviolent resistance requires both time and sacrifice, sometimes great sacrifice, for people to be adequately affected to the point their convictions are questioned and behaviors altered.

And though it can come at a high cost for those practicing nonviolent resistance it does work as proven in movements led by Mahatma Gandhi in India, Martin Luther King in the United Sates, and Lech Walesa (Val-lay-suh) in Poland (of whom I actually met in a restaurant in Warsaw in 1989), and the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa led by Nelson Mandala and Bishop Desmond Tutu, and many other nonviolent movements too numerous to list.

This is what the world looks like as it spiritually wakes up one nonviolent movement at a time. And it all began with the wisdom of Jesus who understood the way God cares for us in the lilies of the field. It was creation that revealed the wisdom which continues to guide us as children of the Most High God.

Rev. Mitch Becker

July 15, 2025

Port Angeles

First Christian Church

“Unity in Diversity”

Genesis 11:1-9

God's people are on the move, and they arrive at a level place in the land of Shinar (She-naar) which today would be located in Iraq. It is here that they decide to build a great tower made of brick and mortar that reaches all the way to heaven and with the tower comes a city that they call “Babel.” The point of building the tower and city is to keep them unified as one people with one language which at the outset seems like a good thing.

But it turns out this isn't entirely God's purpose for humanity, and God confuses the language of the people so they can't understand each other. This is often interpreted as punishment, but on closer examination its really just God helping them to fulfill their holy purpose on earth. The confusion of language is what precedes the scattering of God's people over the face of the earth. Walter Brueggemann explains it in this way:

On the one hand, God wills a unity which permits and encourages scattering. The unity willed by God is that all of humankind shall be in covenant with him and with him only, responding to his purposes, relying on his life-giving power. The scattering God wills is that life should be peopled everywhere by his regents, who are attentive to all parts of creation, to bring “each in its kind” to full fruition and productivity. This unity-scattered dialectic does not presume that different families, tongues, lands, and nations are bad or disobedient. They are part of his will. And the reason God allows for that differential is that all parts of humanity look to and respond to God in unity.

In a movie Karen and I were watching the other night the principal actor in the film said that procreation and the raising of children was the sole reason for our existence. That statement illuminates a fundamental problem our culture suffers from, though important as children are Brueggemann cuts to the chase when he says: “The unity willed by God is that all of humankind shall be in covenant with him and with him only, responding to his purposes, relying on his life-giving power.”

That statement brings to light our true purpose here on earth and explains in large part why we find ourselves so utterly lost and in perpetual despair. Our text today gives us impetus to realign with God through intimate relationship. Our unity therefore emerges from the covenant we share with our Creator. Even as we are scattered about the earth, as God wills, we can remain in covenantal unity.

Pentecost Day is often interpreted as an answer to the diversity and scattering of God's people at Babel, but that creates problems on two levels. The first being that the people are able to understand the gospel on Pentecost Day because they hear it in their own language. Wherefore, their diversity remains, and because of the persecution that follows they scatter to all parts of the world.

Just to clarify what's going on here the purpose of the tower and the city is so the people can, and this is one key phrase in the text, “make a name for themselves.” The way the Message Bible defines that is so they can become “famous.” To be famous is to be known by many people. We can think of this as the people of Babel wanting to create their own identity, stay in the same place, and build a comfortable, secure life for themselves.

Don't we all sort of start in that place. We want to create a home and family where everyone is safe and secure and perhaps make a name for ourselves. Don't we all want to be known? That certainly is a central concern of the ego because it seeks constant validation due to the insecurity that results from an ever-persistent sense of falseness. The ego knows it's not real, so it seeks validation from the outside.

Most of the people in Babel are ego based as is most of the world's population, but the Lord has no interest in nurturing our ego pursuits. Quite to the contrary. Our story today perfectly illustrates God's true desires for humanity. God wants us to scatter and find unity not in a common language or a self-created identity. The Lord wants us to be unified in a covenant with him and him only.

A covenant is a two-way agreement in this case between God and his children. In the covenant God sets the boundaries, establishes conditions, and promises blessings all in return for obedience, worship and praise. Obedience, worship and praise are the last things in the world the ego is interested in. The ego makes following the covenant a very difficult thing to do, but the Spirit of God makes it possible. The Apostle Paul simply puts it: “I can do all things in him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)

Let me say something about the benefits of scattering. Scattering began in my life when I moved from Albany, Oregon to Berkeley, California to attend seminary. That amounted to truly leaving home and because of it I grew mentally, emotionally and spiritually. After ordination I started as an associate minister in Bakersfield. None of that would have happened if I'd remained comfortably at home.

