What we are called upon to be is realistic in our approach to life. We have to realize that some things are the way they are and there's not much we can do about them. We have to accept things as they are. Plato had to accept the fact that his teacher Socrates was put on trial and was put to death because he, supposedly, was corrupting young people. All he was doing was making them think. It was a bogus charge.
Jesus had to live with the fact that one of the disciples he had chosen had betrayed him. That's the way it was. That's the way life is sometimes and you have to understand that.
Idealism that has no basis in realism is shallow. While it is important to know how it is it is also important to know how it ought to be. There comes a time when you look at reality and begin to imagine how things could be different. Jesus told his listeners, "You be perfect as God in heaven is perfect." (Matthew 5:48).
Plato suggested that in every human mind there is something that reminds us of the "one true thing". It informs what we understand about justice and beauty. It is contact with the absolute. It reminds us of the way things can be.
Finally, as we work through the way things are to the way things could be we begin to sense the imperative placed upon us and the question, "What are you going to do about it?"
In the sermon I intend to work through realism, idealism, and ethical imperative.
It's what life comes down to; it seems to me.
Do you have some thoughts on this? Write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. If you are willing to have other people read your thoughts click on the box below.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Charles Schuster
Friday, July 31, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Wednesday's thoughts
"At Least Be Perfect"
There is in every religion an aspect of progression. One of the functions of faith is to awaken us to our fullest potential. Christianity has that power and passion.
It has yet to be measured the influence of Greek thought on the Christian Church. We know that some of the Gospel of Mark was influenced by the writing of Homer.
It hasn't been linked in exact ways but I suspect there is influence in the New Testament from the classical Greek writers like Socrates and Plato.
For the sermon Sunday I chose to explore the idea of perfection. Plato believed there were ideal forms in our mind and we are influenced by these ideal forms. We work toward justice because we know, in an ideal way, what justice is.
Plato's idealism has a context. He was witness to the charges brought against his mentor, teacher, and friend. Socrates was accused of corrupting young people by enabling them to ask questions and question authority.
The trial was quick and the punishment called for Socrates to drink hemlock and administer the punishment himself.
It is in the backdrop of that travesty that Plato developed the idea that there are images of perfection that lure us into action. He knew the dark side of life but that didn't dissuade him from coming to the conclusion that we are motivated by the idea of the good.
His idealism was basically realistic. He knew how it is and he knew how it should be.
In The Republic he writes, "An ideal has an indispensable value for practice, in that thought thereby gives to action its right aim. So, instead of proving that the ideal state or man or woman can exist here, it is enough to discover the least change, within the bounds of possibility, that would bring the actual state nearest to the ideal."
How are you influenced by your understanding of perfection? How does this inform your life?
If you have thoughts on this write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. If you are willing to have others read your thoughts click on the box below.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Charles Schuster
There is in every religion an aspect of progression. One of the functions of faith is to awaken us to our fullest potential. Christianity has that power and passion.
It has yet to be measured the influence of Greek thought on the Christian Church. We know that some of the Gospel of Mark was influenced by the writing of Homer.
It hasn't been linked in exact ways but I suspect there is influence in the New Testament from the classical Greek writers like Socrates and Plato.
For the sermon Sunday I chose to explore the idea of perfection. Plato believed there were ideal forms in our mind and we are influenced by these ideal forms. We work toward justice because we know, in an ideal way, what justice is.
Plato's idealism has a context. He was witness to the charges brought against his mentor, teacher, and friend. Socrates was accused of corrupting young people by enabling them to ask questions and question authority.
The trial was quick and the punishment called for Socrates to drink hemlock and administer the punishment himself.
It is in the backdrop of that travesty that Plato developed the idea that there are images of perfection that lure us into action. He knew the dark side of life but that didn't dissuade him from coming to the conclusion that we are motivated by the idea of the good.
His idealism was basically realistic. He knew how it is and he knew how it should be.
In The Republic he writes, "An ideal has an indispensable value for practice, in that thought thereby gives to action its right aim. So, instead of proving that the ideal state or man or woman can exist here, it is enough to discover the least change, within the bounds of possibility, that would bring the actual state nearest to the ideal."
How are you influenced by your understanding of perfection? How does this inform your life?
If you have thoughts on this write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. If you are willing to have others read your thoughts click on the box below.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Charles Schuster
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Monday's thoughts
"At Least, Be Perfect"
This sermon will direct our attention to some of the ideas from Plato. It will also bring together one of the classic Wesleyan ideas that we are called, by God, to "move toward perfection".
