If you love somebody, then that means you need somebody,
If you need somebody,
That’s what makes you weak
If you know your weak, and you know you need someone
Oh it’s a funny thing, that’s what makes you strong

So begins the folk song by Jesse Winchester, a Canadian singer. It is a song I often quote at weddings; trying to point out to two love birds that indeed what you are agreeing to in getting married is not a life of bliss but a life of deep love and deep trust – love and trust that at some time will be challenged and tried. It is the way of every committed relationship; whether we know it at the time of our wedding/service or not.

Winchester continues,

And to trust somebody, is to be disappointed
It’s never what you want, and it happens every time.
But if you’re the trusting kind, this don’t even cross your mind
Oh its funny thing, that’s what makes you strong

That’s what makes you strong, that’s what give you power
That’s what lets the meek sit beside the king
That’s what lets us smile in our final hour
That’s what moves our souls and that’s what makes us sing.

It’s a song that shouldn’t be limited to commitment services and weddings. It’s speaks to our lives. It speaks to what we all know; that despite our best efforts – we find ourselves disappointed in others, or disappointing to others. All of us have let someone down and others have let each of us down by deeds.

Even the most generous of spirit among us has experienced broken and unfulfilled relationships, numerous people that we came to know and love with high expectations only to be disappointed and on a few occasions, betrayed. It’s a part of life we know and frankly, a part to which we contribute.. We live with regrets and confusions, as well as wisdom and reconciliation.

So thinking about this kind of disappointment seems appropriate for a series on the chaos of our lives. Thinking about how we live lightly with these truths seems to be a worthy meditation or reflection.

As always, I’m comforted by a sacred text that reflects life as we know it; in this case that reflects Jesus being used and betrayed not for what he did, but for who he was. I’m comforted that in our sacred text we see Jesus dealing loved ones who let him down, who acted with malice and selfishness toward him, whose primary motivation seemed to be their own gain with little regard for commitments they had made and a history they shared.

I welcomed Ken Penning’s idea for this topic and text. At first, I imagined trying to extrapolate from Jesus a set of behaviors or principles in living with disappointment. But as I meditated on this text, I was struck by another reality, another truth and I think more useful approach. What came to me was a question about the role the garden where this incident took place played in the story.

Gethsemane sits at the base of the Mt. of Olives overlooking Jerusalem. It was a place of both great beauty and sacred significance. The word Gethsemane comes from two Hebrew words for “oil” and “press” which indicates it had long been a place – probably an orchard – of Olive Trees.

I know from my travels in Israel that the power, history, and symbolism of the olive tree cannot be under-estimated in the Galilee and Jerusalem region. Abuna Chicour, present day priest in northern Galilee – a Palestinian himself – has said that the presence of an olive tree indicates the presence of ancient Jewish or Palestinian community. Early pioneers in our Midwestern area built churches early in the life of their towns because of their deep connection to their faith. Ancient people in this region often planted an olive tree near their cave home, or beside a stone home they might have built. These trees were certainly a source of food and income, but they also represented a deep and long abiding connection to their land, their faith in the Creator and their hope for succeeding generations. In addition, some trees can live to be over 2000 years old – so some of these trees and orchards not only symbolize history, they are the very trees ancestors in the family and the faith have been living beside for generations, even centuries. The end result is that these trees, the orchards and/or gardens in which they stand, have taken on almost a mythic quality.

It might be similar to the power of the loon call for people who live or travel in the northern lake region, or the mystery and power of a whale to people on the California and Mexican coast. A garden with fruit trees and a river and an olive orchard, as Gethsemane is said to have had, was for Jesus and his followers a sacred place – maybe what the Celts would call a “thin place” – a geographic place where humanity and God seem to connect more easily, a place where the line between heaven and earth (at least in traditional imagery) seems thinner, more permeable. Outside, holy, beautiful, restful, quiet, and located near the epicenter of their faith tradition.