The scattering continued to Red Bluff, California and then Tacoma, and after several years the biggest leap of all was to a little village in Ohio named Shadyside. I drove a 15-foot U-Haul towing my Tercel nearly 3000 miles over a six-day period. Many things happened on that trip one of which was stopping in Mitchell, South Dakota because I liked the name.

I remember walking into a little cafe that was located at the back of a grocery store similar to Safeway. The young, blond waitress was really friendly, and made an effort to make me feel welcome. This was in stark contrast to the cold stares I was receiving from the locals having breakfast. You might call them stares of suspicion.

I ate my breakfast and walked out without incident, and it is experiences of that nature that promote self-development along with a sense of security that goes beyond what the ego can do. God was with me in that little cafe and really for the entire trip. This is why the Lord wants us to scatter because the situations which we encounter make us rely upon him. We have to dig deep within ourselves to reach the grounding that faith offers.

About a year after my arrival in Shadyside I met a young woman at a singles dance in Pittsburgh. I was fifty years old and the longest intimate relationship I'd accomplished prior to this was just over two years. In those previous relationships I simply wasn't grown-up enough to sustain them. My scattering to Ohio was an important accomplishment that contributed to my eventual ability to ask Karen for her hand in marriage. In September we'll celebrate our 22^nd anniversary.

The benefits of scattering go beyond what I'm describing and the challenges in our lives are crucial to personal growth as Life Coach Ruthy Baker tells us:

When life feels heavy, it's tempting to wish for a magic wand to make it all go away. But think about this: what if the pain your experiencing is actually the path to your greatest transformation? Challenges crack us open, forcing us to confront the parts of ourselves we'd rather avoid. They teach us resilience, humility, and courage. They invite us to look within and ask the tough questions: “What am I meant to learn here?” “How can I grow from this?” Every storm you weather holds a lesson, and every challenge you face is a step on the path toward becoming the person you're meant to be.

The challenges force us to grow and it's the scattering that leads us into them, but that's not to say staying put and raising a family isn't challenging. Indeed, some of the greatest challenges in life come from raising children because there is so much at stake and on top of that it's a 24/7 job.

My task, however, is to interpret the scriptures and the scriptures speak of the need for scattering. The scattering assures that unity won't be attempted through sameness but is achieved in covenant with God. Outside of the covenant we can only wander through this existence with no real hope of self-actualization in being “born again” or “being changed into his likeness” as the Apostle says. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Right now, for the most part, humanity is wandering about outside of the covenant and there's no sense in placing blame on anyone. Our mission is to know the scriptures and live them out as best we can, and to seek with all our hearts to be changed into his likeness. Salvation for the faithful translates in time, and with God's grace, into Salvation for humanity.

Rev. Mitch Becker

June 8, 2025

Port Angeles

First Christian Church

“It Takes a Village”

Acts 16:9-15

For some unexplained reason our text begins at verse nine rather than verse six which is unfortunate because an earlier beginning shows the difficulty Paul and his entourage are having finding what direction to go. Following are these missing verses:

They went to Phrygia, (Free-key-ah) and then on through the region of Galatia. Their plan was to turn west into Asia province, but the Holy Spirit blocked that route. So they went to Mysia (Miss-see-ah) and tried to go north to Bithynia, (Bith-theen-ya) but the Spirit of Jesus wouldn't let them go there either. Proceeding on through Mysia, they went down to the seaport of Troas (Trow-ahs).

These verses are important in that they show how the Spirit of God is in charge of their mission! Without God's guidance they're just bumbling around running into one roadblock after another. I expect we can all identify with their loss of direction wandering about desiring a clear indication of which way to go.

Finally, Paul gets a vision via a dream and now the way is made clear for them to leave Asia and cross the sea to Europe or more specifically Greece (Macedonia is northern Greece). When they cross over they go directly to Philippi which is a Roman colony. In the following Philippi (Phil-lip-pee) is described in a commentary written by Brain Peterson:

This is where the Empire was powerful and popular. This was the heart of the Empire's project in this corner of the world, a place that lived like an extended section of Rome itself, intended to be an example of what Rome offers the world.