Plato had this thought that our lives are driven by ideal images of how things are supposed to be. We look at our lives and we are astonished by the beautiful sights and sounds. Somewhere implanted in our minds is the concept of beauty. We know what perfect beauty is and when we witness something approaching it we are inspired by what we see.
Likewise, we understand what it means to view justice. We know justice when we see it and we are driven to replicate it every chance we have and in every thing we do.
Plato imagined an ideal society. He called it The Republic. It was the perfect form of government where people's roles changed and responsibilities were shared. Everyone worked for the good of the whole.
How does Platonic idealism communicate to the Christian faith? At the Last Supper Jesus did two important things which are reflective of the realism and idealism of his understanding of life. He pointed out that one of them would betray him. He understood human fallacy. He understand the fallibility of each person and he knew the betrayal was in his future from one he had trusted.
Also, he told his friends to take the bread and the cup and to "remember me". He lifted up the example of what a perfect human being is. He pointed to himself and wanted his friends to remember him. They were to remember the example he set and to remember how he lived his life. He was the supreme example of human perfection. He was both human and perfect. He knew love and beauty and justice and mercy. He also knew anger and avarice and hatred and malice. He was the adequate combination of goodness and greatness and that example forms a kind of objective for all his followers to follow. If we are to move on to perfection and if we are to be influenced by the sense of "the good" we don't have to look very far to see it as we follow it.
Toward what do you think we should be moving? Is the idea of moving to perfection something you think is healthy? Does it lift up an ideal that is impossible and that further frustrates us in our effort to live the best we can?
Do you have thoughts on this? Write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. If you are willing to have others read your thought click on the box below.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Charles
This sermon will direct our attention to some of the ideas from Plato. It will also bring together one of the classic Wesleyan ideas that we are called, by God, to "move toward perfection".
Plato had this thought that our lives are driven by ideal images of how things are supposed to be. We look at our lives and we are astonished by the beautiful sights and sounds. Somewhere implanted in our minds is the concept of beauty. We know what perfect beauty is and when we witness something approaching it we are inspired by what we see.
Likewise, we understand what it means to view justice. We know justice when we see it and we are driven to replicate it every chance we have and in every thing we do.
Plato imagined an ideal society. He called it The Republic. It was the perfect form of government where people's roles changed and responsibilities were shared. Everyone worked for the good of the whole.
How does Platonic idealism communicate to the Christian faith? At the Last Supper Jesus did two important things which are reflective of the realism and idealism of his understanding of life. He pointed out that one of them would betray him. He understood human fallacy. He understand the fallibility of each person and he knew the betrayal was in his future from one he had trusted.
Also, he told his friends to take the bread and the cup and to "remember me". He lifted up the example of what a perfect human being is. He pointed to himself and wanted his friends to remember him. They were to remember the example he set and to remember how he lived his life. He was the supreme example of human perfection. He was both human and perfect. He knew love and beauty and justice and mercy. He also knew anger and avarice and hatred and malice. He was the adequate combination of goodness and greatness and that example forms a kind of objective for all his followers to follow. If we are to move on to perfection and if we are to be influenced by the sense of "the good" we don't have to look very far to see it as we follow it.
Toward what do you think we should be moving? Is the idea of moving to perfection something you think is healthy? Does it lift up an ideal that is impossible and that further frustrates us in our effort to live the best we can?
Do you have thoughts on this? Write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. If you are willing to have others read your thought click on the box below.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Charles
Friday, July 24, 2009
Friday's Thoughts
I have struggled with the idea that the worst thing we face is not death or suffering but diminishment. I'm pretty sure that's true and I'm looking for a way to help deal with it.
What are the tasks we could perform once that we cannot today? What are the goals we knew we could reach but now would not even attempt?
Are there skill sets we have lost? Are there memory lapses we find ourselves having to accept?
Diminishment can hit us at any age. A child who has to give up some of the better aspects of childhood understands the problem of diminishment. A teenager caught between the world of a child and the world of the adult lives in the age of what was but has not evolved into the time of what will be.
Older adults know it best. The diminishment of memory and the lessening of skills yield the sense that something is happening to us and we will not be what once we were but we are not certain of what we are now becoming.
