CTS Chapel Sermon: "Flood" from Genesis 6
When this post goes live I’ll be in Harrington Chapel preaching the sermon below. I would hesitate to preach a sermon with this sort of form in, well, most every congregation I know. But the Columbia community isn’t your average congregation. As I heard a student say one, “Chapel is difficult to lead because it’s a community of professional worshipers.” That’s about right so the sermon form and content reflects the context. It’s experimental, in a way. It plays with images and concepts without fully explaining. It assumes a congregation that really enjoys wrestling with tough theology. It connects things quickly, and without much explanation: flood, death, baptism, climate change, resurrection. It is what it is, but it was fun, at least, to write.
Depending when I get it, I may put up video later.
Genesis 6:5-22
The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that he had made humankind on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, “I will blot out from the earth the human beings I have created–people together with animals and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the sight of the Lord.
These are the descendants of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God. And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw that the earth was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon the earth. And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence because of them; now I am going to destroy them along with the earth. Make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its heigh thirty cubits. Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above; and put the door of the ark in its side; make it with lower, second, and third decks. For my part, I am going to bring a flood of waters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die.
But I will establish my covenant with you; and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and yours sons’ wives with you. And of every living thing, of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female.
Of the birds according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground according to its kind, of every animal, two of every kind shall come in to you, to keep them alive. Also take with you every kind of food that is eaten, and store it up; and it shall serve as food for you and for them.” Noah did this; he did all that God had commanded him.
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Adam J. Copeland
September 30, 2008
Columbia Theological Seminary Chapel
Flood
[Refrain]
God said, For my part, I am going to bring a flood of waters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. (But…)
A second flood is coming. Just like the last, caused by human sin.. The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a body made up of the world’s top scientists, reports the harrowing data. Around the world, snow cover is diminishing. Temperatures are increasing. And ocean levels are slowly and dangerously rising.
The IPCC, known for its accurate though conservative evaluations, estimates that average global temperatures will rise between 1 and 6 degrees centigrade (up to ten degrees Fahrenheit) in the next 90 years.
Models project extinctions of more than 50% of the earth’s species. As snow cover and ice caps melt, sea levels will rise, best estimated between 3 and 20 feet this century. Sea level rises affect the world’s poorest, as 50% of the earth’s population lives near rivers and oceans. Bangladesh, one of the world’s poorest countries, is projected to lose 20% of its land if sea levels rise just 3 feet, displacing millions.
Islands will disappear. Animals, plants, and humans beings, will die. A second flood is coming. … Continue Reading
A week later
It was a joy to attend the first meeting of the Presbyterian Hymnal Committee last week. Strange, I know, “a joy to attend a meeting.” Truly, though, I had a great time getting to know the other committee members, and getting a better grasp of our task.
The Presbyterian News Service has a wee pic from the commissioning service here.
And Linda Valentine blogs about things here.
I won’t bore you with meeting details, but I will say that I took away from our meeting both great excitement about the road ahead and clarity that the task before us is, well, hard.
The largest American Lutheran denomination (ELCA) came out with their newest hymnal two years ago. Rumor has it, they received over 10,000 hymns to consider for the hymnal. That number is both heartening since it shows the huge popularity of hymnody and explosion of new texts and tunes in recent years, but also harrowing since the committee had to find the time and energy to consider 10,000 hymns!
The PC(USA) is in a delicate place at the moment, theologically, pastorally, financially. My personal hope, then, is that through the process of developing the next hymnal we might in some way, with God’s help, be strengthened, uplifted, and soothed through the collection of hymns, psalms, and spiritual songs to God. After all, it is to God’s glory that we work and sing.
A Pastor's Predicament: Sermon Time
A few weeks ago in the Presbyterian Outlook, Sam Alexander wrote an article suggesting it takes 25 hours to write a good sermon. Well, more accurately, Alexander described to elders how to consider broad questions regarding sermon preparation, arguing that consistently good and faithful preaching takes significant prep time.
At Columbia Seminary, daily chapel is most often planned and led by senior M.Div. students. My “chapel week” is next week, meaning my group of three students is in charge or organizing the services for the week. If only this took less than 25 hours.
The chapel planning process is taking over our lives. We’ve met maybe six times in person, sent dozens of emails, and spent hours searching for resources. Then there’s the recruiting and training of folks to help lead the service. And now, though finally the services all have a good structure and a mostly complete liturgy, I’ve got to write a sermon.
It won’t take me 25 hours, though. I just don’t have the time. And call me naive, but I think 25 hours is way too much time for a pastor to devote to preaching preparation. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for the preached word and the importance of thorough and prayerful study and all that, but I’ve always thought the old, “one hour of preparation for every minute of sermon preached” was pretty generous.
I’ve also heard that a pastor should spend as much time working on the prayers as the sermon, in which case, well if Alexander is our guide, out the window goes pastoral care, administration, and teaching, not to mention community involvement.
To be fair, Alexander’s argument is more holistic than it might be – he’s not advocating 25 hours in the study per week, but it just struck me odd how he presents things.
Last year, I was lucky to get 10 hours a week devoted to sermon prep. It wasn’t ideal, but it worked. Contextually, it seems to be the appropriate and faithful dividing of time.
Sorry for the disjointed post. I’d write more, but I’ve got to get to this sermon. [Any ideas out there? It's on Noah, the ecological crisis, and baptism.]
image by jayofboy
Sermon: Matthew 20, "Not Fair, Generous"
I supply preached in a small congregation in Jackson this morning, a very enjoyable experience. The manuscript is below. The actual sermon came out a bit different, as delivery without a mic in a sanctuary with five pews on each side calls for a different tone than in St. Columba which holds 800.
Matthew 20:1-16
Adam J. Copeland
Fellowship Presbyterian Church, Jackson GA
Not Fair, Generous
I.