Maybe Paul chooses to go directly to Phillipi because that's where the gospel is needed most which also creates a sense of purpose as opposed to the wandering they were doing at the start. The church at Phillipi becomes the source of one of the most favored letters in the New Testament, and it would have been a challenge to the imperial power that surrounded it. They offered a different way of life which is something the church of today is still called to do.

They made a beeline to Phillipi but as the text says, “We remained in this city for some days.” “Some days” is pretty vague but it suggests not much happened for a while. In the big picture the progression is that the vision suggests an urgency, and the response is without delay, but the results are slow in coming. Once again, this shows it is God that's in charge of the mission.

Though the vision is of a Macedonian man it is a woman who first welcomes them. Her name is Lydia and her faith is activated by the Holy Spirit and she opens her home to the Jesus followers. Our text ends on this note of hospitality.

Looking at the text as a whole one thing that it shows is the way ministry depends upon relationships. There is a tendency to focus upon Paul describing his achievements and theology but it takes a village to do ministry. Throughout the text there are references to “they” and “we” and I used the word “entourage” to describe the group Paul is traveling with. At the prayer place by the river they encounter women of whom one is Lydia. Lydia is baptized along with her entire household and in ancient times “household” meant all the residents including the slaves.

Ministry happens within the framework created by all of these relationships and so it is with ministry here at First Christian Church. The transformation of the outside of the church is happening within the framework created by each of us. Roger N. bought large planters for flowers and put wrought iron hanging planters under several windows.

David, Linda and her helper showed up one day to put flowers in the large planters, and Linda was here last week to fill the planters under the windows. Judy bought a new hose and manages the perennial flower bed. I water on occasion and I could go on, but the point is the transformation and subsequent management takes a village to accomplish. Because it all happens within the context of the church it all amounts to ministry.

I've named a few names but all of us in one way or another contribute to the overall ministry of our church. The Apostle Paul acknowledged this when he said:

God's various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God's Spirit. God's various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God's Spirit. God's various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. (1 Corinthians 12:4-6; The Message Bible)

Paul points out that though we're all contributing in one way or another God is behind it all and everyone benefits. I really can't express the importance of this holistic vision enough because it is a vision of love that makes us one body in Christ. We're not the Kiwanis Club nor the Shriners as important as those fraternal organizations are...we're the body of Christ and one in the Spirit.

We can understand what's happening in our church by drawing an analogy with what happens inside an atom bomb. The average person can understand through a brief survey on Google how an atom bomb works. On the surface an atomic explosion happens within an atom bomb by shooting a smaller piece of uranium into a larger piece. When the two collide at high speed an atomic explosion occurs.

But a physicist looks at what's happening from a sub-atomic perspective. What he or she sees are two uranium atoms colliding releasing neutrons that are absorbed by four other uranium atoms and those in turn release neutrons absorbed by sixteen other uranium atoms. This release and absorption continues until all the trillions and trillions of atoms have absorbed and subsequently released neutrons. The process is called nuclear fission and each time the neutrons are released so is energy which results in a very big bang!

In the same way, a church can be understood on the surface as people interacting with each other releasing energy to manifest goodness and grace. The blossoming occurring on the outside of our church can be understood as the interaction of church members in the beautification of the building. But the Apostle wants us to go a step beyond and look deeper like the physicist does to the presence of the Spirit which is why he says:... “but God himself is behind it all.”

When we're serious about our faith we define our church and the world in spiritual terms. That means to intentionally transcend the world and human relationships to see the Spirit of God behind it all. This type of vision comes after many years of prayer, study, worship and Christian fellowship. We're not born with spiritual vision. Such vision requires years of training.

If you don't undergo the training, then you easily fall prey to the culture's spiritual immaturity. Again, from the Apostle Paul:

Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity. God brings out the best in you, develops well-formed maturity in you. (Romans 12:2; The Message Bible)

That change from the inside out happens gradually over many years, and once you understand how important it is to grow spiritually such a lifestyle is the only sane option available.

Our text began with a vision Paul receives giving them clarity as to what direction to take their ministry. The discernment of God's will is always of central concern to the spiritually minded person because we know from experience that following our own will is dead-end.

Coming to church the morning I wrote this sermon I witnessed a young man undergoing a sobriety test given by a state patrol officer. It was happening in front of Dupuis (Due-pree) restaurant and the young man was standing looking up to the sky while the officer was counting seconds on his wristwatch.

The vision stayed with me all day as it brought back memories of similar encounters I had as a young man. They have you stand looking up to the sky to see if you can maintain your balance, and if you're sufficiently intoxicated its nearly impossible to remain standing straight.