How do we deal with diminishment? We try to discover the giftedness in the loss; the new life evolving from the old life that has left us; the development of new skills we didn't know we had after coming to terms with skills that have carried us so far.
Old baseball pitchers who were known for their fastball have to develop a new level of control with slower pitches. They become, sometimes, better pitchers in their senior years than their rookie season.
There is a seasoning that happens to us with diminishment. We evolve into the fullness of ourselves once we give up the person we were.
There is a gift for us in life and we have a chance to find it.
What are your primary areas of concern with regard to those things you can't do as well as you could? How are you dealing with them? What gift have you found in the losses?
If you have thoughts on this write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. If you are willing to have others read your thoughts click on the box below.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Charles
What are the tasks we could perform once that we cannot today? What are the goals we knew we could reach but now would not even attempt?
Are there skill sets we have lost? Are there memory lapses we find ourselves having to accept?
Diminishment can hit us at any age. A child who has to give up some of the better aspects of childhood understands the problem of diminishment. A teenager caught between the world of a child and the world of the adult lives in the age of what was but has not evolved into the time of what will be.
Older adults know it best. The diminishment of memory and the lessening of skills yield the sense that something is happening to us and we will not be what once we were but we are not certain of what we are now becoming.
How do we deal with diminishment? We try to discover the giftedness in the loss; the new life evolving from the old life that has left us; the development of new skills we didn't know we had after coming to terms with skills that have carried us so far.
Old baseball pitchers who were known for their fastball have to develop a new level of control with slower pitches. They become, sometimes, better pitchers in their senior years than their rookie season.
There is a seasoning that happens to us with diminishment. We evolve into the fullness of ourselves once we give up the person we were.
There is a gift for us in life and we have a chance to find it.
What are your primary areas of concern with regard to those things you can't do as well as you could? How are you dealing with them? What gift have you found in the losses?
If you have thoughts on this write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. If you are willing to have others read your thoughts click on the box below.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Charles
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Wednesday's thoughts
"Diminished Capacity"
This sermon calls for the tackling of the most difficult question we face. Every now and then a preacher will have to take on a subject not knowing if it is possible to come out okay. The subject may be bigger than it is possible to confront.
What is the most difficult problem we face? If we can determine that what is the best way to face it?
In this "Build a Sermon" I will try to present my argument for identifying the most difficult problem. In the Friday "Build a Sermon" I will try to express how I think we can face it.
My first thought is that death is the biggest problem we face. it is so final; so ultimate; so frightening. We all will die. All of us will have to face it. Death looms. It is with us in everything we do and in everything we encounter.
Once upon a time death was a taboo subject and we lived in a "death denying" culture. Currently, we are absorbed in the pain of death. Is death the worst problem we face?
I think suffering is worse than death as a problem to face. Suffering brings us down and makes us wish to be dead. Suffering seems to go on and on and we wonder if it will ever end.
Suffering is worse than death.
But there is something worse than suffering and death. Diminishment is worse than suffering and death. Being unable to do what we once could do continues to remind us what we once could do. living with diminished capacity reminds us of our finitude; our weakness; our incapacity.
Once I could dunk a basketball. Once I could throw a baseball really fast and I could make it curve. Once I could run fast and eat 14 pancakes. Now I am a shadow of what I was and I wonder what I, yet, will become.
How do we face our death?
How do we find meaning in suffering?
How do we discover gain in our losses?
Do you have suggestions? If so write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. If you are willing to have others read your thoughts click on the box below.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Charles
This sermon calls for the tackling of the most difficult question we face. Every now and then a preacher will have to take on a subject not knowing if it is possible to come out okay. The subject may be bigger than it is possible to confront.
What is the most difficult problem we face? If we can determine that what is the best way to face it?
In this "Build a Sermon" I will try to present my argument for identifying the most difficult problem. In the Friday "Build a Sermon" I will try to express how I think we can face it.
My first thought is that death is the biggest problem we face. it is so final; so ultimate; so frightening. We all will die. All of us will have to face it. Death looms. It is with us in everything we do and in everything we encounter.
Once upon a time death was a taboo subject and we lived in a "death denying" culture. Currently, we are absorbed in the pain of death. Is death the worst problem we face?
I think suffering is worse than death as a problem to face. Suffering brings us down and makes us wish to be dead. Suffering seems to go on and on and we wonder if it will ever end.
Suffering is worse than death.
