2024.09.15 | Glory and Joy
“Glory & Joy”
Psalm 19
Preached by
Rev. Dr. Marvin Lance Wiser
Eden United Church of Christ
Hayward, CA
15 September 2024
Good morning Eden family! Buenos días familia Edén. ¿Mucho tiempo sin vernos, verdad? It’s been awhile hasn’t it? You know, it’s been so long that I came back to campus after Labor Day and my keys didn’t work. I think Bob, Javier, and others thought that they had gotten rid of me and re-keyed the place. You’ll have to try harder than that next time.
También quiero decirles a todos feliz fin de semana de la Independencia para nuestras hermanas y hermanos quienes están celebrando.
It’s good to be settling back into routine and reconnecting with each and everyone of you here at Eden. For those who may not know, I was on clergy renewal leave thanks to a generous grant from the Lilly Endowment’s National Clergy Renewal Program, and thanks to the support of this wonderful congregation that encourages rest, renewal, and spiritual growth.
Es bueno volver a la rutina y reconectarme con todos y cada uno de ustedes aquí en Edén. Para aquellos que no lo sepan, estuve en un sabático de renovación del clero gracias a una generosa beca nacional, y gracias al apoyo de esta maravillosa congregación que fomenta el descanso, la renovación y el crecimiento espiritual.
El tema de mi renovación sabática fue cultivar, es decir, cultivar relaciones, reconectarse con amigos y familiares, que resulta ser el tema de adoración actual para nosotros. Cultivar también es la palabra que se usa en la agricultura y en la industria del café para designar una variedad de granos de café. En un ratito, vamos a hablar más del café. Primero, vamos hablar hoy de la gloria de Dios y el gozo que produce.
My sabbatical renewal theme was cultivar, as in cultivating relationships, reconnecting with friends and family, which just so happens to be the current worship theme for us. Cultivar also happens to be the word in agriculture as well as the coffee industry for a variety of coffee beans. You’ll hear more about coffee in a minute.
Oftentimes when we talk about grants we want to know a few things. Right? Specifically, as the details pertain to the iron triangle of time, scope, and budget. And the ironing out of the deliverables. This grant, however, is not your typical grant. This grant only had two deliverables: 1) to rest and be renewed; and 2) to do something that makes one’s heart sing with joy. You see, the national clergy renewal program seeks to subvert the capitalist understanding of sabbaticals of creating a product, and rather allow one’s own renewal to be the product. There was no publish or perish. This model is necessary for both individuals and organizations.
So, today I’d like to simply highlight a few of the instances where I beheld God’s glory and was filled with joy.
Before we get started, let’s bless it up!
Holy God, Creator of Sabbath, who deemed it necessary and good for all of creation to rest from toil and labor, we come before You. Unlike other Mesopotamian creation myths, You desired rest for us, not only labor. Help us to learn how to lean into Your everlasting arms, knowing that we are simply enough. Reveal more and more of Your glory to us. For it is for which our souls yearn. Help us all to keep blessing You. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.
If you have been in any of my Bible studies, you may recall that the Bible has various creation stories. One of my favorites is found within the divine speeches of the book of Job, which is very similar to Ps 104. Those who participated in our study on Wisdom and Theodicy this Spring may remember that in these creation accounts, we are taken on a journey throughout God’s good creation. Similarly, Psalm 19 reads that the heavens themselves tell of the glory of God. Shameless plug, an email was sent out to our Bible study participants with a survey for our upcoming Fall Bible Study. If you are interested in joining, let me know.
Now, what is “glory?” You might say, honor, splendor, divine distinction. And the root word כָּבוֹד kavod carries the connotation of heaviness. So, I’m going to go with that. For our maturing Millennials and Zoomers, heavy was popularized in the 70s. Any Dead Heads in the pew? God’s glory is “heavy” as in this more colloquial slang, being “intense,” “wonderful,” “awe-inspiring.”
Nowhere have I felt the intensity or the heaviness of the glory of God as when I am immersed in nature. Sometimes you are only left with two responses: utter silence or to exclaim, “God, You are an awesome God.” Some of you know that I am a shutterbug, I like to say that I’m a chaser of beauty. I try to capture glimpses of joy-producing glory. Heavy, I know. I’ll share just a few with you.
No hay lugar donde he sentido la gloria de Dios más intensamente que en la naturaleza. A veces solo te quedan dos respuestas cuando estás frente a la creación de Dios: el silencio absoluto o el exclamar: “Dios, eres un Dios maravilloso.” Esta primera foto es algo que quizás hayan visto en mi oficina, algo que Yuliana me dio hace más de 20 años: “Miren a Dios en todo, y en todo busquen a Dios”. Así que, viajen conmigo a lugares donde he experimentado la gloria de Dios este último año y durante mi sabático. Vamos a hacer una gira de la creación de Dios como los cuentos de la creación que leímos en el estudio bíblico de los salmos y de Job, gozando en la gloria de Dios.
This first photo is something that you might have seen in my office, something that Yuliana gave to me more than 20 years ago, “Look to God in everything, and in everything look for God.” So, journey with me to places that I have experienced God’s glory this past year, and during my clergy renewal leave. All photos are my own. We’ll start local and travel to places far away, like the magic school bus or the Psalms, coming back right to where we started. But hopefully changed by glory and joy. Meditate with me.
[Slideshow Descriptions]
It’s good to be rooted in joy and not fear. Amen? Now, if this leaves you wanting for more photos, especially of me and the fam, and more stories of my clergy renewal leave, I invite you to sign up for one of the Cultivar: Coffee Cupping & Conversations sessions that will be happening during Fellowship time in October. Sign-ups will be by the coffee in Oliver Hall. We’ll take deeper dives and try coffee that I have roasted, some sourced on this trip.
And as part of our Renewal grant, all of us will be part of an all-day retreat in nature, beholding God’s glory, resting and cultivating together at Tilden Park as part of our congregational renewal activity this coming Spring. More details to follow.
Les invito a todos a que se inscriban en una de las sesiones Cultivar: Conversación y Café que se llevarán a cabo durante el tiempo de Fellowship en octubre. Vamos a poder ver más fotos de nuestro viaje a México y probaremos el café que voy a tostar. Y como parte de la beca nacional de renovación, todos de la iglesia participaremos de un retiro de un día en la naturaleza, contemplando la gloria de Dios en Tilden Park en Berkeley esta próxima primavera. Pronto habrá más detalles.
I thank you for your kindness and encouragement as I and my family went on this incredible journey. I want to thank our staff as well my clergy colleagues, Pastor Arlene, Pastor Brenda, Pastor Ashley, Javier, Kimberly, Jonny, Mago, and Mateo for taking so many things on during this time.
Amigos, oro para que cada uno de nosotros pueda encontrar momentos de descanso y renovación y que nos comprometamos a buscar la gloria de Dios a nuestro alrededor.
Friends, I pray that each one of us is able to find moments of rest and renewal and that we make a commitment to seek God’s glory all around us. Here’s to continuing this journey of searching out God’s beauty, together. Amen.