At the time I didn't think of it but later in the day I prayed for the young man. I asked God if his encounter with the state patrol might be a new beginning to his life. It was for me after the deputy sheriff took me to the county jail. The discernment of God's will often come to us in the midst of trying situations of varying types.

It can be a night in the county jail with other criminals or a serious surgical procedure or the loss of someone we love. It can be any of these things and more, but as Father Rohr recently reminded us what makes the spiritually mature person indestructible is you come to know what might destroy you transforms you. To know this deep in your heart is to make you a candidate for sainthood.

Whenever we decide to follow a path that results in goodness and grace we're following God's will for us. The proof is in the pudding. Since our church is blossoming we must be on the path God wills for us. The challenge is to stay on it and if we'll stay in prayer, study, worship and maintain the unity of fellowship we should be, God helping us, alright.

Rev. Mitch Becker

May 25, 2025

Port Angeles

First Christian Church

“Seeing is Believing”

Revelation 21:1-6

The book of Revelation is all about “seeing.” The Revelation is a vision seen by a prophet named John who has been exiled to the island of Patmos. He's writing to seven separate churches conveying what he has seen through symbols, analogies and metaphors because that's the only way there is to talk about the spiritual realm. Jesus does the same thing.

This is why it's important to not try to understand what is being conveyed in literal terms. What is required is extensive use of the imagination, and if you're not an imaginative person The Revelation isn't going to do much for you except possibly scare the daylights out of you. Remember, whenever you hear this book being taught or preached – God loves you!

Our text begins with a description of a utopic setting with typical apocalyptic elements including the first creation being destroyed and replaced by a new earth and heaven. Also, God's re-creative power is emphasized and mentioning the absence of the sea is important. In the ancient Hebrew world, the sea represented chaos that's actually in opposition to the Creator.

The seas absence indicates that Christ's followers have truly entered into a new reality that has been brought forth by God. The new reality cannot be comprehended on the surface but one must look beyond what meets the eye to grasp what God has done. The New Jerusalem is presented in the same manner and represents the early Christian church.

This is where it gets a bit complicated because we can't consider the New Jerusalem to be representative of the church as an institution. It is a symbol of the church restored and in it's ideal state. It is like a target that we can keep our eyes upon as we try to reach this redeemed state of being. Remember, the New Jerusalem comes down from heaven.

When we consider the present day world it soon becomes obvious that creation has not been fully redeemed, therefore God is asking of us to envision a restored world. To look beyond the obvious to what God can do and in so doing participate in the creation of a new heaven and earth. Christ will guide us in our endeavors and the Holy Spirit will empower us if we're willing to take part in this adventure. To the extend we take part is probably a measure of the faith we've received.

When Karen and I were in Ohio we used to vacation at a place called Old Man's Cave which is Southeast of Columbus. The main trail you hike follows a creek through sandstone gorges that have been carved out by water and ice. It's a unique environment populated with mostly deciduous trees like hemlock and maple and a few pine trees.

We walked this trail every visit we made, but one particular walk was very special. As we came near to the end of the mile and a half walk we suddenly heard the sound of frogs croaking. But it wasn't being made by 10 or 20 or 30 frogs it was the sound of hundreds of frogs. They seemed to be all croaking and moving about in the bog.

It created an other-worldly feeling like we'd entered into an alternative reality and this kind of thing happens on occasion when you venture out into the creation. The first look at the Grand Canyon produces the same effect or even taking in the night sky there with what seems like a million stars. Coming up over the rim of Crater Lake for the first time can transport you into a mystical experience.

When you listen to The Revelation being preached or taught what is of immense importance is you don't try to grasp it on a literal level. That's not what God is trying to accomplish with the new heaven and earth. If you try to bring The Revelation down-to-earth, so to speak, you end up in one of two ways. Either you get stuck unable to move forward or you just get really weird.

We've all seen the weirdness that comes out of religious cults like the Branch Davidians led by David Koresh. They were obsessed with The Revelation and what happens is you can obsess for awhile but eventually the distance between actual reality and what you're believing in becomes so great that you can no longer function effectively in this world.

For the Branch Davidians there obsession was especially detrimental because it not only led them to detach from the everyday world, but they also saw The Revelation as prophecy for the future that led to violent warfare. In the beginning such theology brings a sense of meaning and creates community, but that kind of obsessive negativity gradually erodes any sense of well-being.