But there is something worse than suffering and death. Diminishment is worse than suffering and death. Being unable to do what we once could do continues to remind us what we once could do. living with diminished capacity reminds us of our finitude; our weakness; our incapacity.
Once I could dunk a basketball. Once I could throw a baseball really fast and I could make it curve. Once I could run fast and eat 14 pancakes. Now I am a shadow of what I was and I wonder what I, yet, will become.
How do we face our death?
How do we find meaning in suffering?
How do we discover gain in our losses?
Do you have suggestions? If so write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. If you are willing to have others read your thoughts click on the box below.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Charles
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Monday's thoughts
"A Theology of Diminishment"
Reynolds Price contracted a debilitation disease and almost died. He wrote a book about his experience entitled A Whole New Life. It's a book that shows how he was able to move through the stages of detachment. It's about how he learned of his illness; how the doctors worked with him; how his friends and family rallied around him; and how he came through the experience with a very different sense of the meaning of life.
The sermon text will focus on the book of Job. Job is a man in the Old Testament who was forced to inherit illness, death, and misfortune. He was told to "curse God and die". Job maintained his faith in spite of the intervention of friends who tried to convince him to confess his sin and be done with the consequences. The point is Job's misfortune had nothing to do with his sin. Sometimes bad things happen and that's Job's story. Bad things happened to him through no fault of himself.
Most Christian theology is based upon the idea the good things happen to good people, and we get what we deserve. If we are faithful and kind we expect that we will not be punished. If we have committed some sin we expect that bad things might happen.
We develop a "theology of diminishment". We think about what happens to us and how we handle it. We think about finding a way to deal with the low points of life and the times when we can do less; not more, when life is winding down; not reaching up.
How do we face the fact of our finitude? How do we come to understand that God is in the low points as much as the high points?
More importantly, how do we learn to see that with every dimishment there is something added?
Do you find that this is important? How do you handle being able to do less than our used to be able to do? How do you deal with incapacities?
If you have thoughts on this write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. If you are willing to have others read and respond to your ideas click on the box below?
I look forward to hearing from you.
Charles
Reynolds Price contracted a debilitation disease and almost died. He wrote a book about his experience entitled A Whole New Life. It's a book that shows how he was able to move through the stages of detachment. It's about how he learned of his illness; how the doctors worked with him; how his friends and family rallied around him; and how he came through the experience with a very different sense of the meaning of life.
The sermon text will focus on the book of Job. Job is a man in the Old Testament who was forced to inherit illness, death, and misfortune. He was told to "curse God and die". Job maintained his faith in spite of the intervention of friends who tried to convince him to confess his sin and be done with the consequences. The point is Job's misfortune had nothing to do with his sin. Sometimes bad things happen and that's Job's story. Bad things happened to him through no fault of himself.
Most Christian theology is based upon the idea the good things happen to good people, and we get what we deserve. If we are faithful and kind we expect that we will not be punished. If we have committed some sin we expect that bad things might happen.
We develop a "theology of diminishment". We think about what happens to us and how we handle it. We think about finding a way to deal with the low points of life and the times when we can do less; not more, when life is winding down; not reaching up.
How do we face the fact of our finitude? How do we come to understand that God is in the low points as much as the high points?
More importantly, how do we learn to see that with every dimishment there is something added?
Do you find that this is important? How do you handle being able to do less than our used to be able to do? How do you deal with incapacities?
If you have thoughts on this write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. If you are willing to have others read and respond to your ideas click on the box below?
I look forward to hearing from you.
Charles
Monday, July 13, 2009
Monday's thoughts
On Sunday, July 19Th, we will once again have the honor of hearing Dr. Eugene Lowry. He will be preaching in the 8, 9:15, and 10:45 services in the Chapel at 8, and in the Sanctuary at 9:15 and 10:45.
We had the privilege of having him with us last year and he awakened us to the important interaction between music and religion. He is an accomplished musician and a professor of preaching. He is the author of several books and is in great demand as a speaker all over the world.
On Sunday evening Eugene give us a concert on "The Theology of the Blues". His concerts are every bit as exciting as his sermons.
Dr. Lowry is the "Theologian in Residence" at First Church in Boulder, Colorado. That is a program that was set up 25 years ago when I was appointed there. The church has a cabin in the mountains near Boulder. Guest preachers and theologians are invited to be in residence in the mountains and are asked to have some interaction with First Church. It allows the theologians to do some writing in a secluded setting and it benefits the church by making available the insights of the theologians who are spending time in the area.