It’s worth pondering that this betrayal didn’t take place in someone’s home or in the upper room where the evening began. It didn’t take place on the dusty Galilean roads where Jesus had been with these same people. It’s worth noting that knowing he was going to be let down, Jesus chose to retreat to a place of beauty and prayer. Might not the juxtaposition of beauty and sacredness with betrayal hold some wisdom as to how Jesus weathered the disappointments of his life? I wonder if the solace of a an amazingly sacred place of prayer might not have been part of what allowed him to see his way through, around and within the disappointments of his primary relationships.

To rest in beauty or to look for beauty is not an escape, but a recalibrating or reorienting of our lives. If Beauty is avenue to God, or if Beauty is actually another way of understanding God, then resting in the grace of the world, the grace of a thin place, is indeed resting in the grace of God. For Jesus then, God was present in the garden, and he returned to this garden on many occasions to return to a deep sense of trust in his father’s grace, trust and hope. What we see in this reading is that among the times he went to the garden to stay grounded and centered was when he knew he was going to be disappointed, even betrayed, by his closet friends.

Extrapolating from that, I then wonder if one of the greatest aids to us as we face disappointment and discouragement might not be the cultivation of beauty, beauty with a small b and a Capital B. There’s that wonderful Wendell Berry poem, The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things… I come into the presence of still water… I feel above me the day blind stars waiting with their light. For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
Have we not known this in our own lives?

Furthermore, much of what confuses and baffles us about human relationships is WHY people are so mean, why they are so selfish, why they let us down. For many of us the disappointment or betrayal is compounded by a lack of understanding. We didn’t expect it, we didn’t deserve it, we can’t explain it. In our grief and anger, we often look for a reason to help us understand, a reason from which we can argue or a reason around which we can reconcile. Maybe the mysterious and disappointing behavior comes from a parent of ours, a partner or spouse, a child or a lifelong friend. Regardless of the source of our disappointment, when we are competent and in control in so many other areas of our lives, this lack of control is vexing.

While there is a time and a place and many resources to help us navigate these intimate and confusing relationships, one of the spiritual realities is that there may be a connection between our inability to understand or control others and our ability and even longing rest in beauty. A truly beautiful place or situation, beautiful music or writing are often filled with a similar mystery that we can’t control or understand. However, by resting in that life giving beauty we gain perspective on the life draining or discouraging mystery revealed in human relationships.

What we see in this story of Jesus is that by retreating into beauty, i.e. the grace of God, we often find the wisdom, insight, patience, and strength to understand and address the poignant and powerful disappointments. In retreating into sacred space, Jesus also reveals that despite how he has been treated, he is, in the words of Jesse Winchester, the “trusting kind.” Immersing ourselves in beauty doesn’t guarantee the pain will go away, it doesn’t solve the question of why – but it might prevent us from losing all hope and all ability to trust in the future.

The story invites us to consider where and how we might connect with beauty…
• Visiting nature
• Sitting in an ancient cathedral or structure that was built to emphasize mystery and the power of the unknown.
• Playing or listening to powerful music – power in its rhythms and tones, as well as its lyrics.
• Enjoying welcoming and restful friends, or playing with children we love in our lives.
• Cooking, gardening, walking a labyrinth, working with wood, taking pictures, dabbling in art…

These activities are indeed acts of faith, of trust and of reliance on the language of mystery and elegance and loveliness and grace. They remind us that our faith can’t halt the disappointments – but it does allow us to see the greater goodness of life, the beauty of the world, the sacredness of a situation.

As we move into a time of meditative music, I invite you to silently name those relationships that are less than you’d like them to be – name them and let them rise from your lips and heart into the beauty of the music and beauty of this community. This isn’t an invitation to lay out your list of demands or disappointments or hopes to God – but rather an invitation to hold your life lightly, to release your grip on the need to know, the need for all to be right, the desire for all to be fair – so that in holding your life a bit more lightly, you can feel the power of God, the nurturing love of mystery and the embrace of Beauty. Amen.

Today’s text: Matthew 26:26-46
26While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” 27Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; 28for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” 30When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

31Then Jesus said to them, “You will all become deserters because of me this night; for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ 32But after I am raised up, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” 33Peter said to him, “Though all become deserters because of you, I will never desert you.” 34Jesus said to him, “Truly I tell you, this very night, before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.” 35Peter said to him, “Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And so said all the disciples.

36Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. 38Then he said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.” 39And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.” 40Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, “So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? 41Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42Again he went away for the second time and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” 43Again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words. 45Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.”

We authorize the Leadership Team to take the following steps:

• Sign a contract with Bauer and Raether Builders not to exceed $1,175,000 to renovate our building, incorporating all elements of the Option 2B design as contained in the construction documents completed by Strang Inc.

• Borrow up to $1,750,000 for a construction loan and up to $1,800,000 for a 15 year mortgage. The majority of the mortgage to be paid by 2016 from Capital Campaign funds and the balance to be paid over the remaining10 years (2016 to 2026) from the operating budget with the understanding that the Leadership Team will limit borrowing amounts to what is necessary and financially prudent.

• Use 10% of the Capital Campaign funds received for mission projects and charge the Ministry on Christian Witness and Service to devise a process for developing recommendations to the congregation.

Would you consider loaning the church money in order to save financing costs?  Please read this Informational Sheet

Questions and Answers – read more

By Winton Boyd

It was indeed exciting to announce after worship on Sunday that collectively, we have pledged over $1.5 million towards our Seeds for the Next Generation capital campaign (now at $1,510,720.40 with some pledges still coming in). Many of you worked hard to make this process work so smoothly and effectively.  It speaks of your love for the church.  As one of your pastors, I’m very grateful.

In addition, I am aware that many of us had prayerful and heartfelt conversations with people we love about if and how we would participate in this campaign.  Matters of money, security, benevolence and priorities are among the most tender and personal issues of our lives.  I know decisions were not made lightly.  I pray that were made, and continue to be made, with joy and hope.

We’re not a perfect church, but we have some amazing energy and enthusiasm in our midst right now.  A spirited and spiritual community is indeed a wonderful gift.  Let us remember as we go through construction, as we write out checks for the next five years, as we watch our programs and ministries evolve and grow, to not take this gift for granted.

As always, I am humbled and honored to count myself among this community.

Below is a printable list of both summer activities and the summer worship themes.

2010 Summer Activities and Worship Themes

Worship will focus on the “Phoenix Affirmations” – a collection of faith affirmations crafted in the last few years by progressive Christians seeking to articulate vision of faith that is more true to their lives and that counters some of the main stream Christian rhetoric in our country.  We welcome your input and ideas.

From ORUCC’s Leadership Team

Our amazing SEEDS for THE NEXT GENERATION campaign is progressing!  The Leadership TEAM feels confident that by June 6th we will have enough information to proceed with the following schedule of events.  Please read carefully AND MARK YOUR CALENDARS WITH THESE IMPORTANT DATES IN THE LIFE OF OUR CHURCH.

June 6th – immediately following worship

We’ll announce and celebrate campaign totals to date.

The Leadership Team will present a basic overview of how we expect to proceed.

The Building Committee and the Leadership Team will ask for ask for authorization to pay for the final construction documents from Strang, Inc. AND approval for the Building Committee to authorize the hiring of Bauer and Raether Builders as our contractor.  [This is not approval to a construction contract, that would come later]

Wednesday, June 9th – 7 p.m. in Room 13
Listening Session I

The first of two listening sessions hosted by Leadership Team will address:

Input on building plan, mission gift, and the possibility of additional or alternative  financing.

Sunday, June 20th at 11:30 in Worship Hall
Listening Session II

Second of two listening sessions with the same format as above.

Sunday, June 27th at 11:30 in Worship Hall

Congregational Meeting – THIS IS NOT A VOTING MEETING

The Leadership Team will present a proposal for our renovations  based on our campaign totals, a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) from the contractor, and input from listening sessions.

We want to discuss:

The scope of the building renovations

all associated costs,

expected schedule and the sequencing of construction.

The Building Committee will also introduce the Bauer and Raether

Sunday, July 11th at 11:30 in Worship Hall

The Leadership Team will make any necessary adjustments to the proposal and ask the congregation to on the complete package.