The disciples were getting squirrely. After following this Jesus guy all over the countryside, dodging unruly crowds, meeting unclean uncouth strangers, and living with a ragtag bunch of Jesus-following misfits, the disciples wanted to see some dividends on their investment. They wanted to be sure their reward in heaven was guaranteed, that Jesus understood the severity of their sacrifice.
And surely the life of a disciple was no walk in the park. We can’t blame them for trying to confirm their future with Jesus wasn’t in Lehman Brothers or AIG stock, but first-rate government insured bonds.
So right before our parable for today, Peter asked, “Say Jesus, um, for those of us who have left everything and followed you. What will be our reward?” Fair question, don’t you think?
Jesus replied, “At the renewal of all things, you who have followed me will sit on twelve jeweled thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Don’t you worry one bit Peter, everyone who left their loved ones for me will receive one hundred fold, and will inherit eternal life.”
Whew! Peter thought, relieved and affirmed. Easy street for me.
“Oh, but there’s one thing I forgot to mention,” Jesus says. “But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.” … Continue Reading
Tallahassee Tussle: My More Cynical View of the Election
In last Sunday’s Tallahassee Democrat, Mary Ann Lindley argues that the current cultural obsession with Sarah Palin will soon fade, and Americans will return to considering the election in terms of issues. Oh if only I could agree.
Lindley’s argument is two part. First, she quite rightly suggests that Palin is receiving significant media and cultural attention due to her newbie status. Since Americans already know Joe Biden and John McCain well, the airwaves are saturated with Palin because folks like to jump on the latest fad. Like gadgets or fashion appeal, Americans are driven by trends and the Palin phenomenon, at this point, is functioning as a cultural trend–a process Lindley sees as necessary if not appropriate, but not lasting. On this point, I agree completely.
Next, however, Lindley crucially claims, “I’m confident that, before too long, most of us will get back to looking at Obama and McCain and their qualifications for the presidency; who has the best chance of leading our nation out of some of its very serious setbacks.” As the sub-title to Lindley’s article claims, “We’ll get back to the real issues.”
While I don’t take issue with Lindley’s claim that Palin is receiving significant press and cultural attention because of her newfound status on the national stage — as one poll found, less than 1% of Americans knew of Palin before McCain’s pick. I disagree, however, with her assumption that prior to Palin’s entrance into the race Americans were actually having a public debate on the “real issues” of the election.
As Charles M. Blow expounds in today’s Times “Lipstick Bungle” op-ed, even Palin’s supporters don’t connect her to the “real issues” of the election. They think McCain only picked Palin to help him squeeze by in the election, not because she is most qualified. As Blow writes, “It turns out that the Republican enthusiasm for Sarah Palin is just as superficial as she is.”
Let’s face it, Americans don’t always connect the issues they support to the candidate who supports them. Instead, we tend to vote more with our gut or the compelling nature of a candidate’s story than with the actual issues most claim to be important to them.
While Lindley assumes the American political process and cultural dialog elicits a meaningful discussion of the issues concerning voters, I see elections more as orgies of marketing, focus grouping, and non-issue-related popularity. While Lindley presents an optimistic view of the mainstream media as able to communicate the candidates’ positions on “real issues,” I hold a more pessimistic view that cultural factors inherent to mainstream media–i.e. entertainment, sensational, and for-profit nature–lead to a public who is entertained rather than educated. Rather than Lindley’s “getting back to the issues” I’d like to meaningfully discuss them in the first place.
Half cool? Half crazy? Hopefully, at least half a good idea.
I just clicked it. My confirmation email has arrived. I’m running in a half marathon, 13.1 miles, ten weeks from today (that’s Thanksgiving Day, by the way).
They say, “The half marathon is a friendly distance.” They say, “The half is an approachable race.” They say, “It’s fun.” But who are they after all? Those crazy runners who actually enjoy it? Those for whom it’s a pleasure to get up early and run before most of the sane world is awake? Those people who just like messing with you?
Actually, I’m pretty excited about the Thanksgiving Day Half. I started running consistently about four months ago and really, well, almost like it (see here). I guess ten weeks from now I’ll be able to qualify that “almost” more fully.
My challenge training, I expect, will be as much the scheduling of runs amidst my busy life as having my body respond well to the training. Who knows what may come about, though. My first task: make a training chart and find some running blogs.
Humming a New Tune (for five, maybe six years)
In a press release today, the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation announced the Committee to Develop the Next Presbyterian Hymnal. Pretty exciting stuff.
Denominational hymnals tend to have a life comparable to one generation, so the PC(USA) is doing well to start the process now since a quality hymnal takes around 5 years to develop. The denomination’s 1990 “new blue hymnal” isn’t so new anymore, so the General Assembly in 2004 authorized the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation to conduct a feasibility study and develop a new hymnal in collaboration with the Office of Theology, Worship, and Education, the Presbyterian Association of Musicians, and the Holy Spirit (sorry, no link). PPC will assume all the costs for development, including the expenses of the committee.
What’s super crazy, though, is the interest in the project. Over 230 applications were received….yes, for a hymnal committee! The committee of 15 is quite diverse, with eight men and seven women, two Asian Americans, one African American, two young adults, a seminary president, pastors, professors, and an internationally known hymn writer. And, perhaps the most disturbing thing you’ll read all week: I’m on it.
Our first meeting is next week. I’m pretty darn pumped. I’m not sure how much blogging I’ll do about the project along the way, but I have heard that so far, at least, folks really value openness and will intentionally seek ways to keep the church involved along the way. So we’ll see.
To see the press release, other committee members, hymnal website, FAQs, or complain about their ridiculous choice of a certain young adult, click on the graphic above or below.
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