I know you will enjoy Dr. Lowry as much this time as you did before. It will be a wonderful Sunday at the church.
I hope to see you there.
Charles
We had the privilege of having him with us last year and he awakened us to the important interaction between music and religion. He is an accomplished musician and a professor of preaching. He is the author of several books and is in great demand as a speaker all over the world.
On Sunday evening Eugene give us a concert on "The Theology of the Blues". His concerts are every bit as exciting as his sermons.
Dr. Lowry is the "Theologian in Residence" at First Church in Boulder, Colorado. That is a program that was set up 25 years ago when I was appointed there. The church has a cabin in the mountains near Boulder. Guest preachers and theologians are invited to be in residence in the mountains and are asked to have some interaction with First Church. It allows the theologians to do some writing in a secluded setting and it benefits the church by making available the insights of the theologians who are spending time in the area.
I know you will enjoy Dr. Lowry as much this time as you did before. It will be a wonderful Sunday at the church.
I hope to see you there.
Charles
Friday, July 10, 2009
Friday's Thoughts
"From Disgrace to Grace"
The sermon has three points. The third point needs help. Maybe you could help me with it.
I was struck with the comparison between Herodius, the wife of Herod, and Hester in Nathaniel Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter. Herodius was angry at John the Baptist because of his criticism of the sordid affair between Herod and Herodius when Herodius was married to Herod's brother. Herodius had John killed because of his criticism.
There seem to me to be three stages of response to those times when we are humiliated or disgraced:
1. We want to retaliate; to get even. We want to hurt the people who have hurt us or to let them know that they have done harm to us. Sometimes it is important to retaliate. Sometimes to say nothing or do nothing is worse than the affront itself.
2. We can evolve into a posture of reconciliation. We can come to terms with things that happen and realize continued negative feeling will only continue the pain for us. The initial problem is made worse by the hostility and anger that builds up in us. Sometimes the best we can do is let it go and get on with our lives.
3. The third stage is the most difficult. How do we move from disgrace to grace? How do we take the times of humiliation and embarrassment to the level where we use it to define us in positive ways? There could come to us, as in Hawthorne's Hester Prynne the realization that we can take the worst we have been given and transform it. Hester's Scarlet Letter became a symbol of compassion and caring. She, who had made a mistake in her life, became a source for others who were struggling with difficult things in their lives.
If we can move from retaliation, to reconciliation, to the realization that we can transform the worst thing in our life into something good, then we have moved from disgrace to grace.
Does this make sense? Do you know people who have done this?
Write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. If you are willing to have others read your thoughts click on the box below.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Charles Schuster
The sermon has three points. The third point needs help. Maybe you could help me with it.
I was struck with the comparison between Herodius, the wife of Herod, and Hester in Nathaniel Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter. Herodius was angry at John the Baptist because of his criticism of the sordid affair between Herod and Herodius when Herodius was married to Herod's brother. Herodius had John killed because of his criticism.
There seem to me to be three stages of response to those times when we are humiliated or disgraced:
1. We want to retaliate; to get even. We want to hurt the people who have hurt us or to let them know that they have done harm to us. Sometimes it is important to retaliate. Sometimes to say nothing or do nothing is worse than the affront itself.
2. We can evolve into a posture of reconciliation. We can come to terms with things that happen and realize continued negative feeling will only continue the pain for us. The initial problem is made worse by the hostility and anger that builds up in us. Sometimes the best we can do is let it go and get on with our lives.
3. The third stage is the most difficult. How do we move from disgrace to grace? How do we take the times of humiliation and embarrassment to the level where we use it to define us in positive ways? There could come to us, as in Hawthorne's Hester Prynne the realization that we can take the worst we have been given and transform it. Hester's Scarlet Letter became a symbol of compassion and caring. She, who had made a mistake in her life, became a source for others who were struggling with difficult things in their lives.
If we can move from retaliation, to reconciliation, to the realization that we can transform the worst thing in our life into something good, then we have moved from disgrace to grace.
Does this make sense? Do you know people who have done this?