People do not live by bread alone. We also need hope, and one definition of hope is when we look to the future and see positive outcomes. The Branch Davidians believed they would be taken to heaven in a final battle as described in The Revelation, and this would come about through martyrdom. They believed a possible violent death would accommodate their transport to heaven. Looking at the future in that manner does have an eventual positive outcome, but the route you take may cancel-out any hope-filled message about heaven.

A much better approach to The Revelation is to see it as God trying to create a world of faith, hope and love as opposed to the fear-based, hate mongering world we live in. That's a tall order, but how else can one explain the new heaven and earth God is describing in our text. If it's not a literal place than it must be a different way of seeing things. It must be an imaginative exercise in faith.

Jesus does the same thing with his central concept of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is not a place one arrives at, rather it's a different way of looking at the world. It's all about seeing things from the perspective of the soul, as opposed to the typical way of seeing things through the perspective of the ego. Another way of saying it is when you see the kingdom of God, you're seeing what God sees.

Eugene Peterson gives us yet one more perspective in his interpretation of the sixth beatitude: “You're blessed when you get your inside world – your mind and heart – put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.” (Matthew 5:7; The Message Bible)

It's all about seeing correctly and the bad news that accompanies the good news is that we arrive at this God perspective by passing through this fear-based, hate mongering world we exist in. The fear and hate challenges good people like you and me bringing out the best in us or the God-self within us. Fear and hatred play an important role in providing an impetus to move ahead into the kingdom of God, or in terms of our text today the new heaven and earth.

Richard Rohr is not the predominate theologian in the world today for nothing and in the following excerpt he shows us why:

The miracle of it all – if we are to speak of miracles – is that God has found the most ingenious way to transform the human soul. God uses the very thing that would normally destroy us – the tragic, the sorrowful, the painful, the unjust deaths that lead us all to the bottom of our lives – to transform us. There it is, in one sentence. Are we prepared to trust that?

Jesus' death and resurrection is a statement of how reality works all the time and everywhere. He teaches us that there's a different way to live with our pain, our sadness, and our suffering. We can say, “Woe is me,” and feel sorry for ourselves, or we can say, “God is even in this.”

None of us crosses over this gap from death to new life by our own effort, our own merit, our own purity, or our own perfection. Each of us – from pope to president, from princess to peasant – is carried across by unearned grace.

Worthiness is never the ticket, only deep desire. With that desire the tomb is always, finally empty, as Mary Magdalene discovered on Easter morning. Death cannot win. We're finally indestructible when we recognize that the thing which could destroy us is the very thing that could enlighten us.

I don't know exactly when in my life I began to realize that what Jesus is doing on the cross was modeling a way of life for me. When I first became a Christian after induction into a Pentecostal cult called Faith Chapel in Albany, Oregon it was clear that Jesus died for my sins. We kind of like the sound of that because it takes away the messiness of having to die ourselves.

At some point we have to learn how to die if any real spiritual growth is going to occur. That crucial piece of self-dying theology, that Father Rohr so aptly explained, is not communicated in a cult. I know because I've been there and my journey with the cult ended after an emotional melt down happened trying to believe things that made no sense.

Looking back in retrospect I can credit the cult with two important things: The first being they reached out to me in an evangelistic effort, and I responded to it. They also planted a seed of faith deep within me that later blossomed as a healthy spiritually. A cult can be a starting place for many, but you need to graduate at some point. By the grace of God that happened for me or as Father Rohr put it were, “...carried across by unearned grace.”

Rev. Mitch Becker

May 18, 2025

Port Angeles

First Christian Church

“Inspirational Interludes”

Revelation 7:9-17

Our text constitutes a change of pace in regard to the first six chapters of The Revelation. A fitting title for this passage might be: “A Salvation Interlude.”

Considering the entirety of the book there are other “interludes” and along with the one presented today they serve to create an identity for the people. The identity consists of characterizing God's people as protected, separated, praising, persecuted and vindicated. This is all done in an effort to prepare them for the hardships they'll be facing.

The white-robed multitude or saints are singing songs and waving palm branches all in opposition to Roman imperialism claiming that glory and power belong to God alone. The palm branches may be in reference to the Feast of Tabernacles which would be a direct link to the Exodus. But the exodus is not from Egypt, rather its from the heart of the Roman Empire led by the Shepherd-Lamb Jesus. In the same way God called the Israelite's out of Egypt, so God is calling Christians to come out of Roman imperial rule.

