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“Abiding in
Love”
Sermon by Rev. Peter Dennebaum, FCC Chappaqua – May 10, 2009
1 John 4: 7-21
God Is Love
Beloved, let us love one another,
because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was
revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we
might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved
us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God
loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God;
if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.
By this we know that we abide
in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen
and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Saviour of the world. God
abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God.
So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.
God is love, and those who abide
in love abide in God, and God abides in them. Love has been perfected among us
in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so
are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear;
for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection
in love. We love*
because he first loved us. Those who say, ‘I love God’, and hate their brothers
or sisters,*
are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister*
whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we
have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and
sisters*
also.
Amen.
God’s peace with you!
Six years ago, 2003, Dan Brown published his bestseller
“The DaVinci Code”. “The DaVinci Code” got translated into 44 languages and over
60 million copies had been sold already within the first 3 years. Then, 2006 the
film adaptation with Tom Hanks came into the theatres. The film had the 7th
biggest opening in history and was for both, Tom Hanks as for director Ron
Howard the most successful film ever.
What was the secret of this success and what has Dan Browns
book to do with our bible text from 1. John, which we just read together?
To give us all an idea, if Dan Brown was also successful
here in Chappaqua, let us come out to each other: Please raise your hands, if
also you have read the book or seen the film … [addition after service: around
95% of all hands went up!]
To give us all a brief reminder about its content: The
story follows
symbologist
Robert Langdon as he investigates a
murder in
Paris's
Louvre Museum and discovers a battle between the
Priory of Sion and
Opus Dei over the possibility of
Jesus
Christ of
Nazareth having been married to and
fathering a daughter with
Mary Magdalene.
The title of the novel refers to Leonardo DaVinci, whose
drawings like “The Last Supper” hide secret messages.
I think that there are several reasons, why so many of us
read this book:
1. It freed Jesus from all high Christology, showing him as
a normal man, with desires, a man with wife and child. If Jesus would have been
family father many of us might find this simpatico as we would feel that Jesus
would understand our own life and situation better – than as single man.
2. As Congregationalists we have a natural discomfort with
hierarchy. Many of us are former Catholics. As we converted once for a reason we
might find Browns conspiracy theory especially attractive – even it is only a
theory: That the early church had an interest to hide Jesus’ fatherhood as it
might have installed a FEMINE order, which would have been the end of the MALE
power in the church, which still goes on in the catholic church with only male
priests and popes.
3. Dan Brown weaves fantastically for us all verifiable historical
events around Jesus or the Templars, arts like the DaVinci drawings
and locations like churches or the Louvre into Legends about the Holy
Grail. In the Christian Mythology the Holy Grail was used by Jesus at his last
Supper and by Joseph of Arimathea to catch Jesus’ blood. The possessor of the
Holy Grail was promised eternal youth, like filmed in Indiana Jones and the last
Crusade.
But for Dan Brown the Holy Grail was not a cup, not a
chalice. The Holy Grail was for him the woman’s womb, womanhood per se.
Happiness cannot be found within a material object, but in relationship and
family. Sophie, with Tom Hanks second main Character in the novel finds so
surprisingly her Holy Grail in her until then lost family. That she and her
family appeared at the same time as Jesus’ descendents might be the icing of the
cake, but should lead in my opinion only back to Jesus teaching and Jesus real
call for us – that life is not about collecting earthly bauble,
The center of our scripture text
we read together lies for me in Verse 12b and 13: “if we love one another,
God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. (13) By
this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his
Spirit.
As we human beings need the
conversation to get to a better understanding of ourselves we see how helpful it
can be, if we allow texts talking to each other – in this case Dan The DaVinci
Code and the bible.
Sometimes I ask people, which
gender they think God has. Often I get then the answer, God would be masculine.
Many younger mothers often express their hope God might be female. And again
many others are convinced that God is both or beyond any gender.
Let us get a second time today an idea about our diversity.
No answer is wrong, every answer is ok - as we all are the products of our
education in our families and provén-iences. If we have the chance
between God with male, female or attributes of both genders: Who would go with
masculine attributes for God? Who with female ones? Who with both? [addition
after service: maybe a handful people in each case had their hands up for male
and female, around 90% of all people went with the last option]
Psalm and scripture reading today
have been chosen both from the New Revised Standard Version, which we usually
use and which has usually a very good translation. But even here the personal
pronoun for God is in general masculine. It was me, who changed in our today’s
Psalm the personal pronoun from “he” to “she” – to make us all think. The
biblical God shows female and male characteristics – as we define them. In war
and revenge actions we would probably see typical male behavior and use male
attributes. In Gods loving care and protection we might see female attributes.
It is US, who describe God in masculine or female matters– according to our
gender experiences.