Write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. If you are willing to have others read your thoughts click on the box below.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Charles Schuster
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Wednesday's thoughts
From The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
"Be there was a more real life for Hester Prynne, here, in New England, than in that unknown region where Pearl had found a home. Here had been her sin; her sorrow; and here was yet to be her penitence. She returned, therefore, and resumed, --of her own free will, for not the sternest magistrate of that iron period would have imposed it, --resumed the symbol of which we have related so dark a tale. Never afterwards did it quit her bosom. But in the lapse of the toilsome, thoughtful, and self-devoted years that made up Hester's life, the scarlet letter ceased to be a stigma which attracted the world's scorn and bitterness, and became a type of something to be sorrowed over, and looked upon with awe, yet with reverence too. And, as Hester Prynne had no selfish ends, nor lived in any measure for her own profit and enjoyment, people brought all their sorrows and perplexities, and besought her counsel, as one who had herself gone through a mighty trouble. Women, more especially, -- in the continually recurring trials of wounded, wasted, wronged, misplaced, or erring and sinful passion, -- or with the dreary burden of a heart unyielding, because unvalued and unsought, came to Hester's cottage, demanding why they were so wretched, and what the remedy! Hester comforted and counselled them, as best she might. She assured them, too, of her firm belief, that, at some brighter period, when the world should have grown ripe for it, in Heaven's own time, a new truth would be revealed, in order to establish the whole relation between man and woman on a surer ground of mutual happiness. Earlier in life, Hester had vainly imagined that she herself might be the destined prophetess, but had long since recognized the impossibility that any mission of divine and mysterious truth should be confided to a woman stained with sin, bowed down with shame, and even burdened with a life-long sorrow. The angel and the apostle of the coming revelation must be a woman, indeed, but lofty and pure, and beautiful; and wise, moreover, not through dusky grief, but the ethereal medium of joy; and showing how sacred love should make us happy, but the truest test of a life successful to such an end."
Hawthorne has given us a wonderful story and an example of how one takes the disgrace of a life time and finds the grace to use it for others.
Hester had an adulterous relationship. The result was a child named Pearl. She is branded with the letter "A" which stands for adultery. The community shuns her but she remains and ,eventually, she wins the trust of the people. She turns her curse into a blessing. Her scarlet letter "A" becomes a symbol for "angel" not "adultery". She moves from disgrace to grace.
It's a powerful story of love and forgiveness and is to be contrasted with the retaliatory reaction of Herod who became angry at John the Baptist for his criticism of Herod for marrying his brother's wife, Herodias. Herod has John the Baptist beheaded and puts his head on a platter.
The contrast between Herodias and Hester could make for a good sermon. I hope so.
What do you think?
If you have ideas on this subject write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. If you are willing to have others read your ideas click on the box below.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Charles
"Be there was a more real life for Hester Prynne, here, in New England, than in that unknown region where Pearl had found a home. Here had been her sin; her sorrow; and here was yet to be her penitence. She returned, therefore, and resumed, --of her own free will, for not the sternest magistrate of that iron period would have imposed it, --resumed the symbol of which we have related so dark a tale. Never afterwards did it quit her bosom. But in the lapse of the toilsome, thoughtful, and self-devoted years that made up Hester's life, the scarlet letter ceased to be a stigma which attracted the world's scorn and bitterness, and became a type of something to be sorrowed over, and looked upon with awe, yet with reverence too. And, as Hester Prynne had no selfish ends, nor lived in any measure for her own profit and enjoyment, people brought all their sorrows and perplexities, and besought her counsel, as one who had herself gone through a mighty trouble. Women, more especially, -- in the continually recurring trials of wounded, wasted, wronged, misplaced, or erring and sinful passion, -- or with the dreary burden of a heart unyielding, because unvalued and unsought, came to Hester's cottage, demanding why they were so wretched, and what the remedy! Hester comforted and counselled them, as best she might. She assured them, too, of her firm belief, that, at some brighter period, when the world should have grown ripe for it, in Heaven's own time, a new truth would be revealed, in order to establish the whole relation between man and woman on a surer ground of mutual happiness. Earlier in life, Hester had vainly imagined that she herself might be the destined prophetess, but had long since recognized the impossibility that any mission of divine and mysterious truth should be confided to a woman stained with sin, bowed down with shame, and even burdened with a life-long sorrow. The angel and the apostle of the coming revelation must be a woman, indeed, but lofty and pure, and beautiful; and wise, moreover, not through dusky grief, but the ethereal medium of joy; and showing how sacred love should make us happy, but the truest test of a life successful to such an end."
Hawthorne has given us a wonderful story and an example of how one takes the disgrace of a life time and finds the grace to use it for others.
