April 6, 2025 · Rev. Derek van Gulden · Psalm 149; Luke 6:27-31
Reading Jesus's call to love our enemies and treat others as we would be treated, Rev. Derek van Gulden takes up the Lenten word connection: the livestreams and Zoom gatherings born in the 2020 shutdown that still hold the congregation together, and the Hands Off demonstration at Grant Circle the day before, where even those who disagreed were thanked for speaking up.
Transcript
People of God, would you join me in a moment of prayer? Gracious and holy God, this morning I ask that you move the words of my mouth and the meditation of all our hearts by your love, and help me this day not to be the instrument of my own or anyone else's oppression, but an instrument of peace in every breath and every step, in every moment of our days. Amen.
So I wanted to start off my sermon by reading to you from the Bible. I know that's. Not something I do usually. But the only Bible that I could get up there because mine is in my office, is the King James Version, which I stumble over the words. So if there's a Bible in front of you, I'd invite you to turn to Luke chapter six. And I'll start at twenty seven. Behaving as God's children. But I say to you who are willing to hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you. Pray for those who mistreat you. If somebody slaps you on the cheek, offer the other one as well. If someone takes your coat, don't withhold it or your shirt. Give to everyone who asks and don't demand your things back. For those who take them from those who take them. Treat people in the same way that you want them to treat you.
I share that piece from Luke with you. Today's word in our journey through lent of Awe is connection. A couple of amazing things happened this week that if I'm paying attention by the end of the week, I go, wow, I don't need to write anything because somebody has lived it and shared their story.
So I'm going to share two short stories, and I won't say the name of the first person, because I didn't ask them if I could share a part of this. But they had been talking to a minister who had come to see them, and while there, they shared the ways that we stay connected in our congregation. Shared live streaming Worship, available on three different platforms, shared the different Zoom programs we do during the week, storytelling meditation with Bible Lectio Divina and Prayer Group on Friday. And also when there is something at the church that goes beyond the normal, such as a celebration of life or a funeral, that they don't have to leave their home because they physically cannot. And after sharing all this with the pastor who had stopped by the pastor, and I can't say verbatim, said something to the effect of, wow, that is a lot of ways to keep connected.
So about five years ago. Last month, March twenty twenty, we know that the world was thrown upside down and in total chaos. But we also know that we learned a new way of staying connected. Zoom became one of the prevalent words, and I'm sure the company's stock shot up. But it was the first thing that started enabling many people to connect. And we started doing Zoom Church. And it was interesting at first, challenging as we all learned different ways to do it. And we've talked about this before. How many people, though, were working at home during those two years? How many people kept connection with family and friends through Zoom calls, videos? How many of you connected with members of your family here, the congregation or within Rockport through phone calls and zooms.
And when you made those connections, what did it feel like? I mean, really, it was only two weeks before we were able to do worship again through Zoom. Felt weird. Felt weird. You couldn't touch him. You couldn't touch them. Felt relief. Relief to be able to still connect. Anyone else felt like science fiction? Very much science fiction. My son, my grandson, said something to the effect that it felt like one of those movies that Star Trek. And he was speaking to my generation because he he learned that with his own parents was kind of like. And at the end would say, beam me up, Scotty. And I don't know if he'd ever seen Star Trek. After a while. What was it like in your life? Normal. Normal. Did it make a difference? Yes. Did you find moments of awe in being able to see somebody? Yes. It's okay to say. Yeah. All is good. Did you find a way to connect? And has that changed? I mean, we can see each other. We can be each other's presence. I felt great admiration for the way you and the staff. Phil and Christina, put together our service with the music. And videos. It was just extraordinary. And I was up in New Hampshire, so I would listen every Sunday. Thank you. And Katie was in there doing a lot. Yes.
This thing about connection, when we lose connection, as always, I can only speak for myself when I go a day or two or a week without being able to talk to my grandchildren, members of my family, I start to feel lost. And then out of nowhere, a family text thing shows up. I have a big family and then the phone just beeps and beeps and beeps and beeps to the point you want to turn it off. But it is a great way to be connected. And I still find in those moments for myself just or in the way we do it, the way I take it for granted nowadays. Yep. I'm going to do this. Going to do that. Going to do this. Some in person. Some on Zoom.
And the second thing I want to share with you with connection. Was one that I experienced yesterday throughout the country. There was a. Demonstration called hands off people joining together peacefully just to let those who run this country know that we are listening to what they're doing. And here is what we wish they weren't doing. Every major city, every small village here on Cape Ann in the morning at Plum Cove, there was a group at ten o'clock. I learned that because the person Sarah and I were standing next to yesterday at Grant Circle had been there, and he said it was a bit different. It was smaller. We knew each other, but it wasn't any less connecting than it is here. If anybody drove by Grant's circle around it yesterday between two and three. It was for a while. The traffic was backed up to the top of the bridge. There were people who didn't want to be out in the rain, and they would drive their car around and around and around, and after a while o see them again and different signs would pop up. At some point, people were coming back from another rally because they all had signs in their car holding them up and beeping.
But I talk about connection because there were also people that expressed what they felt about it. And everybody standing, at least where we were, we were kind of almost heading up the bridge. We're like, thank you for letting us know. Thank you. And you have a voice like we do and we honor that. Whereas I've been at some things where people are protesting and if somebody rails against them, it just escalates. Learning to be in connection with each other and listening and honoring what we say.
In Luke. That whole piece is talking about connection. If somebody asks you for your coat, give them your shirt too. If they need this, help them find it. Do unto others. Which I think we forget constantly.
Connection moments of or even to this day. Wednesday at three o'clock in the afternoon. It's kind of an odd time. There's a group of us between eight and ten who gather for one hour to share stories. We kind of pick a theme. Sometimes we run with it, sometimes it bounces all over the place. I look forward to that, and I think everybody else does. And we have people that don't live here. Gary Perry is always on. Margaret, who I can never remember her last name, lives in Saint Louis. She is always on most of what we do. We have become her church even though she lives out there. And other people zoom in or jump in. And it's this connection that probably most of us wouldn't have had before we had this new way of connecting.
So may God continue to bless all the ways that we connect with others. And may we find ways to receive that connection no matter how it comes. Amen.