Here an attempt to interpret “tribulation” is in order whereas tribulation is often understood as a consequence of being persecuted for one's beliefs, but with our passage today we can understand it as what happens when you don't conform to the Roman imperial system. The direct result is it leaves you on the outside margins of society creating social and economic hardship.

Those who survive the tribulation will now serve God and like a shepherd God tenderly cares for the people. It is the Lamb Jesus who now becomes a Shepherd-Lamb that leads God's people through the wilderness on their return from being exiled within the Roman imperial system into a Promised Land.

At the opening of the sixth seal the question posed was: “Who is able to stand?” In the interlude presented today the question is answered – it is the redeemed community singing in their white robes and waving palm branches who will be able to stand with God's help!

Let's continue by first looking at Psalm 82 which is a critique of what happens when injustice is the rule rather than the exception: God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment: “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Give justice to the weak and fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. I say, “You are gods, sons of the Most high, all of you; nevertheless, you shall die like men and fall like any prince.” Arise, O God, judge the earth; for to thee belong all the nations! (Psalm 82)

That's a no-nonsense psalm where Yahweh is holding the judges accountable for not showing partiality to the weak and afflicted, rather they're judging in favor of the wealthy and powerful. Toward the end of the psalm the psalmist describes the judges as gods, actually as God's sons, but because of their behavior they're going to die just like normal human beings.

In a situation like this with our typical ego centered kind of thinking we look for God to inflict punishment when people, and in this case the judges, misbehave. We learn that as children and later in life societal institutions continue to use this approach to get people to conform to the system.

After my first year as an associate minister in Bakersfield I was abruptly moved ahead to my next ministerial position in Red Bluff. It wasn't long before I received a rather nasty letter from the IRS telling me I'd made an error with my withholding and I owed the government around $4000. The letter ended with threats of garnishing my wages if I didn't pay up!

A very nice lady by the name of Wilma Willits, who happened to live to the ripe old age of 107, loaned me the money which staved off the IRS. The IRS and certain other societal institutions often use coercion of varying forms to get people to conform to the system. We continue to get punished for doing it wrong long after childhood.

When we read something like Psalm 82 we sort of expect some punishment to be meted out by God to at least set an example as to what the consequences are for bad behavior. But that's not what happens in the psalm. Yahweh isn't punishing his sons because they're favoring the rich and powerful as opposed to promoting justice for the weak and afflicted: The psalmist says in effect: You're going to die like everyone else. That's not punishment. The psalmist is simply saying you're not going to get any special treatment from God.

Our text today is an interlude because both judgment and punishment occur frequently in The Revelation, and its especially used in response to acts of idolatry and in defense of the people of God being persecuted. But this is how God is perceived when seen through the perspective of the human ego. God often becomes dualistic, judgmental, and punishing the way we do when we're limited by the self-centered ego that wants to dominate and control.

When we see God as ourselves, we often get a God who is comprised of the same limitations we exhibit in our day to day lives. We typically see judgment and punishment because that's what we've always known. Just look at our present day culture. I read a commentary in The Peninsula Daily News about the way the government is rounding up “illegal” immigrants claiming they're all criminals.

These immigration raids and the subsequent treatment the immigrants are receiving is not in any way being hidden from the public. The immigrants can be seen with their heads shaven, topless and all wearing the same kind of white pants. Their identities are being stripped away as individuals to make them appear as equal in their “illicit criminality.” The commentary likened it to the same way people are treated when they're being incarcerated into concentration camps.

Judgment and punishment has become the rule rather than the exception and though this is similar to much of what happens in The Revelation it is a far cry from the God described in our text which ends, with reference to the saints, in this manner: “They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

This ending to our text is comparable to the way God is imaged by Jesus when he was here on earth. In the following Brian McLaren considers Jesus' God:

….the God imaged by Jesus exerts no dominating supremacy. In Christ, we see an image of God who is not armed with lightning bolts but with a basin and a towel, who spewed not threats but good news for all, who rode not a warhorse but a donkey, weeping in compassion for a people who do not know the way of peace.

In Christ, God is supreme, but not in the old, discredited paradigm of supremacy; God is the supreme healer, the supreme friend, the supreme lover, the supreme life-giver and self-empties in gracious love for all. The king of kings and lord of lords is the servant of all and the friend of sinners. The so-called weakness and foolishness of God are greater than the so-called power and wisdom of human regimes.