Hester had an adulterous relationship. The result was a child named Pearl. She is branded with the letter "A" which stands for adultery. The community shuns her but she remains and ,eventually, she wins the trust of the people. She turns her curse into a blessing. Her scarlet letter "A" becomes a symbol for "angel" not "adultery". She moves from disgrace to grace.
It's a powerful story of love and forgiveness and is to be contrasted with the retaliatory reaction of Herod who became angry at John the Baptist for his criticism of Herod for marrying his brother's wife, Herodias. Herod has John the Baptist beheaded and puts his head on a platter.
The contrast between Herodias and Hester could make for a good sermon. I hope so.
What do you think?
If you have ideas on this subject write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. If you are willing to have others read your ideas click on the box below.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Charles
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Monday's thoughts
"The Scarlet Letter"
Nathaniel Hawthorne has written a classic in his book about Hester and Dimsdale and Chillingworth and it's a book that has some interesting application as we think about the scandal of the Governor of South Carolina.
Basically, the scarlet letter is the letter "A". It is a symbol for adultery. As is often the case the woman involved is the one who has to carry the worst of the moral indignation of the community.
But Hawthorne has given us a scorned and rejected woman whose mark of disgrace was transformed into a mark of distinction. She, who was shunned, is the only one in the community who is able to have access to the hurting people in the community. Her curse becomes her blessing.
Rather than focus on the morality of a small town or the issue of adultery, this sermon will probably take a look at the way in which the worst we have to take can become the best we have to offer.
How much humiliation do we have to take before we turn our darkest hour into a part of our lives that makes us what we are? How many people are able to grow from their past to the point that the worst that happens to them has become the best?
In issues of morality there is a very thin place for reconciliation. In issues of faith the path toward reconciliation is broad. Being open to the future and to use the lessons of the past can lead us to a future that redeems the past and makes us proud of what we have become.
Christianity is all about being and becoming. It isn't about static states of being that do not change.
What are your experiences in regard to this? Have you read Hawthorne's book?
If you have thoughts on this subject write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. If you are willing to have others read your thoughts click on the box below.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Charles Schuster
Nathaniel Hawthorne has written a classic in his book about Hester and Dimsdale and Chillingworth and it's a book that has some interesting application as we think about the scandal of the Governor of South Carolina.
Basically, the scarlet letter is the letter "A". It is a symbol for adultery. As is often the case the woman involved is the one who has to carry the worst of the moral indignation of the community.
But Hawthorne has given us a scorned and rejected woman whose mark of disgrace was transformed into a mark of distinction. She, who was shunned, is the only one in the community who is able to have access to the hurting people in the community. Her curse becomes her blessing.
Rather than focus on the morality of a small town or the issue of adultery, this sermon will probably take a look at the way in which the worst we have to take can become the best we have to offer.
How much humiliation do we have to take before we turn our darkest hour into a part of our lives that makes us what we are? How many people are able to grow from their past to the point that the worst that happens to them has become the best?
In issues of morality there is a very thin place for reconciliation. In issues of faith the path toward reconciliation is broad. Being open to the future and to use the lessons of the past can lead us to a future that redeems the past and makes us proud of what we have become.
Christianity is all about being and becoming. It isn't about static states of being that do not change.
What are your experiences in regard to this? Have you read Hawthorne's book?
If you have thoughts on this subject write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. If you are willing to have others read your thoughts click on the box below.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Charles Schuster
Friday, July 3, 2009
Friday's Thoughts
There is something about our belief system that pushes us to self-deprecation. As people of faith, concerned about being too proud, aware of the concept of original sin, we tend to speak and think less highly of ourselves than we should.
Aware of our imperfections we become consumed with our inadequacies. Cognizant of our short comings we dwell on them.
There is something about patriotism that, sometimes, pushes us to exhibit a dangerous chauvinism. We come to think so well of our country and we are so proud of affluence and freedom that is ours we tend to overlook the flaws of the country and develop an attitude toward the current prophets that suggests, with regard to the nation, "love it or leave it."
This year the fourth of July happens on Saturday. The fifth of July is Sunday. Sunday is the first Sunday of the month and that is the Sunday we celebrate communion.
I think communion has an important corrective. It causes us to reflect on our "soul-searching" and encourages us to look at our faults and work toward compensating for them so that our weakness becomes our strength.
Communion also enables us to consider our patriotic "flag-waving" and to understand that you can love our country and be compelled to face up to its shortcomings.
