Sermon for April 20, 2008

                                                Romans 8: 1, 18. 26-27, 31-39

                                                  Rev. Sharon James Fazel

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”

Words of the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Church in Rome. A late letter in the course of his life, and one of the most eloquent, yet difficult to unravel because of its intensity and intricate structure. But powerful words. Powerful truth. Powerfully good news for us.
On Monday of this week a very tall, very strong built and very angry looking man who looked to be late 30’s-early 40’s in age, rang the doorbell at church. Let’s call him John (not the name he gave me, of course). He’d just come from the County Courthouse across the street, where he’d seen his 17 year old daughter put into foster care. “She’s out of control, totally over the edge,” he said, shaking his head and staring at his feet. Then he confessed his own transgressions -- drugs, alcohol, adultery. “I was condemned a long time ago,” he said with great certainty. But he hoped there was still a chance for his daughter. Turned out, all he wanted was some good news – he wanted someone to pray with him, and for his daughter. So we did. He said “thank you,” and left.

Then, about a half hour later a “regular” came to the door. Let’s call him “Nick.” Again, not his real name, of course. Nick’s a very young man. Slight build. Looks a little lost. Chris has spent considerable time talking with him on several occasions. This was the first time I had the opportunity to just sit with him myself. He knew he was here too soon to receive another gas or grocery card, but he seemed to want to share some of his own good news with me! In halting language, he told how he’d secured a job at $8 an hour a few hours a day, a few days a week. And there had been a couple of other job market nibbles for him. All base rate pay, but employment, nonetheless. Nick stayed awhile. Had some pop and some fruit from the kitchen refrigerator, left over from our Confirmation Retreat Saturday. Then he slipped out. Disappeared into the streets again. The Apostle Paul’s letter to the church in Rome continues:
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”

Then, it was Tuesday evening. At home, a friend called to discuss handling the eighth death of a teenager in her home town high school over the last 21 months. This one was the self-inflicted death of a 17 year old girl. One distinguishing characteristic of the deceased young woman was that she had been diagnosed with Aspergers Disorder, an increasingly common neurological condition, usually associated with the Autism Spectrum. This month is Autism Awareness month. That makes the story relevant. But for me, the close-to-home nature of this young girl’s story is compelling. Although she was a “straight A student” in her high school, her difficulty with socialization skills became problemmatic. Deficiencies in social skills are characteristic of all people with Aspergers. They just don’t read social cues the way most of us do. Facial expressions, body language, what we do with our eyes to indicate the meaning of a word or a sentence. All of that goes right over their heads, because in their eyes, it’s often just a blur. Their brains are literally wired differently, and they just don’t get it! In this girl’s case, this deficiency in relating to other kids the way most kids do, led to alienation. Then, she developed an obsession with that alienation (obsessive behavior is also characteristic of Aspergers). Ultimately, that obsession with alienation played some part in this young girl’s decision to take her own life. Friends, the helplessness that this story engenders falls far too close to my own heart, and plays directly to one of my worst weaknesses – fear. Fear for the well-being of my one and only child! Yet, here’s the Apostle Paul telling us –
“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words.”

Actually, the story of that teenager is relevant for all of us here at First Congregational UCC of Anoka, not just because of this past week’s remembrance of Virginia Tech, but because of real experiences in this community of faith. We approach two anniversaries of having lost young lives in this congregation – one to a relentless illness six years ago Sunday; April 27th; and one, like this young girl, to his own devices – just one year ago on June 3rd, our “Youth Sunday” last year. Our youth leadership, Pastor Chris Fazel, and Beth Cains and Dale Beals, have made themselves available for youth after church for a few Sundays now, to talk through any issues our young people struggle with as we approach this particular first anniversary. Chris, Dale and Beth’s love and dedication to our youth are signs of hope for us all. That dedication is no small measure of good news for this congregation.

Well, Wednesday afternoon capped the experience of this unusually thematically concentrated week. A call from a UCC minister serving a church in Australia had linked us with a family living in Champlin, where a 48 year old husband, father, and successful businessman had died suddenly and unexpectedly. The family had had no regular church home, but the surviving spouse had been raised in a New England UCC church, and had visited us in worship here, 6 years ago, before the two were married. Her husband’s funeral, then, was here in this sanctuary this past Wednesday morning, with standing room only, and 142 people fed lunch, downstairs. With Bryan Benskin to put out cones in the parking lot, Stan Deden to meet all the needs of the funeral home attendants and answer questions from the well over 200 attendees, and Marlene Curtis and her crew of seven hard working women in the kitchen downstairs -- the spirit of “can do” and cooperative service were palpable here, all day Wednesday. And for Chris and me, and especially for the family of that deceased husband and father, their gracious service was exceptionally good news!

The UCC minister who called from Australia is a brother to the surviving widow. He joined us in presiding at the funeral Wednesday morning, and delivered a message based on scripture he himself chose. The passages I have been reading from Romans were the very text he read, from which he offered words of hope to his sister and to other family and friends. Hear now the Apostle Paul’s final words from the Book of Romans:
“Yet, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Christ who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ, our Lord.”

Folks, we are indeed not the church of the perennial “smile-at-all-costs even-when-it-hurts” ‘happy face.’ We know the meaning of hardship in this congregation. We know the discomfort that comes of grappling with difficult truths. We know there’s work to be done in almost every arena of human endeavor, including our stewardship of natural resources, as well as our care of human ones. But what is even more important than knowing all of that, is that we know the meaning of the “good news” – not rulers and powers, not things present or things to come, not even death – nothing can separate us from the love of God. Nothing!
And that, my friends, is profoundly good news. Thanks be to God. Let us pray.

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E-mail:1stcongo@pro-ns.net

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