In the aftermath of Jesus and his cross, we should never again define God's sovereignty or supremacy by analogy to the kings of this world who dominate, oppress, subordinate, exploit, scapegoat and marginalize. Instead, we have migrated to an entirely new universe, or, as Paul says, “a new creation” in which old ideas of supremacy are subverted.

If this is true, to follow Jesus is to change one's understanding of God. To accept Jesus and accept the God Jesus loved is to become an atheist in relation to the Supreme Being of violent and dominating power. We are not demoting God to a lower, weaker level; we are rising to a higher and deeper understanding of God as pure light, with no shadow of violence, conquest, exclusion, hostility, or hate at all.

Jesus found the God he loved in the lines and passages of his bible which we call the Old Testament. He took that God and attempted to create an alternative to the empires of this world. We as a body of Christ called First Christian Church are continuing the work he began so long ago. We are presenting an alternative to the empire building that is going on all around us at this time.

This was no more apparent than in the elder's meeting which occurred last Wednesday morning. In the meeting we discussed the possibility of purchasing a new Pentecost banner for the sanctuary. Also talked about was someone to help Margaret in her duties as church pianist. We explored further involvement in mission with Lincoln High School. We covered some shepherding concerns and ended with a discussion about how to present ourselves to the community as an all-inclusive church.

But the thing that was most impressive is the manner in which it was accomplished. Before the meeting began God's Spirit was invoked through prayer and then that Spirit revealed itself time and again during the meeting in the way decisions were reached and more importantly in the feelings of mutual respect and care that were expressed between everyone.

What happened in that elder's meeting is a microcosm of what happens every Sunday morning here in our church. There is a spirit of goodwill and care that is inspired and maintained because of the presence of God's Spirit. If during this sermon you've been asking yourself what can I do about a culture that's gone rogue – the good news is that by participating in your church you are living out the answer. The answer has always been the kingdom of God in which we're all full-fledged contributing members.

Rev. Mitch Becker

May 11, 2025

Port Angeles

First Christian Church

“Filling the Vacuum”

Acts 9:1-6, (7-20)

Our text is usually seen as a story about a bad guy named Saul who is going about persecuting the people of The Way which is an early description of the followers of Jesus. But if we look at him from a different angle its possible to describe him not as a bad guy, but as a good guy trying to protect Judaism. Saul is absolutely committed to the Jewish faith and wants to eliminate anything that might discredit God.

He may see the people of The Way as Jews gone bad who've lost their way and are in need of rescue. He requests letters from the synagogues in Damascus to give him the authority to clean-up his own faith community. Saul is a classic example of someone so committed to their cause that they're literally blinded to the damage they do.

Looking at Saul in this more sympathetic way we might assume that he is a bit shocked when the disembodied voice of Jesus says, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Because Saul probably didn't think of himself as a persecutor, but more so as a rescuer of the lost. His righteous over-focus narrows his vision rather than expands it. He's so deeply convinced of the error of the people of The Way that he cannot see the new thing that God is doing in Jesus Christ.

Saul's blindness can help us see our own blindness. How do our religious and ideological convictions keep us from seeing the new thing God is doing in our midst? Another way of saying that is how do we narrow rather than expand God's mission in the world?

Our present culture is painfully divided by competing ideologies and worldviews and we may want to see ourselves as not contributing to the problem. However, we all suffer from some degree of self-imposed blindness. As people of faith, we want to clear our vision so we can help bring about a culture of harmony and mutual interdependence. When we look at Saul's experience on the road to Damascus, we get a clue that such community building begins with heightened self-awareness along with an uncompromising commitment to the truth.

One way to cope with the bleak future our cultural predicament leaves us with is to creatively look for ways to meet the needs of the most vulnerable in society, that being the poor and marginalized, and find ways to build community.

A weekly practice I've begun is to look for cans of vegetables on sale when we do our grocery shopping and take a few to the blessing box in front of the Episcopal church. Last week the blessing box was quite low on food so it felt good to restock it with a few cans. I'm told there are a wide range of people use the blessing box including high school students.

The blessing box provides a convenient way to express compassion and concern, but if it can be multiplied by similar acts of other people who are capable of sharing their abundance it will start to make a difference. And the effect is not limited to supplying those in need with food, but goes beyond that because it shows that someone cares. The word to describe that is “empathy” something that is sorely lacking in the culture as a whole. You might say we're experiencing an empathy vacuum.