Coming to the table and taking the bread and the cup has an interesting and important short-term influence. It puts soul-searching and flag-waving into a perspective so that self-image and patriotism are given a healthy posture. We can realize the importance of ordinary people who are able to accomplish extraordinary things to the point that what happened to Anne Frank and her family and friends will never happen again.
What do you think about this?
What is the importance of communion?
Why does it give us this balance in life?
If you have thoughts on this write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. If you are willing to allow others to read your thoughts click on the box below.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Charles Schuster
Aware of our imperfections we become consumed with our inadequacies. Cognizant of our short comings we dwell on them.
There is something about patriotism that, sometimes, pushes us to exhibit a dangerous chauvinism. We come to think so well of our country and we are so proud of affluence and freedom that is ours we tend to overlook the flaws of the country and develop an attitude toward the current prophets that suggests, with regard to the nation, "love it or leave it."
This year the fourth of July happens on Saturday. The fifth of July is Sunday. Sunday is the first Sunday of the month and that is the Sunday we celebrate communion.
I think communion has an important corrective. It causes us to reflect on our "soul-searching" and encourages us to look at our faults and work toward compensating for them so that our weakness becomes our strength.
Communion also enables us to consider our patriotic "flag-waving" and to understand that you can love our country and be compelled to face up to its shortcomings.
Coming to the table and taking the bread and the cup has an interesting and important short-term influence. It puts soul-searching and flag-waving into a perspective so that self-image and patriotism are given a healthy posture. We can realize the importance of ordinary people who are able to accomplish extraordinary things to the point that what happened to Anne Frank and her family and friends will never happen again.
What do you think about this?
What is the importance of communion?
Why does it give us this balance in life?
If you have thoughts on this write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. If you are willing to allow others to read your thoughts click on the box below.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Charles Schuster
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Wednesday's thoughts
These sermons never go where I'd like them to go. They take off in directions I would never have imagined. That's true of a number of the sermons including this one.
I thought it would be interesting to explore the nature of freedom and the importance of freedom. I was struck with the nobility of character and the strength of purpose witnessed in Miep Gies who sheltered Anne Frank and her family and who preserved the "diary" Anne wrote for posterity.
The sermon has led me into looking at the way in which ordinary people are able to do extraordinary things. It has prompted me to think about our ordinariness and how we learn to cope with it. It has pushed me to look at the ways in which we compensate for our ordinariness. I have come to the conclusion that most of the great things that have been done in the world were accomplished by ordinary people who found a way to compensate for the inadequacies they discovered.
I think of George Washington who thought he was not worthy of the task he was given. The greatness of Washington was his recognition of his inadequacy and moving forward in spite of it.
I think of Anne Frank who took the limitation of being imprisoned in a secret room behind a bookcase and who never lost her sense of hope and joy of life.
I think of Paul, the Apostle, who wrote in 2 Corinthians 12 of the "thorn in his flesh" and how he was weak and through his weakness he was strong.
I wonder about all of us and they way in which we are in touch with our imperfections and the struggle to compensate to the point that our weaknesses make us strong.
How does that work for you?
If you have thoughts on this subject write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. If you are willing to have others read your thoughts click on the box below.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Charles
I thought it would be interesting to explore the nature of freedom and the importance of freedom. I was struck with the nobility of character and the strength of purpose witnessed in Miep Gies who sheltered Anne Frank and her family and who preserved the "diary" Anne wrote for posterity.
The sermon has led me into looking at the way in which ordinary people are able to do extraordinary things. It has prompted me to think about our ordinariness and how we learn to cope with it. It has pushed me to look at the ways in which we compensate for our ordinariness. I have come to the conclusion that most of the great things that have been done in the world were accomplished by ordinary people who found a way to compensate for the inadequacies they discovered.
I think of George Washington who thought he was not worthy of the task he was given. The greatness of Washington was his recognition of his inadequacy and moving forward in spite of it.
I think of Anne Frank who took the limitation of being imprisoned in a secret room behind a bookcase and who never lost her sense of hope and joy of life.
I think of Paul, the Apostle, who wrote in 2 Corinthians 12 of the "thorn in his flesh" and how he was weak and through his weakness he was strong.
I wonder about all of us and they way in which we are in touch with our imperfections and the struggle to compensate to the point that our weaknesses make us strong.
How does that work for you?
If you have thoughts on this subject write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. If you are willing to have others read your thoughts click on the box below.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Charles
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