In truth God has in the bible no
clear gender. In Genesis God created us in Gods image as man AND woman. And in
the burning bush, in Exodus, God reveals him- and herself as “I am who I am”, as
the one who is. God is being itself. As Gods images all human mankind has a
right for life in itself. In the Hebrew language the “I am who I am” can be also
translated in the future form as “I will be, who I will be.” Theologically this
means that life is geared to a process. We ARE and we BECOME. Not performance
gives us the right to live, but already our being. And we BECOME what we
supposed to become in form of a process.
This has very concrete political
impacts. If it is true and right that all human beings have a value in
themselves as living beings, Human Rights cannot be constituted on performance,
but only on being. EVERYBODY must have the same access to food, housing,
education, healthcare – independent of social class. And as God him- and herself
is geared to the future, Human Rights must allow everybody social, cultural,
political and professional development.
Gods name Jehovah in the First
Testament is made up of 4 letters: JHWH. These 4 letters leave also the gender
open…which makes sense and shows the biblical wisdom.
A theologically correct
translation avoids personal pronouns:
If we love one another, God
lives in us, and Gods love is perfected in us. (13) By
this we know that we abide in God and God in us, because God has given us of
Gods Spirit.
Dan Brown has opened us with his
DaVinci Code the door to a wider self-understanding of ourselves. Dan Brown asks
us to discover the positive aspects of BEING BEYOND the genders. And he reminds
us Christians about some faith essentials we maybe have forgotten a little bit.
We all have masculine and female
parts in us. It would be stupid and wrong to assume that only woman are warm
hearted, care taking and loving, and that men are still only the mǣ-mmoth
hunting simples, at home just eager for a short orgasm. Even sometimes exactly
this seems still to be – sometimes it is exactly gender reverse, but in most
cases men and women have found a way to share their gender strengths … which is
good for a strong partnership. Many of my male friends have taken meanwhile
childcare leave to spend time and to share their love with their little kids. I
don’t know how many weeks or months a childcare leave gets financially supported
here in the US, but it cannot be strengthened enough!
Today’s text tells us that we
love God, when we love each other. This text might be the best opportunity to
share one of my most important theological realizations with u: I was in
Seminary and for the final examination in worship the worship professor planned
to join the worship. So I planned with my teaching pastor and the moderator of
the church this worship especially carefully: How to go, where to turn to the
cross etc. On one point I asked, if I should bow myself in front of the cross. I
will never forget the answer I got from both: Both asked me: “ Where do u think
is God?” Spontaneous I answered “In the eyes of our parishioners.” They both
smiled and agreed. Since then nobody has seen me anymore bowing in front of dead
peace of wood, but always looking into the eyes of my sisters and brothers.
Decide for yourself, where u wonna look at, when we will sing the offering
doxology “Praise God from whom All Blessings flow”.
We men tend from my perspective
to compete with each other, looking for performance, women tend from my
perspective to try holding family, people together. I read therefore today’s
call to abide in love as a call to feminize our society.
Who knows the name of the new
premier minister of Iceland? Johanna Sígur-dar-dŏttir.
The 300.000 citizens of Iceland voted 2 weeks ago the social democrat and the
world wide first and only openly gay premier minister into power. This was a
revolution in a country in which since the Second World War always the
conservatives and liberals had been in power. The states bankruptcy got only
avoided through the help of the International Monetary Fund (IWF) and the banks
have been socialized as most of the biggest companies.
Johanna Sígur-dar-dŏttir
is not the only woman in Iceland, which the crisis has flushed into power. Hella
Tomasdottir had been chief executive of the Chamber of Commerce. When Hella
realized that nobody was interested in her warnings and advices the economist
founded with another woman, a bank manager, her own business. Both women were
now together Audur Capital, a Finance and Investment Corporation. That was
exactly 2 years ago. Today their company is probably the only one in the
Icelandic financial sector, which makes profit. “We brought more female values
into the finance world”, Hella says. Her company is not interested in shortterm
investments with fast interest profits, but lasting and sustainable investments
in social and ecological projects. “Feeling assets” as it Hella calls. “The
crisis is masculine,” says the 40yo banker Hella.
“They are all the same types,
have been all to the same schools, driving the same cars, wearing the same
suits, having all the same attitudes. They brought us into this situation – and
they had their fun.” Hella describes the male behavior as “aggressive and
hard-nosed”, geared to profit maximization, without respect for losses, looking
for short living stock exchange prices and lucrative bonuses. “Even masculine”
says Hella. And calls it a “permanent penis-competition” Motto: Who has the
longest.
It seems to be that it is time
and that it is necessary to feminize economy and society. The success of Dan
Browns DaVinci Code might have here its foundation: That we all feel that the
feminization of our way of living might be the last chance to safe our survival
as human mankind.
And if you have forgotten already
everything what I said. When u get asked at home by your wife, mother, daughter
or sister, what the preacher said today in church, it would be enough if u can
say: “He said the masculine age is over. And that we need u to lead us!”
At first glance it seems that as
so often women have to clean up where we men left a mess. But if we all take our
female parts out we should be able make it.
Thank you to all women helping
us! Happy mothers day 2009!
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