Most of us are in a position to contribute to filling this vacuum not only with material goods, but more importantly with the love of God. Nothing builds community better than the love of God. The Apostle Paul knew this and tells the church in Galatia (Guh-lay-sha) what he wants them to do:

Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore them, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day is out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ's law. If you think you're too good for that, you are badly deceived.

Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you've been given and then sink yourself into that. Don't be impressed with yourself. Don't compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life. Be very sure now, you who have been trained to a self-sufficient maturity, that you enter into a generous common life with those that have trained you, sharing all the good things that you have and experienced. (Galatians 6:1-6; The Message Bible)

In that passage Paul is speaking to the church and encouraging them to build community through mutual forgiveness and making sure everyone has enough to get by. But he's also looking beyond the church when he says: “Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed.” By “oppressed” he means the poor and marginalized who are taken advantage of and mistreated by the powers that be and also suffer due to a lack of essential material resources.

In our present-day culture, there is a kind of community building going on but it's being done at the expense of the poor and marginalized. There are many who see them with a type of disdain which is the opposite of the apostle's instruction to “share their burdens.” In the midst of this contemptuous behavior, we need to offer an alternative, and it is my great pleasure to assure you that we as a living body of Christ are doing just that!

I could talk about the mission work we're doing with Lincoln High School or the effort being made to connect with Americorps, but I want to bring my example even closer to home with the recent work being done on the church landscape. You can't miss the beautiful flower planters that Roger N., David, Linda and her helper have graced the front of the church with, and it would be a mistake to see what has been accomplished only in terms of self-beautification.

It sends a message to the surrounding community, and in this I'm especially thinking of the Narcotics Anonymous groups, that we are a faithful people who care. That is an invitation extended because if we can care about the physical make-up of our church then we may be able to care for them too. Can you see how that is a creative alternative to what is happening in the culture at large?

That's how you bring about change and send forth the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Not by going on and on about how horrible people can behave. That should really be no surprise for spiritually mature people who are well-aware the ego is in charge of this world. Until the kingdom of God has a firm foothold this is the way things will be. We have been charged to make sure Christ's kingdom of love moves forward into the empathetic vacuum that now exists. It's not doomsday folks, it's an opportunity.

One way to keep moving forward is to make sure you discipline your intake of ego-based negativity whether that comes in the form of television news reports, the Peninsula Daily News, Facebook posts, or just talking to friends. The key is to keep it to a minimum because the Amygadala (ah-mig-duh-la), which is the part of our brain that processes emotions, gets overwhelmed quite easily.

A much more rewarding approach is to imagine each day what new thing you can do toward the promotion of the kingdom of God! Right now your church is in need of volunteers to make sure there is a soup & bread fellowship that occurs after worship next Sunday. That is the kind of community building the apostle is trying to inspire the church in Galatia to participate in. It's what he means by entering into a generous common life.

This brings us to the culmination of our text today which also points the way to the ultimate goal all spiritually minded people are trying to reach which in a word is enlightenment. What you're about to hear is the transformation of Saul's heart that begins with him being blinded on the road to Damascus and ends in this manner:

So Ananias (ann-ah-nye-us) went and found the house, placed his hands on blind Saul, and said, “Brother Saul, the Master sent me, the same Jesus you saw on your way here. He sent me so you could see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” No sooner were the words out of his mouth then something like scales fell from Saul's eyes – he could see again! He got to his feet, was baptized, and sat down with them to a hearty meal. But then went right to work, wasting no time, preaching in the meeting places that this Jesus was the Son of God.

In a few more chapters Saul will be referred to as Paul to become the single greatest promoting force of the new Jesus movement. It is enlightenment or the genuine spiritual/psychological transformation of the human heart (frequently called “Salvation” in the Bible) that will finally enable the kingdom of God to be firmly and fully established on Earth. That's because enlightened people are not burdened with the negativity and corruptness of the ego.

The enlightened heart has been liberated and is free to love without judgment and sees the world much like God does as described by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount when he says:

This is what God does. He gives his best – the sun to warm and the rain to nourish – to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. (Matthew 5:45b; The Message Bible)

To love without judgment is just simply not possible for those under the influence of the human ego which is to describe the majority of people on Earth. We've got to make the next move in human evolution and Jesus has been here to do his part. Now, by the power given to us through the Holy Spirit it's up to each one of us and the Church as a whole.

Rev. Mitch Becker

May 4, 2025

Port Angeles